We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"Stop writing and put away your paper."

Exams, exams, they've made everyone numb...

Li Mubai placed his pen on the table, folded his hands, and quietly waited for the proctors to collect the pens row by row.

He ranked 43rd in the city's mock exam, which was pretty much what he expected. Xie Shu said that if this ranking were converted to a provincial ranking, it would be between 120 and 130.

With less than a month until the provincial mock exam in April, he doesn't know if he can still advance a few more steps.

"If only there were a system like that," a thought suddenly popped into his head.

This way, you won't have to worry about grades or feel down about the upcoming separation.

"Knock knock".

He suddenly came to his senses. The proctor was standing next to him, holding a stack of answer sheets in his hand.

Answer sheet.

"Excuse me, teacher." He removed his hand from under the answer sheet.

The teacher didn't say much, picked up the answer sheet and walked to the next row.

As usual, Li Mubai picked up Xie Shu's schoolbag, walked out of the classroom, and stood by the corridor.

Chen Qiuhe suddenly appeared beside her: "Mu Bai, Li Mu Bai! What was your ranking in the city's mock exam?"

"Forty-three, how much are you?"

"That's really high," she said with envy. "I'm already in the eighties."

"Keep going, I'm still a long way from my goal."

"Just use cheats, you can't win without them!"

Li Mubai glanced at her, and Chen Qiuhe seemed to have returned to the way she was when they first met—bright, cheerful, and lively.

"What are you talking about?" Xie Shu's voice came from the side, drawing the attention of both of them at the same time.

"What's your ranking in the mock exam in Liaocheng, Xie Shu?" Chen Qiuhe turned around.

"I did alright on the test this time, third place." Xie Shu said as he took his schoolbag from Li Mubai.

"Impressive, impressive." Chen Qiuhe couldn't help but give a thumbs up. "Teach Li Mubai a little more. He's going to take the entrance exam for Peking University. If he doesn't pass, Douyin users will dig up his videos and mock him."

"TikTok? Videos? Mass mockery?" Xie Shu turned his head to look at Li Mubai, a layer of doubt appearing in his eyes.

"Uh..." Li Mubai scratched the back of his head, unsure how to explain.

"Xie Shu, don't you use Douyin?" Chen Qiuhe asked.

Xie Shu shook his head.

"Someone recorded Li Mubai's speech at the 100-day countdown rally and posted it online, and quite a few people saw it."

"Then why would someone who doesn't get into Peking University be ridiculed?" Xie Shu still didn't quite understand.

"Because some people on this platform like to act as time police, digging up things you said in the past, and if they're different from the current reality, people will come and laugh at you."

Li Mubai pursed his lips, wondering who had secretly filmed the video. He was going to sue them for violating his right to privacy.

Xie Shu tugged at his sleeve: "Don't worry too much about what others think, just take it one step at a time."

"Right, right." Chen Qiuhe nodded in agreement. "Anyway, if someone can create a void to mock a stranger, they're probably not much better off themselves."

"Um."

Li Mubai didn't pay much attention. He didn't use Douyin, but his parents liked to.

He then thought of a question: he wondered if Xie Shu's parents would need it...

"We've been chatting for several minutes now. It's getting late, the bus will be leaving soon. See you tomorrow, Li Mubai, Xie Shu."

Chen Qiuhe waved her hand, a calm and relieved smile on her lips, and turned to walk towards the other end of the corridor. Her steps were light, and she disappeared into the stairwell in a few steps.

"Thank you, Shu. Shall I go too?" Li Mubai said.

"Come ride with me." Xie Shu reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

"Let's forget about it. Like I said before, it's not good to ride in your dad's car every week." Li Mubai grasped her hand that was tugging at his sleeve. "Besides, we'll be going back to school and seeing each other tomorrow."

"My dad called you," Xie Shu added.

"Your dad?" Li Mubai asked, his tone clearly showing disbelief.

