Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

Five seconds.

[Yan Xi: The integration region in that problem requires drawing a diagram to determine its integrity. You have strong spatial reasoning skills but poor drawing habits. You tend to calculate the answer first, then hesitate about whether to verify it.]

[Li Chen: I've verified it.]

[Yan Xi: How many minutes did it take?]

[Li Chen: Three minutes.]

[Yan Xi: One minute less than I expected. That's progress.]

Li Chen leaned against the wall in the corridor.

I read those words on the phone screen three times.

"You've made progress."

He put his phone back in his pocket and headed towards the cafeteria.

Five days.

Five subjects.

Advanced Mathematics, Linear Algebra, Physics, C Programming Language, and Marxist Philosophy.

He would send a message to Yan Xi as soon as he finished each exam.

Yan Xi's replies never exceeded three sentences. But every single one was so precise that he suspected she had obtained the exam paper.

Linear Algebra exam finished.

[Yan Xi: What method was used for the eigenvalue problem?]

[Li Chen: Similar Diagonalization.]

[Yan Xi: Why wasn't Ruoer used as the standard type?]

[Li Chen: Not required for the exam.]

Yan Xi: Okay.

Physics exam is over.

[Yan Xi: How many points were allocated to the electromagnetism section?]

[Li Chen: 42 points. Two essay questions and one multiple choice question.]

[Yan Xi: Was Gauss's theorem on the test?]

[Li Chen: I took the test. The first big question. I checked the plus or minus signs twice.]

Four seconds.

Yan Xi: Not bad.

I've finished my C programming exam.

[Li Chen: Submit your paper one hour early.]

[Yan Xi: As expected.]

The Marxist theory exam is over.

The last subject.

When Li Chen walked out of the examination room, the corridor was filled with sounds of relief. Some people were shouting, and some were hugging.

He stood at the top of the stairs. He took out his phone.

[Li Chen: All the exams are over.]

Eleven seconds.

[Yan Xi: I've finished my exams too.]

[Li Chen: Where are you?]

[Yan Xi: At the entrance of Building 3.]

Li Chen put his phone back in his pocket. He went downstairs and crossed the central square.

Entrance of Teaching Building No. 3.

Yan Xi stood on the top step. She wore a black coat and a low ponytail. The tip of her phoenix hairpin glittered in the sunlight.

She was looking down.

When I saw him, the lines of his back relaxed a bit.

Li Chen climbed the steps and stood in front of her.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Yan Xi looked at him.

three seconds.

"The same to you."

She reached out her hand.

Li Chen grasped it.

Their fingers were clasped tightly together.

Her hands were cold, but a little warmer than a month ago. Or perhaps it was just his imagination.

The two walked down the steps side by side.

A wind blew by. It was cold. By the end of December, Linjiang had already entered winter.

"How did Wang Qiang do on the exam?"

He said he didn't finish the last problem in advanced calculus, but he did finish the others.

"Passing?"

"It's not a big problem."

Yan Xi nodded.

"You fixed it for him."

"You asked me to help."

Yan Xi did not respond.

She pressed her thumb into his palm.

Li Chen's phone vibrated.

Group 302.

[Wang Qiang: !!! Exams are over!!! Liberated!!! Free!!! !!!]

[Zhao Zixuan: What do you want to eat? My treat.]

[Chen Mo: Sample Record: Final exam week ended. Overall survival rate of dormitory 302: 100%. Special thanks to: Yan Xi (indirect contribution value: approximately 43%).]

[Wang Qiang: My sister-in-law is awesome!!!]

Li Chen locked the screen.

Yan Xi glanced at him. "Them?"

"celebrate."

"Go."

"I'll send it to you first."

Yan Xi's steps did not change.

The two walked along the sycamore-lined path. They walked past the library. They walked past the window of the reading room where they had first kicked each other under the table.

Downstairs in the girls' dormitory building.

Yan Xi withdrew her hand.

"Go back and have dinner with them. Don't let Wang Qiang drink too much. If he drinks too much, he'll call his ex-girlfriend."

How did you know?

"Leng Qingge told me. Last time he was drunk, he hit me for forty minutes."

Li Chen's lips twitched slightly. "Understood."

Yan Xi turned around. She took two steps. Then she stopped.

She didn't turn around.

"Li Chen".

"Um."

"This semester..."

Her voice dropped by half a octave.

"Thank you for the porridge, the fried dough sticks, and the scarf. Every day at 11:35."

Li Chen stood still.

She pushed open the door and went inside.

The glass door closed behind her.

He stood there for eight seconds.

My phone vibrated again.

[Yan Xi: Tell me when you get to the dorm.]

He typed.

[Li Chen: You arrived first. You go first.]

Six seconds.

[Yan Xi: We've arrived.]

[Li Chen: It's holiday time.]

Yan Xi: Mm.

[Li Chen: Even if I'm on vacation, can I still call you at 9:30 every day?]

Four seconds.

[Yan Xi: Who says it has to be 9:30?]

Li Chen gripped his phone tightly in his hand.

A gust of wind swept by. He glanced down at the silver bracelet on his wrist. The small pendant from the library was placed where his pulse beat.

He turned around and walked towards 302.

They walked faster than when they came.

The smell of instant noodles and Red Bull still lingered in the dormitory stairwell.

Li Chen pushed open the door to 302.

The three people had already changed their clothes.

Wang Qiang was wearing a black hoodie with the words "My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens" printed on it.

Zhao Zixuan is fixing his hair in front of the mirror.

Chen Mo sat at the table, a document titled "End-of-Term Data Summary Report on Romantic Behavior" on the computer screen.

"Here we go! Here we go!" Wang Qiang rushed over and grabbed Li Chen by the neck. "Brother, you saved my life this semester."

"My sister-in-law saved her. I was just following orders."

"Can I treat my sister-in-law to dinner?"

"She's already back in her dorm."

"Then I'll ask you to accept my respect on behalf of your sister-in-law."

Zhao Zixuan turned around. "Stop talking nonsense."

"I've booked a private room at Wangjianglou Restaurant, an eight-person table, for 6:30. Are you coming or not?"

"You're using an eight-person table again, and the four of us are sitting at such a big table—"

"Keep it in case your sister-in-law comes."

"She's not coming."

"What if?"

Li Chen's phone rang.

It's not WeChat.

call.

The screen displays: Dad.

He answered the call.

"Son! Have you finished your exams?"

Li Mohan's voice boomed from the receiver, full of energy and carrying the enthusiasm one might have shown before interrogating a criminal.

"The exam is over."

"Great! That's perfect. I've discussed it with your mom, and you can buy your ticket and come back tomorrow. Bring your girlfriend with you."

Li Chen tapped the edge of the phone case with his finger.

"Your mom has already made the menu. Twelve dishes. Your grandpa also said he'd cook them himself. Do you know how many years it's been since your grandpa last set foot in a stove? Just to see you, his girlfriend."

"dad--"

"I'll book your plane ticket. Or the high-speed rail? Does your girlfriend get carsick? If so, buy her a first-class seat. No, I mean business class. Your dad can afford it."

"dad."

"Um?"

"I'm not going back."

There was silence for three seconds on the other end of the line.

Li Chen could picture his father's expression at that moment. He'd probably freeze in shock first. Then his eyebrows would start to furrow. Next, his lips would tighten. Finally—

"What did you say?"

coming.

I said I wouldn't go back this holiday.

"Where will you go after your final exams if you don't go home?"

"Let's go out and have some fun."

"Are you going out? With whom?"

"Yan Xi".

Li Mohan remained silent for four seconds.