Tang Yu blew his top. “Since when do you care?”
Tang Yu had always been short-tempered. Xie Tianyi figured he was just trying to save face, laughed it off, and sat back down.
Bai Yuenian turned around again, whispering softly, “It looks really good. It’s not ugly when you wear it.”
Well, obviously!
The second Tang Yu got praised, his inner diva couldn’t help but shine through. A bright smile curved his eyebrows, making his expression irresistibly cute.
Seeing this, Bai Yuenian couldn’t help but chuckle, the sound low and rumbling deep in his throat.
Tang Yu’s eyes locked onto Bai Yuenian’s side profile…specifically, the way his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he laughed…
Holy crap!
Since when did he develop an Adam’s apple fetish?! Besides, it wasn’t like he didn’t have one himself; could he please stop staring at Bai Yuenian’s?
Tang Yu tilted his head back, staring up at the sky in a desperate attempt to look away.
Naturally, Bai Yuenian just had to play innocent. “What’s wrong with you?”
Tang Yu started making stuff up on the spot. “Nothing. Just giving my neck a workout.”
Not letting his hands stay idle, he shoved Bai Yuenian’s head forward, forcing him to face front. “Don’t keep turning around. There’s nothing more fun than test papers. Go do them!”
Bai Yuenian didn’t argue, but he silently mused: Something more fun than test papers? Oh, there definitely is… but I’m not allowed to do it.
Just as Tang Yu was busy sky-gazing, Xie Tianyi whipped a paper straight onto his desk. “Test papers are fun, huh? Here, have one.”
Tang Yu: “…”
An athletic meet was supposed to be a time to relax, but looking around, almost every student in Class 1 and Class 2 had their heads buried in practice sets. Hardly anyone was playing on their phones.
Even when someone finally was on a phone, the screen was packed edge-to-edge with dense text…they were reading classical Chinese literature for the college entrance exam!
Feeling the peer pressure, Xie Tianyi pulled out a stack of worksheets. Unable to suffer the grind alone, he handed one to Tang Yu. “I saw you’ve been catching up on math lately. Try this out. It’s about mid-term difficulty.”
Ever since learning that his unrequited love with Bai Yuenian was a complete misunderstanding, Tang Yu didn’t care as much about his mid-term results. Still, his recent studying had been paying off, so he decided to strike while the iron was hot.
Besides, his head was filled with a few inappropriate thoughts right now; a little studying might help cleanse his mind.
Tang Yu could handle the basic foundation questions pretty well by now. As long as he kept his accuracy up, scoring a 70 wouldn’t be a problem.
However, the trickier fill-in-the-blanks and big problem-solving questions were still a hot mess. He could vaguely guess what concepts were being tested, but he just couldn’t solve them.
Feeling frustrated, he wanted to find someone to explain a problem to him. But Xie Tianyi was currently wearing headphones, likely doing an English listening test, so it felt wrong to disturb him.
Bai Yuenian wasn’t in his seat either. What about the other classmates? They were all swamped with their own work.
Just then, someone tapped his shoulder from behind. “Working on a test paper?”
Tang Yu finally caught a break! “Qin Zhan! You came at the perfect time. Help me take a look at this question.”
Bai Yuenian had just stepped away to help the homeroom teacher grab some materials. When he returned, he was greeted by the sight of two heads leaning very close together in the back row.
Bai Yuenian: “…”
Without a word, he pulled out his phone, found a contact in his WeChat list, and sent a message.
Moments later, the Class 1 monitor, Liu Shantong, made an announcement: “Before the lunch break, Director Liu is going to do a roll call across every class. Everyone, please stay in your seats and don’t wander around.”
Hearing this, Tang Yu turned to Qin Zhan. “Brother Confucius is about to count heads. You should head back first.”
“Alright.” Qin Zhan felt a bit embarrassed himself. Even though he was a top-ten student in the grade, he hadn’t managed to explain a single question clearly to Tang Yu just now.
