As soon as class was over, a boy approached Tang Yu with a nosy look and asked, "Did you see that bottle of goat's milk?"
Tang Yu subconsciously looked down at her desk drawer and nodded in confusion.
"Wow, how did you get to know such an ace student? She's even so good to you. Oh, by the way, she says she's going to have lunch with you."
Tang Yu awkwardly smiled when she heard the boy's questions. Then, she said, "We're just normal friends."
"Y-Y-You!" The boy suddenly pointed at Tang Yu in shock, his tongue getting tangled from his excitement.
"W-What's wrong?" Tang Yu touched her face in confusion.
"You just smiled! You actually smiled!"
The boy's loud voice instantly attracted the attention of many people. Among them was Du Yuqing, and she looked at Tang Yu's rosy cheeks with a cold expression.
This was the first time Tang Yu was getting stared at by so many people, so she couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. Then, she held up her textbook to cover her face while saying to the boy, "Don't speak so loudly."
Upon seeing Tang Yu's reaction, the surrounding people burst into laughter, though not in a bad way. Someone even commented on Tang Yu's appearance, saying, "How cute."
Tang Yu grew even more embarrassed because of this situation. Blushing, she lay down on the table and covered her head with the textbook.
…
When the recess bell rang, students frantically dashed out of their classrooms, some charging for the school cafeteria while others ran out of campus.
Tang Yu originally planned to settle for a bowl of noodles outside school for lunch. However, she hesitated when she recalled Yin Zhao-an's persistent personality, Yin Zhao-an had most likely brought two lunchboxes to school today.
Speak of the devil, and here she comes. Before Tang Yu could decide whether to let Yin Zhao-an's second lunchbox go to waste, Yin Zhao-an appeared by the classroom's window holding two lunchboxes in hand. Yin Zhao-an currently had quite a miserable appearance, and there was even a drop of sweat rolling down her forehead.
It was obvious Yin Zhao-an had run here, most likely afraid Tang Yu would slip away. So, Yin Zhao-an couldn't help but sigh in relief when she saw Tang Yu sitting obediently in the classroom.
After taking a few deep breaths to soothe her breathing, Yin Zhao-an walked up to the empty seat in front of Tang Yu, turned the chair around, and sat down. Then, she placed the two lunchboxes on Tang Yu's desk.
"Tang-Tang, why did you leave by yourself this morning?" Yin Zhao-an asked. She felt a little guilty when she asked this question, though why exactly she felt guilty was unbeknownst even to herself.
"I didn't sleep well last night and got up early, so I left first," Tang Yu answered truthfully.
"...Oh." Yin Zhao-an was relieved to hear Tang Yu's answer. Nothing mattered so long as it wasn't because her Tang-Tang didn't want to walk with her anymore.
For some inexplicable reason, Yin Zhao-an kept getting the feeling that the atmosphere between her and her tang-Tang was exceptionally delicate today. Although she had tried her best to recall if she had done something wrong, her memories sincerely answered her with a "no."
While Yin Zhao-an was tormented by her thoughts, Tang Yu ate her meal with an open mind. Forgive and forget, as the saying went.
Tang Yu no longer wished to become a moth that flew to a flame. Since she knew loving Yin Zhao-an would lead to a dead end, both figuratively and literally, why bother flirting with death?
…
After the meal, Yin Zhao-an subconsciously reached for Tang Yu's empty lunchbox to help her wash it, only to meet with rejection from Tang Yu.
"I'll do it."
This was the first time Yin Zhao-an had faced such a cold rejection from Tang Yu. Holding her empty lunchbox in a daze, Yin Zhao-an started another round of self-reflection.
So, I must have done something wrong, right?!
…
The two classes after recess belonged to the same female teacher from this morning.
Tang Yu instinctively shuddered when she saw the female teacher. Then, she gnashed her teeth when she remembered the thick Olympic mathematics exercise book that was densely packed with questions.
It was commonly accepted that one's learning efficiency would be better in the morning than in the afternoon, so the teacher did not try to teach new knowledge. Instead, she wrote a few sample problems on the topics they had already covered.
While Tang Yu was looking at the teacher, the other party's gaze coincidentally swept in her direction. Then, the teacher gave her a warm smile when their gazes met.
However, despite the female teacher's warm smile, Tang Yu felt a chill crawling down her back, causing her to shudder.
After explaining the sample problems, the teacher began distributing the graded papers from the most recent test. The teacher followed the standard way of distributing test papers, starting with those who scored just above the passing grade, followed by those who scored just below excellent, then continuing to those who scored below the passing grade.
"Alright, I will now distribute the papers of those who scored excellent and above," the teacher said before reciting one name after another.
As expected, the reactions of those who had their names called from this point forward were joyful. Some got so excited that they jumped up from their seats with flushed faces.
When Tang Yu failed to hear her name, even when only two sets of test papers were left in the teacher's hands, she knew her test paper was being saved for the grand finale.
"Two students got perfect scores this time. Those who have questions regarding the test can find these two students for help, but be sure not to just blindly copy their answers; you must also know how to reach the correct answers," the teacher reminded. Then, she looked down and recited, "Du Yuqing, 100 marks."
Du Yuqing got up from her seat and put on a fake but sweet smile.
"Thank you, teacher~," Du Yuqing said, maintaining her smile as she accepted her paper.
The teacher faintly smiled in response before proceeding to recite the next name:
"Tang Yu."
"Wow—"
The class went into an uproar when they heard Tang Yu's name. None of them thought the person with the least presence in the class would be a top student.
While listening to the conversations around her, Tang Yu tried her best to keep herself from revealing a wry smile. After she politely accepted her test paper with both hands and thanked the teacher, she heard the teacher softly whispering to her, "Good luck~"
When Tang Yu returned to her seat, she couldn't help but look at all the red ticks on her test paper with mixed feelings, regret slowly filling her heart.
Because of her carelessness, she had forgotten to manipulate her score…