Dedicated to studying, yet forced into a chaotic situation.

Chapter 15 The eyes beneath the long eyelashes brightened.

Having previewed the morning classes, the learning wasn't as difficult as yesterday. Before long, it was noon, and Shi Sui left the classroom lightly, planning to go to the rooftop to memorize the English passages before going to eat.

Shi Sui happily walked up to the rooftop, thinking to herself, "It's almost lunchtime, there shouldn't be many people on the rooftop."

Sure enough, the spacious rooftop was quiet. Shi Sui found a spot out of the sun, squatted down, and just as she finished reciting her lessons, a familiar figure appeared in her peripheral vision.

The boy lowered his head slightly, holding a box in his hand, and walked out through the small door on the rooftop.

Xu Chaomu.

Shi Sui paused for a moment, thinking of going over to say hello. Just as she was about to stand up, the boy looked over.

"Shi Sui?" Xu Chaomu was a little surprised, not expecting to meet again so soon.

"Mmm." Shi Sui walked over and asked first, "Why are you here?"

“I’m here to eat,” Xu Chaomu said.

Shi Sui then noticed what the boy was holding: a rectangular lunchbox, a very simple insulated metal box.

Shi Sui's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said happily, "Oh, right, I can cook for myself and bring it to school. How come I didn't think of that?"

She made a decision: "I will also bring my own lunch to school."

"Is the food in the cafeteria not to your liking?" Xu Chaomu asked.

He heard that the cafeteria's chefs were all specially hired star chefs, and that only the first floor served ordinary people's meals, while the upper floors were full of various cuisines from different countries. He also heard that even the most discerning diners praised the Xinghua Cafeteria.

Shi Sui shook her head and said, "Because it saves money."

Yesterday's steamed buns in the cafeteria were the best she had ever eaten, but unfortunately, they were also the most expensive she had ever eaten. Poor people like her can't afford them.

Xu Chaomu was taken aback. Saving money? Does a rich girl need to save money? Or is it that Shi Sui is actually a commoner like him?

Since its establishment, Xinghua School has launched a "Rain and Dew Project" to sponsor outstanding students to study here. This is partly for charity and partly to improve the school's academic performance.

Tuition and fees are waived, and there is an additional living allowance.

However, a contract must be signed requiring the sponsored student to rank in the top 100 of their grade each semester, and the sponsorship will be terminated immediately if their grades drop below the top 100.

Xu Chaomu came to Xinghua School through the Rain and Dew Program, and consistently ranked first in her grade in every exam, leaving a huge gap between herself and the second-place student.

He knew that there were many ordinary people like him in the school who were studying through the Rain and Dew Program, and there were quite a few in his Evergreen Class.

Perhaps due to stereotypes, Shi Sui was beautiful and had a good temperament, so when he first saw her, he thought she was a rich young lady.

Xu Chaomu then realized that he had forgotten to ask Shi Sui which class she was in.

So he immediately asked, "Shi Sui, which class are you in?"

"I'm in International Class 1 now, Grade 11 International Class 1." Shi Sui tilted her head and asked, "What's wrong?"

International Class 1 is a class that only the most prestigious young ladies and gentlemen of Xinghua are qualified to attend. Perhaps, people as poor as him can only look up to it for their entire lives.

"N-nothing." Xu Chaomu lowered his eyes, a pang of bitterness rising in his heart. He thought, Shi Sui really is a young lady from a wealthy family.

“However, my time in the international class is only temporary. I will be going to the regular class next week,” Shi Sui said. “I was supposed to be in the regular class, but the school had some problems and that’s why they put me in the international class.”

"Hmm?" Xu Chaomu raised her eyes, her eyes brightening beneath her long eyelashes, as if ignited with hope.

"Oh, right," Shi Sui suddenly remembered and changed the subject, "I heard there's supposed to be an exam next month."

"Class placement test".

"What do you mean? Are we going to have to change classes again?" Does this mean she'll have to change classes three times right after the start of the semester?

"The exam was originally scheduled for the end of last semester. After the exam results came out, the classes would be reassigned at the beginning of this semester. However, because the exam questions were leaked last semester and went viral online, and it was close to the end of the semester, there wasn't enough time to rewrite the exam, so the exam was postponed to this semester."

"Exam questions leaked? Weren't there supposed to be two versions, A and B?"

“Xinghua University has five different sets of exam papers for every exam, and they were all leaked last semester.”

Shi Sui was taken aback: "This is truly a major accident."

“Yes, it has caused quite a bit of an impact. All the responsible persons have been held accountable, and many administrative teachers have resigned.” Xu Chaomu paused for a moment, then added, “The school was worried that students would neglect their studies during the summer vacation, so they gave them a month to review. Therefore, the placement test will be held next month.”

