Su Nuannuan tugged a completely bewildered Zhou Qianqian along, jogging all the way, nervously glancing back to check if the Magical Girl was chasing after them. Only after rushing back into the classroom did she finally let go, leaning against the desk, gasping for breath.
Zhou Qianqian was panting as well, looking utterly puzzled. “Nuannuan! It’s just an exam. Even cramming last minute doesn’t mean you have to go all out like this. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Back at her seat, Su Nuannuan collapsed onto the desk like a fish out of water, utterly defeated, weakly mumbling, “It’s not… it’s not about studying…”
Zhou Qianqian eyed the distracted Su Nuannuan suspiciously, wondering silently—if it’s not studying, then what the heck was she running for?
After a short break at noon, the afternoon math exam started right on time.
The moment the test paper was handed out, Su Nuannuan glanced at it and felt the numbers and symbols were like an alien language.
She bit her pen, scratched her head, sighed repeatedly, and practically wrote “I don’t know” all over her face.
For the multiple-choice questions, she resorted to her mystical method: if three answers were long and one short, pick the shortest; if three were short and one long, pick the longest; if they were all uneven, pick C. Just guessing.
When it came to the big questions, she could only stare blankly at the empty paper. In the end, she barely managed to write the word “solution” and then started doodling little cats.
Su Nuannuan frowned over her test paper, while next to her, Lin Wei sat upright, writing confidently with a calm expression.
The agonizing exam finally ended.
As soon as the bell rang to collect papers, the classroom erupted like a shaken beehive, with students eagerly huddled together to compare answers.
“The answer to the last big question is 45, right?”
“For the last multiple-choice, did you pick A or C?”
“I swear I knew how to solve that one, but I just calculated it wrong!”
Su Nuannuan pricked up her ears and listened in, growing colder with each sentence…
Their answers didn’t match any of the guesses she had made…
Her little face slowly fell, the blush fading from her cheeks to her ears.
The results wouldn’t be out until the next day, and Su Nuannuan trudged home with Lin Wei, her heart heavy with the grim feeling that “whether I die early or late, I’m doomed.”
All the way, she silently prayed that the teachers would make some grading mistakes or maybe just lose her test paper entirely.
The night passed without incident, and Tuesday arrived.
Su Nuannuan and Lin Wei ate breakfast together as usual, then took the bus to school.
On the bus, Su Nuannuan’s heart still fluttered anxiously over yesterday’s exam, her small face clouded with worry.
After the first class at school, the homeroom teacher unexpectedly stopped Lin Wei and Su Nuannuan as they were leaving the classroom:
“Lin Wei, Su Nuannuan, come to my office after lunch.”
Zhou Qianqian and Su Nuannuan exchanged glances, both feeling a little strange.
Lin Wei didn’t know why the teacher suddenly wanted to see them either.
“Nuannuan, what’s the teacher calling you for? It can’t be about the exam, right?” Zhou Qianqian whispered, guessing.
Su Nuannuan’s heart tightened and she shook her head, “I… don’t know…” A bad premonition settled over her.
At noon, after a simple meal, Lin Wei and Su Nuannuan went to the teacher’s office together.
Standing before the teacher’s desk, Lin Wei spoke first, her tone calm: “Teacher, you wanted to see us?”
The teacher pushed up her glasses and first looked at Lin Wei with an approving smile. “Lin Wei, your results are out, and you did very well—top of the grade, solid fundamentals, clear thinking. Keep it up.”
Lin Wei nodded slightly. “Thank you, Teacher.”
Lin Wei’s expression remained unchanged, but Su Nuannuan was left stunned.
Born into a well-off family, good-looking, and with solid grades… how was anyone supposed to live up to that?
Then the teacher turned her gaze to Su Nuannuan, her tone becoming stern. “Su Nuannuan, look at you! The same test, and you got so many basic questions wrong, with almost all the big questions left blank.”
Su Nuannuan curled her lips, lowering her head even further, staring at her feet without daring to say a word.
After the reprimand, the teacher shifted her tone: “The main reason I called you here today is about the Study Group…”
Lin Wei stood straight as ever, while Su Nuannuan lifted her head.
“The school encourages top students to help weaker ones. Originally, pairs were matched randomly based on scores, but since you two are sisters and live together, it’s easier for you to communicate.”
