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

Xu Niannian ate the steamed buns that Su Xiao had bought from the cafeteria in small bites; they were still warm.

The plastic bag was left open on the table, and white steam slowly rose from it.

The steam made her lowered face slightly flushed.

She ate very slowly, chewing each bite for a long time, her cheeks moving slightly before she lowered her head to take another bite.

Su Xiao sat next to him, using her chemistry textbook as a fan to fan herself.

I ran back and forth to the cafeteria, my forehead was covered in sweat, a few strands of hair were stuck to my forehead, and the collar of my school uniform was also wet.

He fanned himself while complaining about the long lines in the cafeteria and the few inconsiderate people cutting in line.

"If it weren't for his reputation as a good student, I would have beaten him up long ago."

As Xu Niannian listened, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve into a smile.

It was very shallow, hidden behind the bun, and no one saw it.

She took a small bite of the bun skin and secretly glanced to the side.

He fanned the paper vigorously, and the wind from the textbook caused a corner of the draft paper on her desk to flip up slightly, which she then pressed down with her hand.

This feels so good.

Xu Niannian had an indescribable feeling in her heart, warm and swollen, as if something was slowly sprouting in her chest.

She wanted to say thank you, to say the steamed buns were delicious, and to say, "Stop fanning yourself, your sweat is dripping onto the table."

But she didn't say anything, just swallowed the bun and secretly glanced at him again.

Su Xiao noticed her gaze and turned around confidently, only to meet her furtive glance.

Xu Niannian looked as if she had been burned, and quickly lowered her head, the tips of her ears turning red again.

Su Xiao put her textbook on the table and pouted.

"What are you doing? Why are you looking at me so affectionately..."

He moved half an inch closer to her, lowered his voice, and wore his signature mischievous grin. "Xu Daidai, you wouldn't happen to have fallen for me, would you?"

Xu Niannian's face flushed bright red.

She held the steamed buns in both hands, hiding her face behind the plastic bag, her forehead almost buried in the buns.

She neither refuted nor nodded, but simply blushed and lowered her head, like a kitten whose hiding place had been discovered.

Su Xiao put down the book, leaned back in her chair, put her hands behind her head, and began to confidently imagine the future.

"Let me tell you, I've made up my mind. From today onwards, I'll study hard and improve every day. I'll go to the same university as you, and when you're studying in the library, I'll save you a seat. If anyone tries to take your seat, I'll beat them up. After we graduate, we'll get married and have two kids, a boy and a girl. The boy will look like me, and the girl will look like you..."

Xu Niannian was stunned.

The steamed bun was held in mid-air and forgot to put it down, blinking its eyes repeatedly.

marry.

Give birth.

Boys and girls.

These words were too far away for her, as far away as the stars in the sky.

She never thought about the future.

For her, the future is about helping her grandmother carry cabbages onto the tricycle tomorrow morning, and whether or not to buy an extra steamed bun for the next meal.

But Su Xiao's words kept seeping into her mind, one by one.

Library, reserving seats, getting married, having two children.

Xu Niannian, a girl who has never been to a children's palace in her life, should be facing the miserable life she is in front of her.

But because of a single sentence from Su Xiao, he couldn't help but imagine the future.

She found herself starting to think about it involuntarily.

She didn't know what a library was like, but she imagined it as a bright and spacious place with lots and lots of books.

She didn't know what marriage was like, but she imagined a small room with two sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table.

child……

Her face suddenly turned bright red, and she forcefully raised the bun to her mouth and took a big bite, her cheeks puffing out like a squirrel's.

Fang Yu watched this scene from behind, and the more he chewed the spicy strip in his hand, the more uncomfortable he felt.

In the past, Su Ge would only have long, heart-to-heart talks with him.

During breaks, they also talked about the future, about where they would play CS competitions, which team they would join, which tournament they would compete in, and how much prize money they would win.

At that time, Su Ge's eyes were only on the crosshair on the screen, and all he could say was "Point A, Point A" and "Defend B, Defend B".

But now Su Ge has changed.

He only has eyes for women.

They stopped talking about games during breaks, stopped walking together after school, and even ate lunch with his younger sister.

