Tang Yu had been holding in his frustration all morning.
Did Bai Yuenian seriously have zero sense of boundaries for a childhood friend? Hadn’t they been totally fine yesterday? Bai Yuenian had acted perfectly normal back at his place, so what was wrong with him today?
Was he possessed by some closeted-flirt demon?
The sheer audacity of Bai Yuenian casually dropping, “Because Tang Yu likes me,” right in front of Teacher Liu Ziyue made Tang Yu’s blood boil the more he thought about it.
Who likes him?! Just because the original owner of this body liked him doesn’t mean I do, okay?!
And wasn’t it all because some girls on the school forum were shipping them as a couple?
Just watch…he was going to shatter every single shipper’s dream into pieces! Starting today, every last one of those CP fans can perish…
On the High School forum, there was a stickied post that always stayed at the top of the board, titled: # 2n + 2y = szd!!! #
As an academic underachiever, Tang Yu felt hypnotized the second he saw any kind of math equation. When he first transmigrated here, it had taken him a long time to figure out what this thread even meant.
The post was disguised as a math problem, but in reality… it was a shipping thread for him and Bai Yuenian!
2n + 2y meant “Nian Nian You Yu” (a pun combining their names), and szd was short for “is real!”
The first two hundred replies were all actual math discussions, escaping the forum moderator’s lazy filtering. Moderators rarely had the patience to read through every single comment, so the thread slid right under the radar.
Tang Yu was so furious that he created an alternate account and stormed into the forum.
By now, the scene in the hallway from this morning had already spread everywhere.
Floor 441 [Irrelevant Classmate]: “I’m literally dying from the sweetness! Today, Tang Yu got caught by Brother Ziyue, and God Yue covered his escape, ending up in the office together. The picture of Tang Yu shrinking into Bai Yuenian’s arms is SO cute… I’ve been foolishly smiling at my math test for half the period. [Attachment]”
Because of the camera angle, the photo made it look like Tang Yu was leaning right against Bai Yuenian’s chest.
Add in Bai Yuenian’s hand resting on Tang Yu’s shoulder and the dappled sunlight filtering through the hallway railing, and the atmosphere was practically glowing with romance.
Even Tang Yu froze for a moment when he saw the photo.
Floor 441 [Irrelevant Classmate]: “Sigh, legendary moments are never witnessed by me in person. Another day of envying the fifth-floor classes.”
Floor 442 [Heard I’m Mr. Minus Two]: “Breaking news! Bai Yuenian slept at Tang Yu’s place last night! Word on the street is Tang Yu couldn’t even get out of bed this morning.”
Floor 443: “For real?!”
Floor 444: “Should be true! They came to school together this morning. I haven’t seen them in the same frame for almost half a month, sob sob sob…”
Floor 445: “Couldn’t get out of bed? God Yue is THAT capable in bed? Sporting that cold, aloof face while being so passionate…what an incredible gap moe! I wonder if God Yue’s OCD makes him carry Tang Yu to the bath after they do it? I’m literally drooling…”
Floor 446: “To the floor above: regardless of whether it’s real or fake, it IS real to me in this moment! Pure love warriors, charge!”
Floor 447: [Cheering with glowsticks.gif]
Floor 448: [Banging head against wall.gif]
Floor 449: [Edited Wedding Photo.gif]
Tang Yu: “…”
They even edited a freaking wedding photo?!
Tang Yu: (～T_T～)↘~~ Get out, every single one of you!
Floor 450 [Passerby Mr. T] replied to Floor 441: “Your imagination is way too wild. Be careful using your phone during class… [Brother Ziyue peeking through the window warning.gif]”
Floor 451 [Passerby Mr. T] replied to Floor 442: “Bai Yuenian slept on the couch last night, NOT with Tang Yu!!! [Black face.gif]”
Floor 452 [Passerby Mr. T] replied to Floor 445: “At such a young age, can your minds be a little cleaner? [Tuzki facepalm.gif]”
Floor 453 [Passerby Mr. T] replied to Floor 449: “Photoshop will be the death of you. [Arrogant.gif]”
After replying to everything, Tang Yu felt a wave of relief. Ah, much better! Did they think he didn’t know how to use meme stickers?
