When Studying Stops—and Hearts Lose Focus

“This foie gras cheese sushi is really good, Classmate Pei. Try it.”

He Chengxi had eaten countless delicacies before, yet everything today tasted exceptionally delicious.

Was it because she was eating with Classmate Pei?

There was no answer—and it didn’t matter. In high spirits, she ate several more pieces.

“It is good.”
Pei Du finished one, passed another to He Chengxi, then took a bite of tempura shrimp. “All of their dishes are pretty solid.”

If the girl liked it, she could have as much as she wanted.

He Chengxi accepted it a little shyly. She really liked this kind of thoughtful care from Classmate Pei—subtle, considerate, neither abrupt nor burdensome.

Classmate Pei is the cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside type, the girl thought.

“Classmate Pei, has that Classmate Xu been bothering you?”

Since she had just been thinking about someone she disliked, Xu Daohui naturally came to mind.

She worried he might cause trouble for Pei Du.

It wasn’t that she overestimated her own charm or was being self-centered—it was simply that Xu Daohui had a history.

Before, a boy from Class Two had confessed to her. After she rejected him, Xu Daohui had inexplicably sought that boy out. He didn’t resort to violence, but he said a lot of things.

The gist was telling the boy to stay away from her, and behind his back, claiming the boy was shamelessly trying to steal someone else’s girl.

—Hu Zhuyue had told He Chengxi about it.

In short, He Chengxi believed Xu Daohui wasn’t normal and was very likely to harass Pei Du as well.

“No.”

That was a lie.

Xu Daohui had privately sent him a friend request that very day. Pei Du had ignored it.

Once you engaged with people like that, they became trouble. It was better not to accept it at all.

“That’s good, Classmate Pei. If he does bother you, please tell me.”

He Chengxi silently resolved that if Xu Daohui dared harass her good friend, she would stop caring about the college entrance exam and use both school influence—and a little family influence—to deal with it.

“Classmate Pei, does your class argue every day?”

She was still curious about yesterday’s incident.

“Friction between classmates is normal. It’s not arguing every day.”
“I thought since the fight was so intense, it meant there were long-standing grudges.”
“Long-standing grudges isn’t wrong.”

There were irreconcilable conflicts between the boys and girls in Class Seven.

Pei Du didn’t know exactly how they started. Maybe online gender antagonism had poisoned high schoolers’ thinking. Maybe boys and girls simply looked down on each other.

Either way, gender relations were delicate. From what Pei Du knew, many students in Class Seven openly engaged in extreme rhetoric—both sides throwing around hateful remarks.

“And yet there isn’t much time left to spend together in high school.”
“Precisely because of that,” Pei Du said calmly, “people settle scores while they still can.”

He dipped a slice of salmon into wasabi and sauce. The sharp, mint-like sting rushed straight to his brain.

As a high schooler, he understood himself well. At this age, people either swallowed things for the sake of appearances—or let their blood boil and clashed head-on.

“…That’s hard to understand.”

It truly was for He Chengxi.

Pei Du knew that with her upbringing and character, she would never behave that way—so naturally, she couldn’t understand it.

That, too, was something he admired about her.

Between enjoying the food and chatting about school, time passed quickly.

Yishui was a rare omakase restaurant that didn’t require reservations. After finishing their meal, they didn’t linger and freed the table for others.

Back at He Chengxi’s home, they resumed studying seriously.

But not long after, she put down her pen.

“Classmate Pei, I might need to take a nap in my room. Would you like to rest as well?”

Pei Du took it as a polite hint to leave and began packing his bag.

“Wait—Classmate Pei, I’m not asking you to leave,” He Chengxi quickly stopped him. “I’m seriously asking. If you need rest, you can nap in the guest room.”
“No need.”

Pei Du felt awkward sleeping at a friend’s house on his first visit—even if it was just a nap. Besides, staying while the girl slept felt even stranger.

It was a shame there were still a few problem sets unfinished.

“Classmate Pei, are you embarrassed?”
“…”

“Then can I nap here instead? If you’re not alone, you won’t feel uncomfortable, right?”

No. That would be even more uncomfortable.

Seemingly having found the best solution, the girl lay down on the soft sofa, hugging a cushion. Soon, her eyes closed.

Now leaving felt inappropriate, but staying felt just as wrong.

Pei Du chose to grit his teeth and continue working on the problem sets.

He got several wrong in a row—completely distracted.

The girl seemed to possess some kind of magic. Though her sleeping posture was neat and she was perfectly quiet, her presence was overwhelming, constantly drawing Pei Du’s gaze.

Why?

Pei Du reasoned: When alone with a beautiful girl who’s asleep, any male high school student would have wandering thoughts.

That was human nature. Who could escape it? Those who claimed otherwise were probably impotent.

The strange part was this—He Chengxi wasn’t even his usual type. And yet, in this atmosphere, he felt restless all the same.

As expected, human preferences were fragile in the face of primal desire.

As he worked, his vision slowly blurred. He’d slept late, woken early, studied all day, and now it was his usual nap time. Drowsiness surged uncontrollably.

The pen slipped from his fingers. The boy who had been sitting upright slowly slumped forward onto the tea table.

…

“Classmate Pei.”

A slender finger gently touched his arm.

He Chengxi looked at the boy’s clean, handsome profile. She had wanted to poke him, but reason overcame impulse, and she only lightly touched his arm.

She didn’t want to wake him, but it was getting late. Sleeping any longer would affect his night’s rest—and tomorrow’s exam.

The moment she touched him, Pei Du woke.

He was a light sleeper. Any proximity or touch, however slight, would rouse him.

“Sorry… I overslept.”
“Not at all.”

He Chengxi had brewed black tea and placed it in front of him.

“I was just worried that if you slept too long, you wouldn’t sleep tonight, and it would affect your condition tomorrow.”
“Thank you. I troubled you.”

Pei Du suddenly thought—

He Chengxi had no airs of a pampered young lady. She fetched slippers for guests, brewed tea—gentle, considerate, the type of girl who would manage everything flawlessly as a wife.

Yet her small frame and delicate body instinctively stirred a man’s desire to protect her, making it unbearable to let her do any heavy work. Even leaving a faint red mark on her skin would feel heart-wrenching.

…What was he thinking?

Pei Du realized he wasn’t fully awake yet and quickly took a large gulp of black tea to clear his head.

So bitter. This was rich-people tea. Maybe never tasting it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for poor people.

Looking back at the problem sets, he couldn’t regain the full concentration he had that morning.

“Classmate Pei,” the girl hadn’t picked up her pen since waking. She’d already studied enough today. “Want to relax a bit? Studying nonstop doesn’t help with focus.”

For a moment, Pei Du couldn’t tell whether she was simply too compatible with him—or frighteningly perceptive.

Otherwise, how could she grasp his thoughts so precisely?

They fit together a little too perfectly.