Exam season had never looked so terrifying.
Lin Tianxin sat with her head buried in her notebook, eyes wide, brain empty.
"I don't get this!" she groaned, pulling at her cheeks. "Why is math so mean to me?!"
Zhou Rui calmly flipped through her notes. "You should've paid attention in class."
Tianxin threw herself on the table dramatically. "I was paying attention—to Jiasheng drawing on his desk!"
Junxi smirked, tossing a pen in the air. "You all bunked half the classes. What did you expect?"
Jiasheng leaned back on his chair with a lazy grin. "You're just jealous I can fail without trying."
The tension of the upcoming exams was real—but the Huali Town squad had never taken studying seriously. Except maybe Zhou Rui, who had always been the balanced one.
[Exam Results Day]
The classroom felt like a war zone.
Zhou Rui: Passed. As expected.
Junxi: Just passed. "I told you," he whispered proudly. "Brains over books."
Tianxin: Failed. "WHAAAT!" she screamed. "I studied for two days!"
Jiasheng: Also failed. "Cool. I didn't even open my textbook," he said casually.
Tianxin kicked his shin. "YOU should've at least failed with panic, not with swag!"
The teacher sighed. "You two will need to reappear for the exams during the vacation."
"VACATION?!" Tianxin cried. "But I planned to binge-watch dramas and eat watermelon!"
Jiasheng leaned in, grinning, "Guess you'll binge on textbooks instead."
[Later, outside school]
As they walked home together, Tianxin and Jiasheng dragged their feet.
"We're losers," she muttered.
"Nah," Jiasheng replied. "We're legends. Who else can fail and still look this cool?"
Tianxin giggled. "Fine. Let's study together this time."
Jiasheng looked at her. "You'll just distract me with doodles."
"You'll distract me with your lazy attitude!"
They both laughed, already planning snacks instead of study.
Meanwhile, Zhou Rui and Junxi walked ahead. Rui looked at Junxi. "Why don't you study more seriously?"
Junxi grinned, hands behind his head. "If I study too hard, I won't be me."
[That night]
Tianxin's notebook had more drawings of angry teachers than math formulas.
Jiasheng sent her a message: "Failed together, pass together?"
She replied: "More like fail again together"
To be continued...