“Tao Ruiyu! Why are you here so early today? Quick, let me show you something.” As soon as Zhao Lingfan, who lived in the school dorm, stepped into the classroom, he was surprised to see the “king of cutting it close,” Tao Ruiyu, already sitting at his desk amidst a few scattered classmates.
Without even taking off his backpack first, Zhao Lingfan eagerly threw an arm around Tao Ruiyu’s shoulder and quietly pulled out his phone to unlock the screen.
Startled awake by the sudden voice, a sleepy Tao Ruiyu flinched. “Damn, early in the morning… what are you showing me?”
Before he could finish his grumble, Zhao Lingfan had already shoved the phone screen right in front of his face.
“Isn’t this that gaming god? He knows our new transfer student?” Seeing the information on the screen instantly woke Tao Ruiyu up, his dazed eyes gradually clearing.
Zhao Lingfan said, “I’m not entirely sure yet. Last night, he suddenly asked in the gaming group chat if there were any alumni from Yinan No. 1 High School, saying he wanted to get acquainted. When I saw the word ‘alumni,’ I thought he was a student here too, hidden so deeply, so I took the initiative to private message him.”
On the screen was a private chat between Zhao Lingfan and a user named “Grandpa Sheng of You and Me,” which started at 10:43 PM last night.
[Square Silk Scarf: Gaming God! Are you really from Yinan No. 1 High School too? Do you remember me? Two months ago, a friend and I rode in your convoy!]
[Grandpa Sheng of You and Me: …I have a vague recollection. You’re a student at Yinan No. 1 High School?]
[Square Silk Scarf: Cross my heart and hope to die.]
[Grandpa Sheng of You and Me: …What grade are you in then? Let me ask you, do you happen to know if a transfer student came to your school today?]
[Square Silk Scarf: Seems like that’s a thing.]
[Grandpa Sheng of You and Me: Here’s the deal, classmate. This transfer student is a friend of mine, his surname is Shen. If you really are a student at Yinan No. 1 High School, I might need a little favor from you. Name your reward, anything goes as long as I can do it.]
The chat history ended right there.
“Are you doubting him? Not planning to reply?” Tao Ruiyu looked at the chat log a second time and asked Zhao Lingfan.
“I’m not an idiot. Just because he says they’re friends doesn’t make it true, right? What if he’s actually our new classmate’s enemy? Enemies can also know each other best,” Zhao Lingfan declared righteously. “Even though Shen Ying just transferred over, betraying a classmate casually is something I, Zhao Lingfan, would never do!”
“Hmm~” Tao Ruiyu first nodded in pretentious approval, then evaluated, “Zhao Zhao, your gaming skills might be unmentionable, but your heart is in the right place. If this gaming god really is Shen Ying’s friend, he’ll surely understand you. Who knows, he might even forget those matches you dragged him down in last week, and reluctantly carry you in games from now on.”
“…Get lost!” Zhao Lingfan rolled his eyes, shoved Tao Ruiyu away, and walked back to his seat.
A year ago, he had accidentally stumbled upon highlight reels of this gaming god’s sniping skills and became a huge fan. Knowing the god also worked as a game companion, he had paid to pull Tao Ruiyu along to join the god’s convoy and naturally entered the private gaming group chat, though he rarely spoke in it.
“Still, if this gaming god really is our new classmate’s friend, what kind of issue requires him to seek help from an alumnus? Why does that sound so strange?” Tao Ruiyu thought out loud.
“That’s why I said I won’t easily sell out a classmate, unless he can proactively explain the situation and prove he’s actually friends with Shen Ying.”
“Well, he probably isn’t sure if you’re scamming him either. After all, when you’re out and about, people give themselves whatever identity they want. Last time I lied to a netizen and said I was an overseas study student, and he totally believed it.”
