Chapter 45 Strategy: Day 45 - Drink Your Water

After saying that, the speaker felt embarrassed and ashamed, and the listener also felt embarrassed and didn't know what to do with their hands and feet.

Fortunately, the supermarket owner intervened and saved them.

The kind-hearted shop owner called out to them, "Students, your noodles are ready."

"Your heart needs time to catch its breath, so it's best to separate for a while," Bai Jiangxin said. "Go back to the classroom for your lunch break."

Xiang Di gave a blank "oh".

Before leaving, she suggested that he put the cream puffs in the refrigerator to freeze before eating them.

This time, Bai Jiangxin didn't persist and quickly agreed, "Okay."

Whether the cream puffs are frozen or not doesn't matter much since she's not here.

Xiang Di didn't wait for him and really left first.

Xiang Di had walked the path from the school supermarket to the classroom countless times over the past three years—alone, with friends, leisurely, and hurried—but never once did she feel as if she were walking on clouds, not on concrete.

Wow, their school has such great landscaping! The scenery is so beautiful! And those fat cats that the teachers and students have pampered like pigs are actually so cute!

Her footsteps were light, as if she were walking on clouds. She felt no weight on the ground. A warm breeze brushed against Xiang Di's face, both hot and itchy, and her heart was itchy too.

Those words still seemed to echo in her ears, playing like a brainwashing loop. Xiang Di slapped her face hard, trying to press the pause button.

Back in the classroom, most of the students were taking a lunch break. Zhou Linxiao and Ye Minjia were playing games on their phones, and when they got really excited, they couldn't help but grimace.

Zhou Linxiao glanced at her from his phone and said, "You're back?"

Xiang Di nodded, sat down, and slumped onto the table like a puppet with its strings cut.

Ye Minjia was startled: "Are you that sleepy that you just fell asleep?"

Xiang Di didn't reply; he seemed to have already fallen asleep.

Several tens of minutes later, after losing several ranked matches in a row and losing a few stars, Ye Minjia broke down, clicked his tongue, and threw his phone away.

"I'm not playing anymore. My teammates are bots, and reporting them doesn't even deduct points."

To be fair, Ye Minjia's gaming skills are actually quite good, at the King level. Zhou Linxiao is not bad either; his skills are decent, but his awareness isn't top-notch, so he can't carry others. If he encounters bad teammates, his mentality will be completely destroyed.

Zhou Linxiao said, "Let's invite Bai Jiangxin next time we play ranked. Didn't you say he's really good at games?"

Ye Minjia: "I want to too, but he's been busy with other things lately and hasn't played in a long time. I'm the one who logs into his account."

Zhou Linxiao: "Is he also busy preparing for mock exams?"

"Does he still need to prepare for mock exams?" Ye Minjia said. "He could just pack up and take the college entrance exam directly."

"So what's he busy with?"

Ye Minjia smiled but remained silent, though her sly eyes glanced at the ponytail of the person sleeping at the table in front of her.

Speak of the devil, and he appears! We had just mentioned Bai Jiangxin when he finally returned after finishing his instant noodles.

"You're back?" Ye Minjia asked. "Was the instant noodles good?"

Xiang Di, who was lying on the table and hadn't fallen asleep at all, opened her eyes instantly upon hearing the word "instant noodles."

"It's alright," she heard Bai Jiangxin say calmly. "It goes well with braised eggs and ham."

Xiang Di subtly curled her lips into a smile.

He actually took her advice and ate his instant noodles with braised eggs and ham.

Ye Minjia then asked, "What are you holding in your hand?"

Bai Jiangxin: "The cream puff was given to me by Xiang Di."

“I know this is a cream puff, I recognize the packaging. Xiang Di treated me to one today, okay? You don’t need to emphasize that she gave it to you. I’m asking what’s in the bag you’re holding in your other hand.”

Bai Jiangxin: "How many meals did she treat you to?"

Ye Minjia: "Two of them, what's wrong?"

Bai Jiangxin said casually, "It's nothing, the bag contains snacks."

"What did you buy? Give me some," Ye Minjia said.

"I bought this for Xiang Di. Ask her for it when she wakes up."

As he spoke, Xiang Di keenly sensed something being gently placed on his mountain of books.

