Only Bai Jiangxin himself knew that he was watching a borderline male influencer video.

Yesterday, someone had inexplicably shared this video with him and even asked whether he had abs like that.

Bai Jiangxin’s first reaction was that she must have lost at truth-or-dare with friends, which was why she sent him such a message with near-harassing nature.

After all, judging from her previous cautious, secret-crush behavior toward him, she absolutely wouldn’t have the guts to send this kind of message.

If she really had that kind of courage, she would have confessed long ago. If he hadn’t accidentally heard her inner voice, she would probably only ever be a timid marmot in this lifetime—only daring to like, not daring to advance.

Bai Jiangxin had glanced at it once and then closed the video.

This kind of meaningless trash message, he always left on read. And Xiang Di didn’t send anything else afterward, so Bai Jiangxin could basically confirm that she had been playing a dare game.

Fortunately, she had sent it to him. He could see through it at a glance. To spare her embarrassment, he could pretend nothing had happened. If she had sent it to someone else, let’s see how she would explain herself.

However, when he came to school in the morning and had just walked into the classroom, the person who asked him yesterday whether he had abs was now, at this moment, lewdly lowering her head, appreciating another man’s abs.

She even stretched out a restless little finger, and even planned to reach out and touch.

“……”

So yesterday, when she asked about abs, she was really asking?

And not only did she ask him, she also asked Zhou Linxiao. Not only did she ask Zhou Linxiao, today she even looked at Zhou Linxiao’s abs in person, and was even about to reach out and touch?

Turning his head to look to the right, that person was obediently doing her test paper. The hand that had almost touched another man’s abs just now was currently holding a pen.

Just yesterday, Bai Jiangxin had decided that he would not use despicable means to pry into her inner voice.

Inner voices were her privacy. Whether she liked him or not, he had no right to interfere with her thoughts.

And even if he responded to her, one day she would discover the clues. At that time, she would definitely regret liking him.

Rather than waiting until the day she regretted it and then loathed and resisted him, it would be better not to give her any hope from the very beginning. Just maintain the relationship of classmates with a fairly good relationship, and peacefully get through these last few months of being classmates.

What’s more, he also didn’t want, after the link disappeared again, to be forced to endure an even stronger withdrawal reaction.

Bai Jiangxin had originally thought this way.

But how could she be so unfocused—her heart was full of him, yet her body couldn’t resist any slightly good-looking man beside her.

Zhou Linxiao was one. That male internet influencer in the video was also one.

Relying on the fact that in his first eighteen years he hadn’t received domestic education, with little academic pressure and plenty of time to go to the gym to train muscles, Zhou Linxiao was here making overt praise and covert digs, indirectly telling Xiang Di that his physique was better than Bai Jiangxin’s, and that he had more muscles than Bai Jiangxin.

Yet that lustful marmot couldn’t tell people apart clearly, was blinded by Zhou Linxiao’s mixed-blood appearance, couldn’t hear any of it at all, and even praised him for being nice.

Bai Jiangxin’s expression was unreadable. He turned his phone face-down, and finally sighed toward the Chinese test paper in front of him.

…She could always, with such ease, shatter his calm and his principles.

Without doing anything, she already made him restless and upset.

The Chinese teacher on the podium panicked inside and hurriedly picked up the test paper to examine it carefully.

What did Bai Jiangxin’s sigh toward the test paper just now mean? Could it be that there was a question wrong on the test?

─── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ───

The class-ending bell rang, and the Chinese teacher called Bai Jiangxin to the office.

In front of the classmates, it wasn’t convenient for the Chinese teacher to ask, but she truly hadn’t discovered any errors in the test paper, so she could only call Bai Jiangxin to the office to ask.

The Chinese teacher asked, “Tell the teacher honestly, is there a question wrong on this test paper?”

Bai Jiangxin: “Is there?”

Chinese teacher: “Isn’t there? Didn’t you do the test paper?”

“I didn’t do it.” Bai Jiangxin’s tone was calm. “I played on my phone for the whole class.”

Chinese teacher: “……”

Everything had ultimately been misplaced trust.

In the end, Bai Jiangxin was scolded a couple of sentences by the emotionally wounded Chinese teacher, and also punished to copy two long classical Chinese passages, before being released back from the office.

The break after the first period was relatively short. Most people were too lazy to leave the classroom and simply lay on their desks to catch up on sleep. After Bai Jiangxin returned to the classroom, basically everyone in the class was there. Even Wang Sichen, who loved running outside the most, was catching up on sleep. Only Xiang Di and Zhou Linxiao were not there.

At this moment, the class bell happened to ring. Xiang Di jogged in from outside the classroom, and not long after, Zhou Linxiao also followed in.

Where did these two go?

This period was originally supposed to be math, but the one who walked in was the homeroom teacher.

