His favoritism towards her

The morning sun slanted down as Hao Nan pedaled his bicycle, but the wheels seemed to have their own will, taking a detour and turning towards the alley where the Qi Xu family lived.

He involuntarily stopped at that familiar intersection and turned to look at the tightly closed door.

He stood quietly for a moment, until he was sure that the door would not open for him again, before getting into the car with a slightly lonely look and driving towards the school.

On the way, they happened to meet Wan Xiaoyi and Xu Sheng walking side by side.

The three of them then traveled together.

"Where's Qi Xu?" Wan Xiaoyi habitually looked behind Hao Nan, her tone filled with concern.

"They've probably already left." Hao Nan's voice was calm and expressionless, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Xu Sheng casually added, "I feel like Qi Xu has become a bit distant from us ever since Ting Yue and Ting Xu Bai arrived."

This unintentional remark was like a pebble thrown into a calm pond. Hao Nan and Wan Xiaoyi both heard it, and the air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Hao Nan remained silent. People are always nostalgic, he thought. How could new friends easily replace the bonds forged growing up together?

As he entered the classroom, a delicate gift box lay quietly on his desk.

He approached with a sense of doubt, but when his eyes fell on the familiar bow, everything became clear, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips. He carefully unwrapped the package.

What could it be? He was almost impatient.

What comes into view is a picture book.

The cover style is very similar to the one that Qi Xu often uses, only the color is different. Hers is a mysterious purple, while this one is a vibrant green.

Before he could even open the sketchbook, Han Xue had already walked up to him. Her gaze fell on the sketchbook in his hands, filled with undisguised scrutiny, and then she spoke, her words cold and direct: "You are not good enough for her. Stop daydreaming, it's impossible now, and it will never be possible in the future."

Each word felt like a heavy stone, crashing down on Hao Nan's heart, making it hard for him to breathe.

He certainly knew how excellent Qi Xu was, and he also knew his own shortcomings.

He kept climbing upwards, trying to shorten the distance.

At that moment, he felt a little flustered, and his fingers unconsciously gripped the picture book in his hand.

Han Xue seemed to think that wasn't enough. To make Hao Nan give up completely, she paused and added an even sharper blade: "Without studying hard and sporting that unfashionable buzz cut, you'll never win Qi Xu's favor."

"That's what she told you?" Hao Nan's voice was a little dry.

"Hmph," Han Xue snorted, with a condescending air, "What girl doesn't like someone ambitious and manly?"

Her gaze swept over the water cup on the desk of the student in front of her, and she pointed to the sticker on it. "Look, she likes this type. A buzz cut? Too outdated, she doesn't like it."

After saying that, Han Xue turned and left, leaving Hao Nan to digest this cold water alone.

Hao Nan's gaze was fixed on the sticker on the water glass in front of him.

Just then, the owner of the water glass returned.

Hao Nan gently tapped the shoulder of the female student in front of him with his pen: "Excuse me, who is that person with the sticker on your water bottle?"

The girl immediately raised her water glass excitedly and introduced him enthusiastically: "His name is Ma Jiaqi! He's the leader of the Teens in Times group, he's super awesome."

"The Teens in Times group has seven members, Ma..."

"I've heard that girls like this hairstyle?" Hao Nan interrupted her, only concerned with that crucial information.

"Hmm, I don't know about that, but I can say for sure that there are handsome guys." The girl's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, very handsome," Hao Nan murmured in agreement, but his heart sank.

Han Xue lived with Qi Xu, and Hao Nan believed her without a doubt.

He was convinced that Qi Xu also liked this kind of handsome guy and that youthful vibe.

He looked himself up and down, then borrowed the mirror from the student in front of him and looked at himself a few times.

He immediately deflated, realizing that he was indeed as unsophisticated as Han Xue had said, and not a good match for Qi Xu.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the classroom.

Wan Xiaoyi turned her head to look at Qi Xu, her tone slightly reproachful: "What have you been busy with these past few days? You seem to have drifted away from us."

"Really?" Qi Xu's eyes flickered slightly.

