Brother! This is the adoption certificate. I don't want your sister-in-law!

When Su Xiao arrived at school in the afternoon, she yawned and slumped into a chair.

Just as she was about to complain to Fang Yu about not sleeping well at noon, something suddenly gently touched her arm.

Xu Niannian poked his arm lightly with her finger, then withdrew it immediately.

Her gaze fell on the back of his right hand, where there was a patch of broken skin with dark red scabs around the edges and some swelling around it.

"Your hand..." Her voice was soft, and she paused, as if hesitating whether to ask, "What's wrong?"

Su Xiao glanced down, turned her hand over to look at it, then turned it back over.

"This one?"

He casually placed his hand on the table, speaking as if he were saying the cafeteria food was a bit salty today, "They got into a fight, huh?"

Xu Niannian paused slightly.

She lowered her eyes, her eyelashes casting a small shadow on her cheek.

She didn't speak, but her lips were pursed into a very thin line.

Looking at her profile, Su Xiao suddenly felt like teasing her.

He tilted his chair back, leaned against the backrest, and said in a nonchalant tone, "You know I'm a bad student. I fight all the time, skip classes, and am good for nothing."

He counted on his fingers, "Smoking, drinking, getting a perm... I haven't gotten the perm yet, but it's only a matter of time."

Xu Niannian pursed her lips even tighter.

She lowered her head, her hands resting on her knees, her fingers intertwined.

Her chest rose and fell slightly, as if she had held her breath or swallowed something.

Su Xiao was still saying, "So, for a poor student like me..."

"You are not."

Su Xiao stopped.

Xu Niannian's face turned bright red.

Those three words seemed to have used up all the strength she had been holding back for a long time; after saying them, she could no longer utter a sound.

She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, and after a long while she spoke again, her voice even softer than before, as if she were talking to herself.

"You...you're not a bad student."

After saying that, Xu Niannian turned her head away and ignored him.

Su Xiao touched her nose, feeling a little puzzled. She didn't understand why Xu Niannian was so insistent on giving her the "friend card."

Xu Niannian didn't speak or listen to the lesson until class started; she seemed distracted.

Su Xiao had no idea what she was thinking, so she teased her several times on purpose, but she didn't respond at all.

The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

Xu Niannian stood up from her seat, lowered her head, and quickly walked out of the classroom.

Su Xiao assumed she had gone to the restroom and didn't pay any attention.

Fang Yu came up from behind and handed him a bag of spicy strips. He took it, chewed two strips, and then chatted with Fang Yu for a while about last night's ball game.

Ever since he learned that Su Wanning was his sister, Fang Yu's attitude towards her has been extremely respectful.

I almost had "Su, the school beauty, is my little sister" written all over my face.

The school bell rang.

The math teacher walked in carrying lesson plans, and the class monitor called for everyone to stand up.

Su Xiao glanced to the side as she stood up.

Xu Niannian's seat was still empty.

Xu Niannian did not return.

The math teacher began explaining the monotonicity of functions, tapping the chalk on the blackboard.

Su Xiao looked at the door twice, but apart from the occasional student council member walking by in the corridor, there was nothing there.

This silly girl has never been late for class since the start of the semester.

Where did you go today?

About ten minutes into the class, a series of hurried footsteps came from the doorway.

Xu Niannian stood at the door, bent over and panting, her forehead covered in sweat, her bangs soaked and stuck to her forehead.

With over forty pairs of eyes staring at her, she felt like shrinking into a ball.

The math teacher stopped writing with the chalk and looked at her with a frown.

"Xu Niannian? You're late? Where have you been? The bell has been ringing for so long."

Xu Niannian opened her mouth, her throat moved, but she didn't say anything.

He held his hands tightly together in front of him, his shoulders hunched, like a rabbit being shone with a flashlight.

The math teacher probably knew her personality, so he sighed and didn't make things difficult for her.

"Come in, and be careful next time."

Xu Niannian walked back to her seat quickly, still breathing lightly as she sat down.

Su Xiao turned her head to look at her.

Her face was flushed, and she hadn't wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Their hands were still tightly clasped together, as if they were clutching something they were afraid of losing.

"Where did you go?" Su Xiao asked in a low voice.

Xu Niannian turned her head to look at him.

Her eyes were bright, though they were a little red from running so fast.

She didn't speak, but simply extended her two clasped hands in front of him, and then slowly and carefully opened them.

There was a band-aid in my palm.

It wasn't new; the edges were a little curled, but she had protected it well, and it still carried the warmth of her palm.