“Oh, if he doesn’t believe I’m a student at Yinan No. 1 High School, that’s none of my business. Anyway, I’m not the one who needs a favor.” Zhao Lingfan didn’t care at all, despite the person on the other end being a gaming god he idolized.
With that, Zhao Lingfan pulled a carton of milk from his backpack, drank it slowly, and started muttering, “Why hasn’t Dahuang arrived yet? I’m starving.”
“Zhao Zhao, did you hear Shishen teaching Shen Ying how to solve problems yesterday?” Tao Ruiyu’s mental energy was fully awakened now, and he started discussing with Zhao Lingfan again. “The head teacher said he transferred from another school in the city, but judging by the material he’s learning now, he’s lagging far behind our class’s progress. Since he managed to transfer into our class, I assumed he came from a key school, but which prestigious high school has a syllabus this slow?”
Zhao Lingfan finished a carton of milk in one go, glanced at him, and said, “Our head teacher approved it, which means his academics are fine.”
“I know. Yesterday, watching him learn, he actually picked things up really fast. Plus, it was obviously his first time learning those concepts, yet he could keep up with Shishen’s problem solving logic. I was already super impressed. I eavesdropped on Shishen’s tutoring sessions a few times and almost wanted to turn around and ask him to slow down and stop skipping so many steps. I’m just curious which school he transferred from to be learning so slowly, it’s such a waste of time.”
Zhao Lingfan started pondering as well after hearing this, but he couldn’t figure it out either, given how little they knew about the new student.
“Judging by yesterday, it’s obvious he already knew Shishen before transferring. I was already used to Shishen being a loner, but seeing someone suddenly appear by his side who is so close to him… to be honest, yesterday I felt the surrounding atmosphere was insanely weird. The two of them were sitting right behind me, talking in whispers so low I couldn’t catch the details. It was plain creepy.” Tao Ruiyu reminisced, “Can you understand that feeling, Zhao Zhao?”
“…Who doesn’t? Anyway, the moment Shen Ying said he wanted to share a desk and become seatmates with Shishen, and Shishen actually agreed, I finally understood what it meant for the whole class to explode,” Zhao Lingfan recalled. “And did you hear what he said? He said the clothes on his back were a gift from Shishen. He transferred over with a bruised face, and Shishen bought him medicine, very forcefully declaring, ‘You’re not allowed to fight, I don’t like it.’ One look at their relationship and you know it’s extraordinary. This new classmate looks simple, but he’s definitely…”
“Ahem, ” Before he could finish, Tao Ruiyu suddenly let out a loud cough.
Zhao Lingfan instantly sat up straight and snapped his mouth shut.
They hadn’t been best buds for nothing, they still had basic coordination. So without even thinking, he knew Jiang Shi and Shen Ying must have entered the classroom.
Sure enough, the sound of a chair being pulled back came from behind, followed by the two of them talking.
“Jiang Shi, I still want to focus heavily on mathematics today. What do you think?”
“Okay.”
Hearing this, Zhao Lingfan and Tao Ruiyu exchanged a silent glance.
“By the way, didn’t you say…” After a few seconds, Jiang Shi’s voice came from behind again, taking the initiative, though his voice seemed deliberately lowered, “…you’d keep it for me?”
“Oh right, it’s in my backpack.” Shen Ying actually said something else after that, but his voice trailed off, becoming too soft to overhear.
Finally, Tao Ruiyu and Zhao Lingfan only heard the rustling sound of a zipper from behind.
At the sound, the two of them exchanged a silent look for a few seconds, both curious about what Jiang Shi was holding onto for Shen Ying, but too cowardly to turn around and peek.
More and more classmates trickled into the classroom.
Like a thief, Shen Ying furtively handed his phone over for Jiang Shi to look after. Just as he opened his math textbook, he noticed someone standing by his desk.
“Classmate Shen Ying, the head teacher asked me to bring your school uniform over.” The girl finished speaking, her expression and the hands holding the uniform pausing simultaneously as she said in surprise, “Why do you already have a school uniform?”