Su Nuannuan’s bad premonition deepened…
“So, I thought I’d just make you two a pair. Lin Wei, you’ll have to put in some extra effort tutoring Nuannuan,” the teacher finally revealed the real reason for the meeting.
Lin Wei’s face showed no reaction, seeming indifferent to the arrangement.
Su Nuannuan’s heart skipped a beat, and she swallowed hard… being paired with Lin Wei?
Did that mean she’d have to study under Lin Wei’s watchful eye every day? Receive her personal tutoring?
The teacher looked at them both: “Do you have any objections to this arrangement?”
Lin Wei shook her head lightly. “No objections, Teacher.” Then she slightly tilted her head, watching Su Nuannuan’s reaction.
The teacher turned to the absent-minded Su Nuannuan. “Su Nuannuan, how about you?”
Su Nuannuan jolted awake and timidly answered, “Oh… no… no objections…”
Though she said it, inside she felt like her life had turned utterly bleak.
“Alright then, it’s settled.” The teacher finalized the decision, then waved Su Nuannuan away. “You can go back to class now. I have something to discuss with your sister.”
“Goodbye, Teacher…”
After Su Nuannuan left, the teacher said to Lin Wei:
“Lin Wei, I’ll explain the tutoring focus in more detail. You know Nuannuan well—she’s playful and has weak fundamentals, so you’ll need some patience…”
Lin Wei nodded and couldn’t help but smile softly, the image of pitiful Su Nuannuan flashing in her mind…
As Su Nuannuan walked back to class, her thoughts were miles away, filled with grim visions of being “tormented” by Lin Wei in the days to come…
“Su Nuannuan! You did terribly on this exam. Tonight, you’re not allowed to eat,” Lin Wei sat at the dinner table, arms folded, legs crossed.
Su Nuannuan stood by the table, drooling at the feast before her, then pitifully clung to Lin Wei’s leg.
“Sis… please let Nuannuan have some…”
Lost in her fantasy, Su Nuannuan didn’t notice a small figure silently approaching behind her.
As she passed by the Storage Room filled with miscellaneous items, the figure suddenly closed in!
“Hmm!”
Su Nuannuan suddenly felt an arm wrap around her waist, another hand quickly covering her mouth, terrifying her out of her wits!
Before she could struggle, a strong force dragged her, pushing open the slightly ajar door of the Storage Room, and she stumbled inside the dim room!
“Bang!” The door slammed shut behind her, and she even heard the lock click into place.
The Storage Room was crammed with mats, balls, and equipment, with only a small window high up letting in faint light. The entire room smelled of choking dust.
Su Nuannuan’s heart raced wildly, her mind blank. Was there a criminal in the school?! A kidnapping?!
How unlucky could she be!
Just as she wanted to scream for help, she was pinned down onto a pile of thick gym mats, unable to move.
She panicked, trying to struggle and call out, but all she could manage were muffled “mmm mmm” sounds.
Then, the person on top finally spoke, voice tinged with grievance and a hint of accusation:
“Little liar…”
Su Nuannuan: “…?” Little liar?
That voice sounded familiar. Her struggling paused, and in the dim light, she strained to look at the one pinning her down.
Short hair, big eyes, now pouting, glaring at her in displeasure—it was Wu Duola!
“Why… why did you lie to me…” Wu Duola’s voice was even more pitiful.
Last time in the bathroom, Su Nuannuan had promised to consider joining her magic club but then avoided her.
Su Nuannuan slowly snapped out of her fright, realizing it wasn’t a criminal, but that overly persistent Magical Girl.
She exhaled in relief but immediately felt awkward because of their current position and situation.
Wu Duola’s small face was less than a fist away, her breath continuously brushing Su Nuannuan’s face, even tickling her eyelashes. Her whole body pressed tightly against Su Nuannuan, and through the fabric, Su Nuannuan could feel parts of her skin.
“I… mmm…” Su Nuannuan tried to explain, but her voice was muffled by the hand covering her mouth.
Meanwhile, after the brief exchange with the teacher about tutoring, Lin Wei returned to the classroom and found Su Nuannuan’s seat empty.
She looked at Zhou Qianqian, who shook her head cluelessly, indicating she hadn’t seen Su Nuannuan return.
From the office to the classroom was such a short distance—where had that idiot run off to again?