After evening study hall ended, Shen Yuan watched Li Zhi stuff five books into her school bag.
This drew an astonished look from the girl sitting next to her.
"Li Zhi, you still study this much after school?"
Li Zhi nodded. "Yep. Half an hour per book. As long as I'm in bed before midnight, it's fine."
"But you wake up so early every day. Aren't you tired?"
Li Zhi shook her head. "I'm young, I can handle it. It'll all be worth it once I make it."
Standing in the back row listening to their conversation, Shen Yuan really wanted to say, 'Li Zhi is actually lying to you. She doesn't study at all when she gets home.'
But Shen Yuan figured no one would believe him even if he did.
'Who would you believe? The 600-point scorer saying the top student doesn't study, or the top student saying she's going to study?'
After swapping their school bags, the two of them headed out of the school.
Once they reached the main road, Shen Yuan asked.
"You're taking so many books home. Do you really read all of them?"
Li Zhi glanced at Shen Yuan, not bothering to hide it. "Nope. It's purely to create anxiety. Besides, you're the one carrying them."
Shen Yuan was speechless.
"So I'm also just a part of your game, Young Master Li."
"And now that you know, how does it feel?"
"I feel a lot more relaxed."
After all, knowing that Li Zhi wasn't actually going to study all those books made him feel much less pressure.
"But other people don't know that."
Hearing this, Shen Yuan froze. "What do you mean?"
Li Zhi turned to look him in the eye. "Everyone in class still thinks I'm going to study when I get home. So, do you think they'll study when they get home?"
The corner of Shen Yuan's mouth twitched. He felt a wave of agony.
'This is all directed at me.'
"Sis, don't say another word. I can't breathe."
The students of Class 15 didn't know that Li Zhi wouldn't necessarily study after getting home, so they would be caught up in the rat race she created.
But Shen Yuan knew. And yet, in this situation, he still had no choice but to study.
Because if he didn't, he'd fall even further behind the rest of the class.
'It's such a contradiction.'
"By the way, what did Sister Shui want with you during evening study hall?"
"My aunt—her mom—wants my mom to introduce some handsome young guys from her workplace to my cousin for a blind date. She doesn't want to go."
It wasn't a big secret, so Shen Yuan just told her outright.
"And you agreed?"
"What else could I do?"
Shen Yuan got angry just thinking about it. "Do you know what she did? She threatened me! Said I was in a puppy love relationship! And that she was going to tell my mom!"
Li Zhi was amused. "But you giving in just makes it look more like you're in a puppy love relationship, doesn't it? It's like some idiot who gets caught by the dean and says, 'I'll take full responsibility for my actions.'"
As soon as Li Zhi finished speaking, she saw Shen Yuan staring at her silently.
His expression was tinged with a hint of resignation.
'Fuck, I can't laugh anymore.'
Li Zhi looked at Shen Yuan, pointed at herself in disbelief, and asked tentatively.
"Me?"
Shen Yuan nodded heavily.
"I'm in a puppy love relationship with *you*?"
Li Zhi's defenses crumbled.
"What was Yang Yishui thinking? Me, in a relationship with a stray dog? Even if I were to date someone, I'd at least find someone who can score a 650!"
Shen Yuan wasn't happy about that.
"Hey, hey, hey! Say what you want, but leave me out of it! I'm just a dog on the side of the road. It's bad enough that Yang Yishui threw something at me, but now you're running up to kick me too?"
"Is there a problem? Did you score 600?"
"Fuck!"
Shen Yuan pointed at Li Zhi, his voice trembling. "You just wait. When I score 620 on the monthly exam, I'll show you."
"Thanks, but I'm already good-looking enough."
The beautiful girl tossed her long hair. "You trying to 'show me' with a 620? For me, that would be a disfigurement."
Shen Yuan couldn't take it anymore and issued a death threat.
"Say one more word and I'll climb through your window tonight and cosplay a Sunny Day Doll."
Li Zhi shrank back. "That really won't be necessary."
"Hmph!"
...
Back home, Shen Yuan found his dad, Shen Guohao, mopping the floor and said cheerfully.
"Yo, Dad, did you mess up?"