Shi Sui couldn't help but feel fortunate. Fortunately, there was still a month left, and she could still try her best to improve her grades, or to put it simply, cram at the last minute.

"Oh, right," Shi Sui suddenly remembered, "I transferred here. My old high school divided students into arts and sciences tracks, but I heard that here we choose our courses?"

Xu Chaomu nodded and said, "It's a new policy from two years ago. Chinese, Mathematics, and English are compulsory subjects. Then, you can choose three subjects from Physics, History, Chemistry, Biology, Politics, and Geography. You can only take the college entrance examination for Chinese and Mathematics once, but you can take the college entrance examination for the other subjects twice."

The words were concise and to the point, and Shi Sui understood them immediately.

I never thought I could choose the subject I'm good at to take the college entrance exam. Wouldn't that be a dream come true for people who are good at only one subject?

And she has two more chances to take the college entrance exam. My goodness, this is incredibly lucky for her, whose grades fluctuate so much.

Xu Chaomu then saw the girl in front of him reveal a sweet smile. She tilted her head excitedly to look at him and said, "Thank you, Xu Chaomu. I feel like my studies have become much easier."

Although her English and math scores were average, she scored near-perfect marks in chemistry and biology.

Although I don't know what she was thanking for, her smile was so lively and beautiful.

Xu Chaomu was somewhat lost in thought when he heard a gurgling sound.

It came from Shi Sui's stomach.

Although I ate three sandwiches this morning, studying has used up too many brain cells, and I'm already hungry.

If it weren't for her mother's occasional disdainful glances, Shi Sui could have eaten at least two more.

It's not that she can eat a lot; it's just that rich people skimp on the ingredients in their sandwiches, making them only half the size of a palm.

Shi Sui touched her stomach somewhat awkwardly: "I'm starving, I should go to the cafeteria. See you next time, Xu Chaomu."

"Are you leaving so soon?" Xu Chaomu watched her disappearing figure and, as if possessed, asked, "If you don't mind, would you like to try some of my cooking?"

Ok?

Shi Sui stopped and turned around to ask, "Is it really okay?"

Xu Chaomu nodded: "That's fine."

"Then I won't be polite." Shi Sui jogged to his side.

The edge of the rooftop was surrounded by a low wall. They sat on it, with a rusty railing behind them, and the sky was a clear blue with lush green trees.

Xu Chaomu nervously opened the lunchbox.

Shi Sui leaned over. It was a simple meal consisting of two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and rice: shredded pork with green peppers, shrimp paste and chicken wings, and stir-fried cabbage.

Xu Chaomu: "It might be a bit cold."

"No, it's still steaming hot," Shi Sui said. "It smells so good."

"Here, have a taste." Xu Chaomu handed over the chopsticks.

"Then I really won't be polite." Shi Sui looked up at him and picked up her chopsticks only after getting his permission.

Seeing that she was still hesitant, Xu Chaomu said, "How about a chicken wing?"

"Okay." Shi Sui picked up the shrimp paste chicken wing.

The chicken wings are deboned and filled with shrimp paste. One bite is full of meat, and the crispy fried chicken wings are wrapped with refreshing and bouncy shrimp paste.

Shi Sui's eyes crinkled with happiness at the sight of the delicious food as she exclaimed, "It's absolutely the most delicious food in the universe!"

Then she took out a napkin from her pocket, wiped the chopsticks clean, and handed them back: "Here you go. I didn't expect you to be such a great cook in addition to studying! Xu Chaomu, you are truly an all-rounder."

"Hmm? Since it's so delicious, why don't you try some?"

"If I keep eating, you'll go hungry at noon."

"can."

"Ok?"

"I can go hungry."

The boy spoke with a serious expression, and Shi Sui was stunned because she realized that this was not a joke.

Xu Chaomu is so kind; she would rather go hungry herself than let her friends eat delicious food. Shi Sui was so moved that she almost cried.

There was a half-second of silence, then Shi Sui smiled and said, "I'm not kidding anymore. I really should go to the cafeteria for lunch. Thank you for the treat, but next time I'll treat you to something I made!"

If things continue like this, and the cafeteria is shut down, she'll still owe the auntie 10 yuan.

Looking at her bright smiling face, Xu Chaomu smiled slightly as well: "Okay."

He was already quite satisfied, but there was still one important thing he hadn't done.

"Let's add each other on WeChat. I just saw you were memorizing English," Xu Chaomu said. "You can come to me if you have any questions."

He mustered his courage; this was the first time he had ever asked a girl for her contact information.

"Great, that's perfect, there are so many parts of math I don't know how to do."