Juliana walked toward school, backpack slung over her shoulders and a thermos in hand, completely drained of energy. "I'm so nervous; I couldn't sleep a wink last night." Juliana noticed the gloomy weather matched her mood, and on top of it all, they had exams today.

Shi Man was equally listless. "I dreamt last night that every single question on the exam paper was something I didn't know." Shi Man hadn't slept well at all; every time she drifted off, the scene of the exam room would return. "What's worse, I handed in a completely blank paper." Shi Man had a sinking feeling that today’s exams were incredibly unlucky.

Juliana looked over at Wang Qiqi, who walked along silently, diligently reciting English vocabulary. "Qiqi is so lucky; she doesn't seem worried about a thing."

Wang Qiqi sighed. "I didn't sleep well either." I'm exhausted, completely lacking spirit. All Wang Qiqi wanted right now was to find a place to rest properly.

Wait, Qiqi hadn't slept well either? Shi Man and Juliana found this very strange. "Qiqi, you shouldn't be too nervous to sleep, right?"

"You didn't have a nightmare too, did you?" Shi Man thought that since Qiqi's grades were steadily improving, she shouldn't worry about dropping out of the advanced class.

Wang Qiqi privately thought that having a nightmare wouldn't have been so bad; at least then she could have gotten some rest. "You two were tossing and turning the whole time. Sleeping between you was incredibly uncomfortable. Tonight, I’m definitely sleeping on the floor." Wang Qiqi let out a huge yawn. Once the exams were over today, she absolutely would not be reviewing homework; sleep was the priority.

Shi Man and Juliana felt genuinely embarrassed, realizing they were the ones who had kept Qiqi awake. "Sorry." Today was an exam day. If their restlessness yesterday caused Qiqi to sleep poorly, and she subsequently didn't do well, the responsibility would be huge. Of course, if her grades slipped a little, as long as she didn't fall out of the fast track group, it would be fine.

Wang Qiqi waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. I already had a cup of *coffee this morning." Hopefully, it would last through the morning exams. "I won't be coming out at noon; just grab me a hamburger." Wang Qiqi decided that after the morning exams, she was finding a spot for a nap.

"Want any chicken wings?" Shi Man pressed. Fast food was certainly efficient for lunch. "Why don't we just order takeout and eat back at school?" That way, they could still review their notes.

"Oh, fast food?" Juliana didn't usually object to eating, but the problem was, ever since she learned that eating fast food easily led to weight gain—and seeing how hefty many foreigners who frequently ate it were—she had actively cut back. And sure enough, after she stopped drinking so much soda, her weight had actually dropped, and her mind felt less foggy. For all these reasons, Juliana really didn't want to eat fried chicken anymore, yet here they were discussing it again today.

"You don't want any?" Shi Man found this odd. Didn't Juliana usually love it?

Juliana actually did love fried chicken. She’d stopped because of the weight gain fear, but now that her weight was down, eating it once in a while should be okay. "I'll have some. But I want the Needy [new dessert/item—kept as Xindi for potential proprietary term], skip the hamburger, and I’ll have extra wings instead."

Wang Qiqi and Shi Man weren't concerned about Juliana's order. "I'll take a pair of wings plus a hamburger."

"Me too," Shi Man confirmed her own order. "Lina, I’m counting on you for lunch today."

Juliana’s reaction was immediate. "What? You want me to go buy it?" She had actually hoped to stay in the classroom and review her notes. Among the three of them, she was the most precarious one academically.

"I'll pay for it," Shi Man countered. She knew it was normal for Qiqi not to run errands, and since someone wasn't in good spirits today, this could be an apology to Qiqi. "You do the legwork, I pay—that’s fair."

Juliana immediately argued back, "How is it you pay and I do the legwork?" It wasn't like she had no money.

Wang Qiqi watched the two of them bickering over who should go fetch the hamburgers. She really wanted to shout that neither of them should go; they should just call the 400 number and have the fast-food place deliver. But then Wang Qiqi suddenly remembered: was it 2012? They didn't have fast-food delivery phone lines back then.

"Forget it, you two go together," Wang Qiqi let out another yawn. Ah, she had hoped to sneak in a quick nap on the way to school, perhaps even leaning on them for support, but now that seemed impossible. With all this noise, she was wide awake even without the *coffee.

Wang Qiqi had assumed she looked the worst, but she was surprised to see many classmates yawning while sitting in their assigned seats, waiting for the exam to begin.

Wang Qiqi had tried to resist yawning, but now, what was one more yawn among many?

Although everyone wished the exam time would be delayed, when the proctor walked in holding the test papers, surveyed the room, and noticed the widespread yawning, some students were still engaged in a final, desperate struggle. Even if they couldn't absorb much more information, they felt anxious if they weren't looking at their books.