Ye Minjia scoffed and whispered to Zhou Linxiao, "See? Busy buying snacks for people."

Zhou Linxiao chuckled softly.

The two boys chatted for a few more minutes, keeping their voices low so as not to disturb the sleeping classmates. But after Bai Jiangxin returned, Xiang Di could no longer fall asleep.

I want to peek at what he's doing, but I'll definitely be caught, no way.

But I really want to see it...

I'll just take a look; I shouldn't be noticed.

After convincing herself, Xiang Di turned her head, which was buried in her arms, toward Bai Jiangxin, and then quietly raised her head.

The classroom has windows on two walls. The window on the side she was near opened onto a corridor that connected the entire senior year, while the window on the side he was near opened onto a grove of tall locust trees.

When Xiang Di first entered high school, before she could choose her subjects, she still had to take geography class. She had heard her geography teacher say that more than ten years ago, the trees planted on a large scale in the school were not black locust trees, but Chinese locust trees.

Because the Chinese scholar tree grows relatively slowly and blooms in July and August, which is during summer vacation, students don't see it. However, the black locust tree blooms in spring, which is when students are in school.

In April, the temperature in Yancheng had already warmed up. Although there was a large temperature difference between day and night, the days were sunny. Clusters of white flower buds had already sprouted on the locust trees outside the teaching building. The branches and leaves were lush and the green shade was so dense that it was like a rich green oil painting background, which also included the boys who were studying with their heads down.

He lowered his eyes, rested his chin on his hand, his profile was clear and superior, his eyelashes were long, his sideburns were neat, and his hair was smooth. His hand holding the pen was strong and slender. Against the backdrop of the locust trees in April, he was as clean and pure as a painting.

April is the season when locust trees bloom, and also the season when unrequited love blossoms.

Hehe, the guy I had a crush on started as my boyfriend, then became my husband, and will be the father of my children in the future~

[Honey, honey~]

She thought she was being very clever at peeping, but little did she know she was just burying her head in the sand. Someone else was enjoying it, and because they were too shy to expose her, they just played along with her act.

With his pen hovering over the paper, Bai Jiangxin tried to write two words, only to find that he hadn't even read the question and had no idea what to write.

My mind is filled with her clear, crisp voice calling "My child's father."

...You've really thought that far ahead.

Ke Xiangdi's thoughts went far beyond just thinking.

Now that the multiple-child policy has been implemented, how many children should Bai Jiangxin and I have in the future?

"Should we just have one? Childbirth is terrifying, and what if there's a genetic mutation and we end up with an ugly child? Wouldn't all my suffering have been for nothing? Maybe we shouldn't have any children at all, and just adopt one. Adopting a good-looking one will solve everything in one go."

But he definitely wouldn't agree. How could a man understand the pain of childbirth? Sigh, being a man is so great. I don't have to give birth, I suffer all the pain. How could he possibly feel sorry for me...?

Bai Jiangxin gripped the pen tightly: "..."

He didn't even ask her a question before taking out a loan; he doesn't care about her feelings.

He took a deep breath. Fortunately, Xiang Di's thoughts were always unconventional. One moment she was on the East Second Ring Road, and the next she was in Xizhimen. She only thought about having a baby for a moment before moving on to the next daydream.

What she was looking forward to even more was the summer vacation after the college entrance examination and his arrival at school.

When spring ended and summer arrived, she thought they should be together by now. They had a full three-month summer vacation before starting university.

For a moment, Xiang Di couldn't help but imagine many sweet scenes with him.

This time, she was truly thinking purely, without any erotic imagery, only the sweetness and awkwardness of first love. But for some reason, this time, she was the most shy.

She was so shy she couldn't think straight, and she didn't dare to peek at him anymore. She buried her head in her arms and just kept giggling like an idiot.

Hehe, the most exciting summer is coming.

Her restless feet scratched across the floor as Xiang Di became lost in her own fantasies.

She imagined them riding their electric scooter together, passing through a tree-lined avenue in summer, a gentle breeze blowing by, a feeling of comfort washing over them. She imagined them going to an amusement park together, sharing a cup of milk tea and an ice cream. The milk tea had to be drunk from the same straw, and he would bite one side of the ice cream while she bit the other.