"I'll go get you a band-aid." Her voice was still panting, broken and intermittent.

Su Xiao looked down at the band-aid.

The school clinic is located near the administration building. To get there from the teaching building, you have to cross the entire playground and then climb to the fourth floor of the administration building.

There are only ten minutes between classes.

"The nurse at the infirmary said I couldn't take too many band-aids... she only gave me one."

She pushed the band-aid towards him, as if one wasn't enough, her voice tinged with a hint of guilt.

Su Xiao looked at the slightly curled corner of the band-aid in her palm, and then at the sweat that was still wet on her forehead.

He picked up the band-aid, tore off the adhesive, looked at it from all angles, and then held his hand out to her.

"If you want them all, then help me put one on too."

Xu Niannian was stunned for a moment, then obediently took the band-aid.

Her fingers moved very gently as she placed the band-aid over his wound, pressing the edges smooth out little by little.

Her fingertips were cool. She paused for a moment when they touched the back of his hand, then continued pressing, carefully pressing down every raised corner.

Su Xiao looked at her profile and suddenly asked, "Why did you go get me a band-aid?"

Xu Niannian lowered her head and pressed the last corner of the band-aid firmly.

Several seconds passed before her voice finally rang out; it was very soft, as if it had drifted from a great distance.

"Because it will hurt you."

Su Xiao looked at her hand resting on the back of her own hand and suddenly didn't know what to say.

The math teacher continued explaining the monotonicity of functions from the podium, the chalk tapping on the blackboard.

Su Xiao obediently placed her hand on the table, with a flesh-colored bandage on the back of her hand, its edges slightly curled, applied neatly.

He turned his head, opened his textbook, and pretended to look at the example problems.

Xu Niannian stood to the side with her head down, her face still red, but after seeing him put on his band-aid, a faint smile appeared on her face.

After explaining an example problem, the math teacher paused to take a sip of water, then suddenly put down his cup as if remembering something.

"Oh, by the way, I have something to tell you all. The province is going to hold a math competition, and the first prize is a thousand yuan. However, you have to go to the next city to compete, and the school will cover all your travel, food, and accommodation expenses. If you're interested, you can register with me."

The classroom erupted in chaos.

One thousand yuan, one thousand yuan in 2005, was no small sum.

Someone whistled, and others began to whisper among themselves.

Su Xiao leaned back in her chair and sighed.

"It's a pity it's not a basketball game, otherwise I could give it a try."

He turned to look at Xu Niannian and found her with her head down, her hands on the table, her fingers twisting gently.

Her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she were making a big decision.

"You want to go?"

Xu Niannian nodded gently.

One thousand yuan.

This might not be a small amount for an ordinary family, but for Xu Niannian's family, her grandparents ate only cabbage and steamed buns, and wore the same underwear until it was worn out...

That's an enormous sum of money.

Su Xiao looked at her profile and suddenly straightened her face.

"Xu Niannian".

Xu Niannian turned her head and was stunned when she met his serious expression.

Su Xiao crossed her arms over her chest, furrowed her brows, and adopted a posture as if interrogating a criminal.

"Did you do this on purpose?"

Xu Niannian blinked, not understanding.

"She deliberately went to take the exam, and then left me."

Su Xiao's voice was low, but every word seemed to carry a thorn, "You promised to teach me, and you've only been teaching me for a few days? Then you go to a competition? The competition will take several days. What am I supposed to do during those days? Are you trying to run away under the guise of this?"

Xu Niannian's eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

"When you come back after the exam and win first prize, you'll look down on a bad student like me even more, right?"

Su Xiao turned her face away and snorted through her nose, "Fine, go ahead."

Xu Niannian felt as if she had been hit by something.

Her hand rose from the table, hovering in mid-air, her fingers trembling slightly.

Her eyes quickly filled with tears.

"I...I'm not going..." Her voice was urgent and panicked, "I'm not going..."

Su Xiao still didn't turn her head.

Xu Niannian reached out and gently tugged at his sleeve.

I only pulled on the very edge of the cuff; I didn't dare pull it too far.

Her lips were trembling, her voice was trembling, and her eyes were brimming with tears.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'll stay here with you."

Su Xiao turned her head.

He looked into her eyes, and there was no grievance or resentment in them, only a pure, cautious fear of being abandoned.

It's as if if he says "Okay, go ahead," she'll really think she's done something wrong.

He looked into those eyes, and all the words he was about to use to tease her got stuck in his throat.