After a happy and thrilling weekend, the running script exam arrived at a brisk pace.
One hundred people had made it to the final round. They were all in the same exam room, still lining up outside to receive their paper.
Li Yu was noticeably more nervous than last time. Her fingers kept rubbing the hem of her clothes.
Her calligraphy level hovered between D and C class. She had been practicing hard recently, hoping to make it into C class.
Since the start of the semester, as they got to know each other, Shen Yusi had come to appreciate a quality in Li Yu that she herself lacked. She was incredibly serious about everything, so serious that everyone would sigh in admiration.
“Don’t be nervous, Li Yu.”
Shen Yusi had a much better attitude. She felt that as long as you gave it your best, it was okay if you didn’t succeed.
The line moved slowly forward. Shen Yusi could hear faint murmurs from those around her. The voices were too low to make out the content.
It wasn’t until the line had shuffled forward about five or six steps that she understood what the commotion was about.
Lin Yingzhou was actually here to proctor the exam today, standing with some other Yun Calligraphy Association members to distribute the exam paper.
Li Yu saw him immediately and grabbed Shen Yusi’s clothes, whispering, “That’s the senior from the opening ceremony who did Tai Chi! He’s from the Medical College. He’s the president of the Calligraphy Association. I also heard recently that he’s our dean’s grandson.”
Shen Yusi nodded. “I heard about that too. And he’s going to be teaching Class B.”
“That’s a shame then. There’s no way my grades will get me into Class B.” Li Yu looked at her. “But you can still aim for it.”
Shen Yusi balled her fists to cheer herself on. “Yeah! I’ve got this!”
The line moved closer. There were four people distributing the exam paper. Shen Yusi did the math and saw that she would be getting hers from the same senior she’d seen last time. Li Yu happened to be in Lin Yingzhou’s line.
Perfect. They missed each other.
She thought about switching places with Li Yu, having her stand in front.
But thought it would be too deliberate. It was just getting a piece of paper. There was no need.
Shen Yusi walked forward to Fang Chuning’s position. As she passed Lin Yingzhou, he happened to look up. Out of respect for the crowd, Shen Yusi didn’t greet him directly.
She was about to give him a smile, but the moment she opened her mouth, Lin Yingzhou looked away expressionlessly.
Shen Yusi’s smile froze on her face.
Fang Chuning handed her the paper. Seeing it was her, she smiled and said, “Good luck,” just like last time.
Shen Yusi’s frozen smile returned. “Thank you, Senior!”
Seniors were much nicer. Not like that poker-faced guy, always pretending to be aloof.
The two followed the people in front and found their seats. Everyone was seated soon enough.
There were fewer exam rooms compared to last time, showing how strict the first exam’s grading standards had been.
This time, there would probably be another half eliminated. Shen Yusi thought, She absolutely could not be in that half.
Fang Chuning stood on the podium and announced the exam instructions.
Shen Yusi’s ears were listening to the pretty senior’s talk, but her eyes were fixed on the handsome senior on the side.
Acting on a whim, she picked up her phone and sent Z a message.
Island: [Teacher Z, after the exam, want to grab a bite? I’ll wait for you at the Sixth Cafeteria～]
Even though she knew Z was Lin Yingzhou, she still called him Teacher Z online.
She used ‘teacher’ before out of respect. Now, she used it for a certain thrill and a sense of taboo.
Dinner was just an excuse. Whether he agreed or not didn’t matter to her. She just wanted to message him at that moment.
On the podium, Lin Yingzhou took his phone out of his pocket in front of everyone and, with a straight face, read her ambiguous, teasing message.
She saw his finger tap lightly on the screen, and her phone vibrated immediately.
Z: [No]
Shen Yusi was seething.
Did he have to refuse so bluntly?
She didn’t even want to have dinner with him that much anyway!
Fuming, she threw her phone onto the table and glared at the nonchalant man on the podium.
Feeling her glare, Lin Yingzhou glanced at her briefly, his eyes softening a little.
After Fang Chuning had announced all the instructions, the exam began. Lin Yingzhou also left at that moment.
Trying to comfort herself, Shen Yusi thought, He left as soon as the exam started. He must have something important today. Why else would he refuse me so bluntly?
She turned her focus back to the calligraphy.
The exam topic had been announced after the first results came out.
It was the same Orchid Pavilion she had finally managed to escape from. They only needed to write the first fifty characters.
She had already copied this copybook countless times. Her brush flew as if guided by a divine hand. There was even a certain unrestrained spirit between the strokes.
Smooth brushwork, extraordinary state of mind. Shen Yusi felt like she had the spirit of Wang Xizhi possessing her.
After she finished, she looked at it again from beginning to end.
It was a masterpiece.
Only about four or five points shy of Wang Xizhi.
Elated, she took a picture and sent it to Z: [A true possession by Wang Xizhi. Let me in on a secret. Am I guaranteed a spot in Class B this time?]
When she handed in the paper, Fang Chuning took it and gave it a quick look. She praised her. “This is really good. You’ve improved a lot since last time.”
She remembered that Shen Yusi’s regular script was average, barely enough for Class D.
This running script had truly impressed her.
Hearing this, Shen Yusi felt like she was walking on air. But she still managed a humble smile. “Thank you, Senior. I’ll be going now.”
She left the classroom and waited for Li Yu by the door.
She played on her phone for a bit. The scent of ink in the corridor was dispersed by a draft.
Li Yu came out. She didn’t look good. Her voice was heavy. “There were a few characters I didn’t handle well.”
“It’s okay. The results aren’t out yet. I messed up a few characters too. It’s normal.” Shen Yusi put an arm around her to comfort her. “I heard there will be more exams after the classes are assigned. You can move up if you improve. Don’t worry.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. It’s so hot today. Let’s go get some shaved ice at the Sixth Cafeteria.” Shen Yusi dragged Li Yu towards the stairs.
