Chapter 37

With that thought, Yan Xiao snatched the yogurt back from Qiu Li’s hand and gave it a little squeeze.
Pffft!
Another soft sound. Another spray of yogurt.
Qiu Li: “…”
Yan Xiao: “…”
He’d just finished wiping his face clean, and now, once again, yogurt dripped down his cheeks.
He froze for a moment, staring first at her, then at the carton in her hand, and finally at her bright, guilty, triumphant eyes.
“Was that on purpose?” he asked, arching one perfect eyebrow, tilting his head slightly.
Yan Xiao blinked. Huh? Why didn’t I get any points?
Wait, only the first time gives points? Repeats don’t count? That’s such a scam!
Seeing her wide eyes and silence, Qiu Li narrowed his gaze. “Hmm?”
She waited another second, confirmed that the counter didn’t budge, then forced a stiff little smile. “Heh… hehehe…”
Her awkward laugh only made his eyes soften further. A fond smile curved his lips. “You little troublemaker,” he murmured, half laughing, half sighing. “Was that really so fun?”
He reached up to wipe his face but realized his hands were empty, no tissues. So he turned to her expectantly.
Yan Xiao, guilty but still pleased at having accidentally scored points earlier, offered quickly, “Don’t move! I’ll help you wipe it!”
The tissues she’d used before were already soaked, so she dug into her pocket again.
And dug.
And dug some more.
After a few seconds she looked up, blinking rapidly. “Um… no tissues left.”
Qiu Li’s handsome face darkened by the inch, and she struggled to keep a straight face. “It’s okay! Wait here, I’ll go buy some!”
She’d barely taken one step before he caught her wrist. “I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t need to,” she protested. “Just stay here, don’t move. I’ll buy them myself.”
Qiu Li let out a short laugh. “I’m a science student too, you know. I understand words.”
Yan Xiao: “……”
Her lips twitched despite herself. “Fine. We’ll go together. But let me warn you, it’s lunch break. There are students everywhere. If people laugh at you, don’t blame me.”
Without waiting for his answer, she grabbed his arm and pulled him along toward the campus convenience store.
At Yanwen, Qiu Li was practically a legend, tall, brilliant, ridiculously good-looking. Even if he walked around with yogurt all over his face, or a bird’s nest for hair, no one would dare laugh.
That didn’t mean there wouldn’t be stares.
After all, seeing the school’s top student and campus heartthrob walking around with yogurt dripping from his face was definitely headline material.
Halfway there, a girl hesitated, then offered them a packet of tissues, cheeks flaming. “H-here…you can have this.”
Yan Xiao’s eyes brightened. Great, now I don’t have to buy any! She reached out, but the boy holding her wrist tugged her forward, his voice calm and cool. “Thanks, but no. She’s buying them for me.”
Yan Xiao: “…”
Still as petty as ever, making her “repay” him with a pack of tissues.
Left with no choice, she dragged him to the store, bought the tissues, and helped him wipe his face clean.
Because the yogurt had started to dry, she even bought him a bottle of water to rinse off.
They each pretended it was nothing but a funny little accident and went back to class, but the school, of course, exploded.
Rumors flew everywhere.
Apparently, Yan Xiao and Qiu Li had gotten into a fierce fight over first place. They’d supposedly dumped yogurt all over each other right in the middle of campus. The “battle for number one” had grown so heated it had turned physical!
Neither of them had any idea this was going around. They went back to studying, or occasionally sneaking glances at each other, blissfully unaware.
Qiu Li didn’t find out until later, when Zhou Hang came over, face full of gossip, after hearing it from half the school.
“Fighting?” Qiu Li looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
Zhou Hang’s eyes widened. “Yeah! Everyone’s saying you and Xiao-xiao fought after lunch, poured yogurt all over each other! It’s everywhere!”
Qiu Li’s brows furrowed slightly, his tone icy. “Ridiculous.”
Zhou Hang blinked. “So… you didn’t actually fight?” He sounded genuinely disappointed.
“Of course not,” Qiu Li said flatly, his look turning faintly disgusted. “If you’re that bored, go do a test paper. Gossiping and spreading rumors, real productive.”
Zhou Hang opened his mouth, offended. If anyone else had said that, he’d have snapped back immediately.
But this was Qiu Li.
And since first grade, through all of high school, he had never once beaten Qiu Li on a single exam. Not once.
Just thinking about it was enough to make him tear up.
“Anything else?” Qiu Li asked, glancing up with an expression that clearly meant if not, stop bothering me.
“Nope.” Zhou Hang slumped.
Defeated, he slunk back to his seat, not daring to bring up who might take first in the next exam.
The second mock exam came almost right after the monthly one, barely any break between them.
Since it was a province-wide standardized test, the results would include regional rankings, making it more significant than usual.
But to students like Qiu Li and Yan Xiao, exams were just exams, all the same.
When the results came out, Zhou Hang was over the moon.
He’d won his bet. His desk mate now owed him a week of breakfast and milk tea.
And since he’d also held onto his precious third place, he was feeling smug, so smug that he couldn’t resist bragging about it to Qiu Li and Yan Xiao.
Yan Xiao sipped her clay-pot soup and asked, “So, who did you bet on?”
Zhou Hang glanced over at Qiu Li, who was busy buying fruit salad for her, and leaned in to whisper, “You, of course! Hehe! You’re amazing! I bet on you two times in a row against Qiu Li and won both! You’re my new idol, I totally worship you now!”
Yan Xiao smiled and looked up, just in time to see Qiu Li returning, standing silently behind Zhou Hang. “And what about Qiu Li?” she asked with a teasing grin.
Completely oblivious that he’d just dug his own grave, Zhou Hang laughed brightly. “He’s old news! From now on, I’ll learn from you!”
Qiu Li was the kind of person born with genius in his DNA, pure talent, something you could envy but never copy.
But Yan Xiao was different. She was clever, sure, but what made her special was her determination and hard work. That, Zhou Hang believed, was the right kind of person to emulate. You couldn’t learn to be a prodigy, heaven didn’t hand out that sort of luck twice.
He’d just finished his grand declaration when the back of his neck went cold.
A chill crept up his spine. Slowly, he turned, and came face-to-face with Qiu Li’s blank, glacial stare.
“Old news?” Qiu Li asked evenly.
Zhou Hang: “…”
With long strides, Qiu Li walked past him and sat down beside Yan Xiao. Without even looking up, he let out a low laugh. “You’re betting on me now? Did anyone ask for my permission?”
Zhou Hang froze for half a second, then his survival instincts kicked in. His brain went into overdrive. “I-I only did it so Xiao-xiao could have milk tea every day! See, if I win, she gets the milk tea, completely free! No need to pay or even leave her seat! Isn’t that great? Right, Xiao-xiao?”
Catching his desperate SOS, Yan Xiao smiled. “Right.”
Seeing her smile, Qiu Li let it go.
Zhou Hang exhaled silently in relief. Wow, he thought, her name really does work like a protective charm. He couldn’t help wondering: once Qiu Li got married someday, would he still listen to Yan Xiao like this?
Wait. Married?
He glanced between them, Qiu Li and Yan Xiao sitting side by side, easy in each other’s space. A wild thought struck him out of nowhere.
Actually, they could totally get married.
Childhood friends! From classroom to wedding aisle! Oh my God, that’s so romantic!
Even as a straight guy, just imagining it made him a little giddy.

