Skeptical, the upperclassman walked over in the direction she was pointing.
The spot was hidden among several bundles of books, completely unnoticeable without a close look.
The upperclassman bent down, leaning in to look at the spines of the books in the bundle.
Mechanics, Calculus, Linear Algebra...
The only ones missing were the red-covered English textbook and the yellow-covered lab manual.
A perfect match.
The upperclassman straightened up and turned to look at her in surprise.
"Wow, you’ve got some sharp eyes. How could you tell at a glance with everything in such a mess?"
The upperclassman pulled out the bundle of books and placed it on the desk in front of him.
"Alright, this saves me the trouble of looking for it. You can take it."
The girl nodded.
She pulled a piece of string from her pocket.
It was the kind of string used at street-side stalls for tying up cardboard. She skillfully threaded it under the stack of books, crossed the ends, and tied a sturdy knot.
There were a dozen or so foundational textbooks, all of them hefty tomes. Stacked together, they were incredibly heavy.
The girl bent down and grabbed the string with both hands.
She took a deep breath, tensed her arms, and abruptly heaved the stack up.
The entire weight of the books was instantly suspended, bearing down on the thin string.
Carrying the heavy bundle of textbooks, she slowly turned around and started toward the classroom door.
She was clearly struggling.
Wang Dayong was a straightforward guy and couldn’t just stand by and watch.
"Hey, Miss..."
Wang Dayong rolled up his sleeves and took a large stride forward to help.
A hand reached out and grabbed Wang Dayong’s arm.
It was Chen Zhuo.
Wang Dayong turned his head, looking at him in confusion.
Chen Zhuo shook his head and let go.
He turned and walked to a corner of the classroom where several empty cardboard boxes were stacked. Chen Zhuo tore off a palm-sized piece of thick, sturdy cardboard and folded it in half.
Carrying the piece of cardboard, he quickly walked over.
Chen Zhuo walked up to the girl, held out his hand, and offered her the folded piece of cardboard.
"Put this under the string. It’ll help a lot."
His voice was gentle and calm.
The girl stopped walking.
She turned her head and looked at the boy beside her.
Her gaze fell on the piece of cardboard in his hand.
Waves of stinging pain were radiating from her palm.
She hesitated for a moment.
She let go, set the bundle of books on the floor, and took the piece of cardboard.
She placed it under the string and lifted the bundle again. With the increased surface area, the piercing pain from the string digging into her hand vanished.
"Thank you."
The girl’s voice was very quiet.
Chen Zhuo nodded.
He didn’t leave right away.
Chen Zhuo turned, glancing at the books scattered haphazardly all over the floor behind him, then at the upperclassman who was wiping sweat from his brow.
Then, he looked at the girl and spoke in a casual tone.
"These books are piled up too randomly. It’s taking the upperclassman forever to find anything."
Chen Zhuo looked into her eyes.
"You were able to sort them by category with just a glance."
Chen Zhuo tilted his head and gestured with his thumb toward Wang Dayong and Chu Ge standing behind him.
"The three of us are here to get our books too."
He paused, then made his proposal.
"Could you help us out? After we hand in our slips, you could just point out our books for us. It would save us from standing around and waiting."
The girl looked at him without answering immediately.
Chen Zhuo smiled gently, tilted his head, and gestured with his thumb toward the burly Wang Dayong behind him.
"In return, you can borrow this big guy for free, all the way to the entrance of the girls’ dormitory."
Chen Zhuo looked into the girl’s eyes, his tone carrying just the right hint of mock helplessness.
"He ate a massive lunch and has been dying for a way to work up a sweat. Let him carry your books, we each get what we need. What do you say?"
Upon hearing this,
Chu Ge, standing in the back, felt the corner of his mouth twitch as he stuck his lollipop back in.
Wang Dayong reacted in a flash.
He strode over in two steps, effortlessly grabbed the string of the bundle, and lifted it with one hand.
