If it were anyone else, Hua Yan would probably think they had ulterior motives. But for some reason, since it was sent by Lu Chengsha, she felt he was genuinely encouraging her to study.
After all, he was like a question-answering app.
She scrolled through their chat history and the more she read, the more it seemed like someone had ordered her an educational app motivational package.
Hua Yan was momentarily dazed as she flipped back to the call log, only to realize she had been on the phone with Lu Chengsha for a good half hour. No wonder her phone was so hot. She stared blankly at the call duration, her face a bit flushed, and then resolutely changed Lu Chengsha’s contact name to “Teaching App.”
Teaching App: [Answer.jpg]
Teaching App: Have you done the questions?
Teaching App: It’s not hard.
Teaching App: [Question.jpg]
Teaching App: Where did you get it wrong?
…
Aside from the last sentence about treating her to a meal, there was nothing out of place.
However, Lu Chengsha made it sound easy, but Hua Yan knew very well how difficult it was to rank in the top hundred in the joint monthly exams of the two schools. Previously, among the 500 students in Zhengyi High School, she was barely in the top hundred, thanks to her naturally high scores in Chinese and English.
Of course, she was quite satisfied with herself, turning away from math, physics, and chemistry to start reading leisure books again.
But combining the two schools was different; every point was hard to earn, and the science experimental class at Tingjian Experimental High School was said to be extremely tough. Hua Yan imagined a group of students like Lu Chengsha, and just the thought made her scalp tingle.
Why did she agree to this!
As a result, Hua Yan didn’t dare to zone out in class anymore. She used to sneak in a leisure book occasionally, but now, during Chinese class, she had to place a math reference book underneath and chew on her pen while working on problems. Evening self-study was even more intense.
Her deskmate nudged her with an elbow, “Hua Hua, I sneaked out this afternoon and bought a magazine. Do you want to read it later?”
The fashion magazine was colorful, and normally, Hua Yan would have happily joined her in goofing off. But now, seeing the thick stack of unfinished exercises next to her and thinking of the looming top hundred ranking and the upcoming monthly exam, she sorrowfully said, “…I need to do my homework first.”
Her deskmate was shocked, “Hua Hua, are you okay?”
She really didn’t want to do this either!
“…Just leave me alone.”
Hua Yan bit her pen again and forced herself to continue working on the problems.
She had always been casual about her studies, never attending tutoring classes or keeping a notebook of wrong answers. She figured that as long as she understood the material, she was fine. After all, she wasn’t dumb, and her comprehension skills were solid. She would identify the key points in the questions, study them, and then apply what she learned to solve them.
Ultimately, as long as she mastered a type of question through repetition, solving it again would be easy. However, unless someone was extraordinarily gifted, this still required time and effort. Unfortunately, this method was highly inefficient. She had little patience and often found herself losing motivation halfway through.
After a few days, she finally couldn’t resist asking the “Teaching App” for help: “Do you have any tips or simpler study methods?”
Hua Yan lingered in the classroom until well after the evening self-study session ended, waiting for Lu Chengsha’s reply.
Teaching App: Yes.
You might as well have said nothing at all!
Just as Hua Yan finished her complaint, her phone showed an incoming call.
Because it was from the “Teaching App,” Hua Yan felt a bit calmer and less nervous.
Evening self-study ended at nine, and it was now past nine-thirty. The school was mostly deserted. She hid in the corner of the hallway outside the classroom before answering the call with a “Hello.” Before Lu Chengsha could speak, she said, “Stop calling. Are you at school?”
Lu Chengsha paused. “Why?”
Hua Yan said, “I’m still at school. We might as well meet and talk.”
There was a moment of silence before he replied, “Okay.”
Since she had transferred to this school, Hua Yan’s family had bought an apartment in the nearby complex, just a five-minute walk away. She wasn’t in a hurry.
Tingjian Experimental High School’s evening self-study ended around the same time as hers. The campus was dark with only a few streetlights, and it was sparsely populated. She saw Lu Chengsha standing under a tree, without a backpack.
Hua Yan couldn’t help but admire him. He didn’t even take books home. Did he not study at night at all?