This was the first time Bai Jiangxin had seen such a pure image in her mind.

"..."

However, his innocence was also bothering him. He couldn't write a single word on the test paper anyway, so Bai Jiangxin simply put down his pen and collapsed onto the desk, following her imagination and thinking along with her.

Sigh. He turned his head away, burying the lower half of his face in his arms, revealing only a pair of dark eyes, their pupils flickering as he looked at the back of her round head.

Xiang Di had been waiting for summer, but who says that only the sweltering summer is suitable for a young man's heart to flutter?

Springtime is distinctly cool, making it a perfect season for romance.

Even as long as this person is in front of you, every season is a season of heart-fluttering.

-

Xiang Di was woken up by the afternoon school bell, and she didn't even know how she had fallen asleep.

She was still fantasizing about sharing an ice cream with Bai Jiangxin when she fell asleep before she even finished the ice cream.

She lay on her desk for a while before finally raising her head.

Still half asleep, she asked Zhou Linxiao next to her, "What class is this?"

Zhou Linxiao: "Physics."

Xiang Di's eyes widened: "Physics!"

It's a miracle if I can concentrate on such a difficult physics class right after waking up.

There was nothing she could do; she was blinded by love when choosing her major. In order to have a chance to be in the same class as Bai Jiangxin, a science whiz, she gave up history and chose physics.

Wang Sichen returned to the classroom just as lunch break was about to end. He was still asleep, slumped over his desk, fast asleep. Xiang Di was just able to turn his head and cast a resentful glance at Bai Jiangxin.

She had looked at him countless times, but this time, Bai Jiangxin didn't keep her head down and concentrate on her own thing. She didn't even notice that someone was watching her. He turned his face, and in the instant her gaze fell on him, their eyes met in the air.

Bai Jiangxin's eyes flashed, a strange ripple appearing in his clear, cold pupils, before he looked away.

Having long been accustomed to his one-sided gaze, Xiang Di suddenly felt a tightness in her chest and quickly stopped looking at him.

Xiang Di, who had always rejected Plato's ideas, suddenly began to understand the great philosopher's philosophy.

Eye contact is a spiritual kiss without desire; in a way, she and Bai Jiangxin kissed again.

Try to overcome your racing heart, make sure to look him in the eye a few more times, and kiss him a few more times. Xiang Di silently cheered herself on in her heart.

Only Bai Jiangxin wondered why she was so easily satisfied now, that just looking at her was enough, whereas usually she had to fantasize about having sex with everyone she loved.

This lecherous groundhog has changed its ways and become a truly innocent little rabbit.

I can't quite describe the feeling, but Bai Jiangxin just doesn't understand Plato.

-

The mock exam is the day after tomorrow, but the exam room arrangements haven't been announced yet. It wasn't until just before evening self-study that Chen Jinghua slowly walked into the classroom and said that in order to prevent anyone from communicating with their classmates in advance and engaging in any underhanded tactics during the exam, the arrangements would be announced tomorrow.

Sometimes it really is like crime; if you don't mention it, people might not know, but once you do, everyone suddenly realizes, "Oh, so there's such a way of committing crimes."

As soon as Chen Jinghua left, some classmates immediately started discussing, "If I'm assigned to the same exam room as you and our seats are close, please take good care of me during the exam."

Although I know that the proctoring for this mock exam will be stricter, being prepared is better than being unprepared.

At this time, everyone was eager to be assigned to the same exam room as a classmate who had better grades than them, so that they could sit side by side, one in front of the other or one on the left or right, making it easier to communicate.

Bai Jiangxin was the top student in the grade, outperforming everyone else in the class. Everyone must have wanted his help the most, but no one came up to him because they all guessed that he probably wouldn't pay any attention to them.

But in reality, if someone really asked him for the answer, Bai Jiangxin would definitely give it to him; it's just that no one dares to challenge him.

Wang Sichen also went to inform the other classmates. Bai Jiangxin was used to being alone and was happy to have some peace and quiet, so he focused on finishing the test paper that he hadn't been able to finish during his lunch break.

When Xiang Di returned from the cafeteria after her meal, this was the scene she saw.

