When it came to matters of the heart, even though both of them were filled with doubts, they were like snails—extending their feelers to tentatively touch, only to immediately pull back.

Shen Yi’s thought was, ’I can’t rush things. There’s plenty of time, and I can’t risk scaring her off.’

And Qin Jiao’s thought was, ’I’ll just bear with it for now. Once the college entrance exams are over, everything will be fine.’

’We can slowly drift apart and become nothing more than familiar strangers.’

Though their thoughts differed, the outcome was the same. The two shared an unspoken agreement not to mention what had just happened, and they returned to working on their practice tests in perfect harmony.

The gossip came and went faster than a tornado. Jiang Xiaoyue, who had been watching the drama unfold, hadn’t even processed it when Meng Lanlan, sitting nearby, poked her with a ballpoint pen and whispered, "Xiao Yue, what’s the deal with those two? Are they actually a thing or not?"

Jiang Xiaoyue was about to say something, but when she turned and saw it was Meng Lanlan, she huffed, "You’re good friends with Lin Nian. You’re just trying to dig up dirt for her, aren’t you?"

Lin Nian wasn’t in the classroom. No one knew where she had gone.

Meng Lanlan quickly whispered back, "I’m just genuinely curious! This has nothing to do with Lin Nian. Besides... I haven’t really felt like talking to her lately. She’s always going on about how it’s useless to be good at your studies. According to her, marrying well is the only thing that’s truly impressive."

Meng Lanlan wouldn’t normally argue with Lin Nian over other things, but she truly couldn’t agree with that statement.

’So what if you marry well? Your husband’s money is his money, and his good job is his job. What happens if one day he decides he doesn’t want to give you money anymore, or just starts ignoring you? What then?’

Jiang Xiaoyue was stunned. "Don’t tell me Lin Nian is already planning to marry Chen Feng?"

The two of them were inseparable, a fact most of their classmates knew. It was true that some people their age were already married, but since they were still in school, it was unlikely they’d get married so soon.

Meng Lanlan shook her head. "I wouldn’t know about that, but they’ve definitely been together for a long time. Anyway, I’m just curious—are Qin Jiao and Shen Yi a couple?"

"Honestly, I don’t really know either," Jiang Xiaoyue replied. "Sometimes they seem so close and have this amazing chemistry, but other times, they’re so formal with each other. It’s not at all like how people act when they’re dating."

The two girls sighed in unison. It was all too complicated. How were single girls like them supposed to figure it out?

Oh well. Maybe they should take a page from Qin Jiao and Shen Yi’s book and do a practice test to clear their heads.

The sky had been clear all day, with the sun blazing down. But by the time the evening self-study session was about to end, the classroom had become unbearably stuffy. Qin Jiao glanced out the window at the oppressive darkness, unable to tell if it was simply nighttime or if the sky was filled with dark clouds.

’This is bad if it rains,’ she thought. ’I didn’t bring a raincoat.’

As fate would have it, her worries were immediately realized. Due to the worsening weather, the school dismissed the evening self-study students early. Qin Jiao and Shen Yi went to the bike shed to get their bikes, discussing a problem as they walked. Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated the entire world. An instant later, a colossal RUMBLE of thunder echoed from above, so loud it sounded as if someone had torn a hole in the sky.

This was bad. Summer rainstorms came without warning.

The moment the thunder faded, the sky opened up. Qin Jiao and Shen Yi hurriedly pushed their bikes back, and the two of them finally managed to take shelter under the bike shed’s roof just as the downpour began in earnest outside.