I was the leader of the righteous path in high school.

Gu Yun felt quite satisfied with today's gaming session.

He played games with his best buddies, reconciled with his sister, and even brought Xia Qige along.

It's supposed to be three times the happiness, so why does it feel like something's not quite right?

After playing two quick rounds, he had satisfied his gaming craving.

After saying goodbye to Xia Qige, he disembarked with the remaining two people.

Wang Ziyuan stood up from his seat, stretched, and looked at Gu Yun with a meaningful look: "I'm going home first. You guys... take care."

He deliberately emphasized the word "take it slow," as if the meaning was self-evident.

Gu Yun didn't react immediately, but nodded and said, "Okay, see you the day after tomorrow."

Tomorrow is a holiday, but he will need to go to school on Sunday.

That's how it is in the senior year of high school, but I heard that reforms have already begun. I just don't know when they will be able to implement them.

There's a saying that goes: "After you graduate, all good things will come your way."

Gu Yun wasn't sure if he was unlucky, but he really hoped to have weekends off.

Wang Ziyuan patted him on the shoulder, nodded to Su Nianshan, and turned to leave.

When I left the internet cafe, it was already completely dark.

The streetlights on both sides of the street cast a dim yellow light, making the two people's shadows very long.

Gu Yun and Su Nianshan walked side by side, and no one spoke for a moment.

A gentle evening breeze, carrying a hint of early autumn coolness, blew a few strands of Su Nianshan's hair up, which she tucked behind her ear.

Gu Yun caught a glimpse of this action out of the corner of his eye and suddenly felt a little nervous.

He recalled Su Nianshan's initiative to come to the internet cafe to find him today, the stone golem that had been following him in the game, and the meaningful look in Wang Ziyuan's eyes when he left.

Something seems... off, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

I can't let myself be disliked by the other person again, can I?

Gu Yun thought this was very likely, cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, thank you for today."

Su Nianshan tilted her head to look at him: "What are you thanking me for?"

"So...you came to the internet cafe to play games with me?"

Su Nianshan paused for a moment, then continued walking forward.

"You were with me too."

"Um?"

"Isn't it different when you're studying on your own?"

Gu Yun was stunned for a moment before realizing that she was talking about studying at home.

This doesn't count. This is purely a grind-based task; there's no question of accompanying anyone.

He scratched his head: "That's different. You're studying, I'm playing games."

Su Nianshan didn't respond.

The two walked for a while longer and were almost at the entrance of the residential area.

The light and shadow of the streetlights swept across Su Nianshan's face, her expression shifting between light and shadow.

Gu Yun suddenly remembered something and stopped in his tracks.

"Oh, right."

Su Nianshan also stopped and looked at him.

Gu Yun smiled slightly and said mysteriously, "Xiao Xiao, guess how many points I got this time?"

"..."

One sentence made Su Nianshan shudder instantly, and she looked at him strangely: "Your grades improved that quickly?"

"No, but my individual subject scores are out."

Gu Yun smiled slightly and said mysteriously, "Guess how many points I got this time."

"..."

Su Nianshan looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue.

She had a hunch; she seemed to have heard her deskmate mention something recently, but she had been studying and hadn't heard clearly.

But in order not to disappoint the boy who had just become interested in the students... let's pretend we don't know.

So she shook her head: "I don't know, you tell me."

"Mathematics 141".

After he finished speaking, he stared at Su Nianshan's face, wanting to see her reaction.

Su Nianshan was stunned for a moment.

Then the corners of his mouth slowly curved upwards, not a large curve, but he was really smiling.

"So many?"

Her tone was tinged with surprise, and a little... Gu Yun thought it should be happiness.

"That's right, look who you are." Gu Yun patted his chest, looking smug.

Su Nianshan was amused by his appearance and softly hummed in agreement.

"That's impressive."

The three simple words, spoken by her, inexplicably warmed Gu Yun's heart.

It sounds even better than Wang Ziyuan's "Holy crap, awesome!"

Holy crap, I saw it, but I didn't see anything awesome about it.

The two continued walking forward and were almost at the entrance of the apartment building.

Su Nianshan suddenly spoke up: "But we still have to wait for the official results."

Gu Yun paused, "Huh?"

"As I said, you need to improve your ranking in the grade before I can grant you a request."

Su Nianshan looked at him, and said in a somewhat matter-of-fact tone, "Mathematics doesn't count."

Gu Yun opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then felt that he really couldn't refute it.

Indeed, what if improving by 50 points only results in an improvement of 199 places?

Although he thought it was impossible, it might not necessarily happen.

"Fine." He nodded resignedly. "Then you wait and see, I'll make sure you're completely convinced."

Su Nianshan didn't say anything, but simply smiled slightly.

The two went upstairs and entered the house together.

When Gu Yun entered, Ms. Song Shan was watching TV in the living room. When she saw the two of them come back, she casually asked if they had eaten.

"You haven't eaten. Bring me some food!"

"Get lost! I'm asking Nianshan, who asked you?"

Ms. Song Shan usually beats her own son when she sees him, but flatters her cousin who is not yet her daughter.

Gu Yun had grown accustomed to this great mother's double standards; her greatness needed no further explanation.

So he found a spot on the dining table and ate the leftovers with steamed buns.

After taking a shower and lying in bed, Gu Yun took out his phone and glanced at it.

No new messages.

Xia Qige's chat window was still stuck on the afternoon when the game ended and she said, "I'm logging off now," to which he replied, "Okay."

Chen Zhizhi had one unread message in her chat box, which was his math score that he had sent earlier. She replied with a "Wow!" emoji.

Yesterday, she added Chen Zhizhi's contact information. This little girl actually used a classic "I don't eat cilantro" profile picture, making her look like a college student.

Gu Yun replied with a "Keep it low-key" and then put his phone aside.

Before closing my eyes, Su Nianshan's words "very impressive" inexplicably popped into my mind, and I couldn't help but smile slightly.

This feels so good!

It's even more refreshing than drinking cola!

The next morning, Gu Yun was woken up by his phone vibrating.

He groped his way over, squinting at the screen.

News about Chen Zhizhi.

[ZhiZhi: Gu Yun, are you free today? Let's go out for a walk, I still owe you a meal]

Gu Yun was stunned for a moment, his mind not yet fully clear.

Do I owe him a meal?

Oh right, I think there was something like that before.

He was about to type a reply when his phone suddenly vibrated.

Caller ID: Xia Qige.

Gu Yun's hand trembled, and he almost dropped it.

Damn Xia Qige, why did she call him at this time?

Not wanting to waste her holiday, Gu Yun decisively hung up and prepared to go back to bed and sleep for a while longer.

But the phone kept ringing after it was hung up, and Gu Yun had no choice but to answer it:

"Feeding? What are you doing? I'm sleeping, I'm sleeping."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Xia Qige's voice came through:

"Gu Yun, are you busy today?"

Gu Yun glanced at Chen Zhizhi's chat box subconsciously.

"Uh...it's not decided yet, why?"

"If you're free... could you come out with me?"