The scorching heat of midsummer quietly slipped away, and after an autumn rain, it was now the golden September when the wind rippled through the wheat fields.
This was already their second year of middle school, and in the newly issued textbooks, aside from the familiar subjects of Chinese, mathematics, English, politics, history, and geography, there was a new addition—physics.
As a subject that made countless girls tremble at the thought, Xu Qingfan remembered that many girls who originally excelled in their studies started to fade into mediocrity beginning in the second year of middle school.
Obviously, this included Lin Wanning and Xiao Ruawen as well.
Zhang Yiyi, on the other hand, likely inherited her mother’s Qingbei Seed intellect, as her performance never fell much behind Xu Qingfan, Xia Xiaoxiao, and Wu Lingyu—the first tier of students.
The midterm exam results for both were actually not bad either, with Lin Wanning ranking 38th in her grade and Xiao Ruawen ranking 24th.
Despite dropping out of the top six, their parents all felt it was okay, considering that mathematics and physics had both gotten harder after the second year and that some problems couldn’t be understood simply by working hard on practice questions. If they encountered similar problems next time, they wouldn’t be able to solve them either.
After Xu Qingfan explained this to several parents personally, they all expressed understanding, after all, girls naturally tend to be weaker in logical thinking, and it was fine as long as they didn’t fall out of the top sixty in their grade.
But Xiao Ruawen and Lin Wanning didn’t think so, and both girls felt incredibly dejected about dropping out of the grade’s top six.
The former was okay, only pouting and looking unhappy for a little while after receiving her score report, and soon regained her usual vitality, the very picture of a carefree young girl.
But Lin Wanning was different. To avoid lagging too far behind Brother Fan in grades, she had been studying very, very diligently, with a work ethic that was on par with Wu Lingyu’s.
However, reality dictated that the vast chasm of innate talent couldn’t be bridged by mere effort. The harder the girl tried, the further she was from Xu Qingfan’s shadow—that was what Lin Wanning thought.
So when she received her report card, she felt extremely wronged, and if she hadn’t restrained herself, tears would have fallen at any moment.
[I studied so hard, why are my grades getting even further from Brother Qingfan?]
[Wanning can’t be the girl who cries at the first sign of setback, but it really hurts and feels so unfair...]
The girl thought miserably and gloomily.
Alright, taking advantage of the chance to be alone with Xu Qingfan, she ended up crying.
"There, there, it was because of the Li City joint exam this time, blame it on the teachers who made the test so hard. Our Wanning, don’t cry," Xu Qingfan comforted, stroking the girl’s head.
"Wuu~ Brother Qingfan, am I very dumb? It’s all so simple, but why... why can’t I solve it?" Lin Wanning said through her sobs, then remembered to sniffle her runny nose back in place.
"Not dumb at all, Wanning is very smart. It was just a horse who stumbled, not yet accustomed to physics the first time around. By the final exams, with the experience from this time, you’ll surely do well!" He consoled her like pacifying a child, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with a tissue.
"Really?" Lin Wanning stopped crying, lifted her head, and looked at him with unblinking eyes.
"Of course it’s true. Our Wanning will surely score 100 in physics on the final. Nail down problems 12 and 16 in math, get the first two questions of the final problem right, and you’ll be back in the top six of the grade, maybe even higher than me."
"Yeah." The girl nodded earnestly. "I’ll listen to Brother Fan!"
"You’re not crying anymore, right?"
Lin Wanning wanted to agree, but the bitterness in her heart hadn’t been fully vented. Looking pitifully at Xu Qingfan, she said softly after a while, "Can I cry a bit longer..."
"I’ll accompany you no matter how long you cry." Xu Qingfan was endeared and sat with the girl on the stairs on the top floor of the teaching building.
Through the latticed porcelain tile corridor, one could see the sunset overhead. Lin Wanning cried a bit more, and then stopped, with her eyes still swollen and traces of dry tears visible at the corners.
She looped her arm through Xu Qingfan’s, leaning her head on his shoulder, with each wearing one earbud of a pair of headphones.
After a song called "The Poem of a Bird," Lin Wanning let go of his hands that she had been holding, stood up, walked down two steps, then turned around and extended her hand to him: "Thank you, Brother Qingfan. I’ll definitely do my best on the final!"
Xu Qingfan smiled, reached out, and grabbed the girl’s hand that was extended to him, pulling her back to him.
"Quack~ Brother Qingfan, what are you doing?" Lin Wanning had intended to pull him up and leave, but instead, she was pulled into his embrace.
Due to inertia, both of them fell backward onto the cool floor, her eyes just inches away from his.
"Pulling someone while standing on the stairs is very dangerous, see?" Xu Qingfan said, patting the girl’s cheeks, as they got back on their feet.
"I... I get it." Lin Wanning’s face flushed red, her heart unconsciously beating fast.
"Let’s go, we’ve been sitting here for almost an hour. Later you can say it was me who had a stomach ache," he said as he took her hand again.
[Brother Qingfan is helping me lie, Brother Qingfan is the best!] Lin Wanning sweetly thought.
It was now after-school time in the afternoon. Lin Wanning had used the excuse of forgetting homework at school to bring Xu Qingfan back with her. The four girls should all be at home preparing dinner by now.
"Go wash your face first, you look like a crybaby cat."
The two went down to the first floor of the teaching building, washed their faces at the tap, and then left the school together.
Dusk was approaching but not yet dark, a big swarm of mosquitoes circling under the streetlights like a dark cloud over the city, and as the two passed by, they flew to hover above Xu Qingfan’s head.
Although both were wearing junior high school uniforms, because Lin Wanning was still petite, onlookers took them for a pair of affectionate siblings, rather than thinking they were in a romantic relationship.
Lin Wanning took her phone out of her pocket, snapping photos of their shadows as they walked. After seven or eight shots, she finally got one that satisfied her.
She set the picture as her phone’s wallpaper, then turned off her screen and turned it back on, giggling at the photo on display.
"Sorry, I don’t know why but I had a stomach ache earlier, so I got back late," Xu Qingfan feigned a weak demeanor.
"Are you okay, Brother Fan? I’ll get some medicine for you!" Wu Lingyu promptly dried her hands on her apron and went to look for Baoji Pills for him.
"Brother Fan, are you feeling alright?"
Xiao Ruawen and Zhang Yiyi also quickly came over to help him sit down, as if Xu Qingfan had turned into an invalid.
"Lazy dog, full of pee and poop," Xia Xiaoxiao muttered, turning around to get a cup to fill with warm water for him.
Only Lin Wanning stood there with a guilty, blushing face, staring into space.
"Actually, I’m already fine, maybe we should skip the medicine..."
"No way, be good, Brother Fan~ go ahead and take the medicine."
"Wanning, are you not feeling well either? Why is your face so red?"