"Of course! I haven't seen you for days, tell me the truth." Wan Xiaoyi persisted.

"Uh." Qi Xu was a little embarrassed. "I've recently become obsessed with playing games, and I've gone to internet cafes a few times with Tingyue and Tingxubai."

“Let’s play together! Let’s do it together next time!” Wan Xiaoyi immediately suggested.

Qi Xu nodded: "Okay, let's do it together next time."

The teacher was late for the English class of Grade 11 (2).

The classroom was unusually quiet, with only the buzzing sound of students reciting their lessons, as if afraid of being punished by the late teacher.

Tingyue lazily glanced at the vocabulary list, most of which were words she had learned in junior high school, just with some expansions, and she quickly finished memorizing them.

Bored, she pulled out a novel and said to her deskmate Jiang Hui, "Call me when the teacher comes."

Jiang Hui glanced at her novel and silently pulled out one as well: "I'll read it too, so I might not be able to pay attention to you."

Tingyue glanced at his book; it was all in English.

“You look like you’re studying,” she said, a sudden idea popping into her head. “Let’s switch seats.” Jiang Hui thought for a moment and agreed.

Just as the two had furtively switched seats, the homeroom teacher led in a new teacher: "The original teacher had a family matter to attend to, so from now on, this teacher, Ms. Wang, will be in charge of your English classes."

The new teacher gave a brief self-introduction.

Tingyue and Jiang Hui had just opened the novel, but they could only reluctantly stuff it back into the drawer and sit up straight.

A math class in Grade 11 (8). The math teacher walked in carrying a stack of test papers and distributed them to the students in the front row to read, emphasizing that they could not take their own.

As soon as the teacher left, Qi Xu nervously looked around and whispered to those around her, "Who has my test paper?" hoping that the student who had her test paper would be lenient with her.

She looked at what Wan Xiaoyi was holding; it wasn't hers.

Then I looked at what Han Xue was holding, and it wasn't that either.

Her test paper eventually ended up in Hao Nan's hands. Hao Nan was just about to tell Qi Xu when the teacher returned.

The classroom fell silent instantly.

The teacher began to review the test paper, focusing on the multiple-choice questions.

After explaining the multiple-choice questions, he unscrewed the lid of his teacup, took a sip of water, and announced, "Those who fail, copy the test paper twice. After you're done, bring it to me, and I'll pick a few questions for you to explain to me."

Qi Xu felt a sudden darkness engulf her. Math had always been her nightmare; her highest score was 89, and she was always just a step short of the passing mark of 90.

She sighed resignedly.

Hao Nan, who received the test paper, noticed that she had made many mistakes on the multiple-choice questions.

Instead of marking the mistakes as wrong, he listened attentively to the teacher's explanation.

After the teacher finished explaining all the questions, Hao Nan silently calculated his score: 5 points for each multiple-choice question.

He picked up a black pen and quietly rewrote the answers to five multiple-choice questions.

Finally, he wrote a bright red number at the beginning of the book: 100.

When they exchanged the test papers, Qi Xu's heart jumped. Hao Nan walked over and handed her the test paper.

"You did well on the test." His tone carried a hint of encouragement that was barely perceptible.

Qi Xu took the test paper and saw the 100 in red pen, his face full of disbelief.

She checked carefully and quickly found the five multiple-choice questions that had been modified. She quickly calculated in her mind, thank goodness.

If it weren't for correcting these questions, the nightmare of math would have returned. A warm feeling welled up in her heart, and she secretly decided that she must thank Hao Nan properly after class.

When Wan Xiaoyi peeked at her score, she exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, that's amazing how fast you've improved!"

Qi Xu looked at Wan Xiaoyi's test paper and exclaimed, "Your grades have always been this good? You were only 10 points away from a perfect score!"

Actually, I'm pretty good at all subjects.

"Wan Xiaoyi smiled modestly."

Qi Xu sighed again. His academically gifted deskmate was right next to him, but he just couldn't muster any enthusiasm for math.

She turned to look at Han Xue's test paper: 150! Qi Xu's pupils dilated instantly: "Your grades are this good too?"

