The person who patted Lu Yu on the shoulder was Lin Beixing’s deskmate—a girl with glasses, gentle and refined in appearance.

Lu Yu rarely paid attention to classmates. Even after three years together, he could only match names to the committee members who collected his homework. Everyone else? He couldn’t recall a single one.

"…"

So he pondered silently, utterly failing to produce her name.

Worse, Lin Beixing had never told him her deskmate’s name or how to interact with her.

They locked eyes for a few seconds.

Just as Lu Yu’s forced smile was about to crack, the girl with glasses pulled out a test paper and spread it before him.

"Beixing… Is something wrong with this problem? I’ve recalculated it so many times, but it never matches the answer you gave me this morning."

Here it comes!

Hell-level difficulty right out the gate!

For Lu Yu, who’d been slacking off for two years, explaining a problem felt like torture.

Still, he calmly leaned in to examine the paper.

The tangled numbers and formulas were pure gibberish.

Add her slightly messy handwriting, and Lu Yu could only stare blankly.

Oh no, oh no.

He secretly glanced toward his own seat diagonally behind him.

Lin Beixing was faithfully pretending to sleep, face-down on her desk, not even glancing his way.

She really has *that* much faith in me?!

His mind went completely blank.

"Beixing… Just mark where I went wrong. I’ll figure out the rest myself…" the girl pleaded earnestly.

In their class, girls got along fine—at least, that’s what the boys assumed.

And Lin Beixing had always been popular…

So refusing was impossible.

He focused on the paper.

Every symbol and digit was familiar alone.

Together? A cryptic cipher.

"Hold on, let me check~"

Lu Yu smiled at her deskmate. *Just keep her calm.*

"Mm~"

The girl with glasses nodded firmly and waited quietly.

Lu Yu usually stayed cool-headed—but now, his thoughts tangled.

He swallowed nervously, eyes darting across the chaotic symbols until dizziness crept in.

*Think. Think carefully…*

Solving a high-difficulty math problem instantly? Impossible for someone whose skills stalled in freshman year.

But Lu Yu wasn’t slow.

There had to be another angle…

Got it!

His gaze sharpened.

She’d said she started *after* knowing the answer—and kept getting it wrong.

If calculations were flawed, she’d have caught it after so many tries.

So the error must be earlier…

He took a pink rabbit-shaped mechanical pencil from Lin Beixing’s pouch.

Ignoring its cuteness, he drew a wavy line right over the question stem.

"Read the question carefully."

He stated it calmly, face perfectly neutral.

Long word problems? People often skim once and jump to calculations.

If she kept failing, she likely misread it from the start.

Lu Yu felt confident.

He set the pen down smoothly—palms damp with sweat.

Only when the deskmate took the paper back and reread the question…

Half a minute later, her eyes widened in realization.

"Ah! It really *is* like this… No wonder you’re Beixing!!"

She gave him a thumbs-up.

Phew…

Lu Yu exhaled silently in relief.

"Hehe…" He offered a friendly smile and slipped his earphones back on.

"If nothing else, I’ll get back to English listening."

"Mm! Won’t bother you anymore. Thanks, Beixing! I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow~!"

"Breakfast?"

At the word, Lu Yu lifted his head again.

He remembered—Lin Beixing came from a wealthy family, chauffeured to school. She’d surely eaten at home.

"Yeah! You always complain home breakfast is bland… How about cowpea buns tomorrow? I’ll grab them at the school gate!"

Her deskmate pushed up her glasses, smiling warmly.

Lu Yu couldn’t refuse on Lin Beixing’s behalf.

"Sure~~" He smiled sweetly.

The conversation ended.

He snapped his gaze back to his English materials.

Only when the deskmate returned to focused problem-solving did the ordeal truly end.

Twenty minutes remained before afternoon class.

Meanwhile.

Lin Beixing lay face-down, trying—and failing—to sleep.

Compared to Lu Yu’s task, faking sleep was simple.

But she never napped at noon.

If drowsy, she’d pop a mint candy. In this stressful senior year? Sleep was impossible.

Plus, the classroom buzzed noisily—she hated resting in chaos.

After ten fruitless minutes, she sat up, ready to pull out her phone and follow Lu Yu’s Plan B: download a game.

"Hey, Bro Lu, not sleepy today?"

Just then, Ren Jie—Lu Yu’s deskmate—strolled over, cola can in hand.

He plopped into his seat with a yawn.

"Whew~ So hot today. Dead tired. Mind if I nap? Wake me when class starts?"

Ren Jie was a fellow slacker. Usually, he’d team up with friends from the next class for gaming sessions, sneaking back only minutes before class to rest.

Lin Beixing checked the wall clock and nodded.

"Sleep. I’ll wake you on time."

"Why so weak today, Bro…?"

The moment she spoke, Ren Jie noticed the odd tone.

He studied "Lu Yu’s" face closely.

"Lu Yu" looked drained, voice unusually soft.

A sly grin spread across Ren Jie’s face.

"Is your girlfriend *that* intense?"

Lin Beixing: "…"

Ren Jie spread his hands. "Come on. Just say it."

"…Ren Jie. Lin Beixing and I aren’t like that."

"Ah, right, right! Of course I believe you, Bro Lu."

Ren Jie blinked innocently.

Lin Beixing fell silent. Heat rushed to her cheeks.

She downed the rest of the cola.

*Thump. Thump.*

Someone walked to the last row and rapped sharply on Lin Beixing’s desk.

She looked up.

"Lu Yu. The math teacher’s looking for you."