Wu Zheng was not wronging Yu Shanshan after all.
When Yu Shanshan returned to the classroom, she sat blankly at her desk. With only a month left until the college entrance examination, she could not muster the slightest interest in studying.
She knew very well that with her grades, following the regular path made it very difficult to get into university, which was why she had long since secretly signed up for the art examinations.
Compared to other universities, admission scores for art academies were generally lower, giving her a bit more confidence.
The reason she asked Lin Yi to treat her to a meal wasn't because she liked taking advantage of people; it was because she needed to save money to travel to Yanyi for the auditions.
Yu Shanshan hadn't told a soul about this secret, fearing others would say she was being unrealistic.
Although she was very confident in her looks, as the auditions grew closer, she couldn't help feeling a bit nervous inside.
There were so many handsome guys and pretty girls all over the country; even if she was good-looking, what if she failed the exam?
Mockery, sarcasm, feigned concern masking schadenfreude?
Yu Shanshan didn't dare think about it anymore.
For an eighteen-year-old girl, being able to keep this a secret and make such a decision all on her own took a tremendous amount of courage.
"Lin Yi, are we buddies or not?"
Wu Zheng turned around to look at Lin Yi.
"No."
Lin Yi didn't hesitate for a second. His experiences from his past life told him that whenever someone started with that line, nothing good ever followed.
"Did you secretly go behind my back and start dating?"
Wu Zheng put on a look that said, "Don't play dumb, I see right through you."
"Are you out of your mind?"
There were too many ambiguities in the chubby guy's words, and Lin Yi couldn't even be bothered to retort.
"What's the deal between you and Yu Shanshan anyway?"
"Just classmates."
"Psh, tell it to the ghosts. Forget it, if you won't talk."
Wu Zheng didn't believe it at all. He had seen it with his own eyes that morning—Yu Shanshan had followed right behind Lin Yi like a little tail, and the two of them had been laughing and chatting.
Lin Yi picked up last night's test papers and walked toward the math class representative. Let them misunderstand if they wanted to, as long as it didn't reach Old Hu's ears; otherwise, he'd definitely get chewed out again.
The math class representative was a girl who looked quite quiet and gentle. If Lin Yi remembered correctly, Sister Wenjing eventually got into a Project 985 university.
Watching Lin Yi's back, Wu Zheng let out a silent sigh, feeling a slight twinge of jealousy in his heart.
There was no telling how many people in the school had their eyes on Yu Shanshan, yet no male student had ever managed to get close to her. Lin Yi, that scoundrel, was truly lucky.
The morning passed quickly. Lin Yi stood up and stretched lazily. He had to admit, the final year of high school was genuinely grueling.
Still, the suffering now was worth it—every bit of effort brought a reward. To put it without exaggeration, opportunities like the college entrance examination came around only a few times in a lifetime.
When Yu Shanshan appeared at the classroom door, the boys in the class all stared fixedly.
Wu Zheng looked at Yu Shanshan, then back at Lin Yi. How did he plan to explain this when she had come looking for him right here?
The two of them walked toward the cafeteria, completely ignoring the discussions among their classmates.
"Why aren't you eating?"
At first, Lin Yi hadn't noticed that anything was wrong with Yu Shanshan's mood, not until he saw her poking around her plate with her chopsticks.
"Not hungry."
Yu Shanshan's spirits were not very high. Compared to those classmates who threw themselves entirely into preparing for the college entrance exam, she had a lot more on her mind.
Until they were almost done eating, Yu Shanshan remained in that state, and Lin Yi finally lost his patience.
"What on earth is wrong with you?"
Yu Shanshan looked at him without saying a word.
"Forget it if you won't say. I'm going to play basketball."
Lin Yi stood up straight away.
Yu Shanshan bit her lower lip and silently followed behind him; she didn't want to go back to the classroom.
Compared to those classmates who poured all their energy into studying, she felt like an impractical outlier harboring fantasies, and this sensation made her very uncomfortable.
Seeing some boys on the court waving at Lin Yi, Yu Shanshan quietly grabbed a handful of his uniform jacket. She didn't want to be by herself right now.
"Can you let go?"
Lin Yi felt a bit helpless. Yu Shanshan clearly had something on her mind, yet she refused to speak up.
Yu Shanshan shook her head.
"Weren't you doing fine this morning?"
Lin Yi had no choice but to find a spot to sit down. The younger boys from yesterday were already in place, waiting only for him.
"Why don't you go play?"
Yu Shanshan didn't want to hold anyone back either; she could handle her own matters.
"Before you speak, can you let go of my hand first?"
Looking at the school uniform being tightly clutched by Yu Shanshan, Lin Yi was genuinely speechless.
Seeing his helpless expression, a flash of a smile swept across Yu Shanshan's eyes.
"Then you mustn't laugh at me when I tell you."
After quite a while, Yu Shanshan finally spoke up hesitantly.
"Speak."
"Lin Yi, do you have ideals?"
"Everyone does, I suppose."
"Then what is your ideal?"
Yu Shanshan's eyes lit up.
"Um... I want to become a better version of myself."
"A better version of yourself? Study hard and make daily progress?"
Yu Shanshan didn't quite understand.
"Something like that. Right now, we need to solve your problem."
Lin Yi smiled faintly.
"You promised not to laugh at me after I tell you."
Yu Shanshan was still a bit uneasy; she had never told a single soul about this secret.
"Relax, I definitely won't laugh at you."
Lin Yi nodded.
"Then... pinky swear."
Yu Shanshan extended her finger.
"Aren't you being a bit childish?"
Lin Yi frowned, but seeing the stubborn look on Yu Shanshan's face, he had no choice but to reach out.
Their two little fingers slowly hooked together, and their thumbs gradually pressed close.
"Can you talk about it now?"
Lin Yi pulled his hand back.
"I want to take the art exams."
Yu Shanshan said quietly.
"Oh, with looks like yours, you'll definitely pass."
Lin Yi couldn't help smiling. So that was what this was all about.
"Art exams aren't as easy as you think."
Yu Shanshan let out a sigh of relief.
"I think you can do it. If you really become a star in the future, don't forget your old classmate."
Lin Yi teased.
"What if I don't pass?"
Since childhood, Yu Shanshan had held a yearning for the glamorous stars on television. As she grew older, this idea only grew firmer.
She wasn't good at studying, and every time she brought her test papers home after exams, Jiang Xiufang would tell her: "With a brain as dull as yours, what are you going to do in the future?"
Whenever that happened, she would think to herself in silence: I can become a star.
Yet she didn't dare say it aloud. She could easily picture Jiang Xiufang's reaction, and that kind of response was a bit too much for her to accept.
"How will you know you won't pass unless you try? Even if you don't pass, it doesn't matter—at least you gave it your best."
Lin Yi encouraged her. Although people in his past life always said Yu Shanshan lacked acting skills, she really had been quite popular.
"Mm, you're right."
A smile slowly blossomed on Yu Shanshan's face. Lin Yi was right; so what if she didn't pass?
At least she had tried. She was striving for her ideal, and even if the outcome wasn't satisfactory, there was nothing shameful about that.
"Looks like you're fine now. Let go, I'm going to play basketball."
Lin Yi said as he stood up.
"I'm hungry."
Yu Shanshan grabbed onto Lin Yi's school uniform and refused to let go no matter what.