Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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After the flag-raising ceremony, back in class, Yan Han asked Lin Jianlu why neither of them had told him about Ji Changdong’s admission to Luze High School, such a big happy event. Late August was the time when the autumn heat was just beginning to return; the weather was hot and the sun was scorching. Having been exposed to the sun for half an hour, Yan Han was still drenched in sweat when he returned to class.
He was thin, but he was still a man, and his energy was high.
Moreover, to conceal his identity, he not only wore nipple covers on his chest but also safety shorts, meaning he was wearing several extra layers of clothing compared to other boys…
That’s why they say being a girl is tough.
He now understood this deeply.
He wasn’t the only one feeling hot; Qin Siyu at the next table was already panting, and Wen Juerong was constantly fanning himself with a large fan. Everyone in the class was taking various measures to cool down and feel better, but Lin Jianlu seemed unaffected.
He sat there ramrod straight in his summer T-shirt school uniform, neither fanning himself nor taking off his clothes, which suited his usual quiet demeanor.
But Yan Han knew that Brother Lin was also afraid of the heat.
It was just that their brains were structured differently; at times like this, Lin Jianlu could focus all his senses elsewhere, so he naturally didn’t feel the heat.
Lin Jianlu answered his question. He said, “It’s not that I didn’t tell you on purpose, it’s that Xiao Ji wanted to give you a surprise.”
“Xiao Ji?”
“At first, he was afraid he wouldn’t pass the exam and would disappoint you. Later, he passed and wanted to give you a surprise again.”
“…” Yan Han didn’t know that he held such a high position in Ji Changdong’s heart.
Lin Jianlu said, “He admires you a lot, especially after knowing that you’re a good student.”
Yan Han was shocked: “Me?… A good student?”
“Yes.” Lin Jianlu nodded, then glanced at him again: “Anyway, you have to work hard.”
“…”
That meant he absolutely couldn’t mess up the class placement exam this time.
Thinking about this bothered Yan Han. And he scratched his cheek. “So… is there anything I can help with Xiao Ji?”
“Nothing should be necessary,” Lin Jianlu thought for a moment. “I’ve already told the dean about his tuition and living expenses, and I’ll take care of them. As for the rest, he’ll have to rely on himself.”
“…Brother Lin, you’re so kind.”
Although there was no need to deliberately hide Ji Changdong’s background, there was also no need to publicize it. So the two of them whispered to each other as they talked.
Lin Jianlu had a unique, fresh scent of men’s shower gel and shampoo, while Yan Han smelled even better. In this kind of weather, he had to apply sunscreen to his arms, legs, and face before going out. The mobile dressing room provided top-of-the-line cosmetics that were suitable for Yan Han’s skin type. They were not only effective but also refreshing and non-greasy, with a light, pleasant fragrance.
So the two of them, almost touching, could smell each other. Lin Jianlu turned to look at Yan Han, indicating that it was nothing.
“The Lin family sponsors several impoverished students every year.” Helping Ji Changdong was just a small favor.
“…Sigh.” Yan Han sighed dramatically. “Generally speaking, I’m quite resentful of the rich.”
“But I sincerely hope that Brother Lin’s family can always be this wealthy.”
Realizing what he meant, Lin Jianlu smiled subtly. “Want some milk tea for lunch?”
“No.” Yan Han fiddled with his collar, trying to cool himself down.
He said, “It’s too hot, let’s have some shaved ice.”
“Hmm. Matcha red bean or strawberry?”
“…” Yan Han hesitated slightly. He had also ordered shaved ice with Lin Jianlu after dinner yesterday, choosing mango over matcha red bean, strawberry, and mango. He had mentioned wanting to try other flavors another day, and Lin Jianlu remembered.
…A sharp mind really makes a difference.
“I’ll have strawberry,” Yan Han said.
The class assignments for this semester were scheduled for the second Thursday or Friday after the start of the semester.
That meant there was only a little over a week left until today.
Although he’d spent the entire holiday preparing for this, Yan Han still felt a bit panicked after learning the timeline.