"That’s right! You just lead the way. This is nothing, I almost wish it were heavier! Think of it as a workout for me," Wang Dayong said with an honest grin.
The girl stood where she was.
She looked at Chen Zhuo, then at Wang Dayong standing beside her holding the books.
What was once a one-sided offer of help had now become a fair exchange.
She would use her observation skills to save them time, and they would use their strength to help her carry her books.
Neither side would be indebted to the other.
She glanced at Chen Zhuo and nodded.
"Okay. My name is Su Wei."
"Chen Zhuo."
Chen Zhuo responded, then turned and walked toward the distribution desk, with Chu Ge and Wang Dayong following him.
"Sir, here are the slips for the three of us," Chen Zhuo said, handing them over.
The upperclassman took the slips and glanced at them.
"Chen Zhuo, exempt from Advanced Math and English. Chu Ge, all subjects. Wang Dayong, exempt from English."
After reading the list, the upperclassman was just about to sigh and turn around to start rummaging through the piles.
Su Wei, standing nearby, spoke up, her voice steady.
"The ’all subjects’ bundle is at the very bottom, to the left of the lectern. The ’exempt from English’ one is in the middle toward the right, under half an empty cardboard box. The ’exempt from Advanced Math and English’ bundle is the thinnest stack, right next to that same box."
The upperclassman froze for a second, then walked in the direction she indicated.
With just a couple of quick movements, he had found all three bundles.
The upperclassman brought the books to the desk and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Wow, you’ve got a heck of a brain."
Chu Ge walked up and picked up his bundle of books.
He glanced back at Su Wei, a hint of curiosity and admiration in his eyes.
"Let’s go."
Chen Zhuo picked up his books and said to Dayong.
Wang Dayong led the way, carrying Su Wei’s books in his left hand and hugging his own with his right.
"Su Wei, which way to the girls’ dorm?"
Su Wei, walking beside him, pointed in a direction.
"That way."
The four of them walked out of the multimedia classroom.
Outside, the sun was still scorching, and the sound of cicadas rose and fell in waves.
Chu Ge walked beside Chen Zhuo, holding his books.
"That girl’s pretty interesting,"
Chu Ge said in a low voice.
Chen Zhuo watched the backs of Wang Dayong and Su Wei up ahead.
"She has a great memory."
"’Great’ doesn’t even begin to cover it," Chu Ge scoffed.
"With that one glance, she must have processed hundreds of color variables in her head. If she were a programmer, she’d be an absolute master at debugging."
Chen Zhuo just smiled and didn’t reply.
It was a fair distance from the Physics Building to the girls’ dormitory.
Wang Dayong walked quickly, with Su Wei following silently beside him.
They arrived at the girls’ dormitory building.
The first-year students had just moved in, so the entrance to the dormitory was a chaotic mess of people moving their luggage.
"Alright, I’ll just leave your books here for you," Wang Dayong said, wiping away a bead of sweat.
Wang Dayong glanced at the dorm manager guarding the entrance like a hawk, then placed the books on the steps.
"Keep the cardboard to cushion your hand, don’t let the string cut into it."
"Thank you."
Su Wei crouched down and placed the piece of cardboard back under the string.
She lifted the books and glanced back at Chen Zhuo and the others.
"Goodbye."
"See you."
Wang Dayong waved.
Chen Zhuo nodded.
They watched as Su Wei struggled up the steps with her books and disappeared through the dormitory’s main entrance.
"Alright, let’s head back."
Chu Ge urged.
"It’s too hot today. Let’s hurry back to the dorm and get the fan on."
The three of them turned and started walking toward Building 4.
As they were passing one of the university’s academic buildings, Wang Dayong suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Hey, wait a sec."
He turned to look at Chu Ge and Chen Zhuo.
"Your roommate, the one who went to the lecture hall to save seats—did he get his books?"
Chu Ge froze.
Chen Zhuo also stopped walking.
The three of them stared at each other, dumbfounded.

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