Chapter 28: Old Foundations

“The results and rankings for this midterm exam are out. Everyone, pass these around—”

The homeroom teacher handed out several A4 sheets with printed scores and rankings. They were passed group by group until they reached Lin Xi and Xia Jinnian’s desk.

Xia Jinnian took one glance—and her expression visibly sank.

“Huh? You actually dropped to third place this time?”

Lin Xi glanced at the score sheet. He didn’t care about his own ranking—he was always at the bottom anyway. Getting into No.1 High School was entirely thanks to his mom’s connections.
He was more interested in Jinnian’s score.

“Yeah. This… doesn’t feel great…”

It was rare for Xia Jinnian to speak to Lin Xi during class.

The next period was self-study. When Lin Xi walked back from the school shop exactly at the bell, he was surprised to find that Xia Jinnian wasn’t in the classroom.

That was unbelievable.

Someone like Xia Jinnian… being late to class?

He looked out the window and finally spotted her standing in the hallway, talking on the phone.

Curiosity piqued, Young Master Lin quietly slipped outside and stood behind her, listening to the conversation.

It was clearly a call between her and her mother—Mrs. Xia was angrily questioning her for “only” getting third place.

No matter how much Jinnian explained that it was just a slip-up, that even the best occasionally falter, the woman refused to accept it, insisting she wasn’t trying hard enough, or that singing had distracted her.

Jinnian sounded so anxious she was nearly crying.

Hearing this, Lin Xi felt his anger spike. He stepped forward and snatched the phone from her hand.

“Did you even go to school before? Could you guarantee you were always first place when you took exams? You can’t even do it yourself but you pressure your daughter to do it?”

Lin Xi snapped, then hung up the call and turned to Jinnian.

“What’s there to explain? It’s normal for grades to fluctuate. Anyone hearing this would think she got third from the bottom. Just hang up—she’ll shut up.”

“Eh?! Give that back! I’m going to get scolded like crazy when I go home!”

Jinnian froze for a second, then tried to grab her phone back, but Lin Xi dodged.

“She’s already like this and you still put up with it? If you keep indulging her, she’ll only get worse.”

“None of your business! This is my family’s issue!”

Jinnian snatched her phone back and ran toward the sports field.

Lin Xi stood there stunned—should he chase or not chase?

The next day, when he arrived at school, he saw Jinnian with reddened eyes.
Looked like she really got scolded badly at home.

“Um… sorry. It’s my fault. I made it worse.”

Lin Xi scratched his head.

Last night, he hadn’t slept at all—thinking about what had happened during the day.

Compared to her, he suddenly realized how lucky he was.

His mom never pressured him—not even when he consistently ranked at the bottom. She always gave him the best without question.

He had never appreciated it before—truly taking blessings for granted.

“It’s okay. You meant well. You just… didn’t choose the best way.”

Jinnian took a deep breath, adjusting her emotions. Her eyes were still slightly red, but not as noticeably.

“When I got home, my mom actually didn’t scold me again. I was just… scared myself.”

She paused.

“So… thank you, Lin classmate~”

“Huh? Don’t mention it. We’re desk mates after all. No big deal~”

Lin Xi blinked. So what he said yesterday actually had some effect?

After this whole ordeal, the two grew closer and began talking more casually.

Later, Jinnian discovered something—her deskmate wasn’t actually stupid at all. On the contrary, he was extremely smart, not worse than her.
So why were his grades always trash?

So she began looking after him intentionally—reminding him whenever he slacked off, helping him whenever he struggled with a problem.

Lin Xi didn’t have much interest in studying, but he couldn’t refuse her kindness.
He forced himself to learn a little—and his grades shot up significantly.
Seeing how effective it was, Jinnian only became more motivated.

And so, over time, the two became good friends.

…

“Get up! If you don’t wake up now, you’ll be late again. Every time you arrange an outing with Jinnian, you’re always a few minutes late. Good thing she’s patient—anyone else would’ve scolded you already~”

Her mother’s voice pulled Lin Xiyue out of sleep.

The girl rubbed her head. Maybe she had been thinking about Jinnian too much—she kept dreaming about their past few days, like watching an episodic drama.

Shaking her head, she got up to wash. After clearing her mind, she checked her phone—both Xia Jinnian and Bai Lulu had sent messages.

【No rush. I know you’ll sleep in since you don’t work today. I’ll just find a bench to sit on if I have to.】

Xia Jinnian knew her too well—she could even predict her lateness perfectly.
Lin Xiyue could only shake her head helplessly.

Sometimes you don’t need to ask why you fall for the same person across two lifetimes.
It’s because she’s just that wonderful—someone you fall into, someone you can’t escape.

【Lady Xi, I’m waiting at the café near No. 2 High School.】

That was from Bai Lulu.
So after meeting up with Jinnian, she would head there to meet her.

It was her first time meeting an online friend—but she wasn’t nervous.

She and Bai Lulu clicked extremely well, and after years of chatting, there was no awkwardness between them. This was simply their first face-to-face meeting.

“Does this count as my first fan meeting?”

She chuckled lightly.

Lin Xiyue, oh Lin Xiyue…
You’ve really made it.
Second day after debut and already hosting a fan meeting.

She got into her mom’s car and scrolled through her phone, opening the event page for the Sound of Tomorrow contest on PigPig Music.

Stardust Rain’s score had finally come out—an impressive 87.5, firmly at first place.
Second place barely reached above 50—the gap was massive.

Of course, the competition had just begun. More newcomers would join later.
They weren’t even halfway through.
It was too early to celebrate.

“I really need to start thinking about the next song.”

She muttered to herself in the car.

Stardust Rain was her mother’s treasured creation—basically the “oldest of the old foundations.”
If she wanted to maintain this explosive momentum, she needed more outstanding works to support her…