The day the monthly exam results were posted, the announcement board was surrounded so tightly that not even a drop of water could squeeze through. The air buzzed with a mix of cheers and groans.
Lin Chen stood just outside the crowd, his eyes scanning the list. When he saw his name gleaming in fifth place, his expression barely flickered. He'd expected this—after all, with his rebirth, his mastery of the test points, and countless nights of grinding through practice problems, this result was inevitable.
"Lin Chen! Are you insane? Fifth in the class?!" Zheng Hao shoved his way through the throng, slapping Lin Chen on the shoulder with a whoop. "You jumped from thirty-fifth all the way up to fifth! That's not a comeback—that's an explosion! And your math score—142! Absolute monster!"
At once, classmates swarmed around them, waving score sheets and gasping.
"Lin Chen, how the hell did you pull this off? Share your secrets!"
"From now on, you're our math lifeline. Don't you dare keep the tricks to yourself!"
Lin Chen smiled and thanked them politely, but his gaze darted over the crowd. Soon he spotted Su Wanqing standing at the far edge of the board. She clutched her test paper so tightly that the edges crumpled, her head bowed low, shoulders trembling ever so slightly.
A pang struck Lin Chen's chest. He pushed his way over quickly. Up close, he saw the redness in her eyes and faint streaks of dried tears on her cheeks. Though she had raised her math score by ten points, her total rank still landed at twenty-second, just two spots shy of her longed-for top twenty.
"Su Wanqing, are you okay?" Lin Chen's voice softened, warm with concern.
She hurriedly wiped her tears with the back of her hand, forcing a crooked smile. "I'm fine… just—just frustrated. I worked so hard, math really improved, but still not enough to crack the top twenty. Feels like I'm useless."
Lin Chen gently took her test paper and began flipping through it. His brows furrowed as he spotted the mistakes—two big function problems left half-blank, several multiple-choice errors from sloppy calculation. Every one of them was from the review sessions they'd done together.
He pulled out his red pen, circling the errors with sharp strokes. His tone carried absolute certainty. "These aren't hard problems at all! Look here—this monotonic interval question, you just messed up the sign during differentiation. And this extremum problem—you forgot to check the derivative's sign on both sides. If we drill one function problem every day and patch these weak spots, you'll definitely break into the top twenty next time."
Su Wanqing stared at his serious profile, her heart wrapped in warmth. Tears welled again, but this time they carried relief instead of despair. She nodded hard, her voice husky. "Okay! Then I'll trouble you from now on. I'll work harder—I don't want to drag you down."
"Don't be silly. We're friends—and partners in study!" Lin Chen grinned, spreading out scratch paper. "Now, look at this. First step is domain: since it's lnx, x has to be greater than zero. You got that right, well done. But when differentiating, (lnx)' is 1/x. You wrote it as x. Naturally, the whole solution went off track…"
Su Wanqing leaned closer, hanging on his every word. Gradually, the grief in her eyes gave way to focus. Sunlight poured through the classroom window, highlighting the bright red notes on the paper. Their arms occasionally brushed, heat sparking each time.
Halfway through, Lin Chen flipped the page and his fingers accidentally brushed hers. That brief warmth jolted through both of them like electricity. They froze, faces flushing crimson.
Lin Chen yanked his hand back, pretending to keep writing calmly, though his heart pounded like a trapped rabbit. His voice came out tight. "A-anyway, make sure you memorize the derivative formulas. Don't slip up again."
Su Wanqing ducked her head, her ears glowing red. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Got it. I won't forget again."
When they had calmed a little, she tapped another mistake on the paper. "Then how about this second part, the one asking for the function's maximum value? How should I have done that?"
Lin Chen instantly focused, explaining step by step. "To find the maximum, you need to check the extreme points and also the endpoints, then compare. Here, you found the extreme point but forgot to check x=1, which was critical. That's why you missed the right answer…"
Following his guidance, Su Wanqing worked it out and soon landed on the correct solution. Her face lit with joy. "I get it now! That was so simple—I was just careless!"
Lin Chen chuckled. "Exactly. Pay attention and you'll beat me next time. Missing the top twenty now doesn't matter. Next time, let's aim for the top ten—together. Let's shock everyone!"
Su Wanqing nodded fiercely, her eyes sparkling again. "Yes! Together, we'll make it!"
The two of them spent the rest of the period analyzing Chinese and English mistakes too, drafting a detailed study plan: Lin Chen would guide her through math pitfalls, while Su Wanqing would help him polish classical Chinese and English grammar. They filled the gaps for each other, side by side.
Walking home after school, the sunset stretched their shadows long and close together. Su Wanqing suddenly said, "Next time you set up your stall, I'll come help again. With the money we earn, let's buy that famous problem set of tough math questions. I heard it's super useful."
Lin Chen's heart leapt. He nodded eagerly. "Deal! With you helping, we'll make even more. Once we buy it, I'll treat you to ice cream too!"
She laughed and agreed, eyes full of expectation. With Lin Chen beside her, she felt certain—no difficulty was insurmountable.
Neither of them noticed the figure trailing not far behind.
Zhao Kai stalked them with a stormy expression. The sight of Lin Chen and Su Wanqing laughing together stabbed his chest like knives. The image of Lin Chen's blazing fifth place on the leaderboard replayed in his mind, fueling his rage. His fist clenched with a sharp crack.
He pulled out his phone and shot a message to Zhou Tao: At next week's sports meet, make sure something happens to Lin Chen during the 1500-meter run. Let him learn who's really boss.
Message sent, Zhao Kai's lips curled into a vicious grin as he turned and strode away.