A writer has arrived in the Chinese entertainment industry.

In the afternoon, the campus of Tongliang No.1 Middle School was quiet. A row of red lanterns hung under the wide stone beam at the school gate, and the retractable iron gate was closed on one side. Inside the gate was a smooth cement road leading to the teaching building in the distance.

A spacious corridor extends from one side of the teaching building. The walls inside the corridor are covered with white tiles, the floor is paved with light-colored terrazzo, and under the smooth ceiling, the light gradually dims from the outside in.

At the end of the corridor was a transparent exit, reflecting faint light and shadows from the distance. All around was silent; not a soul was in sight.

Suddenly, a series of urgent bell rings shattered the tranquility. The entire campus seemed to come alive; doors along one side of the corridor opened one after another, and students poured out of their classrooms in twos and threes.

Ran Xiaoqing mingled in the crowd, slowly following the flow of people out of the teaching building. A gust of cold air went straight to her collar, making her shiver. She was dressed in bulky clothes today, looking rather bloated, with a relaxed look on her face, as if she had just finished an exam.

She walked along the cement road toward the school gate. As she passed the empty playground, she suddenly heard someone shouting at her from behind.

"Xiao Qing!" Tian Xiwei ran incredibly fast, reaching her in the blink of an eye. "Quick, tell me the fourth multiple-choice question, what does 'increasing' mean?"

"Choose C."

"C? Why C?!"

Tian Xiwei held her math textbook, her face full of regret. "I almost got it right! What about question six? The one about arithmetic sequences?"

"Choose A."

"Ah!" Tian Xiwei exclaimed, unwilling to give up, "What about sinα?"

"B."

"Forget it, I won't ask anymore." She was utterly despondent. "None of them are right."

Ran Xiaoqing smiled at her, "Weiwei, ask again. Maybe you can guess a few correctly."

"I don't want to! High school math is so hard!" She hunched over listlessly, her large backpack swaying back and forth.

"Everyone has their own strengths. You're good at Chinese, aren't you? You even became the propaganda committee member."

This scene always repeats itself after each exam.

"Does that mean I can't be good at everything?"

"How is that possible?"

"Aren't you one?" Tian Xiwei straightened her back and gently poked her with her finger. "You're good at both arts and sciences."

"But I want to be like you."

Tian Xiwei's expression froze. "Like me?"

"Yes, it has both advantages and disadvantages, which makes the person seem particularly energetic."

"You...you mean you have no flaws? You're so narcissistic."

"No, no, that's not it." Ran Xiaoqing looked embarrassed. "I just feel that I don't have anything particularly outstanding about me. In class, apart from the teacher, no one else likes to talk to me."

"Xiao Qing, aren't you enough with me?" Tian Xiwei shook her head, looking at her with her big, bright eyes.

"But I feel that high school is different from junior high and elementary school. I also want to make some friends."

"That kind of thinking won't work," Tian Xiwei suddenly exclaimed, a brilliant idea flashing through her mind. "That's your weakness!"

"Huh?" Ran Xiaoqing was taken aback. "What?"

"You don't dare to express yourself or show your personality. You only make people think you're boring by constantly trying to please others."

Ran Xiaoqing pursed her lips, remaining silent. Then she suddenly said, "Weiwei, why are we talking about this kind of thing right after the exam?"

"Didn't you bring it up first?"

"...Why don't we continue comparing the answers?"

"I don't want to, I don't want to."

The two walked out of the school gate side by side, turned left, and walked along the sidewalk. The apartment Su Liu rented for Ran Xiaoqing was in an old community less than 500 meters from the school.

There was a small food stall by the roadside. On a sleek cart, an old woman was roasting sweet potato noodles and dried tofu, filling the air with a delicious aroma. Several students, clutching change, stood side by side there.

Ran Xiaoqing and Tian Xiwei walked past the stall first, but the smell was so tempting that they locked eyes and understood each other without saying a word. So they nodded to each other and went back to stand behind the students.

At this moment, Tian Xiwei spoke up again, "By the way, do you think your brother will come to the parent-teacher conference tomorrow?"

"He...he must be very busy." After saying that, she glanced sideways at Tian Xiwei, "I haven't forgiven you for secretly sending him messages yet."

"What do you mean by 'secretly'? It's not like I'm trying to steal your brother."

"That's true, you should know that I hate causing trouble for others the most."

"How do you know this is a problem? Maybe some people just enjoy attending parent-teacher conferences?"

"Isn't this hobby too niche?"

"Who said that? My dad loves it. He's always looked forward to parent-teacher conferences since I was little." Tian Xiwei paused suddenly, then gently took Ran Xiaoqing's hand. "I'm sorry, Xiaoqing."

"It's okay."

No one has ever attended a parent-teacher conference for Ran Xiaoqing since she was a child.

After the students in front left, Tian Xiwei went up and ordered two roasted sweet potato noodles and two roasted tofu skins.

After paying, the two continued walking, blowing on the steaming hot sweet potato noodles as they ate, heading towards Ran Xiaoqing's house.

Most of the buildings here are mixed-use commercial and residential buildings constructed along the street, with shops on the ground floor and residences on the upper floors. They are not tall, only six stories. The exterior walls look somewhat mottled, with some areas peeling off to reveal the dark cement underneath.

It doesn't look good from the outside, but it's fairly clean and tidy inside.

Ran Xiaoqing and Tian Xiwei climbed to the fifth floor in one go, and immediately collapsed onto the sofa in the living room after entering the house.

"Your brother is really something," Tian Xiwei said breathlessly, "Couldn't he have found you an apartment building with an elevator?"

"Stop complaining." Ran Xiaoqing took her schoolbag off and put it aside. "When is your uncle coming to pick you up?"

"It'll be a while, he hasn't finished get off work yet."

At that moment, Tian Xiwei suddenly noticed a large bag next to the sofa.

"Xiaoqing, what's this?" She reached out and opened the bag.

"Sigh..." Ran Xiaoqing tried to stop her, but it was too late.

Tian Xiwei took out a brown striped cotton pajama from the bag.

"You bought new pajamas? Oh..." she said with a smile, "These clothes look just like what my dad wears."

"Oh dear." Ran Xiaoqing quickly snatched it away, wanting to take the pajamas to her room to put them away.

"Wait a minute!" Tian Xiwei exclaimed in realization, "These are pajamas I bought for your brother!"

"I...I...I'm not."

"Great, Ran Xiaoqing, you've already prepared pajamas while saying 'He definitely won't come.' Let me see what else you have?"

So she took out towels, toothbrushes, slippers, and other daily necessities from the bag.

"Hmph," Tian Xiwei smiled smugly, "Ran Xiaoqing, what else do you have to say?"