While Gao Kai was chatting animatedly with a group of friends in the classroom, he spotted a figure lingering at the doorway, staring directly at him. Just as he was about to challenge the person, he suddenly remembered—this boy was in Qiqi's class. Gao Kai had planted this 'pawn' specifically to get immediate updates on Wang Qiqi, especially concerning any love letters from other boys. The pawn had been silent for ages; Gao Kai almost hadn't recognized him if he hadn't seemed so familiar just now.

"What is it?" Gao Kai asked, stepping out the door. He mused that if Qiqi encountered any trouble she couldn't handle, and he swooped in to resolve it, wouldn't that be exactly like the hero in a romance novel—appearing amidst dazzling glory to rescue her from peril? Afterwards, wouldn't she be utterly devoted to him? The more Gao Kai thought about it, the sweeter the prospect seemed.

Although Xiao Qizi found Gao Kai’s smile slightly lewd and felt something was off, he reasoned that a mere teenager like him couldn't possibly know much. He was far more concerned with how Gao Kai would reward him for delivering such excellent news.

A thrill of self-satisfaction shot through Gao Kai when he heard the report. He hadn't expected anyone to make a move against Qiqi or try to trip her up just two days after her return to school. However, Gao Kai quickly collected himself. When had Qiqi’s math scores become so good?

Gao Kai knew Wang Qiqi's baseline. He wouldn't be surprised if she excelled in Language and English; hadn't she chosen the liberal arts track precisely because she felt confident in those subjects? But how could her math have improved so drastically? He had only gone half a month without contact with her—how could her math scores have skyrocketed in such a short time? This struck Gao Kai as profoundly strange.

"Her math score really went up?" Gao Kai murmured, dwelling on the question he desperately needed answered. He couldn't fathom that, with Wang Qiqi’s intellect, she could discover the secret to boosting her math performance in such a brief window.

Could it be Shi Man? Gao Kai remembered Wang Qiqi walking back with Shi Man yesterday. He recalled that after a small stratagem on his part, Qiqi and Shi Man’s relationship hadn't been as close as before. Yet, on Qiqi's first day back to school, she had behaved entirely uncharacteristically, seeming friendly with Shi Man and even leaving with her that evening. Gao Kai, waiting for her downstairs that morning, had even seen Shi Man. These anomalies were enough to fuel Gao Kai’s thoughts, and now, in just one morning, Qiqi had delivered more surprises—or perhaps shocks. Still, Gao Kai had a gut feeling: Qiqi was trying to distance herself from him. Even when she smiled at him, a closer look would reveal that her smile was nine parts politeness and one part forced strain.

"Yes, it improved a lot. The steps she used to solve many problems are much simpler now. Even Shi Man is like that." He knew Gao Kai disliked Shi Man and tried his best not to mention her, but the problem was that Shi Man had also changed dramatically this time. "Although Shi Man isn't as quick as Wang Qiqi, their thought process seems similar."

Gao Kai stared at the messenger in disbelief, hoping the boy’s expression would signal he had misheard or was joking. But Gao Kai saw no trace of mockery in the boy's eyes. "You aren't mistaken? Even Shi Man can do it?" That couldn't be right. He seemed to recall hearing that Shi Man hadn't done well on a recent math quiz just a few days ago. How could such a massive shift have occurred in just a few days? Gao Kai truly couldn't fathom it.

Gao Kai lapsed into his own thoughts, much to the annoyance of the messenger boy who had come to relay the news. He remembered the noisy atmosphere in his own classroom when he left, and he had hurried out, conscious of Gao Kai's interests, expecting some sort of token for such valuable intelligence. Yet, after waiting here for so long, Gao Kai hadn't even thought to offer anything. This left the boy disappointed.

After a long silence, Gao Kai still couldn't piece together the puzzle. But he knew asking this boy wouldn't yield any real answers either. Perhaps he should just go to Qiqi's classroom to assess the situation. Just as he prepared to leave for Qiqi’s class, he heard someone call his name from inside. He turned to see 'her.' He paused, thinking, "I have something else to attend to. You keep an eye on the progress of the situation for me." With that, he stepped back into the classroom to chat with the girl.

The messenger boy had assumed Gao Kai was rushing off to an emergency, but upon hearing the content of the conversation inside, he felt utterly sick. He had initially believed Gao Kai genuinely cared for Qiqi, but it turned out he was playing games on the side. Still, it didn't concern him—who Gao Kai liked, or whether Wang Qiqi would be hurt, was irrelevant to him. What mattered was that he had come out on this errand and hadn't received a single cent! This was unlike previous times when Gao Kai would slip him some money for an ice cream bar. He couldn't figure out what had changed.

