step

After the monthly exam, National Day came in a blink of an eye.

Xu Zhiyi didn't go anywhere and stayed at home.

During this period, Zhang Ningxia sent some videos about her going out with other people to visit comic conventions and some activities.

She numbly flipped through picture after picture, but suddenly recognized a person's back in the corner.

She was a little excited and hurriedly confirmed it again and again.

She quickly saved the picture, then enlarged it, circled the character, and typed again: "Did Song Chengrui also go to this comic convention?"

"No," Zhang Ningxia responded quickly. "Are you sure it's him? It doesn't look like him to me. Besides, if he was at the scene, I would definitely have noticed him. Maybe his clothes are similar?"

"This photo is so blurry, how can you see it clearly?"

"??? Why aren't you talking anymore..."

Xu Zhiyi found that he seemed to be too excited. No wonder Zhang Ningxia was so curious.

She hurriedly explained, "Oh, I saw that he looked a lot like Song Chengrui, and I thought you two were together."

"Oh~" Zhang Ningxia replied with an understandable emoticon, which made Xu Zhiyi feel a little embarrassed. She decisively found an excuse and hurriedly turned off her phone.

She felt that she cared too much about Song Chengrui, and now even when she saw his back she thought it was him.

That’s right, Song Chengrui would never go to places like comic conventions.

He only goes to the basketball court.

On the day he returned to school, Xu Zhiyi just wanted to turn back time and go back to the day of vacation.

She felt like she hadn't done anything yet school had already started.

The classroom was bustling in the afternoon. The boys were vying to discuss which Internet cafe was the most affordable, while the girls were showing off how bright their new clothes and hairstyles were.

She was alone, holding her chin and staring out the window in a daze.

In the corridor, the familiar figure was still nowhere to be seen.

"What are you looking at?"

When his deskmate Qin Mingyue came over and asked, Xu Zhiyi quickly withdrew his gaze and pretended nothing had happened.

"It's okay. Are the transcripts out yet?"

"No, I don't care about that. It makes me sad to talk about it."

After hearing Qin Mingyue's answer, Xu Zhiyi suddenly had an idea. She couldn't sit still anymore and stood up directly.

"Then I'll go to the office and take a look."

"Why--"

Qin Mingyue looked up at her and frowned. "Why are you so anxious?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Zhiyi trotted out of the classroom.

She shook her head helplessly and secretly opened the comic book. "As expected, the attitude of a top student is good."

Xu Zhiyi walked through the noisy corridor. The afternoon sun shone through the windows, casting bright spots of light on the ground.

Her steps were quick and her heart beat even faster.

Going to the office to look at the transcript was just superficial. Only she knew that it was never her own name that she wanted to see.

The office door was ajar. She stopped at the door, took a deep breath, and her fingertips felt slightly cold.

Through the crack in the door, she could see several teachers busy correcting homework, and the printer in the corner was humming and spitting out paper.

"Report." She called out softly, her voice even weaker than she thought.

The Chinese teacher looked up from a pile of homework books and pushed up her glasses. "Come in. What's going on, Xu Zhiyi?"

"Oh, I was thinking of coming over to ask Teacher Xu when the holiday homework would be delivered." She tried her best to sound natural, but her eyes involuntarily swept across the office desk, expecting to encounter the familiar report card.

"Hey, Lao Xu isn't here. It just so happens that the report cards are out and they're being printed. Find out which one belongs to your class and distribute copies according to the number of students in your class."

The Chinese teacher pointed to a stack of papers next to the printer and then lowered her head to continue grading homework. "By the way, I'll be teaching your class evening study tonight. Please tell your class representative."

"Oh, ok, I see. Thank you, Teacher Li."

Xu Zhiyi walked to the printer and picked up the stack of still warm papers with slightly trembling fingers.

It’s not my own class.

She quickly found another stack of papers. These report cards not only showed the class rankings, but also the grade rankings. Soon, she saw the name of an acquaintance.

Found it.

Song Chengrui, Class 1, Grade 12, total score 605, ranked 32nd in grade.

She gently stroked the name with her fingertips, as if that would bring her closer to him.

Math 150, English 90, Chinese 102... He is still the same, better in science than liberal arts, but not outstanding in either.

She could even imagine him frowning while doing the questions, his eyes that always had a nonchalant smile narrowed slightly, and his right hand unconsciously twirling the pen.

"Have you found it?" Teacher Li asked suddenly, scaring her.

"Ah, I found it." Xu Zhiyi answered hurriedly, his cheeks flushed.

"You did well on the test this time, ranking 8th in the grade," Teacher Li said approvingly. "Keep it up."

She responded vaguely, but her mind was completely on the number she had just seen.

605 points, which is better than the last time, but the questions this time are obviously simpler than last time, so his ranking has dropped.

Suddenly, there were footsteps and a familiar laugh outside the door.

Xu Zhiyi suddenly looked up and saw Song Chengrui passing by the office door, accompanied by several teammates from the basketball team.

He was holding a basketball with his school uniform jacket casually draped over his shoulders. The lines of his profile were particularly clear in the sunlight as he spoke.

Her breathing hitched, and the report card in her hand rustled.

"Teacher, do you have the key to the physical education team?" Song Chengrui leaned in and asked, his eyes inadvertently meeting Xu Zhiyi's.

He was stunned for a moment, then smiled at her.

Xu Zhiyi felt a wave of heat rising to her cheeks. She lowered her head and pretended to continue looking at the report card, but she couldn't read a single word.

"You guys are borrowing the key again," Teacher Li shook his head helplessly, "I almost didn't return it last time."

"I will definitely return it this time! I promise!" Song Chengrui walked in, full of sunshine and heat from exercise, and stood beside Xu Zhiyi.