As she got closer, she noticed something was off. His black hair was slightly damp, with water droplets dripping from the ends onto his black uniform.
Hua Yan looked up at the sky and instinctively asked, “Did it rain earlier?”
Lu Chengsha turned to look at her, his eyes dark. “No.”
“Then why are you…?”
Lu Chengsha seemed unsure how to explain. He raised his hand and pointed to a building in the adjacent complex, coincidentally right next to where Hua Yan lived. Then she heard him say, “My home.”
Hua Yan was instantly taken aback, “Huh?”
Lu Chengsha continued, “…I just came down.”
In a flash, Hua Yan understood.
She stammered, “You mean…you already went home, took a shower, and then came back down?”
Lu Chengsha nodded.
“You should have said so earlier. I wouldn’t have troubled…”
“It’s fine,” Lu Chengsha interrupted her. “Which subject are you asking about?”
Hua Yan had felt a bit embarrassed, but when he shifted back to his “Teaching App” mode, she remembered that her current struggles were all because of him. Any embarrassment she felt vanished. She shamelessly said, “Math, physics, and chemistry. I can handle biology, but if you have any study methods, feel free to share.”
He didn’t respond immediately but gave her a contemplative look.
In that look, Hua Yan read, “She doesn’t know any of this,” “She really seems a bit clueless,” and “How do I express this politely?”
She felt a sudden burst of irritation.
“If you don’t want to say it, then forget it!”
“Here?” Lu Chengsha asked, attempting to cover his tracks, “I don’t think you’re clueless.”
Hua Yan huffed internally but decided not to argue with him.
Talking under the trees did seem a bit silly. They were close to the school gate, where the security guard and other students might see them.
Going back to the classroom was not an option either, as the lights in most classrooms were off at this time, and the ones that weren’t likely had people in them. They were too conspicuous. In the end, they walked together until they reached the edge of Tingjian’s sports field.
The 800-meter track was mostly deserted, with only a few students, likely athletes, practicing in the distance.
The weather was neither hot nor cold, and the night breeze was quite pleasant.
So, inexplicably, they started walking around the track. As they walked, Lu Chengsha asked, “Let’s start with the easiest—math. What do you find difficult?”
Hua Yan was speechless.
This guy would kill a conversation with his normal chat style!
Fortunately, she had a good temper.
But as Lu Chengsha began to explain, Hua Yan realized he was indeed the most helpful.
As they continued walking around the track, Lu Chengsha said, “Let’s start with the easiest—math. What do you find difficult?”
Hua Yan thought, “This guy could kill a conversation with his normal chat style!”
Luckily, she had a good temper.
However, when Lu Chengsha began explaining, Hua Yan realized he was indeed the most helpful.
He didn’t go into specific problems but instead outlined the entire high school math knowledge framework and explained the thought process behind analyzing questions. After listening for a bit, Hua Yan took out her phone to start taking notes.
Seeing this, Lu Chengsha intentionally slowed his speech and paused to wait for her.
Hua Yan’s thumbs flew across her phone’s keyboard. After a while, she suddenly remembered something, “Do you really not have WeChat or QQ accounts?”
Lu Chengsha paused and said, “No.”
She still found it hard to believe. Was he really a modern high school boy?
He didn’t look like a bookworm at all. With his cool demeanor, he could easily pass as the school bully if he just stood there.
“What about class group notifications? What if something comes up?”
Lu Chengsha gave her a puzzled look, “We’re usually at school. At night, we can send texts.”
He then, as if worried she wouldn’t believe him, casually pulled a phone from his pocket and handed it to her.
Hua Yan was momentarily stunned and hesitated, “You want me to look?”
Lu Chengsha nodded, “Yes.”
Hua Yan was a bit bewildered. They weren’t that close yet, but even if they were, she wouldn’t hand her phone to someone so easily.
However, since he offered, her curiosity got the better of her. She took the phone from his hand.
She swiped to unlock it and found there was no lock screen password. The home screen was unsurprisingly the default one, clean and minimalist. The phone had so few apps that it seemed unused, except for the default apps, essential ones, and a few school-recommended study apps and competition registration apps.
Hua Yan was stunned for a moment, “Don’t you play on your phone?”