Han Xue said matter-of-factly, "That's why I said, if you can't do math, come to me, I'll teach you until you understand!"

"Forget it," Qi Xu quickly turned his head back, "I'm not interested in it."

Han Xue recalled Hao Nan's test paper, and after calculating the score several times, she found it to be correct. The paper clearly showed a score of 90. She frowned slightly: This guy's grades were never this good before. Could he have really worked hard?

Hao Nan was very satisfied with his score of 90, and all his days of studying late into the night had finally paid off.

He immediately picked up his pen and, while his mind was still clear, buried himself in correcting his mistakes.

When he encountered a problem, he did not hesitate to go up to the podium and ask the teacher for help.

The teacher patiently explained it to him, and seeing his earnest thinking, explained it again in detail.

Han Xue looked at Hao Nan, who was intently asking questions on the podium, and thought to herself: This guy really has guts.

But what good is ambition if you have bad taste in clothes and an outdated hairstyle? You're still not good enough for Qi Xu.

When the bell rang, Hao Nan sat in the last row and corrected his test paper alone.

Qi Xu walked over naturally and sat in the empty seat next to him, quietly waiting for him to finish writing.

Finally, Hao Nan put down his pen and put the test paper away. He looked at Qi Xu and said gently, "Thank you for your gift."

"You're welcome, I'm glad you like it." Qi Xu smiled, then said seriously, "I especially want to thank you today for helping me change those multiple-choice questions, which saved me from a disaster."

"Hmm." Hao Nan paused, as if making a decision, "Can you spend my birthday with me after school?"

Afraid of being rejected, he quickly added, "My parents aren't home, it's just the two of us, okay?"

Qi Xu was somewhat surprised, but still nodded: "Sure."

"Could you... not tell anyone else?" Hao Nan's voice was lowered, with a plea.

"Why?" Qi Xu asked, puzzled.

"Can I have this as my birthday wish?" Hao Nan looked at her earnestly.

Qi Xu suddenly remembered the line he had written on the title page of the album, and finally agreed: "Okay."

As soon as the school bell rang in the afternoon, Qi Xu followed Hao Nan and left the classroom.

She easily got on the back of Hao Nan's bicycle.

"Where are we going?" Qi Xu's voice came through the wind.

"Buy a cake!" Hao Nan's voice was filled with undisguised joy, and the smile on his lips never faded.

The two arrived at the cake shop.

The dazzling array of cakes is overwhelming.

Hao Nan looked at Qi Xu: "What flavor do you want to eat?"

Qi Xu's gaze was involuntarily drawn to a cake decorated with purple fruit, but she hurriedly looked away when she heard Hao Nan's question: "It's your birthday, you decide."

Hao Nan caught the moment her gaze lingered on the cake, and pointed to the purple cake on the shelf: "Could you please take this one?"

The shop assistant carefully packed the dreamy purple fruit cake into an exquisite gift box and handed it to Hao Nan.

He paid, turned around and handed the box to Qi Xu: "You hold this for me, I need to ride my bike."

"Yes!" Qi Xu solemnly accepted it, as if holding some fragile treasure, carefully protecting it in his arms.

"Where do we go now?" Qi Xu couldn't help but ask again.

"Let's go to that grilled fish restaurant from last time," Hao Nan said with a relaxed smile.

There weren't many customers in the store, so they chose a quiet corner to sit down.

Qi carefully placed the cake box in the center of the table.

Which kind of grilled fish would you like to eat?

"It still tastes like the same soy sauce flavor as last time."

The waiter noted it down and quickly headed to the kitchen.

Hao Nan untied the ribbon from the cake box, revealing a beautiful purple cake inside.

He picked up the included plastic knife, cut off a large piece, placed it on the plate in front of Qi Xu, and then cut a piece for himself.

"Aren't you going to light candles and make a wish?" Qi Xu asked, looking at the cake.

"That's too much trouble," Hao Nan said with a smile.

"Then I'll sing you a birthday song," Qi Xu suggested.

Hao Nan nodded, looking at her intently.

Qi Xu cleared his throat and began to sing "Happy Birthday" softly and earnestly.