"Do you know a person named 'Li Nan'? She's probably in the same class as your brother," Aunt Jiang said, catching Zhu Shuang as he was about to sneak back to his room to play with his phone.
"Li Nan? Of course, I know her!"
"Is she famous at your school? Is she a boy or a girl?"
"A girl. She's quite famous. Brother Nan, right? Who in the school doesn't know Brother Nan? She used to be the head of the sports department!" Zhu Shuang thought for a moment. "Right, she's now my brother's deskmate."
"Why would you give a girl such a nickname!" Aunt Jiang didn't dwell on the matter. "A deskmate, huh? Is she good-looking?"
"Very pretty, and tall too! Mom, why are you asking this?"
"How is she getting along with your brother?"
"It should be okay, I guess. I only know they are deskmates. Brother Nan is usually easy to get along with, and she can chat with anyone..." As Zhu Shuang spoke, he suddenly frowned and glanced at Aunt Jiang. "Mom, do you suspect Brother Nan is bullying him?"
"It's good she's easy to get along with..." Aunt Jiang nodded to herself.
"Why on earth are you asking this! Where did you hear about Brother Nan?" Zhu Shuang was very curious but also worried that his suspicions might come true. What if they did? He was just a pretty boy and wouldn't dare to trouble Brother Nan.
"I suspect..."
「****************」
May 6, Monday, morning.
Huai Xu followed Zhou Li downstairs, talking as they walked. "People nowadays just love feeding cats, don't they? Whether the cats are theirs or not, they feed them. They're feeding them everywhere."
Zhou Li did not respond.
As they leisurely walked to the school, Zhou Li took out the math problems he had transcribed the day before and began working on them. Time flew by quickly in this process.
Li Tongzhuo still arrived very late, her face a bit pale with slight bags under her eyes.
Zhou Li saw the small plastic bag in her hand, which contained two paper bags. Looking up at her, he was surprised to see his deskmate also had a cowlick today.
"Here, guokui, as a thank-you gift!" Classmate Li Nan handed one of the guokui to Zhou Li, keeping the other for herself.
"Thank you," Zhou Li said, taking the guokui.
"Thanks for what? I should be the one thanking you!"
"Suit yourself. Did you stay up late last night?"
"Until one o'clock."
"Must have been tough."
"Don't mention it; it brings tears to my eyes. Eat it while it's hot. It won't be warm anymore once it cools down," classmate Li Nan said, taking the first bite of her guokui.
"Um? Oh, okay."
So Zhou Li also took the guokui and bit into it.
The guokui was sold by classmate Li Nan's family. Compared to their noodles, it was very cheap. A pork guokui was only three and a half yuan. The meat mainly served as flavoring. Thinking you could find a lot of meat in it would be a bit delusional. As for the taste, it was quite polarizing. Zhou Li and Old Zhou really enjoyed her family's guokui, while Aunt Jiang and Xiao Zhu didn't like it, finding it easy to choke on.
At that moment, Li Nan pulled out an English notebook from her bag, tossed it in front of him, and said, "I stayed up all night writing this. Take a look, and I'll treat you to a drink."
"A drink isn't necessary."
"Why be so polite? I'm thirsty too. This guokui is making me a bit queasy; I'll get a drink for you as well!"
"Alright, thank you."
"Nothing to thank me for!"
Li Nan glanced at her phone for the time. There was one minute left before the bell. She thought for a moment, then said, "I'll go buy it now!"
"Class is about to..."
Zhou Li didn't finish his sentence. He realized that for Brother Nan, the bell didn't hold much sway; in fact, many people had stopped paying attention to the class bells by now.
So he looked down at Brother Nan's composition.
The handwriting was atrocious.
The composition was even worse. Some parts were clearly Google-translated. A normal senior high school student should have mastered 'using translation software without leaving traces,' but Brother Nan seemed to lack this skill.
Headache!
Zhou Li felt that if he did it himself, even using translation software all the way, it would still be ten times better than hers.
