Chapter 39-40 (Combined) part 1
Fan Hongyi rummaged around and found the charging cable, handing it to Bai Sinian. “You can give it back to me after evening self-study.”
“Thanks.”
Bai Sinian glanced at the cabinet at the foot of Fan Hongyi’s bed. There were several mini remote controls, and the compartments were stocked with a thermos, tissues, and a phone stand. Hanging from the ceiling above the head of the bed was a clothes hanger rigged to hold a phone, allowing one to watch videos while lying flat on their back.
So lazy.
So brilliant.
Is this the legendary saying that lazy people are actually the smartest?
among the four of them, Fan Hongyi was considered the most unremarkable, always giving off a lethargic vibe. But once you walked into his life, you’d realize he was actually quite interesting.
Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time for the Gaokao (College Entrance Exam). Two weeks before the exam, the school held a pep rally to cheer on the high school seniors and played the encouraging video made by “Dazzling Star” on the big screen.
“Dazzling Star” enjoyed another brief surge of popularity within the school.
It should have been something to celebrate, but Bai Sinian couldn’t bring himself to be happy. In the final exams, his ranking had dropped several places, landing him at eighth in the grade, while Bian Rui had broken into the top five.
This was a huge blow to Bai Sinian. As expected, even a little distraction caused his grades to slip.
He decided he needed to plan his summer vacation carefully; he couldn’t go on like this.
After the second-year exams concluded, the school continued classes for another week before finally letting them out for break. The summer vacation was less than a month long, and once they entered their third year, the academic pressure would be even greater.
Bai Sinian’s parents were extremely worried about his state. Slipping at such a critical juncture made it hard not to worry whether he would continue to regress leading up to next year’s Gaokao.
On the first day of summer vacation, Bai Sinian got up early. The summer sunlight spilled onto his desk as he picked up his textbooks, planning to go through all of them once without missing a single basic knowledge point.
His parents had to go to work, so they left him breakfast and headed out.
Bai Sinian used one of his mother’s hairbands to sweep his bangs back, looking like a warrior preparing to duel with his books.
All morning, he reviewed every content word, function word, and required classical poem and text from the first-year Chinese curriculum. By the time noon approached, his head was spinning.
“So hungry,” Bai Sinian muttered to himself, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his stomach.
“If only I had Doraemon’s Memory Bread.”
Since Memory Bread didn’t exist, he turned off the air conditioner and planned to go downstairs to buy a bowl of noodles to fill his stomach before returning to study.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Bai Sinian slipper-slapped his way to the door. When he opened it, he found that it was actually Bian Rui!
Bian Rui was wearing a light blue T-shirt and white shorts, paired with neon green sneakers—a picture-perfect sunny youth. So handsome!
“Bian Rui, why are you here?”
“Is this how you look at home?” Bian Rui almost laughed out loud. The Bai Sinian before him was wearing a cute hairband and a SpongeBob SquarePants short-sleeved pajama set. He was somehow even cuter than Shen Bei.
Bai Sinian looked down at his outfit. It’s not that bad…
Wait, not good! He suddenly remembered the evidence of his idol worship stashed in his bedroom. Last time almost killed him; he absolutely could not make the same mistake twice!
“Make yourself at home!” With that, Bai Sinian bolted back to his room, locked the door, and began frantically tidying up.
To be safe, he stuffed all the merchandise into a storage box this time, ensuring not a trace of fandom remained.
When he finished and opened the door, Bian Rui had already changed into slippers and was leaning against the doorframe, looking at him with interest. “Is your room that messy? Is there something shameful in there?”
Bai Sinian half-jokingly replied, “Because I’m secretly studying. I can’t let anyone find out.”
“Oh? Can I come in then?” Bian Rui asked.
“Of course.”
Bian Rui walked to his desk and flipped through the textbooks Bai Sinian had reviewed that morning. “There’s no need to review these basics. Just grind practice problems. Many basics will appear in different question types, and you can consolidate your knowledge while solving them.”
“Ah, but I’ve already made a review schedule.” Bai Sinian generously took out his summer plan to share.
Bian Rui glanced at it and said calmly, “There are targeted review materials in the bookstore. I think pairing those with your review plan would be perfect.”
“Do you have any recommendations?” Bai Sinian was intrigued.
Whenever Bian Rui looked at Bai Sinian, his gaze involuntarily drifted to the hairband. It was ridiculously cute. “Mm, want to go to the bookstore together to check it out?”
“Sure!”
So, Bai Sinian changed into a light green T-shirt paired with white shorts, very slyly matching his idol’s color scheme—bright but stylish.
They went to the largest bookstore in the civic center. First, they found a KFC to settle lunch, and then they went browsing.
In the high school study materials section, many parents were there buying books with their children. The quiet rustling of turning pages and the faint murmur of conversation from the distant cashier counter filled the air.
Bian Rui reached out and pulled a thick compilation of Chinese basic knowledge from the shelf, handing it to Bai Sinian. “This one isn’t bad. I bought it when I was in my second year.”
At this moment, Bian Rui stood before the dazzling array of books, the golden light from the bookstore ceiling hitting him, making him shine like a brilliant star. He looked so good.
Bai Sinian had a sudden idea. He took out his phone and started recording.
“Ahhh, it’s Bian Rui!” Bai Sinian whispered a super quiet scream, mimicking a fan meeting an idol. He handed the book back to Bian Rui. “Bian Rui, Bian Rui, can you sign this for me?”
Bian Rui paused for a moment, quickly realizing what game Bai Sinian was playing. He lowered his eyes with a smile, took a black gel pen from his bag, opened the first page, and swiftly signed his name.
High school-era Bian Rui hadn’t specifically practiced his autograph yet, so his handwriting was structured and neat, written with care.
Bai Sinian stopped pretending. Holding the signed book, he admired the signature with glowing eyes.
Bian Rui played along. He walked slowly down the Gaokao prep aisle, pulling down several review books one by one, signing each, and handing them to Bai Sinian.
Bai Sinian recorded with his phone while accepting the books and placing them in the shopping cart.
“Ahhh, it’s Bian Rui! He signed for me again! Ahhh, so exciting!”
“Look at my idol’s handwriting, it’s so good! A role model for us all!”
Bai Sinian only dared to whisper into the phone mic, but his tone couldn’t hide his excitement. After Bian Rui helped him pick out several review books and signed them all, he stood in front of Bai Sinian.
There was a playful nuance in his smile as he looked at Bai Sinian meaningfully. “Your acting skills are pretty good, huh? Still acting?”
Bai Sinian grinned and zoomed the camera right into his face. Bian Rui didn’t get angry; his handsome face was truly flawless from 360 degrees, looking good no matter how it was shot.
“It’s idol Bian Rui, hehe…” Bai Sinian finally pressed the stop button reluctantly.
“Guess if I was acting or not? I actually think your acting is good,” Bai Sinian put away his phone and stole a glance at Bian Rui. “Taking my scene so calmly—you could consider becoming a movie star in the future.”
Bian Rui’s smile deepened. “Maybe I’ll try.”
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