The exam in the afternoon was on humanities, and the last exam room was still invigilated by the dean, who was Li kun. Other than the sound of the air conditioning, the only noise in the classroom was his footsteps as he paced back and forth.
Most students in the entire grade were quite intimidated by the dean. With him overseeing the exam, they didn’t dare to move or cheat. They fiddled with their pens but could barely manage to write a few words.
Lin Tiao rested her head on one hand while the other hovered over the answer sheet, picking answers here and there. She had just finished the multiple-choice section when her eyelids started drooping. Adjusting her head slightly, she settled into a discreet position, planning to sneak in a nap.
But barely a few minutes into her rest, Lin Tiao felt a gentle poke on her back—not too hard, but noticeable—right on her spine.
To be nudged like this, she felt the situation was a bit serious.
Straightening her stiff neck, she glanced over and saw the dean standing outside the classroom, chatting with another teacher. Quickly, she turned her head and spotted an unfamiliar face behind her.
Raising her eyebrows, she slid her barely completed answer sheet to the side.
The message was clear: Feel free to copy—I haven’t written much anyway.
Just as she finished adjusting her paper, the dean returned to the room. Lin Tiao, now fully awake from that poke, rubbed her face and resumed her work.
“The causes of the Qing Dynasty’s reforms are…,” “This represents socialist thought with Chinese characteristics…,” “The Kuril cold current…”
She scribbled down answers, filling pages.
After about an hour, Lin Tiao put down her pen and leaned back, relaxing completely. A few seconds later, she cheekily slipped a piece of candy into her mouth when she noticed the dean wasn’t watching.
With only half an hour left in the exam, Lin Tiao eyed her answer sheet, the candy rolling on her tongue, as if she suddenly remembered something. Her arm slowly lowered.
The quiet in the exam room began to stir as some bold students, desperate for a carefree summer, started their covert operations.
Sitting at the back, Xu Yichuan muttered to Jiang Yan beside him, “Bro, could you write bigger next time? I can’t see a thing.”
Jiang Yan moved his paper over a bit. “Man, I’m letting you copy, and you still have complaints?”
Xu Yichuan chuckled mischievously, “Aw, come on, brother you’re the best. Love you!”
“…” Jiang Yan didn’t reply, leaning against the wall. His gaze, however, was fixed on Lin Tiao, seated diagonally in front of him.
From his angle, he could only see her profile—a delicate face with skin fairer than most girls. Her medium-length hair was tied loosely with a black hairband. She hadn’t worn her jacket, only the short-sleeved school shirt with blue trim at the cuffs, revealing a slender, pale arm.
At the moment, her arm was hanging down, her slim fingers tapping rhythmically on the leg of the chair.
Jiang Yan stared at her fingers as she moved her arm behind her and tapped gently on the desk of the girl behind her.
“?”
Jiang Yan, noticing something amusing, continued leaning against the wall with his head propped on one hand, watching as Lin Tiao retracted her hand and scooted to the right.
“A cool girl with a kind heart,” he muttered under his breath.
Busy copying, Xu Yichuan didn’t catch it at first, assuming it was something exam-related. “Hey, what did you say? Louder—I didn’t hear you.”
Jiang Yan: “…”
Why was he even friends with this idiot?
---
After the exam, the girl sitting behind Lin Tiao stopped her. “Thanks for helping me out back there! I thought I was a goner, but you’re so kind! Which class are you in? I’ll treat you to a meal after the exams.”
Lin Tiao forced a smile. “Class Six.”
Not for long, she silently added.
“It’s settled then! I’ll find you after the English exam tomorrow.” The girl spoke so quickly that Lin Tiao barely had a chance to respond.
By the time she thought to decline the meal, the girl had already pulled out her phone. “Do you have any contact info? I don’t want to lose you after the exam tomorrow.”
Losing me would be best.
Feigning regret, Lin Tiao patted her pockets. “Sorry, I didn’t bring my phone, can’t remember my QQ ID, my number’s too long to memorize, and I don’t have any other way to reach me.”
The girl: “…”
Just then, Jiang Yan walked up from behind. “Actually, your phone’s in your uniform pocket,” he pointed out, feigning helpfulness. “Maybe you forgot?”
Lin Tiao: “…”
Honestly, if she hadn’t heard that he had fought off an entire class of boys earlier today, her hand might already be flying toward his face.
But now, she neither wanted to nor dared to.
After a pause, she gritted her teeth and said, “Thank—you—very—much.”
Jiang Yan took it all in stride. “Oh, no problem—just being helpful.”
Lin Tiao: “…”
Ugh!
