Li Xun didn’t get the chance to respond to her “internet lagged” explanation — the physical education teacher had arrived.

He was dragging an enormous mesh bag stuffed full of volleyballs.

“Come on, come on! Line up!” Coach Tang was already shouting from some distance away.

Coach Tang’s surname was Tang. He wasn’t old — medium build, lean and wiry, and extremely high-energy. In a teaching environment like this, his skin had been baked a deep brown by the sun. He also had a habit of wearing dark-colored athletic gear, so catching a sudden glimpse of him could briefly convince you there was an ambulatory fire poker coming your way.

“Get into formation! Jiang Xingchi, take roll!”

With that one bellow from Coach Tang, a tall, powerfully built young man stepped out from the group. Zhu Yun recognized him — he was a sports specialist from Class Two, a nationally certified second-tier athlete and one of the main players on the school’s volleyball team.

The students, limp and sun-dazed, shuffled slowly into two rows.

“Hey, you — get into the line!” Jiang Xingchi pointed at Li Xun.

Li Xun turned and looked at him.

Jiang Xingchi: “Move it! Class is about to start!”

Zhu Yun discreetly grabbed the hem of Li Xun’s shirt and tugged him toward the formation.

Li Xun glanced at her, the edge in his expression easing slightly. Meanwhile, Jiang Xingchi flipped open the roll book, noted the date, and looked up again——

“Hey, what is wrong with you? Can’t you see that’s the girls’ line? Get out of there!”

The heat had everyone on a shorter fuse than usual. Jiang Xingchi called out several times, his tone none too pleasant.

Li Xun said nothing.

Zhu Yun snuck a look at him. From the faint shift in the angle of his brow, she knew he was already a little irritated.

Fortunately, Li Xun didn’t make a scene. He gave Jiang Xingchi a few more seconds of his gaze, then stepped out of the line and moved to the one in front.

Jiang Xingchi finished calling roll, and by the time he was done, Coach Tang had also finished his preparations. Jiang Xingchi brought the roll book over, then returned to the formation — only to find, when he tried to take his usual spot at the front of the men’s line, that someone had absolutely no intention of making room for him.

Jiang Xingchi looked at the person. Li Xun stood with both hands in his pockets, chin slightly raised, expression entirely blank.

“What do you think you’re doing? Can’t you see the line is ordered by height?”

Zhu Yun: “……………………”

Jiang Xingchi was considerably more solidly built than Li Xun — but if they were actually going by height, he genuinely was not as tall.

A month away, and his talent for condescension had evidently grown even sharper.

Provoked by the remark — which carried an unmistakable undertone of deliberate challenge — Jiang Xingchi’s expression darkened.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Li Xun’s face didn’t change.

“Line up. Class is starting.”

Zhu Yun was a little nervous.

Jiang Xingchi was a sports specialist — outside his required academic courses, his time went almost entirely to athletic training. Li Xun, on the other hand, had spent all his time at the base and had never participated in anything even remotely sports-adjacent. These two had had essentially zero overlap before now.

Zhu Yun had been to several of these classes already and had formed a basic impression of Jiang Xingchi. He was Coach Tang’s star pupil. According to other students, how far the school’s volleyball team got in competitions used to be entirely dependent on the draw — since Jiang Xingchi joined, their record had climbed steadily, and they had somehow broken into the top six at last year’s league tournament.

As the team’s main player, Jiang Xingchi was essentially king of the court.

Zhu Yun looked at the broad-shouldered Jiang Xingchi and felt her heart rate do something worrying.

“What’s going on over there?” Coach Tang had finally wrestled the mesh bag open, turned around, and taken in the scene. “Jiang Xingchi — class has started, why aren’t you leading warm-ups?”

The students nearby nearly collapsed upon hearing this.

Warm-ups? In this weather?

The standoff broke. The two pairs of eyes finally parted, and Jiang Xingchi led the group in laps around the court under the blazing overhead sun.

It was a form of suffering without words.

After two laps, everyone looked like they had been fished out of a lake.

Zhu Yun stole a glance at Li Xun. He was just as hot, and seemed to be sweating more than the others, his breathing uneven.

Li Xun’s brow was deeply furrowed — visibly done with both the weather and the class. Zhu Yun could see he was exhausted; he had probably traveled all day to get here.

“Today we’re learning the serve!” Coach Tang picked up a ball and turned to the students. “There are several serving techniques in volleyball, but all you need to master is the most basic one — the side underhand serve.”

He demonstrated as he explained. Feet shoulder-width apart, body turned sideways to the net, left hand holding the ball in front of the abdomen, right arm hanging naturally at the side — then the left hand tosses the ball smoothly upward, the right arm swings back straight from the shoulder joint as the axis——a clean, crisp sound, and the ball traveled smoothly to the other side of the net.

“Everyone see that clearly?”

The students nodded with varying degrees of comprehension. Coach Tang ran through it twice more, then said: “Alright — start practicing. Get a feel for it first. Any questions, ask me or Jiang Xingchi.”

Everyone took a ball. Men and women split into separate courts. Zhu Yun attempted the serve several times and failed spectacularly — not a single one cleared the net.

