After school, Jiang Yueming was called to the office.

The head teacher, whose surname was Zhou, was a middle-aged man in his forties. He wore glasses and spoke in a slow, measured tone.

Teacher Zhou sighed, took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.

"Chinese 67, Math 141, English 53... Jiang Yueming, your grades are skewed rather severely, aren't they?"

Jiang Yueming kept his head down and said nothing.

Teacher Zhou sighed again: "I know some people just don't have a knack for Chinese, but this score of yours is dragging you down far too heavily. Look at your math—141, what an excellent grade. If you could get Chinese above 100 and put some effort into English, you could make the top fifty in the grade."

Jiang Yueming still said nothing, just staring at the tips of his shoes.

Teacher Zhou paused, then suddenly said, "How about this: I'll have the class representative give you some tutoring."

Jiang Yueming looked up. The head teacher called out toward the other end of the office.

In the corner, a girl with two braided pigtails was buried in grading assignments. Hearing the call, she set down her pen and walked over.

"Teacher."

"Would you mind taking the trouble to help Jiang Yueming with his Chinese for a bit after school these next few days?" Teacher Zhou pointed at Jiang Yueming. "Not too long, just about an hour or so."

Wen Xiaoyu didn't answer immediately. She turned her head and glanced at Jiang Yueming standing beside her.

That look was still indifferent, like a pool of water without ripples. Meeting that gaze, Jiang Yueming's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

‘I'm done for. She had never liked trouble; there was no way she would agree.’

And why should she? Why would she sacrifice her time after school to tutor him? The Chinese class representative already had plenty to do normally, plus grading assignments. Where would she find the time to deal with a Chinese hopeless case like him?

He felt a bit dejected, staring at his shoelaces, waiting for the words ‘Sorry, teacher, I don't have time.’

"...If it's classmate Jiang."

A soft voice sounded.

Jiang Yueming froze and raised his head.

"I can," she said.

Jiang Yueming was stunned.

Teacher Zhou nodded with satisfaction: "Then it's settled. Starting today. Are you almost done grading?"

"Three more to go. I'll be finished soon."

"Good," Teacher Zhou turned to Jiang Yueming, "Go wait for her in the classroom for a bit."

Jiang Yueming stood there watching Wen Xiaoyu walk back to the corner and continue grading assignments.

What she had just said—If it's classmate Jiang, I can.

‘What did that mean?’

Jiang Yueming walked out of the office, still not understanding what she meant, but his steps were noticeably lighter. He seemed to be in a rather good mood.

* * *

The setting sun hung by the window. The office was very quiet, filled only with the scratch scratch of writing.

Soon, Wen Xiaoyu finished grading. After saying goodbye to the head teacher, she left the office.

The hallway was very quiet at this hour. Most students had already left impatiently; there weren't many people left on campus.

She was going to help Jiang Yueming with his studies. She might get home a bit late tonight.

Thinking back to what she had just said, she suddenly felt a little embarrassed—just a tiny bit.

She didn't know why she had agreed.

Maybe it was... the way he sneaked glances at her, that cautious, even somewhat silly look in his eyes.

Wen Xiaoyu actually knew that Jiang Yueming frequently stole looks at her. He thought he was hiding it well, but girls are very perceptive creatures.

Every time she collected homework, she could feel that gaze resting on her. And when she turned her head, he would hurriedly look away, pretending to be looking somewhere else.

Very foolish.

But she didn't dislike it.

Strangely enough, when other people looked at her like that, she felt a sense of disgust, as if being spied on, wanting nothing more than to hurry away.

But when Jiang Yueming looked at her like that, she actually... felt a little happy?

It was hard to describe that feeling. It was like being noticed, being remembered, being kept in someone's thoughts, and then she couldn't help but want to show more of herself to him, like a child.

She didn't notice her footsteps gradually quickening.

‘Would an hour be too short? His grades are really not good…’

Wen Xiaoyu thought silently to herself, not noticing when she herself had become such a warm-hearted, helpful person.

