After the math exam, everyone gathered in front of the testing center and handed in their admission tickets and ID cards again.

"Teacher, do we really have to turn in our ID cards?" Qiu Mengze asked with a fawning expression. He wanted to take his ID to an internet cafe for a bit.

The teacher in charge of collecting the documents said sternly, "No. You must turn them in."

"Then how come he doesn’t have to?" Qiu Mengze asked, pointing at Yi Bing.

"Zhang Facai, you turn yours in too," the teacher called out.

"Damn it, you screwed me over." Yi Bing was speechless, reluctantly handing over his ID.

The two of them naturally drifted over to Xue Rui. "Wanna hit the internet cafe? We can get a temporary pass anyway."

Xue Rui couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them.

Tomorrow was the last day of the college entrance exams. After finishing today’s tests, they had the whole evening free.

’Study?’ Their minds had already drifted far away.

Xue Rui rejected them outright. "No, I’m going back to study."

His childhood friend had weak self-control and a strong herd mentality.

Yi Bing was just taking the exam for the experience, and Qiu Mengze had unconsciously lumped himself into the same category as him.

By saying he was going back to study, he hoped to give Qiu Mengze a sense of urgency so he wouldn’t stay up all night playing games.

Sure enough, a conflicted look appeared on Qiu Mengze’s face...

"Yeah, I’ll go back and study too." Qiu Mengze wavered for a moment before deciding to go back and hit the books.

Yi Bing nodded. Although he wasn’t good at studying himself, he wouldn’t dismiss a classmate’s efforts. He clapped Qiu Mengze on the shoulder. "We’ll talk after the exams tomorrow."

...

Gu Muxue was picked up by her driver after the exam, and Lin Ruoxi walked over with her backpack on.

Now that the math exam was over, Xue Rui had a rough idea of his score. It should be higher than in his previous life, not lower.

He didn’t remember much about the problems he’d gotten right in his previous life, but for the major problems he hadn’t solved, he’d recalled their corresponding types right before the exam...

He remembered that back at lunch, Lin Ruoxi seemed to have said something just as he was leaving, but he hadn’t heard it clearly before Qiu Mengze dragged him away.

The hospital where her grandmother was staying wasn’t far from the testing center. After saying goodbye to Xue Xiaying, the two of them decided to walk over.

He had spent the past few days paying for a nurse to take care of her, saving the little girl a lot of energy. Now, she was just coming over to see her grandmother.

"Did you get a good nap at noon?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

There was a long break between the two exams. People in Jin Province had a habit of taking afternoon naps, and he had also snoozed for a bit at the restaurant.

The moment he said it, he felt it was a pointless question. Director Wang would have definitely made good arrangements.

"Mhm, Aunt Ren got a room for me, but I didn’t sleep at noon," Lin Ruoxi answered truthfully.

Xue Rui asked in surprise, "Then what were you doing?"

"Transcribing the morning’s language exam paper from memory."

Lin Ruoxi plugged in her laptop, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

Xue Rui sat behind Lin Ruoxi and saw that she was typing out the math exam they had just taken.

Her slender fingers danced lightly across the keyboard, completely free of any awkwardness or pauses.

Although he had expected it, he was still shocked to see it with his own eyes.

’It seems... she hasn’t missed a single word?’

Xue Rui stared, stunned. ’What is she, a human camera?’

He patted Lin Ruoxi’s head. "How do you remember it all?"

The little girl tilted her head back a bit, gently nuzzling Xue Rui’s palm. "I just remember it after seeing it once."

"Mm, that’s a skill that’ll feed you for a lifetime," Xue Rui sighed.

It made him think of how, in the future, many educational institutions would scramble to be the first to release the answers to all sorts of exams—the college entrance exams, civil service exams...

They’d be beautifully labeled as "Recalled by Netizens," but they were actually identical to the real questions, used to prove the institution’s prowess.

In reality, they just sent a group of ringers to take the exam and memorize the questions in the testing center.

