Chapter 38

It was said to be an attempt, but the various upcoming exams still did not allow the two to find a suitable opportunity.

In early January, the results of the provincial joint examination can be checked online.

"Xiao Gu! You got the highest score in our city! 292!" The night the results came out, Teacher Su called excitedly. "You were just a little bit away, almost the highest score in the province. That person just had two points higher than you!"

The highest score in the province is 294, which has exceeded the highest score in history.

If Gu Fang had achieved the top score in previous years, he would definitely have been the top student in the province.

Gu Fang was already very satisfied with this result. His only requirement was to get a stepping stone to enter art school. 292 was definitely enough.

He immediately shared his results with Lu Si, and as he expected, he received praise and a hug.

In a class meeting, Lao Du urged everyone to focus. The final exams of the semester were approaching. This meant not only a test of their own performance but also a farewell—they were about to enter the final semester of their high school career and face the college entrance examination.

After the joint examination results came out, Gu Fang returned to school to attend classes.

However, there were not many people in Class 7 at that time. Gu Fang was still practicing in the studio in the afternoon, so he went to Class 2 classroom to join them in the evening and attended evening self-study with them to prepare for the final exam.

The table next to Lu Si was still empty, and Gu Fang returned to his seat.

After the final exams, there is only a ten-day winter vacation. No. 12 Middle School is still very humane and allows everyone to return to school after the New Year to make up for the lessons.

Unlike No. 6 Middle School. I heard that No. 6 Middle School also requires "voluntary" supplementary classes.

With my peers as a comparison, these ten-day winter vacation seems very happy.

Lu Si usually goes back to his hometown during the Chinese New Year.

This meant that Lu Qi's work at the flower shop would also come to an end. On the day after the final exams, Sister Xi invited the brother and sister to Suyuan for hotpot, for their last reunion before the New Year.

Lu Si asked Sister Xi: "Can you bring someone else?"

Lu Qi was picking flowers in front of the long table. When she heard this, she raised her head and looked at her brother with her big, bright eyes.

"Oh, of course," Sister Xi said, a little surprised. "Is he your friend?"

"Could it be Xiao Gu?" Teacher Su was playing with her phone. She raised her head and raised the screen, which showed the chat interface. She smiled and said, "I was just about to invite him."

We have to go back to the countryside tomorrow. Lu Si had originally wanted to invite Gu Fang to dinner tonight, and Sister Xi's invitation was exactly what Lu Si had hoped for. It was just that there were a few more people than expected.

Gu Fang was also happy to come.

He changed his profession and became an art student lately, and he knew nothing. Teacher Su helped him a lot, which saved him many detours. It is only right that he should come to express his gratitude formally.

When I finished the exam and walked out of the school gate, it was around 5 pm, and there was still some time before the dinner appointment.

Gu Fang told Lu Si his thoughts. He had no experience in dealing with the ways of the world in this area, so he had to humbly ask Lu Si for advice.

Lu Si put his hands in the pockets of his down jacket, stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "It just so happens that Teacher Su just said on WeChat that she's going to buy ingredients. We can go on her behalf and buy something for them."

Teacher Su and Sister Xi are a couple with similar interests. They have very similar hobbies - they are very much at home and are extremely reluctant to go out.

Just like Sister Xi's flower shop business, which is almost entirely online, she rarely leaves the house except for purchasing flowers that she must personally oversee. Teacher Su is the same. Except for work, she never leaves the house during holidays.

So when you invite people to dinner, you should invite them at home.

It was almost dinner time when I finally went out to shop.

Lu Si’s plan was to buy the ingredients for them, and at the same time, to stock up their home with some daily necessities, as well as some fast food and snacks that were essential for staying at home.

This way of giving gifts is very thoughtful.

It's fine to give Teacher Su cosmetics, but they don't like to pick them out. It's also fine to give her some tea or something, but they don't like to drink it either.

There is a large supermarket nearby, just two stops away from No. 12 Middle School Station.

Lu Si took a hand out of the pocket of his down jacket, grabbed the handle of a shopping cart at the entrance, and pushed the cart out.

Gu Fang followed him, looking around like a child, pretending not to be curious, but his bright eyes revealed his true thoughts.

Lu Si could tell at a glance that he had rarely been to the supermarket.

He pushed the cart and took out his other hand from his pocket. He touched Gu Fang's palm and frowned: "Why is it so cold?"

Gu Fang didn't like to put his hands in his pockets, or maybe he simply forgot sometimes. When a young man is hot, he doesn't care whether his hands are cold or not.

Lu Si put his hand in his pocket to warm it together.

"Put that hand over there in your pocket as well." Lu Si gestured to the other side.

"Oh." Gu Fang obediently put his hands in his pockets.

He was indeed very well behaved at first, accompanying Lu Si to buy hot pot base, oyster sauce, salt, and vinegar. Then he went to the frozen section and bought various meats, meatballs, and vegetables, and picked out a lot of instant food for Sister Xi and the others.

Until we arrived at the last stop - the snack area.

Lu Si kept his eyes down, thinking about what Sister Xi and the others needed and what they should buy, but he ignored the little kid next to him.

Gu Fang's hand slipped out of his pocket, and Lu Si came to his senses only when he saw the man almost disappearing from view.

The shelves here are filled with snacks.

Lu Si looked up and saw Fang Fang squatting in front of Wang's gift bags, holding one tightly and refusing to let go. He turned around with his eyes sparkling, "There's a gift bag! It's really big!"