While the whole class was enthusiastically discussing the mock exam the day after tomorrow, Bai Jiangxin seemed to be on a different level from everyone else, aloof and detached from the world, isolated from the entire class by her own strength.

In the past, she would at most sigh, "My husband is so aloof," and admire his stable mindset that is not disturbed by anyone. She would never dare to strike up a conversation.

But now the situation is different. This high-altitude flower that grew on a thousand miles of mountains has been plucked and picked by her. He has descended to the mortal world for her!

She couldn't help but feel proud: 【Hahaha, I'm so awesome!】

Bai Jiangxin: "..."

You're so great, I was the one who confessed my feelings.

I don't know where she gets her confidence from. They haven't even officially confirmed their relationship, yet she's already so smug.

Did she pluck or pick them? Did she pick them? Didn't he break himself and deliver himself to her?

Too lazy to pay attention to her, Bai Jiangxin continued working on his problems.

[Waaaaah, my poor husband is being ostracized by the whole class. It's okay, let me melt your cold heart!]

A familiar, sweet fragrance suddenly wafted around Bai Jiangxin.

He was slightly surprised and pursed his lips.

Did they really come to melt his heart?

You little coward, you took the initiative this time.

Bai Jiangxin turned his head and instantly met a pair of bright, yet somewhat flustered eyes.

It was still a little uncomfortable to be looking at each other so closely, and he didn't know when he would get used to it. Bai Jiangxin lowered his eyelids and asked her what was wrong.

Xiang Di was actually a little nervous in front of him, but she decided to try to overcome it. She cleared her throat and said, "Isn't the mock exam the day after tomorrow? I've saved up some questions. Do you have time? I'd like to ask you for help."

She took the initiative to ask him questions, which was already quite good for the timid boy. Since he wanted to pursue her, he naturally had to be responsive to her every request, and explaining the questions to her was a must. He asked, "Which questions?"

Xiang Di pulled out a stack of test papers from behind her back, just like she was taking out a treasure. There were papers for all kinds of subjects.

When Wang Sichen returned, he saw Xiang Di sitting in his seat. Before Xiang Di could say anything, Wang Sichen took out his notes and test paper.

"You sit, you sit, I'll sit in your seat."

Just then, the bell rang for evening self-study again. The Chinese teacher in charge of supervising this class walked in, announced that everyone would have self-study for this class, and then sat down directly on the podium and started reading "Three Words and Two Beats".

And so Xiang Di got the chance to sit next to Bai Jiangxin for the entire evening self-study session.

"What good luck! The whole world is helping me out," Xiang Di thought to herself, silently shouting "Yay!"

Bai Jiangxin: "Which subject should we start with?"

"Physics, physics," Xiang Di said. "I understand physics the least."

Bai Jiangxin took a clean sheet of scratch paper and went over the questions she had marked in red on the test paper one by one.

To avoid disturbing the other students, he spoke in a very low voice, making sure Xiang Di could hear him. At first, Xiang Di was very attentive, at most thinking to herself how sexy his low voice was. As he spoke, she listened and even took notes.

After talking about it more, she started acting strangely.

When discussing friction, Bai Jiangxin said, "The frictional forces on the wooden block and the smooth iron block on the slope are F1 and F2, respectively, with F1 being greater than F2."

Not knowing much about her physics background, he paused, then asked, "You should know why?" He knew that some concepts couldn't be skipped as common sense, otherwise she might not understand.

Xiang Di: "I know, the rougher the surface of an object, the greater the friction it experiences."

【I know this so well! That's why many condoms have special surface textures, like raised dots, ribs, or granules. The more uneven it is, the more arousing it is for the woman during sex. It's based on this physical principle, I get it, I get it~】

Bai Jiangxin: "..."

You're overthinking it. What innocent little white rabbit? She's still that lecherous groundhog.

He sighed helplessly, barely finished explaining the mechanics problem, and moved on to the next problem: electricity.

It was a true/false question, and Xiang Di got it wrong. Bai Jiangxin wrote out the formula and explained it to her: "In an AC circuit, although the current is affected by the frequency, it depends on the situation—"

He concluded: "Therefore, the statement that higher frequency does not necessarily mean higher current is incorrect."