However, a second later, several notifications popped up on the forum.
Floor 450 replied to Passerby Mr. T: “Aren’t you playing on your phone during class too? Let’s see whose phone gets confiscated first, hahaha!”
Floor 451 replied to Passerby Mr. T: “You understood what they meant, so your mind isn’t clean either!”
Floor 452 [Heard I’m Mr. Minus Two] replied to Passerby Mr. T: “Whoa! So God Yue slept with Tang Yu on the couch?!”
Tang Yu: “…”
Are the brains of CP shippers even wired normally?!
Slept with Tang Yu on the couch my ass!
Tang Yu himself froze in sheer disbelief!
Floor 453 [Passerby Mr. T]: “Do you guys even understand human language?!”
Shoving his phone back into his desk, Tang Yu crossed his arms and leaned back against his chair.
Arguing was truly a skill. He couldn’t win the roast battle and ended up getting infuriated all over again by that “Mr. Minus Two.”
His dramatic shift in posture startled Xie Tianyi, who glanced sideways at him. “You used to browse the forum all the time, didn’t you? What’s wrong now? Why are you so mad? If you don’t wanna see it, just report it!”
The one who browsed it often wasn’t him! This was his very first time!
Normally, he wouldn’t care this much…let them ship whoever they wanted! But today, for some reason, he couldn’t stand it at all.
Hmph! It was all Bai Yuenian’s fault for saying that “he liked him” line.
As for reporting?
Xie Tianyi had actually reminded him.
Tang Yu whipped out his phone again and tapped rapidly. Soon, a system notification popped up: [Report submitted successfully. Results will be sent to your phone within an hour.]
Tang Yu finally felt a sense of inner peace. Ship all you want! This time, I’m wiping out your home base.
An hour later, however: [Your report request was rejected. Academic-related posts will not be deleted.]
Tang Yu: “…”
AHHHHH… I’m gonna lose my mind! Can the forum admin be a little more thorough?!
By noon, a still-pouting Tang Yu returned from eating lunch with Xie Tianyi. As they passed the basketball court, they saw two groups of people locked in a heated argument.
Xie Tianyi recognized a familiar voice. “Isn’t that our classmate? Why are they picking a fight with the International Class? Sounds like they’re arguing over court space? They don’t usually play basketball though! Especially Old Feng…he had heart surgery when he was a kid. Even though he recovered pretty well, why is he… Hey? Tang Yu… where are you going?”
The International Class at High School consisted of students preparing to go abroad. Some had great grades, aced their TOEFL or IELTS, and genuinely prepared for college overseas.
However, that didn’t include the guys currently on the court. Tang Yu recognized all of them…a bunch of rich kids just slacking off until graduation.
The guys from the International Class held their heads up high, acting utterly arrogant. The tallest one even raised a hand horizontally to mockingly measure height, sneering, “Since when do weaklings from Class 1 play basketball? With that height, how high do you have to jump just to reach the rim?”
As soon as he spoke, the rest of his class joined in the laughter.
“Little top students, didn’t anyone tell you? This court belongs to us. We play here every day.”
More snickers followed.
The guys from Class 1 had never dealt with this kind of behavior. Wu Jianqi had worked hard to pull together a group today, and this was the only open court on the playground. Who knew that midway through, the International Class would show up to steal it?
Opposite them, the guys were being unbearable. Wu Jianqi wanted to snap back, but someone pulled him back: “Forget it! It’s not worth fighting over.”
Yet the other side kept pushing: “Besides, you only brought four guys to play basketball? Are you playing three-on-three or five-on-five? Don’t tell me you can’t even assemble five people from a single class! That’s hilariously weak, hahaha…”
Suddenly, a basketball flew through the air from a distance, cutting off the guy’s laughter!
The ball struck the back of his knee with force. The momentum pushed him forward, causing him to drop straight to his knees right in front of the Class 1 guys.
Just moments ago, Tang Yu had caught a stray ball from the adjacent court and hurled it straight at him.
Tang Yu stepped down from the bleachers. “You think you’re tall? If you don’t want anything below your knees, just say the word. Kneeling is the exact height you belong at. And for your information, I’m their fifth player. Class 1 is playing right here today.”
