Chapter 14

Out on the track, Hu Xiao and the people from Class 15 were practicing long-distance running. Seeing the two walking along the side of the road, one after the other, looking exceptionally pleasing to the eye, he quickly ran faster to keep his distance from them.

Because he had misled Brother Jiang into thinking Su Li still liked him, he now didn't dare appear in front of Brother Jiang.

He was still waiting for his anger to subside.

At this moment, he saw the Class 13 PE teacher standing on the track with a few students, clearly intending to coach some sprinters. He hurried toward the girls from his own class, preparing to find two of them to practice for the relay race. Just as he arrived, he heard them discussing something excitedly.

"Tell me, is Zhao Jiu more handsome or is Jiang Xiangnan?"

"Jiang Xiangnan is that cold, icy kind of handsome; Zhao Jiu is sunny and passionate."

"But Zhao Jiu is truly handsome when he shoots a basketball!"

Hu Xiao was horrified: "Didn't you all like my Brother Jiang before!"

Wavering so quickly?

The Class 15 girls glanced at him, confused: "Jiang Xiangnan is icy and cruel to outsiders; Zhao Jiu looks much easier to get along with."

Isn't it normal for them to waver?

Besides, handsome guys—who doesn't like looking at them?

Hu Xiao was stunned. For the first time in over a year, he had heard someone rated higher than Jiang Xiangnan.

Is Brother Jiang's status in jeopardy?

Hu Xiao hurriedly sent this news to Yu Yangfei. Yu Yangfei had long had this premonition, but Jiang Xiangnan's family background and grades were there, and it was just a basketball shot for a PE exam; it didn't prove anything at all.

A pretty face doesn't go far at No. 1 High School.

He looked at Su Li in the photo helping Zhao Jiu hold his jacket. Besides, with a guy who's so easy to approach, if Su Li stays with him for a long time, can she tolerate other girls constantly getting close to him?

Zhao Jiu walked on. It was the third period of the morning, and the sun was already fierce.

"Good thing I still remember how to play."

Su Li nodded in agreement: "Boss is mighty."

Zhao Jiu: "Mm."

Gouzi always accepted praise from his own people completely.

Su Li: "..."

Su Li took out her phone to look at the problems. Gouzi had already passed the exam, so she could do the problems with peace of mind. After memorizing the questions, she stuffed the phone back and continued doing the problems in her head.

Zhao Jiu calmly took out his small notebook and continued to recall.

There were quite a few people running on the playground at the moment. To avoid disturbing them, the two walked along the edge of the playground, preparing to take a slight detour to get out.

At one end of the track was an open-air basketball court, where boys were already playing basketball.

"That's Zhao Jiu, huh? He's indeed a bit more handsome in person than in the photos."

"Su Li really isn't with Jiang Xiangnan anymore; she's switched to Zhao Jiu."

A few boys were chatting, their basketballs never stopping.

Zhao Jiu and Su Li walked through the middle of the concrete area. Hearing the sound of the basketball hitting the ground, Zhao Jiu glanced over and then withdrew his gaze. Su Li looked at the sky, then at them—playing outdoors, aren't they getting sunburnt?

Sure enough, boys' thoughts are not quite the same as girls'.

Su Li withdrew her gaze. Turning her head to see Zhao Jiu walking away alone, she hurried over.

"Zhang Ling!!" A voice suddenly rose. A boy on the court came to his senses and hurried to catch the ball, but the ball had already flown out, heading straight for her.

Before Su Li could react, a hand with distinct knuckles suddenly reached out in front of her. Then, with a "slap," the ball flew away, and with a "bang," it bounced on the ground.

The people from Class 15 heard the commotion and looked over, confused. Zhao Jiu had his back to them, so they couldn't see his expression, but they inexplicably felt it was a bit chilly over there.

Hu Xiao, who had seen the whole process, was stunned. That Zhao Jiu's reaction was so fast.

