In no time at all, within just a few minutes, Nangong Ruihui had already listed two solutions. He did all the formulas in his head, without covering the board with lines of calculations like everyone else.

Then, with a cool flick, he tossed the chalk stub straight into the chalk box without missing.

That completely set off the girls who admired Nangong Ruihui—

“That was smooth as flowing water!”

“I seriously think Classmate Nangong could become a teacher…”

“Exactly! If Classmate Nangong were the teacher, I swear I’d never doze off!”

“You’re amazing!”

Nangong Ruihui had barely warmed his seat when Mu Yao came down right after finishing his own problem. There was a faintly intoxicating look on his face. Just now, he had accidentally brushed up against Nangong Ruihui’s body.

He was a little happy, because Nangong Ruihui hadn’t rejected him. He hadn’t jumped away like he’d seen a ghost. That meant Nangong Ruihui at least didn’t dislike him now. A beginner-level tsundere, all bark and no bite.

Since he’d decided to win Nangong Ruihui’s heart, he had to go all the way. When he was with him, he had to treat himself like a girl. Otherwise, it’d have no soul. Nangong Ruihui was way too smart. If he was just putting on an act, he’d see through it at a glance.

Mu Yao didn’t like boys. But if someone doubted his charm, that was absolutely intolerable. He had to drag down proud Nangong Ruihui’s neck and trample all over it, make him personally say, “I like you,” and then reveal that he was actually a boy. Nangong Ruihui would probably start questioning his whole life, right~

Mu Yao had always been a kind person. Sadly, who told Nangong Ruihui to say he wasn’t interested in him?

“You’re really good. I didn’t expect you to know advanced math too,” Nangong Ruihui praised, though his eyes were still on the others solving problems at the blackboard.

“Ruihui’s way better than me. I wasn’t as fast as you.”

“No. In the third step of the second solution, you explained it more thoroughly. I didn’t do it as well as you.”

“You actually knew it too, right, Ruihui? It’s just that with me standing there, you got nervous and wanted to finish quickly so you could come down.” Mu Yao set the trap with obvious bad intentions.

“Mm.” Faced with Mu Yao’s little trick, Nangong Ruihui realized it a beat too late. “I was answering the sentence before that.”

The other three had finished too. Two of them used the first, simpler method. Cao Ge added the first few steps of the second, harder method.

Wang Chuanqi found it unbelievable. This had gone way beyond his expectations. It seemed this year’s freshmen were really full of hidden talents and not to be underestimated.

“Mu Yao’s problem-solving is clear and rigorous. Nangong Ruihui was the fastest, but Classmate Nangong already has too many responsibilities to take this on. So the class monitor of our class will be Mu Yao,” Wang Chuanqi announced.

Envious looks came from all around. The more people looked at Mu Yao and Nangong Ruihui, the more they seemed like a pair. Their looks matched, their knowledge matched, and they were deskmates too. A small portion of the class was already in despair. Their male god and goddess had actually gotten together!

After organizing the new textbooks handed out to him, Mu Yao carefully tested the waters. “Ruihui, can I touch your hand?”

“Why do you want to touch my hand?”

“We... we’re going to get married in the future, aren’t we? Can’t I at least touch your hand... Ruihui, you clearly said we had to act very loving in front of other people. I only want to touch your hand. Thoughtful Ruihui definitely wouldn’t refuse your beloved fiancée, right~”

Not many people could resist the way Mu Yao looked slightly troubled. He had a kind of delicate, vulnerable beauty. Nangong Ruihui was almost unable to hold out against his offensive, and was still hesitating.

Nangong Ruihui’s hand really was worthy of someone who played the piano. There were none of the bulging veins, dark skin on the back of the hand, or rough palm lines common in men. It looked long and fine. Mu Yao thought it would definitely feel nice to touch.

“Ruihui...”

Nangong Ruihui: “...”

Silence meant consent. Seeing that Nangong Ruihui had agreed, Mu Yao tiptoed two fingers along from the edge of the desk compartment to the corner of the desk, then onto his palm. In one smooth move, he grabbed his hand, not even giving him time to say no.

Warmth wrapped around his whole hand. For some reason, whether from nerves or something else, Nangong Ruihui actually clasped his hand back. Mu Yao was both shocked and delighted.

The two of them just kept holding hands like that. Mu Yao didn’t pull away, and Nangong Ruihui didn’t let go either. Quietly, quietly, they held on for a long time.

“Ruihui, what would you do if I were a boy?” Mu Yao swallowed. He was afraid Nangong Ruihui might get suspicious and beat him to death on the spot.

“Then do you think I look like a girl?” Nangong Ruihui smiled.

Mu Yao froze. When Nangong Ruihui, who usually never smiled, actually smiled, it was super! insanely! good-looking! No, that wasn’t enough. Only peerless could describe him.

His little heart was pounding wildly. In his whole life, Mu Yao had actually had his heart race because of a man. What the fuck?!

His face turned even redder. Mu Yao turned his head away. He didn’t want Nangong Ruihui to see how flustered he looked. That would be way too embarrassing.

It had to be said, the feeling Nangong Ruihui gave Mu Yao was completely different from those rough, rugged boys. He was far too soft and beautiful. Somewhere deep down, the thought really did arise that he was a girl.

“Yaoyao’s blushing~”

From the corner of his eye, Nangong Ruihui noticed Mu Yao’s red face. He leaned closer and gently blew a breath against his cheek. Mu Yao shivered so hard he almost stood up. It felt like Nangong Ruihui was teasing him...

Mu Yao had guessed right. Nangong Ruihui was teasing him. When it came to teasing people, Nangong Ruihui was absolutely not cold and aloof. Especially when Mu Yao looked so submissive right now.

A faint fragrance spread through the air. It was the scent from Nangong Ruihui’s mouth. It wasn’t some sharp smell like mint candy, but a kind of scent he had never smelled before.

Before this, Mu Yao had always thought “breath like orchids” was only used to describe girls.

“Y-you talk too much! I’m not blushing at all!” Mu Yao stammered. In truth, even he didn’t believe his own words.

“As a girl, Yaoyao is really cute~” Nangong Ruihui kept up the fierce attack. Who told Mu Yao to come touch his hand out of nowhere? Now that he was blushing, there was even less reason to let her go.

Becoming class monitor was Mu Yao’s first goal. Step by step, slowly. At least this was a good start. It was as if Elder Sister was waving to him from the distance.

Nangong Ruihui felt very gratified. Mu Yao had become the class monitor of First Year Class C through his own ability. That was something worth celebrating.

To put it simply, Mu Yao proving himself was beyond doubt.

Ever since Nangong Ruihui was the first to call Wang Chuanqi “Brother Chuanqi,” that had become Wang Chuanqi’s nickname. It was completely different from the usual “Teacher X” used for teachers in other classes.

Wang Chuanqi himself didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Students and teachers getting along well was how it should be. Be strict when it was time to be strict, be gentle when it was time to be gentle. Only that kind of teacher could do the job well.

A lot of teachers couldn’t understand what students were thinking because they had never stood on the opposite side. For example, when collecting phones, some fierce teachers made painfully slow progress, while gentler teachers could instead get students to hand them over willingly.

Teenagers at this age were the most sensitive, and Wang Chuanqi understood that very well.