“Put some force into it.”

Zhu Yun turned around to find Jiang Xingchi standing behind her. He corrected her posture. “Turn your body a bit more to the side. Your forearm is too loose.”

Zhu Yun nodded and tried again. Still didn’t make it over.

Jiang Xingchi stepped in and adjusted her stance, then tapped the front of her forearm. “Use this part. You’re too relaxed right now — tighten up, put some force in!”

Zhu Yun clenched her fist, but her skin was naturally soft and pliable — clenching didn’t make much visible difference. Jiang Xingchi still wasn’t satisfied, and kept urging her to put in more force, more force, more force, until Zhu Yun was gritting her teeth.

“Good! Hold that muscle tension — don’t bend the arm — now toss the ball!”

Zhu Yun tossed the ball per his instructions. Jiang Xingchi gave the command: “Swing!”

Zhu Yun flung her arm forward with everything she had——

A sharp crack rang out, followed by a short, involuntary cry.

Zhu Yun was usually composed in public settings. The instant it escaped her she clamped both hands over her mouth and doubled over, arm pressed tight against her body.

……That had genuinely felt like setting off a firecracker against her own skin.

Her arm was burning. Jiang Xingchi immediately came over. “What happened — are you hurt?”

Zhu Yun shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Jiang Xingchi: “Let me see your arm.”

Her arm had gone numb and wouldn’t straighten properly. “It’s alright, it’ll pass in a moment.”

“Let me look at it!”

Jiang Xingchi reached out to take her arm — and a hand intercepted his.

Li Xun moved Jiang Xingchi aside and crouched down in front of Zhu Yun.

Zhu Yun had only registered that the light in front of her had shifted, and she looked up — Li Xun was right there, drenched in sweat. Up close, she could even see the tiny beads of sweat along his eyebrows. His skin was reddened from the direct sun; his shirt showed sweat soaking through across his back, chest, and under the arms — thoroughly saturated everywhere.

Li Xun looked at her, brow low, and asked: “Does it hurt badly?”

Zhu Yun shook her head. “I’m alright. Just hit at the wrong angle.”

“Can you straighten it?”

Zhu Yun pulled her arm free and extended it slowly. The skin had already turned a deep purplish-red in the short time since, a dense bloom of burst capillaries across the surface. Against Zhu Yun’s fair skin, the discoloration was startling. Coach Tang had noticed something was wrong on this side and jogged over in a few steps, examined Zhu Yun’s arm, and said: “Nothing serious, but don’t be careless about it. Jiang Xingchi — take her to put some ice on it.”

Jiang Xingchi acknowledged and guided Zhu Yun toward the gymnasium.

Coach Tang turned back: “Everyone else keep practicing! Watch yourselves — if you’re not used to this, don’t put too much force in at first!”

As Jiang Xingchi led her away, Zhu Yun glanced back at Li Xun — but he had his back to her, and she couldn’t see his expression.

Of all the luck, after finally seeing each other again……

Jiang Xingchi brought Zhu Yun to the first aid room inside the gymnasium, had her sit on a stool, and then broke open an ice pack himself.

“Hold this against it.”

Zhu Yun pressed the ice pack to her arm and said nothing.

In the idle time, Jiang Xingchi made conversation.

“You’re from Class One, right?”

“Mm.”

Something seemed to come to mind and he gave a slightly scornful laugh.

“The guys in your class are all made of paper.”

“……”

Zhu Yun looked up. Jiang Xingchi had been in athletic training since he was young, and it showed — solidly built, with rough-hewn features, a broad nose, big eyes, nothing like Li Xun’s precise and finely drawn look. Today he was wearing dark athletic clothes, and sitting across from her he was like a wall, with a weight and presence that was almost oppressive.

Zhu Yun very much wanted to ask who exactly he’d been picturing when he said that — and Jiang Xingchi answered the question himself before she could. “Take that guy who’s missed half the classes. The whole lot of them in your class — just decorative.”

Zhu Yun was not pleased.

If you’re going to say that, I can’t really just let it go.

Jiang Xingchi had one hand pressed against her arm. Zhu Yun shifted back slightly. “It’s fine now — it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Hold it a while longer.” He didn’t ease off. His palms were perpetually roughened from years of playing — coarse as sandpaper — and Zhu Yun couldn’t pull free.

Jiang Xingchi seemed to be looking for a way to put her at ease, and settled on some small talk.

“You don’t exercise much, do you.”

“……Mm.”

“No wonder. No experience at all — that’s the easiest way to get hurt.”

Zhu Yun offered herself a small defense: “Volleyballs are just very hard.”

Jiang Xingchi laughed. “Hard? These are soft training balls — what we use in actual practice and competitions are hard regulation balls. If you hit one of those you’d be lying on the court.”

Zhu Yun gave a hollow laugh. “Surely not.”

“Don’t believe me? Come watch a training session sometime. I’ll spike one at you and you can find out.”

Something in Zhu Yun’s awareness shifted — she sensed the conversation was drifting somewhere slightly off-course.

Jiang Xingchi looked at her arm and said with a grin: “You girls are really delicate.”

