We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

On Saturday, after finishing their half-month research project, Li Mubai and Yan Shu exchanged ideas. Yan Shu brought up the unresolved issue from the previous week again—whether or not to submit some manuscripts to the literary society.

Li Mubai thought of Xie Shu's promise to contribute to the school newspaper, wondering how far things had progressed. She hadn't mentioned it during club classes either.

Why not submit some articles that you think are good? It's a roundabout way to achieve your goal.

Moreover, he could also subtly elicit Xie Shu's evaluation of these poems in this way. Clever as he is, he killed two birds with one stone. Next Wednesday's club class is really something to look forward to.

Li Bubai: "Okay, but I need some time to put together the drafts that I think are good."

Li Bubai: "And if we don't publish it in provincial publications, let's just publish it in the school newspaper and the literary society's journal."

Li Bubai: "One last thing, you absolutely must not reveal my personal information, not even my QQ number or online name."

Although Yan Shu didn't know his real information, she did know his online name. If Han Xiaowei saw it, it would be disastrous, especially since he had joined the literary society's QQ group.

I was too hasty; I should have created several alternate accounts as aliases before.

Yan Shu: "Okay, on behalf of the literary society, I thank you for contributing the manuscript."

Li Mubai chuckled. "What do you mean by 'a manuscript'? It's just a beginner's practice piece."

Before returning to school on Sunday, Li Mubai sent the completed manuscript to Yan Shu and asked if she would submit her poems to the literary society. Of course, they would.

Before evening self-study, Li Mubai was sitting in the classroom reviewing. Learning new knowledge is important, but reviewing old knowledge is also indispensable, especially since the monthly exam is coming up soon.

"Want some mochi? Matcha flavor, please~"

He looked up and saw Xie Shuzheng taking a small bite with his head down.

Without any hesitation, Li Mubai took a green mochi from Chen Qiuhe's "special weapon" and ate it in a few bites. It was quite delicious.

But he was puzzled. What exactly did Chen Qiuhe's family do? How come they never had the same dessert every week?

However, it was impolite to inquire about a classmate's family background without permission, so Li Mubai hesitated for a moment but still didn't ask.

I get free desserts from Chen Qiuhe every week, so I should bring her a small snack tomorrow to repay her.

Xie Shu finished chewing slowly. She took out a tissue to wipe her hands and mouth, and then took out a small transparent box from her schoolbag. Inside were red and orange candies.

"Qiuhe, thank you, this is for you."

"Thank you, Xie Shu. These three 'thank you' characters are really hard to pronounce."

I think so too.

Chen Qiuhe took it, picked it up and examined it: "s, u, g, a, r, f, i, n, a, what is this?"

Xie Shu smiled and said, "Peach gummies."

Chen Qiuhe tore off the label, opened the box, picked up a piece with her fingers, and popped it into her mouth.

"Delicious! Not too gelatinous, just the right amount of sweetness, and a fruity aroma."

Chen Qiuhe praised him, then glanced at Li Mubai and said, "What, you want it? Xie Shu gave it to me."

Who said I wanted it? I was just curious.

Li Mubai withdrew his gaze to review his knowledge, like a hungry person pouncing on bread.

Ring ring.

Once everyone was seated and gradually quieted down to do their own thing, Xie Shu turned around as if to take something out of her bag. She then took out a book. When she turned back, there was a small transparent box on Li Mubai's desk with a small sticky note on it.

"Thank you, here you go."

Looks like I'll have to give them gifts in return tomorrow, but why should they thank me?

……

"Doubao, what's this?"

When he got back to his dorm that night, he took a picture of the little box and sent it to Doubao to have it recognized.

"This is Sugarfina's Peach Bum, in a small square box. The price from domestic resellers is generally ¥60-80, while the original price on the overseas official website is about $8.95 (or $4 during promotions)."

He never imagined that such a small gummy candy would be so expensive, almost equivalent to one-fifth of his weekly allowance. What gift of equal value should he give in return?

The next morning, before Chen Qiuhe arrived, Xie Shu reached into his desk and found something cold. It turned out to be a mint green Suppor thermos with a sticky note on it: "Thank you, Gummy Candy."

November 21st, autumn, clear skies.

"Chen Qiuhe, here you go."

Li Mubai gave Chen Qiuhe a Snickers bar and a bag of Lay's lime chips.

Give a little first, and repay the favor slowly. Think about what to give them on their birthday later.

"Oh my, after giving you so many desserts, you finally know how to repay me."

"What do you mean by repaying kindness? This is just me returning the favor."

"Hmph, anyway, thanks."

Chen Qiuhe put away the snacks. She had to go to class in the morning, so she would eat potato chips together after school in the afternoon.

During the break, Xie Shu picked up her water cup to get hot water, and Deng Yi got up as well.

"Shu, why did you change your water cup?"

"This water glass looks better."

"Really?" Deng Yi didn't think it looked that good either.

Xie Shu didn't answer her question. Instead, he inserted his water card, and the scalding hot water flowed into the cup, emitting a slight metallic smell.

Deng Yi sniffed and said, "Shu, is this water cup brand new? Don't drink from it yet. Fill it with hot water, seal it, and let it sit for an hour or two."

"it is good."

Speaking of which, it's getting cold. Should I buy a thermos? It's so inconvenient to always use mineral water bottles or beverage bottles. Li Mubai rubbed his chin and pondered.

"Li Mu Bai, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking of flying spaghetti."

"What is this? Help me look at this history multiple-choice question."

Chen Qiuhe brought a test paper and spread it on his desk.

"Isn't this the midterm exam paper from last time?" Li Mubai asked in confusion.

"Yeah, can't we review some old knowledge?" Chen Qiuhe countered.

Review? I think it's clearly because you didn't understand it last time.

"The answer to this question is B. I don't see any mention of A's commercial trade in the material."

"Okay, sure."

When Xie Shu returned with the water, Chen Qiuhe asked him the same question again, and only felt relieved after receiving the same explanation.

You don't believe in the god of history? Well, there are actually two gods.

Monday evening study session was for Chinese. Teacher Yang arrived before the bell rang, and after the bell rang, she told Xie Shu to study hard and then called him away.

"Xie Shu, what are your thoughts on the provincial essay competition?" Teacher Yang asked with a smile.

"I haven't decided yet, teacher."

"Then you'd better hurry. If you want to participate, you need to set aside at least a month to write," Teacher Yang reminded her.

"Okay." Xie Shu nodded slightly.

"Um—and also, Teacher Zhou said you and Li Mubai were in the same class in the first year of high school?"

During evening self-study, there were basically no other teachers in the office, so Teacher Yang asked directly.

"Yes, teacher."

"Are you familiar with him?"

"Yes, I know it." Xie Shu answered without hesitation.

"Okay, Teacher Zhou told me that Li Mubai is a rather introverted person and might not participate in the competition, but I think it would be a real shame if he didn't participate. Do you see if there's any way to get him to participate? If he really doesn't want to, then so be it."

"Okay, I'll figure something out, teacher."