As expected, when dealing with jerks, you knock them down first, then do the talking…it builds way better presence!
Now THIS was the proper way to be a school bully!
As for those girls on the forum…
Just as Tang Yu was feeling a headache coming on, a group of girls passing by after lunch suddenly began cheering near the court:
“Tang Yu is so handsome!” “Go Tang Yu!” “Tang Yu, you’re the best!”
Tang Yu grinned and waved back at them.
Forget the forum shippers! Look how adorable the girls at their school actually were!
Old Feng…who Xie Tianyi mentioned had a timid personality…timidly tugged on Tang Yu’s sleeve. “Tang Yu, is he… okay?”
The boy from the International Class was panicking on his knees, his face pale as a sheet, trembling all over.
Tang Yu just waved it off playfully. “He’s fine… he’s just… an absolute idiot!”
Saying this, Tang Yu couldn’t hold it back anymore and burst into laughter.
A second later, the International Class guy finally spoke, calling his companions to pull him up: “It hurts so bad! Quick, see if I’m bleeding!”
His friends stammered, “Uh… maybe?” “Looks like it.” “Possibly…”
Tang Yu held back a laugh and delivered the final blow: “Don’t doubt it! You ARE bleeding!”
With a tragic, mournful cry of “AAAHHH~”, the boy collapsed straight to the ground!
In an instant, his group scrambled to carry him off to the nurse’s office, and peace was immediately restored to the court.
Tang Yu was bent double with laughter.
That guy from the International Class was named He Cheng. He came from a wealthy family, holding a status in Nancheng similar to the Qin family. He was tall and built, usually strutting around like a tough guy, but he had one fatal flaw: he was terrified of blood!
In Tang Yu’s original world, Class 13 was right next to the International Class. As the saying goes, two tigers cannot share a mountain, so he and He Cheng had been at odds since their freshman year.
Once, Tang Yu accidentally bumped He Cheng with a door panel when closing it. He Cheng got a nosebleed, looked at the red on his hands, and fainted dead away.
Ever since learning about his weakness, Tang Yu had warned him: Stay away from me, or every time I see you, I’ll make you bleed.
He Cheng was terrified and backed off. Who would have thought he’d still be hemophobic in this book world?
Having resolved the trouble, Tang Yu turned to leave, but Wu Jianqi called out, “Tang Yu, aren’t you going to play?”
Tang Yu paused. “Are you guys really short a person?”
Old Feng replied, “We are! Basketball is a big event with a lot of house points. We thought we’d sign up just to snatch some extra points for the class.”
So that was why!
No wonder a group that rarely played basketball suddenly showed up on the court.
Thinking back to Class 1’s humble goal of aiming for second-to-last place in the sports meet, Tang Yu found himself affected by their enthusiasm. These top-tier students really had a lot of heart.
His smile shone brighter than the mid-day sun overhead. “Then let’s play! I’ve never participated in a sports meet anyway, so let’s just have some fun.”
The basketball court sat right near the sophomore building, facing the classroom hallway.
Up on the top floor where Class 1 was located, fewer students were taking naps today.
A girl who had been leaning on the railing reciting vocabulary words was startled by the scene on the court. She called the class monitor, saying the boys were clashing with the International Class, and asked if they should get the teacher.
Of course they should!
The monitor had just reached the door when she was called back…because Tang Yu had already handled it.
That first shout of “Tang Yu is so handsome!” had been started by a girl from Class 1.
The usually obedient girl who had never done anything out of line flushed bright red from embarrassment after shouting it out.
Right now, a group of girls leaned against the railing, chatting excitedly about the court.
“I never noticed before, but Tang Yu looks so handsome playing basketball!”
“He used to stick to God Yue every single day like conjoined twins, and he never played ball. How could you have noticed?”
“I feel like Tang Yu has changed a lot recently. People used to call him a school bully, but I never got where the ‘bully’ part came from. Today, though, I see it! A school bully really hits different…he’s ridiculously cool!”
The girls lined up along the railing, moving from that topic to discussing what drinks to buy for the upcoming sports meet, taking a tally of everyone’s preferences.
