Always on My Mind

Song Yu looked up at the girl across from him again.

She was watching him with a mysterious smile. When their eyes met, she immediately lowered her head and, in a conspicuous attempt to hide it, propped up her English textbook to shield her face.

"..."

Was there any point?

Song Yu twitched the corner of his mouth and ignored her, returning his attention to the thread.

After everyone had mocked the poster of comment 41, someone returned to the subject.

With one of the people involved right there, the shippers didn't dare go too wild. Suppressing their wild delight and excitement, someone typed out a question, all lively, romantic innocence.

[Brother Yu, are you studying with God Xie? Preparing for the monthly exams? [grin][shy]]

Bored of waiting, Song Yu replied.

121 Your husband, Brother Yu: He's tutoring me.

The forum erupted in screams.

[Aaaaaah!!!]

[Wuwuwu, what blessed day is this! I suddenly have motivation again. Help me up, I can still do two more math papers.]

[Holy shit, don't scare Brother Yu away! Go to the dedicated thread. Act normal here.]

Everyone made a mighty effort to restore normality.

Someone asked, [Is Brother Yu going to study hard now?]

Song Yu's eyelids drooped. Wasn't that obvious? Since school started, when had he not studied seriously and diligently?

Had his identity as an argumentative troll given these people the wrong idea about him? He felt it necessary to explain himself.

And so, in a rare occurrence, Song Yu said something calmly on the forum.

He led by example, his tone mocking.

[I've been studying hard all along. Do you come to high school to fight instead of study?]

On the other side of the internet, everyone: "..."

[Sorry.]

After the shock came profound remorse-as they looked at their unfinished papers, they suddenly felt unworthy of breathing No. 1 High's air.

Even the school bully was studying hard? What right did they have to keep messing around on the forum!

"Do you like matcha?"

Xie Sui returned from the queue just then, sat down opposite him, and asked.

Song Yu put his phone away. Seeing the small, tempting cake in his hand, his eyes widened slightly. "Yes, yes."

Apart from mint, matcha was probably his favorite flavor. Strange, though-Xie Sui hadn't asked what flavor he wanted before going.

Song Yu praised him sincerely. "We really are on the same wavelength."

Xie Sui smiled without denying it.

He stuck a fork into it for him and handed it over. The last time he had accompanied Song Yu to the supermarket, he had more or less figured out all his preferences. There was no need to ask.

"Have you read the notes?"

"..."

Song Yu forked up a piece of cake and put it in his mouth. At those words, he stiffened. Lightly biting the fork, he stared blankly at him.

The atmosphere immediately grew a little awkward.

Ever since that dream, he had been too unsettled to take anything in, so he had gone on his phone and browsed the forum instead.

Xie Sui watched him.

Song Yu's lips were naturally pale. With a little cream on them as he bit the fork, he somehow looked both clean and alluring.

Xie Sui looked away and said with a smile, "Don't come crying to me when your monthly exam results come out."

Song Yu swallowed the cake, rather embarrassed, and hurriedly said, "I won't, I won't. I've never cried in my life. I'll memorize them when I get back. I'll memorize everything you wrote for me."

Xie Sui had only been joking, but hearing such an emphatic denial, he narrowed his eyes.

A few wicked thoughts arose again, such as what Song Yu would look like crying.

Of course, the thought passed in an instant.

He remembered that Song Yu cared a great deal about these monthly exams.

"What will happen if you do badly?"

Leaving the cake shop and opening the umbrella, Xie Sui asked.

Song Yu glanced at the sky and muttered, "My dad will make me go back, and you'll never see me again."

Xie Sui: "..."

His grip on the umbrella tightened.

After a pause, Xie Sui tilted his head and smiled. "Let me draw up a study plan for you."

His tone was mild, but brooked no refusal.

"You can put your endless practice questions on hold for now."

A waste of time.

Song Yu: "Huh?"

He went home utterly bewildered. Even as he said goodbye to Xie Sui, he still hadn't figured out why Xie Sui suddenly wouldn't let him do practice questions.

What was with him?

Depriving him of his right to study?

Afraid he'd steal first place?

Monday. School.

After morning reading, the Chinese class representative came around to collect their homework. Song Yu finally learned her name: Jiang Chunian. It was quite poetic.

