Chapter 4: Seeing Her Sleeping Face After Class Reassignment

Time passed like a fleeting horse, and soon it was the second semester of the first year of high school. Due to the new college entrance examination policy, this batch of freshmen had to begin class division in the second semester of their first year. Chongde High School implemented this policy very well; the "3+2" style class division forms had already been distributed to students for completion during the first semester.

When the class division list was printed and posted on the bulletin board, a crowd had already formed, encircling it again and again, all eager to see which classes their chosen subjects were assigned to.

Fang Youqi, as expected, squeezed her way to the very center. She began searching through the rows for the classes assigned to herself and her friends.

Because there were so many people, it took Fang Youqi quite a while to find it. After checking and memorizing the class numbers of her and her friends, she slowly retreated to the outskirts and informed them of their class assignments.

"Xing Ge, Yu Yan, and Fang Jinyu are in Physics-Chemistry-Biology Class 1; Xiao Jiu is in Physics-Politics-Biology Class 2; Asong, Si Yi, and I are in Politics-History-Geography Class 3. We're still in the original teaching building, just different classrooms. Come visit us after class," Fang Youqi said with a bright smile.

"Ann, didn’t you swear you’d choose science? How come you ended up in liberal arts now?" Shen Xianxing looked at Shi Song with a teasing grin.

"I used to score eighty or ninety in junior high physics, so I could swear I’d choose science, but what does that have to do with scoring sixteen in high school physics and choosing liberal arts, you little coal!" Shi Song glared at Shen Xianxing, teeth clenched.

This was the first time Shi Song had called Shen Xianxing by his nickname in front of so many people.

"Asong, why do you call Xing Ge ‘little coal’ when his skin is so fair?" someone asked.

"Well, that’s because..." Shi Song started, but Shen Xianxing immediately cut her off.

"Shi Song!"

Shi Song spread her hands, feigning innocence. "See, he won’t let me say."

Taking advantage of Shen Xianxing’s distraction, Shi Song quietly messaged Fang Jinyu and the others on WeChat.

But she never really revealed the true reason—after all, Shen Xianxing was quite proud and wouldn’t want his embarrassing past exposed. Shi Song only told them it was because Shen Xianxing was too fair-skinned and she was a bit jealous, hence the nickname "little coal."

"Let’s go back to the classroom and move our books."

"Alright, let’s head back."

The group walked towards the teaching building, bathed in the sunlight cascading from the horizon. A gentle breeze lifted their hair, capturing the best moments of youth, accompanied by good friends.

"Ann, give me your books."

Shi Song shook her head. "No need, I can manage. I’m not that useless, and besides, my new classroom is only separated from this one by a single wall."

Shi Song didn’t understand what Shen Xianxing thought of her. She was just premature, not critically ill or dying.

"Ah, but aren’t you in poor health? What if something happens to you? How would I explain that?" Shen Xianxing said anxiously.

"No matter how bad my health is, I can still carry a few books and notebooks. You’re overreacting."

Several friends nearby, who had just finished packing their books and were about to leave, began to tease them.

"Oh~"

Though teasing among friends was normal, especially between two childhood friends, Shi Song, though used to such remarks, still felt embarrassed and even a bit regretful for responding to Shen Xianxing earlier.

"Fang Youqi, Si Yi, can you bring your books over?"

Two people watching the scene were suddenly called out, somewhat confused.

"What’s up?" Fang Youqi asked as she approached, carrying her books.

"Your Xing Ge is quite helpful. He wants to carry your books but is afraid of hurting your feelings, so he asked me to say it for him."

Shi Song looked at Shen Xianxing. "You said that, right, Xing Ge?"

Shen Xianxing didn’t dare say a word. He knew that if Shi Song got upset, she’d block him and ignore him. It sounded childish and immature, but Shi Song had always been pampered by her family, a little princess at home.

"Yes, give me the books," Shen Xianxing smiled.

Fang Youqi and Xie Si Yi handed their books to Shen Xianxing in unison. "Thanks, Xing Ge."

The others behind, seeing Shen Xianxing’s move, started to feel jealous. "Xing Ge, we want to help too!"

Shen Xianxing looked back with a smile. "Go away, you’ve got arms and legs."

"Ah, why them?"

"One’s my childhood friend, the other her good friend, Si Yi. He’s going to be a pianist, so he needs to protect his hands properly."

Fang Jinyu and the others fell silent—they still weren’t quite sure what their futures held.

"Fine, fine, a real man carries his own books," said Shen Xianxing.

After settling into the new classroom, Chongde High School resumed its normal schedule.

In the classroom of Class 3, Shi Song still sat with her friends.

"Asong, do you know how my heart surged when I caught a glimpse of the class list and saw that he was in the same class as Xing Ge?!" Fang Youqi excitedly patted Shi Song’s shoulder, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Now I have a perfect reason to visit Xing Ge regularly."

"He? Who exactly is this ‘he’ you’re talking about?" Shi Song frowned slightly, secretly musing. After all, in just one semester, Fang Youqi’s gaze had wandered over more than ten handsome boys in their year.