Shen Guohao stopped mopping and looked at Shen Yuan. "Did you score a 620?"
Shen Yuan's smile vanished.
'It's the same routine, huh!'
'I'm never going to live this 620 thing down, am I!'
'Dammit!'
"Just you wait! All of you, just wait!"
"I'm going to go study right now! When I get a 620, all you people who look down on me will see!"
"What's all that about?" Ms. Zhang poked her head out of the kitchen.
Shen Yuan's bravado instantly deflated. "...will see me in a better light. Just seeing me in a better light is fine. Hehe."
Zhang Yuyan rolled her eyes. 'How did I give birth to such an idiot child?'
Seeing his mom, Shen Yuan remembered his mission from his Eldest Female Cousin.
An idea popped into his head, and Shen Yuan spoke right up.
"Mom, is my aunt trying to set Yang Yishui up on a blind date?"
Zhang Yuyan nodded. "How did you know? Oh, Shuishui must have told you, right? She wants you to tell me not to set her up, is that it?"
Shen Yuan nodded.
Zhang Yuyan rolled her eyes. "What are you getting involved for? Your cousin is already 28."
"Mom, what era are we living in? Didn't Old Mao's sister get married at 35? Besides,"
Shen Yuan paused.
'Yang Yishui, you were cruel first, so don't blame me for being unjust!'
"Yang Yishui told me she's into girls recently."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the entire house fell into a moment of silence.
Zhang Yuyan's mouth opened and closed. "Alright, I'll talk to your aunt."
"Okay-dokie."
Shen Yuan nodded and went back to his room.
Shen Guohao looked at his wife. "You actually believe that?"
Ms. Zhang shook her head. "Believe my ass. If Shuishui doesn't want a blind date, then fine. Why should I force it on her? Teaching is tiring enough. To come home and have to worry about a boyfriend's feelings on top of that? What for?"
With that, Ms. Zhang snorted coldly. "Just mop your floor! You even managed to break the robot vacuum!"
Shen Guohao gave a sheepish smile and obediently went back to mopping.
In his room, Shen Yuan was working through math problems when a cutesy voice sounded in his ear.
"Meow~"
Shen Yuan looked down and saw that San Geng had appeared at his feet at some point, rubbing against his leg.
"You want to be held, don't you? Such a good little kitty."
Shen Yuan bent down to pick her up, but with a WHOOSH, San Geng slipped away.
Then she stood a short distance away, looking at Shen Yuan with an expression of utter disdain.
'Human, my rubbing against you is a blessing I bestow. It does not mean you may touch me.'
"Hey! You little brat!"
Shen Yuan got up and started chasing the cat.
After a chaotic chase, he finally caught the little kitty in his room.
"Hehehe, little kitty!"
Pinning San Geng on the bed, Shen Yuan buried his face in the kitty's belly and took a huge, long sniff.
'So satisfying.'
'Getting a cat fix really is relaxing.'
Thinking of this, Shen Yuan grabbed Naonao, opened his phone's camera, and recorded a first-person video of himself huffing the cat, which he then sent to Li Zhi.
In the room next door, Li Zhi, who happened to be on her phone, saw the WeChat notification pop up.
Shen Yuan: "[Video]"
Li Zhi's brow furrowed.
'It's not some kind of eye-bleach-worthy video, is it?'
'Shen Yuan wouldn't be that perverted, would he?'
Clinging to a shred of trust in her childhood friend, Li Zhi opened WeChat.
She saw a pure white, blue-eyed Ragdoll cat staring blankly at the phone's camera.
Li Zhi played the video, and Shen Yuan's voice came through.
"Little kitty! Hehe! Little kitty!"
"(HUGE SNIFF) You smell so good!"
A moment later, Shen Yuan heard Li Zhi's furious cursing from next door.
"Shen Yuan! Go to hell!! You got my cat dirty!!!"
Shen Yuan was completely unfazed by this.
'If you've got the guts, come over and hit me, huh?'
Half a minute later, Shen Yuan's bedroom door was thrown open.
Shen Yuan turned his head and saw Li Zhi holding a blue salted-fish plushie.
"Eat my Salted Fish Thrust!"