The surroundings were silent for a moment. Su Li looked at the figure that had appeared in front of her as if dazed. Because it was summer, he was wearing short sleeves, revealing his forearms. At this moment, the veins on his distinctively knuckled hand were bulging from the effort, and the hem of his yellow shirt was slightly stretched open by his reaching out, billowing as the wind blew.

The Gouzi who had been looking for praise just a moment ago now had cold, sharp, and deep eyes.

The few people on the nearby court were frightened and actually forgot to pick up the ball. Zhang Ling, who had been dazed, met Zhao Jiu's gaze, hurried over a few steps, picked up the ball, and said tremblingly: "S-sorry."

Su Li came to her senses: "It's... it's fine."

Gouzi withdrew his hand, his expression cold: "Watch your words and actions."

The person who picked up the ball reacted, and suddenly his back felt cold. He had heard it.

"Sorry." After saying that, he ran away quickly.

Zhao Jiu loosened his shoulders and turned his head to ask: "What were you spacing out about just now?"

Su Li looked at the jacket that had fallen in front, then at the Gouzi in front of her. She was just about to ask him something, but Zhao Jiu's interruption made her forget, so she replied directly: "I was just thinking, they're playing basketball outdoors in the middle of summer, won't they get heatstroke?"

Zhao Jiu looked at the blue jacket on Su Li. She had the nerve to ask if others would get heatstroke?

Wearing an autumn jacket in the middle of summer—although it was quite thin, it was still quite hot.

Su Li met his gaze and said righteously: "It's required to wear the school uniform, and I'm not as hot if I don't exercise."

Zhao Jiu looked down at Su Li, whose neck was covered in sweat.

Su Li: "And it protects against the sun."

Su Li walked over, picked up the jacket Zhao Jiu had dropped on the ground, patted it, and then draped it over her arm.

"Why don't you wear the summer school uniform inside?" He asked the question he'd had all along, but why was the air conditioning in the classroom turned up to the point where people had to wear jackets to keep from shivering?

Su Li's footsteps paused. She looked at Zhao Jiu; inside was the yellow summer school uniform.

Even if some people wore it with the flair of a designer brand, it couldn't hide the fact that it was ugly.

Didn't you see Jiang Xiangnan wearing his own clothes?

"It's ugly."

Zhao Jiu: "..."

The few people playing basketball on the side watched the two walking away while talking. The one who had just picked up the ball rubbed his arms; he had almost been scared to death.

That reaction speed—so he really did turn around because he liked Su Li!

But looking at the distance they kept while walking and their positioning, why did it look so much like a big boss and a little follower?

Su Li took Zhao Jiu to the small shop to buy water. By the time they returned, it wasn't long before the PE class ended.

Su Li circled the playground, but the people from their class had scattered so much she could barely find where they were. A few were already walking out, and she remembered that there was no need to assemble after PE class.

"Let's go back to the classroom to grind problems."

Zhao Jiu had just finished flipping through a notebook and handed it to Su Li: "Mm? Is that okay?"

Su Li took out another one and gave it to him: "It's okay, there are probably quite a few people doing homework in the classroom now."

Zhao Jiu pinched the notebook with his fingertips. No. 1 High School was a bit intense.

The two hurried back to the classroom.

By the time they arrived, more than a dozen students were already sitting inside, each with their heads down doing homework. On the podium, Wang Laoshi was sitting, holding a pen, looking as if he were calculating something.

Zhao Jiu felt the pressure rising. He pulled out a chair and sat down. Su Li also hurriedly returned his jacket to him and sat down to grind problems.

The two of them had already fallen far behind these real high school students. If they didn't work hard, the midterm exam would be unwatchable.

Wang Laoshi sat on the podium, watching the two who had returned. As soon as they came back, they pulled out chairs and sat down to do homework, incredibly serious.

Although the two seemed to be in puppy love, studying hard together seemed okay?