“We know the sports rep is easygoing…he’ll drink whatever we buy.”
“Even though Old Feng had his surgery years ago and recovered well, we should still get him some high-fiber drinks.”
“Wait, what does Tang Yu drink?”
“Do you know?”
“I don’t know either.”
“Coke,” a faint voice suddenly offered from behind them.
Bai Yuenian stood behind them holding a pen, looking toward the court. “Not too cold. If it’s mineral water, room temperature or slightly chilled.”
“Ah, right! God Yue would definitely know.”
Having accomplished his mission, Bai Yuenian sat back down at his desk to continue his practice problems. But after reciting a problem a few times, none of it sank in.
Tang Yu’s confrontation with He Cheng on the court just now reminded him of something from his past life.
Back then, he had been memorizing vocabulary on the rooftop when Tang Yu and Xie Tianyi showed up.
They were standing just around the corner from him, and the smell of cigarettes occasionally drifted over. The two had clearly snuck up to the roof to smoke.
Xie Tianyi was thrilled. “I actually made it into Class 1! My dad said he’d buy me a pair of limited-edition sneakers.”
The high school held placement exams every semester. At that time, Bai Yuenian didn’t even realize the person around the corner was Tang Yu.
Not until Tang Yu spoke: “Look at your lazy self. Sneakers are a waste on you. What are you gonna do, run or play basketball in them?”
That voice! Bai Yuenian gripped his vocabulary book so hard his fingernail left a deep crescent mark on the paper.
Xie Tianyi said, “Hey, don’t tease me. I heard Class 1 is super competitive…they’re all Tsinghua and Peking University material. The more I learn, the more I realize how important grades are. You should stop slacking off too, or you won’t even get into a college. It’d be too embarrassing if I pulled up in a luxury car to meet you sweeping the streets.”
“Screw off!” Tang Yu kicked Xie Tianyi. “The school I wanna go to is one you might not even get into.”
Xie Tianyi asked, “Where couldn’t I get into?”
Tang Yu replied, “The only thing standing between me and my dream school is my academic score.”
“Are you for real?” Xie Tianyi laughed at Tang Yu’s phrasing. “Are you taking an art or sports specialty route? I heard graduating seniors sell their study notes…you could buy a set.”
Tang Yu refused. “No way! Their study methods don’t suit me.”
“Alright then!” Xie Tianyi stubbed out his cigarette on the roof, but a gust of wind blew the butt right over the edge.
He peeked down. “Holy crap! It landed right on Brother Ziyue’s head.”
Tang Yu gasped, “You idiot! Run! I don’t wanna copy school rules again!”
That very night, Bai Yuenian filtered through all the universities that matched Tang Yu’s criteria and drew a checkmark next to Nancheng University.
The next day, he volunteered at the teacher’s office just to check Tang Yu’s test papers, taking down the entire grade’s score records.
He spent a full month analyzing Tang Yu’s weaknesses to create a customized set of study notes.
One day, during Class 13’s PE class, the classroom was empty. Bai Yuenian had just seen Tang Yu scale the school wall on the east side to sneak out, so he felt safe sliding the notes into Tang Yu’s desk drawer.
However, on his way out, he bumped into He Cheng.
After passing each other, He Cheng stopped Bai Yuenian. “What is a top student from Class 1 doing in Class 13?”
His tone was full of warning: “What did you put in Tang Yu’s desk? If I find out you left something gross, you’re dead!”
When He Cheng pulled out a notebook filled with neat, meticulous handwriting, he froze. “Bai Yuenian, you…”
Then, a thought struck him, and he carefully searched through every page. “You nerds are pretty sneaky! Did you hide a love letter in here?”
There was nothing.
Just a pristine set of study notes.
There wasn’t even Bai Yuenian’s name on it…he clearly didn’t even want Tang Yu to know who wrote it.
When the bell rang and students from Class 13 began returning, He Cheng couldn’t hang around any longer.
Out in the hallway, He Cheng asked under his breath, “Why are you giving him study notes? Are you like that Qin Zhan guy…?”
