The silence didn’t last long before the bell rang for the next class.
Lu Xingyan glanced at Shen Xingruo, who still sat there quietly, looking sad and aggrieved yet trying to maintain a facade of strength. It made him feel a bit… sorry for her.
He cleared his throat and stood up when the teacher called for everyone to rise. Tilting his head slightly to the side, he said, “It’s no big deal not to do well once. Look at me, I’ve never done well.”
Shen Xingruo glanced at him, her eyes full of “Am I being compared to you, the bottom of the academic chain?” But Lu Xingyan interpreted her gaze as silent gratitude for his attempt at consolation.
During that class, Shen Xingruo remained silent again. While the teacher explained the test paper, she hardly made any notes.
Throughout the afternoon, everyone privately discussed Shen Xingruo’s grades. It seemed like it wasn’t just a minor setback but a shipwreck in the sea of exams.
When class ended, Shi Qin couldn’t help but approach her. She didn’t mention the grades, just invited Shen Xingruo to the restroom.
Shen Xingruo nodded and got up. On the way to the restroom, Shi Qin also avoided discussing the grades, pretending as if nothing had happened, complaining as usual about how some dishes were becoming less tasty and how the portions were shrinking.
While Shi Qin could avoid bringing up the grades, she couldn’t stop others from talking about it.
When the two were in the restroom stall, a girl came in to wash her hands, assuming nobody was inside, and spoke freely. Unfortunately, they overheard her conversation:
“Hey, that Shen Xingruo in your class, heard she didn’t do well on the test.”
“YeAh it’s quite average. She seems to be ranked in the thirties in our class.”
Shen Xingruo recognized the voice as belonging to a girl from their class.
“Ugh, I thought with all her boasting, she could at least rank first in the grade. With this level, she even won the Best Representative at the Model United Nations conference, just like He Siyue. I wonder what her family background is.”
The girl continued with gusto, “And the boys in our grade are speechless. Although they’re not particularly handsome, they’ve managed to elevate her to the status of a celestial being. I just don’t like her; she seems so fake!”
“Yeah… She’s just too aloof.”
After a while of gossiping, the girl turned off the tap and the conversation became indistinct with her footsteps fading away.
Shi Qin emerged from the stall, her expression grim. Shen Xingruo, the subject of discussion, didn’t seem particularly affected.
Shi Qin said, “Xingruo, don’t listen to them. That Yang Fang from Class 2 has a particularly nasty mouth. She’s been talking behind your back for a while now, just can’t stand seeing others excel!”
Shen Xingruo lowered her eyes, quietly washing her hands.
Shi Qin was still angry, “Many people know she’s been secretly infatuated with He Siyue since freshman year. She probably doesn’t like seeing you getting close to him.”
“When did I get close to He Siyue?” Shen Xingruo suddenly spoke, sounding puzzled.
“Isn’t it? You two knew each other before, and you often discuss topics together… He even helped you with cleaning before,” Shi Qin replied, looking completely matter-of-fact.
Shen Xingruo was speechless. So this was considered getting close… Then how would they describe her living at Lu Xingyan’s house?
In the afternoon after school, Shen Xingruo had no appetite. She didn’t join Shi Qin and the others for dinner. Instead, she went to the office briefly before heading straight to the playground for a run.
It was late March, and dusk was setting in, but it was still bright around five or six o’clock. The track wasn’t crowded at this time. Shen Xingruo jogged with her headphones on, completing two laps, feeling much more relaxed.
As she prepared for her third lap, a basketball suddenly flew from the direction of the basketball court, landing about four or five meters away from her, and then rolling slowly to her feet.
Shen Xingruo glanced towards the basketball court. It was a bit far, and she could barely make out the figures.
The voices of the boys on the basketball court echoed across both the small and large playgrounds, particularly clear. “Hey, beautiful, could you pass the ball over here? Thanks!”
Shen Xingruo squinted at the group but didn’t move.
Xu Chengzhou wiped his sweat, panting, “Hey, I hope it’s not another one throwing our ball into the trash. Can’t she hear us? Ah I’ll go get it.”
Lu Xingyan, also slightly out of breath, glanced over and suddenly said, “I’ll go.”
As Lu Xingyan approached, Shen Xingruo had already recognized him. She picked up the basketball and gently tossed it.
“Thanks.”
Lu Xingyan caught it effortlessly, tapped it on the ground, and tucked it under his arm.
Shen Xingruo nodded, intending to continue her run. But seeing that Lu Xingyan didn’t seem to be leaving yet, she asked, “Is there something else?”
Lu Xingyan rubbed the back of his neck, pondering what to say. He wanted to steer clear of the topic of grades, but for some reason, he blurted out, “Your dad’s wedding, you’re not going?”
Shen Xingruo fell silent for a moment before casually replying, “What’s the point of me going? Just to see how he brings his new lover to divide the family property with me?”
Lu Xingyan realized his mistake and changed the subject again, “By the way, what happened with your exams this time? You shouldn’t have done so poorly. Was it because of that idiot in front of you distracting you? I’ve seen you study hard.”
The words hung in the air for three seconds of quiet.
Lu Xingyan closed his eyes.
Perfect.
If the lid wasn’t opened, then it all had to be brought up neatly.
Shen Xingruo tilted her head slightly to look at him and pondered for a moment before saying, “Actually, I think I did pretty well.”
“Huh?”
“I still have another lap to run, so I’ll leave it at that.” With that, she stepped back and turned around, resuming her run.
Lu Xingyan stood there for a while, watching Shen Xingruo’s figure, not sure what he was thinking. He dribbled the ball and headed back to the basketball court.
In the evening, Lu Xingyan, for the first time in ages, attended the evening self-study session.
The classroom was quiet, with most students working on their exam error analysis.
As the second period of evening self-study was about to end, Wang Youfu suddenly came to the classroom, knocked on the door, and without warning said, “Hey, He Siyue, move this recalculated score sheet to the back. Shen Xingruo had issues with her pencil. Many of the multiple-choice questions couldn’t be read by the machine and had to be manually corrected.”