No matter how Yan Heng refused, Zhu Yaya still used the excuse of escorting her "big brother" to secretly follow Xu Chun on the sly.
Yan Heng: "Minors can't date."
Distracted Zhu Yaya: "Mhm mhm mhm, you're so right, Brother Yan."
Yan Heng: "The monthly exam is coming up. Go review, stop following me."
Preoccupied Zhu Yaya: "Yes yes yes, absolutely right, Brother Yan."
Yan Heng: "...Zhu Yaya, are you even listening to me?"
Zhu Yaya kept glancing at Xu Chun out of the corner of her eye: "Oh, Brother Yan, your words are most wise!"
Yan Heng: ...
The monthly exam arrived as scheduled.
Things were quite peaceful at Zhu Yaya's home, pretty much the same as usual. The only difference was that Zhao Jing, having heard about rising prices, increased Yaya's breakfast allowance by one yuan. They had always been relaxed and unconcerned about their daughter's studies. Zhu Yaya believed that even if she ranked last in the exam, Zhu Jianjun and Zhao Jing wouldn't say much.
Others, however, were making quite a fuss.
As before, Zhu Yaya went to the Tian Tian Breakfast Shop to buy breakfast.
The shop owner's wife, having heard about Yaya's bet with the teacher, insisted she eat a fried dough stick and two tea eggs: "I really like youngsters who take their studies seriously. Eat these, and Auntie guarantees you'll get a hundred points in Chinese, Math, and English."
After repeated refusals proved futile, Zhu Yaya meekly said to the landlady, "Auntie, in high school, Chinese, math, and English are each scored out of 150 points."
The proprietress's hand, holding a fried dough stick and tea eggs, froze awkwardly in midair.
Yan Heng chimed in with a few more sentences: "Eating too many tea eggs isn't good. Tea contains acidifying substances that combine with the iron in eggs, irritating the stomach and affecting digestive function. It also contains a large amount of tannic acid. Tannic acid combines with protein to form astringent tannin-protein, which slows intestinal peristalsis, thereby prolonging the retention of feces in the intestines. This not only easily leads to constipation but also increases the possibility of the body absorbing toxic and carcinogenic substances, endangering health."
Zhu Yaya was rather taken aback; it was rare for Yan Heng to say so much. But after hearing that, she completely lost her appetite.
The proprietress silently withdrew her hand. A few nearby customers who had wanted to buy tea eggs, upon hearing Yan Heng's words, also put their money away and quietly left.
Landlady: "...Yan Heng! Give me back my customers!"
Ignoring the somewhat frantic proprietress, Yan Heng took two of Yaya's favorite red bean buns and handed them to Yaya. "Do well on the exam. Make sure to read the questions carefully during the test."
Zhu Yaya giggled, blinking at Yan Heng: "Don't worry, Brother Yan, I won't let down the notes you gave me." She had originally thought about wishing Yan Heng good luck too since he also had his monthly exam today, but then she considered the notes he'd given her and his past grades. Never mind, a top student like him doesn't need that.
However, it wasn't just Yan Heng today.
At school, Xu Baoying was also unnecessarily worried. She tied a red string around Zhu Yaya's wrist, muttering as she did so: "This isn't an ordinary red string. My parents got it from a temple during my zodiac year. You must not take it off during these two days of exams, got it?"
Zhu Yaya was a bit exasperated: "It's just a monthly exam, no need for all this!"
Xu Baoying glared at her: "Who told you to always stir up trouble! You're my deskmate; I don't want you to leave Class 1, Grade 10."
Zhu Yaya smirked mischievously: "So Yingying can't bear to see me go! I knew you liked me."
Xu Baoying rolled her eyes at her, adopting a haughty and aloof air: "Woman, I won't allow you to leave until I'm tired of you."
Zhu Yaya laughed until she almost fell over.
Before entering the exam hall, some classmates also ran over to wish her good luck.
Zhu Yaya felt rather intoxicated by her own boundless charm. She really was a likable person!
When the exam began, Zhu Yaya first skimmed through all the questions and felt delighted. "Is that all?" Brimming with confidence, she quickly filled in the answers and, in no time, finished the paper with a rapid scribbling. After carefully checking it over once, she handed it in early. After leaving, she lazily sat down on a bench in the small park on the first floor and closed her eyes to rest.
Then, she felt someone sit down beside her. She lazily cracked open an eyelid to look and her eyes instantly went wide. It was Yan Heng. He had also finished the exam early.
He mimicked Zhu Yaya, lazily sitting on the bench and squinting: "Finished the paper? Did you check it?"
"Of course I finished. I checked it three times before handing it in."
"Hmm." Yan Heng acknowledged and then said nothing more.
Zhu Yaya and Yan Heng sat there quietly. She stole a few glances at Yan Heng with his eyes closed and suddenly felt a sense of tranquil contentment.
The first exam ended. Students began streaming out of the exam halls, but Yan Heng stood up.
He lowered his gaze slightly and said to Zhu Yaya, "For the next math exam, make sure to read the questions clearly. Don't rush. Be careful not to fall into any traps."
"Got it~" Zhu Yaya drew out her tone.
After saying that, Yan Heng left.
Xu Baoying, whose exam hall was on the second floor, saw Zhu Yaya sitting on the bench downstairs basking in the sun and rushed down.
"How was your first exam?" Xu Baoying squeezed in next to Zhu Yaya.
"Piece of cake," Zhu Yaya said with full confidence.
"Unless I'm mistaken, wasn't that Yan Heng next to you just now? You two~"
Zhu Yaya gently patted Xu Baoying's head: "We both left the exam hall early. Don't get any ideas."
Ignoring her, Xu Baoying spoke up, "The exam halls for the second-year high school students aren't in our teaching building."
Zhu Yaya was taken aback, then explained, "He's my newly acknowledged big brother. Is it wrong for a big brother to care about his little brother's exam? Have you read the high school student code of conduct? No early dating for high schoolers." Even as she said this, something else was quietly stirring in her heart.
These two days of exams went exceptionally smoothly for Zhu Yaya. Moreover, every time she left the exam hall early, she would see Yan Heng's tall, slender figure. He would also give her a whole list of reminders.
Except for the final exam.
When Zhu Yaya left the exam hall, she didn't see Yan Heng's figure on the first floor. Her originally good mood dimmed a little. She thought habits were indeed scary and comforted herself, thinking maybe Yan Heng was stuck on a problem, but she didn't even believe that guess herself.
For some reason, she felt a faint sense of unease.
The final exam ended. Everyone left their exam halls and returned to their respective classrooms.
As Zhu Yaya went upstairs, a group of second-year high school students walked past. She overheard them discussing the exam questions. Someone suddenly mentioned that a candidate in one of the exam rooms had run off just as they were about to enter.
"Who? That's wild!" a boy said.
"I don't know either, I wasn't in that exam hall."
...
Listening nearby, Zhu Yaya felt her unease grow stronger.
She returned to the classroom and saw Li Hao waiting anxiously in the corridor. Upon seeing her, Li Hao hurried over.
"What's wrong?" Zhu Yaya asked, already having an inkling of what the matter might be.
Sure enough, Li Hao turned to her with a face full of concern and said, "Zhu Yaya, something terrible has happened at Brother Yan's home! He didn't even take his final exam!"
Zhu Yaya's heart gave a jolt of alarm.
