As she waited for Shao Wenbo to arrive, Wang Jingyuan's thoughts drifted to Du Jiahui and He Tianhong. She wanted a relationship like her best friend's. They were such a cute couple, and Wang Jingyuan got third-wheeled pretty frequently. Besides being captain of the swim team as only a junior in high school, He Tianhong was at the top of their class. He excelled especially in math and physics, and presided over the Physics Club at school.
Du Jiahui was no less brilliant. Also at the top of their class, she juggled advanced classes along with several extracurricular activities, the most notable being the leading flutist of the school marching band. She was one of the nicest and prettiest girls in the entire school, and many boys fell heads over heels for her. Unfortunately for them, she was already taken by He Tianhong, one of the cutest boys in class. Du Jiahui was the vice president of the Physics Club, and together the power couple had won many a physics tournament. Wang Jingyuan was glad to have such smart friends, because it meant free tutoring and homework help whenever she needed it.
It would be a lie to say that Wang Jingyuan did not envy her best friend's perfect relationship. Du Jiahui gushed about He Tianhong often. He remembered special occasions and always came up with sweet gestures to celebrate. Sometimes, he would buy Du Jiahui flowers or a stuffed animal "just because". If Du Jiahui was feeling unwell, He Tianhong was the first to be there, offering everything from homemade chicken soup, to a calming massage, to a warm hug.
Once, she and Du Jiahui had gotten caught in a sudden downpour during marching band practice. As everyone took refuge in the music building and tried to dry off as best as they could, He Tianhong appeared at the door with a large fluffy towel, a dry change of clothes, and large thermos of brown sugar and ginseng tea for Du Jiahui. It wasn't just Wang Jingyuan who was jealous; all the girls in band looked at the happy couple enviously. She was sure that many boyfriends were called that night and questioned why they couldn't be as caring as He Tianhong.
The silver bell tinkled again. Wang Jingyuan looked up hopefully, but it was only someone exiting the café. She hugged her backpack to her chest and checked the time on her phone again. 3:52 pm. Where was Shao Wenbo? He didn't forget, did he?
No. Shao Wenbo wouldn't forget. He was perfect, in Wang Jingyuan's mind, like a god. He was one year above her and her friends as a high school senior. There was not a single person in Kaifeng High School who didn't know the name "Shao Wenbo". He was the student every parent compared their child to and used as the perfect example when lecturing their child.
"Shao Wenbo placed third in the nation with his essay on how poetry evolved through the ages. Look at you; do you even know a tenth of the poems he does?"
"Mrs. Chen told me today that Shao Wenbo won first place in a prestigious chemistry competition. It's no wonder he aces the advanced science classes."
"Why can't you be more like Shao Wenbo? He's going to attend the best university in the nation. With your grades, you're going to be left in the dust!"
All the teachers loved Shao Wenbo. Why wouldn't they? He was well-mannered, responsible, and respectful. His assignments attained full marks. He listened attentively in class and never incited trouble. He was the star student, the cream of the crop, the best of the best. Sometimes he even pointed out the teacher's mistakes during lecture.
Shao Wenbo was popular among the students, but especially among the girls. All the girls were in awe of him. There were hushed whispers and flirtatious giggles when he walked down the hall. With his neat black hair, polished silver glasses, and crisp white button-down shirt, Shao Wenbo was a walking eye-candy. He was courteous, chivalrous, and polite. If someone asked him for help on a homework question, he always patiently explained it until the person understood. The only thing preventing girls from constantly bombarding him with love letters and confessions was that Shao Wenbo was a little…cold.
He was indifferent to all the praises and adoration. He was humble about his achievements and never mentioned them in public, but everyone always knew whenever he won another competition or did something amazing. Although Shao Wenbo had his own circle of friends, he kept to himself a lot and preferred to be studying or working on whatever events his clubs were hosting. There was a strong, intimidating aura about him that made him seem unapproachable, which is why most girls preferred to admire him from afar.
The only times when Shao Wenbo showed his passionate and more energetic side was in the Knowledge Bowl Club—nicknamed "Nerd Club" by the students—where a team of sixteen competed against other schools in the humanities, arts, sciences, and math. It was in the middle-school division of this club where Wang Jingyuan first met Shao Wenbo. They were partners in several competition events, which meant lots of collaboration and studying together. As they progressed into high school, their paths split as Shao Wenbo showed particular aptitude for the humanities while Wang Jingyuan preferred the sciences, but there were still a couple interdisciplinary events that they sometimes competed together in.
Perhaps it was because Shao Wenbo was a year older, but he was always very caring and patient towards Wang Jingyuan. When they were competition partners, he let her take the parts of the event she liked and took the rest (the boring ones, in Wang Jingyuan's opinion). During the test, he always answered the long free-response questions because he knew that she didn't like those.
Once, Wang Jingyuan had felt bad about leaving all the hard questions to him so she insisted on switching parts. She studied hard, but come competition time, the questions were really tricky and she got stuck halfway through. As the time was running out, Shao Wenbo finished his part of the test, wordlessly took her part, and finished answering the questions just as the proctor came around to collect them.
Wang Jingyuan was so embarrassed; she was sure Shao Wenbo was going to tell her, "I told you so" or even "If you know you can't do it, just leave it up to me next time". But after the competition, before she could even apologize, he looked at her in the eye and said, "That was a difficult test. You answered the hard questions very well."
"I'm sorry I only answered half of them; I'm not even sure if I answered them correctly—" Wang Jingyuan was visibly upset. Shao Wenbo reached out and patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"Don't be sorry. I skimmed them; they were all correct. Good job, Jing-Jing. We're going to be fine." He smiled at her, and it was as if a ray of sunshine had pierced through her storm clouds. They won first place in that event.
Wang Jingyuan smiled at the memory. There were more occurrences like that, where she slipped up and Shao Wenbo caught her before she fell. Interacting with him in Nerd Club made Wang Jingyuan feel that Shao Wenbo was not as unapproachable or cold as he seemed. He was a great guy, and he definitely had a soft side. She questioned if he was this nice to every girl, or only her. She liked to think that it was just her.
Wang Jingyuan was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realize someone was standing in front of her until a pair of dark brown eyes intruded into her view. Startled, she blinked and registered the fact that Shao Wenbo was bending down so he could look into her face. His eyes, filled with mild amusement, were only a foot away from hers.
"Jing-Jing, what are you thinking about?"