Shilan Middle School, usually a bustling place, was now eerily quiet. In each classroom, the only sound was the scratching of pens on paper. All the students were writing furiously; this was their last exam of the semester, and after it, they could look forward to a wonderful holiday. However, if they didn't do well on the exam, whether the holiday would be wonderful was anyone's guess.
Only half of the exam time had passed when two figures, one after another, took their papers and submitted them early. The people in the classroom were somewhat numb to this. The two figures were Zero and Lu Mingfei. Zero was understandable; after all, no one knew Zero's past, and everyone could accept Zero's excellent grades. But everyone was all too familiar with Lu Mingfei.
During his first year of high school, he was at the bottom of his class, often fawning over Chen Wenwen like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. But by his second year, he was a completely different person. Ever since Zero transferred, Lu Mingfei's academic scores soared, and his physical education scores were even more impressive. While others were panting after running a thousand meters, he barely broke a sweat. It was truly a bit terrifying; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he had undergone a complete transformation, making people wonder if he had contracted an infectious disease called 'Chu Zihang Syndrome.'
All of this happened after Zero transferred. Lu Mingfei no longer fawned over Chen Wenwen. Even when Chen Wenwen sought him out, he treated her with the attitude of an ordinary friend, a stark contrast to before. To say it had nothing to do with Zero, they wouldn't believe it.
Some people thought Lu Mingfei was pursuing this Russian beauty, and these were all just tests, which was why he worked so hard to improve himself. Some suspected that he and Zero were already together, but no one had ever seen Lu Mingfei and Zero engage in intimate gestures. At most, they had seen them go to school and return home together, but this was already enough to explain a lot.
A cold wind swept through the street, rustling a few withered sycamore leaves. Lu Mingfei and Zero walked side by side on their way home, their exhaled white breath briefly lingering in the air before dissipating. Cars flowed endlessly on the road, but pedestrians were few—in such weather, everyone preferred to stay indoors where it was warm.
"The holidays have started. Do you have any plans?" Lu Mingfei turned his head, his gaze falling on Zero. She was wearing an off-white coat today, with a pure white knitted sweater underneath, the soft cashmere fabric outlining her slender figure. A light-colored scarf was loosely wrapped around her neck, making her skin appear as white as snow. Most striking was her mink fur hat, whose fluffy edge softened her usually stern face a few degrees, making her look like a cat basking in the winter sun.
"No plans for now. Ma Yi and Potato Chips are both abroad and don't have time to come back," Zero said, the white breath she exhaled adding a touch of warmth to her normally cool voice. "What about you?"
"I don't have much going on either. How about we go to the Capital for a few days before the New Year?" Lu Mingfei kicked a small pebble at his feet. "Anyway, there's nothing fun to do here. It's the holidays, so we should relax a bit."
"Why go there? Is it because we're going to the Preparatory Class next year?" Zero raised her hand, preparing to adjust the hat on her head.
Lu Mingfei suddenly reached out and took the mink fur hat off her head, placing it on his own. A warm sensation instantly spread from his head to his entire body, carrying Zero's unique faint scent. "There's that reason," he said with a grin, the warmth of the hat still lingering on his nose. "To check it out in advance, but the main reason is still wanting to visit that place."
The last time he came to the Capital was for a mission, and he didn't get to explore it properly, which was quite a pity. He also wanted to see if he could meet Xia Mi in the Capital.
Lu Mingfei thought to himself, then took the hat off his head and placed it back on Zero's head, adjusting it for her. Zero showed no reaction to Lu Mingfei's action, her expression perfectly calm, as if this was completely normal. She was his cat, and he had raised her for many years.
"Okay, but are you sure Aunt and Uncle will let you go to the Capital?" Zero had been to Lu Mingfei's place so many times that Aunt and Uncle knew Zero very well. Sometimes they would even invite Zero to have breakfast with them. They really liked this cool and composed Russian girl. Lu Mingfei's changes over the past six months were known to their whole family, and they all believed it was because of Zero that Lu Mingfei had transformed. How could they dislike such a girl? Uncle would sometimes even show off to his friends at gatherings, saying things like, "My nephew's Russian classmate," or "No choice, our Lao Lu family's genes just attract girls."
Little Fatty Lu Mingze used to secretly eye Zero, but later he gave up. Zero was always cool and distant; he couldn't even talk to her. Only Lu Mingfei could interact with her naturally. Lu Mingze thought Zero and Lu Mingfei were quite a good match, definitely not because Zero had brought gifts when she came to their house before, and certainly not because the gift Zero brought him was the latest game console.
"They will, right?" Lu Mingfei was also a bit unsure. "You come to our house for dinner tonight. They might not be comfortable with me going to the Capital alone. If you're there and I bring it up, they'll most likely agree, since I'd be going with you."
"Okay," Zero nodded.
Hearing Zero agree, Lu Mingfei took out his phone to call Aunt. Lu Mingfei hadn't deliberately hidden the phone; when Aunt and Uncle found out, they had asked about it. Uncle even looked a bit envious of the phone, wanting to swap phones with Lu Mingfei so he could have more face when going out with friends. However, he dropped the idea after Lu Mingfei said Zero had given it to him. What a joke, how could he use something a young girl gave to Mingfei?
The call quickly connected, and Aunt's loud voice came through the receiver: "Hello, Mingfei, what's up? Wasn't today the exam? Did you finish so quickly?"
"Finished, Aunt," Lu Mingfei glanced at Zero. "It's like this, Zero's family is all abroad, so I was thinking of inviting her to our house for dinner tonight..."
"Oh, oh, okay!" Aunt's voice immediately went up an octave. "It's not easy for Zero, this child, to be here alone. Tell her to come over for meals often, she doesn't need to be polite." The sound of rummaging came from the other end of the phone, as if she was looking for ingredients. "Such a good child, you must treat her well, don't let her down, or I won't forgive you."
Lu Mingfei found this somewhat amusing and exasperating. Why did everyone think Zero and he were together? But he was too lazy to explain; this was good too, it was convenient to use as an excuse. Anyway, even if he explained, they wouldn't believe him.
"Okay, okay, I know, I will. That's all for now, we're on our way back," Lu Mingfei agreed. Aunt's attitude towards him had improved quite a bit over the past six months. Although he couldn't pinpoint exactly how, and she still often yelled at him, Lu Mingfei just felt it. It was a very strange feeling.
"Okay, then you two be safe on the way. I need to go prepare." After saying that, Aunt hung up the phone, presumably to prepare the ingredients for dinner tonight.