"Sigh."
He sighed but still pulled out a pen with one hand, symbolically correcting her work as he continued eating the guokui.
He was still very kind-hearted.
The school only had one convenience store, which had a single small window, selling mostly stationery and bread and drinks.
Li Nan took out five yuan, walked up to the convenience store window, and said to the uncle inside, "Get me a bottle of probiotic drink, the kind you can win a prize with."
The uncle silently took out two bottles and handed one to her, then looked up at her.
"Here," Li Nan said, returning the bottle cap to the uncle.
So, the uncle handed her the other bottle while sizing up her actions, considering whether he should get a third bottle.
RING RING.
The bell rang.
Li Nan had no intention of opening the second bottle. She turned and strode towards the classroom building, tilting her head back to take a gulp on the way.
By the time she returned to the classroom, she had already drunk half of her bottle.
Seeing many corrections on her English composition, Li Nan smiled and handed Zhou Li the probiotic drink. "Such high efficiency!"
"The mistakes you made were too obvious."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"You've won a prize again."
"Yep."
"My bottle won a prize too," Zhou Li said, staring at the cap in his hand, feeling the world was truly miraculous.
"Mm-hmm," Li Nan calmly nodded and told him, "Don't go redeem it. If you win again, and this cycle continues, my luck will run out soon, and the college entrance exam is coming up. I need to save my luck for the exam. If I hadn't brought only five yuan today, I wouldn't be doing this."
After finishing, she still seemed uneasy and stretched out her hand to Zhou Li, her palm clean and fair. "Give me the cap; I'll destroy it."
Zhou Li handed the cap to her.
Suddenly, he saw a figure pass by in the corridor.
Hmm?
Is that Zhu Shuang?
Zhou Li was utterly confused. The bell that had just rung was specifically for the seniors, and Zhu Shuang should only just be leaving home around now.
After a while, Zhu Shuang's figure drifted back in the opposite direction.
This time, Zhu Shuang realized he had been spotted—and by both Li Nan and Zhou Li. His figure froze by the window. After a few seconds, he awkwardly squeezed out a smile and waved to Zhou Li and Li Nan. A greeting, perhaps? Then he silently drifted away...
Li Nan was a bit baffled, her mouth full of guokui, lips glossy with oil. "Isn't he a sophomore? What's he doing wandering over here?"
According to Brother Nan's experience, such wandering usually meant someone was sizing up a target. There'd have to be a showdown after school!
The target clearly couldn't be her. So...
Brother Nan glanced at Zhou Li. "Did you offend someone?"
Zhou Li stuffed the last piece of guokui into his mouth. "That's my brother."
"You have a brother!!"
"Mm-hmm."
"Your brother is quite famous in the sophomore year, huh? The head of the publicity department, thrives on his good looks!" Li Nan glanced at Zhou Li. She was about to say, 'Quite different from you,' but thought better of it and kept silent.
"He's outstanding."
"You're not... well, you're not ugly either!"
Li Nan almost choked. She hastily grabbed the probiotic drink and gulped down the remaining third.
Just enough to finish in one gulp!
Zhou Li also took a small sip.
Suddenly, Huai Xu's voice came from nearby, "Why does that person over there keep looking at you?"
Zhou Li turned his head and immediately pursed his lips.
Meanwhile, Li Nan stuffed the rest of the guokui into her mouth, filling her cheeks until they bulged. She reached into her shoulder bag, rummaged around, pulled out a big pack of tissues, hastily tore off two sheets, and passed them to Zhou Li.
"Wipe your mouth," she mumbled.
"Thanks."
Wu Yuanliang silently withdrew his gaze.
Huai Xu got a bit excited from behind. "Is he trying to mess with you? Should you strike first? I think you should consider asking for my help to take him down directly!"
Zhou Li wiped his mouth clean and tossed the balled-up paper into the trash can.
Oh right, sitting here had another advantage: it made throwing out trash convenient, though it was rather uncomfortable in the summer.