—When it comes to exam preparation, you can never have too much time.
With his current abilities, getting to the fourth floor shouldn’t be a problem, but Class 9 and Class 13 were both on the fourth floor. The distance between them felt like a mountain and a sea; both were on the fourth floor, but the difference between which class he got into was huge.
Based on his current level, barring any mishaps, he could probably get into Class 13 or 12. With good performance and luck, Class 11 wasn’t out of the question, but to go any further…
After reviewing other people’s scores after the final exams, Yan Han felt he had little chance.
Actually, given his older brother’s usual temperament, he shouldn’t have cared much.
This wasn’t the college entrance exam, just one exam; even if he didn’t get into a good class, it wouldn’t matter.
He usually studied on his own and didn’t care what others thought of him; it didn’t affect him at all.
But he just felt anxious and nervous. He didn’t have time to think about the specific reasons.
He didn’t dare to think about it either.
—It wasn’t like he was in the personal dressing room; time couldn’t be arbitrarily altered according to his mood, so he simply decided to give up.
Thus, on the first day of school, Yan Han once again plunged headlong into the sea of knowledge with swift and decisive action, unable to extricate himself.
Despite his nervousness, he hadn’t lost his composure.
Class 14’s newly arranged schedule included a physical education class in the afternoon, so although reluctant to leave the classroom, Yan Han changed his clothes before class and walked with the rest of the group into the gymnasium, braving the heat. It was exceptionally hot today, and to prevent students from suffering heatstroke, the physical education class was moved to the gymnasium.
The physical education teacher was the same female teacher from last semester, but coincidentally, this semester their class was taking the same class as Class 18.
During the warm-up laps, Class 18 ran ahead, with Class 14 following behind. The few physical education students from Class 18 hadn’t gone for training today and were just attending class with their classmates. When they turned around and saw a familiar face running ahead from Class 14, they all turned to greet Yan Han.
“Hey, hi.” Yan Han waved to them.
The elder brother had skipped his lunch break to study and was incredibly sleepy during the first class of the afternoon, but after running around for a bit, that fatigue had vanished. While everyone else was too lazy to move in this sweltering heat, Yan Han was getting more and more energetic as he ran.
—Exercise really suits him better.
By the second lap, the class had become scattered; many couldn’t keep up and gave up, leaving only a few persisting.
This short distance was no problem for Yan Han, who was usually in good physical condition and had trained hard during the summer. He ran behind the students from Class 18, while Wei Ningxin deliberately slowed down a few steps ahead to keep pace with him, saying, “Want to play ball together later?”
Yan Han replied, “Sure.”
During the summer, after learning he was at school, Wei Ningxin and his friends had relentlessly asked him to play ball.
If his studies were mostly completed according to plan, Yan Han would agree to play for a while; if things weren’t going well, he would cruelly refuse.
Over the summer, they had played a few games together, but it was all just casual play with these sports students on campus. Yan Han never accepted their invitation to play against other schools outside of school.
He didn’t have the time or energy.
But PE class didn’t matter; playing was playing, after all.
After getting his agreement, Wei Ningxin dashed back to the front of the line. He was naturally tall and muscular, and his long-term exercise had given him a more graceful physique than most. Wearing a basketball uniform… no wonder he was among the top ten most popular figures.
Yan Han stared at his back, unable to resist glancing at him a few more times simply out of admiration for a handsome man.
The two laps were quickly completed, and everyone stood back in front of the PE teacher, panting as they found their positions and formed ranks.
In PE class, each class always stood in four rows, two lines of girls in front and two lines of boys in the back, arranged by height.
So, after Yan Han, standing at the back of the line, settled down, Lin Jianlu automatically appeared behind him. Seeing that Brother Lin had not only kept up the whole way but also wasn’t even out of breath, Yan Han, being rather irresponsible, turned around and gave him a thumbs up.
“…”
Lin Jianlu saw this, gave him a blank look, and this time didn’t even react.
However, the PE teacher soon blew his whistle, and Yan Han quickly turned back to listen to the teacher.
