After buying two tickets with the movie card, there were still ten yuan left. Because it was linked to his real name, Chen Yuan didn't plan to recharge the card, but he didn't plan to throw it away either. He could keep it for the next time he came to this mall with Xia Xinyu and buy her a ten-yuan ice cream cone.

The time now was 10:40 PM, and the buses were no longer running, so the two quickened their pace, trying to catch the last subway.

"Are we...going to miss it?" Chen Yuan could run, but Xia Xinyu looked like she was struggling, already panting slightly, clearly not doing well.

Might as well call a Didi (ride-hailing service), he thought. Such a long distance would cost twenty-something yuan at most.

"I can still run, but I'm slow," Xia Xinyu said, placing her hands on her waist. After slowly adjusting her breathing for more than ten seconds, she looked up at Chen Yuan, gazing into his eyes, and suddenly said, "I can tell you're good at running."

"Indeed...I am quite good at running."

During the junior high school sports meet, Chen Yuan represented his class and won second place in the 200 meters and first place in the 400 meters. He was considered an elite student, just below the level of a sports student.

"I can still run, just not fast," Xia Xinyu said.

"It's okay if we miss it, we'll just call a Didi..."

"So, you carry me, and I'll follow you!"

Xia Xinyu rolled up the sleeves of her jacket, made a ready-to-run motion, then extended an arm towards Chen Yuan, using her determined eyes to show her resolve.

"Okay, I'll carry you."

Holding his breath, taking a deep breath, and slowly exhaling, Chen Yuan grabbed Xia Xinyu's hand.

Then, he started running quickly.

Xia Xinyu was pulled along behind him, trying hard to keep up with his pace, exerting herself to the point of almost closing her eyes to endure.

And so, the two ran under the streetlights.

At this hour, there weren't many cars on the road anymore.

On the auxiliary road, there were even fewer people in sight.

So, they could run fast without worry.

The half-full backpack bounced up and down as they ran, and the shadows of the two, elongated by the dim streetlights, constantly changed due to the corners and steps.

Finally, at 10:45, the two ran to the subway entrance, smoothly scanned their phone QR codes, and quickly went down the escalator, running on the platform.

At the moment the subway voice reminded them that the doors were closing, they squeezed into the train at the last second!

Due to the momentum, Chen Yuan couldn't stop completely, so he had to grab the handrail tightly to avoid crashing directly into the opposite door.

Xia Xinyu, on the other hand, stopped by crashing into Chen Yuan to cushion the impact.

After catching their breath for a long time, even after the train had been running for half a minute, the two finally recovered, then looked at each other, and couldn't help but smile for no apparent reason.

The joy of landing safely could make them happy for a long time.

"We saved twenty yuan again, isn't it worth it?" Xia Xinyu said happily.

"Indeed," Chen Yuan admitted that he was too quick to give up.

No, he could have made it alone; he had more than enough speed.

The credit for catching the last subway was entirely due to Xia Xinyu's iron will.

After all, according to the bucket effect, how far a team can go depends mainly on its weakest link.

It had to be said that running to catch the subway with Xia Xinyu for those few minutes was actually a bit exciting, a bit exhilarating, at least it caught up with the "Chuan Mu Zhuan" (likely a reference to a fast-paced story).

"If you go back and take a shower, it'll probably be twelve o'clock. Will you really not be sleepy tomorrow?" Chen Yuan asked with some concern.

"I can sleep on the high-speed train, and it doesn't take that long. Including transfers within the station and the car ride, it'll only be six or seven hours," Xia Xinyu explained easily. "When I get there, I can sleep."

"That...is also a long time."

If Chen Yuan took the high-speed train at 5 PM on Sunday to Xia Xinyu's home, it would take about six and a half hours, and he would arrive at 11:30 PM.

Jingnan was indeed too far away.

"On the contrary, you've been out with me for so long today, won't it affect your exam the day after tomorrow?" Xia Xinyu asked worriedly.

"It's okay, it's not about that one moment, it's about balancing work and rest."

"You have such a good attitude..."

"Besides, I feel very comfortable with the questions you tutored me on."

Chen Yuan had found relatively easy-to-score questions from the past years' competition papers and focused on a targeted sprint.

If he could strengthen himself well tomorrow, even if his superpower was blocked along with the exam hall's signal, he would still be able to get some points.

Out of 120 points, he could at least bravely seize 40 points!

Although there was still a long way to go to reach the at least 90 points he needed, Chaozi (likely a nickname) would help.

He already had a strategy.

And this strategy, as long as it could be implemented...

Everything was still uncertain.

"Well, I'm glad I could help," Xia Xinyu said quite modestly. "I'm not very good at these kinds of questions anyway, and I can only teach a little in this area."

"You taught very well."

"Haha..."

Although it was good to be able to help, she didn't quite understand why Chen Yuan wanted her to focus on the basics.

Logically speaking, he should have a good foundation to score so many points.

She just happened to be able to help him, so why not take advantage of this time to focus on medium-difficulty problems?

In this kind of competition, medium-difficulty problems were the main focus.

Unlike the college entrance examination, you can't advance by just building a foundation.

But through the things Chen Yuan had done these days, Xia Xinyu suddenly felt that this boy was seemingly omnipotent.

All she could do was support and believe in him.

"Chen Yuan, you..."

Just as Xia Xinyu was about to say something, she noticed that Chen Yuan had unknowingly quietly closed his eyes, leaned back on the backrest, and dozed off.

Well, he was more tired than her today.

Not only did he do two sets of papers at school, but he also completed that 1-to-1000 challenge that required so much attention and focus. It was only natural for him to be tired.

Looking at the quietly leaning Chen Yuan, Xia Xinyu saw that he seemed to be a little different from before.

She first met him last Tuesday; ten days had passed.

Oh, his hair was a little longer than before. A strand of bangs covered his eyebrows, almost covering his eyes.

Gazing at him, Xia Xinyu thought of how she had once praised him as a tall boy with regular features to avoid being too arrogant when 'rejecting Chen Yuan.'

But that wasn't against her will.

His features were very three-dimensional and delicate, and although there was always a sense of world-weariness in his eyes, his eyes were very beautiful, clear and bright.

Occasionally, they could also reveal tenderness.

Last time, he secretly took a picture of me.

So, this time, I'm going to secretly take a picture of him too.

Xia Xinyu took out her phone, turned off the shutter sound, and pointed it at Chen Yuan, just as she was about to freeze this dozing photo, the train slowly stopped. Due to the inertia, Chen Yuan naturally shifted to this side and leaned on her shoulder, completely unconscious.

Xia Xinyu was stunned: "..."

But Chen Yuan couldn't be blamed.

It was clear that he didn't do it on purpose.

And he was completely unaware.

Even if she showed shyness at this moment, no one would see it.

In order not to disturb his sleep, Xia Xinyu stopped taking pictures and switched the phone to her other hand.

She flipped the screen and took a rare selfie.

Regarding the boy who broke into her selfie...

She said, I'm also completely unaware.

…………

Chen Yuan felt something fuzzy and prickly waving in front of his eyes.

He groggily opened his eyes and saw Xia Xinyu rubbing his head with her hand.

Oh, it was about to arrive.

And...he didn't know when he had leaned on her shoulder.

Crap, he didn't feel it at all.

How embarrassing...

"How many more stops are there?"

Trying to act as if nothing had happened, Chen Yuan sat up straight and asked Xia Xinyu.

But for some reason, this girl just looked at him like that, not saying a word, just giggling silently without moving her lips, even her eyes were smiling, and she continued to giggle...