Summer in Your Name - 37

The second monthly exam came crashing in during a whirlwind of chaos, catching everyone off guard.

After finishing the Chinese exam, Sheng Xia was utterly deflated.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that her writing hadn’t gone well. But where exactly it went wrong, she couldn’t quite pinpoint.

During lunch, she was listless, dragging herself back to the Afternoon Card's lounge with a head full of worries, only to find someone already there.

Her roommates were all second-year girls who weren’t usually around on weekends. Running into each other now, both sides froze for a moment.

By some twist of fate, the two of them were the girls who’d once asked her for Zhang Shu’s QQ account.

She’d told them she didn’t have it.

And now, it was Zhang Shu who’d walked her to the door of the lounge.

The two juniors exchanged glances.

Zhang Shu gave his usual instructions: “If you need anything, call Hou Junqi. Wait for me to pick you up after the nap.”

Hou Junqi was also at the Afternoon Care facility, in the room next door. The boys’ beds were already full, so Zhang Shu stayed at home.

Since Sheng Xia still couldn’t manage stairs on her own, he’d come from home after the lunch break to pick her up and carry her downstairs.

As for Hou Junqi, he claimed he had a back injury and couldn’t carry her.

At first, she’d felt awkward about it, but Zhang Shu just gave a faint smile: “I’ve already hugged you…”

Those words were too much. Sheng Xia would then flung herself onto his back, wrapping her arms around to cover his mouth.

Zhang Shu’s motion to stand paused for a second, and Sheng Xia’s ears suddenly burned red.

She’d only meant to shut him up, her hands moved faster than her brain, not realizing that covering his mouth might feel even more intimate…

His lips were soft against her palm, as they parted slightly, a jolt like electricity shot through her hand. She pulled it away instantly.

And him…

He hooked his arms under her knees and stood, carefully avoiding her thighs.

The result of such a ‘gentlemanly’ grip was that she had to cling tightly to his neck to stay steady.

From behind, she could clearly see his cheeks puff out—he was laughing, laughing at how tightly she was holding on.

Bad! 

Lost in thought, she was startled when one of the girls spoke up.

“Senior, are you Zhang Shu’s girlfriend?”

Sheng Xia jolted, shaking her head quickly. “No, I’m not.”

The two girls glanced at each other again.

“Don’t be shy! We saw him carrying you just now. Super cool!”

Sheng Xia’s grip on her crutches tightened, and she stammered, “It’s really not like that, it’s because…”

She was about to say it was because he was the one who injured her. But the words caught in her throat, it didn’t feel quite right to say that.

The girls, thinking she was just shy, giggled and returned back onto their beds.

Ugh…

The conversation fizzled out there. They weren’t close, with the lunch break being short, everyone lay down, and the room fell silent.

Girlfriend.

Yeah, only that kind of relationship would justify… that kind of physical contact, right?

She wasn’t clueless.

But how had things become so natural between them?

They clearly weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend!

A thought popped into her head: if it had been someone else who injured her—like Hou Junqi, Yang Linyu, or Lu Youze, could she accept them holding her, carrying her?

No.

The answer was firm, without a shred of hesitation.

The entire lunch break was a wash, Sheng Xia didn’t sleep a wink.

The math exam in the afternoon was a blur. Surprisingly, her speed was decent; she finished the first big question and managed to write an equation for the second.

The next morning, a drizzly autumn rain brought a sharp drop in temperature, the cold air swiftly overtaking this city known for its endless summers. The English listening test played alongside the sound of rain in the senior-year building.

The vibrant summer came to an end, the countdown board flipped another page. 

Everyone switched to autumn uniforms, bundled up tightly. Sheng Xia could only wear loose, oversized wide-leg pants.

The rain made it harder to maneuver on crutches. The corridor was cluttered with umbrellas, Hou Junqi cleared a path ahead, while Zhang Shu stayed close, steadying her crutches over puddles. 

