She wants to pursue me!

Back in the classroom for lunch break, Nanqi wanted to write a note to Song Zhao. She had so much to say, but she hesitated, unsure whether she should say it or not. She lingered on for ages, barely managing to write "I'm sorry" after almost half an hour. She felt guilty and didn't dare to hand it over.

Finally, Song Zhao wrote her a note that was concise and to the point: "See you in the boiler room on the first floor."

The two stood up in unison, each taking their water cups and leaving the classroom. Nanqi was a little nervous and at a loss. Unlike before, besides nervousness, she also felt a strange sense of anticipation and excitement.

When she arrived at the hot water room, for some reason, she suddenly couldn't speak. After a long while, she managed to stammer out a few words, "Class monitor, yesterday, I... I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have scared you," Song Zhao said calmly.

"No, you didn't scare me." Nanqi paused and said, "...How's the bump on your head?"

Song Zhao sighed and didn't answer her. Instead, he said sadly, "Last night, I missed you so much."

Nanqi's heart pounded in her chest.

"Me too..." Her voice was very soft, so soft that she could hardly hear it herself.

"Would you be bothered if I told you I wanted to pursue you?"

Nanqi stared wide-eyed in astonishment. She said she wanted to pursue me! She said she wanted to pursue me! Did I hear that right? So many people are pursuing her, and she actually wants to pursue me?!

Nanqi waved her hands in front of her chest, stammering, "No, no, absolutely not."

“Alright, from now on, every interaction I have with you, every word I say to you, and every thing I do for you will be for ulterior motives and purposes.” Song Zhao stepped forward, her toes touching Nan Qi’s. “I’m getting close to you not because we’re classmates, not because I want to be friends with you, and not because of any messy gratitude or guilt, but because… I like you, and I want to possess you!” As she finished speaking, the tips of her fingers trembled.

Song Zhao's burning gaze was fixed on Nan Qi's eyes. Nan Qi's mind went blank under his gaze, and she didn't dare to breathe. It wasn't until her legs ached and she took a half step back that she was able to escape the burning look.

Holy crap, is this still my well-behaved, strict class monitor?

Song Zhao seemed to realize that he had frightened her again, and his gaze softened and gradually faded. "Of course, if you feel uncomfortable during this process, you can stop at any time, and I will keep my distance from you and go back to being ordinary friends."

Ah... what? That's way too rational.

Nanqi felt a little disappointed and casually replied, "Oh."

Song Zhao nodded slightly, as if affirming her performance just now. She mustered up her courage, reached out her hand, and asked, "Can we walk together?"

Nanqi twitched her fingers, thinking to herself: Did holding her hand mean I accepted her feelings? What if one day she finds out I'm not as good as she imagines? Will she be just as rational and break up with me?

Seeing Nanqi hesitate, Song Zhao lowered his eyelids and asked somewhat humbly, "Is it not allowed?"

Oh my god, how am I supposed to refuse you with that expression on your face?!

Forget it, it's just holding hands. Since I didn't say we were together, it doesn't count.

As soon as Nanqi raised her right hand, Song Zhao immediately pulled it into his palm and held it tightly. She immediately felt as if she had been electrocuted, and her body went numb and tingling from her hand to her heart.

Taking the opportunity, Song Zhao put the meal card back into Nan Qi's pocket and said, "The food you get is still the best."

After being praised by Song Zhao, Nan Qi became smug and said, "That's right, you have to fight for the good food in the cafeteria. If you line up so slowly, the good food will be gone long ago."

Song Zhao asked, "Didn't you eat enough for lunch today?"

Nanqi pouted. "No. Are you full?"

"I don't have any either."

Song Zhao squinted, turned her head to the side, and whispered, "I asked the teacher to order some spicy hot pot. You take a nap first, and I'll wake you up when the delivery arrives."

Nanqi asked in surprise, "A teacher can even order takeout for you?"

Song Zhao shrugged and said, "I got it by being the class monitor."

"6 Wow."

And so, for the first time, Nanqi experienced the feeling of going to the teacher's office not to be scolded, but to have a meal together. Song Zhao also ordered milk tea for the teachers in the office, a rare scene of harmonious interaction between teachers and students.

In the morning, while Nanqi was still washing up, her phone kept buzzing. When she picked it up, she saw that the caller was none other than Song Zhao.

"Hello?"

"Are you up yet?"

"Yeah, I'm brushing my teeth," Nanqi mumbled sleepily.

"I'm outside your door."

"Hmm..." she suddenly snapped back to reality, "Huh?!"

"It's okay, no rush. After you've washed up, I'll take you to have breakfast."