It was so close that she could smell the faint scent of sweat and the fragrance of laundry detergent mixed on his body.

Teacher Li muttered as he searched for the key in the drawer, and Song Chengrui stood there waiting.

Xu Zhiyi froze in place, not daring to move, hoping that she could become invisible, but also hoping that he would notice her.

"Are you here to check your results?" He suddenly turned his head and asked her in a low and casual voice.

Xu Zhiyi nodded violently, speechless.

"How is it?" he asked, not sure if he was asking about her grades or everyone's.

"I haven't seen it yet." She stammered, wishing she could bite off her tongue.

Song Chengrui didn't seem to notice her embarrassment, his eyes fell on the report card in her hand.

"Can you help me look after mine? I don't want the teacher to talk to me again during evening study."

Xu Zhiyi's heart nearly beat out of her chest. With a trembling finger, she pointed to the spot she had memorized. "Here, number 32."

He leaned closer, lowering his head to look at the paper. His hair brushed against her forehead, the soft, static-filled touch making her stiffen.

"32," he muttered to himself, his tone betraying neither disappointment nor indifference. "Worse than last time." He straightened up and shrugged helplessly. "Oh no! My mom's going to nag me again."

Teacher Li finally found the key and handed it to him, saying seriously, "If you knew you'd be scolded, spend more time studying. Look at Xu Zhiyi, she's in the top ten in her grade. Learn from her."

Song Chengrui took the key, turned around and smiled at Xu Zhiyi: "Student, please give me more guidance in the future."

That smile was bright and casual, but it was like a nail that pinned her to the spot. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

"Let's go, thank you, teacher!" He waved and ran out of the office, his footsteps gradually fading away.

Xu Zhiyi stood there, the report card in his hand slightly wrinkled.

She could feel her cheeks still burning and her heart still beating wildly.

The office returned to silence, with only the occasional hum of the printer and the rustling sound of the teacher correcting homework.

"Is there anything else?" Teacher Li asked.

"No, no more. Thank you, teacher." She gently put down the report card and slowly walked out of the office.

The corridor was empty, with only the sound of basketball bouncing and boys shouting coming from the distant basketball court.

I clearly want more than just these words, I clearly want to ask those questions clearly, but when the words come to my lips, they always turn into stuttering.

She also couldn't understand why it was so difficult to open her mouth, as if her mouth was made of reinforced concrete.

Xu Zhiyi sighed in her heart and gritted her teeth in regret. She looked up into the distance and saw that the figure had disappeared.

When Xu Zhiyi returned to the classroom, his ears were still burning.

Qin Mingyue looked up from the comics and glanced at her: "Have the report cards been released?"

Only then did she remember that she had forgotten to take her report card.

"It's over, I forgot." Xu Zhiyi had just sat down when he suddenly stood up and hurried to the classroom door.

Qin Mingyue had a helpless expression, "Are you the memory of a fish?"

Before evening self-study, Xu Zhiyi distributed the report cards.

There was a commotion in the classroom, some people cheered and some wailed.

Xu Zhiyi stared at his own name, then his gaze unconsciously moved down to 10.

The ink-printed name, separated by several lines, is quiet and distant.

When Teacher Li came to review the test papers, he specially praised the top ten students.

When Xu Zhiyi was mentioned, his eyes looked approving.

She was a little distracted, and the tip of her pen was unconsciously scratching on the draft paper.

The bell rang and the crowd poured out.

Xu Zhiyi cleaned up slowly and didn't get up until most of the classroom was empty.

At the end of the corridor, the noise was still going on at the stairs. As she walked down, she heard a familiar voice coming from below.

"Brother Rui, that's fine, top ten this time!"

"Play consistently, I have the ability."

Song Chengrui and his teammates were arguing with each other.

Xu Zhiyi paused and subconsciously wanted to hide.

But it was too late.

He looked up and his eyes met hers.

"Student Councillor." He called out with a smile, then took three or two steps up the stairs and stopped two steps below her, just at eye level with her. "Going home?"

"Yeah." She squeezed the strap of her schoolbag.

"Brother Rui, we have things to do, so we'll leave first. You guys can chat, we're not going the same way!"

A few boys behind me winked at each other, whistled, and walked away.

The night breeze is cool, blowing away the heat of the day.

The two of them were walking on the dimly lit road, half a shoulder distance apart.

"You did quite well in the exam this time, especially in math, where you got a perfect score."

"Luck!" He laughed. "Actually, quite a few people got full marks in math this time. Aren't you one of them, too?"

Xu Zhiyi smiled and said nothing.

Song Chengrui was silent for a long time, then spoke again, "However, I did go out for a while during this National Day and visited a comic convention."

Xu Zhiyi turned to look at him, seeming a little surprised.

"I just... went there with my cousin." He touched his nose, feeling a little uncomfortable. "It was crowded and boring. I also ran into someone whose back looked very much like yours. I almost shouted, but I ended up recognizing the wrong person."

She was stunned. That figure was really him.

So, he doesn't just play basketball.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing." She lowered her head, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.

The night wind blew up the loose hair on her forehead, and also blew away her regret and hesitation.

When they reached the fork in the road, he should turn right and she should go straight.

"Then...see you tomorrow." Song Chengrui waved his hand and prepared to leave.

"Song Chengrui." Xu Zhiyi suddenly called him.

Song Chengrui turned around and smiled, a little surprised, "Huh?"

"Um..." She took a deep breath, her voice clear, "Actually, I've been to comic conventions many times. If there's a chance, can we go together next time?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, the world became quiet, with only the deafening heartbeat.

She looked at his stunned expression, and regret came over her almost instantly.

But he suddenly smiled, his eyes shining surprisingly brightly under the street light.

"Okay." He answered simply.