05 : Old Zhou want us to settle down

 After the official bell rang, Jiang Man walked in with her books. Looking at the listless students below, she slammed her hand on the podium: "Let me say this first: you're all about to be seniors now. Don't be so listless like you've been sucked dry. Get your act together!"

"Also, you'd better be alert for the opening exam in a few days. If I see anyone getting even simple questions wrong, or making up poems instead of writing them, you're all to copy them. No excuses."

A sigh escaped her lips.

Jiang Man smiled and announced the final thing: "This year, the school has a new teaching method. All of you, the graduating class, will be treated the same as seniors."

"That means not only the opening exam, but also the weekly tests, monthly tests, and every joint exam—you'll all have to participate."

These words, strung together, were like a bomb, instantly waking the drowsy students and leaving the awake ones completely bewildered.

He Xi casually ruffled his hair and muttered, "Seriously, is No. 1 High School crazy?"

A girl sitting in front of him looked in the mirror and turned her head, saying, "No. 1 High School is a basic school; they go crazy every year."

Song Shi listened to Jiang Man's words without much emotion, because Yangcheng No. 1 High School had always been this intense. He glanced at the person who was almost asleep and sighed inwardly.

From the first glance, Song Shi could tell that the person next to him was the standard troublemaker they were talking about—not studying, sleeping in class, and sitting in the last row. He glanced at He Xi in the front row, and saw a loyal follower.

His desk was neatly arranged, without a single book. He looked fierce, strong, and tall—perhaps this was the school bully they were talking about?

Song Shi listened to Jiang Man lecturing on the platform, looked at his notes in his book, thought for

a moment, pulled out a piece of paper from his desk, and started making another set of notes. After making two sets of notes in every class that morning, Song Shi looked at Chen Zhoumu next to him, who had been sleeping for almost half the day.

"..." Was he a pig reincarnated?

As Song Shi was finishing his last set of notes during self-study, his left hand, which was resting on the desk, was touched. He saw that the person sitting next to him, fast asleep, had somehow crossed the line.

A hand landed on Song Shi's, and a warm touch sent a jolt through him. He jerked his hand away, only to have it grasped in the next second.

The owner of the hand had opened his eyes and was staring blankly at him.

Chen Zhoumu chuckled softly, "Hey deskmate, what's wrong with letting me rest my hand on yours?"

The voice was slightly hoarse from just waking up, and his hair was a little messy, with a few strands sticking up. For a moment, Song Shi thought Chen Zhoumu was incredibly dull, like a dog.

As Song Shi forcefully pulled his hand away, a deep, resonant voice came from behind him.

"What are you doing!"

The two looked up and saw a man in a formal suit, his hair so shiny it looked like a mirror, styled in a side part, wearing glasses—his entire being could be described in one word: impeccably dressed.

He pointed at the two people sitting in the last row, his eyes wide.

He Xi turned his head and whispered, "Tsk tsk, Glasses Bro is here to boost his performance again."

Glasses Bro is the patrol director of Xia City No. 1 High School, named Zhou Wei. Because he always dresses very formally and has those unchanging black glasses, the students affectionately call him Glasses Bro. He

spends most of his time wandering around the buildings, mainly around Class 1 of the second year of high school, for no other reason than to keep an eye on Chen Zhoumu.

As he spoke, he walked in and stood in front of the two people: "Chen Zhoumu, it's you again! Sleeping is one thing, but... and you're even pulling and tugging at the new classmate, what kind of behavior is that!"

Zhou Wei pointed at Chen Zhoumu and then at their still clasped hands.

Chen Zhoumu propped his head up and smiled: "This is how I express friendliness to the new classmate."

"See, the new classmate is quite happy about it."

Song Shi: "..." Happy my foot.

Finally, Zhou Wei, his beard bristling and eyes wide, ordered the two to stand at the back, stating in a very serious tone, "I'll be keeping an eye on you two."

Song Shi, dragged into this, stood at the back with a blank face. He felt like he'd been cursed ever since meeting Chen Zhoumu, and the other guy just wouldn't leave without his persistent attention.

Chen Zhoumu stood next to Song Shi, leaning in close, "Smile more, deskmate, why are you always so long-faced?"

He reached out to poke Song Shi's face.

Song Shi was already annoyed standing at the back, and the person next to him seemed oblivious to his expression, fidgeting here and there. He

was about to curse when that familiar voice came again.

"Caught you again!" Zhou Wei, who had just entered through the front door, walked in again from the back, making the same gesture.

"I didn't say..." Before Song Shi could finish,

"You two might as well make a home in the back! Just stay here!" Zhou Wei glared at them.

Song Shi, who hadn't said a word: "..." Were all these people blind?

After Zhou Wei finally left, glancing back several times as a warning, Chen Zhoumu approached again: "Did you hear that, Song? Old Zhou wants us to settle down... Ouch!"

Before he could finish, Song Shi stomped on his foot: "Get lost."

The students who turned around only saw their school bully being stepped on by the new transfer student, but they didn't dare say a word. A moment later, they were back, grinning, sticking up to him.

It seems their school bully... has been switched...

*

These past few days, Song Shi has completed two sets of all the study materials, neatly organizing them and placing them on Chen Zhoumu's desk. He now really suspects that the other guy has developed narcolepsy again, as if he can't sleep forever.

But as the entrance exams approached, the other person wasn't as sleepy as before. Seeing Chen Zhoumu squinting at the materials on the table, Song Shi asked, "What's this?"

He Shi, head down, continued writing, without looking up. "Something that will help you with your entrance exams."