"Wait for me, I'll be right there!"

Nanqi hung up the phone and checked the time: 6:30.

Is this person still sleeping?

Nanqi immediately sprang into action, rinsing her mouth, changing her clothes, and running out without even braiding her hair. The whole process was smooth and efficient, taking no more than 5 minutes.

"So fast!" Song Zhao exclaimed with a smile of surprise.

"I usually wash up pretty much the same way. Didn't you say that good students need to get enough sleep? Why are you here so early?"

"I forgot to tell you, six hours of sleep is enough for me."

Seriously? Six hours is enough to sleep?

Nanqi only slept for a short time on New Year's Eve, and even then, it was still about 7 hours.

Looking at her thick, dark hair cascading down like a waterfall, Song Zhao exclaimed, "Your hair is so beautiful. Many people who regularly maintain their hair can't achieve the same hair quality as you."

Nanqi smiled sheepishly, then ran her hand through her hair. She suddenly realized, "Hey, you didn't ride a bike? How did you get here?"

"I came by taxi."

"Oh, I'll go get my bike then, wait for me."

Song Zhao quickly took her arm, "The weather is getting colder and colder, let's not ride our bikes, let's take a taxi."

"Hmm, that works too."

Nanqi then asked, "Have you decided where to have breakfast yet?"

Song Zhao asked, "Is there anyone you'd like to go to?"

Nanqi pondered for a moment and said, "I'll take you to that street up ahead to eat. The food there is really good. After we eat, we can take a taxi and leave."

"Okay, whatever you say." Song Zhao said with a doting expression.

When they arrived at the breakfast stall, Nanqi greeted the proprietress with a smile: "Sister, I've brought you a new customer."

The proprietress glanced at Song Zhao, her mouth agape in surprise, "Oh my, Daqi, how come your classmate is so handsome!"

"That's right, she's the prettiest girl in my class, no, the prettiest girl in the school." Nanqi raised an eyebrow and said proudly. She suddenly felt that having such a beautiful girl by her side was something to brag about. Song Zhao saw through her little scheme and didn't refute her.

"Hello, sister," Song Zhao greeted sweetly.

"Oh, what a nice voice you have. Tell me what you want to eat."

Nanqi expertly ordered, "Give us two bowls of tofu pudding, two roujiamo (Chinese hamburgers), two youtiao (fried dough sticks), and two tea eggs."

"Alright. Come inside and sit down."

Nanqi and Song Zhao walked arm in arm into the bungalow. Although the interior was simple, it was clean enough.

Nanqi said, "Let me tell you, this lady's cooking skills are exceptional. If we hadn't arrived early today, there wouldn't have been any seats left."

As Nanqi spoke, she started to tie her hair up, but when she was about to tie it up, she realized that the hair tie on her wrist was gone. "Oh dear, I left it on the sink."

Song Zhao took a disposable chopstick and walked behind Nan Qi. "I'll put it up for you first, and then I'll buy you a new hair tie when we pass by the supermarket."

"Seriously? You can do your hair up too?"

"I used to have long hair too."

Song Zhao steadily pinned Nanqi's hair to the back of her head. "Okay, shake your head and see if it falls out."

Nanqi waved her phone from side to side, "I must say, it's quite good-looking, just like the ones on TV."

"Tofu pudding, be careful it's hot." The proprietress brought over the breakfast.

After stirring it well, Nanqi scooped up a big spoonful and slurped it down. "You should try it, it's so delicious, it's different from what you eat outside."

Song Zhao followed Nan Qi's example and ate heartily, saying, "It's really delicious."

"Right? You can't go wrong having dinner with me. Hey, you just said you used to have long hair, why don't you keep it?"

“My dad said long hair was inconvenient for studying, so he made me cut it.”

"Your academic performance is so good, it has nothing to do with whether you keep your hair long or not. In my opinion, he's probably afraid that your long, flowing hair will be too attractive and attract unwanted attention from young men with blond hair, so he doesn't let you keep it."

"...Maybe. If you're curious about what I look like with long hair, I won't cut it and will leave it for you to see."

"real!"

"Of course."

Nanqi took out her phone. "Let's take a picture first, and then take another one when you've grown it longer, so we can compare."

"Okay." Song Zhao was overjoyed. She hooked her arm around Nan Qi's waist, pressed her face close to his, and simply smiled, which looked exceptionally charming in front of the camera. "Take the picture."

Nanqi then found a good angle to show off her clean, white teeth and made a peace sign.

After taking the photos, Nanqi asked with a grin, "Will you grant me whatever I want to do?"

"Tell me first, what do you want that I can't give you?"

Nanqi rolled her eyes and said, "I'll copy your homework!"

"This won't work."

"I knew you'd do this."

"Don't be upset, I can help you write. I'll teach you if you don't understand something."

"Hahaha, I was just kidding you, look how nervous you are." Nanqi burst into laughter.

Song Zhao shook his head, somewhat speechless, and then patiently asked, "What are your thoughts on going out to play?"

"Well, I actually made plans with Li Jia to go to her house next weekend. Her pomegranates are ripe, and I'd like to go and fill two bags."

"Okay, I'll go with you. What time would you like to leave? I'll pick you up."

"Around 10 o'clock, it's the weekend, don't come so early, I want to sleep in."

"Okay, whatever you say." Song Zhao smiled indulgently.

After school that day, Song Zhao told Nanqi not to rush off, and then pulled her into the school's Party Committee meeting room.

"Where did you get the key?" Nanqi asked in surprise.

“I asked the teacher for it,” Song Zhao continued to explain. “I told him I wanted to aim for Tsinghua or Peking University and wanted to stay at school to study a little longer, so the teacher gave it to me. Of course, I’m also responsible for cleaning this meeting room.”

Nanqi nodded, then worriedly asked, "You don't mean you want to stay here with me every day while I do my homework, do you?"

"Hmm, not only that, I'm also going to give you extra lessons."

"ah…"

Song Zhao analyzed, "You're okay in science, but your English foundation is weak, and you need to practice your Chinese composition. So starting today, I'll tutor you for two hours every day, and I guarantee you'll be out of the bottom of the class in the next monthly exam."

Nanqi was startled and exclaimed, "You're really going to do this?!"

She's the kind of person who's too lazy to even do her homework, yet she still has to attend after-school tutoring!

Song Zhao took out her organized notes, which included vocabulary, grammar, and a few selected test papers. Each item had her annotations, and she had deliberately narrowed down the scope. "Don't worry, we'll take it one step at a time. It won't be too hard for you."

Nanqi looked at the notebooks of all sizes covering the table in front of her and said, "Where did you get the energy to make all this for me? You're working so hard, and someone like me who can't learn well no matter what I do will feel guilty!"

Song Zhao shrugged and said, "So you have to believe me, I will definitely help you learn to be good."

Song Zhao then took out a bag of snacks and a bag of fruit from her bag. "The fruit is all washed, so you don't need to feel pressured to eat and study at the same time."

"Isn't the school against bringing snacks? You're allowing this?"

"I hid it in the teacher's drawer; no one can find it," Song Zhao said calmly.

This was the first time Nanqi had ever seen someone go to such lengths to help her learn. Given how thorough and thoughtful Song Zhao's preparations were, she couldn't refuse any longer. "Alright then, I'll learn."

"Relax, don't act like you're facing certain death. Learning can be very interesting."

Haha, only you would think that way...

To be honest, Song Zhao was indeed the most patient teacher Nan Qi had ever met. When she was little, Wu Hua had hired tutors for her, but they all left because she was so frustrated with them. She simply couldn't concentrate on subjects she wasn't interested in; she would either doze off or daydream, and she wouldn't take notes. Once, Wu Hua was watching her study, and she tried her best to listen, but as soon as he finished explaining the concepts, she seemed to have amnesia and completely forgot them. The tutors all quit for the sake of their health.

When Song Zhao saw that she was distracted, he would at most pat her gently, ask her where she was, and then repeat what she hadn't heard to her.

Actually, having a beautiful and academically gifted girl as a boyfriend isn't bad at all. Others can't even get her, hehehe.

What are you laughing at?

"Huh? No..."

Where was I?

"Um... looking for the predicate?"

Song Zhao smiled helplessly, reached out and patted Nan Qi's head, and said softly, "Alright, let's start with the predicate."

When leaving school, Song Zhao offered to take Nan Qi home, but Nan Qi felt that Song Zhao's home was closer and there was no need to take her home first and then go back. She thought it would be fine once in a while, but it would be a waste of time if it happened every day, so she said no.

Unexpectedly, Song Zhao didn't understand her point at all. She looked dejected and pitiful, as if she was about to be abandoned.

"I was thinking that this was too much trouble for you, and it wasn't necessary."

"But I don't mind the trouble. I want to take you there and spend more time with you."

"Oh, we'll see each other tomorrow, won't we?" Nanqi said with a smile, but seeing that Song Zhao's expression was even more displeased, she compromised, "There's no traffic at this time, so it shouldn't take you long to drive me."

Song Zhao immediately beamed and excitedly took Nan Qi's hand, "Let's go."