Lu Chengsha asked in return, “Isn’t a phone for communication?”
He had a point.
But Hua Yan thought of the myriad of game apps on her phone and found herself at a loss for words.
Seeing that Lu Chengsha truly didn’t mind, Hua Yan opened his message inbox. Unlike hers, which was filled with all sorts of ads, his was equally clean, with only a few messages from classmates and regular updates from the telecom company.
Then Hua Yan saw her own messages.
They were at the top but without a name, just her phone number. She felt a bit annoyed and realized, “…Do you not know my name?”
Lu Chengsha paused and said, “…I remember your phone number.”
“Really?”
Without hesitation, Lu Chengsha recited her 11-digit phone number.
Hua Yan felt a sudden warmth in her heart and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you remember everyone else’s phone numbers too?”
Lu Chengsha hesitated again, “…”
“Okay, no need to answer, I get it!”
No wonder he found it strange that she couldn’t remember something after looking at it for five seconds.
Hua Yan muttered, “Hua Yan, my name is Hua Yan. ‘Hua’ as in ‘flower,’ and ‘Yan’ as in ‘flame.’ Let me input it for you…” As she was typing, she suddenly looked up at him and said, “Can you register for a WeChat account? Texting is not very convenient…”
Mainly, it was inconvenient for her to send emojis, and sometimes she wanted to share short videos.
Lu Chengsha’s eyes flashed, and he said, “I’ll try when I get home…”
“Great.” Hua Yan smiled as she handed the phone back to him. “My phone number is my WeChat ID, so you can add me directly once you register!”
Lu Chengsha took back his phone, feeling the warmth of her hand still on the cold metal casing. He put it back into his pocket, steadied himself, and said, “Where did we leave off?”
Hua Yan was surprised, “You don’t remember?”
“…”
“Alright, I forgot too, but…” She raised her phone with a confident smile, “I took notes!”
As Lu Chengsha continued talking, Hua Yan realized that staying with him for so long might have made her a bit silly. Typing was too slow, so she switched to using a voice recorder. They continued walking around the track, talking and studying.
Not only were they studying, but they also inadvertently started exercising.
Normally, Hua Yan would slack off during PE class, but walking and talking with Lu Chengsha made the track seem not so long. Before she knew it, they had walked several laps.
It was past eleven when Hua Yan’s phone rang, asking her, “When will you be back, Miss?” Only then did they realize it was late and hurriedly walked out.
A hundred meters to the left after exiting the school gate led to the adjacent residential complex. The night was dark and quiet, and Lu Chengsha’s hair had dried by now. He seemed slightly surprised when he saw Hua Yan entering the complex with him.
Hua Yan pointed to a nearby building and said, “I live over there. By the way…” She suddenly remembered something, “Why haven’t I seen you around? What time do you usually go to school?”
Lu Chengsha replied, “I had something to do that day. Normally, I leave at six.”
…It’s less than a five-minute walk, school starts at eight, and he leaves at six. Lu Chengsha really is something else!
“Why do you get up so early?”
“Morning run, read, do problems. The brain is clearer in the morning.”
“Okay, fine…”
As Hua Yan turned to leave, she heard Lu Chengsha’s voice behind her, “Staying up late is bad. Would you like to try… getting up early?”
No way! Impossible! She could never do it! Nothing could stop her from sleeping in!
This educational app was truly terrifying.
—
The next morning, before it was fully light, Hua Yan was in a half-awake state when she heard her phone vibrating on the bedside table. She grabbed it and unlocked the screen to find a new friend request on WeChat. The request reason was straightforward: “I am Lu Chengsha.”
Even his ID was “Lu Chengsha,” and his profile picture was a headshot.
Holding her phone, Hua Yan inexplicably smiled under the covers for a while before clicking accept. Then she quickly opened his profile picture.
It was a headshot of Lu Chengsha, blue background, black clothes, even wearing Tingjian’s stand-up collar school uniform. He was expressionless, somewhat cold, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, looking almost identical to his real self. His dark eyes were particularly striking. Hua Yan stared at it for a while, then impulsively saved the picture.
She then tapped his profile picture twice.
You patted “Lu Chengsha.”