Before leaving, he glanced down at Tang Yu. Nibbling on the end of his pen, Tang Yu looked like he was having a personal vendetta against the math problem. His cheeks were slightly puffed out, showing a cute, quirky side that made Qin Zhan want to reach out and pinch his cheek.
Qin Zhan suddenly curled his fingers into a fist. As the thought crossed his mind, a strange sensation washed over him…maybe in another world, I really would have had the chance to pinch his face?
He shook his head, finding the thought absurd.
Before he could figure out what was going on, Bai Yuenian’s voice chimed in with a gentle reminder: “Still not leaving? Director Liu will be here any second.”
He had no choice but to suppress the subtle itch teasing at his heart and put on his signature polite smile. “Leaving right now.”
The Class 1 students didn’t have many events scheduled for the morning. But come afternoon, as soon as the basketball finals kicked off, the class brainiacs gathered around the court, competing to cheer the loudest.
Class 1 was facing off against the International Class in the finals. Ever since that incident on the track the other day, everyone in Class 1 knew about the friction between the two groups.
With that extra layer of rivalry, the Class 1 cheering section went all out.
They even came up with customized chants, like “Class 1 is supreme, sending the International Class packing!”
There was even a personalized chant for Tang Yu.
When Tang Yu heard them shout, “Tang Yu is the glow of the moon, a shy rose so sweet! Anyone less handsome, retreat, retreat, RETREAT!”…he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The International Class refused to back down, but with only twenty students in their entire class, they couldn’t compete with Class 1’s sheer volume.
Toward the end of the first quarter, the International Class even brought out a megaphone, only for Director Liu to confiscate it for being too noisy.
By one or two in the afternoon, the sun was beating down mercilessly.
After playing just one quarter, everyone’s jerseys were soaked through. Tang Yu grabbed a towel handed over by one of the girls, gave his face a messy wipe, and glanced at the scoreboard.
11 to 7. They were trailing by four points.
During the short break, Wu Jianqi urged them not to panic…just stick to their usual game plan, focus on teamwork, and stop letting the International Class set the pace like they did earlier.
Tang Yu sat on the ground, chugging down more than half a bottle of water. While catching his breath, he listened to the team talk. Wu Jianqi’s post-game review was brief, so Tang Yu found himself overhearing the Class 1 girls chatting right behind him instead.
They were discussing how they needed to assign a few people to keep an eye on the 3000-meter run and cheer for their runner.
Then someone asked, “Who’s running the 3000-meter again?”
Wasn’t it Wu Jianqi?
Tang Yu looked over at Wu Jianqi, who was just as drenched in sweat as he was. Bro, you’re playing basketball AND running a 3000-meter at the same time?!
Wu Jianqi overheard them too and scratched the back of his head. “Oh right! I totally forgot. When I was filling out the event sheet, nobody wanted to do the 3000-meter, so I signed up just to snatch a few participation points. Who knew the schedules for both events would overlap?”
The class monitor checked the sign-up sheet. “It’s not just two events, it’s three. You also signed up for the long jump, which conflicts with basketball too.”
Wu Jianqi grinned sheepishly. “Heheh, if there were any men’s events with open slots, I just threw my name on them. Long jump is fine…Xie Tianyi can sub in for a bit while I go jump and come right back. But after running the 3000-meter, I’m gonna be completely wiped out.”
Someone suggested, “Then let’s just forfeit the 3000-meter!”
“Looks like we have to.”
“What a waste of points, though.”
“Can’t be helped. If you just walk the course, you get disqualified anyway, otherwise I’d go just to fill the spot.”
“I’ll go,” Bai Yuenian suddenly spoke up. “When is the check-in?”
Tang Yu couldn’t help asking, “Bai Yuenian, can you actually handle it? How about I go instead? I’m confident we can overtake those International Class chumps in the last two quarters anyway. It’s 3000 meters! To finish that, you need serious stamina and durability.”