Xie Shu didn't explain much. He took out his phone from his bag, scrolled through the WeChat chat history, and held it up in front of him.

The message was sent at noon and was brief.

Dad: "I'll pick you up this afternoon, at the same spot as before."

Xie Shu: "Okay."

Dad: "Call Li Mubai along."

Xie Shu replied with an "okay" after a few minutes.

Li Mubai stared at the chat log twice, secretly suspecting that Xie Shu had used two accounts to stage the whole thing.

A new message popped up at the top of the screen.

[17:11]

Dad: "Where's the little book?"

He looked away; it seemed to be true...

"Why is it a few minutes later than before?" Xie Zhiqiang asked.

"I chatted with my classmates for a while," Xie Shu replied casually.

"That's good," Xie Zhiqiang glanced at the rearview mirror. "Dad thought something had happened to you."

"With Li Mubai around," Xie Shu said, "there won't be any surprises."

Li Mubai felt a chill run down his spine.

Fortunately, Xie Zhiqiang in the front row didn't respond, but simply pressed the accelerator lightly, and the car slowly merged into the traffic.

No matter how many times he rides in the same car as people of this social class, he will still feel awkward.

"How did you do on the city's first mock exam?" Xie Zhiqiang suddenly asked.

"Third, city rankings," Xie Shu said.

"Where is Li Mubai?" Xie Zhiqiang asked immediately.

"Forty-third is also excellent," Xie Shu answered for him.

"How are your grades in each subject?" Xie Zhiqiang seemed particularly concerned about the grades, asking one question after another.

"Chinese 126, Math 136, English 144..."

Li Mubai sat beside him listening, slightly surprised. He had only known the total score before and hadn't looked at the individual subjects in detail. Now that they were broken down, he realized how impressive it was.

"You did well on the exam." Xie Zhiqiang paused, then changed his tone slightly, "What about Li Mubai?"

Xie Shu did not answer immediately, as if he sensed that Xie Zhiqiang's words seemed to be directed at Li Mubai.

"Chinese 125, Math 120, English 125..." Li Mubai answered himself.

"English 125?"

"Yes, Uncle." Li Mubai nodded slowly. Compared to Xie Shuyao's dazzling achievements, he seemed much more ordinary.

"Okay." Xie Zhiqiang said those two words and then didn't say anything more.

The carriage fell silent again. Xie Shu lowered his head, as if he was thinking about something.

Li Mubai shifted his gaze to the window. The street scene gradually became unfamiliar; this road didn't seem to lead him home...

The car slowed down, and three large gilded characters appeared on the roadside—Yuehu Bay.

The electric gate slowly opened, and Xie Zhiqiang drove straight in without hesitation.

Thinking about all the odd things that happened today, Li Mubai felt a little uneasy, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions.

I hope nothing bad will happen...

"Dad, how did we get to Yuehu Bay?" Xie Shu asked, his tone tinged with surprise.

Li Mubai also had doubts in his heart. In the past, it seemed that he would be sent home first, and then they would go home.

"Seeing how hard you've been studying, and since it's lunchtime, let's have a meal together," Xie Zhiqiang said casually.

"Shall we...have dinner together?" Xie Shu glanced at Li Mubai beside him, clearly unaware of the matter.

"Thank you, Uncle," Li Mubai quickly said. "I'll just eat at home. It's quite convenient to take the subway back from here."

Xie Zhiqiang seemed not to hear him. He turned the steering wheel and the car slid into the garage of the detached villa. The light dimmed for a moment, and the overhead lights turned on automatically. There were two other cars parked next to him.

"Get out of the car." Xie Zhiqiang unbuckled his seatbelt and was the first to open the car door and get out.

The air in the garage was slightly chilly. Xie Shu leaned closer to Li Mubai and whispered, "It's alright, nothing should happen."

Li Mubai did not get out of the car immediately. He sat in the back seat, glanced outside through the car window, and slowly opened the door a few seconds later.