“Then… will Brother Youjie come tomorrow morning?”

I’d just turned to leave when An Lisi asked me that.

“….”

Being asked that made me hesitate for a moment.

If I was going to walk to school with her, I’d have to get up early, no doubt about it.

And I always went to bed at midnight.

The thought of getting up early really put me off.

Sure, I could try going to bed earlier… but habits don’t change in a day or two.

That bothered me a little.

But seeing the expectation in An Lisi’s eyes—and thinking about how she’d finally started going to school—

shouldn’t I be the one to pull her along, let her feel how rich and fun campus life could be?

With that in mind, I gave my answer.

“Should be fine…”

“Tomorrow I get to go to school with Brother Youjie again… I’m so happy…”

She lowered her head and muttered something. I didn’t catch the words,

but from her expression, she was clearly in a good mood.

“Then, see you tomorrow.”

“Mm… see you tomorrow.”

She gave me a cute smile as we said goodbye.

“Guess it’s time to head home.”

I muttered that to myself as I walked down the stairs.

Just thinking about getting up early tomorrow killed all my motivation.

In the end, I still went to bed at midnight.

Because I’d set an alarm, I got yanked out of sleep at 6:15 sharp.

For a second, I really wanted to smash it—the alarm was on my phone—

but then I thought about the money I’d have to spend on a new one, so I held back.

My eyes refused to open all the way, and my body felt heavy as lead.

I just wanted to keep sleeping—

that command was looping non-stop in my brain.

“Sigh… guess I’ll get up…”

The whole process felt like time was playing at half speed.

I dragged myself through putting on my uniform, brushing my teeth, washing my face, and eating breakfast.

“I’m… heading out…”

Standing in the entryway, shoes on, I mumbled weakly.

“That fast? Be careful on the way,” my mom called from the kitchen.

“Mm…”

I yawned, pushed the door open, and left the house.

Since Mom was home today, she’d be taking Feiya to school herself.

One less thing for me to worry about.

But it was a good twenty–minute walk to where An Lisi lived.

I really wanted a bike.

Right now I didn’t have one, so walking was my only option.

I could call a cab, sure, but honestly I didn’t have that kind of spare cash.

And taking taxis to school would be a rich-kid move.

So, after weighing everything, I could only go on foot.

The street was pretty quiet this early.

Aside from a few people out for morning exercise, there was no one.

Another ten or twenty minutes and it’d probably get lively.

Office workers cramming themselves onto buses, shops opening one after another,

students swarming toward their schools.

That’s what a busy day looks like when it starts.

Before I knew it, I’d arrived at the bottom of An Lisi’s apartment building.

Just as I was about to go in, I spotted a blonde girl standing there, looking around.

The moment she saw me, she quickly waved and broke into a smile.

“Morning… Brother Youjie.”

“Morning…”

She looked full of energy,

the total opposite of me—obviously sleep–deprived, faint dark circles under my eyes.

“Brother Youjie… did you not sleep well?”

“Ah… not really.”

“I can even see your dark circles…”

She stared at the skin under my eyes.

“I-It’s fine… they’ll go away soon.”

“Really?”

“Anyway, we should get to school.”

Afraid she’d start worrying too much about my dark circles,

I rushed to change the subject.

“Mm…”

She still seemed a little concerned, but she nodded.

After walking a while, the school came into view.

A lot of students in Shen Yu Middle School uniforms were heading through the gates.

As always, there were so many of them.

I didn’t even know why I was sighing over that.

Shouldn’t I be celebrating that the school was moving up toward elite status,

or that it’d scooped up two-thirds of the local high schoolers?

Maybe my brain was this scrambled because I hadn’t slept enough.

Looked like I’d have to hit the vending machine later and buy three or four cans of black coffee.

I didn’t like the taste much,

but it really did help keep you awake.

“Brother Youjie, you really don’t have much energy… Is it because of me?”

An Lisi lowered her head, expression turning gloomy.

“N-No way. Who says I don’t have energy? I’m full of energy.”

I tried hard to act super lively,

but in reality, if I closed my eyes I’d probably knock out on the spot.

That was really bad.

“Really? But you look like you’re about to fall asleep…”

She sounded worried.

“Nope. I’ve got so much energy I could stay up all night. How could I look like I’m about to pass out?”

My excuse sounded flimsy even to my own ears.

But even so, I didn’t want her blaming herself.

The real reason was that I never went to bed on time.

That wasn’t something easy to admit out loud.

I’d be a terrible role model.

“But…”

She seemed like she still had something to say.

“Ah… I’m gonna hit the restroom, so let’s split up here.”

I cut her off the moment we stepped into the first floor of the school building.

