The bell rang.

Class began.

Lu Yu settled in for what felt like an afternoon-long prison sentence.

Pretending to be a good student wasn’t hard—just act focused.

In senior year’s final semester, there were barely any new concepts left to teach.

The subject teacher simply carried a stool to the podium and waited for students to approach with questions.

Beyond regular homework, everything relied on self-discipline.

Lu Yu sat at his desk, utterly bored.

He reached for his phone in his pocket several times—but held back each time.

Thankfully, his self-control was solid. To uphold Lin Beixing’s image, getting caught on his phone in class was out of the question.

This period was physics. For Lu Yu, who’d abandoned science three years ago, the problems might as well have been hieroglyphics.

He couldn’t even recognize the symbols, let alone solve them.

His hands fumbled under the desk and pulled out a scratch notebook.

Honestly, even a simple notebook was delicate—covered in tiny pink flowers, soft to the touch, faintly fragrant.

He flipped to a blank page, rested his head on the desk, and began doodling.

From afar, it looked like serious calculation.

The physics teacher strolled between desks and paused beside ‘Lin Beixing’, curious.

What problem could stump the top student for so long?

But ‘Lin Beixing’ quickly covered the notebook, refusing to show it.

“Hm?” The teacher frowned in confusion.

Meanwhile.

“Bro Lu, Bro Lu—what game today?”

Ren Jie, Lu Yu’s deskmate, was just as hopeless at science.

They’d been slacking off together since freshman year, never ‘betraying’ each other.

But just now… Ren Jie thought he saw Lu Yu secretly solving a physics problem.

Why “secretly”?

‘Lu Yu’ had his forehead buried in his arms, right hand hidden under the desk.

An open exercise book pressed against his leg. One hand gripped a pen, working the problem with quiet intensity.

Wow. Others hid phones under desks—but he was hiding *homework*?!

Since when did studying become shameful?!

“Bro Lu??”

Ren Jie tapped ‘Lu Yu’s’ shoulder.

‘Lu Yu’ flinched.

“…??!”

He jerked back, eyes sharp with wariness.

That reaction felt strangely distant.

Ren Jie’s chest tightened—a little hurt.

They’d always been tight. Now? Distance.

Sure enough.

Choosing love over friendship.

“Bro Lu… what’re you doing?”

Ren Jie leaned in.

Under the desk: a full solution path. Lu Yu was *actually* doing homework!

Weird all day—from walking shoulder-to-shoulder with a girl at noon to now burying himself in problems.

Ren Jie felt the sun must’ve risen in the west.

“Bro Lu… you okay?!”

He stared in horror.

‘Lu Yu’ frowned, bit the pen cap, and finally wrote the last step.

She exhaled slowly in relief.

Turning back, she met Ren Jie’s gobsmacked stare—mouth agape like he’d swallowed an egg.

“…Uh, what were you saying?” Lin Beixing’s pen hovered mid-air.

Ren Jie blinked.

Instead of shock over the solved problem, he wondered *why*.

His mind took a sharp turn. He straightened up, voice grave:

“Bro Lu… you’re not doing this to please *that* bad woman, are you?”

“Bad woman…?” Lin Beixing tensed.

“Yeah. School beauty. Lin Beixing.”

Ren Jie jerked his chin toward her seat.

Lin Beixing herself: “….”

Ren Jie was *dying* for gossip. That hallway scene at lunch haunted him.

He leaned closer, hungry for details.

But ‘Lu Yu’ stayed silent.

Emboldened, Ren Jie blurted:

“If you picked her? Solid taste, Bro Lu. You two fit… but Lin Beixing’s kinda…”

“What about her?” Lin Beixing pressed, voice urgent.

Like a love-struck rookie who couldn’t bear a whisper against his girl.

Ren Jie shrank back.

“N-nothing! She’s… always polite but distant. Smiles, yet keeps everyone at arm’s length. Feels… unreal? I’m *not* badmouthing sis-in-law!”

“‘Unreal’ how?”

Ren Jie flapped his hands. “I can’t say!”

“Then say it.”

“I… I can’t!”

He stammered, sweating. *If I keep talking, our brotherhood’s doomed.*

This morning, Lu Yu cared zero about girls. One lunch break—and he’s a new man?

Ren Jie stole a glance.

‘Lu Yu’ watched him calmly.

Lu Yu’s eyes were usually gentle, warm—like a deer’s gaze with a soft spark. But now? Sharp. Cutting.

Ren Jie’s neck went cold. He sat bolt upright.

“Ahem…”

He just wanted to warn Bro Lu. But love-struck guys? Totally unreasonable.

Somehow, he’d already accepted their “thing.”

“So… why study all of a sudden? Really for a girl?”

Timid yet nosy.

Lin Beixing tucked the exercise book away, voice light:

“Studying isn’t for others.”

She shifted to textbook-serious tone.

“Studying is for yourself.”

Ren Jie: “….”

“Forget it. Let’s game.”

Lin Beixing remembered their noon agreement.

She glanced at Lu Yu—head down, drawing circles in her little notebook.

He was trying. So would she.

“What to play?”

She pulled out her phone.

Ren Jie’s eyes lit up. “You pick! PUBG or Summoner’s Rift today?”

Lin Beixing had no clue.

Her gaming history: *Happy Elimination* and *Carrot Defense*.

Under Ren Jie’s eager stare, her pink wallpaper made him pause.

Then—‘Lu Yu’s’ finger tapped a glittery dress-up game icon.

“Let’s play this.”

The 180cm guy said it dead seriously.

Ren Jie grabbed his arm.

“Bro… let me walk you to the infirmary. This is study-induced stress. *Treatable.*”