"So... will Youjie brother come tomorrow morning?" An Lisi asked as I turned to leave.

"..." I hesitated for a moment when asked this question. Since I would go to school with An Lisi, I would undoubtedly have to wake up early. As someone who always slept at midnight, I really resisted waking up early. Of course, I could go to bed early, but it's difficult to change habits in a short time. I felt a bit troubled. However, seeing An Lisi's hopeful expression and knowing that she rarely got the chance to go to school, I thought maybe I should encourage her and let her experience the rich and exciting campus life. With all these thoughts in my mind, I replied, "No problem..."

"I can go to school with Youjie brother again tomorrow... I'm so happy," An Lisi said softly, lowering her head. Although I couldn't hear clearly what she said, she seemed very happy.

"Well then, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah... see you tomorrow," An Lisi bid me farewell with an adorable smile.

"I guess it's time to go back to my own house now," I muttered to myself as I walked downstairs. Thinking about waking up early tomorrow, I had absolutely no motivation.

In the end, I still slept at midnight. Afterwards, because I set an alarm, I was promptly awakened at 6:15 in the morning. Although I had the urge to smash the alarm clock (set on my phone), I didn't do it considering the additional expense it would incur. However, my eyes couldn't fully open, and my body felt unusually heavy. I really wanted to continue sleeping. This was the repeated command of my brain.

"Ugh... let's get up then..." The whole process felt like time was passing in slow motion x2. I went through the routine of putting on my school uniform, brushing my teeth, washing my face, and having breakfast.

"I... I'm leaving..." I said listlessly, standing at the entrance while putting on my shoes.

"So fast? Be careful on the way," my mother said to me from the kitchen.

"Yeah..." I yawned and pushed open the door, leaving home. My mother usually sent Feiya to school because she was at home, which saved me some trouble. It took about twenty minutes to walk to An Lisi's place where she lived. I really wished I had a bicycle.

Since I didn't have a bicycle at the moment, walking became the only option. Of course, I could also spend money on a taxi or something, but honestly, I didn't have extra money for that. Besides, taking a taxi seemed like a luxury for rich people. Taking all these factors into account, walking was my only choice.

The streets in the early morning were quite quiet, except for some people doing morning exercises, there were no others to be seen. But I estimated that after ten or twenty minutes, it would become lively. That's when office workers would desperately squeeze onto public transportation, shops would open for business one by one, and students would flock to school. This was the start of a busy day.

Unconsciously, I had already arrived at the apartment building where An Lisi lived. Just as I was about to go in, I noticed a girl with golden hair observing me. When she saw me, she quickly waved and smiled.

"Morning... Youjie brother."

"Good morning..." Seeing An Lisi looking so energetic compared to me, who obviously lacked sleep and had dark circles under my eyes, was quite the contrast.

"Youjie brother... Did you not sleep well?"

"Well... not really."

"I can see the dark circles around your eyes," An Lisi remarked while looking at my eye circles.

"It's... it's nothing... they'll go away soon."

"Really?"

"Instead of worrying about that, let's hurry to school," I hastily said to prevent An Lisi from paying too much attention to my eye circles.

"Um..." Although she seemed a little concerned, Angelica nodded when she heard me say that. We walked for a while and soon saw the figure of the school. Many students wearing Shen Yu Middle School uniforms were entering the campus as usual. I don't know why, but I couldn't help but sigh at the sight of so many students. Shouldn't this be a time to celebrate the school's advancement to a prestigious university or taking up two-thirds of the high school students in the district? It was probably because of lack of sleep that my mind was in such a mess.

It seemed like I'd have to go to the vending machine later and buy three or four cans of black coffee to drink. Although I didn't really like the taste, it helped a lot in relieving fatigue.

"Yuu, you don't seem to have much energy. Is it because of me?" Angelica lowered her head, her expression gloomy.

"No... that's not it. I'm not lacking energy at all. I'm full of energy," I tried hard to pretend to be energetic, but in reality, I might fall asleep as soon as I closed my eyes. This was not good at all.

"Really? But you look like you're about to fall asleep," Angelica said worriedly.

"No, I'm so energetic that I don't need to sleep at night. How could I possibly look like I'm about to fall asleep?" Defending myself at this point seemed weak and feeble, but I didn't want Angelica to blame herself because of it. The core reason was still my own lack of sleep, but it was difficult to say it out loud. After all, I couldn't be a good role model for her.

"But..." Angelica seemed to have something else to say.

"Ah... I want to go to the restroom. Let's say goodbye here," I immediately interjected as soon as we reached the first floor of the school building.