Passing Class 6 students would also lend a hand.

Naturally, this drew plenty of stares. Sheng Xia was starting to get used to it, though even if she wasn’t, what could she do? She’d still need to hobble around for nearly two months.

“Look at her, like some princess. Acting like she’s completely cripple,” Zhou Xuanxuan muttered to Chen Mengyao, trailing a few dozen meters behind.

Zhou Xuanxuan had been having a rough time in class and an even worse time in the dorms. No one scolded or ignored her outright, but the distance was palpable, conversations about food or plans subtly excluded her.

It had worn away what little guilt she felt. Seeing Sheng Xia, like a moon surrounded by stars, sparked anger in her eyes.

She couldn’t wrap her head around it. Was it really that serious?

Chen Mengyao stayed silent.

Zhou Xuanxuan, desperate for an ally, fumed, “Zhang Shu brings her breakfast every day, fills her water bottle between classes, just short of following her to the bathroom! It’s like he’s making me out to be the villain who did nothing! But I, I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“Then go apologize to her,” Chen Mengyao said.

Zhou Xuanxuan couldn’t believe her ears. “Yaoyao, what did you say?”

Chen Mengyao stopped, her voice low. “Then shut up. I’m annoyed.”

Zhou Xuanxuan: …?

The monthly exam results came out that same night, some celebrated, others despaired.

“Ha, didn’t you say you bombed? This score, are you messing with me?”

“You’re one to talk! You said you didn’t even touch the big questions!”

“I did skip them!”

“Skipped the big questions and still got 120? Versailles¹ much?”

(¹:This term, derived from internet slang, fán’ěrsài, refers to humblebragging or subtly showing off while pretending to complain.)

“My comprehensive sciences were awful, though.”

“Awful? Don’t lie, I saw your physics score. That’s what you call awful?”

“Ugh, I was so careless on that one. I had it down to the last step…”

The room buzzed with chatter about scores. Everyone claimed they’d flunked, only to reveal impressive results.

Sheng Xia stared at her math paper: 89.

How could this happen? She'd solved the problems more smoothly, her speed and intuition sharper compared to before.

How could it be… this low?

She couldn’t even calm down enough to figure out which mistakes were careless and which were genuine gaps in understanding.

During the exam, everything had felt so doable.

Despite her leg injury, she’d been putting in extra study hours, and her focus in class had noticeably improved. With the first round of review underway, she’d even started multitasking, listening to lectures while working on problems.

Her leg ached from time to time, but the pain kept her alert, boosting her concentration by more than a little.

So why this result?

She’d heard her overall ranking was even lower than Hou Junqi’s.

And Hou Junqi, mind you, slept through two out of every three classes.

Back at No. 2 High School, she consistently scored around 100, never dipping below passing, even on her worst days.

Sheng Xia felt like she was sinking into a swamp, unable to accept reality calmly yet too paralyzed to struggle free.

She sat motionless, her usual calm demeanor unchanged, but it stood in stark contrast to the noisy crowd around her.

Those who complain loudly often have little to worry about; those truly devastated stay silent.

A chill ran down her spine, but she felt nothing.

Wang Wei stood at the podium and asked in a low voice, “Everyone got their test back, right?”

“Here he comes, hijacking our evening study session,” Xin Xiaohe muttered under her breath.

Sure enough, Wang Wei dragged a stool to the podium, sat down, and pretended he’d brought it in to escape the cold, avoiding the administrative teachers’ checks.

“Let’s go over the chemistry paper…”

Sheng Xia temporarily pushed aside the blow of her math score, though her chemistry performance was equally mediocre.

As she listened, her mind wandered—

Wang Lianhua would probably bring up private tutoring again. Sheng Xia had never dared admit it, but she struggled to adjust to new teachers. Her mild social anxiety meant the first half-month with a new teacher was barely productive. Things would be slightly better if it were teachers from her own class, but Affiliated High School teachers never took on outside tutoring.