She kept her head down, watching her toes as she walked forward step by step, until an unfamiliar pair of shoes suddenly appeared in her field of vision.

Wen Xiaoyu stopped and looked up.

The light of the setting sun shone from behind the person before her, making her squint slightly. She could only see a silhouette, slender and serene, standing in the middle of the hallway as if waiting specifically for someone.

"Hello," Xia He spoke with a smile, "Classmate Wen Xiaoyu, right?"

Wen Xiaoyu nodded. She knew this person. Xia He, the eldest daughter of the Xia family, whose name was renowned throughout the campus.

"Is there something you need?"

"There is," Xia He took a step closer, her tone very gentle. "Are you going to tutor Jiang Yueming?"

Wen Xiaoyu nodded. Xia He's smile deepened.

"Here's the thing. He asked me to tell you that something came up. He doesn't need tutoring today," Xia He paused, "Oh, no—actually, he won't be needing tutoring anymore at all."

Wen Xiaoyu furrowed her slender brows slightly.

"Huh? But the teacher just said..."

Xia He shook her head, cutting her off. She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled at Wen Xiaoyu, an inexplicable firmness suddenly radiating from her.

"He doesn't want tutoring. You know his Chinese grades have always been poor. He's embarrassed about it himself, too embarrassed to tell you directly, so he asked me to pass it along."

Wen Xiaoyu's brows furrowed even tighter. The way Xia He spoke made it seem as if she and Jiang Yueming were very close?

"But poor grades are exactly why tutoring is needed. What does that have to do with embarrassment?"

"I told you, he doesn't want tutoring," Xia He's expression was calm as she spoke unhurriedly.

Wen Xiaoyu was silent for a few seconds. For no particular reason, she began to feel a dislike for the woman before her.

"Why didn't he come tell me himself?"

"He was embarrassed."

Wen Xiaoyu clearly didn't understand what Jiang Yueming meant by this. She didn't realize that Xia He's behavior was a declaration of possession.

"I'm going to ask him."

Wen Xiaoyu stepped forward to walk past Xia He, brushing by her on the way to personally ask Jiang Yueming in the classroom.

As she passed Xia He, she heard this eldest daughter laugh softly, a sound like a snake flicking its tongue.

"Wait a moment."

Wen Xiaoyu turned her head. What met her eyes was a pair of icy cold pupils. It felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over her. She found herself completely frozen, unable to move.

The curve of the girl's lips before her hadn't changed at all. Wen Xiaoyu saw the red string at her wrist suddenly begin to glow, growing brighter and brighter, until finally, the entire world was swallowed by that light.

* * *

[Seventh simulation commencing... World correcting...]

In the classroom.

Jiang Yueming sat by the window, waiting quietly.

How long had he been waiting?

He checked his watch. Twenty minutes had already passed. The person the teacher had arranged still hadn't come.

Bored out of his mind, he turned his head and looked out the window at the setting sun.

That giant ball of fire had already sunk behind the teaching building, only half its face remaining, burning the clouds at the horizon into shades of orange and red.

He thought to himself, since it's tutoring for Chinese, would the head teacher arrange for Wen Xiaoyu, the Chinese class representative, to handle it?

Very likely.

A sense of anticipation suddenly rose in his heart.

Come to think of it, he had never spoken to Wen Xiaoyu alone. Every time was just when she collected homework—she came, he handed it over, she nodded. That simple.

If he could be alone with her for an hour...

Just as he was thinking this, footsteps came from the classroom door. Someone was coming.

He immediately sat up straight, looking toward that door with expectation.

The door was pushed open. His hopes were instantly dashed.

‘Xia He?’

Her flowing long hair cascaded through the air. He met that pair of smiling, flower-like eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

Xia He walked over in a few steps and leaned against his desk. A subtle, fragrant scent immediately diffused through the air.

"I'm here to tutor you."

Xia He smiled playfully, brimming with the lively spirit of a youthful maiden.