As she approached their group, Ma Xiaoding shook his desk from behind. "Brother Yu, Brother Yu! What did you write for your essay? Can I have a look?"

Ma Xiaoding loved Chinese. He didn't have the makings of a top student, but he had all the habits of one, particularly a fondness for discussing Chinese homework.

Song Yu was extremely pleased with his essay. It had depth and breadth-a masterpiece for the ages.

He took out his composition book and tossed it behind him, adding a smug warning. "You may admire it, but no borrowing ideas."

"Sure, sure, sure."

Ma Xiaoding opened it enthusiastically, only to pause at the title. By the time he finished reading, he had wilted completely, his voice trembling. "B-Brother Yu, why do I feel like you went a little off topic? Were you not listening to Old Wang in class?"

Old Wang was their Chinese teacher.

Song Yu frowned. "Wasn't it just those eight characters? I slept a bit in Chinese that day and missed what he said before that."

Ma Xiaoding wailed in anguish. "Brother Yu! Old Wang just picked those eight characters as a title to sound literary. They weren't the essay topic!"

"Remember those three hundred words we handed in about our goals for the semester? Old Wang said, 'Keep it in your thoughts, and an answer will come.' Anything you stick with will bring rewards. The essay was supposed to be about how we planned to achieve our goals."

Song Yu: "..."

Ma Xiaoding said, "This assignment was linked to the last one. You could practically write it like a diary, with working toward your goal as the theme. Yours went all the way to the moon."

Song Yu: "..."

Fuck. Why hadn't anyone told him?

He turned to the sleeping Xie Sui, leaned closer, and immediately poked his arm with a pen. "Xie Sui, Xie Sui, Xie Sui, wake up. They're collecting homework. Did you write yesterday's essay?"

Since becoming Song Yu's deskmate, Xie Sui had practically caught up on all the sleep he had missed in his previous life.

But he was a light sleeper. Woken by the calls, he opened his clear, dark eyes. Only his voice was slightly hoarse and nasal. "Mm, I did."

Eager to check, Song Yu asked, "What did you write about?"

He thought back briefly.

Propping himself up on his arms, Xie Sui sat up and said leisurely, "You."

Song Yu was dumbfounded. Had the three of them been given the same assignment?

"You wrote about me? Isn't that off topic?"

"It wasn't."

There was a hint of laughter in Xie Sui's voice. Having just woken, he sounded languid and low.

Looking at him, he said naturally, "You're my goal for the new semester. Writing about you for 'Always on My Mind' isn't off topic."

Song Yu: "..."

Having listened, Ma Xiaoding reached a conclusion. "Oh, right. God Xie is already at the pinnacle of the school. He doesn't need a plan. His goal last time was to help you study, Brother Yu. Nothing wrong with writing about you."

Jiang Chunian reached their group just then. Hearing Ma Xiaoding, she laughed. "Who's writing about whom?"

She wore her school uniform, her hair in a ponytail with a few loose strands falling by her ears. She looked youthful and pretty, her fair skin rosy, two little dimples at the corners of her mouth. Holding a stack of papers to her chest, she also had a quiet, bookish air.

Ma Xiaoding inexplicably blushed and stammered, unable to get anything out.

Xi Bowen helped explain. "Nothing much. God Xie just wrote his essay about Brother Yu."

Jiang Chunian's eyes lit up. "???"

The class representative's entire demeanor changed.

"What essay?"

Ma Xiaoding's teenage crush could hardly have been more obvious. Scratching his head, he was still eager to say a little more in front of a girl he liked. He coughed and babbled with a red face, "What other essay? Last week's homework. Right, Brother Yu?"

Song Yu couldn't take it anymore. "Enough. Shut up!"

Xie Sui laughed beside him.

"!!!"

Jiang Chunian's hands trembled slightly around the homework. Had her ship turned out to be real?

After handing in the homework, she returned to her seat.

Holding her pen, Jiang Chunian thought for a long while, then turned to her deskmate. "I'm going to write a novel on the forum."

Her deskmate was a slightly chubby girl with short hair. She opened a bag of chips during the break and stuffed them into her mouth one after another, mumbling, "About what? A domineering CEO?"

Jiang Chunian pursed her lips in a meaningful smile. "No. An aloof school heartthrob."

Her deskmate said, "?? Have you lost your mind? You dare base him on God Xie?"