The thing to fear most about puppy love is that it affects studies.

But Zhao Jiu's family background was there. What if they broke up one day...

Zhao Jiu sensed someone looking at him. As soon as he looked up, he saw Xiao Wang's strange expression.

Zhao Jiu: "???"

Did he find out he was doing other homework during English class?

Zhao Jiu glanced at the physics book in his hand and switched to math.

Soon the bell rang for the end of class, and a large group of students returned from the playground. The whole classroom was instantly noisy.

A group of boys were so hot they crowded around the air conditioner to blow off steam.

Wang Laoshi said: "Don't crowd under the air conditioner!"

The group said "okay," but not a single one moved away.

After Qian Lei grabbed a good spot to blow cold air, he looked at Zhao Jiu and Su Li, who were seriously grinding problems.

Qian Lei suddenly felt he was wasting his time. He looked at the air conditioner, then at Zhao Jiu and Su Li, felt a pang of heartache, then gave up the prime spot to someone else and returned to his seat to grind problems together.

Qian Lei saw Zhao Jiu frowning at the last problem in the workbook. This time he learned his lesson: the big boss definitely didn't not know how to do it; he was just thinking about the optimal solution.

He took out his math book to preview the next class.

Zhao Jiu suddenly leaned back in his chair, his fingertips spinning the pen again. His head hurt a little. He couldn't solve it—not the kind of "couldn't solve it" where he had no ideas, but the kind where his thinking was dulled.

It felt exactly the same as during the entrance exam.

He honestly flipped to the answer. The moment he saw the answer, his originally dulled thinking finally became a little sharper.

He picked up his pen and started writing again.

Gouzi finally understood the feelings of people doing rehabilitation in hospitals.

Qian Lei was dumbfounded. So the big boss really didn't know how to do this problem!

So the gap between himself and the big boss wasn't that big after all!

He happily continued previewing, striving to finish reading the math book before class.

At this time, in other classes, students out strolling were grabbed by classmates who knew people in Class 15, who excitedly told them how handsome Zhao Jiu was when he shot the basketball.

Thus, Zhao Jiu's popularity in school shot up again because of a candid photo of him shooting, his popularity rivaling Jiang Xiangnan's.

"People say Zhao Jiu was super handsome during the basketball exam!" said someone from Class 8 who had just returned from the restroom.

"Really?"

"Really, Class 15 and Class 13 had PE class together."

"I wish I could have seen it in person."

"They secretly took two photos."

A few students leaned in to look. The candid shot was super good, capturing the exact moment the youth leaped up to shoot, with his abdomen vaguely visible.

"So the summer school uniform is this long..."

Su Cheng was doing homework. Hearing their discussion, she gripped her pen tightly and bit her lip, then tried hard to relax. It was just a simple basketball shot for a PE exam; Zhao Jiu only looked handsome because he was good-looking.

They would only be fresh for a while. If he really faced the school team, could Zhao Jiu even be watched?

She continued to lower her head and do her homework.

After the fourth period started, Zhao Jiu and Su Li listened to the lecture while secretly recalling the previous content. Wang Laoshi saw it but acted as if he didn't.

By the time class was almost over, Zhao Jiu had regained some feeling for doing math.

Suddenly, Qian Lei next to him seemed to remember something, turned his head to look at the clock hanging at the back of the classroom, immediately adjusted his sitting posture, toes pointing outward, and said: "Get ready, charge."

Zhao Jiu: "Mm? Charge for what?"

At this moment, he suddenly discovered that the whole class seemed to have entered a state of first-level combat readiness, holding their breath, as if they were about to do something?

Zhao Jiu was just about to ask Su Li what the situation was, when he saw Chen Xue say to Su Li: "Jiajia and I will charge first in a bit."

Su Li nodded seriously: "I'll take Zhao Jiu."

Zhao Jiu: "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, a large volume of running sounds appeared throughout the building, and the building seemed to be trembling slightly.