At this point, private tutoring would completely disrupt her study plan.

She couldn’t say that out loud, of course.

In Wang Lianhua’s eyes, her study plan clearly wasn’t doing much for her grades, so what was the point of keeping it?

When you’re down, it feels like the whole world is against you.

Take the highlighter in Sheng Xia’s hand.

Whether it was her sweaty palms or the unusually tight cap, she couldn’t get it open.

She had plenty of other pens, she could just grab another.

But Sheng Xia was stubborn, channeling her frustration. She kept tugging at it under the desk, teeth clenched, face flushed, determined to win.

She had to open it!

A sigh came from her right, then a slender hand reached over, snatching the highlighter.

Sheng Xia turned. The boy effortlessly popped the cap off and handed it back. “Are you fighting with it or with yourself…?”

Zhang Shu was sitting in the single row by the window, across the aisle. His voice was low, just loud enough for those nearby.

Xin Xiaohe and Hou Junqi glanced over, puzzled, unsure what was going on.

Sheng Xia lowered her eyes and mumbled, “Thanks.”

She took the highlighter back but had already forgotten what she’d meant to mark.

Even her deskmate, Xin Xiaohe, hadn’t noticed her struggle, how had he?

---

The next day at lunch, Sheng Xia’s table was, as usual, piled high with food: bone porridge, steamed fish, egg-tofu-seaweed stew…

This was Zhang Sujin’s special spread for her. Over time, the other kids at the Afternoon Care knew the boss lady was treating this girl like her own daughter.

Soon, everyone also learned this girl was Sheng Xia, the senior-year goddess from Class 6, who’d gone famous on the school’s confession wall during the sports festival. The one whose leg Zhang Shu had broken…

What started as an accident had turned into a school legend.

Sitting beside her was none other than the academic star of senior year, Zhang Shu.

Next to them was a tall, stylishly dressed ‘big guy’ everyone recognized: Hou Junqi, former city youth team legend.

The trio was too eye-catching to ignore.

Sheng Xia ate quietly, saying nothing.

She didn’t seem out of sorts, just ate painfully slowly, her chopsticks lingering over the fish before finally reaching her mouth.

Hou Junqi glanced at Zhang Shu, mouthing: What’s up with her?

Zhang Shu tilted his head slightly and asked, “Not happy?”

Hou Junqi: …That blunt?

“Hm?” Sheng Xia looked up, noticing both boys had stopped eating to watch her.

She’d felt their care lately and appreciated it. Honestly, she was just tired of the ‘special’ meals. She craved something spicy, fried, or more flavorful.

“No, I’m just not that hungry,” she said, setting down her chopsticks. “I’ll head back for a nap. Take your time eating.”

As she stood, Zhang Shu followed to get up too, but she stopped him. “No need to walk me. I’m not climbing stairs.”

Hou Junqi watched her limp away, “Her ranking’s lower than mine this time. How’s that possible?”

Zhang Shu’s expression turned serious. “Her overall ranking actually went up. It’s lower than yours because your English shot up like a rocket. She’s too focused on math.”

Hou Junqi: “So what do we do?”

Zhang Shu gave him a look. “You’re awfully concerned.”

Jealous over this, seriously? Hou Junqi huffed, “She looks so pitiful.”

Zhang Shu: “She doesn’t need your pity. Her brain’s sharper than yours.”

Hou Junqi rolled his eyes. “If you want to praise her, just praise her. Why drag me into it? Fine, it's none of my business anyway. She’s barely glanced at you, bet you said or did something dumb again. Whoever provokes her, coax her.”

Zhang Shu chuckled. It hadn’t been that long, and he was already siding against me? Is Sheng Xia his new buddy now?

Zhang Shu: "No matter who provokes her, aren't I always the one who coaxes her?"

Hou Junqi: …Enough, I’m full.

---

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