Little did Fang Yu know that Su Xiao no longer wanted to defend point B, but instead headed towards point B.

Fang Yu felt both sour and angry. He slammed the bag of spicy strips on the table and spoke sourly.

"Brother Su, just give up. Xu Niannian is first in the class, and you're last. You won't get into her university."

The air went silent for a moment.

Su Xiao and Xu Niannian stopped moving at the same time.

Yes, grades.

The distance between the top student and the bottom student in the class is not something that can be bridged by running a few steps.

Su Xiao slammed her textbook on the table, curled her lip, and said nonchalantly, "So what? Haven't you heard the saying, 'When you feel you can't do something, stand on the zebra crossing, and you're a pedestrian'?"

Fang Yu was stunned.

Xu Niannian was also stunned for a moment, but after understanding, she secretly smiled.

She gently covered her mouth with the back of her hand, her shoulders trembled slightly, and two small dimples peeked out from under her bangs.

That smile was like a ray of sunlight suddenly breaking through on a cloudy day—quiet and silent, yet once it touched one's eyes, it was impossible to look away.

……

In chemistry class, He Shaojun wrote a balancing problem on the blackboard with chalk.

After finishing writing, he turned around, pushed up his glasses, and glanced at the whole class.

"Who can answer this question?"

Everyone in the classroom lowered their heads in unison.

Many people know the answer.

But few were willing to stand up and answer.

He Shaojun's gaze swept from left to right, and wherever it landed, the heads of those people would lower a few inches.

Su Xiao looked at the questions on the blackboard and the more she looked, the more familiar they seemed.

This is potassium chlorate, this is manganese dioxide, and this is the arrow.

He suddenly remembered something, looked down and pulled out the chemistry notebook that Xu Niannian had given him from under the table, turning to the page with the folded corner.

really.

The balancing problems are almost identical, even the reaction conditions are the same.

Xu Niannian explained this problem to him from the side, explaining it twice.

He looked up at the blackboard, then looked down at his notebook.

Seeing that no one raised their hand, he raised his hand.

He Shaojun glanced around and paused for a moment when he saw the raised hand in the back row.

Su Xiao? Raise your hand?

He thought he needed to use the restroom and waved him away.

"Go."

Su Xiao thought he was being asked to stand up and answer, so she stood up and loudly announced the balancing coefficients.

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for the whole classroom to hear.

The whole class turned around in unison.

It wasn't because of whether his answer was right or wrong, but because of Su Xiao.

Su Xiao, who sleeps in class, hands in blank exam papers, and only scratches her head when called on, is actually answering chemistry questions.

He Shaojun was also stunned. He pushed up his glasses, looked down at the answers on the lesson plan, and became more and more puzzled.

Has this kid really started studying?

But He Shaojun felt that Su Xiao's interest was just fleeting.

"Correct answer, please sit down."

Su Xiao did not sit down immediately.

He propped himself up on the table with one hand, patted Xu Niannian's table next to him with the other, and said loudly, "Teacher, it was Xu Niannian who taught me."

The class fell silent again.

Xu Niannian didn't expect him to bring her up, and her face flushed red, burning from her ears all the way to her forehead.

She sat in her seat, unsure of what to do with her hands, her little bottom wiggling back and forth in the chair, as if she wanted to crawl under the table.

He Shaojun glanced at Xu Niannian through his thick glasses and, unusually, offered a few words of praise.

It is said that Xu Niannian not only has good grades herself, but also helps her deskmate improve, and everyone should learn from her.

Then he turned around and continued lecturing.

Xu Niannian thought he would come closer and make a few more smug jokes about her.

After waiting for a long time, there was still no movement from the side.

She secretly turned her head and saw Su Xiao listening attentively to the lesson, holding a pen in her hand and focusing her eyes on the blackboard.

Sunlight streamed obliquely through the window, illuminating his profile.

He pursed his lips slightly as he wrote, and drew lines on the notebook with great force.

The handwriting is still ugly, but every stroke is written very carefully.

She suddenly remembered what he had just said.

They applied to the same university.

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, then another, a rapid and loud beat, like someone was drumming a small drum inside her chest.

She quickly lowered her head and buried her face in her textbook.