When Gu Fei arrived in the classroom, it wasn’t time for evening self-study yet. There were only a handful of people sitting in their seats and poring over books.
Jiang Cheng was buried behind a giant pile of study materials taller than his head. He didn’t even notice when Gu Fei walked up to the desk.
Gu Fei opened the bag of meat pies and placed it on his side of the desk. A few seconds later, the furiously scribbling pen paused. Jiang Cheng whipped his head around.
“Got a pretty good nose there,” Gu Fei chuckled.
“Shit.” Jiang Cheng swallowed and grabbed a meat pie. “I was so hungry my palms were getting cold.”
Gu Fei sat down. “The crust isn’t soggy?”
“Nope, it’s delicious.” Jiang Cheng inhaled half the meat pie in two breaths. “Did you print out all the questions?”
“Got them.” Gu Fei waved the thick file folder in his hand. “Which one do you want to do first?”
“I’ll do it in the standard order,” Jiang Cheng said as he munched. “What’s in the thermos?”
“Mutton soup.”
Jiang Cheng’s eyes positively sparkled. “Oh, quick, gimme some.”
Gu Fei poured it out into the thermos lid for him. Jiang Cheng’s hands were practically trembling as he accepted the cup.
“Are you that starving?” said Gu Fei, amused.
“The meat pies and soup from Wang Xu’s place are the most flavorful delicacies in the world,” said Jiang Cheng.
At this, Yi Jing, who had been sitting with her head down in the front row memorizing passages, turned to glance back at them. When Gu Fei met her eyes, she smiled.
“Huh?” Jiang Cheng noticed Yi Jing looking over. “Did Wang Jiuri tell her?!” he muttered as he chipped away at the meat pies. “That spineless bastard.”
“I don’t think so. She probably just caught a whiff of the food.” Gu Fei picked up the bag of meat pies and waved it at Yi Jing, who shook her head, laughing, then went back to studying. “Wang Xu is pretty reliable when it comes to things like this. If this were wartime, he’d be one of those POWs who takes a whole week of beatings to give anything up.”
“People like him who look like they don’t have any useful information would be dead within a week,” Jiang Cheng remarked with a sigh. “Is he still like that? All heartbroken?”
“Mm-hm.” Gu Fei picked up a meat pie and ate it slowly. “I don’t even know how to talk to him now.”
“He should take some lessons from Pan Zhi,” Jiang Cheng said, glancing in Yi Jing’s direction. “Look at our Master Pan: Year after year, he dumps girls and gets dumped by them like it’s as normal as eating and drinking. You wouldn’t even know whether he’s dating or broken up unless he tells you, the fuckboy scumbag.”
Gu Fei laughed. “Someone will come along to put him in his place sooner or later.”
“I’m waiting for that day,” said Jiang Cheng. “If ever he gets down in the dumps from getting dumped, I’ll be on the sidelines laughing for a hundred and eighty days straight.”
Gu Fei giggled as he ate.
✦ ✦ ✦
Jiang Cheng used his evening hours to take the first practice exams from his old school. He returned one period earlier from evening self-study every day, and Gu Fei would supervise him.
“We are handing out the papers now. Please remain quiet, everyone, and refrain from talking to one another,” Gu Fei said as he pulled out one final set of papers from the file folder—the English exam. “You have a hundred and twenty minutes to complete the test. Don’t be nervous. Read the questions carefully, and organize your time well…”
He placed the papers in front of Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng wrote down his name, then started quickly leafing through the pages. Gu Fei sat down beside him and started the timer on his phone.
This was the last of the exams from Jiang Cheng’s old school. He had already scanned and sent the completed ones back to Pan Zhi, who would print them out and ask his teachers to grade them for him.
Sometimes Gu Fei could feel the pressure Jiang Cheng carried with him. Simply completing a set of practice exams from his old school involved so many people. Jiang Cheng’s old homeroom teacher, Lao-Yuan, had even called him a few times about it. All of these people’s expectations added to the weight on his shoulders.
In spite of it all, though, Jiang Cheng seemed okay. His confidence in his own academic abilities was enough to withstand this pressure.
Gu Fei held up his phone and took a picture of Jiang Cheng’s hardworking back. Damn impressive, boyfriend.
The questions in these first practice exams were difficult—difficult enough that Jiang Cheng felt a little apprehensive when he finished. Still, he was relatively calm, because even if he didn’t do as well as he wanted on these questions, that would at least tell him the difference he had to overcome. As long as the university entrance exams didn’t begin tomorrow, he still had time.
One day before Fourth High’s first practice exams were due to start, Pan Zhi sent Gu Fei the results of each subject with his total score.
“Wanna look at it after you finish ours?” Gu Fei asked.
Jiang Cheng nodded. “Yeah.”
“Pan Zhi said it was pretty great.”
“He’d say that no matter what my score was, as long as it was higher than his.” Jiang Cheng smiled. “I mostly just wanted to see how far behind I am after spending a year here. I can only catch up if I have an idea of the difference.”
“Mm.” Gu Fei turned to face Jiang Cheng, who was slumped over the desk. He pulled out two small vials, similarly sized but distinct, from his desk drawer. “Here, chug these shots.”
“Why does it feel like I’m taking these several times a day?” Jiang Cheng accepted them and gulped them down. Gu Fei had been buying him boxes of supplements meant to nourish his brain, improve his immune system, and boost his energy, and making him drink them every day. “Didn’t I take some just this morning?”
“These are twice a day, remember?” said Gu Fei. “Looks like you really do need them. Your brain is only good for studying these days. Can’t fit another thread in there.”
Holding the empty vials, Jiang Cheng guffawed. “Can you fit a lot of threads in your brain?”
“Nope.” Gu Fei sighed. “My brain is all filled up with things about you now. The other day, Er-Miao asked me what seven times nine was, and I had to recite the times table the whole way from four times nine to land at the correct answer.”
Jiang Cheng put away his smile. He discreetly reached out and touched Gu Fei’s leg. “You’ve worked hard too.”