I'd like to invite you to my birthday celebration on Sunday.
Huiwen's midterm exams are scheduled for this Thursday, lasting three days, with a day off on Sunday.
The moment the notice was sent out, the whole class was in an uproar. What does an extra half-day off mean for senior high school students? It means they don't have to rush to catch the morning light, they don't have to be bound by alarm clocks, and they can finally sleep until they naturally wake up.
Song Ci slammed her fist on the table with a deafening roar: "Heaven knows how long it's been since I've slept in. Even if the sky falls on Sunday, I'm going to die in bed."
Lin Shiren felt the same way. She had been staying up very late every day lately, and had just used a page of draft paper to calculate a known condition. She was feeling terrible. To make matters worse, Zhou Lin teased her, saying that the conditions he calculated were more reassuring. She glared at him resentfully.
For some reason, I suddenly remembered those physics problems he left me, and my lips twitched with disgust, as if he were that exploitative Zhou Bapi who robbed me of my sleep.
Zhou Bapi's attention had been fixed on her, and he inadvertently caught that look in her eyes, raising an eyebrow slightly: "What's wrong?"
Lin Shih-jen pouted: "Sunday make-up classes are canceled, I want a holiday."
Zhou Lin readily agreed.
Lin Shih-jen's eyes widened, somewhat lacking confidence.
Zhou Lin kept a close eye on her, sometimes giving her questions during breaks, and on weekends he would try every means to trick her into attending class. She suspected he hadn't heard her clearly, so she repeated, "Not only do I need to rest, but I don't want to do a single question."
School was almost over, but the classroom was still filled with the noise of the half-day holiday, so Chen Mo let them chat.
The fluorescent light was cold, illuminating his handsome profile, casting deep shadows on every feature. Zhou Lin curled his lips into a silent yet deliberate seduction: "If you don't want tutoring, you'll have to bribe the teacher, right?"
Lin Shiren knew he was prone to changing his mind, and reluctantly grumbled, "How can I bribe you? Didn't I treat you to coffee the day before yesterday?"
Zhou Lin suddenly realized, and leisurely dragged out the words: "So, a cup of coffee can last a lifetime."
What exactly is he saying?
The phrase "for a lifetime" sounds too much like something that suggests an affair.
Lin Shiren was at her wit's end. Luckily, his voice wasn't good, otherwise she would have no way to clear her name. Her ears were burning: "What kind of bribe do you want?"
Zhou Lin didn't intend to make things difficult for her, and simply held out his hand: "Just give me a piece of candy."
That's easy.
Lin Shiren usually likes to eat candy to stay awake, and his schoolbag is filled with candies of various colors and flavors. She remembered that she had a green apple flavored one, which was so sour that it could wake up an ancient corpse from Loulan with just one bite. So she quietly took it out of her schoolbag, and kindly peeled off the candy coating for him and put it in his palm.
Zhou Lin was very satisfied with her service. He held the candy between his fingertips and naturally put it into his mouth.
Lin Shiren blinked her long eyelashes briefly, looking at him expectantly: "Is it sweet?"
The moment the candy touched his tongue, Zhou Lin felt so sour his teeth almost crumbled, and he nearly lost control of his facial expression, but he still stubbornly said, "Sweet."
Unconvinced, Lin Shih-jen asked again, "Is it really that sweet?"
This is weird!
His sense of taste must be ruined!
Zhou Lin, enduring the ache in his cheeks, answered confidently, "It's so sweet it's giving me diabetes."
Lin Shiren was greatly disappointed, thinking that even if he were given a piece of chocolate that tasted like shit, he wouldn't be able to taste it. So he took out all the remaining green apple-flavored candies in his schoolbag and stuffed them into his hands: "Since you like them, you can have them all. Eat your fill."
Zhou Lin: "?"
He calmly accepted all the candies, then secretly spat them out from where she couldn't see. The sour taste lingered in his mouth for a long time. He then excused himself to go to the restroom and left through the back door of the classroom.
Zhou Lin's movements were so natural that Lin Shiren had no suspicions.
She raised her hand to re-tie her slightly messy ponytail. She pulled down the hair tie and smoothed her hair with her fingers. Shao Xiaxuan poked her shoulder from behind: "Lin Shiren, your hair is so smooth. Can I comb it?"
She used to have long hair, but she cut it off when she was in her senior year of high school because washing it was a hassle. Now she is very envious of other people's long hair.
Lin Shiren glanced at the time; there were only five minutes left before school ended. She put down the rubber band and said generously, "Okay!"
Shao Xiaxuan happily began to comb her hair, just like when she was a child playing with a doll. She moved her arms up and down, combing from the top of her head to the ends of her hair with even force.
Li Pengfei watched for a while and then felt itchy to try it too: "It looks really relaxing. Can I try it?"
"..."
Zhou Lin rinsed his mouth three times with the cup to get rid of the sour taste. His phone vibrated in his pocket. Zhou Heyu had sent him a reservation information for Utopia. He replied as he walked down the corridor.
Upon entering the classroom again, this is the scene that greets my eyes.
On a dark blue early winter night, under the silvery light, her long, flowing hair cascaded across the desk, revealing her delicate, jade-like ears, like a still ink painting of clouds and mist.
The person in the painting suddenly turned her head, her fair face flushed: "Boys can't comb their hair."
Li Pengfei was still holding the comb in her hand, but there was nothing in front of her. She wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction: "Where are the boys? Aren't we all best friends?"
Shao Xiaxuan snatched the comb back and casually draped her arm over the back of his chair: "Since we're best friends, how about I test you on a math problem?"
"You take the test."
Which is bigger, 1 or 0?