“Make sure you enjoy your day on campus, okay?”

Saying that, I headed for the boys’ restroom on the first floor.

Inside, I splashed water on my face, trying to wake up.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

Those faint dark circles were starting to show.

I let out a long sigh.

Staying up late really wrecked you.

On my way back to the classroom, I stopped at the vending machine on the first floor.

Without hesitation, I bought two cans of black coffee.

If I didn’t want to nod off in class, I’d have to rely on those.

That’s how I survived the whole morning’s lessons.

I barely managed to stay alert during class,

then collapsed onto my desk the moment the bell rang and slept through the breaks.

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

“Youjie, have you been busy with something lately? You look really tired.”

It was lunch break.

As usual, we were eating on the rooftop.

Once I sat down on the picnic blanket we’d laid out, Yuan Muxi asked me that.

“…Haven’t really been busy.”

That was the truth.

Every time I came back to my senses, it was suddenly midnight.

But if I said that out loud, no one would believe me.

“But… you look exhausted.

And you’re always lying on your desk right after class. Are you feeling sick?”

I’d made her worry over nothing again.

“Maybe I just get tired from listening in class,

so I lay my head down to rest a bit,” I made up an excuse.

“Classes have gotten kind of hard to understand lately… especially math… quadratic functions and stuff…”

Yuan Muxi frowned, clearly troubled.

“Ah, yeah, they have.”

Somehow, my random excuse lined up perfectly.

Just as I was inwardly celebrating my luck,

I felt a sharp gaze from Su Yuqian.

That instantly put me on edge.

“For Muxi it’s like that, sure.

But for a total slacker who has zero motivation to study,

saying class makes him tired sounds pretty suspicious, don’t you think?”

Guilt hit me right in the chest.

“I do feel like studying sometimes, you know. I don’t want to stay at the bottom forever either.”

Even so, I had to put up some resistance.

“R-Really?”

For some reason, Su Yuqian’s momentum suddenly dropped.

What was that about?

“Hmph. No matter how hard you try, you’re not escaping your fate at the bottom…

Well, if you actually put your heart into it, you might be able to reach my level.”

I couldn’t tell if she was bragging

or trying to give me a sliver of hope.

I had a feeling it was more the former.

But her grades really were near the top of the whole year.

As her boyfriend, I didn’t have much room to brag about academics.

“In that case, please don’t push yourself too hard, Youjie.

Everything’s better if you take it step by step,”

Yuan Muxi said gently.

I nodded.

We’d finished chatting, so it was time to focus on lunch.

Just as I was about to open my bento,

a notification sound came from my phone.

I took it out and checked.

“Brother Youjie… where are you? I’m coming to find you…”

The message was from An Lisi.

If she wanted to come see me, it wasn’t impossible.

But if she showed up all of a sudden, it could cause trouble.

And Su Yuqian was pretending not to care

while very obviously watching me out of the corner of her eye.

“I’ll… come to you. Let’s meet in the front courtyard.”

I sent the reply, then stood up.

“Something came up, so I’ll be going first.”

I dashed toward the stairs as soon as I said that.

This would still look suspicious,

but it was better than staying and letting them grill me.

What did An Lisi want with me anyway?

I wondered about that as I made my way to the front courtyard.

In a spot where she was easy to notice,

I saw her right away.

“Brother Youjie.”

As always, she spotted me first.

“You haven’t eaten lunch yet?”

She glanced at the bento in my hand.

“Ah, I was just about to.”

“Then I’ve delayed your lunch again… I’m sorry for making such a selfish request.”

“It’s fine. Let’s find somewhere to sit first.”

We picked a spot under a tree and sat down.

“So, what did you need me for?” I asked once we were settled.

“It’s actually nothing important…”

That’s what she said,

but compared to how bright she’d been that morning,

her face now looked a little pale.

“Did your cravings come back?”

I asked anxiously.

“Ah… no… no.”

She shook her head over and over.

“Then why do you look so pale?”

I looked straight at her face.

“Ah… that…”

She suddenly seemed nervous.

“It’s nothing. You don’t have to worry about it, Brother Youjie.”

“Really? If you’re not feeling well, you should tell me.

There’s a nurse’s office here—you can go rest there.”

“Mm…”

She nodded.

And then a loud growl rang out.

I instinctively put a hand on my own stomach.

Had I been so hungry my stomach made that sound?

But as I did that, I noticed her face turning faintly red

as she also placed a hand over her stomach.

So that sound just now… had come from her?

“An Lisi, did you not eat lunch?”

“I-I did.”

Her stomach growled again.

“Really?”

“Y-Yeah.”

And then it growled yet again.

At this point, no matter what she said,

there was clearly something wrong.