Second period of evening self-study.

More than half of the people in the classroom have left, going to the restroom in pairs, taking a breather in the corridor, or having a treat at the cafeteria.

"Square root of five..." Jiang Nian couldn’t hold it in anymore.

He tossed the pen aside, got it wrong again.

"What are you thinking about?" Chen Yunyun came over to refill her water, "Saw you looking all worried from afar."

Jiang Nian, leaning on the table with his head propped on his hand, turned to ask her.

"How do you study math?"

"How to study?" Chen Yunyun seemed a bit puzzled, thought for a moment, then tilted her head, "Just follow the teacher."

Screw it.

Jiang Nian felt a bit regretful. Having enjoyed himself in freshman and sophomore years, now in senior year he could only silently endure and make up for it all.

"Forget it then."

"Let me see." Chen Yunyun placed her water cup aside and naturally leaned over, "What exam paper is this?"

"Oh, I bought it." Jiang Nian felt a bit guilty.

He didn’t buy it at all; he got it from the class monitor. Used to freeloading, he had lost his precious dignity!

"Oh, that’s why I haven’t seen it before." Chen Yunyun solved the problem almost without thinking.

She didn’t calculate it, but she gave him the correct solution path.

Jiang Nian felt even more hopeless. With math, you either get it or you don’t. If you don’t... no matter how hard you think, you might still not get it in the end.

While others just glance at it and know.

Outside in the corridor.

Sun Zhicheng leaned on the railing, gazing into the night sky. Vast and timeless, he felt disheartened by his unlucky love life and academic setbacks.

Now he couldn’t help but feel the infinite universe, with a sense of being just a tiny speck in the vast sea.

What is humanity, what is Chen Yunyun?

What are Jiang Nian and Yang Qiming, a cicada’s cry in autumn, merely dust of the universe.

A century’s time is nothing but a fleeting mayfly.

He had an epiphany!

"Ah Cheng, stargazing?" Lin Dong patted his shoulder, "Why do you go to the restroom every day after class?"

"No." Sun Zhicheng shook his head.

He sighed, originally wanting to say he felt stifled in the classroom, so he had to come out for air after class, only to avoid someone.

Even though he had given up, he still hoped the other party would care.

"Oh, I get it." Lin Dong seemed to understand, "Prostatitis, right? Always going to the restroom."

"Come on, you need to get it checked early."

He shook his head seriously, saying.

"Young age and already can’t finish peeing, once you get to college you’ll be done for, a man’s... if it drags on it might break."

Hearing this, Sun Zhicheng’s face turned red instantly.

"There’s nothing wrong with my prostate!"

As he spoke out, the surroundings quieted down a bit. A few sympathetic glances were cast his way, making him even more embarrassed.

"What’s this?"

"A mess."

"Well, to be honest, although the wording is rough, the truth isn’t."

Listening to the discussions around, Lin Dong was embarrassed too. He glanced at Sun Zhicheng again, feeling a bit guilty.

Ah Cheng was his good buddy, he had to clear things up.

"I can vouch!"

"Ah Cheng’s prostate is neither inflamed nor has any issues! It was just a joke, a misunderstanding!"

Sun Zhicheng turned his head, blankly staring at Lin Dong.

Huh?

Are you serious?

This corridor has become a place of gossip, the ancient battlefield of Class Three not looking favorable.

With a face full of gloom, Sun Zhicheng turned back into the classroom. Out of habit, he glanced at a particular spot, only to find it empty.

Instinctively, he turned his head towards the corner with the water dispenser. There he saw Chen Yunyun bent over, sitting with Jiang Nian.

Laughing and chatting, they seemed to be discussing problems.

A heart that was once dead calm throbbed again, completing the circle of feelings the moment he first saw her.

Pain, it hurts too much!

....

Close to the end of evening self-study.

Zhang Ningzhi was writing her short diary, pursing her lips and feeling joyful. It was about a hundred words long and done in a few minutes.

"Humming..."

Jiang Nian looked up, glanced around, and asked.

"Whose pig is being let out?"

With a bang, Zhang Ningzhi gave him a nudge. The girl, pouting angrily, raised her pink fist.

"Say one more word, and I’ll beat the hell out of you!"

"Eh? Why are you happy again?" Jiang Nian teased her on purpose, having already packed his bag, ready to leave after school.

"Not telling you!" Zhang Ningzhi turned her head.

"Hmm?"

"Beibei treated me to something, made me happy." Zhang Ningzhi shot him a glance and started mumbling again.

"Beibei’s good to me, unlike some lying liar..."

Jiang Nian didn’t mind.

"Why don’t you sit with her?"

"Ah!!" Zhang Ningzhi couldn’t take it, giving him a flurry of light punches, "Beat you to death!"

Jiang Nian propped his head, feeling nothing at all.

"Stop hitting, almost feel pregnant from your hits. I’ve been nauseous lately, thought I was dying."

"When did you feel nauseous?" Zhang Ningzhi caught the key information.

Just as the bell rang, Jiang Nian grabbed his bag and left.

"In my dreams."

"You!!!" Zhang Ningzhi was so mad.

After school from the evening self-study.

Yang Qiming took Huang Caicai heading towards the North District, ogling girls along the way. Exiting the school gate, they grabbed a late-night snack outside the North Gate.

Rubbing their bellies, they happily headed back to the dormitory.

Just as they were going up the stairs, the lights suddenly went out.

"Damn, this damn dorm manager!" Yang Qiming cursed under his breath, groping his way upstairs in the dark, "Always turning off the lights early every day."

Although Huang Caicai wanted to show off by lighting the way for Brother Yang with his phone, he was also afraid teachers were checking the dorm.

So he gave up, agreeing with a couple of words.

"Yeah!!"

"Forget it, not worth arguing with the damn old folks." Yang Qiming returned to the dorm, washed his feet, and prepared to go to bed.

It was midwinter with nighttime temperatures dropping to five or six degrees Celsius.

Dormitory conditions were not as good as commuting, and heating water was more troublesome. So generally, they bathed every other day.

"Ah, it must be something comfy with the blanket..." Yang Qiming stopped halfway and suddenly yelped.

"What’s so hard in here?"

Hearing this, half the people in the dorm turned to look at him. Two flashlight beams followed to provide lighting.