Immersed in her fantasies, Jiang Chunian cupped her face. "Not just him. I'm writing Brother Yu too. Last time I asked about domains, I felt like God Xie was looking at me like I was an idiot. I was so mortified I wanted to crawl underground. But you know what? Just now, he didn't look at Brother Yu like that. When he looked at him, there was a gentle breeze in his eyes."

Her deskmate: "..."

Amazing. A gentle breeze?? Wind in his eyes?? Wouldn't that make him blind? More importantly, daring to write about Brother Yu-she must have a death wish.

"Want a chip to calm down?"

Jiang Chunian couldn't wait. Taking out a notebook and pen, she couldn't stop smiling. "I can't calm down! I've already thought of the title: You're Always on My Mind."

Her deskmate said, "...You'd better hope Brother Yu doesn't get you on his mind."

Jiang Chunian puffed out her chest confidently. "I'll post it in the dedicated thread. Brother Yu will never see it in his life."

Monday's first lesson was English. When the new English teacher entered, the whole class fell silent for a few seconds. He was a man in his thirties or forties, already a little thin on top despite his relative youth. Wearing a suit and glasses, with an insulated flask in one hand and his lesson plan in the other, he looked cultured, refined, and scholarly.

He briefly introduced himself. His surname was Cheng, and he would be taking over Class One as their homeroom teacher. He didn't know much about what had happened with Ou Yilian either, merely glossing over it vaguely.

Their new English teacher and homeroom teacher seemed extremely good-tempered. His teaching was witty and humorous, his spoken English fluent and pleasant. Everyone paid close attention during the first lesson.

As class ended, Teacher Cheng remarked, "There are forty-five students in our class, right?"

A girl in the front row shook her head. "Forty-eight. Some students aren't here."

Teacher Cheng adjusted his glasses, made a mark on the class roster with his pen, and said, "Forty-five. Those three absent students won't be coming anymore."

Ma Xiaoding's eyes widened. "W-w-w-wait, Wang Ci dropped out?"

Author's note: I promised a long, hefty chapter... but I'm still so short. (Covers face.)

Another chapter at eight tonight, then. Two updates today. Thank you to the angels who sent overlord tickets or watered me with nutrient solution~

Thank you to the angel who sent [Rocket Launchers]: cedar, 1;

Thank you to the angels who sent [Grenades]: 33572647 and Not-Too-Sweet Candied Fruit, 1 each;

Thank you to the angels who sent [Landmines]: Flute Lament, Clear Xiao, 3; Nothing, l Qin q Cuan Jiu, A-Wuwuwuwuwuwu, Youyou, Shuli Pukou, toki, Bored Minsui Rolling Online, Wujia, Xuan, Yuchen, demeter, supreme, Letting Go, 1 each;

Thank you to the angels who watered me with [Nutrient Solution]:

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, 50 bottles; Big Laugh Three?0, 44 bottles; I Have a Nian Radish, 40 bottles; Hahaha Hic~, 37 bottles; Night Rain Autumn Maple, 35 bottles; ihg, 20 bottles; Sweet-and-Sour Cold Noodles Without Vinegar Extra Chili, 18 bottles; Hoarse Voice., 17 bottles; Awakening of Insects, 15 bottles; Li Que and Afternoon Black Tea, 13 bottles each; Jiu Xi Wine.., 12 bottles; 29920335, Spring Marsh Qiqizi, egret, Wang Xuan, Deer Drink from a Stream in the Empty Woods, Wujia, Pluto Seven, and Huanhuan, 10 bottles each; Bored Minsui Rolling Online, 9 bottles; I Fucking Never Swear,, and Dengzi, 7 bottles each; Time Space, 6 bottles; Yuan Lai Kai Shi Xi Huan Ni, axhello, Strawberry's Little Cake, wivibear, Sheep in Wolf's Clothing, and Li Xi, 5 bottles each; toki and Icebound, 4 bottles each; Chen Liang and Hehe, 3 bottles each; Jing Qiong, Feels Good, and Mo Mo Qian Xing, 2 bottles each; Liang Sheng Ruo Shan, Little Love, Little Mushroom Who Loves Girls, Liu, Mint Tea, Sleeping in the Daytime, You Huo's Earring, Xi Jiuming, Jiu Wei, Wei Ji Li Yu Shen Yi, and Cutie, 1 bottle each;

Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard!