Sheng Yan felt that Qin Zigui's smile was a bit strange and that he had ulterior motives.

But he wouldn't ask, because asking would only make him suffer the consequences.

So Sheng Yan pulled the blanket tighter, turned his back, and prepared to go to sleep.

Qin Zigui also turned off the light and lay down beside him.

The rain seemed to have lessened, no longer as frightening as before, but falling softly on the eaves and flower trellises, making a crisp sound. In the dim light of the streetlights, the roses were nearing the end of their blooming season, swaying precariously on the branches.

The plum rain season in the south is almost over, and it's time for plums to ripen.

Sheng Yan looked at the roses outside the window and the faint reflections of himself and Qin Zigui in the windowpane, and suddenly asked, "Qin Zigui."

"Mmm," Qin Zigui replied patiently and gently.

"You said that in a few decades, will we still be able to see these roses?"

"Yes, I can," Qin Zigui answered without hesitation.

They and roses are both good.

Sheng Yan always trusted Qin Zigui; whatever he said went. So he closed his eyes and fell asleep peacefully.

Monday morning is the most congested time of the week in Nanwu, and it's also the time when Sheng Yan has the hardest time getting out of bed.

But he ended up hiding at his maternal grandmother's house to avoid Qin Zigui, which was a long way from Shiwai. So even though Qin Zigui got up at five in the morning to pack his things, prepare breakfast, and then dragged him out of bed, brushed his teeth and washed his face before he could even open his eyes, he still dragged him out the door.

But the two of them were still very honorably late.

Moreover, being late means spending an entire morning self-study session plus half a math class.

Huang Shuliang looked at the two of them standing straight with their heads down at the classroom door. He wanted to scold them, but he also remembered that Qin Zigui had said that Sheng Yan had been scolded by him to the point of developing a preliminary tendency towards self-deprecation and depression, so he didn't dare to scold them.

But if I don't yell at them, I'm really angry.

I'm angry, but there's nothing I can do.

Finally, he could only hold his breath and grit his teeth, pacing back and forth in front of the two of them for a long time before pointing at them and saying, "You, Qin Zigui, go back and copy the words you dictated during this morning's self-study session ten times. You, Sheng Yan, stay here."

"Ah." Sheng Yan muttered when he heard that he was going to be left behind alone again, "Didn't we agree last time that we wouldn't be biased?"

"Who's being biased! I didn't keep you here to scold you!" Huang Shuliang was really angry with him. "I have something to tell you."

"Oh," Sheng Yan replied.

Seeing that he was relatively well-behaved, Huang Shuliang couldn't help but sigh: "Fine, considering that you've been studying very hard lately, I'll let you off the hook for now for being late. But you have to change this lazy and undisciplined style, otherwise what will you look like when you go to the training camp?"

"Training camp?" Sheng Yan looked up.

“Yes, training camp.” Huang Shuliang felt he wasn’t even this patient with his own son. “The district team gave us the news. Submit the materials today, and the review will be completed within three days. Starting August 1st, you can participate in a month-long training camp with the city team as a member of the district team, and officially compete in September.”

If Sheng Yan felt somewhat surprised when he heard the news yesterday, hearing the word "training" now made it feel real again.

Although he has been paying for his own shooting training with a private coach for the past two years, this kind of training is still different from the training of a real group of people competing for a match.

Sheng Yan looked down and touched the calluses on his hands.

It was rare to see Sheng Yan not so nonchalant, so Huang Shuliang sighed again: "It was indeed a pity that you were disappointed back then, but everyone has their own destiny. If you can really win the award this time and improve your grades, and get into Zhonggong University, it will be a good thing to carry on your father's legacy. So don't be discouraged, don't lose heart, and don't be so carefree all day long. Put more effort into important things, understand?!"

As Huang Shuliang spoke, his voice grew louder again.

Sheng Yan simply replied in a low voice, "Yes, I heard you. Thank you, Director."

Then Huang Shuliang paused, his hands behind his back.

He and Sheng Yan had been rivals since the first year of junior high school. Five years had passed, and he had never heard Sheng Yan say thank you so formally. Having been hot-tempered for half his life, he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable and waved his hand: "Alright, what's the use of thanking me? Will thanking me help you get into the top three? Will thanking me help you get into a top university? I'll be grateful if you can attend classes properly, do your homework properly, and not be late, fight, or cause trouble!"

Huang Shuliang is still the same Huang Shuliang who can't help but criticize others when he gets anxious.

Sheng Yan, however, hooked his backpack strap and revealed a bright and cheerful smile like a young man: "I want to thank you, Director, for going to so much trouble to help me with the admissions process, prepare the materials, and even find someone to write a letter of recommendation for me. So I will definitely live up to your expectations."

Sheng Yan was an exceptionally handsome young man, with a clean and sunny disposition. His smile was incredibly endearing.

Huang Shuliang suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, like a middle-aged man, and rudely waved his hand: "Alright, alright, go back to your class, don't try to sweet-talk me, it's useless!"

After saying that, he walked quickly towards the office building with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself as he walked, "How come I never realized before that this brat is actually quite likable?"

It seems that these children really do need to be treated with kindness and gentleness. His previous educational methods were no longer effective. Huang Shuliang shook his head in self-criticism.

