Si Nian put down the backpack in his hand and leaned over to Sheng Yanxiao with a grin, "Brother Xiao, it’s almost the National Day holidays, are you going back to B City?"

Sheng Yanxiao glanced at him but said nothing. After a good while, he finally spoke, "Not going."

"Hmm? You’re not going to see Su Goddess?"

Sheng Yanxiao finished his water, placed the cup down, and looked out the window, "I’ll be reluctant to leave."

Si Nian: "..."

Damn, look at that affectionate expression; he swore he’d never seek misery again.

Si Nian grabbed his backpack and returned to his room. Ever since school started, he had moved in with Sheng Yanxiao; the house was right next to the school, making commuting quite convenient.

Si Nian discovered that he had completely unlocked a version of Sheng Yanxiao he had never known before.

They liked playing games and liked playing basketball; Sheng Yanxiao excelled at both. In the past, Si Nian felt that as long as it wasn’t about grades, Sheng Yanxiao was almost invincible.

He could make the literature teacher cry with anger, and lay the street punks flat, calling him "brother."

According to reason, someone like him should never have poor grades, but it was no use, Sheng Yanxiao’s grades have always been at the bottom.

Si Nian was once puzzled, but later became calm as he realized this guy basically didn’t listen in class, copied his homework, and sometimes was too lazy to even do that. Such a person, regardless of how strong his abilities were, absolutely couldn’t have good grades.

However, since moving in with Sheng Yanxiao, in just half a month, Si Nian realized he was wrong. This guy said he wanted to be the top scholar, and it was definitely not just idle talk.

Other people scored poorly because they didn’t know how to answer; he scored poorly because he was simply too lazy to do it.

Masses of blank exam sheets, thanks to his background being well-established here, otherwise he’d have long been kicked out.

After the class split in the second year, during the initial assessment, Sheng Yanxiao spectacularly scored first in the class and second in the grade, only one point shy of the first in the grade.

You must know, there’s supposedly a legendary academic ace among their batch, and how did it end? Sheng Yanxiao effortlessly outclassed them.

Many also suspected him of cheating, but the teachers said nothing, and of course, the others dared not say anything either.

Si Nian felt disheartened, he previously considered himself decent, although not in comparison to the other guy, but at least his grades were passable. Though he didn’t care much, it still mattered being a student where grades were crucial.

Now...

Si Nian lay on the desk, feeling betrayed by friendship, betrayed by friendship indeed.

Young Master Sheng was oblivious to the great distress he was causing his friend. After finishing a video call with Su Weiyi, he took a stretch before retreating to his room to read.

At a certain moment, he glanced at the bookshelf, his gaze lingering on the sole romance novel there.

Sheng Yanxiao’s eyes dimmed as he reached to take it out.

Thinking about Su Weiyi’s shy expression when she handed him the book that day, Sheng Yanxiao felt a tickle in his heart.

He casually opened a page and froze.

On the plain white paper, two figures were sketched with a pencil.

Carefully, Sheng Yanxiao took the piece of paper out. He had always kept this book safe but never opened it before. He had always thought Su Weiyi was expressing her feelings through the book’s title, but it turned out there was something hidden inside.

Sheng Yanxiao gazed at the sketches of the two figures; they seemed to be based on a photo taken during their time at Qingxi, standing side by side, with bright smiles.

The rebellious youth has his expressive eyebrows relaxed, greatly so, and yes, he too can now reminisce.