We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

Ms. Yang Qin was in charge of the evening self-study session on Monday. She called Li Mubai and Xie Shu to her office.

"How's it going? Did you finish writing it over the weekend?" Teacher Yang asked with a smile.

"Teacher, please take a look."

Xie Shu is good at talking; if it were Li Mubai, he probably would have just handed over his composition book without saying a word.

"Hmm—not bad, overall it's very good. It's commendable that it was written in such a short time."

Teacher Yang first praised Xie Shu's composition, then glanced at Li Mubai, who was standing half a meter behind Xie Shu, and said, "Li Mubai, come and listen too. Although it's not your composition, it will still help you revise it."

"Okay." Li Mubai moved to the other side of Teacher Yang.

"There's a detail you can change like this..." Teacher Yang continued to offer Xie Shu suggestions for improvement.

Li Mubai glanced at it and didn't see any of his pencil marks. Could it have been erased? Or perhaps he had rewritten it in another notebook, just like Li Mubai.

"Alright, Xie Shu, now revise it again following this line of thought, and we'll continue next Monday."

"Okay, thank you, teacher."

"Li Mubai, look at what you've written."

"Teacher, please take a look."

Li Mubai handed his essay to Teacher Yang, who began to revise it...

"Li Mubai, go back and revise according to the suggestions, then continue next Monday."

"Okay, thank you, Teacher Yang."

"You're welcome. Also, if you have time, buy a calligraphy practice book and practice your handwriting. No matter what kind of exam it is, neat handwriting will always be a plus."

Li Mubai nodded shyly. He used to use a ruler to write, but they weren't allowed to use one when he entered high school, so he was back to square one.

Back in the classroom, Chen Qiuhe secretly passed her a notebook: "How's the revision? Give me your critique."

Li Mubai wrote a reply in his notebook: "Let me show you your masterpiece."

Then I slipped it into her composition book and gave it to her.

Chen Qiuhe carefully read the composition for a while before returning it to him, and even wrote a comment in pencil at the end of the composition: "Not bad, it has quite my style."

"Damn it, why did Teacher Yang make you and XS go to the office for almost an entire evening study session?" Yang Kun asked after returning to the dormitory.

In class, even the slightest movement is easily noticed by other students, who then question the student.

"I went to help Ms. Yang grade another class's homework."

Li Mubai had already come up with an excuse. He didn't want too many people to know that he was participating in the competition. After all, wouldn't he be ridiculed if he didn't win an award?

"Then why not call him the class representative?"

"Because we have enough people. Hurry up and review, Yang Kun, the monthly exam is coming up soon."

After Li Mubai finished speaking, he took out his textbook and began to review. Speaking of which, Yan Shu rarely came to see him. She would only send him a message once a day at night and then say goodbye in a hurry. She was probably busy with the monthly exam.

Snapped.

Lights out, but Wang Rui's desk lamp was still on. He was reading extracurricular books while the lights were on, but after the lights were turned off, he quietly put the books away and took out his workbook and test papers.

Is studying more efficient at night? Li Mubai decided to try it out. He turned on the desk lamp, and no one suspected that he was reviewing, since Li Mubai often studied by lamplight.

……

Why am I so sleepy? Staying up late to study is not advisable. No wonder Wang Rui often dozes off.

On Tuesday morning, Li Mubai felt listless and dispirited.

He slumped onto his desk as soon as the first English class ended.

"Li Mubai, pull yourself together, don't collapse here," Chen Qiuhe said.

"I can't go on, I need to rest for a while."

"What time did you go to sleep last night? You were as sleepy as a panda."

"a little."

"What did you do? Why are you sleeping so late?"

Li Mubai didn't reply to her; he had already fallen into a light sleep and only woke up when the bell rang.

I rubbed my eyes and noticed a long, packaged item next to my desk.

What is this? It's all in English... and Korean?

