Chapter 72

The afternoon PE class was shared by Class Seven and Class Eight.

After finishing his conversation with Ying Chanxi, Li Luo hurried to the playground.

Their PE teachers were one man and one woman, and they jointly supervised the initial warm-up exercises.

But when it came to specific activities, boys and girls would separate, each group led by one PE teacher.

That was also why each class needed to elect two PE monitors.

However, after about twenty minutes of exercise, the PE teacher announced free time.

The boys immediately swarmed toward the storage shed, grabbing basketballs or table tennis paddles.

Most of the girls, by contrast, picked up badminton rackets or simply began strolling around.

Gao Yuqin, the monitor of Class Seven, did not go to play badminton; instead, she pulled her desk partner Zhang Yuanying toward the basketball court.

"Which side should we watch?" Zhang Yuanying glanced at the basketball hoops, where three or four courts each had seven or eight boys from Class Seven and Eight playing, overwhelmed by the choices.

Gao Yuqin herself was very sweet-looking; though not as beautiful as Ying Chanxi, she was still one of the class beauties in Class Seven.

Standing at the entrance to the basketball court, she glanced inside a few times, then said, "Let's just look around."

"Didn't you give that Li Luo from Class Eight a drink before?" Zhang Yuanying pointed to a hoop in the corner, "What happened after? Didn't he return the favor or anything?"

"No." Gao Yuqin wrinkled her nose, "He seems kind of dumb."

"What about the others?" Zhang Yuanying asked curiously, "What about Lu Wei from our class, or Xu Tingwen from Class Three? Didn't they both show interest in you during military training?"

"They're both nice too, but I prefer guys who can play guitar and sing—don't you think that's cool?" Gao Yuqin said, "Besides, Li Luo buys drinks and ice cream for classmates—I think he's quite considerate."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Let me think." Gao Yuqin pulled her desk partner along toward the court where Li Luo was.

Because Li Luo had chosen a corner spot, Gao Yuqin naturally passed by the hoop where Lu Wei and the others from her own class were playing.

The boys from Class Seven had initially assumed their monitor had come to watch them, and suddenly began aggressively bumping and shoving.

But when Gao Yuqin walked past their hoop and headed toward Class Eight, the boys were stunned.

They thought: Is she our class monitor—or Class Eight's?

Among the boys of Class Seven, Lu Wei, the tallest, stared at Gao Yuqin's back, unconsciously pressing his lips together, glancing at the boys from Class Eight, his gaze instantly locking onto Li Luo, and letting out a low hum.

After all, many people had seen Gao Yuqin giving a drink to Li Luo from Class Eight.

But Gao Yuqin had also given drinks to Lu Wei and several other boys afterward, so Lu Wei didn't feel he was any worse than Li Luo.

Thinking of this, Lu Wei couldn't help muttering a few words to a classmate, then strode forward toward Class Eight's direction.

Before Gao Yuqin reached them, Lu Wei stepped ahead and addressed the boys from Class Eight: "Playing separately is boring—how about a full-court 5v5? We can get the teacher to referee."

Zhu Yufei, the PE monitor, raised an eyebrow, glanced at his classmates, saw their eager expressions, and nodded: "Sure."

"I'll go get the teacher—wait a moment." Lu Wei received the reply, nodded satisfied, turned, and with a sidelong glance at Gao Yuqin, walked away with a confident stride toward the PE teacher.

On the Class Eight side, Zhu Yufei began assigning players: "Zhang Guohuang, Lin Yuan, Li Luo, Fang Chen—shall we five play?"

"You guys play." Li Luo waved his hand, uninterested in running the full court, and patted the shoulder of the boy beside him, "Let Lu Jiahao play—I'm taking a break."

He wasn't opposed to competing against the boys from Class Seven, but seeing Lu Wei staring at him, and noticing Gao Yuqin's movements, Li Luo found the whole thing utterly ridiculous.

So Li Luo strolled over to the hoop, twisted his neck, and prepared to leave.

But Gao Yuqin had already approached him, walking up and asking curiously, "Aren't you playing?"

"Tired. Let them play."

"Hey?" Zhang Yuanying chuckled beside her, "You're not scared, are you? Our Yuqin came all the way here just to watch you play."

"Yingzi, what are you saying?" Gao Yuqin scolded playfully, lightly hitting her, then turned to Li Luo: "Don't listen to her—actually, I'd rather watch you sing."