Wang Laoshi waved his hand helplessly.

Qian Lei charged out with a "whoosh." The boys in the back row rushed out the door at a sprinter's speed. The bell was still ringing, and the entire Class 13 had basically finished charging.

Zhao Jiu was stunned. Su Li turned around and said: "Eat!"

Su Li came out from the inside of the seat, grabbed Zhao Jiu's wrist, and pulled the still-dazed Zhao Jiu out to run.

Zhao Jiu: "Mm?"

He turned his head and happened to see a huge crowd of students rushing toward them. At the stairwell further away, it was swarming with students.

Soon Su Li pulled Zhao Jiu to the other stairwell. This stairwell didn't have large walls blocking it, so one could clearly see the scene outside.

Zhao Jiu looked forward. On the path below, the vanguard had rushed to the front. Zhao Jiu's sharp eyes saw Qian Lei in the vanguard, followed by a large group of people.

Zhao Jiu looked back again. The Grade 1 students behind were also frantically rushing forward. The fast ones had already squeezed into the Grade 2 sprint team.

He was just about to ask something, but Su Li had already dragged him quickly downstairs and squeezed into the main force.

Seeing her running so hard, Zhao Jiu broke free from Su Li's hand and grabbed her wrist himself. Su Li was confused, but Zhao Jiu suddenly pulled her and started running, his speed much faster than hers just now. Su Li was forced to speed up.

Su Li looked at the person pulling her to run in front. This feeling of being pulled by someone was a bit wonderful; it felt like entering a world of another speed.

And it seemed much less tiring than running by herself!

Zhao Jiu took care of Su Li's pace, still pulling Su Li to quickly overtake more than half of the students and arrived at the cafeteria.

Su Li said: "Left stairs to the second floor!"

Zhao Jiu pulled her to the second floor again. At this moment, there weren't many people in the cafeteria yet, with six or seven people queuing at each window.

Su Li hurriedly took Zhao Jiu to queue at the side window.

"Is the school lunch break only half an hour?" Zhao Jiu finally asked. If it was half an hour, was that excessive?

Su Li panted: "No, it's because if you come late, there's no food."

Zhao Jiu: "???"

He looked down, shocked. When he pulled her for morning runs before, he hadn't seen her be this proactive.

Su Li looked up at him: "Beef noodles, fried rice, and the like are supplied in limited quantities every day."

Su Li looked at him calmly. Accompanying the boss for a run versus grabbing beef noodles—obviously, the latter was more important.

If you come late for the latter, there won't be any.

Zhao Jiu looked at the other windows again. Indeed, the queue for the window selling beef noodles and rice bowls was twice as long as the others.

Zhao Jiu looked down again. So, had he been underfeeding her before?

Some people clearly used his chef even more smoothly than he did.

Su Li pretended not to understand his gaze and turned back to continue queuing. Gouzi didn't understand; grabbing food was also a kind of happiness.

Author's note: Thank you to the little angels who gave me overlord votes or watered me with nutrient solution between 2023-02-10 22:09:16 and 2023-02-12 07:22:11~

Thanks to the little angels who gave landmines: Qie Zhi Ban Mian, Jing_Mo, Feng Mi You Zi (1 each);

Thanks to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Ke Ai Ni (52 bottles); Jiang Zhi Zhuang Nai (50 bottles); Liang Ke (30 bottles); Qie Zhi Ban Mian (25 bottles); Zhang, 1735077220 (20 bottles); Wei (19 bottles); e, Jing_Mo (10 bottles); Xi Huan Yi Ge Ren Jiu Xi Huan Shang Le (6 bottles); Bing Bing, An Nian Bu Li Shang, 6363 Mu, San Liu Shao Nv (5 bottles); xxr, Ye Zi (3 bottles); Ju Zi Fu Ren, Cai Bu Yao Zuo Ning Meng Jing, Ka Li Ka Li (1 bottle);

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!:,,.