Romantic relationships during student days are often innocent and naive, but they also come with a lot of pressure.

Your grades have dropped? Is it because you're dating too early?

Your parents were called in? Is it because of a puppy love relationship?

Spending too much time on your phone? Is it because of early romantic relationships?

Having a girl you like is a good thing, and if she likes you too, that's even better. But if neither of you is doing well academically, then neither of those things is a good thing.

There are only six months left, or rather, less than six months left, before I have to enter the college entrance examination hall. During this period, I can only make up for what I have missed by working hard.

Qin Zhou dared not gamble, nor did he have the capital to make a mistake.

His poor grades were a minor issue, but seeing Xiao Nan's earnest demeanor recently made him feel somewhat inferior. If he were to actually date her, would they both end up dragging each other down?

He understood that he wasn't Wenmo, he had no special privileges with the teachers, he was only at the bottom of the class in terms of grades, and dating was just considered puppy love in the eyes of his parents.

Therefore, Qin Zhou hesitated.

Whether or not to respond to her, he could see the feelings in Xiao Nan's eyes, but because of her insincere words, he didn't show anything wrong even after secretly kissing her.

"I don't know what to do."

Qin Zhou held his head in his hands, utterly troubled.

Looking at him, Wen Mo inexplicably recalled herself before she started dating Xia Lian, when she was just like him, always hesitant and troubled.

Blood bound the two together like chains, and even though they could hold each other, their hearts could not touch.

The only time they were truly touched was on that rainy night. Their hearts merged at that moment, like a destiny hidden in their blood. Even though they couldn't get close, they wanted to embrace each other tightly.

"Our relationships are probably both difficult."

Wenmo sighed and patted him on the back as he tried to comfort him.

Qin Zhou looked up, a hint of envy in his eyes. "Your love life is so easy. You're good at academics, handsome, and you even have special privileges with the teachers. Your boyfriend is always clinging to you. Unlike me..."

Upon hearing this, Wen Mo became displeased and slapped him hard on the thigh with a dull thud.

"You think dating is easy for me? It's much harder for me than for you! Although the difficulties aren't in the same way..."

"Also, you're not bad at all, okay? Are you ugly? Or does having bad grades mean you're not human? Does being bad at studying mean you should die? If you really like her, don't hesitate, just boldly tell her 'I like you!' Then you can think about the rest later. It's that simple."

Two boys were whispering to each other on a small desk. After trying to persuade each other for a long time, Wen Mo seemed to get tired of talking. He reached into Qin Zhou's drawer and skillfully pulled out a can of yogurt, gulped it down, wiped his mouth, and looked at him with a softened gaze.

"If you like someone, you like them. There's no other reason. You didn't do anything wrong. You just like each other."

Perhaps he had said everything he needed to say. Wen Mo stretched and counted a few seconds before the bell rang. The teacher who was supervising the class didn't stop for a second and walked straight out of the classroom.

The classroom gradually became noisy again, with everyone discussing whether to skip evening self-study. However, only a minority of students skipped class, and most remained in the classroom.

Qin Zhou sat up straight in his chair, his spirits lifted considerably, and asked the love guru Wen Mo for advice: "So what should I do? Should I just skip it tonight?"

“No need to skip.” Wen Mo shook his head, got up, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked out the door. “I’ll go talk to the teacher and find you a reason… to ask for leave.”

"so good?!"

"Look at what you're saying, we're practically brothers." Wen Mo laughed and waved goodbye. "I'm going to pick up my cousin. You and Xiao Nan have a good chat, don't disappoint me, son."

As Qin Zhou gazed at his retreating figure, he suddenly realized how vividly Zhu Ziqing's essay "The Back View" could be.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Zhou slowly got up, sat in Wen Mo's seat, hesitated for a few seconds, and reached out to shake her, who was still fast asleep.

...

No one knows a son better than his father; when a son is in trouble, a father will naturally help.

Wen Mo silently cheered Qin Zhou on from behind. After greeting the homeroom teacher, he walked towards the first-year classroom with a relaxed expression. The familiar short man was waiting at the door as usual, accompanied by two figures of different heights.

After waving goodbye, Yin Tao pushed Ye Qingzhou and said something with a grin.

"Are these two going to spend New Year's Eve together too?"

"Huh?" Xia Lian turned her head blankly, not knowing that Wen Mo was already standing beside her, helping her carry her schoolbag.

"I got out of class early today, so I came straight here."

Wen Mo chuckled and took her backpack. "Let's go. They're celebrating New Year's Eve, so we have to too. It's okay if we stay up a little longer tonight."

Xia Lian didn't quite understand, but she still obediently nodded her head.

Although she didn't know what "New Year's Eve" meant, judging from the literal meaning, she was happy that she could spend a long time with Wen Mo today.

"We also have an induction cooker at home, so we can put a small pot in it to cook something warm. In this kind of weather, we should eat something warm."

"It's warm."

Xia Lian repeated it blankly, still holding Wen Mo's hand. His palm was very warm, and his hand was much larger than hers, able to wrap around her entire small hand.

What would you like to eat?

"rice."

"Washing rice, huh? Okay, okay."

After leaving the school gate, the two went into a supermarket and bought some frozen food that they could cook for dinner, mostly fish balls, beef balls, crab sticks, and sausages. They already had vegetables and meat at home, and they also bought a non-spicy hot pot base.

Perhaps because it was the last day of the year, there were an unusually large number of pedestrians on the street, and couples appeared almost every two seconds, hugging each other tightly and smiling brightly.

Xia Lian watched the couples walking by, then looked thoughtfully at Wen Mo.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Wen Mo asked, looking down.

Xia Lian blinked, didn't say anything, and stretched out her hands to hug his entire arm, like a little koala hugging a split.

"hug."

"Everyone tells you not to imitate others." Wen Mo shook his head helplessly, then gave a relieved smile. "But I'm very happy."

On the way home from school, there's never a shortage of topics to talk about. Everyone in the class, at home, or outside—everything you can say is shared with the right person.

In particular, Wen Mo elaborated on the romance between Qin Zhou and Xiao Nan.

"Okay, let's talk about our thoughts after listening. What do you think is holding them back?"

Xia Lian thought for a moment, then looked up. "Grades?"

“You’re wrong.” Wen Mo shook his head. “It’s that they don’t want to burden each other.”

Hearing this, Xia Lian felt a little strange and tilted her head in confusion, "But, no matter how bad the grades are... love won't change."