“The math teacher is sick today and has taken a day off. This period will be chemistry instead. Take out the chemistry test paper that was handed out last Saturday.”

Before starting to go over the test paper, Chen Jinghua first informed everyone of something—that next week, the citywide first mock exam would be held.

The first mock, the first comprehensive simulated college entrance exam of the senior year, was meant to test students’ results from the first round of review. Its difficulty being higher than the actual college entrance exam was a given, in order to let students promptly identify gaps and adjust their subsequent review strategies.

“After the first mock, there will be a grade-level parent meeting. Take it seriously.” Chen Jinghua said. “These scores will be shown to your parents. If you do badly, you won’t be able to explain yourself either, right?”

A chorus of wails erupted below the podium. They hated this kind of arrangement where exams and parent meetings were tied together the most. Wasn’t this deliberately trying to kill them?

Chen Jinghua knocked on the desk. “Alright, alright, what’s the use of wailing now? Instead of wailing here, you might as well spend more time reviewing. Look at Bai Jiangxin—did he wail?”

The whole class looked toward Bai Jiangxin. Xiang Di also glanced over.

Truly worthy of being husband. The first mock was coming up, yet he was still so calm and composed, as if there was nothing in this world that could break his calm.

She had to learn from him.

After seriously listening to the entire chemistry class, Xiang Di’s chemistry was a weak subject. Many questions, even though the teacher had already explained them once, she still didn’t quite understand some parts.

As the saying goes, it’s not shameful to ask questions—she should go ask someone else.

Asking Zhou Linxiao about English was fine, but chemistry wouldn’t work. Although SAT chemistry covered a wide range, its difficulty only scratched the surface, and there weren’t any complicated calculation problems. It was different from the domestic college entrance exam style, so she couldn’t ask him.

Xiang Di turned her head. “Class monitor, class monitor.”

“What is it? Talk after I finish taking a dump!”

Ye Minjia grabbed a pack of tissues and rushed straight out of the classroom.

Liang Qianqian commented, “Lazy people have lots of poop and pee.”

Xiang Di had no choice but to ask Liang Qianqian. “Qianqian, do you know how to do this question about calculating the mass fraction of magnesium oxide? I didn’t quite understand it just now.”

Liang Qianqian took a look and shook her head. “I’m also waiting for Ye Minjia to finish taking a dump and come back to teach me.”

“Alright then.”

Xiang Di looked left and right, but the chemistry class representative wasn’t here either.

Wait! Bai Jiangxin is here.

Xiang Di’s heartbeat suddenly sped up.

You’ve already eaten cream puffs together and gone to a bookstore together, and you’ve even ridden his e-bike and hugged his waist. Xiang Di, you’re no longer strangers!! What are you afraid of! Charge! Now is the time!

Xiang Di stood up and sat down in Wang Sichen’s seat.

The scent of baby milk cream suddenly drifted over. Bai Jiangxin’s Adam’s apple moved. He turned his head to glance at her, then returned his gaze to the test paper in front of him.

Bai Jiangxin lowered his head and asked, “What is it?”

Xiang Di: “Mm-hm.”

Bai Jiangxin didn’t stop writing. “If you have something, why didn’t you go look for your deskmate?”

“Zhou Linxiao?” Xiang Di waved her hand and made a dismissive sound. “He’s no good. He’s not as good as you.”

Bai Jiangxin paused, raised his head, and looked at her with a complicated expression.

His tone was low. “How do you know I’m better than him?”

Xiang Di said, “Isn’t that obvious?”

Bai Jiangxin froze for a moment, then lightly scoffed. “Flattery.”

Xiang Di said with certainty, “I’m not flattering you. Isn’t this the truth?”

Bai Jiangxin stared at her. Xiang Di blinked, wearing an expression of sincere innocence.

A few seconds later, under her “0v0” gaze, Bai Jiangxin’s brows and eyes loosened, as if he had given in.

He rolled his throat and parted his lips. “You…”

“Want to see my abs?”

“Mm-hm, I have a chemistry question I want to ask you.”

The two sentences were spoken almost at the same time, and then both of them fell silent at the same time.

In a classroom where most people were quietly catching up on sleep, the air between them went silent for several seconds. Bai Jiangxin closed his eyes in despair, stiffly turned his head to the side, propped his forehead with his hand, and for the first time hated himself for being too impulsive.

Xiang Di’s face instantly turned red. She also stiffly lowered her head.

Damn it ahhh!!! That harassing message—she not only sent it to Zhou Linxiao!! She even sent it to the Bai Jiangxin she had a crush on!! The pure, innocent little-girl image she had painstakingly maintained in front of Bai Jiangxin was completely gone! She didn’t want to live anymore!!!

Because both felt they had lost face in front of the other, neither dared to look at the other, and neither saw the wonderfully complicated expressions on each other’s faces at this moment.