We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

Li Mubai slowly walked up.

"What brings you here today?"

"The lockdown's over." Xie Shu tilted his head. "Don't you want me to come with you?"

"How could that be?" Li Mubai smiled, and the heavy feeling that had been pressing on his chest all night was mostly dispelled by her light words.

"Let's go for a walk on the playground." She gently tapped Li Mubai's arm, her fingertips touching it briefly before withdrawing them.

"it is good."

He also happened to have many questions he wanted to ask Xie Shu.

The late summer breeze blew in from the other side of the playground, taking away much of the heat accumulated during the day. The freshmen on the playground had all left, leaving only a few people taking a stroll.

The streetlights weren't all on; only a few dim lights shone in the four corners. Li Mubai and Xie Shu walked slowly by the light.

"Thank you, Shu," Li Mubai said cautiously, "Aunt Xu Ting... why did you say today that the two of us were going to the library to do routine maintenance work?"

And judging from Xie Shu's mother's attitude, it seems she doesn't object to him being with Xie Shu? Is that good news?

Xie Shu paused for a moment, as if thinking about how to answer. A breeze came through the track, blowing the stray hairs on her forehead.

"Your grades dropped two places," she didn't answer his question directly, "Do you know why?"

"Hmm..." A hint of embarrassment appeared on Li Mubai's face. "Because you didn't study hard for this exam?"

"No," Xie Shu gently shook his head, "It's because you weren't with me, so I couldn't tutor you in time."

Li Mubai was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening:

"Then I don't want to always rely on you."

"Also, it's too stifling in Class 18. You need to go to a relatively free place to study," Xie Shu continued.

"So, you said you were going to the library for routine maintenance, but you were actually just looking for a different place to study?" Li Mubai said.

"Mm." Xie Shu nodded, not stopping in her tracks. "Aren't you going to Peking University with me? Then you need to work even harder. I want to share all my learning experience with you."

"Peking University..." Li Mubai uttered these two words. "Xie Shu, do you think if I had gotten second place and been admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University, things wouldn't be so bad today?"

If he had the qualifications to get into Tsinghua or Peking University, then perhaps he could use the threat of transferring schools, and Zhong Jianjun wouldn't push him too hard.

Grades are like cultivation levels; he's simply not strong enough yet...

"Isn't it fine now?" Xie Shu turned to look at him. "And we can be together normally from now on, every night."

"Then I'll have to ask the class monitor to tutor me more in math and English from now on," Li Mubai said with a smile.

"Sure, I'll definitely train the class monitor to be an outstanding student." Xie Shu also smiled slightly, "I'll strive to surpass the number one."

They walked along the rubber track, lap after lap. Time seemed to slow down as they walked around. They walked around twice, then twice more, before slowly walking out of the playground entrance.

Not far behind them, two figures followed slowly.

"It's so sweet, unlike us two single dogs who can only take walks together."

"Boring. It's your senior year of high school, studying hard is the right thing to do."

Although Xu Yao said that, her eyes were still fixed on Li Mubai and the others as they disappeared at the end of the road.

From the very beginning, she and Lan Shiyu followed slowly behind Li Mubai and Xie Shu.

"Really not interested?" Lan Shiyu tilted her head, her tone teasing.

"I'm not interested anymore. I'm not the same person I used to be. I'm now the college entrance exam version of Xu Yao."

"Haha." Lan Shiyu laughed twice. "I remember last week someone posted a status saying they were in a bad mood, drank seven bottles of baijiu and four bottles of red wine, toasting all the unspeakable sadness. I liked it and then immediately deleted it. It's so hard to guess."

Lan Shiyu pretended to scratch her head, unable to guess.

"I already told you, it was my brother who sent it using my phone, but you still don't believe me."

Seeing that she was getting a little serious, Lan Shiyu immediately stopped talking about the topic.

"Okay, okay, I just wanted to make sure you've really moved on. You're doing great now. Remember what I said, Xu Yao: if you have no man in your heart, you'll be a genius in exams."

"Mm," Xu Yao replied faintly.

The night breeze blew from the other side of the playground, and the surroundings gradually quieted down. Occasionally, a few laughs could be heard from afar, but they quickly disappeared into the night.

"Walk me to my dorm building," Xie Shu gently tugged at Li Mubai's sleeve.

"Okay, I was going to give it to you anyway."

"Could you deliver it to my dorm?"

"How could that be?" Li Mubai couldn't help but laugh. "The dorm supervisor won't let me in."

Xie Shu chuckled softly; she was just joking.

"By the way, Xie Shu, you..." Li Mubai's voice suddenly stopped, as if something was stuck in his throat.

"What's wrong?" Xie Shu turned his head to look at him in confusion.

The question he wanted to ask circled in his mind several times, but when he saw Xie Shu's eyes brightly illuminated by the streetlights, reflecting his own image, he suddenly didn't want to ask anymore.

Perhaps, just like the lyrics Xie Shu hummed softly today: At least we are happy now.

"We've arrived at the girls' dormitory." He changed the subject. "Let's go back quickly, it's almost eleven o'clock."

Xie Shu looked up and saw that students were already returning to their dormitories in twos and threes.

"Then I'll head back now." She looked away. "Xiaobai, see you tomorrow, goodnight."

Xie Shu raised her hand and waved it gently at him, then turned and walked into the dormitory building, her figure quickly disappearing from sight.

Goodbye, Xiao Shu...

He actually wanted to ask Xie Shu if he would be going abroad again a year from now...

"Holy crap, this is incredible! Lao Bai and XS are still alive and kicking despite Zhong Jianjun's suppression! They were caught red-handed by Teacher Sijiao tonight and they're fine!"

"Really?"

"You still don't believe me? This is what Lao Bai told me himself."

When Li Mubai pushed open the door and entered, the group fell silent for a moment.

"Here comes the complaint." Jiao Yong was the first to react. "What Zhao Feng just said, is it true?"

"Yes," Li Mubai readily admitted.

"Wow, that's amazing. So why did Zhong Jianjun let you off the hook?" Yang Kun asked in surprise.

Li Mubai briefly recounted the events of that time, omitting, of course, details that needed to be omitted, such as Xu Ting's connections to get them jobs at the library...

"Alright, Lao Bai! Help us curb Old Man Zhong's arrogance!" Zhao Feng said excitedly.

Li Mubai smiled but didn't reply. He couldn't suppress Zhong Jianjun's arrogance. He carried the toothbrush cup into the washroom, washed up, and went to bed.

The Little Prince lay beside his pillow. Sometimes he felt it was strange that Xie Shu and the Little Prince were so similar, both quietly keeping him company.

He picked up another copy of Pride and Prejudice, turned the pages with his fingers, and removed the bookmark.

The window was ajar, and the night breeze slipped in, causing the mosquito net to wrinkle slightly.

Night fell like a tide, and the clock struck twelve. Li Mubai closed his eyes, finally able to rest for a short while.