Xiang Di responded with an "oh".

Those novels are utter nonsense! The idea that the higher the vibration frequency of a toy, the stronger the electric current is—that's just alarmist talk.

Bai Jiangxin: "..."

What small toy?

No matter what kind of toy it is, it's all about the vibration of an object. He's talking to her about the frequency of electric current. Is that the same concept?

For top students, the most painful thing is knowing that someone has gone astray in their thinking, but being unable to speak up and correct them.

Bai Jiangxin closed his eyes and moved on to the next question, which turned out to be about the primary and secondary coils of a transformer.

Skip this, who knows if she'll come up with some bondage play idea from the cable winding.

As a result, they skipped one question after another, and in the end, even Bai Jiangxin felt that there were very few clean questions on this physics test paper.

Xiang Di winked: "Aren't you going to explain the rest of the questions?"

"We'll talk about it later," Bai Jiangxin said. "Let's switch to another subject."

"Okay." Xiang Di obediently began flipping through the test paper. "Shall we talk about biology?"

"I'll tell you later."

Who knows if she'll ask some questions about the laws of heredity, and then come up with a whole bunch of random thoughts.

"They're not even going to teach biology?" Xiang Di scratched his face. "Then... how about math?"

Mathematics should be safe, Bai Jiangxin nodded: "Let's go."

The math problems were straightforward, leaving little room for her yellow brain to work out. After successfully explaining two problems, Xiang Di said that she didn't know how to solve two conic section problems.

She had already drawn the circle on her exam paper, so Bai Jiangxin simply redrawn a circle on the draft paper.

Since he wasn't a math teacher, the circle wasn't drawn perfectly, so Bai Jiangxin, who has a bit of OCD, drew another one next to it.

The problem was explained smoothly. The next problem, a conic section problem, presented a vertical ellipse. Bai Jiangxin then drew a vertical ellipse on the scratch paper.

After finishing the drawing, Bai Jiangxin fell silent.

Below that vertical ellipse are two slightly smaller perfect circles.

If anyone can resist thinking straight, he really deserves a Nobel Prize for purity.

Xiang Di was definitely not qualified to receive this award. Sure enough, she remained outwardly calm, her bright and innocent almond-shaped eyes wide open, but inwardly she was screaming.

Wow, he drew a J8!

Bai Jiangxin: "..."

Deadly.

Xiang Di remained silent, and Bai Jiangxin couldn't show it either, so he could only grit his teeth and draw auxiliary lines on that... no, that ellipse to explain the problem to her.

Finally, the cone problem was finished, and Bai Jiangxin no longer wanted to draw circles.

Fortunately, the rest of the questions went relatively smoothly, leaving only the biology and physics questions. Bai Jiangxin made an excuse that he was tired of explaining and said he would do it tomorrow, since the mock exam was the day after tomorrow anyway.

Xiang Di asked with concern, "Would you like some water?"

Bai Jiangxin nodded.

He took out his water bottle, unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back, and took a few polite sips.

Something's not right.

Why is she so quiet when he drinks water?

Xiang Di secretly watched Bai Jiangxin's Adam's apple move up and down as he drank water, and the mole on his Adam's apple that moved along with it.

It's said that women have a very accurate sixth sense, but when men's sixth sense is accurate, no one can compare.

The way he drinks water is so crisp and sexy, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

I wonder if he's this handsome when he drinks the water from my bottom.

...He knew it was good that he was mentally prepared, otherwise he would have choked again like last time.

Bai Jiangxin gently bit the bottle opening and glanced at her.

Xiang Di was puzzled by his complicated look and gave him a dry laugh: "Does your throat feel better after drinking water?"

Bai Jiangxin put away the water bottle and said calmly, "Not ready yet."

"Oh, would you like some more water?"

"Drinking mineral water won't help."

"Then what kind of water is helpful?" Xiang Di asked, puzzled. "Honey water? Lemon water? Or electrolyte water?"

Bai Jiangxin beckoned to her with his finger.

Xiang Di, without a second thought, genuinely believed he had some secret remedy for sore throats, and obediently leaned in to listen.

Looking at her soft, pink ears, Bai Jiangxin's eyes darkened.

"Drink your water."