Bai Yuenian caught his drift and replied smoothly, “I think I’m… pretty durable.”
The girls behind them instantly exploded:
“Oh my god! What kind of dialogue is this?! That’s so scandalous!”
“Is this something we’re even allowed to hear?!”
“Tang Yu’s words were totally innocent on their own, but when Yu-Shen agreed so naturally with that totally deadpan face, it just sounded so dirty!”
Tang Yu: “…”
He had genuinely meant nothing dirty when he asked!
In the end, it was the class monitor, blushing furiously, who interrupted the girls. She checked her watch and reminded him, “It’s 2:20 PM. The 3000-meter check-in is in ten minutes.”
Before leaving, Bai Yuenian deliberately took a detour past the International Class area.
He just happened to overhear He Cheng asking, “Did Tang Yu find out about… me fainting the other day?”
“Boss, I think almost everyone on the track that day knows you faint at the sight of blood.”
He Cheng reached out and knocked the guy hard on the head. “Why don’t you say that a little louder?! You think I haven’t lost enough face already?!”
Someone suggested, “We can teach Tang Yu a lesson during the game later.”
He Cheng’s tone instantly dropped. “Don’t you dare try it.”
“Boss? You’re defending him? He made you look like a fool!”
He Cheng’s gaze landed on Tang Yu, who was blushing over across the court for some unknown reason. “It’s really not a big deal. Besides, I just realized… Tang Yu is actually kind of cute! After the game, I’ll go talk to him and just ask him and Class 1 not to spread it around.”
Just as Tang Yu had predicted, Class 1 found their rhythm in the second quarter, catching up by the end of it.
By the third quarter, they began to pull ahead.
By the time Bai Yuenian returned, it was near the end of the fourth quarter, and Class 1 held a commanding 19-point lead.
Just as the referee’s whistle was about to blow, Tang Yu pulled off a gorgeous fadeaway jumper. The three-pointer swished through the net, sealing Class 1’s 22-point victory for the championship!
The crowd erupted into thunderous applause.
The Class 1 students were especially ecstatic. Even though it was just a school sports day, winning this felt more satisfying than taking a citywide championship. A few teammates almost hoisted Tang Yu into the air.
Not far off, He Cheng grabbed a bottle of water from his class area, intending to give it to Tang Yu and clear the air about the track incident.
After waiting around until the crowd surrounding Tang Yu finally thinned out, he finally found his chance to walk over.
Feeling a bit awkward, He Cheng spoke up: “Tang Yu, could you please keep the thing about me fainting at blood a secret? And as for the rest of Class 1 who were there…”
Before he could finish, Tang Yu cut him off. “Do you think I’m that bored? Everyone in Class 1 is too busy studying to care about what makes you faint. You could faint at the Earth for all I care! The solar system clearly isn’t built for you.”
He Cheng: “…”
Tang Yu sounded so fierce, but… why did he seem even cuter now?
The tall guy let out a silly grin, flashing a row of bright white teeth. “Thanks for keeping my secret. Here, this is for you.”
It was a bottle of ice-cold water.
Tang Yu was still hesitating over whether to tell him to beat it or just accept the water…after all, he didn’t actually have a personal vendetta against this world’s He Cheng…when Bai Yuenian appeared.
Having just finished a 3000-meter run, Bai Yuenian’s steps were slightly unsteady. Snatching the water a second before Tang Yu could, he pressed it against his own forehead and draped an arm over Tang Yu’s shoulder, his voice sounding faint and airy:
“Tang Yu… I think I’m getting heatstroke. Mind if I use this water to cool down?”
You really are frail, aren’t you! It’s a miracle you even survived that 3000-meter run.
Tang Yu sighed. “Take it!”
Bai Yuenian: “Thanks.”
He Cheng: “???”
Hey! That’s MY water!