During the noon break, Li Rourou sat in her seat with a furrowed brow and a face full of worry: “What am I going to do, Class Monitor? Teacher Chen told me to figure out our performance before the self-study class this afternoon, but I don’t have a single clue right now.”
Zhou Wei was the first to chime in: “Isn’t that simple? Don’t you have a spare phone? Just pick any random one from the internet.”
Li Rourou went silent.
“No way,” Zhou Wei leaned closer. “I heard there was a surprise inspection in the girls’ dorm this week, and they confiscated quite a few spare phones. Yours wasn’t one of them, was it?”
Li Rourou smiled awkwardly: “Yeah… you’re really smart.”
Wei Junjie was an honest guy who never brought a spare phone, and Zhou Wei had left his in the dorm. The few of them exchanged looks, their eyes instantly darting together toward Gu Yu, who was looking down at his phone.
Zhou Wei cleared his throat and suddenly put on a posture as if making a desperate plea: “General Yu, may we borrow your phone for a moment? For the peace of Class 1, do you have the heart to watch our ‘Consort Rou’ be ‘ruined’ by Teacher Chen?”
Li Rourou immediately picked up her cue, wiping away nonexistent tears and speaking in a tearful voice: “Yes, yes! General Yu, could you save my humble life? I am willing to go through fire and water, refusing no hardship… If that’s really not enough, I’m willing to offer my hand in marriage!”
Zhao Che was amused watching from the side and joined the act, shaking his own phone: “Our General Yu spends years fighting on distant battlefields; he likely won’t care for an ordinary woman. How about coming to work for me, the Prime Minister, instead?”
Li Rourou instantly changed her tune: “That works too!”
Amused by their coordinated act, the corners of Gu Yu’s mouth curled up almost imperceptibly as he handed the phone over: “Offering your hand in marriage won’t be necessary.”
“Thank you, General!” Li Rourou accepted it with overwhelming gratitude, then blinked at Zhao Che. “Prime Minister Che, I’ll work for you next time~”
She scrolled through the web for a long time, finally tapping on a square-dance version of The Hottest National Wind. Instantly, upbeat music resounded, and the video showed several middle-aged women dancing in a plaza. She asked: “How’s this one? Simple and popular, it should be easy to learn?”
Zhou Wei said: “Works, works! A bit tacky, but as long as it’s simple, it’s fine.”
Looking at the dance that resembled rehabilitation exercises, Zhao Che couldn’t help asking Gu Yu with a smile: “Deskmate, what do you think of this performance?”
Gu Yu was expressionless: “Not great.”
“Aiya, Brother Yu, you just don’t get it,” Li Rourou argued passionately. “Even though it’s a square dance, our advantage is our unique style. In the whole school, there definitely won’t be another class as distinctive as ours!”
Zhou Wei nodded along: “Exactly! Tacky to the extreme is the new trendy! Right, Wei Junjie?”
Wei Junjie chimed in without hesitation: “Mhm, exactly.”
Gu Yu: “…”
Beyond saving.
In the afternoon, Li Rourou nervously shared this “distinctive” idea with Chen Shuang. Unexpectedly, she quite agreed: “Square dance has a brisk rhythm and simple movements; it really suits you guys with uncoordinated limbs.” After a pause, she added: “I usually dance it after work, too.”
Everyone realized it all at once—no wonder she agreed so readily; it turned out to be a shared hobby among middle-aged women.
“We’ll talk about the dance next week; today we’ll just practice the formation first.” Chen Shuang clapped her hands. “The hosts have been replaced by student representatives from the tenth grade this time. Zhao Che, you hold the sign. Gu Yu, stand in the first row at the front. Li Changlin, shout the slogans. Arranging it like this makes me feel more reassured, so people don’t get led astray and end up pacing with the same arm and leg again.”
The surrounding students were all holding back their laughter—Teacher Chen’s words were just short of calling out Wei Junjie by name.