Zhu Yun said: “Not really — I just wasn’t ready.”

Jiang Xingchi finally let her arm go, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Leave your number with me. If it starts hurting again, just come find me directly.”

There it was.

Zhu Yun reflected that being in a relationship really was the best thing a woman could do for her appearance — counting Jiang Xingchi, three different people in the past month alone had made overtures in this general direction.

A certain someone had apparently flung open the gates to a whole new world of admirers on her behalf.

Not that she could do anything with that besides privately feel pleased with herself for a moment. “It won’t hurt again.” She played dumb, glossed over his last sentence, and stood up. “Thanks for the help — I’ll head back now.”

Zhu Yun walked straight for the door. Jiang Xingchi needed a moment to gather his things and was a beat behind.

The moment she stepped out of the gymnasium, Zhu Yun saw him.

He was sitting by the roadside under a tree, head down, elbows on his knees — resting, it looked like.

Sunlight filtered through the branches and fell in uneven patches across his soft white T-shirt. The vivid green of the leaves, the warm gold of his hair, the pale grey of the stone path — bright, clean colors like a watercolor painting.

Zhu Yun felt something pleasantly light move through her.

Things that belonged to you really did look beautiful no matter how you looked at them.

What did Jiang Xingchi know — a woman’s deepest wish was simply to sink peacefully into the world of someone decorative.

Zhu Yun walked over and sat down beside him.

Li Xun didn’t react. Zhu Yun made full use of the privileges of being a girlfriend and leaned against him slightly.

He finally looked up. His face carried the heaviness of exhaustion, and he asked quietly: “Better?”

“It wasn’t anything serious to begin with.”

“Let me see.”

Zhu Yun held her arm out obediently. After the ice, the swelling had gone down considerably.

Zhu Yun asked: “Did you just get back today?”

“Mm.”

“Why didn’t you rest first — why come straight to a physical education class?”

“I wanted to see you.”

Zhu Yun went completely soft in an instant, and could not stop herself from wanting to lean fully into him. But before the warmth had finished blooming in her chest, she caught Li Xun’s expression — flat, indifferent, almost cold.

“And you gave me quite the welcome gift.”

“……”

“What did that gorilla say to you?”

A flicker of mischief. Zhu Yun deliberately looked away and scratched her chin.

“Nothing much. Just asked for my number.”

No reaction.

Zhu Yun stole a glance at him — and the cool, faintly contemptuous curve of his smile hit her so squarely she went red.

I wasn’t even lying, he literally just asked for my number, why am I blushing——

Li Xun stood up, brushed off his clothes, and crooked a finger at her.

Zhu Yun instinctively rose to follow — and before she had fully straightened, he had her. Zhu Yun let out a startled cry, and by the time she processed what was happening, she was already pinned against the tree behind her.

Li Xun didn’t waste time with words. He reached out and slid his hand under her shirt.

Zhu Yun looked past him at the wide open campus, at the students walking by in every direction, and registered that they were on the main thoroughfare of the academic buildings.

The main thoroughfare!!!!!

Several waves of alarm later, Zhu Yun struggled with full force, got one hand free, and smacked him repeatedly on the arm while forcing her voice down to barely above a whisper: “Li Xun! Do you see where we are right now?!”

Li Xun, displeased at being smacked, gave her a look. Zhu Yun ignored the warning and smacked him again. So that large hand simply moved further along its intended path — reaching around to her back, and with a single practiced click, unhooked her bra.

What the——?!

Zhu Yun felt the tension across her chest release all at once, and barely held back a yelp. She yanked her hands back to hold herself. The hand had still not retreated, and showed signs of advancing further. Zhu Yun, caught between the itch and the heat of it and with nowhere to retreat, went stiff as a board and admitted defeat.

“Okay — okay, I was wrong, I’m sorry——!”

The rapid string of apologies made Li Xun’s brow arch slightly. He took a half-step forward and pressed her firmly back against the tree trunk, then said, with complete calm: “Convinced?”

“Completely and utterly……”

“Try flirting with someone else again and see what happens.”

Pot calling the kettle black.

Where was the justice in this world.

Zhu Yun looked up, all indignation — and the moment she saw his expression, that faint, unhurried smile, every feeling she had dissolved into nothing.

He was so close. The sunlight came in from behind him, giving his face an almost startling clarity and immediacy. He was so good-looking her legs felt unreliable.

Li Xun smiled, and straightened up.

“I’m heading off.”

Zhu Yun hadn’t caught up yet——

Again?!

“Where are you going?” She scrambled to re-hook her bra and took two quick steps after him — just in time to catch him as he turned around, and walked directly into his chest.

The faint warmth of his skin through the thin layer of sweat — it brought back the small hotel room, and that night, and Li Xun’s clean, lean, supple body……

“Your Highness, could you perhaps keep your thoughts a little less visible on your face in broad daylight?”

Zhu Yun pressed her lips together. Li Xun reached up and pressed gently at the back of her neck for a moment, then leaned close to her ear and said, quietly:

“Wait for me a little while. Tonight we’ll stay somewhere outside.”