Chapter 7: Let's be friends first.

After that day, Huo Li did not speak to Ning Yao again until the monthly exam.

Ning Yao thought about it for a long time, but in the end she decided to skip over this little episode with Huo Li and didn't tell Ning Yiwen.

After all, she almost forgot Ning Ge's instructions and offended someone.

Time flies.

Autumn is deepening in Shanghai, and the osmanthus trees around the city are in bloom, their fragrance carrying far and wide.

On the day of the monthly exam, Ning Yao got up very early.

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to brighten, turning a pale white, and the edges of the clouds had not yet been tinged with gold.

The courtyard was poorly lit, relying entirely on kerosene lamps for illumination, their flames flickering weakly.

Ning Yiwen held the book, reading it while watching the fire.

Hearing the noise, she looked up and saw Ning Yao getting up. She asked in surprise, "So early? Wear more clothes."

It was already early autumn, and the morning breeze carried a slight chill.

Ning Yao casually draped her coat over the wall outside the room and said with a grin, "It's for the monthly exam."

As she spoke, Ning Yao took a few small steps to Ning Yiwen's side and called out softly, "Brother Ning."

The ending note was deliberately drawn out for a short while.

She looked at Ning Yiwen at this moment.

He was wearing a white shirt with a black coat casually over it.

Holding the open book in one hand, his long, slender fingers with distinct knuckles held it steadily.

In the candlelight, a faint light seemed to flicker in his eyes.

It's impossible not to look at him a few more times, immersing yourself in his dark, deep eyes.

Ning Yiwen paused in turning the page, looked down at Ning Yao who was nestled beside him, and smiled, "What kind of mischievous idea are you thinking of now?"

Ning Yao snapped out of her daze, shook her head violently, and denied it, saying, "No way."

Ning Yiwencai did not believe it.

This isn't the first or second time she's done this.

Whenever she has a new idea but is afraid he won't agree, she does this, pulling this stunt.

I remember one time, the day before the waiter's salary was due, she was like that too.

I pestered him relentlessly, circling around him for a long time.

It's all so I can use my salary to buy a little gadget.

"Go ahead and say it." Ning Yiwen felt that he was quite receptive to the information.

Ning Yao knew that her skills were no match for Brother Ning's sharp eyes, so she didn't keep him in suspense and said directly, "Brother Ning, I want to go out and have some fun after I finish my monthly exams."

"By myself? Or with someone else?"

"Ah Lin. She said a shadow puppet troupe came from North Street and invited me to go see it."

Arlene's full name is Gao Lin. She is their neighbor, a seventeen-year-old girl.

Ning Yao learned how to braid hair from Gao Lin.

“Okay.” Ning Yiwen agreed readily. “If you do well on your monthly exam, I’ll agree.”

"make a deal!"

The results of the exams were released the following day.

This time, their main tests were Chinese literacy and arithmetic.

The test was very simple. The Chinese section mainly focused on character recognition, and the arithmetic section involved addition and subtraction.

The content is all simple.

Ning Yao was quite surprised when she received the exam paper.

The tests from the school were much easier than the ones Ning Ge set.

When the results came out, she and Huo Li tied for first place, both with perfect scores. The scores of the other students varied.

But Ning Yao secretly believed that Huo Li already knew the answer and that the score was copied.

She truly deserves the title of number one.

Huo Li glanced at her test paper, which was neatly written. "You did well."

He praised it.

Ning Yao never refuses such praise, but she believes in saying less to avoid making mistakes.

She was still not very willing to talk to Huo Li.

He silently thanked her and then turned to discuss his learning experience with Geng Yunrui and his group.

Huo Li squinted at her.

To my surprise, she doesn't seem to like me very much?

Doesn't she know who she is?

Geng Yunrui was completely convinced by Ning Yao.

After all, she can both play and study; such a person is popular wherever she goes.

Ning Yao was generous and shared how Ning Yiwen guided her studies at home.

The only difference is that the protagonist secretly replaced Ning Yiwen with himself.

Ning Yao felt very happy when she saw one or two people around her looking at her with shining eyes.

Except for Huo Li, who was standing next to him.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" Ning Yao couldn't help but ask.

After most of the people around him had left, he frowned and said to Huo Li.

Huo Li curled his lips into a smile and replied casually, "How would you know I'm looking at you if you're not looking at me?"

Ning Yao choked for a moment, then stretched out her index and middle fingers on her right hand to gesture.

"If you keep looking at me like that, I can definitely feel it."

She's not stupid!

"You're quite something," Huo Li said in a low voice, raising an eyebrow.

His words carried a hint of ulterior motives.

Ning Yao paused for a moment, then quickly smiled.

She didn't realize Huo Li's ulterior motives, but she did hear him praise her.

He praised it again.

This is the second time I've praised her today!

The first time was a straight man's joke, the second time was a genuine compliment.

Ning Yao thought to herself with delight.

"You have good taste. Then we'll be friends from now on," Ning Yao said generously.

Her clear, glassy eyes curved into crescent moons, and her lively smile caught Huo Li's eye.

He thought he understood what she meant.

Let's be friends first.

“Okay,” Huo Li replied softly.

Soon it was time for the pleasant time to leave school.

As soon as Ning Yao saw Ning Yiwen, she proudly waved the test paper.

"Brother Ning, full marks, full marks!"

Ning Yiwen: "..."

There's no need to be so proud.

He casually took the test paper from her hand, folded it in half, and put it away.

"Don't be too flashy."

"Okay." Ning Yao obediently complied.

The two walked slowly on their way home.

The streets she had walked through countless times no longer easily piqued Ning Yao's interest.

After a moment of silence, Ning Yao started talking again, this time mentioning her classmates.

Especially Huo Li, this new friend.