Li Yu grabbed her wrist in response, her frustration melting away in the breeze.
When they got to the cafeteria, Z’s message came just in time: [I don’t know. I’m not grading the papers.]
Lin Yingzhou was warmer online than in person, and he talked more.
Normally, at this point, after seeing his good student’s work, he would have added another line.
Something like: [Well done.]
Or: [Good. Improvement.]
Something along those lines. Few words, but clear praise.
Shen Yusi waited for a while. No second message came.
She finally realized.
Lin Yingzhou was sulking again.
Shen Yusi bit her finger, trying to remember what the problem was.
She had a sudden flashback to what happened at the Michelin restaurant last weekend.
He had seen her sitting with Qi Yue, hadn’t he?
Did Lin Yingzhou think she had refused their invitation by using her friend as an excuse, just so she could go out with Qi Yue?
God, she really didn’t!
She was having dinner with Xia Xifan! Don’t misunderstand her!
Of course, there was no way Shen Yusi could tell Lin Yingzhou about Xia Xifan.
One Qi Yue was already hard enough to deal with. Adding another would be a total disaster.
Shen Yusi had no interest in being the ‘woman’ in a three-way love triangle. She hoped they would all just leave each other alone and not know about each other.
Wait. Hold on.
Shen Yusi suddenly remembered that when she was walking with Xia Xifan after dinner, Lin Yingzhou’s phone call had been very strange.
He had said he was near the restaurant and could give her a ride, then hung up for no reason when she refused.
Shen Yusi put a hand to her forehead. Could Lin Yingzhou have not only seen her having dinner with Qi Yue, but also seen her walking with Xia Xifan?
Oh, crap…
She’d been caught completely.
Shen Yusi was ready to just black out.
Could she even have fun anymore?
Li Yu sat across from Shen Yusi, watching her expression change constantly. “What’s wrong? You look distracted. What are you thinking about?”
Shen Yusi said, wistfully, “What should you do if you get caught lying?”
Li Yu didn’t know the specifics. She just said, “If you’ve done something wrong, you should apologize and make amends.”
Shen Yusi thought apologizing and making amends was a bit too formal. She was trying to figure out how to convince Lin Yingzhou that she hadn’t lied on purpose. She was forced into it!
Then a question popped into her head.
Why was Lin Yingzhou angry?
Was he angry that she lied, or that she was walking with another guy?
This was a question worth thinking about. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to laugh.
Shen Yusi narcissistically thought, Lin Yingzhou must be jealous.
Hehe.
Shen Yusi was feeling all smug when she spotted two figures entering the cafeteria through the pickup window.
She looked closer. Wasn’t that the jealous Lin Yingzhou she had in her head?!
Shen Yusi’s smile froze. Then she scoffed.
Here she was, thinking about how to explain things to him, and there he was, going to eat with another girl. And he came to the same Sixth Cafeteria she had just asked him to come to!
Shen Yusi had every reason to believe Lin Yingzhou was doing this on purpose.
She watched as Lin Yingzhou sat down on the opposite side, his back to her, looking like he was having a great time talking to the girl.
Shen Yusi pulled out her phone. Avoiding the girl’s face, she took a picture and sent it to Z.
Her tone was as sarcastic as she could make it: [No wonder you turned me down. You had a pretty girl with you. I guess I’m just not worthy～]
After sending it, Shen Yusi shuddered. That was sour. Now she didn’t even need vinegar for her dumplings.
She propped her head on her hand, jealously watching Lin Yingzhou’s table.
His phone was on the table. He glanced at the message, said something to the girl opposite him, and the girl smiled and shook her head, replying with something.
Shen Yusi read her lips: ‘It’s fine. Go ahead.’
Go where?
Then, Lin Yingzhou picked up his tray. As Shen Yusi watched, he walked over to her table, set the tray down, and sat down next to her.
The whole sequence was done quickly and neatly, without any hesitation.
Li Yu was so shocked that the chicken leg she was holding with her chopsticks fell with a clatter onto her plate.
Shen Yusi also stared incredulously at the person beside her.
What was he doing? She was just sending a message to ask. Why did he just come sit down?
Under the two stunned gazes, Lin Yingzhou spoke slowly.
“She’s a senior. We were discussing academic matters. I was supposed to have lunch with the professor, but something came up and he had to leave. It was just me and her.”
As he spoke, he held out his phone. The screen showed a chat log from a group.
He was explaining so seriously, but his straightforwardness took Shen Yusi completely by surprise.
What was with everyone lately? Were they all learning from Xia Xifan to just lay everything out? She couldn’t handle this.
She looked away uncomfortably. Her mechanical shoveling of food betrayed her panic. “Why are you telling me this?”
Lin Yingzhou looked at her. “I don’t want you to misunderstand.”
“I didn’t.” Shen Yusi was lying through her teeth.
Lin Yingzhou’s lips curled slightly. “You did.”
Shen Yusi shut up. Okay, she did.
Li Yu was still in shock, too stunned to speak. She wanted to ask something but couldn’t with Lin Yingzhou there. She thought, He’d already explained everything. Why was he still hanging around?
She couldn’t even talk to Shen Yusi anymore.
When the meal was finally over, on the way back to the dorm, Li Yu finally had a chance to ask. “Can you tell me now? What’s going on between you and Lin Yingzhou?”
From what had just happened, their relationship was definitely not simple.
Li Yu even felt that what Lin Yingzhou had said wasn’t an explanation. It was more like he was coaxing Shen Yusi.
This was completely different from the Lin Yingzhou she had heard about from the seniors.