Li Pengfei thought for a second, then carefully said, "1 big?"
Shao Xiaxuan suppressed a laugh: "Isn't that necessarily true?"
The two Minions looked at each other, understood instantly, and then started laughing hysterically until their shoulders were shaking in unison.
Li Pengfei slapped his thigh frantically: "Shao Xiaxuan, you...?"
Tears welled up in Shao Xiaxuan's eyes, but she didn't forget to straighten Li Pengfei out: "Okay, then you're our best friend."
A string of question marks slowly formed in Lin Shiren's mind. She looked blankly at the two people who were laughing so hard they were convulsing, her brows furrowing slightly: "What are you laughing at?"
This joke was better left unsaid. Li Pengfei composed herself and said in a high-pitched voice, "Since we're all sisters, may I comb your hair now?"
When the comb was only 0.1 millimeters away from Lin Shiren's long hair, the air pressure suddenly dropped, and a chilly voice came from behind: "What are you doing?"
Li Pengfei turned around and saw Zhou Lin standing in the corridor, staring at him expressionlessly. He felt a chill run down his spine from the stare and quickly withdrew his hand, stammering, "No, nothing."
Shao Xiaxuan sensed Zhou Lin's displeasure and, not wanting to miss out on the drama, added insult to injury: "He wants to comb Lin Shiren's hair."
"Don't you have hair yourself? Why are you combing hers?" Zhou Lin's tone was devoid of emotion and warmth, but it carried an obvious sense of danger.
"Yes, yes, yes, that's exactly what I need, my head is itchy." Li Pengfei chuckled twice and even pretended to comb his buzz cut a couple of times.
The school bell finally rang, and he packed his schoolbag faster than he ever had ever done, then ran off in a flash.
Lin Shiren skillfully packed her schoolbag, then picked up a hair tie from the table and wrapped it around her head until her hair was neatly tied back before flicking her ponytail.
She tilted her head: "School's out, wanna go?"
They've been walking home from school together lately, but to avoid suspicion, he's also bringing along a 3,000-watt Song Ci (a type of ancient Chinese poetry).
The ends of her ponytail brushed against his arm, tickling him. Zhou Lin suddenly felt a little annoyed. He hadn't even participated in the hair-combing game yet, and it was already Game Over.
Zhou Lin zipped up his backpack and said rather reluctantly, "Let's go."
"..."
Lin Shiren could tell he wasn't in a good mood. Was the aftereffects of the green apple sour candy finally kicking in? She recalled his expression before eating the candy, which further confirmed her guess. Perhaps feeling guilty, she ignored his cold look, instead slung her backpack over her shoulder, stood up, and gave him a "See? I'm that magnanimous" look.
Zhou Lin was truly defeated by her naivety.
Can't you see he's angry? Can't you try to comfort him?
This mood persisted on the subway. Zhou Lin was engrossed in his phone, while Lin Shiren listened to music with headphones on; the two didn't exchange a single word. Song Ci, however, couldn't maintain a natural expression, her face showing an aversion to the "sweet smell of love." How did this cool, aloof academic genius suddenly transform into a love-struck fool who needs kisses, hugs, and being lifted up high? Can't we just have some fun anymore?
The carriage swayed, and he moved from Zhou Lin's left side to Lin Shiren's right side, nudging her with his elbow: "I have something important to tell you."
Lin Shiren glanced at him, then took off half of his earphone.
Did you know that Zhou Lin's birthday is on Sunday?
Zhou Lin is a Scorpio man!
She was surprised for a moment, then shook her head.
Song Ci continued, "After all, it's your eighteenth birthday coming-of-age ceremony. Uncle Zhou has booked a place and invited his friends to celebrate. Why don't you come along?"
The subway was too noisy, so the two of them openly whispered in a corner. The boy next to them gave them a cold look, and Song Ci fell silent. Then, she pretended nothing had happened and moved back to her original seat.
Sigh, this family would fall apart without him!
After getting off the bus, Zhou Lin escorted her home alone. Perhaps it was because they were alone, but his slightly agitated aura gradually calmed down.
The night wind howled, and Lin Shiren, wearing a coat and scarf, had a slightly red nose in the cold air. They walked in silence, and as they neared the building entrance, Zhou Lin tugged at her scarf: "Aren't you going to say something to me?"
Lin Shiren's steps faltered at her, and she blinked: "I thought you didn't want to talk to me."
Zhou Lin sighed. Yes, why argue with a little girl? She doesn't even understand jokes about "0" and "1"...
He helped her re-wrap her scarf: "Don't be nervous for the exam tomorrow, just do your best. We've practiced everything."
That sounds too much like a father's words.
In their many encounters, Lin Shiren rarely came out on top. Now that she was in a good mood, she changed the subject: "Zhou Lin, you gave me the day off on Sunday, is it because it's your birthday?"
Song Ci, what a big mouth!
Zhou Lin had originally planned to invite her in person after the exam, but he glanced down at her smug look and said, "Yeah, you guessed it again."
Lin Shiren suppressed a laugh: "For something as important as a birthday, you can just ask me next time. There's no need to go through all this trouble and have Song Ci ask me."
Are you sure?
Lin Shih-ren nodded, as if to confirm that what he said was true, and even winked: "If you don't believe me, you can ask and see."
Zhou Lin put on a pleading expression perfectly: "It's my birthday on Sunday, can I invite you?"
Lin Shiren pursed his lips with considerable appreciation, finally uttering four words—
"I'm not going."
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Author's Note: I wasn't satisfied with yesterday's writing, so I deleted it and rewrote it. I'm posting it early today to start writing the next chapter. If I don't finish tonight, I'll combine two chapters tomorrow.
50 red envelopes
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