Sheng Yan then turned and went into the classroom.

Since it was already the review stage, most of the time was spent doing practice questions. When Sheng Yan entered the classroom, the classroom was quiet.

Only Chen Yubai, who sat at the table in front of him, turned around and asked in a low voice, "Did Huang Shuliang insult you again?"

"No." Sheng Yan took his homework out of his bag. "He just told me about the training camp."

Chen Yubai didn't quite understand: "Training camp?"

After learning that Qin Zigui didn't like Chen Yubai, Sheng Yan's impression of Chen Yubai improved completely, and he lazily told him about the Zhonggong Dahe competition.

Chen Yubai suddenly realized: "That's a good thing! Now you can go to Beijing with Qin Gou. But what happened to your neck? Why is it so red? Did someone bite you or beat you up?"

These words were spoken.

Sheng Yan, who was packing his schoolbag, stopped abruptly.

Qin Zigui, who was spreading toast sauce on Sheng Yan's small bread, paused.

Lin Qian, who was putting goji berries into the pink drink, stopped abruptly.

Only Chen Yubai was completely unaware of this, and even turned his head to look at Qin Zigui: "Hey, Qin Zigui, how come your mouth is sore too?"

Sheng Yan: "".

Lin Qian: "".

Qin Zigui: "".

After a deathly silence where no one dared to move, Chen Yubai suddenly realized: "Holy crap!"

Sheng Yanlin's heart skipped a beat.

Qin Zigui raised the toast knife in his hand.

Then Chen Yubai gasped for breath and exclaimed in shock, "You two didn't fight again last night, did you?!"

Sheng Yan, Lin Qian, and Qin Zigui: "..."

That's not entirely wrong.

Seeing their silence, Chen Yubai assumed they had tacitly agreed.

He often plays games with Gou You and the others, so when they played together last night, he heard that Sheng Yan and Fu Yun got into a fight, were caught on the spot by Qin Zigui, and were then taken away aggressively. The two of them then had some kind of heated argument in a corner.

Considering that the two of them were both late this morning and had bruises on their faces and necks, Chen Yubai naturally assumed that the two of them must have had a fight when they got home that night.

It looks like they were really badly beaten.

Oh no, this can't happen.

Chen Yubai still remembers the last time Qin Zigui and Sheng Yan had a fight. Qin Zigui was like a walking, irritating machine. She clearly cared about Sheng Yan, but she refused to show it. So every time, she had to sell her body and do hard labor, secretly delivering medicine, secretly gathering information, and secretly delivering food, and she was still disliked by Sheng Yan.

Now that the two of them have finally gotten back together, he doesn't want to experience that miserable life of having Sheng Yan's bad temper in front of him and Qin Zigui's cold and indifferent face behind him again.

So Chen Yubai hurriedly and earnestly advised, "Yan'er, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but Qin Zigui caught you fighting. Could it be for his own sake? It must be for your own good. You can't let his good intentions go to waste, right?"

Sheng Yan: "...Yes."

Chen Yubai was satisfied with the result, then looked at Qin Zigui and said, "And you, can you stop wearing that sour face all the time? Doesn't Sheng Yan have any pride? Don't you know that? Didn't Fu Yun deserve to be beaten up? Don't you know how to talk things out? Why are you getting so angry?"

Qin Zigui wiped the knife clean from his hand and looked at him calmly: "Are you finished?"

Chen Yubai felt he could sacrifice himself for world peace and continued, "I'm doing this for your own good. What kind of relationship do you have? You're like brothers. How can you let such a small thing ruin your harmony? So-called brothers... I'm speechless."

"Shut up!" Seeing that Sheng Yan was already clenching his fists and Qin Zigui was already brandishing a knife, and Chen Yubai, that stupid straight man, was still rambling on and on, Lin Qian finally couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but grab the book next to her and throw it at them.

Chen Yubai caught it quickly, then raised an eyebrow: "I got pregnant after being marked by my aloof childhood friend? And it's in traditional Chinese characters? And by two men?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the back corner of the classroom fell into a deathly silence once again.

After realizing what she had done, Lin Qian looked at her sinful hand and couldn't help but curse a thousand times in her mind.

The aloof childhood friend couldn't help but peek forward. When he saw the cover depicting a man biting another man's neck, the straight man, who had just turned gay yesterday, was shocked. How could there be such a book?

But books hold a wealth of knowledge and beauty.

Sheng Yan thought that reading some books like this might help him accept the fact that his childhood sweetheart was about to become his wife sooner. So, eager to learn, Sheng Yan took out his phone and searched for the book title in his browser.

However, the more he looked, the more something seemed off; the more he looked, the deeper his frown became. Finally, he couldn't help but send Qin Zigui a WeChat message: "[Qin Zigui, I've discovered a very serious problem]"

Qin Zigui saw the phone in the drawer of the table light up, took it out, and casually replied, "[Okay, go ahead]"

However, the next second, his fingertip froze on the spot, and the message on the screen refreshed.

[Cute and Brainless]: I've noticed that in these novels, it seems like the taller characters are the tops, so do I need to grow taller?

At that moment, Qin Zigui realized that the most serious problem between him and Sheng Yan had emerged.