After arranging their positions, the rehearsal began. Class 1 of Grade 11 had forty-five students, making for a fairly impressive lineup when marching.
Li Changlin shouted “One, two, one” loudly in the formation. When they marched past the podium, he suddenly raised his voice: “Class One, Class One! Extraordinary and Second to None! Let Dreams Soar, Always Strive for Number One!”
Hearing this slogan, Chen Shuang’s face instantly darkened. She recalled last year’s bottom-rank finish. The teachers in her shared office had teased her for days: “Teacher Chen, your Class 1 is truly ‘Number 1’ through and through.”
The implied meaning: First in academic results, first at the bottom of the sports meet, and first in marching out of step.
“Stop, stop, stop!” Chen Shuang shouted. “Who came up with this slogan? The slogan sounds inspiring enough, but don’t you realize your own capabilities? Are you striving to be number one from the bottom?”
Nobody dared to speak. Chen Shuang’s gaze landed on Li Changlin, who had shouted the slogan.
Feeling his scalp go numb under her glare, Li Changlin said softly: “Teacher, this was last year’s slogan…”
Chen Shuang: “…”
She took a deep breath and turned to Gu Yu: “Gu Yu, didn’t you score 58 on your last exam essay? Come up with one right now.”
Everyone was stunned. No one expected Gu Yu to be able to come up with one on the spot, let alone compose such a good one.
“Class One, Class One, setting sail on the sea of knowledge. Leading on the field, excelling in studies. Tireless in learning, continuous great results. Forward with one heart, showing our full brilliance.” Gu Yu’s voice was clear and steady, every phrase accurately highlighting Class 1’s strengths.
Chen Shuang nodded in satisfaction: “Not bad, let’s use this one!”
“Nice!” Standing at the very front of the line, Zhao Che was the first to clap. Immediately, Zhou Wei and Li Changlin joined in with shouts of “Nice!”, followed by a continuous stream of applause.
Chen Shuang swept her gaze over the group of students, feeling helpless yet relieved. After running through the final rehearsal, she sent everyone back to class for self-study. Before leaving, she specifically instructed Li Rourou: “Find a good dance video over the weekend and send it to everyone. Self-study at home first, and we’ll rehearse next week.”
The moment Teacher Chen left, the classroom burst into activity.
Across the aisle, Li Changlin said: “Brother Yu, you were literally the God of Literature descending to earth just now!”
Zhao Che sat in his chair, rocking it back and forth improperly: “That’s for sure. Though he’s only slightly better than me by just a tiny bit.”
Gu Yu glanced sideways at him and spoke coldly: “Then why don’t you compose one?”
Zhou Wei joined in as well: “Brother Che, come on, give us one!”
“Ahem, alright, listen closely.” After saying that, he even raised an eyebrow at Gu Yu.
He then put on airs and began his improvisation: “Class One, Class One, uncommon in demeanor. Dashing and dignified, graceful and elegant. Refined and handsome…”
“Stop, stop, stop! Brother Che, aren’t you going off track?” Zhou Wei’s shout interrupted the guy who was fully immersed in his creation.
Li Changlin also felt something was off: “Exactly! Why are you finding different ways to praise your own good looks?”
Zhao Che argued righteously: “Am I wrong? Look how accurate the description is! Besides, I’m praising how handsome our Class 1 is!”
“Haha, keep going and you’ll cure Hei Lin’s appearance anxiety completely.”
“Hey, wait, Zhou Wei, what do you mean by that?”
“Hehe, you heard wrong.”
Zhao Che turned his head, asking with a face begging for praise: “Deskmate, what do you think of my composition?”
Gu Yu was speechless: “What do you think?”
“It’s a given! Look at this strikingly handsome face of mine, with a center-parted textured fringe styled effortlessly—unquestionably the face of our class!” After saying that, he even pressed his handsome face right up to Gu Yu.
Gu Yu: “…”
How can someone be so narcissistic? Narcissistic aside, he actually leaned his big face right over.
