On Wednesday, the monthly exam score sheets were printed out. For the first time ever, Zhuang Zi'ang lost his top spot. Not only that, but he received zero points for all subjects, ranking st in the entire grade. Zhang Zhiyuan had to argue with the Dean of Students at length just to avoid the punishment of writing a self-reflection essay.

  When the results were announced, the whole css was in disbelief.

  "What happened? Did Zhuang Zi'ang not take the exam?"

  "He's the backbone of our css. This will surely drag down our average score."

  "Something fishy is going on. Something must have happened to Zhuang Zi'ang."

  ...

  Rumors and gossip spread throughout the css. The one most upset for Zhuang Zi'ang was, of course, his good buddy Li Huangxuan.

  "No way, this is impossible. They must have missed recording your score. I'll go talk to Lao Zhang and get to the bottom of this."

  Zhuang Zi'ang quickly stopped him. "Don't bother, it was my own fault."

  "What fault?" Li Huangxuan was utterly confused. "Did you hand in a bnk paper?"

  Zhuang Zi'ang just smiled without saying a word.

  The next period was Chinese. The css representative, along with two other students, began distributing the exam papers. Li Huangxuan's paper came first. He scored 111.

  He looked dejected. "Am I destined to be a bachelor forever?"

  Zhuang Zi'ang gnced at his incorrect answers and said, heartbroken, "You can't even recite 'Jin Se' correctly?" (Note: "Jin Se" is a famous poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin, often studied in Chinese schools.)

  Li Huangxuan blushed and retorted, "What right do you have to criticize me, you bnk-paper-submitter?"

  Just as he finished speaking, a paper floated over. The css representative said to Zhuang Zi'ang, "Mr. Zhang specifically said this paper is yours. I have to say, your pen name is really girly."

  Li Huangxuan, Lin Mushi, and others who heard this were all confused.

  Pen name? Who uses a pen name for an exam?

  They all leaned over and saw that Zhuang Zi'ang's paper had a score of 137. For Chinese, this score was incredibly high.

  "Then how did you get a zero?" Lin Mushi asked, astonished. Only when she saw the name inside the sealed section, clearly written as "Su Yudiel," did a wave of jealousy wash over her.

  How deeply infatuated must he be to write another girl's name during an exam?

  "Damn!" Li Huangxuan spped Zhuang Zi'ang on the back. I know you've been seeing that Little Butterfly tely, but do you have to rub it in like this? What about my feelings, scoring 111 and being a single guy?

  Case closed. No wonder Zhuang Zi'ang got a zero.

  The cssroom buzzed with discussions.

  "Who is that Su Yudiel?"

  "The pretty girl who came looking for Zhuang Zi'ang outside the cssroom st time."

  "Dating really affects academic performance. He went straight from first to st pce."

  "If I had such a beautiful girlfriend, let alone a mere exam, I'd even pluck the stars from the sky for her."

  ...

  In the following periods, the papers for other subjects were gradually distributed. Zhuang Zi'ang's scores were all ridiculously high, leaving everyone speechless. But the name "Su Yudiel" at the top of each paper was an eyesore, making them grit their teeth in frustration.

  You're really showing off your retionship.

  Invalidating his score was too light a punishment for someone like him. He should be made to write a thirty-thousand-word self-reflection essay.

  During the break, a student shouted, "Zhuang Zi'ang, someone's looking for you outside."

  Zhuang Zi'ang abruptly stood up and rushed out of the cssroom, only to see the meticulous Deng Haijun. The disappointment in his eyes was all too obvious.

  Deng Haijun was holding Css 15's score sheet and handed it to Zhuang Zi'ang. His css ranking and grade ranking were both clearly marked as "1."

  "Haijun, congratutions, you finally got what you wanted," Zhuang Zi'ang said with a smile.

  "I checked the overall grade ranking on the teacher's computer. If you were second or third, I might have been happy. But you're ranked fucking one thousand and seventy-fifth," Deng Haijun said indignantly.

  "I told you on the first day of the exam that I forgot to write my name," Zhuang Zi'ang said lightheartedly.

  "You're a deserter; that's not manly."

  Winning first pce this way brought Deng Haijun no joy at all. He had to see Zhuang Zi'ang's papers, or he wouldn't be able to sleep.

  Zhuang Zi'ang, unable to shake him off, had no choice but to return to the cssroom and get his papers for all subjects.

  Deng Haijun added up the total score and let out a mournful wail, "Argh—"

  "What are you screaming about?" Zhuang Zi'ang asked, annoyed.

  "Just two points! I was this close to beating you fair and square," Deng Haijun said, filled with regret.

  Zhuang Zi'ang burst out ughing, finding this guy rather endearing. Everyone else who saw his papers focused on the name "Su Yudiel." Only he was seriously calcuting the total score.

  The mind of a top student was truly different.

  "By the way, are you participating in the physics competition next month?" Deng Haijun asked.

  "No, I might not have time," Zhuang Zi'ang replied without hesitation. He meant it literally when he said he might not have time.

  Deng Haijun looked disappointed and frustrated, secretly vowing to stay away from girls. They were too detrimental to one's fighting spirit. Zhuang Zi'ang was a living example.

  How could girls possibly be more interesting than physics problems?

  After taking a photo of Css 15's score sheet as proof, Zhuang Zi'ang shooed Deng Haijun away and returned to his seat to take a nap.

  "Zhuang Zi'ang, someone's looking for you outside," another voice called out.

  "This guy, will it ever end?" Zhuang Zi'ang muttered as he got up and walked out of the cssroom.

  In the hallway, many students were chasing each other and pying around. Amidst the rapidly moving figures stood a quiet silhouette.

  It was a very beautiful girl, with an oval face, almond-shaped eyes, and an asymmetrical braid resting on her left shoulder. She was wearing a pure white shirt paired with a navy blue pleated skirt that reached her calves, and spotless white canvas shoes.

  The sunlight shone on her, making her seem like a ray of light herself. It was just like their first meeting under the ginkgo tree, a gnce that felt like ten thousand years.

  The difference was that she no longer had the peach blossom tucked behind her ear. Her figure was thinner, and her face was somewhat pale.

  "Little Butterfly..." Zhuang Zi'ang called out softly, his mind going completely bnk.

  "Big Dummy!" Su Yudiel said, a smile on her face but a slight tremor in her voice.

  Zhuang Zi'ang held his breath, his heart racing, and slowly approached her step by step. He carefully reached out his hand, afraid that the girl before him was a mere illusion, a fragile bubble that would burst at the slightest touch.

  Only when his fingertips touched her soft cheek did he feel a sense of reality. The warmth of her skin was clearly transmitted to his fingertips.

  Tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision.

  "Little Butterfly, where did you go? I really missed you."

  "Big Dummy, I'm back. Why are you crying? You said you'd be happy every day."

  Little Butterfly was affected by Zhuang Zi'ang's emotions, and her eyes also filled with tears, like two clear pools of water. Her delicate and pitiful expression made one's heart ache.

  If they weren't outside the cssroom, surrounded by other students, Zhuang Zi'ang would have undoubtedly pulled her into his embrace without hesitation. But at this moment, they could only gaze deeply at each other, speechless and choked with emotion.

  Little Butterfly had disappeared for a whole week. During this time, Zhuang Zi'ang deeply understood the meaning of the ancient saying: "One day apart feels like three autumns have passed."

  Her reappearance, with her thinner frame and paler complexion, made Zhuang Zi'ang's heart ache even more.

  What did you go through this past week?