Even though Shen Yuan and Li Zhi lived across the hall from each other, they didn't go to school together.
Waiting for someone was a pain.
You never knew if you'd be able to get up on time.
Guys, you know, sometimes they get in the mood at night, pull an all-nighter doing some... "handiwork." It's normal.
Shen Yuan wasn't much of a "craftsman," but he did love to sleep in.
And if he slept in, it wouldn't be fair to the one who woke up early.
So, the two of them had no habit of going to school together. Whoever wanted to get to school early to cram could just go on their own.
In any case, Shen Yuan wasn't going.
Shen Yuan knew full well that even if he went to school early, he wouldn't actually study.
At most, he'd just be sleeping in a different location.
Beyond that, he couldn't think of any other reason to go.
Unless, of course, Li Zhi messaged him and asked to go to school together.
But that was obviously impossible.
Looking at the mission before him, Shen Yuan picked up his phone and sent Li Zhi a message.
Shen Yuan: "Let's go to school together tomorrow."
After sending the message, Shen Yuan waited a few minutes. Seeing no response from her, he dove onto his bed and knocked on the wall.
「Next door.」
When Li Zhi heard the KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK from the next room, she immediately knew it was Shen Yuan.
Their families were neighbors, and Li Zhi and Shen Yuan's rooms were separated by just a single wall.
Usually, if Shen Yuan made any loud noise, Li Zhi could hear it.
Li Zhi picked up her phone, about to curse him out, when she saw Shen Yuan's message.
'The two messages don't really connect.'
'The last one was about scooping poop, and the next is about going to school together.'
'It's a bit of a random jump.'
Recalling what Shen Yuan had said earlier, Li Zhi was certain something was up.
Shen Yuan soon received Li Zhi's reply.
Li Zhi: "Buy me breakfast."
Shen Yuan: "Sure sure sure, what time."
Li Zhi was a little surprised. 'He's agreeing to this?'
Li Zhi: "5:50, at the door."
Seeing the time Li Zhi set, Shen Yuan wanted to rush into her room right then and there to interrogate her.
'Why don't you even need six hours of sleep?!'
However, Shen Yuan still replied with an "OK."
Seeing Shen Yuan's message, Li Zhi felt that something was even more off.
'This guy... did he huff too much cat and fry his brain?'
But Li Zhi didn't pay it much mind.
Even if something was wrong with Shen Yuan, since they had set a time, if he didn't make it, she just wouldn't wait.
「Early in the morning.」
Li Zhi looked at Shen Yuan, who was standing at her door yawning, and felt a deep sense of shock.
"You actually got up?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't I be able to get up?"
Shen Yuan said, letting out another yawn.
To force himself to get up, Shen Yuan had set 10 consecutive alarms, one for each minute.
To maximize his sleep time, Shen Yuan had also compressed his teeth-brushing and face-washing routine into a mere two minutes.
From waking up to walking out the door, it took a total of only five minutes.
"Alright, alright, you can get up."
Li Zhi said perfunctorily. He then took her backpack.
After handing her backpack to Shen Yuan, Li Zhi crouched down to put on her shoes.
Watching Li Zhi slip her white-socked foot into her shoe, Shen Yuan suddenly felt that maybe turning into a toad wasn't so unacceptable after all.
'A toad hiding in a beautiful girl's shoe, waiting to ambush her... there's a certain appeal to that!'
After Li Zhi put on her shoes, she saw Shen Yuan still staring at her feet and immediately frowned.
"Now I'm starting to suspect that girl Tong messed with your XPs, too."
His dark history being brought up, Shen Yuan was instantly wide awake.
When it came to their own cringey past, almost everyone's first reaction was subconscious denial.
Shen Yuan was no exception.
"As if she's worthy?"
In response to Shen Yuan's retort, Li Zhi said nothing. Instead, she gave him a sideways glance, looking him up and down before letting out a soft chuckle.
The move was devastating, and the insult was even greater.
"Hey, Li Zhi, what's that supposed to mean!"