Shen Ying immediately raised his head. Although he hadn’t managed to recognize many classmates yesterday, he was very familiar with this girl’s voice.
“Jiang Shi had a spare uniform, so I’m wearing his for now.” Shen Ying took the well-packaged set of four uniforms, covering both winter and summer wear, with both hands. “Thank you, monitor.”
As soon as those words fell, the girl’s face was plastered with disbelief. It was hard to tell if she was shocked that Shen Ying was wearing Jiang Shi’s uniform, or amazed that the new student, despite not exchanging half a sentence with them, knew her position was class monitor.
“…You’re welcome.” Recovering her wits, the girl dropped those words and hurried back to her seat.
Shen Ying glanced casually at the uniform, not rushing to open and check it, but bending down to place it against the desk leg.
“You knew she was the monitor?” Jiang Shi asked suddenly from beside him.
“I didn’t know at first, but her voice is quite familiar. After all, she spent all day yesterday shouting ‘Attention.’ During the Chinese class, when the teacher called the monitor to stand up and recite a text, it was this same voice.” Shen Ying smiled as he recounted his sharp observation process.
His tone carried a hint of pride.
“Mhm.”
“What’s wrong?” Shen Ying clearly sensed Jiang Shi’s enthusiasm dipping.
Clearly, when they left the house, his enthusiasm had seemed pretty high.
“Nothing. Focus on the knowledge points first, and ask me in time if you don’t understand.”
“Okay.”
As the morning study bell rang, someone walked briskly, cutting it close as they appeared at the back door.
“Monitor, my foot has already stepped inside! You’re not allowed to mark me late today!” A girl’s voice echoed through the entire classroom. All the students who had just opened their books, including Shen Ying, instinctively looked toward the back door.
The monitor near the front heard the voice and laughed loudly in response. “Relax, I didn’t write down your name. Hurry up and go back to your seat, Yao-jie. The teacher should be here soon. I thought you were taking sick leave again today.”
“Yao-jie,” as the monitor called her, was very popular in the class. Her appearance raised the class’s collective mood far higher than before, with several mischievous classmates shouting welcomes for Yao-jie’s return to class!
“Don’t mention it. Running a forty-degree fever at home yesterday almost burned me to a crisp…” Zhou Shuyao walked straight in through the back door. As she passed by Shen Ying’s desk, she suddenly stopped. “Ah, almost forgot. Yesterday in the group chat, you guys said a handsome transfer student came to our class. Hello new classmate, my name is Zhou Shuyao, the English class representative. Feel free to ask if you need any help in the future.”
Shen Ying, who had spent yesterday feeling like a total transparent entity in the class, truly hadn’t expected another classmate to show such enthusiastic hospitality toward his arrival. So when he raised his head from the math textbook, he was completely bewildered.
Zhou Shuyao had a very stylish appearance, sporting a large wave perm that didn’t look over the top yet remained very trendy. The fact that she could stand in the classroom acting like nothing happened suggested she probably hadn’t gotten it permed just recently.
It also indirectly proved that Yinan No. 1 High School’s campus atmosphere was remarkably open-minded.
Just as Shen Ying regained his senses and wanted to thank the class representative for her warm concern, he noticed Zhou Shuyao’s gaze actually drifting past him toward his side, her eyes even carrying a hint of provocation. Puzzled, he turned his head first to look at Jiang Shi.
Jiang Shi was looking right back at him too, but didn’t speak. Instead, he quietly lowered his gaze and continued quietly working on his test paper.
“Thank you, class representative, but it’s fine. With Jiang Shi’s help, I shouldn’t be causing you all any more trouble.” Shen Ying pulled his gaze away from Jiang Shi, looked up to answer Zhou Shuyao, and then lowered his head to continue reading.
He remained completely unfazed by the obvious collective gaze of the entire class focusing on them.