Although the clothes he wore were patched, apart from some mud spots on the trouser legs due to the rain, his upper body looked clean and tidy. Having experienced hunger herself, she knew it was quite unpleasant.
She couldn’t help but feel empathy, and using her backpack as cover, she took the lunch box into her space, and brought out two buns, handing them over: "These are my leftovers. If you don’t mind, take them and eat."
The boy’s eyes were filled with struggle, but he still accepted them: "Thank you."
Seeing him accept it, she headed towards the stairs. After just a few steps, she paused, using her backpack to take out an empty can from her space. At this time, the cans didn’t have the particularly thin kind.
Stepping back a few steps, she spoke up: "This canned jar is for you. Downstairs, there is a teacher giving out hot water, you can ask for some."
Although it was somewhat inappropriate, she did it anyway. She hoped he wouldn’t notice her backpack.
Mu Zhongze hadn’t expected that the young Miss in front of him would offer kindness. Ever since his father was gone, and his mother had remarried with his sister Mu Zhongyue, his cousin and sister-in-law never gave him a good face unless it was for his father raising his cousin when he was younger. They were afraid of being gossiped about by relatives; otherwise, they would have kicked him out long ago.
These years, besides Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu next door, only this young Miss in front of him ever treated him like a person.
Yu Xinyan saw he wasn’t taking it: "Take it. In this cold weather, drinking hot water is good for your health. You can’t have problems at this crucial time."
Mu Zhongze reached out to take the can jar, looked up at Yu Xinyan: "Thank you."
Yu Xinyan didn’t say anything else, just nodded at him and went upstairs.
Seeing the boy just now reminded her of the suffering she endured with the Yu Family. The taste of hunger was very uncomfortable, evoking feelings of compassion.
On the third floor, she reached a classroom at the far end, checked around, and chose the position behind the door. She then entered the space directly, so even if someone did come over, they wouldn’t notice the position behind the door.
After entering the space, she first cooked herself a bowl of red date ginger sugar water to drink, then went to the study room, took the physics book for the afternoon exam and went through it. Only then did she take a short nap in the space.
When she came out of the space, and passed by the stairs again, the boy was already gone.
Coming over, she saw Zhao Jianlan standing in the corridor: "Xinyan, where did you go?"
Yu Xinyan looked outside: "I took a look around. The rain hasn’t stopped; the roads outside the school are completely flooded."
Zhao Jianlan thought she was observing the situation outside, so she didn’t ask further, just worriedly said: "This rain shows no sign of stopping, it really is concerning."
Yu Xinyan patted her shoulder: "We can’t control the weather if the heavens want to rain. Don’t let it affect your mood; focusing on the afternoon exam is what’s most important."
Zhao Jianlan nodded: "You’re right."
The two chatted idly for a few more sentences and returned to the classroom, with the timing just right. Not long after they entered the classroom, the bell for the afternoon exam rang.
She still skimmed through the questions briefly before starting to write. Just halfway through the time, she had finished everything and, same as in the morning, diligently checked twice before putting down the pen.
During the afternoon exam, the rain outside lessened a bit but did not stop.
When the bell rang for collecting the papers, Yu Xinyan was the first to hand in her exam sheet and walked out of the classroom, looked up at the still falling rain, hesitating whether to go back or not tonight.
Then she heard someone with a loudspeaker downstairs shouting: "Students from the Mechanical Factory taking the college entrance exam, please gather downstairs."
At this moment, Zhao Jianlan walked over from behind: "Xinyan, what are you looking at?"
Yu Xinyan put her backpack on: "I’m thinking whether to go back by car or stay in the city."
After hearing this, Zhao Jianlan looked out at the rainy weather: "I want to stay in the city too, but I didn’t bring any food tickets. What about dinner?"
Yu Xinyan whispered: "I did bring food tickets with me, just the two of us will definitely be enough. I don’t know how the teachers are planning it. Let’s put on our raincoats first and go downstairs, then see what to do next."