Chapter 75 – A Turning Point in the Library

The sun that morning was warm and gentle, but the tension on campus was palpable. With less than two months left until the college entrance exams, the school had intensified its study programs. The seniors were now assigned into mixed study groups—students from both the social sciences and natural sciences classes—to push them out of their comfort zones.

"Did you hear?" Yahan whispered to Keqing as they climbed the stairs toward the library. "Today, they're giving us a 'mini challenge.' Each group has to finish a mixed test set in sixty minutes. The fastest and most accurate group gets priority access to those rare reference materials."

"At least that sounds better than just grinding through old papers," Keqing replied with a small smile, though her heart beat faster at the thought.

As soon as she entered the library, her eyes landed on Gu Yuyan. He was leaning casually against a shelf, flipping through his notebook, his face calm and unreadable. Standing next to him was Bai Andiu, his quiet yet confident rival. Near the window sat Lui Tianxiue, who was flipping through an English reference book, scribbling notes with an expression of intense focus.

"Look at that lineup," Yahan muttered under her breath. "This is going to be… something."

Keqing said nothing, but her pulse quickened when Yuyan's gaze briefly met hers. Just a fleeting glance, but it was enough to send a small wave through her chest.

"Group Three: Gu Yuyan, Bai Andiu, Lui Tianxiue, Lin Keqing, Le Yahan, Fang Zichen," the supervising teacher announced.

"Of course, we end up with them," Yahan mumbled, though she looked both annoyed and excited.

"Hey, at least our group is stacked," Fang Zichen joked, waving cheerfully at the girls.

Bai Andiu offered a polite smile. "With this lineup, if we don't win, it'll be a scandal."

Yuyan just gave Keqing a subtle nod, his usual quiet demeanor in place.

Each group was given a mixed test packet—half logic and math problems, half reading comprehension and essay tasks in English.

"We should split up the tasks," Bai Andiu suggested immediately, his tone efficient. "I'll handle the heavy math questions with Yuyan. Tianxiue, the English section is all yours."

"Got it," Tianxiue said, already scanning the reading passage. "Keqing, you're good with words. Want to tackle the essay draft with me?"

"Uh… sure," Keqing agreed, gripping her pen tightly.

Zichen volunteered for the reading comprehension, and Yahan reluctantly took charge of data interpretation. The group quickly settled into a rhythm, the tension in the air as sharp as during a real exam.

"This data chart is ridiculous," Yahan groaned after a few minutes. "It's like staring at a maze."

"Let me see," Yuyan said, his voice calm as he leaned over. His pencil traced the numbers while he explained each step slowly."Look, this series follows a hidden pattern. Once you find the base formula, the rest falls into place."

"Oh…" Yahan blinked. "That's… actually brilliant."

Keqing watched from across the table, her pen paused above the paper. There was something about the quiet confidence in Yuyan's voice that drew her in every time.

Meanwhile, Tianxiue turned to Keqing, tapping the essay outline."What do you think about this last paragraph? I feel like it needs a stronger closing line."

Keqing hesitated, then offered an idea. Tianxiue looked pleasantly surprised."Not bad. You have a poetic way of phrasing things. I'll give you that."

Keqing smiled faintly. For all their subtle rivalry, Tianxiue wasn't unkind. In that moment, Keqing felt a small flicker of mutual respect between them.

When their group finally finished, they needed to print out their final answers. But just as Bai Andiu pressed the button, the library printer emitted a harsh screech and jammed.

"You've got to be kidding me," Zichen groaned. "We have five minutes left!"

"Step aside, let me take a look," Bai Andiu said, kneeling by the machine. "Paper jam, of course."

"I'll fix it," Yuyan said, rolling up his sleeves and leaning over the printer. Keqing instinctively reached for tissues when she saw black toner smudges on his fingers.

"Here," she offered softly.

For a second, their eyes met—just long enough for her face to heat up.

"Focus, you two," Bai Andiu teased lightly, raising a brow.

Yuyan didn't respond, only gave a quiet smirk as he freed the crumpled paper. The machine whirred back to life just in time, and their group managed to submit the test within the deadline.

When the results were announced, Group Three came out on top.

"I think the credit goes to Yuyan and Bai Andiu," Tianxiue said honestly. "You two were like a dream team."

"Not really," Bai Andiu chuckled. "He's better than me. He just chooses to stay in third place."

The remark caused a brief pause. Yuyan's brows furrowed slightly."I'm not doing that anymore," he said simply.

Keqing's heart skipped a beat. She knew what those words meant. He wasn't hiding anymore.

Meanwhile, in another classroom, Yahan and Chen Yuke were also in a study session—but Yuke wasn't exactly focused on the textbook. He was sketching a storyboard on the margin of his notebook.

"What are you doing now?" Yahan frowned. "The exams are almost here, and you're still messing with these random ideas."

"They're not random," Yuke said, holding up his rough sketches of camera angles. "This is what I love. I want to tell stories—through writing, through video. It makes me feel alive."

Yahan sighed. "But what if you don't get into college? What then?"

"I'll take the exam again," he said with a grin, though his voice was steady. "I want to get into media and journalism. I want to create meaningful content, not just chase safe paths I don't care about."

Yahan stared at him, her pen still. "Media and journalism? That's… competitive. Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Yuke replied, eyes shining with determination. "I'd rather fail doing what I love than succeed doing something I hate."

For once, Yahan didn't know what to say. Something in his voice—so certain and unshaken—made her chest tighten.

As the group packed up their things at the end of the session, Tianxiue suddenly turned to Yuyan."Yuyan, don't you ever feel like you're wasting your talent by not aiming for the top spot?"

Yuyan paused, her question lingering in the air. Keqing looked at him quietly, sensing that the question wasn't just about rankings but about his life.

"Sometimes," Yuyan admitted softly, "but it's not about proving I'm the best. It's about proving something to the person I really want to."

Tianxiue looked startled by his answer, but said nothing more.

That night, Yuyan sat at his desk. His laptop screen glowed in the dim room, the draft email to his father still unsent:

Dad, I've decided to pursue architecture. Not because it's easy, but because I can't imagine a life without creating…

His fingers hovered over the Send button. Not today, he thought, but soon.