We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

The 18th floor of Zhongtian Building.

Li Mubai stood downstairs, looking up at the office building. The glass curtain wall reflected the faint winter sunlight, and it didn't seem particularly special.

He looked away, put his phone in his pocket, lifted the windproof curtain, and went inside.

There weren't many people in the building, and the lobby was empty and quiet. He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the eighteenth floor.

Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps outside the elevator, as if someone was running. He thought for a moment and reached out to press the open button.

A figure darted in quickly, took a couple of breaths with his head down, and said thank you as soon as he regained his balance.

Li Mubai released the button, said nothing, and silently retreated to the corner of the elevator.

The man recovered and looked up at the elevator floor display. His gaze inadvertently swept over Li Mubai in the corner, and his expression suddenly froze.

The elevator fell silent as the numbers ticked up one by one, the cool white light casting a soft glow on the walls.

"Long time no see." It was Mei Yulu who spoke first, her voice not loud.

"Hmm," Li Mubai responded calmly.

"You...are you also here for the intensive course?" she asked.

"Um."

Li Mubai's attitude was rather cold, so Mei Yulu shut her mouth at the right time.

The elevator fell silent again. The floor number jumped once, and with a ding, we arrived at the ninth floor.

He went out first, and Mei Yulu followed behind, a few steps away.

At the end of the corridor was a spacious lobby with several sofas and chairs, resembling a company reception area. Further inside, classrooms and offices could be vaguely seen.

"Are you here to join our Tsinghua-Peking University intensive preparation class?" a voice came from the front desk.

"Yes." Li Mubai walked over.

"Please register here. After you're done, please sit in the lobby for a while. Our trial lesson will start at nine o'clock."

"Okay." He picked up a pen, filled in the information in a few quick strokes, and found a seat against the wall.

A few people of similar age were scattered around the lobby; some were looking down at their phones, while others were holding their backpacks and lost in thought.

After registering, Mei Yulu looked around and then sat down not far from him.

Li Mubai took out his phone and glanced at it. It was 8:55. He should be arriving soon.

Just seconds after he put down his phone, the elevator doors opened with a ding.

Xie Shu walked out from there, her backpack slung over her shoulder. She glanced around the hall and then walked briskly toward Li Mubai.

"Long time no see," she said with a faint smile.

"Didn't we just start winter break and separate the day before yesterday?"

"Of course not. First of all, a day apart feels like three autumns, and secondly, we've been separated for thirty-nine hours." Xie Shu put down his schoolbag, his face serious.

"Alright, alright." Li Mubai smiled helplessly, not expecting Xie Shu to remember the time so clearly.

"Oh right, I think we need to register over there," he reminded him.

"Okay, please keep an eye on my backpack." Xie Shu stood up from beside him and walked straight to the front desk.

Mei Yulu watched the whole thing from beginning to end. When Xie Shu stood up, she unconsciously took out her phone and looked down.

"Dear students, please come to our classroom. Teacher Wen is already waiting for you." The girl at the front desk stood up and announced loudly.

The classroom was clean and tidy, completely different from school classrooms, and because it was located in a high-rise building, the surroundings were particularly quiet.

A smiling, refined woman with glasses and a gentle demeanor stood on the podium. She watched the students walk in one by one, her gaze lingering briefly on Xie Shu's figure at the door before moving away.

When Mei Yulu came in, there were only empty seats left behind Li Mubai and Xie Shu. She sat down slowly in silence.

Everyone was seated, but Wen Xiuyu didn't speak. She glanced at the door, as if waiting for someone.

Half a minute later, a figure appeared at the door. Wen Xiuyu didn't say anything, but simply raised her chin, gesturing for her to sit down.

Shen Nianning scanned the classroom and finally locked onto the only empty seat.

As she approached, she saw Xie Shu and Li Mubai in the front row. Her expression froze slightly. Then she looked at her deskmate, Mei Yulu, and the scene of going to No. 1 Middle School seemed to be right before her eyes.

"Alright, everyone's here now, and it's exactly nine o'clock. You all come from various top high schools in Pingyang, and you're all potential candidates for Tsinghua and Peking Universities..."

As Wen Xiuyu spoke on stage, Li Mubai glanced at the students in the classroom, who numbered only about a dozen.

"You students have all paid tuition to come here, and our courses will definitely make you feel that you've gotten more than your money's worth."

Tuition fees? What tuition fees? Li Mubai was stunned.

"This morning, we'll start with a simple diagnostic test covering all subjects to identify where students' weaknesses lie."

Before Li Mubai could even think about the tuition fees, several sheets of paper were placed on his desk.

"Don't peek at your deskmate. Take responsibility for yourself," Wen Xiuyu reminded her.

Li Mubai glanced at Xie Shu, then looked away and picked up his pen to start working on the problem.

An hour later, Li Mubai put down his pen and rubbed his wrist.

"I've put the answers on the screen. Please check with your deskmate and then find out where you think the other person's weaknesses are. Take a ten-minute break, then we'll resume class."

After Wen Xiuyu finished speaking, she sat down, her gaze intentionally or unintentionally sweeping over Xie Shu and Li Mubai in the first row.

"You seem to have gotten this question wrong?" Li Mubai leaned over to look at Xie Shu's test paper.

"Really? Let me see." Xie Shu leaned closer, his shoulder almost touching his, and looked down at his paper.

Mei Yulu's breathing quickened slightly, and her chest rose and fell gently.

"You don't seem to be very good at math."

"Hmm?" She turned to look at Shen Nianning.

"I corrected your test paper and found that you made more mistakes in math compared to your other subjects." Shen Nianning took out her math test paper.

Mei Yulu's attention immediately shifted to analyzing the test paper.

"By the way, Xie Shu, do you know what Teacher Wen meant by the tuition fees he mentioned earlier?"

During a break after analyzing the exam paper, Li Mubai asked in a low voice.

"I don't know either," Xie Shu shook his head. "Should we ask the other classmates?"

Who should he ask? He seemed to only recognize Shen Nianning and Mei Yulu in the entire classroom; he could forget about the latter.

Before he could speak, Xie Shu had already turned around.

"Shen Nianning, do you know what tuition fees are all about?" she asked.

Shen Nianning looked up, slightly taken aback: "Tuition fees? I don't really know what that means either."

This is a class run by her own mother. Isn't paying tuition just taking money from her father's pocket into her mother's pocket?

"Okay," Li Mubai said.

Just as he and Xie Shu were about to turn back, another voice came:

"The tuition fee is 3,280 yuan. You can pay in advance or after the trial lesson."

It was Mei Yulu. After she finished speaking, the air was quiet for a moment. Shen Nianning's gaze swept back and forth between the three people, but she did not say anything.

"Okay, thank you for letting me know." Xie Shu was the first to break the silence.

"Thank you," Li Mubai said.

"It's nothing." Mei Yulu lowered her head, turned the test paper over, and tried to sound natural.

"Alright everyone, let's get back to class..." Wen Xiuyu's voice rang out again.

The first day of the intensive course ended at 5 p.m.

After Li Mubai and Xie Shu packed their bags and walked out together, Mei Yulu slowly got up.

She arrived at the elevator and happened to find it already full of people. Li Mubai and Xie Shu were standing at the front, and he reached out and pressed the open button.

"Hurry up and get on, there are still enough seats," someone urged.

"You guys go ahead and get off. I'll sit on the other side," she said.

Li Mubai released his grip, and the elevator doors slowly closed.