The next morning, it was still raining.

Although the temperature had dropped, the summer heat wouldn’t dissipate so easily.

The rain wasn’t heavy enough to keep the temperature from climbing, and it might even turn the city into a steamer later on.

The sweat would be off-the-charts sticky!

Fortunately, it was Wednesday, so there was no PE class.

And if it rained, they wouldn’t have to do morning exercises either.

’Ah, another day without any pretty girls to nourish my brain.’

’But hey, at least I have Young Master Li’s beautiful face to tide me over.’

Shen Yuan stood at the entrance of his residential complex, gazing at the endless rain and wondering why they still had to go to school on a rainy day.

In some ways, Shen Yuan didn’t like rainy days either.

It might have been because of the way he walked, but every time it rained, Shen Yuan always managed to get his pant cuffs wet.

It was incredibly annoying.

But Li Zhi was never like that.

Young Master Li could stride around with her long legs and not get a single drop on her pant cuffs. Shen Yuan just couldn’t figure it out.

"Yuan, waiting for that girl of yours?"

The complex’s security guard, Guo Yifei, saw Shen Yuan standing at the gate for a while and poked his head out of the guard booth to ask.

"Guo, she’s called a childhood sweetheart."

"Isn’t that the same thing?"

Shen Yuan glanced at Guo Yifei. "What the hell do you know? You’ve never even been in a relationship."

Shen Yuan and Guo Yifei were around the same age.

Which was why they got along so well.

One was a high school senior, the other had graduated from a vocational high school two years ago and become a security guard, taking a 40-year shortcut in life.

Guo Yifei got flustered. "Hey, what do you mean I’ve never been in a relationship? Back in vocational school..."

"The number of girls you slept with could fill a whole classroom, right?"

Shen Yuan looked at Guo Yifei and asked, "Guo, do you even believe that?"

Guo Yifei opened his mouth, then waved his hand in annoyance. "I’m done talking to you! Get to school, you little shit!"

Shen Yuan chuckled, then opened his umbrella and started walking toward school.

"I’m heading out!"

"Be careful on the road, it’s raining!" Guo Yifei shouted, poking his head out again.

"Got it!"

Before long, Shen Yuan noticed his pant cuffs were wet.

’Goddammit.’

’Rainy days really are the worst.’

Even buying breakfast became a hassle.

Raindrops constantly fell from the awnings, hitting umbrellas and splashing everywhere, probably hitting some unlucky person.

Billowing steam poured out of the shop. The owner stood behind a steamer, continuously taking out one steamed bun after another.

On the other side, students were sitting inside eating stir-fried noodles and rice vermicelli.

Shen Yuan usually preferred to get his food to-go, mainly because it was too hot inside the shop.

You’d be drenched in sweat by the time you finished eating, and it was all sticky.

"Boss, four... no, five buns—three pickled vegetable and tofu, two meat—and a savory tofu pudding. Twelve yuan, I’ve transferred the money."

The moment Shen Yuan finished speaking, the owner handed him his order.

"What the—? Boss, you’ve got quick hands."

"Just practice."

The owner quickly turned to pack buns for another student.

The main focus was speed.

Shen Yuan emerged from the crowd and found shelter from the rain under a shop’s awning to organize the things in his hands.

Even though it was raining, eating was still the top priority.

By the time Shen Yuan got to the classroom, he only had one vegetable bun left in his hand.

Shen Yuan didn’t eat it right away. Instead, he stuffed it into his schoolbag, then took his water bottle to the dispenser at the back of the classroom to get some water.

The bottle wasn’t a thermos; it had good thermal conductivity.

Later, he could put the water bottle and the bun together, creating a simple heating device.

"Want some? It’s pickled vegetable and tofu."

Li Zhi looked at the steamed bun Shen Yuan pulled from his bag. Although she had already eaten breakfast on the way, who could refuse a fragrant pickled vegetable and tofu bun?

’Besides, I still have room, and I’m not on a diet.’

"Just half," the beautiful girl said, swallowing.

Shen Yuan skillfully split the bun and gave the half with more filling to Li Zhi.

Taking a bite of the bun, Li Zhi felt like her whole morning had come alive.

"So good."

"If you woke up earlier, you could have had one fresh from the steamer."

Li Zhi sighed. "I forgot to charge my phone yesterday, so it died. If it weren’t for those two rascals making a ruckus in your room, I’d probably still be asleep."

Shen Yuan stared at the bun in his hand, his expression blank.

’Time to beat up the cats when I get home.’

Just as Shen Yuan was contemplating cat-punishment, Li Zhi’s close friend arrived.

"Morning, Zhizhi!"

The moment He Zhiyu got to her seat, she greeted Li Zhi.

"Morning, Zhiyu."

Shen Yuan looked up. "Don’t I get one? I know I’m only here temporarily, but we’re still sitting one behind the other."

He Zhiyu gave a timid smile and added a "good morning" for Shen Yuan.

It wasn’t that He Zhiyu had a problem with Shen Yuan.

It was mainly because as the author of *Defend and Steal*, He Zhiyu always felt that interacting with the "male lead" would affect her writing.

After all, as a male lead, Shen Yuan was a failure. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

If she talked to him too much, she probably wouldn’t be able to continue writing.

If Shen Yuan knew about this, he would definitely argue the point.

After all, Li Zhi was also a bit of a failure as a female lead.

After He Zhiyu finished her greeting, Shen Yuan started working on a practice test.

When Ji Ningning arrived at the classroom, she once again saw Shen Yuan grinding away.

"Morning."

Shen Yuan looked up and saw the English vocabulary notebook in Ji Ningning’s hand.

"Ha! You took it to the dorm to memorize words again, you grind!"

Ji Ningning took a deep breath.

"If we’re talking about grinding, you’re the real grinder. A day student arriving before six thirty! What time is it now?"

Shen Yuan glanced at the time. "6:12."

"Then you’re a grind too."

Shen Yuan waved his hand. "At most, I’m a competitive person. I don’t disturb anyone else’s rest. Only a true grind would do something like bring a vocabulary notebook to the dorm."

"But I’m a boarding student! Evening self-study ends at nine thirty, and lights are out at ten. I can’t study at home until eleven or twelve like you guys."

Ji Ningning thought that if she said this, Shen Yuan might back off a little.

But to her surprise, Shen Yuan came to an immediate conclusion.

"A pitiful, boarding-student grind."

’Damn it, I’m so tired. I don’t want to talk to this person anymore.’

’I hope this week ends quickly so I can get away from this guy next week.’

"Reading under the covers at night is bad for your eyes. My advice is to wake up earlier in the morning. It’s summer, so it gets light at 5 a.m. anyway."

Ji Ningning looked at Shen Yuan, surprised.

Just as Shen Yuan had said, Ji Ningning had already started to notice that the blackboard was getting blurry.

’I really do need to protect my eyes.’

Faced with her deskmate’s unexpected concern, the girl said, "Thank you."

Shen Yuan acknowledged her and went back to his practice problems.

But soon enough, Shen Yuan turned to Li Zhi for help.

"Young Master Li, help me see how to do this problem."

Li Zhi glanced at the problem and suddenly sighed.

"It’s September tomorrow."

"So?" Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi, confused, not understanding why the beautiful girl had brought this up.

"The monthly exam is getting closer, and you still don’t even know how to do a problem like this."

Shen Yuan felt like he’d been shot through the heart.

’I can’t breathe, sis.’

Ji Ningning, who was sitting to the side, covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

’It takes one to know one, and a grinder to grind down another grinder.’