"Yuu, enjoy your day at school," I said as I walked towards the men's restroom on the first floor.

Inside the restroom, I splashed some water on my face, trying to wake myself up. I looked at myself in the mirror, the faint dark circles under my eyes, and let out a deep sigh. Indeed, staying up late harmed the body.

Later, on the way back to the classroom, at the vending machine on the first floor, without hesitation, I bought two cans of black coffee. To prevent myself from dozing off in class, I had to rely on it.

In this way, I survived the morning classes, barely managing to stay alert during class, but as soon as the class ended, I would slump on the desk and fall asleep.

############################################

"Youjie, what have you been busy with recently? You seem tired," during lunch break, as usual, we were eating on the rooftop. When I sat down on the picnic mat, Yuan Muxi asked me.

"I haven't been busy with anything..." That was the truth. Every time I realized it, it was already midnight. But if I said this, others might not believe it.

"But... you seem exhausted, and you fall asleep as soon as class ends. Are you feeling unwell?" It seemed like Yuan Muxi was unnecessarily worried again.

"Maybe it's just tiring to listen and study during class, so I rest on the desk after class," I came up with an excuse.

"The recent courses seem a bit difficult and hard to understand... especially math... like quadratic functions..." Yuan Muxi said with frustration.

"Ah yes, that's true. It's so confusing," I said, relieved that it matched my excuse.

Just as I was rejoicing over this, Su Yuqian seemed to cast a sharp gaze my way, making me tense up involuntarily.

"For Muxi, it may be fine, but for someone like me who has absolutely no motivation to study, listening to classes feels exhausting, which makes people doubt. I suddenly felt a sense of guilt.

"Well, there are times when I also want to study, and I'm not willing to be at the bottom of the rankings either," I said, even though I had to resist and fight back.

"Is that so?" Somehow, Yuqian's momentum weakened a lot. What's going on?

"Hmph, even if you study hard, you won't be able to change your fate of being at the bottom.. Well, if you put some effort into it, you might be able to reach my level," she said. I wondered if it was her bragging or if she was giving me a glimmer of hope, but it felt more like the former.

However, Yuqian's grades were indeed at the top, and as her boyfriend, I found it difficult to hold my head up in this regard.

"If that's the case, Youjie, please don't force yourself too much. Take things step by step," Muxi said in a gentle tone. I nodded. After the small talk, it was time to focus on eating lunch. Just as I was about to open my lunchbox, my phone made a notification sound for a new email. I took out my phone and checked.

"Brother You, where are you? I'm coming to find you..." The message was from An Lisi. But if she wanted to find me, it wouldn't be impossible. It was just that it was so sudden, it could potentially cause trouble, and Yuqian had been pretending not to care but actually stared at me with a concerned look.

"I'll go... find you... Let's meet at the school courtyard," I replied to the message and immediately stood up.

"I have a small situation, excuse me," I said, rushing towards the stairs. Even though it would still raise suspicions, it was much better than standing there waiting for them to interrogate me. By the way, what could An Lisi want from me? I thought about this question as I moved to the school courtyard.

In an easily noticeable spot, I saw An Lisi.

"Brother You," An Lisi was the first to notice me.

"Brother You, haven't you had lunch yet?" An Lisi asked, looking at the lunchbox in my hand.

"Oh, I was just about to eat."

"Then did I make Brother You wait for lunch? I'm sorry for making such a demanding request," she said.

"It's okay, let's find a place to sit first." We found a tree and sat down.

"What's the matter, An Lisi? Why did you come find me?" I asked after sitting down.

"Actually, nothing..." An Lisi said like this, but compared to her energetic appearance this morning, her face now looked slightly pale.

"Has your drug addiction relapsed?" I asked, worriedly.

"Ah... no... no," An Lisi shook her head repeatedly.

"Then why is your face so pale?" I stared at An Lisi's face and asked.

"Ah... about that." An Lisi suddenly appeared a little nervous. "It's nothing, Brother You, you don't need to worry."

"Is that so? If you're feeling unwell, you should let me know. The school has a medical room where you can rest," I said.

"Yes..." An Lisi nodded. Then suddenly, a very loud rumbling sound came, and I instinctively touched my stomach. It couldn't be because I was too hungry that my stomach growled, right? Just as I made this motion, I noticed that An Lisi was also blushing slightly and touching her stomach. Could it be that the loud noise just now was from An Lisi's stomach?

"An Lisi, did you not have lunch?"

"I did... I did," An Lisi's stomach made another sound.

"Really?"

"Yes. Yes, it's true." Now my stomach started growling loudly, this could be a problem no matter how you look at it, right?