"Huo Li is my friend now," Ning Yao said with a smile.

Ning Yiwen glanced at her sideways, but didn't pay much attention.

She has the personality to make good friends with people wherever she goes.

Of course, if someone is deliberately provoking, it is easy for a conflict to break out.

"You know, Huo Li now sounds like a duck, just like you used to... quacking all the time when he talks..."

Upon hearing this, Ning Yiwen suddenly felt that something was amiss.

After Ning Yao finished speaking, he hesitated and asked, "You mean, Huo Li often talks to you?"

As far as he knew, Huo Li was a reckless playboy who indulged in everything from cockfighting to dog racing.

He speaks and acts entirely based on his mood, never giving anyone face.

If such a person is going through puberty, they will definitely keep their mouth tightly shut and won't even want to talk to anyone.

After all, every word spoken could become a black mark on one's future history.

How can he still talk to Ning Yao so often?

Ning Yao counted on her fingers, "It's alright, just once, twice, three times... four or five times."

The more Ning Yao explained, the more surprised Ning Yiwen became.

"What...what did you all say?"

Unexpectedly, Ning Yao shut her mouth.

"Hmm?" Ning Yiwen looked at Ning Yao in confusion after not hearing her speak for a long time.

Ning Yao hesitated, wondering if she could talk about Huo Li's cheating on the street.

After thinking for a moment, she reached out and grabbed Ning Yiwen's hand, wanting to whisper in his ear, but when she stood on tiptoe, she unexpectedly discovered something else.

His pupils widened slightly. "Brother Ning, you've grown so much taller."

Her attention shifted to her height, and she gestured to herself and then to the people next to her.

Ning Yiwen: "..."

He's a man, isn't it normal for him to be taller than her?

He is only 5 feet 1 inches tall now, but he is expected to grow to over 5 feet 5 inches in the future.

But Ning Yao will not grow any taller; she will always remain at her current size of four feet eight inches.

He looked down at the girl beside him, who looked both surprised and envious, and wondered whether he should tell her the bad news.

Okay, let's talk about something happy instead.

Ning Yiwen changed the subject and said slowly, "Ning Yao, we need to intensify our studies from now on."

Ning Yao: ? ? ?

What is it?

She listened to Ning Yiwen's leisurely recounting of the upcoming study tasks, feeling as if she were being slowly tortured.

Even the caramel aroma wafting from the street-side chestnut roasting stalls, and the popping sound of chestnuts being turned over with a shovel—which used to be heavenly music—could no longer offer her any comfort.

But with this interruption, no one remembered that their original topic was Huo Li.

*

School.

Inside the teachers' quarters.

Mr. Chen was sitting face to face with Ms. Li, the Chinese language teacher at the elementary school.

Mr. Chen specially invited Teacher Li over to inquire about Ning Yao's situation.

Teacher Li's eyes, framed by black-rimmed glasses, curved into a smile, the lines at the corners of her eyes becoming more pronounced. A satisfied smile spread across her face: "Pretty good, this little girl."

At first, he didn't have any particular impression of Ning Yao, even though she was the only female classmate in the class.

In the past two years, although school rules for co-education have been introduced, they are still largely ignored in elementary schools.

If a family has some assets and wants to send their daughters to school, they will usually hire a tutor to come to their home for their first education. Naturally, they will choose girls' schools first, followed by private schools.

If the family is poor, the girl may not even have the opportunity to learn to read.

Therefore, Ning Yao's appearance was actually a rare thing in the eyes of their teachers.

At first, Ning Yao's thoughts wandered in class, and she would sometimes be visibly distracted. He thought that this girl might not be able to study for much longer.

Before I could even feel remorse, I discovered during an occasional class question that she had actually absorbed all the material.

Not only did they learn it, they were also able to apply what they learned to other situations.

I was both surprised and delighted.

Based on today's monthly exam results, he is certain that if Ning Yao continues to study, her future prospects are immeasurable.

Old Chen was surprised, "You actually gave her such a high evaluation?"

He still remembers the first time he met Ning Yao. The girl's eyes were bright, but her desire to learn was not strong.

Teacher Li nodded emphatically, "Teacher Chen, I don't think I'm wrong."

Old Chen kept this in mind, then turned to ask about another person, "What about Huo Li?"

After a long silence, Teacher Li said, "I don't know about him."

He attends class, but never cooperates, whether it's answering questions or doing other assignments.

But to be honest, he really couldn't understand how he managed to get a perfect score on this exam.

As she spoke, Teacher Li sighed and said, "It's all for the best. It's good that Huo Li is being transferred to the higher primary school. I really can't teach him anymore."

He didn't even know how much of what Huo Lihui taught him.

Old Chen nodded thoughtfully and said, "It's nothing. As long as Huo Li doesn't cause trouble, we don't need to pay too much attention to him."

Although Huo Li was still a teenager, he was already quite famous in Shanghai.

They wander the streets and alleys every day, enjoying a variety of activities.

Even the head of the Huo family couldn't control him, so what could the teachers at their school do?

But there's no need to say that.

Mr. Chen: "That's all for today. Thank you, Teacher Li, for your guidance of the children every day."

Teacher Li was extremely humbled and said, "It's my duty, it's my duty."

After Teacher Li left, a person came out of a separate room in the house.

Dressed in a suit and tie with a slicked-back hairstyle.

It was none other than the middle-aged man who had brought Huo Li to class that day.

"Looks like my brat is really hard to manage," the middle-aged man chuckled. He had thought that Huo Li's good behavior in class lately was due to the teacher's good supervision.

Old Chen nodded, "Let's take another look."

A note from the author:

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5 feet 1.1 meters: 1.7 meters; 5 feet 5 meters: 1.84 meters; 4 feet 8 meters: 1.6 meters [doge emoji]