Lin Yue had never felt so socially embarrassed before, her face flushed red with awkwardness and the tips of her ears burning hot.
She even thought she saw Xie Yan Si’s lips twitch slightly at the corners.
If it weren’t for that “gege” she had called out just half an hour earlier, it might not have been so bad. But combined with that overly sweet “gege” and the embarrassing way she had just faced Xie Yan Si, Lin Yue’s current mood was completely indescribable. She grabbed Lin Yi Shi and dragged him out of KFC.
Lin Yi Shi almost stumbled from her pull, but luckily he reacted quickly and steadied himself against a table.
Before leaving, Lin Yue didn’t forget to pick up the stool she had knocked over.
Once outside, Lin Yi Shi saw his sister’s flushed and embarrassed face and assumed she was just feeling shy.
“Don’t be shy,” Lin Yi Shi said seriously. “Love is something you can’t force. If you miss it, you might regret it for a lifetime.”
“And…” Lin Yi Shi recalled the boy’s face when he looked over. “He’s pretty handsome, just a tiny bit less than me.”
“While he’s still here,” Lin Yi Shi said, looking at Lin Yue, “if you’re too shy, just wait here for me.”
As he turned to go back, Lin Yue realized he wasn’t just a hot-headed kid—he was practically a reincarnated matchmaker.
She grabbed his arm. “Who said I wanted his contact information?”
She was trying to avoid him, not chase after him.
Lin Yi Shi pointed at her face. “Then why is your face so red?”
Lin Yue reached up and touched her cheek. It did feel a bit warm. She didn’t feel like arguing with Lin Yi Shi, so she made up an excuse.
“The sun’s too strong. It’s burning hot.”
With that, she started walking toward home.
Lin Yi Shi looked up at the overcast sky.
Huh? The sun’s strong?
………
Xie Yan Si watched as Lin Yue ran out hand in hand with a boy, her retreating figure carrying a hint of guilt.
Xie Yan Si’s deep eyes narrowed slightly.
“Gege,” Xie Qi called out to him, following his gaze. “Are you looking at the pretty older sister? Was that the same sister from your phone?”
Xie Yan Si withdrew his gaze and gently pinched Xie Qi’s cheek. “You’ve been sneaking looks at my phone?”
Xie Qi shook her head. “Gege opened it yourself. Qier just happened to see it while passing by.”
At five years old, Xie Qi was already articulate and spoke clearly.
“That older sister is all grown up, just like gege,” Xie Qi said, blinking her beautiful mixed-race eyes as her thoughts began to wander.
“Mommy says when you grow up, you can have babies. Gege, are you going to have a baby with that older sister in the future?”
“If you do, make sure they’re as well-behaved as Qier. I want to play with them, build really tall block towers, wear pretty princess dresses, and braid their hair.”
Xie Yan Si was amused by her innocent words. Instead of correcting her, he curved his lips and replied with a single word.
“Okay.”
Happy weekends always passed by far too quickly.
But for Lin Yue, it was just a change of scenery for doing homework.
This week, however, was different. Lin Yue, who was usually eager to dive into her studies 365 days a year, found herself dawdling at home for half an hour before leaving.
All because of the foolishness she had displayed on Friday. For the first time, she felt an impulse to skip school.
Of course, she couldn’t actually skip.
Lin Yue could only pray in her heart that Xie Yan Si would be like in her past life—skipping school every day and never showing up.
But before she could even check if her prayers had been answered, she ran into her homeroom teacher, Chen Feng, right at the school gate.
“Lin Yue, come with me to the office for a moment.”
Lin Yue didn’t ask any questions and followed Chen Feng to the office.
It wasn’t until Lin Yue received the sports meet registration form from Chen Feng that she couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher, do we seniors also have to participate in the sports meet?”
At Rice Academy, senior students typically didn’t take part in such sports events, which was why Lin Yue asked.
Chen Feng took a sip of tea from his seat and said leisurely, “The school is holding the sports meet early to accommodate you seniors before the intensive training begins.”
“Otherwise, we’re worried you won’t be able to handle it later. This is a chance for you to get some exercise.”