"Sheng Yan, the top-ranked student in the grade, with a twelve-point lead over the second place!" Fang Youqi said with admiration and anticipation.

"Oh—so you want me to come with you and take this chance to see the legendary Sheng Yan, right?" Shi Song suddenly understood and smirked playfully, clearly intrigued by this little scheme born from a so-called “coincidence.”

Shi Song had guessed that Fang Youqi’s initial words were a hint.

"How did you know?!"

Shi Song laughed, "Don’t I know you yet?"

After class, Shi Song accompanied Fang Youqi to the Physics-Chemistry-Biology Class 1 to look for Sheng Yan.

The two stood by the window of Class 1, searching for Sheng Yan’s figure. They hadn’t found him yet but spotted some conspicuous backpacks first.

Someone gently tapped Shi Song’s shoulder. "You two looking for Xing Ge?"

Shi Song turned to see Yu Yan, and felt relieved—she had thought it might be a teacher from Class 1.

"Who’s looking for him? We’re looking for Sheng Yan," Fang Youqi answered quickly.

"You know each other?"

"One-sided acquaintance counts, right?"

Yu Yan fell silent. One-sided acquaintance was still acquaintance...

He lifted his hand and pointed to a corner of the classroom. "There, sleeping."

Shi Song and Fang Youqi followed the direction of his finger and saw a boy tiredly resting his head on the desk, one hand shielding his eyes. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting warmth over him. His fingers lazily ran through his messy hair, and his breathing was slow.

This was the countless time Shi Song had seen Sheng Yan, though she only remembered the first: when she and Fang Youqi had met him during lunch at the start of the previous semester.

The girl hadn’t seen the boy many times, but this moment stirred a subtle, different feeling in her heart.

"Forget it, let’s go back to class. We’ll come find you next time," Yu Yan said, making an OK gesture.

As Shi Song and her friends left, Shen Xianxing emerged from the office, spotting their backs. "They came looking for me?"

Yu Yan patted Shen Xianxing on the shoulder. "They were looking for Sheng Yan. They saw him sleeping and left without disturbing him. Xing Ge, try to be less vain next time."

Shen Xianxing was speechless. "Oh... So I’m not allowed to be proud of being good-looking?"

Yu Yan said nothing and turned to head back to class.

After Yu Yan left, Shen Xianxing stood alone in the hallway, letting the breeze wash over him, lost in thought—whether about the physics competition the teacher mentioned or something else, no one knew.

Only when the bell rang did he snap back to reality and hurried back to class before the teacher arrived.

"Everyone, take a look at this model essay. The class rep will hand them out."

The Chinese class representative went to the front and received the printed essays from the teacher.

"Forty copies printed, everyone gets one. This is the essay from our class division test. Full score is sixty, and she got fifty-five. She lost a few points because her essay was too short. But the quality of her writing is excellent. Take a look and compare it to yours; it’s like you’re still in middle school!"

The class rep finished handing out the essays and returned to her seat.

In the corner, a boy slowly woke up and casually ran his fingers through his messy hair. The essay title caught his eye—“Home.” He skimmed the content.

What left the deepest impression on him was the closing line: "Time is silent, only the stones can speak."

The teacher on the podium suddenly shouted, "She wrote about ‘home’ as if she were a lost relic, drifting outside and unable to return, bullied but never telling her family! Her emotions are on a completely different level from yours!"

The classroom fell silent, students quietly reading the model essay, listening to the teacher’s critique.

"See the gap between you and her. Rewrite this essay and turn it in by tomorrow afternoon. For now, study the model essay."

Meanwhile, in Politics-History-Geography Class 3, the essay’s author was being tormented by math.

"Shi Song, you’re good in all subjects, so why did you only score sixteen in math?"

Shi Song remained silent. Only her older brother was a science student, and he was too busy with work to tutor her.

"Explain the reason, Shi Song."

Standing up, Shi Song said, "Teacher Zhou, except for my brother, who’s a science student, the rest of my family are liberal arts students..."

"Then let your brother tutor you."

"No, he has a special job and we rarely see each other."

The teacher rubbed his forehead in disbelief. "How special? Not even enough time for tutoring?"

"He’s in the criminal police unit..."

Teacher Zhou considered the nature of police work and fell silent for a moment. "Forget it, find Shen Xianxing for tutoring on weekends."

"Okay, teacher."

"Sit down. Now, let’s look at the final problem. We’ll go backward."

Shi Song sat and began scribbling notes on the test paper, following the teacher’s explanations.

After class, the hallway buzzed with youthful energy. Fang Youqi used an instant camera to capture this vibrant moment of Shi Song.

As the instant photo developed, Fang Youqi handed it to Shi Song, who praised it as beautiful. But in one corner of the photo was the boy who stirred Shi Song’s heart.

Years later, when Shi Song flipped through her diary, she finally noticed that boy in the corner—this was their first photo together.