A few security guards were gathered, eating and making small talk.

"Uncle Wang, I don’t think I’ve seen that girl before," a younger guard asked.

Old Wang slurped his noodles and mumbled, "I just know there’s a girl who always wears her long-sleeved uniform, even in the summer. That’s probably this Lin Ruoxi."

"Huh? Now that Uncle Wang mentions it, I remember her too," another guard chimed in.

"That kid from earlier is something else. Looked like he knew the school administration."

The young guard recalled Director Li from the morning and mentioned it offhandedly.

"You don’t even know Xue Rui? He’s Teacher Xue’s nephew. That kid is a real handful. I caught him setting off fireworks at the school last year."

Old Wang had been at the school for many years and knew all the teachers.

He didn’t think much of the fact that Xue Rui knew the school administration.

Mischievous kids like that got chewed out by the administration the most, so it was only natural they’d be acquainted.

"Here, Uncle Wang. These are the cigarettes Xue Rui gave me this morning. I don’t smoke, so you can have them."

"He Tianxia? This Xue Rui... he reminds me of another kid who graduated a while back."

...

Downstairs at the classroom building.

"Candied hawthorns are good for digestion. Here, have one."

Xue Rui was holding a large bunch of candied hawthorn sticks, and he held them out in front of Lin Ruoxi.

"Oh... okay." Lin Ruoxi looked up at them for a long moment before taking the smallest stick.

Xue Rui was surprised. That stick was the least appealing of the bunch; several of the hawthorn berries on it were visibly wilted.

He snatched it out of Lin Ruoxi’s hand and swapped it for a plump, glistening one.

"Stop thinking about everyone else. First come, first served. You get the best one," Xue Rui said, his face stern.

’This silly girl. Always putting others first, even at her own expense.’

"Thank you," Lin Ruoxi said with her head down.

"Candied hawthorn? I want one too!"

"Little Melon" from Class Three came over and, without a word, snatched a stick from Xue Rui’s hand.

Xue Rui laughed and aimed a playful kick in her direction. Little Melon skipped up the stairs.

The short, non-boarding student was very popular at school. She had a bubbly, outgoing personality and had even brought Xue Rui breakfast once.

Lin Ruoxi instinctively flinched. She was terrified Xue Rui would kick her, too.

"Is... is this enough?" Lin Ruoxi asked in a small voice.

Xue Rui had told her the candied hawthorns were for their classmates. But there were over forty students in their class, and Xue Rui had only bought about thirty sticks.

’And... someone just snatched one away, too.’

"It’s enough, it’s enough," Xue Rui said, waving his hand dismissively.

When he bought the meals, he had intentionally bought extra, just in case there wasn’t enough to go around for the security guards.

But the candied hawthorns were for the students; there was no need to get one for every single person.

Each stick had several hawthorn berries on it, so the students would share among themselves.

Especially the young couples—they’d probably prefer there to be only one stick, giving them an excuse to share.

Students were starting to trickle back to their classrooms. Girls chattered about the latest gossip, while boys walked with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders.

"Xue Rui! Save some for me!" Qiu Mengze saw Xue Rui from afar and jogged a few steps forward.

"You go back to the classroom first," Xue Rui said.

He was about to reach out and ruffle Lin Ruoxi’s hair, but then he suddenly thought of Gu Muxue. ’What if she saw me...?’

So he rubbed his hands together and resisted the sudden impulse.

"Oh... okay." Lin Ruoxi held the candied hawthorn and walked woodenly up the stairs.

’For some reason, Xue Rui seemed a little strange just now.’

Qiu Mengze took a stick from Xue Rui, and the two of them waited by the stairwell on the ground floor.

Xue Rui had bought the candied hawthorn for Gu Muxue. At first, he’d only planned on buying a few sticks.

But when he saw the old man selling them, still standing on the street corner in the heat... well, it was only about a hundred yuan, so he just bought out the whole lot.

If anyone asked for a candied hawthorn, Xue Rui gave them one. He’d hand them out to classmates he recognized, too.

In any case, he had saved the two best-looking sticks for Gu Muxue and her little sidekick, Mei Lili.

While waiting, Xue Rui noticed that the first-year final exam results were posted on the wall by the stairs.