Shen Yuan was getting frantic.
"You can figure it out for yourself," Li Zhi said, stepping into the elevator.
Shen Yuan hurried into the elevator after her. "No way, you have to explain it to me. Otherwise, I'll come to your room tonight and cosplay a Sunny Day Doll."
"That really won't be necessary, sis."
As the elevator descended, Li Zhi looked at Shen Yuan teasingly. "Do you really want me to keep exposing your dark history?"
Shen Yuan took a deep breath.
'I don't have the courage to say anything.'
Seeing Shen Yuan's hesitant look, as if he wanted to speak but couldn't, Li Zhi turned to look at the elevator's LCD screen.
'What an idiot.'
'A typical "tea girl" is trying to snag a rich guy.'
'But that Tong Churou was always asking you about English and wanted nothing else. She was clearly a "study tea," just trying to squeeze your study methods out of you.'
'Are those black stockings she's wearing?'
'That's clearly a Demon Path Emperor Soldier, specifically designed to bewitch you lopsided gods of war from the Lower Realm, all so she can absorb your cultivation.'
'Now that her skills are perfected, she immediately ascended to the Upper Realm.'
'Those people from the Lower Realm she used to know—do you see her paying them any mind now?'
'As for why Tong Churou didn't just find an all-rounder prodigy from the Upper Realm... Li Zhi could only say, how could someone who can't even score 600 points possibly discuss problems with the prodigies of the Upper Realm?'
'Their problem-solving mindsets aren't even on the same wavelength.'
'Besides, are there no good-looking girls in their honors class?'
'Did he have to go for this Lower Realm Witch?'
'Just because she wears black stockings to school?'
'Okay, it's true that no one in the honors class wears black stockings.'
Thinking this, Li Zhi's gaze fell on her own reflection in the elevator's mirrored surface.
"Hmph, if I wore stockings, I'd definitely look better than that study model."
'Only a certain someone is completely blind.'
...
The two usually got breakfast at a shop on the way to school.
Back when Shen Yuan was in elementary school, his parents would get up early to make him a "lovingly prepared breakfast" or what have you.
But now, they were getting a little older.
In the morning, it wasn't just Shen Yuan who couldn't get up for school; his parents couldn't get up for work either.
Since they didn't need to get up to take their kid to school anyway, it was better to just give him some money and let him buy his own breakfast.
It solved the problem of what the kid wanted to eat and also let them sleep in a little longer.
As for whether eating out would cause any problems...
If they really started worrying about that, there would be far too many things to worry about.
Li Zhi got a rice ball, and Shen Yuan ordered a deluxe egg pancake.
Since he'd woken up so early, he had to reward himself.
Shen Yuan also specifically bought Li Zhi a cup of soy milk.
"Drink more soy milk. It'll help you grow, sis."
Li Zhi blinked.
'I don't know why he's saying that, but I'll look it up later.'
'If Shen Yuan is just spouting nonsense, I'm going to clock him one right in the face.'
Walking down the street, Li Zhi nibbled on her rice ball. Recalling her confusion from yesterday, she asked Shen Yuan,
"Why did you suddenly decide you wanted to go to school with me?"
Shen Yuan didn't hesitate for a second. "I'm in the honors class now, aren't I? Time to turn over a new leaf, become a new man, and study hard!"
"And I'm Qin Shi Huang," Li Zhi replied, just as quickly.
"Fine," Shen Yuan said awkwardly. "The truth is, I want to pursue you, to give Gengzi and Naonao a complete home."
"Have you stabilized your 620 score?"
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm talking about love here, why are you bringing up studying?!"
After Shen Yuan finished, he saw Li Zhi still had that same scornful look on her face.
"Isn't that what that Tong girl did?"
A single sentence, and Shen Yuan was instantly KO'd.
Shen Yuan had thought his mission would be complete the moment he stepped through the school gates, but that wasn't the case.
The mission was written crystal clear.
"Walk around your high school alma mater with Li Zhi."
'In other words, we still have to walk around.'
'I'll deal with it later.'