When Lin Tiao was caught in her lie in front of everyone, she remained unfazed, keeping a straight face as she continued to bluff, "My phone's too small; I didn’t even feel it in my pocket. You wanted my contact info, right? Let’s add each other on QQ."
Though her tone sounded casual, anyone paying close attention could detect a slight difference. Her speech was noticeably quicker than usual, and though others wouldn’t notice, Jiang Yan, who had already had one encounter with her, picked up on it.
Jiang Yan bit his cheek, his lips curving into a smile. The irritation caused by Xu Yichuan’s prank that earned him a five-thousand-character reflection essay started to dissipate.
The girl added Lin Tiao on QQ, took a phone call, and left.
Watching as most of the people left the classroom, Lin Tiao grabbed her pencil case and strode past Jiang Yan without sparing him a glance.
“Hey, fellow student,” Jiang Yan called. Xu Yichuan and the others had been called to the office, leaving Jiang Yan bored. He followed her, amused.
Ignoring him, Lin Tiao quickened her pace until she was practically running. Jiang Yan stifled a laugh and took a long stride forward, blocking her path. He glanced at her eyes briefly.
No redness, no tears, just a sharp look directed straight at him.
Crisis averted.
The two stood in the corridor, and since few students were taking the exam in the multimedia classroom, the floor was empty. Occasionally, a few students stayed behind to clean, and when they spotted Jiang Yan’s recognizable face, they couldn’t resist sneaking a few glances—both at him and at the girl across from him.
The infamous guy rumored to be “that way” standing with a girl? Big news!
Two girls on their way to dump trash paused to look over again, prompting Jiang Yan to give them a lazy sideways glance.
Startled, the two hurried off with their trash cans, disappearing instantly.
Watching their hasty retreat, Jiang Yan wondered if he really looked that intimidating.
But he didn’t dwell on it long.
Because when he turned back, ready to speak, the person standing in front of him had suddenly vanished.
Jiang Yan stared at the empty corridor, tongue pressed against his cheek, and burst out laughing.
Not far behind him, Xu Yichuan, Hu Hanghang, and Song Yuan had stopped in their tracks, watching as Jiang Yan laughed to himself. Their scalps tingled.
Xu Yichuan rubbed his arm. “Did you…see something?”
Hu Hanghang gulped and clung to Song Yuan’s arm, “I heard someone died here once, right around where Jiang Yan is.”
Noticing the sound, Jiang Yan turned around, saw the three of them, and walked over with a straight face, pointing to the empty space beside him. “Come here, let me introduce you to a new friend, Wanni Dou.”
The three stared at the spot, confirmed there was no one there, and bolted downstairs, screaming, “A ghost!!”
Jiang Yan followed them at a leisurely pace, thoroughly entertained.
---
Maybe influenced by Jiang Yan, that night, Lin Tiao had a strange dream about being a vigilante hero. The consequence of such a fantasy was waking up the next morning to find a bruise on her hand, likely from hitting something in her sleep.
In homeroom, Meng Xin noticed the bruise and asked, “What happened to your hand?”
“No idea.” Lin Tiao, sipping on a yogurt, dug through her bag. “Probably hit something while sleeping.”
“You’re something else.” Meng Xin pulled out a black pen from her own pencil case and placed it on Lin Tiao’s desk. “Big sister, stop looking. Here’s a new one.”
Every time she had a placement exam, Lin Tiao would lose something—from textbooks to pen refills. Either way, she couldn’t come back without losing something, or she’d have to change her last name.
“Found it.” Lin Tiao pulled an uncapped pen from her bag and scribbled a bit. It was out of ink.
“…” Meng Xin sighed, pulled out her bag, and said, “I’m off to the exam room.”
There were three exams scheduled for the day: math in the morning, and science and English in the afternoon. To fit it all in, the school had shifted the exam times forward by half an hour.
When Lin Tiao arrived at the exam room, most people were already there, and one of the invigilators was standing in the corridor with a teacup, chatting with teachers from other classes.
Just as the bell rang, Jiang Yan and his crew hurried into the classroom, looking half-awake with messy hair, as though they’d just rolled out of bed.
The four walked in either a line or a cluster, with Jiang Yan bringing up the rear. As he entered, Lin Tiao happened to look up.
He was dressed properly in his uniform, jacket draped over his arm, and the usually well-groomed hair from previous encounters now lay messily over his forehead.
He looked entirely non-threatening.
Sensing someone’s gaze, Jiang Yan looked over in her direction.
A few seconds later, he flashed a broad, eight-toothed grin at her in front of the whole exam room. “Morning.”
“…”
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