He Xi, who was playing games against the wall, craned his neck to look, glancing at the materials on the table, then at Chen Zhoumu, and finally at Song Shi. "When did Brother Mu need these?"

Song Shi was now even more certain that the other person was probably someone who didn't study and just coasted through life.

"For me?" Chen Zhoumu picked up a sheet and examined it carefully.

"You handwrote this for me!?"

Song Shi's pen paused. Right, why did he have to handwrite it? He could have just gone to a print shop and gotten a copy. His brain must have been a bit off these past few days.

So his tone was a little unfriendly: "I found it."

Chen Zhoumu straightened the materials, leaned back against the wall, and said lazily, "Is our classmate Song getting to know me now?"

"Shut up!"

Song Shi's eyebrows twitched. Sometimes he really wanted to shut the other person up. A low laugh came from beside him.

The voice was deep and husky, full of laughter and sounded extremely pleasant. Turning his head to look, he saw that the person's eyebrows were curved, the corners of their mouth were upturned, and their eyes seemed to have a subtle glint.

Song Shi said expressionlessly, "I'm not giving it to you anymore. Give it back to me."

"No, wait!" Chen Zhoumu put the materials into the drawer a second before Song Shi reached for them.

"This was carefully compiled by our classmate Song, I'll definitely study it carefully."

Chen Zhoumu looked at Song Shi's lowered eyes as he earnestly studied the questions. It seemed this deskmate was all bark and no bite. He

needed to tease him more.

The opening exam came quickly, and these past few days, Chen Zhoumu, as he had said, slept very little, frequently looking at the materials, studying very diligently.

So diligently that Song Shi suspected he was faking it, actually sleeping with his eyes open. The materials

Song Shi had compiled for him were all relatively basic knowledge points; as long as he studied them carefully, passing the opening exam wouldn't be a problem.

On the day of the exam, Song Shi was assigned to the last seat in the first exam room. Although his scores on the materials were outstanding, he would have to wait until after the exam to be reassigned.

After packing his things, Song Shi got up and headed towards the exam hall. Chen Zhoumu walked beside him: "Song, I've studied every single word of those materials these past few days. Can I borrow a pen?" Song Shi glanced at

the exam admission ticket in Chen Zhoumu's hand, further confirming his belief that Chen was a slacker.

He casually shoved his spare pen into Chen's hand.

Before entering the exam hall, Chen Zhoumu went to the restroom, his lazy demeanor making Song Shi suspect he might have skipped it.

Once inside, many people stared at him from the moment he entered.

News travels fast at school, whether it's gossip or transfer students, and Song Shi was not only a transfer student but also involved in gossip. Everyone at school had heard that a rich, handsome guy had transferred to the second year of high school.

And it seemed he had a close relationship with their school bully, supposedly holding hands in class, only to be caught by the bespectacled guy a few days later.

Of course, no one dared to say these things to the person in question, but those glances were impossible to ignore.

Song Shi walked normally to the last seat as if he hadn't noticed anything. When almost everyone had arrived, only the front seat remained, but no one showed any surprise.

Even the proctors, used to this, planned to close the door as soon as the bell rang.

With only one minute left, just before the proctors were about to close the door, a tall, imposing figure appeared.

Song Shi watched as that familiar figure walked in.

Only then did the others begin to show surprise, and discussions started around them. Even the teacher who had closed the door exclaimed, "Chen Zhoumu, you're in the mood to take the entrance exam?"

"Yeah, just accompanying someone else."

The discussions grew louder, with some even glancing towards the very back of the room.

Song Shi's lips froze as he watched the person who had taken the pen from him sit in the first seat of the first exam room, then turn and smile at him.

Song Shi immediately pursed his lips, never looking up again. A thick anger of being tricked rose within him; he felt like strangling the other person. What was this all about? He had painstakingly prepared materials for him, only to be treated like some lazy, good-for-nothing youth.

As it turned out, seeing the other person sitting in the first seat of the exam hall, and remembering his subconscious surprise when he prepared those materials for the other person that day—not because of the materials themselves, but because the other person didn't need

them at all—and coupled with He Xi's shock that day, it turned out the other person didn't need them at all. Everything he had done these past few days seemed like a joke to his father.

Song Shi felt a moment of dejection, perhaps wanting to strangle himself before he could strangle the other person.

After the morning exam, Song Shi sat at his seat, coldly packing his things. The moment the exam bell rang, Chen Zhoumu walked up to Song Shi: "Song, would you do me the honor of having lunch together?" Song

Shi didn't reply, acting as if he hadn't heard, brushing past Chen Zhoumu's shoulder and walking out. Chen Zhoumu subconsciously grabbed his hand: "What's wrong?"

"Let go."

"I won't."

"Say it again, let go!" Song Shi abruptly pulled his hand back.

The commotion wasn't loud, but it was enough to draw the attention of those who hadn't left yet.

Song Shi felt a moment of embarrassment. He didn't know what he was angry about, what he was getting worked up about. He had prejudicially categorized the other person into those kinds of people, and then presumptuously prepared those things.

From head to toe, from beginning to end, the other person hadn't rejected his kindness and had taken it seriously. He hadn't said he was that kind of person either.

Song Shi gripped his backpack strap tightly and continued walking outside. The person behind him didn't speak, but footsteps followed. He stopped: "Don't follow me, don't stick to me. It's annoying."

The footsteps behind him also stopped.

The two people waiting outside were also stunned.

He Xi leaned against the left door: "What's wrong with the two of them?"

Tang Ze next to him shook his head: "I don't know, Old Song rarely gets angry. What did your eldest do?"

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