"Oh, thanks." Li Luo watched the two girls' act and felt goosebumps rising on his arms—he was embarrassed.

But Gao Yuqin wouldn't let him leave; she blocked his path and asked, "Are you free later? There's club recruitment in the evening—want to go check it out together?"

"No thanks. I think our interests probably don't match."

"I'm going to check out the dance club and the anime club," Gao Yuqin said. "What about you?"

"Me?" Li Luo paused, then replied vaguely, "I scored full marks in Chinese composition for the high school entrance exam—I'll definitely join the literature club."

"Literature club?" Gao Yuqin, hearing this, changed her tone: "Actually, I was planning to check out the literature club too—we could go together."

Li Luo: "... I've already made plans with someone. No need to trouble you."

"It's fine—the more people, the more fun."

"Whatever." Seeing she wouldn't let up, Li Luo suddenly understood the torment of being popular—he simply made a quick escape: "I need to use the restroom."

Honestly, if this had been his previous life in high school, Li Luo might have been completely dazzled if a girl like Gao Yuqin had pursued him.

But from an adult's perspective, Gao Yuqin's behavior only struck him as childish and awkward.

Thinking of this, Yan Zhusheng suddenly seemed much more normal.

Li Luo strolled over to this side of the playground and saw Yan Zhusheng sitting alone under the shade of a tree; he walked up and asked, "Aren't you going to play badminton?"

"All alone—no one to play with," Yan Zhusheng shook his head, pointing toward the girls playing badminton.

"What about your roommate?" Li Luo asked, puzzled. "Don't you usually hang out together?"

Yan Zhusheng blinked, confused: "Does having a roommate mean you have to hang out together?"

"Well, not necessarily..." Li Luo clicked his tongue, suddenly realizing Yan Zhusheng seemed to have no friends in class.

For boys, Yan Zhusheng's looks were simply too striking, and he clearly didn't seem easy to get along with.

Besides Li Luo, only Zhu Yufei, the PE monitor, ever exchanged a few words with Yan Zhusheng.

As for the other girls... they rarely spoke to Yan Zhusheng, and no one had ever seen him eating or going to the restroom with any girl.

A true loner.

"Since I've got nothing else to do, come play badminton with me."

"Okay."

……

One minute later, Li Luo swung his arm effortlessly.

Three minutes later, Li Luo's expression turned serious.

Five minutes later, Li Luo ran back and forth.

Ten minutes later, Li Luo gasped heavily, hands on his knees, staring at Yan Zhusheng, who stood across from him, racket in hand, strikingly vigorous, and couldn't help asking, "Did you train before?"

"My mom loves badminton, so I often play with her," Yan Zhusheng replied, then asked with concern, "Are you done?"

"?" Hearing this, Li Luo straightened his chest, pointing his racket directly at Yan Zhusheng, "Again!"

A few minutes later, the physical education teacher blew his whistle, and the dismissal bell rang.

Li Luo exhaled in relief, thinking he'd never again play badminton with Yan Zhusheng—it was damn exhausting.

He'd rather play basketball.

He was a healthy high school student too, so why did Yan Zhusheng's physical condition seem better than his?

As he walked back to return the racket, Li Luo asked, "Do you exercise often?"

"I have a habit of morning and evening runs," Yan Zhusheng said, tilting her head. "Didn't I mention it when school started? I like music and running."

"I see…" Li Luo nodded in understanding, yet secretly shook his head, thinking: Heaven really was blind—how could such a girl be afflicted with heart disease?

As he thought this, the students of Class 7–8 gathered, and the PE teacher announced dismissal; Li Luo headed toward the classroom building, planning to wait for Ying Chanxi.

"Want to eat together?" Yan Zhusheng asked.

"Sure," Li Luo nodded. "Ying Chanxi will join us too."

"Oh."

The two reached the entrance of the playground, where club members had already begun setting up stalls along Houte Road.

Xu Youyu, wearing a red Student Union armband on his uniform sleeve, happened to be on temporary duty here; seeing Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng, he waved and greeted, "Going to eat?"

At that moment, Ying Chanxi came down from the building, jogging over to Li Luo: "Senior and Zhusheng are here too? Let's eat together."

At this very moment.

Gao Yuqin, who had originally intended to approach and greet them, now pulled Zhang Yuanying's hand and silently followed the crowd toward the cafeteria.

The enemy was simply too strong—it wasn't that she was retreating from battle.