It is probably an upgraded version launched during the Chinese New Year.

"Like it?" Lu Si pushed the cart over and held his hand to help him up. "Then pick up two and give one to Sister Xi and the others."

Gu Fang's eyes lit up and he shook his head up and down.

"Buy a big gift package and get a small toy for free," the saleswoman next to me asked with a smile, "Do you want a small toy? You can take two."

When he saw the gifts, Gu Fang's mind slowly came to its senses. The target customers of this gift package were definitely children around seven or eight years old.

He fanned his dense eyelashes and looked at Lu Si with a slightly conflicted look.

Lu Si seemed to understand what he was thinking, raised his eyebrows, and said in a relaxed tone: "It's a free gift, don't refuse it."

Gu Fang's conflicted expression completely disappeared. He took Lu Si's hand and moved towards the gift.

It was full of little cars, little dolls, and some hairpins and small accessories that little girls would like.

Gu Fang picked out a little bear, a very small bear, the size of a mobile phone pendant, with a silly face, and a kind of silly and pure cuteness.

"Pick one." He shook their joined hands.

Lu Si originally didn't want to participate in this kind of children's activities, but when Gu Fang asked him to, he was happy to participate.

Gu Fang's face was so delicate and beautiful that the saleswoman thought he was an Omega and naturally assumed they were an AO couple. She picked up another small doll and recommended, "You can use it as a couple pendant."

Lu Si glanced at the little duck. It was too silly and not cute at all. It didn’t deserve to be released.

He lowered his brows and scanned the pile of gifts, trying to find something related to rabbits. But perhaps the bunny was so popular, there weren't any dolls left. But there was one headband left, a headband with two little white rabbit ears standing up.

Lu Si's eyes froze for a moment, and he caressed it lightly with his fingertips. He wanted it very much, and he wanted to see it even more...

But, forget it.

Gu Fang seemed to sense his gaze and directly picked up the headband and put it on her head. Her eyes flickered slightly and she tilted her head: "Is this it?"

Lu Si's breath was choked: "..."

There is a switch under the furry headband. With a slight pull, the two ears will stand up.

"It can still move."

A hint of surprise flashed across Gu Fang's eyes, and he narrowed his eyes and smiled innocently.

Lu Si's ears turned slightly red. He pushed the cart and walked straight to the exit.

Gu Fang chased after him.

Lu Si turned his head and silently took off the headband on his head and threw it into the shopping cart. Gu Fang glanced at the blush on his ears that had not yet faded, smiled inwardly, stopped teasing him, and obediently reached out his hand.

Lu Si took his hand and put it into his warm pocket.

When she returned to Suyuan, Sister Xi had already found the induction cooker that hadn't been used for eight hundred years, boiled some hot water, and was waiting for the ingredients to be put into the pot.

Lu Si washed his hands, unpacked the hot pot base, and added it in as appropriate.

Gu Fang and Lu Qi helped to arrange the ingredients onto plates.

Soon the hot pot started to boil with bubbles.

"Come on!" Sister Xi raised her orange juice. "Let's toast to the three students here. I hope they'll pass the final exam and the college entrance exam!"

Teacher Su also raised his glass with a smile: "I hope everyone can get into the school of their dreams!"

Lu Si rolled up his sleeves and used a colander to scoop meat and vegetables for Gu Fang and Lu Qi from time to time.

"Hey Xiaolu! Don't bother with them," Sister Xi said, "let them eat whatever they want."

Lu Qi raised his eyes from the bowl and said coolly, "Leave me alone."

Seeing this, Gu Fang also looked up and was about to say something.

Lu Si scooped him another spoonful and said calmly, "Eat quickly and ignore them."

Teacher Su drank orange juice and looked at the two of them. She smiled sweetly, not knowing what she was thinking about.

It was just past 9 o'clock when they finished eating hot pot. After saying goodbye to Sister Xi and the others, they walked out of Su Garden. Lu Qi's eyes swept over the two of them, and suddenly quickened his pace, lowering his head and walking forward: "I'm going home first, brother! I must be the first one to take a shower today!"

No matter how Lu Si shouted at her to slow down, she didn't respond.

Lu Qi had expected that even if he followed them, he wouldn't be able to get home by 10 o'clock.

Sure enough, the young couple was walking slowly on the road behind.

As they pressed harder, their hands were clasped together.

It was 10 o'clock when I finally arrived at the gate of the Houshan community.

There were some raindrops in the sky. Lu Si put on the hood of his down jacket and reached out to put it on Gu Fang as well.

There was a circle of off-white fluff on the brim of the hat, and Gu Fang's delicate and pretty little face was surrounded by that circle of fluff, so furry and cute that Lu Si's heart melted.

It was already 10 o'clock and the weather was cold, so there were almost no people on the road.

Gu Fang lowered his slender white neck, rested his forehead on Lu Si's shoulder, and put both his hands in his pockets. This posture seemed to hold Lu Si in his arms.

He rubbed Lu Si's shoulder gently, and his reluctance to let go was obvious.

Lu Si let him rub against him.

"There are still five days until the New Year." Gu Fang suddenly opened his mouth.

"What's wrong?" Lu Si's chin was scratched by the circle of fur, and it felt a little itchy.

Gu Fang tilted his head slightly, his voice thick with raindrops, "Is it okay for me to go back to the countryside with you and play there for a few days?"