More people gathered around: “Is that Bai Yuenian?” “Whoa! His forum photos don’t do him justice, he looks way better in person!” “Wait, why is someone from Class 1 down here?” “Did he get lost?” “No way! How do you accidentally wander from the fifth floor to the first?”
Bai Yuenian ignored He Cheng entirely and turned to head upstairs through the crowd.
He Cheng, unwilling to let it go, shouted up the stairs, “Are you like him?! Do you like him too?!”
Youth was subtle, dramatic, and intensely curious…
At this age, most crushes were expressed quietly…placing two water bottles side-by-side on the center line of a desk, as if that brought one closer to the person they liked.
Direct confessions like this were extremely rare.
The moment those words were uttered, the hallway exploded.
“AHHH… Bai Yuenian likes someone?!” “I’m so curious! Who is it?” “Does He Cheng know something?” “Look how worked up he is…could he like that person too?!” “OMG… absolute drama central!”
“Shut up!” The chatter hit a nerve, and He Cheng snapped, “Who likes him?! I don’t!”
Bai Yuenian glanced down at the agitated boy below. Lightly yet firmly, he threw back a response that echoed clearly:
“If you don’t like him, what business is it of yours?”
Back in the present, girls were still watching Tang Yu play basketball from the hallway, occasionally letting out exclamations like “He’s so handsome!” or “That three-pointer was so clean!”
Lost in memories of the past, Bai Yuenian…usually a problem-solving machine…hadn’t even finished half a worksheet all lunch break.
He simply set his pen down, took off his wire-rimmed glasses, and gently massaged his eyes.
After a while, the girls in the hallway returned to their classroom as the game wrapped up.
A moment later, Tang Yu’s energetic laughter echoed down the hall: “Old Feng, your passes were spot on!”
Old Feng replied, “Not as good as you! Your three-pointers were insane.”
Tang Yu said, “We still need to build our teamwork. If you get tired during the game, you can swap with Xie Tianyi.”
“Huh?” Xie Tianyi had just been watching from the sidelines. How did he suddenly get roped into playing?
He was about to protest, but looking at Old Feng… Forget it! If a guy who had heart surgery is pushing himself, it’d be embarrassing to slack off!
“Man, it’s been a long time since I played this hard. Let’s practice for another half hour after school,” Wu Jianqi said. “Oh right, Tang Yu hasn’t signed up yet, right? Let me put the ball away and I’ll go with you to Teacher’s office to fill out the form.”
Tang Yu: “Sure, go ahead. I’ll wait for you.”
Three minutes later, as Tang Yu and Wu Jianqi walked out of Teacher Zhou’s office, they ran right into Bai Yuenian.
Bai Yuenian gently reached out and pulled on Tang Yu’s sleeve. “After school… can I wait for you to finish playing basketball so we can walk home together?”
Even though it was phrased as a question, coming from Bai Yuenian, it was almost impossible to refuse.
Why? Wu Jianqi felt like Bai Yuenian seemed a little different today, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what changed.
Tang Yu had just washed his face, and water droplets were still dripping from his bangs, making him look surprisingly docile. “Are you scared? Those guys from this morning were already caught.”
Looking down, a stray water drop fell onto Tang Yu’s soft lips. He noticed the hand Bai Yuenian was using to tug his sleeve happened to be the injured one from yesterday. On top of that, why did Bai Yuenian look like he was on the verge of tears?
Tang Yu’s heart softened. “Fine… if you wanna wait, then wait.”
As expected! Tang Yu couldn’t bring himself to reject him either.
When they got back to the classroom, Wu Jianqi saw the eye drops resting inside Bai Yuenian’s desk drawer and the school uniform sleeve rolled up to reveal a peek of his forearm. Suddenly, lightbulbs went off in his head!
He knew it! No wonder Bai Yuenian was so hard to refuse just now!
His eyes had been glistening like he was terrified of being bullied, and that snippet of bandage peeking out from his sleeve made him look utterly fragile.
Wu Jianqi couldn’t help asking, “God Yue, your arm…”
Bai Yuenian casually replied, “It’s fine. It already scabbed over.”
Wu Jianqi: “…”
It’s already scabbed over and you’re STILL wearing a bandage?!