"Last time, you were tenth from the bottom for the entire school," Qiu Mengze said with a laugh, pointing at the list.

The corner of Xue Rui’s eye twitched. ’My grades were this bad?’

He glanced up the list and quickly found Qiu Mengze’s name. "You’re only five damn spots above me, and you’re proud of that?"

"One rank higher is still higher," Qiu Mengze chuckled.

Xue Rui walked forward to look at the names on the first page.

First was Gu Muxue, second was Lin Ruoxi, and third was Hong Zihan...

"Stop looking. That’s the honor roll. It’s got nothing to do with us mortals. Our two scores combined probably don’t even add up to one of theirs."

Qiu Mengze tugged on Xue Rui’s sleeve. ’My bro is acting really weird. Why is he suddenly so interested in his grades?’

"Which girl do you like?" Xue Rui pointed at the results on the wall and asked with a grin.

Qiu Mengze did have a crush, but he’d never confessed. His one-sided love would last until graduation before fizzling out into nothing.

In reality, that’s what youth is like for many shy boys.

Someone comes into your heart for a while, only to leave just as quietly.

"You... I don’t!" Qiu Mengze’s eyes darted away. He bit off two hawthorn berries in one go to hide his unease.

’How does he know? I’ve never said anything!’

’If this guy finds out, it’s not going to end well!’

Qiu Mengze gave Xue Rui a strange look.

Seeing that reaction, Xue Rui instantly understood. ’So, he hasn’t told me yet at this point in time?’

’Thinking back, Qiu Mengze only mentioned it once, when he was drunk at our high school graduation.’

’But I can’t remember her name now.’

Xue Rui had wanted to give his buddy some encouragement. Even if he didn’t succeed, at least he wouldn’t have any regrets.

Suddenly, he spotted Gu Muxue approaching from a distance. He smiled and waved at her, completely forgetting about Qiu Mengze.

When Gu Muxue walked through the campus, she was like a movie star. She didn’t just capture the attention of the boys; even many of the girls watched her with eyes full of admiration.

Gu Muxue also noticed Xue Rui, and she saw the candied hawthorn in his hands.

The corners of her lips curved up slightly. ’Xue Rui actually kept his word.’

This wasn’t her usual polite, superficial smile for classmates. It was a genuine smile that bloomed from her heart, like a peach blossom, causing the eyes of every boy nearby to light up.

’But Xue Rui made me so mad earlier. Why should I make it easy for him?’

When she got closer, she deliberately put on a stern face, pretending not to see Xue Rui.

Yet inside, she was chanting, ’Hurry up and give me the candied hawthorn...’

Xue Rui stepped forward to block her path, pulling out two sticks of round candied hawthorn and waving them in front of her beautiful face.

There was obvious surprise in Gu Muxue’s eyes. She shot Xue Rui a glare before storming upstairs, her cheeks puffed out in anger.

"Huh?" Xue Rui was a little confused.

’The girl is so naive, and her acting is terrible. Does she really think she can fool me?’

But the moment he held out the candied hawthorn, Gu Muxue genuinely got angry.

Mei Lili sneered, a flash of disdain in her eyes. "Idiot. Gu Muxue only eats the flattened kind."

Xue Rui frowned.

’Just because they’re round instead of flat?’

’Is there even a difference?’

’And what’s with Mei Lili? She acts like a handmaiden serving her mistress. How does she remember every single one of Gu Muxue’s preferences?’

Xue Rui was speechless and went on an internal rant.

But this wasn’t enough to stump Xue Rui.

Before long, Xue Rui strolled into the Class One classroom with a grin, holding a stick of flattened candied hawthorn.

As for Gu Muxue, she had a book propped up on her desk, her whole face buried in it.

’She was very unhappy. Not only did Old Gu ignore her feelings, but now even Xue Rui was being careless.’

’The old Xue Rui would never have forgotten what I like.’

She decided she would get some "revenge" on Xue Rui.

’For the rest of the day...’

’No... for the whole afternoon.’

’Yes... for at least two class periods, I’m going to ignore that jerk Xue Rui!’

Gu Muxue secretly made up her mind.

Just as she made her decision, Xue Rui quietly walked up to her side.

He snatched the book away from her and dangled a stick of flattened candied hawthorn before her peach-blossom eyes.