He had a classmate who did similar part-time work when he was short on cash.

But those people, at most, would divide the labor, breaking the exam down into different sections, with multiple people working together to finally compile it.

And yet, the little girl was a one-person team.

Xue Rui naturally rested his arms on Lin Ruoxi’s shoulders and quietly watched the little girl transcribe the test, mentally comparing her answers to the ones he had just put down.

He didn’t question any of Lin Ruoxi’s answers. The little girl always got a perfect score in math.

Xue Rui sighed. Though he was used to it, he still felt his confidence take another hit from the little girl...

He had poured all his energy into the exam, checking his paper repeatedly until the very end, and he still felt like he didn’t have enough time.

But Lin Ruoxi? She took the exam without getting proper rest, memorized the entire test along the way, and even turned in her paper early and left...

While Lin Ruoxi was typing the math exam into the document, she also had another window open playing a TV drama, her eyes flitting back and forth between the two.

’Multitasking...’

On the screen was a popular idol drama, and the opening theme song already had a kissing scene.

Xue Rui froze for a second. ’Is the little girl finally starting to get it?’

"Do you like watching this stuff?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

’She must like it,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, why would she be watching TV while she’s writing?’

The little girl shook her head. "This is the love homework Sister Yu left for me. She told me to watch them all and learn the plots."

Xue Rui covered his face and shook his head. Yu Minlan had mentioned to him a few days ago that she had to go to her university to handle graduation matters and wouldn’t be back for a while.

He never expected that she would actually assign Lin Ruoxi "love homework" before she left.

’But for her to say it so bluntly... is she planning to pursue me?’

’Learn from it? Who does she want to try it on?’

’This little girl really doesn’t think before she speaks...’

"Then what kind of shows do you like to watch?" Xue Rui asked.

Lin Ruoxi said in a small voice, "Cartoons."

Xue Rui was at a loss for words. He remembered the first time he watched TV with Lin Ruoxi was in the school nurse’s office, watching "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf"...

"Then let’s watch that," Xue Rui said, helplessly rubbing the little girl’s cheek.

’Sometimes, he really felt like he was raising a daughter.’

After getting Xue Rui’s permission, the little girl quickly tossed aside the task assigned by Yu Minlan and opened up "Tom and Jerry".

Xue Rui nodded with a grin. That one was suitable for all ages, not too childish.

But Lin Ruoxi usually didn’t like to watch things with fighting, and this cartoon’s style was a bit exaggerated.

He was surprised the little girl liked it. She even laughed when she saw the cat and mouse fighting.

"I’ve actually seen it many times," Lin Ruoxi said softly.

"Mm, classics are things you can watch over and over," Xue Rui said with a laugh.

The little girl thought for a moment. Yu Minlan had told her to write a summary when she watched TV.

She opened a Word window in the bottom-right corner and roughly summarized the episode’s content.

"Tom got flattened, but he wasn’t angry. He started playing with Jerry again..."

"In the end, they made up."

Xue Rui glanced over. ’Lin Ruoxi is describing the cat and mouse as... playing?’

"Is that how you understand it?"

The little girl’s perspective on cartoons was different from a normal person’s.

Lin Ruoxi said seriously, "Tom is a world-champion mouse-catcher, so why can’t he ever catch Jerry? It must be because Tom is letting Jerry win. They’re good friends."

She could now understand why Xue Rui would horse around with Qiu Mengze. It was normal for good friends to roughhouse.

Xue Rui found Lin Ruoxi’s perspective to be quite unique. ’So the cat has been letting the mouse win all along?’

"Is ’Tom and Jerry’ a romance drama too?" Xue Rui muttered to himself.

Lin Ruoxi’s expression froze. ’Tom and Jerry is a romance drama?’

’Is that right?’

An expression of sudden realization dawned on Lin Ruoxi’s face.

’But why do people in love have to fight and bicker?’