Wang Qiqi poured herself some *coffee from her thermos. Her action, combined with the dark circles under her eyes, unsettled many students. Seeing Wang Qiqi looking like she had pulled an all-nighter made those whose grades were borderline, sitting in the danger zone, genuinely restless.

After taking a few sips, Wang Qiqi stopped drinking, worried about needing the restroom during the test. She carefully packed her textbooks and practice books into her schoolbag and placed them at the front of her desk.

Once the teacher handed out the papers, Wang Qiqi closed her eyes for a brief prayer, then opened them. Even though she couldn't write yet, she could review the questions. Wang Qiqi habitually started looking at the questions from the back, which always gave her the impression that the problems were gradually getting easier.

After scanning the entire paper, Wang Qiqi felt slightly reassured. It wasn't too hard, nor was it too easy. How should she put it? Questions that are too simple might lead to overconfidence and carelessness, while overly difficult ones could destroy one's confidence.

Wang Qiqi assessed the difficulty as medium, but some students’ faces had already fallen, looking utterly miserable before the test had even begun.

Regardless of the paper’s difficulty or the students' mental states, the moment the starting bell rang, everyone picked up their pens and began writing.

Wang Qiqi took advantage of her current alertness and started tackling the exam questions from the end backward. This way, if her energy completely failed her later, any part she might have to abandon would be the section carrying fewer marks.

Fortunately, by the time Wang Qiqi finished all the questions and reviewed them twice, the drowsiness, while present, wasn't overwhelming. She checked the time and realized there were only fifteen minutes left before submission. She dismissed the thought of handing it in early and settled back into her seat for a final check of the paper, pausing to take another sip of *coffee.

When the end-of-exam bell finally rang, the students’ faces were a veritable palette of expressions. You could tell exactly who felt they had done well just by looking at their countenances. Those who thought they succeeded looked relaxed; those who felt they had bombed looked as if they had just returned from the crematorium.

Juliana returned to the classroom after taking her exam in a different room. "Qiqi, I’ll go buy the fast food now," she said, hoisting her backpack.

Wang Qiqi hummed an acknowledgment and handed her thermos to Juliana. "Help me pour two cups of *coffee into this while you're out." She hadn't been fully alert this morning and still felt a bit sleepy. Now, perhaps due to the length of time since waking up or the caffeine, she felt better, but Wang Qiqi worried the afternoon sleepiness would hit hard, especially since the afternoon math test was crucial today. In the liberal arts stream, math scores were what truly separated the top students.

Oh, she had to carry a thermos out? Juliana felt faint. Walking from the school to the fast-food place took at least ten minutes each way, and she’d have to carry a thermos there and back, plus keep the hot drinks warm on the return trip. That was heavy!

Wang Qiqi noticed Juliana’s troubled look and realized carrying so many things back would be cumbersome. "Let's eat out instead, and we can get some exercise," Wang Qiqi suggested. She felt that if she stayed in the classroom, not studying, and just napped at her desk, she would attract intense resentment. It was better to eat outside. At the fast-food place, they could find a corner and take a short rest. As for Juliana and Shi Man, they could either nap or study.

When Juliana heard she didn't have to lug heavy things back, she grinned with delight. "Great, great!" But then she noticed Wang Qiqi carrying a handbag for their meal and looked confused. "Qiqi, you..."

"I can look at my notes while we eat there." That was the advantage of fast-food places: as long as you had items on the table, the staff wouldn't rush you out.

Juliana considered this. "True." The environment there was nice, with air conditioning, and the food would be hot when they ate it, so there was no worry about carrying cold burgers back to the classroom. Eating cold food in this weather would make one's stomach revolt.

Shi Man remained silent, quietly taking her school bag out of her backpack, placing a couple of practice books, a few pens, and scratch paper inside. "Ready to go, but when we queue up to buy food, Lina, that’s up to you."

Queuing? "No problem." As long as she didn't have to carry heavy things back to school, queuing was fine. "I do the work, you pay, remember?" Juliana reminded her of what Shi Man had said that morning.

Shi Man choked up slightly. She had offered to pay that morning, but that was contingent on Juliana going to the fast-food place and returning with the order. Now, Shi Man was the one going. But, oh well. "Fine, I’ll pay."

The three girls left with their book bags for lunch. Some students watching Wang Qiqi and the others leave directly for lunch exchanged glances. Eating at the fast-food place really did sound like a good option—it was warm inside, and they wouldn't have to huddle up while reviewing notes or working problems. Those who lived closer exchanged looks and, in a unified move, gathered a few books and walked out. Soon, only a little more than half the class remained in the classroom. (To be continued)