No matter how dissatisfied he was, he had no choice but to return. Should he just hover at the classroom door waiting for a handout? Gloomily, he went back to his class, expecting to find a tense atmosphere. Instead, it seemed the storm had passed; smiles graced everyone's faces. Of course, a few expressions weren't pleasant, like Huang Li’s. The messenger knew why: Huang Li was the one who had been pushing everyone to confront Wang Qiqi.

"What happened? Wasn't the situation tense just a moment ago?" Cao Rui plopped down in his seat and whispered to his deskmate.

His deskmate, Gong Ao, looked at him with sympathy upon seeing him return. "You didn't release the pressure early or late, but chose right when you went to the restroom. Do you know? Wang Qiqi was actually discussing problems with us just now, even saying we could ask her if we had any tough questions in the future." Gong Ao was ecstatic. As one of the few boys in the liberal arts track, he was acutely aware of how the rest of the class viewed them—as rare specimens. This always irked him. But he knew he had no choice but to study liberal arts; how could he handle the sciences, which felt like reading ancient texts? Even the math required for liberal arts was enough to give him headaches. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if he had taken science—he wouldn't just be hovering around the passing grade; he might score a single digit! Just as he was preparing to focus his energy on other subjects, aiming only to pass math, this incredible stroke of luck had occurred. How could Gong Ao not be thrilled?

What? While he was in the restroom, Wang Qiqi actually discussed math problems with everyone? This realization filled Cao Rui with regret. Thanks to him, he hadn't secured any benefits, nor had he heard any of the problem-solving methods. He had lost out on both fronts—a terrible deal.

As Cao Rui inwardly seethed, Gong Ao kept going on about Wang Qiqi, especially emphasizing how quickly her mind worked and the clever ways she solved the problems. Hearing this only made Cao Rui feel worse, yet he dared not shout, "Shut up!" at Gong Ao. He could only endure it, all while forcing a smile onto his face.

Wang Qiqi had noticed Cao Rui leaving the moment he slipped out. She knew he had gone to report back. In the past, she often felt a peculiar synchronicity with Gao Kai; sometimes she would casually mention something she needed in class, and later that evening or sometime later, Gao Kai would deliver it or suggest they slip away somewhere for a while. Back then, Qiqi thought they shared such great rapport. Now, however, she realized how Gao Kai must have internally labeled her a simpleton. Wouldn't he know so much about her situation only because someone was feeding him information?

And Cao Rui choosing to leave precisely when the atmosphere became tense—Qiqi knew he was off to inform Gao Kai. Then, Gao Kai would casually stroll to the doorway of her classroom, letting her know that her classmates were targeting her so he could step in as her rescuer. Gao Kai had pulled this stunt several times in their past encounters, and Qiqi assumed he wouldn't pass up this chance now.

Seeing Cao Rui return, Wang Qiqi wondered what the Prince Charming figure would think or how he would punish a false informant if he arrived to find the classroom completely peaceful. Unfortunately, the bell for the first period after lunch rang, and he never showed. This struck Wang Qiqi as very odd—why would someone miss such a perfect opportunity to display his heroism?

Wang Qiqi found Gao Kai's absence strange, given the prime chance for him to shine. His non-appearance also offered Cao Rui a measure of relief. He had worried that if Gao Kai discovered the atmosphere wasn't nearly as tense as he’d described, he would blame Cao Rui for not waiting until things were clear before reporting, making Cao Rui responsible for every mistake.

Shi Man noticed Wang Qiqi repeatedly glancing in a certain direction and found it peculiar. "What are you looking at?" she asked. There seemed to be nothing remarkable in that direction.

Wang Qiqi whispered, "I thought about it at home and felt that the many areas where Gao Kai and I previously shared identical ideas were problematic, but I couldn't pinpoint why. When I saw Cao Rui leave today, I wanted to see if he was the one talking to Gao Kai."

Cao Rui? Shi Man looked at Wang Qiqi in surprise. "Are you saying Cao Rui is the spy?" Shi Man had previously tried to pour cold water on Wang Qiqi's claims of mental alignment with Gao Kai, but she couldn't explain why Qiqi’s words sometimes matched Gao Kai’s thoughts. She had suspected someone in the class was leaking information, but she didn't know who. Now, to hear that the informant was Cao Rui—Shi Man couldn't believe it. "You must be mistaken. Cao Rui is a very timid person."

Cao Rui’s grades were decidedly average, and he was known for being timid and risk-averse. Anyone in the class might be a spy, but never Cao Rui. It wasn't that Shi Man looked down on him, but rather that most people in the class had such a faint impression of him that they wouldn't even remember him without a reminder.

Wang Qiqi knew Cao Rui was exactly that type of person. In her past life, she wouldn't have known about certain incidents unless she'd overheard Gao Kai and Cao Rui discussing high school anecdotes while sharing a meal. "Maybe I'm being overly suspicious."

Do any readers still have tickets available? Double update today; the second chapter will be out at the usual time of eight o'clock. (To be continued.)