Luckily, Li Mubai knew someone who made coffee, probably the same kind as Nestlé instant coffee, otherwise he would have just thrown it away. Was it given to him by Xie Shu?

But he didn't have a water cup. He only realized he should buy a water cup when he needed it.

Li Mubai finished a quarter of the water in the mineral water bottle, poured in the coffee, and added some hot water after class. The plastic bottle was slightly deformed, but it was still usable.

Upon opening the bottle, an indescribable aroma (hazelnut scent) wafted out. He carefully took a sip; it had no bitter taste.

"What are you drinking? It smells so good!" Chen Qiuhe asked, turning her head.

"I'm drinking Nestlé coffee, do you want some?"

"I won't drink it, I'm not sleepy," Chen Qiuhe said, still somewhat doubtful.

"I'm sleepy, but I won't give it to you."

The person in front, whose breathing had been paused, resumed its normal rhythm, emitting a faint nasal sound that no one heard.

Wednesday's club class. Last week we said the manuscript collection should be finished, but I don't know how it went.

Li Mubai saw Han Xiaowei place a pile of papers on Xie Shu's table, say a few words, and then leave.

He looked away and prepared to do his homework.

But the light around me dimmed, and I looked up in confusion.

"Would you like to review the manuscript together?" Xie Shu asked.

Li Mubai glanced at the other classmates and noticed that they were all secretly looking at him. He instinctively wanted to refuse, but Xie Shu interrupted him.

"I remember you commented on classical Chinese poems when the club was recruiting new members, so you should be quite knowledgeable about them. It just so happens that quite a few people applied this time."

"Uh—okay."

"Then move your chair over to my place, and we can take a look together and discuss it."

Li Mubai obediently moved his chair and sat down next to Xie Shu, but kept a distance between them.

There were quite a few manuscripts collected, and Xie Shu gave him half of them.

In fact, everyone has different standards for evaluating literature, which is highly subjective. What A likes, B may not like. Therefore, it is best for each judge to make their own independent judgment.

"Squad leader, how should we conduct the interrogation?" Li Mubai asked.

"Put the ones you think are acceptable on one side, and the ones you think are unacceptable on the other side."

"What if I think a work is unacceptable, but others think it's acceptable?"

The "other person" that Li Mubai was referring to was actually Xie Shu.

"It's alright, I trust your judgment," Xie Shu suddenly said to him with a smile.

……

Li Mubai pressed his pounding heart and turned his attention to the manuscript. His first ancient poem—what a load of rubbish…

He decisively placed it on the unacceptable side and turned to the next one. It was a modern poem. He didn't understand it very well, but he could make out the general idea. It was barely acceptable.

He flipped through a few more pages until he saw a familiar name—Tian Yulin from Class 1, Grade 1.

Putting aside his prejudices, he wrote poems that were at least somewhat more basic than others. He submitted five poems at once, but Li Mubai crossed out three and kept only two.

Didn't they say there were quite a few submissions of classical poems? After reading through them, he only found that five or six classmates had submitted classical poems. Could they all be with Xie Shu? Besides, he didn't see his or Yan Shu's submissions either.

Wait a minute, Xie Shu hasn't finished reviewing it yet. She's very thorough and has kept quite a few drafts, which stands out compared to Li Mubai's meager manuscript.

Taking this opportunity, Li Mubai pulled out Tian Yulin's work again, keeping one more for him, and picked out a few more that were barely acceptable.

Sorry, bro, my standards were too high just now. Compared to others, you're still pretty good. You're just the tallest among the short.

After Xie Shu finished reviewing, Li Mubai handed over the manuscripts he thought were acceptable to her. He glanced at the acceptable manuscripts in Xie Shu's hand and thought that his manuscript should be among them.

He didn't know the precautions at the time and selected ten poems at once. He didn't know how many Xie Shu had kept for him.

"I'm handing this over to the Student Union's Publicity Department next Monday. Are you going?" Xie Shu asked.

"Uh, I won't go, I still have to study."

……