The wave of students poured down the teaching stairs. After the evening self-study, everyone could not wait to go home and relax.
The surrounding students' chatter made the atmosphere on the stairs a mess. Shen Yunli had no choice but to increase her speaking volume so that she could get close to Zhao Xuanying, who was in a depressed mood, and comfort her.
With the arrival of November and the passage of time, the first semester of the second year of high school has passed halfway.
The scores for last cycle's midterm exam were also announced today.
Zhao Xuanying, who had always been in the upper reaches of the class and even ranked among the top ten in the class, did not do so well in the exam this time.
It can even be said to have experienced a cliff-like decline.
Unlike those who were already at the bottom of the class, No. 1 Middle School was originally a well-ranked high school in the city, and one can imagine the competitive pressure.
Maybe just a point difference can make a big difference.
What's more, Zhao Xuanying's score this time was nearly twenty points lower than last year, and she had already dropped more than ten places in the class.
In the past, Shen Yunli's academic performance was always worse than Zhao Xuanying's, but this time she performed normally and surpassed her opponent.
For fear that her friend would be hit, Shen Yunli did not forget to cheer her up on the way home from school.
Leave the teaching building and head towards the school gate.
Shen Yunli continued to talk.
"It's probably because you haven't had a good rest during this period. It's understandable that your energy and energy have been particularly poor these days, and you're not performing well."
"Lili..."
Zhao Xuanying, who had been silent all this time, finally called out to the other party, and stopped speeding up her pace.
Looking at the ground, Zhao Xuanying said softly.
"Don't comfort me, I know how well I did in this exam."
"But it's not your fault. The midterm exam just happened to be at the time when you were at your worst!"
"I did so poorly on the exam, no matter what I say, it's just an excuse..."
Compared to Shen Yunli, who was always looking for excuses for her poor performance in this exam, Zhao Xuanying was completely sane.
Zhao Xuanying was not as cheerful as before when she was approached by her class teacher to talk to her in the morning.
He raised his lowered head slightly, glanced at Shen Yunli who was beside him and lost her voice, and after a while, he accelerated forward.
After walking out of the school gate, he said "I'll go home first" and disappeared in front of Shen Yunli.
Looking at Zhao Xuanying walking further and further away, Shen Yunli didn't know what had happened to her recently.
But as a good friend of the other party, she had long been aware of Zhao Xuanying's loss.
However, no matter how she asked, the other person's mouth was tightly closed as if by a zipper, and not a single bit of news was revealed to her.
Looking at where her friend left, Shen Yunli did not take her eyes back until the other person's figure disappeared into the crowd.
A pair of eyes... full of worry.
On the way home, Zhao Xuanying felt particularly quiet today compared to previous days.
There were obviously classmates who were traveling with him around him, but none of their conversations reached Zhao Xuanying's ears.
As if shielding the surroundings, he just lowered his head and accelerated his pace towards his home.
After walking along the avenue and through the busy city, I finally slowed down a bit until I passed through a crowded area.
Until it stops.
It’s already getting late after self-study in the evening.
Most of the people living around are elderly people. They have already turned off their lights and rested. They can only catch the weak street lights on the roadside to see the way forward clearly.
Standing there alone.
The arms that were hanging on both sides were raised. After raising his hands to wipe them, the originally lowered head was raised.
He looked up at the night sky and took a deep breath.
After more than ten seconds, he took steps again.
Turn the corner and walk towards the entrance of the residential building.
Same location, same vehicle.
The bright car lights illuminated the dark road ahead, and the people in the car seemed to see the figure of Zhao Xuanying returning outside the car.
Holding on to the time, he waited until the other party was about to arrive in front of the car, then lowered the window glass.
He stuck his head out and shouted to Zhao Xuanying who had already passed by.
"Zhao Xuanying."
"..."
A male voice rang in her ears. This sudden experience startled Zhao Xuanying, her body trembled unconsciously, and then she stopped moving forward.
Turn around and look at the person in the car.
"It's you!"
Zhao Xuanying spoke up because the other party had left a deep impression on her after meeting her several times in a row.
When they met again, she immediately remembered who the other person was.
Looking at Chen Shikun who appeared again, Zhao Xuanying hesitated for a moment and then walked towards the car.
Looking at Chen Shikun with a smile on his face in the car, after thinking for a moment, he asked doubtfully.
"Today...are you looking for your old classmate again?"
"right."
The last time we met, Chen Shikun used the excuse that his old classmate lived nearby, so when he heard Zhao Xuanying's question, he didn't reveal any flaws.
My eyes were sizing up the girl outside the car. Zhao Xuanying was always dressed in school uniform the few times I met.
His eyes finally settled on the other person's face, and after a moment of pause, he noticed the difference.
His brows were furrowed, and the playful expression just now disappeared instantly.
He asked very seriously.
"Why are you looking so sad? Were you bullied at school?"
"No, no."
Hearing Chen Shikun's words, Zhao Xuanying immediately opened her mouth to answer. After speaking, her hands hanging on both sides unconsciously picked up the corners of her clothes.
I don't know if it was an illusion, but when Chen Shikun asked her just now, she always felt like she was being questioned by a parent.
The corners of his clothes were grabbed by fingers.
Zhao Xuanying said.
"My midterm exam results were very poor..."
"Didn't perform well?"
"Um."
After nodding in response, Zhao Xuanying's mouth involuntarily became deflated.
"The head teacher also talked to me and asked me if I had encountered any troubles, otherwise my grades would not have declined so quickly."
"Then what's going on? What the teacher said makes sense. Your grades won't drop so much for no reason."
"Yes, it's because..."
Hearing Chen Shikun's inquiry, Zhao Xuanying didn't know how to reply as the words came to her lips.
To this day, she has never mentioned the incident between Liu Weicheng and Lin Nianwei to her closest grandma, let alone Chen Shikun, an uncle she only met a few times.
Besides, the situation is relatively complicated.
Zhao Xuanying didn't know why she was worried about how to explain to the other party.
Obviously, the uncle named Chen Shikun in front of her had only met a few times. Although he promised to cover all her future tuition fees, when he asked questions, it was like a subconscious reaction, and she would answer truthfully.
It was a very strange feeling, which made Zhao Xuanying a little confused.
After struggling for a long time and hemming and hawing, Zhao Xuanying finally managed to hold back a sentence.
"It's because I haven't been that interested in studying lately."