“But our class…” Chen Feng looked at Lin Yue, hesitated, and then smiled helplessly. “Never mind, just do your best. When the time comes, ask Fu Yi to help you out—he has experience.”
Lin Yue didn’t understand why registering for the sports meet required “doing your best,” but she still agreed.
Lin Yue walked into the classroom holding the registration form. Her first glance went to the seat next to hers. As expected, her prayers had worked—the seat was empty.
The weight and boulder in Lin Yue’s heart instantly lifted.
Seeing that most of the other classmates were already present, she didn’t seek Fu Yi’s help. Instead, she stepped onto the podium, cleared her throat softly, and said:
“Sorry to interrupt your valuable study time. The school sports meet is happening next week, and I need to collect registrations now. Each class must sign up for at least five events.”
“So, who from our class wants to participate?”
The classroom fell silent. The students exchanged glances, seemingly uninterested in the sports meet.
Seeing this, Lin Yue finally understood why Chen Feng had hesitated earlier.
She didn’t push them. “Alright then, if any of you want to participate, you can come to me to sign up.”
With that, Lin Yue stepped down from the podium with the form.
Back at her seat, Fu Yi leaned over from beside her. “Give me the form. I’ll help you ask around.”
Remembering that Fu Yi had once been the class monitor and that Chen Feng had just asked him to help, Lin Yue didn’t hesitate. “Okay.”
But before handing the form to Fu Yi, Lin Yue took out a pen and wrote her name under three events: the 3000-meter run, long jump, and shot put.
Before class started, Fu Yi stood up and walked to Lin Yue’s desk. Seeing the events she had signed up for, he couldn’t hide his surprise. “You… can you handle it?”
Realizing his words might have sounded impolite, he quickly corrected himself.
“I mean, isn’t that a bit too much? I’m worried your body might not be able to take it.”
Lin Yue smiled. “It’s fine. These should all be within my capabilities.”
Back in the day, the training she underwent was far more intense than these events combined. This was nothing.
If not enough people signed up, she could just add two more events and take them all on herself.
Lately, due to the intense study schedule and preparing for the IELTS exam, she hadn’t been able to keep up with her morning runs.
This was a perfect opportunity to get some exercise.
A healthy body is the foundation of success, and since success hasn’t been achieved yet, the body still needs strengthening.
Fu Yi looked at the events Lin Yue had signed up for, pursed his lips, and felt that if he didn’t sign up for at least one event, he wouldn’t be worthy of Lin Yue.
Even though he knew that signing up wouldn’t make him worthy of her either.
But… at least it would bring him a little closer to her.
At that moment, his gaze toward Lin Yue deepened with affection.
And this scene happened to be witnessed by a young man who had been standing at the back door for quite some time.
Fu Yi had just opened his mouth to speak when a sudden noise came from the back door. He instinctively looked over.
Then he saw Xie Yan Si lazily walking in from outside.
His school uniform hung loosely on him, the zipper only pulled up to his chest. He looked completely relaxed, nothing like a student from Experimental Class One—more like a school bully barging into the class to pick a fight.
His hands were tucked into his pockets, and his thin eyelids lifted slightly, his gaze landing on Fu Yi with a dangerous intensity.
Fu Yi clearly saw the look in his eyes—it was the kind of look a leopard gives when guarding its prey.
Cold and violent.
Fu Yi was instantly overwhelmed by the terrifying and sharp pressure, his Adam’s apple involuntarily bobbing. He clenched his fists at his sides, ready to defend or attack at any moment.
However, Xie Yan Si only gave him a faint glance before finally walking to his own seat.
After sitting down, he leaned slightly toward Lin Yue, his shoulder brushing against her arm. His pale, slender fingers tapped on the sign-up sheet in front of Lin Yue.
“I’ll sign up for this.”
Lin Yue saw that he was pointing to the men’s 5000-meter race, and then he pointed to the high jump event listed after her name.
“And this one too.”
Surprised, Lin Yue turned her head to meet Xie Yan Si’s gaze.
She couldn’t understand what had gotten into him this time. In their past life, hadn’t he hated sticky, sweaty feelings the most?
But this version of Xie Yan Si, Lin Yue realized, seemed…
Truly different.