Working the night shift at the tavern was relaxing, but the late hours wore him down.
For Chi Yuzhou, now a student, it meant sacrificing class time just to catch up on rest.
In the blink of an eye, it was Friday again.
The storm clouds that had brewed all yesterday still lingered on the horizon—neither leaving nor raining.
Chi Yuzhou entered his classroom as usual. As he sat down, he keenly sensed something odd.
The classroom, usually lively, felt strangely heavy today. Even the small group including Hua Qi nearby was quieter than usual.
Other clusters of students were the same.
Something must have happened?
But it probably had nothing to do with him.
Chi Yuzhou yawned lazily, about to rest his head for a nap, when the eraser of the girl in front slipped to his feet.
Before she could stand, Chi Yuzhou bent down, picked it up, and handed it over.
Hua Fu held out her hands at a distance until he gently placed the eraser in her palm.
"Thanks, Chi."
Chi Yuzhou shook his head slightly and rested his head to sleep.
Hua Fu, the girl in front, was somewhat like him in a way.
Both were the quiet, shadowy types who sat in classroom corners with long hair.
Hua Fu’s bangs were long too, and she always wore oversized glasses all day.
Unlike Chi Yuzhou, though equally unnoticeable, she sat perfectly upright—unintentionally blocking teachers’ glances his way now and then.
But Chi Yuzhou didn’t know if she hid her looks either; he simply had no time to care about others.
If not for making money to eat well, drink well, and live well, he’d rather hide his face all year round.
No choice, though—if he didn’t have some looks to exploit, he might be rummaging through park trash bins right now.
Though Chi Yuzhou now wanted to study hard, his body’s fatigue made him rest his head early.
Some subjects were impossible to catch up on anyway. At this point, better to sleep first.
...
The morning drifted by like this.
As Friday—the weekend’s starting signal—Chi Yuzhou decided to eat at the cafeteria today.
About food, he had a small dream: to try every dish on the menu.
He hadn’t even finished one column yet.
His high school had two student cafeteria floors, packed with incredibly rich options.
At the cafeteria, Chi Yuzhou easily found his last dish and ordered the next one down the list.
Just glancing at the second-floor menu made his mouth water.
After he finally gathered his tray and found a seat to eat alone, a striking figure sat diagonally across from him.
It was Xiao Yingwan.
Attention around Chi Yuzhou spiked instantly.
Few seats remained on the second floor—only near him. Xiao Yingwan sitting here was understandable.
Chi Yuzhou barely glanced at her; his eyes lingered more on the unnaturally red noodles before her.
He wondered how those heavily spiced noodles tasted.
When he reached that dish, should he add that much chili too?
Silently eating, Chi Yuzhou made a mental note.
Xiao Yingwan glanced up slightly at him.
This seemed the first time she’d seen him in the cafeteria since noticing him.
His fried rice looked like one of the cheaper options.
Chi Yuzhou must really come from a poor family.
Xiao Yingwan silently filed that guess away.
Watching her eat the fiery noodles expressionlessly, Chi Yuzhou felt the spice might not be so bad.
When he got that dish, he’d try the same chili level.
In the noisy cafeteria, many eyes turned to Chi Yuzhou silently finishing his food opposite Xiao Yingwan.
Xiao Yingwan sighed inwardly. Sure enough, no matter where she went, she drew troublesome attention.
Being beautiful wasn’t always a blessing.
But... for Chi Yuzhou, she might be less interesting than his fried rice.
If it weren’t like this, she wouldn’t find him intriguing.
Seeing him nearly finish his meal, Xiao Yingwan—who’d eaten early—spoke just loud enough for two:
"Chi Yuzhou, resting during lunch break?"
"What’s up?"
"Come to classroom 405 later. I have something to tell you."
"Mm, okay."
Chi Yuzhou nodded, guessing what it was without much thought.
...
The fourth floor mostly held club rooms, with a few unused classrooms.
After lunch break, Chi Yuzhou returned to class with a notebook.
Its pages were clear and meticulously organized, with neat handwriting—proof of the owner’s diligence.
Oh, the owner was stubborn. No matter.
Xiao Yingwan had called him to that room only to hand him this notebook... and a test paper.
She’d told him to study the highlighted notes first, then tackle the matching questions.
The afternoon classes—usually impossible to follow—now had purpose.
When the bell rang, Chi Yuzhou had barely finished a third of the test.
Hua Qi watched him, who hadn’t rested all afternoon, with growing surprise.
Seeing Chi Yuzhou actually doing test questions, that blatant astonishment even made him feel helpless.
"Are you really Chi Yuzhou?"
"...Of course it’s me."
"Then what wind blew you this way?"
Chi Yuzhou didn’t answer. He just looked up slightly at Hua Qi, pointed to the "Study Hard" slogan above the blackboard, and said:
"A student’s duty."
Students like Hua Qi—who’d always aced exams—couldn’t grasp his struggles.
Hearing this, Hua Qi remembered something and whispered:
"What about your job?"
"One step at a time."
If good grades were possible, wouldn’t that be a good thing?
Someday, he’d hide in university every day—safer than anything.
No one here knew his Rare Breed secret; university would be just as simple.
Just thinking this, the test paper looked a little better.
"By the way," Hua Qi suddenly added, "Yuzhou, do you know about the body found in the alley near school?"