In the second mock exam, Yan Xiao ranked first in the school, and first in the entire province.
Qiu Li placed second province-wide.
But in the following monthly exam, Qiu Li reclaimed the top spot.
The battle for first place grew fiercer and fiercer. The whole school was obsessed; it was like watching gods clash, intense, dramatic, and spectacular.
While everyone else waited eagerly for the next round of tests, Yan Xiao, for once, took a rare day off to relax.
That afternoon after school, she didn’t wait for Qiu Li. She headed home first, though she messaged him:
Come to my house for dinner after school. We can do homework together.
Qiu Li didn’t think much of it, only that it felt oddly empty walking home alone.
Just one day apart, and he already felt uncomfortable.
If one day they really had to be apart?
The thought hit him hard. Climbing into the car, he suddenly felt a tight, painful squeeze in his chest. His face went pale.
Frowning, he forced the feeling down, burying it deep where it couldn’t surface.
As long as I work hard, we’ll always stay together. Once the college entrance exam’s over, we’ll both get into the same university. Then we’ll have even more time together…
The reassurance steadied him. Gradually, the color returned to his face.
When he arrived at her neighborhood, he didn’t even stop at his own house, he went straight to hers.
But the moment he stepped into the yard, something felt off.
Still, he didn’t overthink it. He walked up and rang the bell.
Even though the Yan family’s door lock had his fingerprint stored, Qiu Li always pressed the doorbell first out of courtesy, waiting to be let in.
Today, however, no one answered.
He frowned. That was strange.
Yan Xiao had clearly texted him to come for dinner. So why wasn’t anyone opening the door?
A prickle of unease ran through him.
Could something have happened?
Without hesitating any longer, he pressed his finger to the scanner.
For the first time ever, he used his own fingerprint to open the Yan family’s door.
Beep.
The door clicked open. Inside, it was pitch dark. No lights, no movement. His stomach dropped.
He didn’t even bother to change shoes, stepping straight in,
Click.
A faint sound echoed from the living room. Then a soft light flickered to life.
A candle.
Its warm glow spilled over Yan Xiao’s face, lighting up her smile.
She was holding a birthday cake.
And she said, “Qiu Li, happy birthday.”
For one dizzying moment, he felt his heart stop beating.

Author’s Note:
Qiu Li: I think… my heart’s acting weird. (/ω＼)
Yan Xiao: Still sulking, little grudge-holder?