Usually, the first period was just a brief explanation of the rules followed by free time, and everyone assumed it would be the same this time. However, the PE teacher didn’t dismiss them immediately. Instead, he said, “In a couple of days, the school will organize a basketball tournament between the first and second grades. The entire second grade will send 12 to 15 students. If any of you like playing basketball, you can sign up with me this period.”
After the teacher finished speaking, no one raised their hand.
Someone directly asked, “Teacher, don’t we already have PE students? Why do we need to sign up?”
“It’s a friendly tournament, so we don’t need to send PE students,” the PE teacher said. “Besides, there are only a few PE students in the second grade, like Wei Ningxin and a few others, so we don’t have enough people. Everyone should sign up enthusiastically, preferably those who have participated in basketball games before, since you’ll be facing your juniors.”
This kind of basketball tournament was held every year when new students entered. It was older students playing against younger students matches. It couldn’t seem too serious by sending all the best players, nor could it be too easy; losing would be embarrassing after all.
So, usually, they chose those with some competition experience who weren’t professional basketball players.
The recruitment process for this competition was clearly irregular; the PE teacher probably just asked around in each class without making it mandatory.
But since it involved those who had participated in previous competitions… Yan Han turned and snapped his fingers at the class monitor and the others: “Class monitor? You guys give it a shot! Go for it!”
The class monitor, who loved basketball, immediately signed up after Yan Han’s encouragement.
He felt he had to bring a few more along, but with the recent heat and the lethargy of the holiday, the once-enthusiastic Class 14 basketball team members were all listless and lacked any real motivation.
Everyone avoided the class monitor’s gaze.
Only one person remained unmoved.
“Waaah, Brother Lin, you’re so good to me!” The class monitor excitedly leaned over to hug Lin Jianlu, but he didn’t dare.
Then, remembering Lin Jianlu’s mysophobia, he hesitated, thinking that participating in this competition might be a burden for him: “Brother Lin, are you going to sign up or not?”
Not only the class monitor asked, but even Yan Han was curious.
He felt that Lin Jianlu had finally managed to interact with people, and although he didn’t know why, he should keep at it.
Playing basketball seemed like a good option.
However, ultimately, the choice was his own, so he just stared intently, unlike before when he’d given the class monitor a meaningful look.
Meeting that gaze, Lin Jianlu didn’t answer the class monitor’s question, but instead asked Yan Han, “What do you think?”
Class Monitor: “…”
PE Teacher & Many Classmates: “…”
Yan Han: “…”
He wanted to say, “This is your own business, why are you asking me?”
But based on his understanding of Lin Jianlu, he knew that Lin Jianlu asking this at this time was actually a way of giving him a push.
And… if Lin Jianlu was going to participate in basketball games, then they would have more physical interaction… even if it was just a dry handshake, there wasn’t much to it, but at least he should get his consent…?
So Yan Han said uncertainly, “…Then let’s sign up and give it a try?”
“Okay.” Lin Jianlu slightly raised the corners of his lips, then said to the class monitor, “Then I’ll sign up too.”
The class monitor, who was once again discouraged, was speechless.
The PE teacher didn’t expect two students to sign up so quickly. Just as he was writing down the list, Wei Ningxin from Class 18 asked, “Teacher, can I participate?”
The PE teacher paused, gave him a strange look, and asked uncertainly, “You want to participate too?!”
They all knew Wei Ningxin’s temper. Obviously, he disdained playing with ordinary students. He even looked down on teammates who were not very good during training. Why did he suddenly want to participate now?
Wei Ningxin turned his eyes towards Class 14. His gaze was directed at where Yan Han was.
Then he asked a question instead of answering, “Do you think I should participate?”
“…”
Yan Han: Why are you asking me this too?!
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, and with the strange looks from others, Yan Han chose to play dumb.
But seeing him scratching his head and looking around without looking at him, Wei Ningxin suddenly felt a surge of anger.
He laughed in exasperation, “Hey, I’m asking you a question.”
“…Yan Han!”
The author has something to say:
Yan Han (grinning, smiling): Who do you think you are?
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