Behind them, Zhou Wei was doing who-knows-what when he suddenly pushed against the desk. Because Zhao Che was leaning back on his chair, he instantly lost his balance from the nudge and tumbled forward. His face crashed straight into Gu Yu’s shoulder, and a low grunt came from above his head.
Zhao Che complained in a muffled voice: “Hiss, that hurts like hell.” Rubbing his tall nose bridge, he suddenly realized something—
Damn? Did I just fall directly onto Gu Yu, and did my mouth seem to brush against something soft…? Wait, that seemed to be Gu Yu’s cheek! Holy shit! Doesn’t that mean I indirectly kissed seventeen-year-old Gu Yu?!
Having gained such an immense advantage just a few days after his rebirth, Zhao Che instantly felt completely disoriented with joy, completely failing to notice that Gu Yu had already turned icy cold.
“Brother Yu, are you okay?” Zhou Wei spoke up timidly.
Only then did Zhao Che lift his head, discovering that the person in front of him had his eyebrows tightly furrowed and lips pressed together, with the surrounding air dropped to freezing point.
“Um… I didn’t do it on purpose. Are you okay… Gu Yu?”
“Get lost.”
Right after being barked at, he saw his own textbook—which occupied only a small corner of Gu Yu’s desk—get pinched at the edge by Gu Yu’s hand and shoved heavily back over, the force carrying unrefined impatience.
“…”
Crap, he’s really mad this time.
Gu Yu ignored him all the way back to Fengjing Garden, heading straight into his room.
Zhao Che stood at the doorway and sighed when he heard a loud “bang” as the door shut.
Although Gu Yu was giving him the silent treatment now, he didn’t regret it in the slightest. He took an orange from the fridge and strolled casually back to his own room.
As he sat by the bed peeling the orange, a cheerful ringtone suddenly blasted in his ear, giving him a start. Seeing the caller ID read “Mom”, he pressed answer.
“Hello, Mom.”
“Ah Che, your dad and I are going on a business trip for a few days. We might only be back next week. You and Ah Yu can sort out your meals yourselves these few days.”
“Mhm.”
“By the way, don’t order takeout; it’s too unhealthy. Got it?”
“Mhm, got it, Mom. Go ahead with your work.”
“Alright, hanging up.”
Just as he was worrying about Gu Yu ignoring him, here came the opportunity!
Zhao Che opened his pinned chat window and sent a message.
Che Ye: My mom just called saying she and Old Zhao are away on a business trip, telling us to sort out our meals ourselves.
Che Ye: So… what are we having tonight
Che Ye: Oh! My mom specifically mentioned no takeout allowed.
No reply for five minutes.
Che Ye: Are you there handsome.jpg
No reply for ten minutes.
Che Ye: I was wrong.jpg
Zhao Che didn’t hold much hope anymore, but to his surprise, the other side replied in a second.
GY: Eating out.
Eating out? Did he mean eating out by himself, or eating out together?
Che Ye: Um, together?
GY: Otherwise?
Seeing Gu Yu’s reply, he realized how stupid his question had been. But since Gu Yu was having dinner with him, he had a chance to coax him! Thinking of this, he quickly replied.
Che Ye: Copy that! See you downstairs in ten minutes. Doge.jpg
With a face full of joy, Zhao Che opened his wardrobe. Looking at the multicolored T-shirts, he randomly picked a black one with a simple pink planet pattern printed on it.
After slipping into it in a few seconds, he went to the bathroom, checking himself out back and forth in the mirror. Finally, he nodded in satisfaction and sighed: “Ah, whether seventeen or twenty-four, this innate handsomeness really can’t be contained.”
After admiring himself, he grabbed his phone and headed out. Just as he came down the stairs, he saw a white figure sitting on the sofa, so he said with curved eyes: “Gu Yu, how were you so fast?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the person on the sofa stood up and walked over.