’Should I learn how to do that?’

’Would Xue Rui get mad at me?’

The old lady watched the two of them from the side, a cheerful look on her face. Her complexion was a bit better than before.

Because her granddaughter was finally willing to send her to a nursing home, and Xue Rui had also promised her before that he would never abandon Lin Ruoxi.

This way, her granddaughter could live her own life, just like a normal kid.

The two of them watched the "romance anime" for a while until Xue Xiaying came to pick them up in her car.

「That evening.」

After dinner, Xue Xiaying volunteered to clean up the kitchen, leaving Lin Ruoxi with nothing to do.

She had finished all the tasks Xue Rui had given her before. The software was done, and she felt there was nothing left to do on the hardware design, so she was now exceptionally free.

The little girl, for once, started playing with Da Huang.

Da Huang was ecstatic, wagging his tail and jumping around Lin Ruoxi, trying to get close and lick her face.

But Lin Ruoxi wouldn’t let Da Huang lick her...

Xue Rui lay on the sofa, watching Lin Ruoxi play with the dog. He had never lived a life like this, with someone by his side.

There were no flashy nights out or constant social obligations. Although life was a bit plain, he could clearly feel the passage of time, instead of a whole year just flashing by in the blink of an eye.

Lin Ruoxi remembered how happy Xue Rui was when his classmate Gu Muxue stepped on his foot, so she also stepped on Da Huang.

As a result, Da Huang let out a tiny whimper, and his tail wagged even more happily.

Lin Ruoxi walked over to Xue Rui’s side and looked at his feet, hesitating.

’Would it hurt if I stepped on him?’

’It shouldn’t if I’m gentle...’

’Is it too dirty to step on him with my shoes on?’

Xue Rui, lying on the sofa, glanced over. ’Why is this little girl staring at me?’

’But whatever. Lin Ruoxi seems to do this all the time anyway.’

Finally, the little girl slipped off one of her slippers and gently stepped on the top of Xue Rui’s foot.

Lin Ruoxi looked on nervously, secretly watching Xue Rui’s reaction, afraid he would get angry.

However, little did she know that Xue Rui was also feeling a bit nervous himself.

Xue Rui glanced at Lin Ruoxi, not understanding what she was doing.

’Is this... revenge for me not taking her to lunch?’

However, the little girl was balancing on one leg, gently pressing down on his foot again and again.

’It feels... kind of nice?’

Lin Ruoxi felt that Xue Rui didn’t seem very happy, but he wasn’t mad at her either.

"What are you doing?" Xue Rui asked curiously.

"I want to play with you," Lin Ruoxi said seriously.

Xue Rui laughed. ’Where did the little girl learn this stuff? The cartoons?’

Seeing Xue Rui laugh, Lin Ruoxi thought she had done the right thing. She raised her foot again and stepped on Xue Rui’s stomach, just like she had stepped on Da Huang’s.

Xue Rui’s face was a picture of shock. ’Lin Ruoxi is stepping on his stomach?’

The little girl’s ankles were slender and well-formed. Her small feet, covered in white socks, looked especially tiny and cute. He suddenly felt the urge to grab her foot and play with it for a while.

Just as he was thinking this, Lin Ruoxi started to press down gently on his stomach.

"Hahaha, stop it, that tickles."

Xue Rui grabbed Lin Ruoxi’s foot and started tickling it, getting his revenge on the little girl.

"Oof!" Lin Ruoxi lost her balance and fell onto the sofa, landing right on top of Xue Rui.

Xue Rui was still tickling the sensitive spot on her waist.

Lin Ruoxi’s almond-shaped eyes were filled with laughter as she looked at Xue Rui with an adoring gaze. She was truly happy right now, so very happy.

It seemed she could now understand why good friends horsed around.

Xue Xiaying had just come out of the kitchen and saw Lin Ruoxi and Xue Rui fooling around on the sofa.

She swallowed hard and shut herself back inside the kitchen...