The cheerleading squad’s final rehearsal had ended, with only the competition notice remaining.

But things were different for the basketball team.

To showcase their prestigious school’s well-rounded development in “moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education,” the school administration took the City Interschool League competition very seriously. As the competition date approached, they wanted the team members to spend all their spare time training. As a result, Lu Yan hadn’t seen Jiang Chengyi for several days.

This brought her an inexplicable sense of relief, though she couldn’t explain why and didn’t want to analyze it too deeply.

A few days later, the preliminary competition officially began. To minimize the impact on students’ studies, matches were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the City Sports Center.

Seventh Middle School’s match was in the afternoon, so Lu Yan arrived at the sports center around three o’clock.

The venue regularly hosted various competitions, with spectator stands that could accommodate nearly ten thousand people. Students from over a dozen city middle schools had come to support their teams.

Immersed in the crowd, she saw nothing but a sea of moving heads and heard nothing but the constant buzz of conversation.

After the cheerleading performance successfully energized the atmosphere, Lu Yan and her teammates returned to the stands to rest amid the cheering crowd.

Seventh Middle School was assigned to the Yellow Zone, right next to First Middle School’s cheerleading squad.

According to the competition rules, they would start with group matches.

Among all participating schools, Seventh and First Middle Schools were the strongest contenders. As luck would have it, they were drawn into the same group. With the referee’s whistle, what promised to be the most intense match began.

Lu Yan sat with Deng Man and others, barely taking a few sips of water before hearing excited whispers from nearby girls: “Look, look, isn’t he so handsome?”

“He’s Seventh Middle School’s idol,” someone responded.

Lu Yan looked at the court and saw Jiang Chengyi.

Those girls, as if discovering new territory, continued their excited whispered discussion throughout the match: “We thought our school’s boys were handsome enough, but there’s always someone better!”

Their voices weren’t particularly quiet, and Ding Jing overheard them. She seemed displeased, repeatedly glancing in their direction.

Someone interjected: “Can’t you all be less superficial? Seventh Middle School is our biggest rival. If we lose this match, we’re in trouble. How can you still be focused on that Jiang guy’s looks at a time like this?”

“Oh, so his surname is Jiang!!!” One girl accurately caught the key information.

“Boy-crazy,” the previous speaker gave up and fell silent.

The match was exceptionally challenging. Seventh Middle School barely won the first half, only to have First Middle School catch up in the second half. By the time they reached overtime, the entire audience was on edge.

At the most exciting moments, students from both schools stood up, cheering for their teams: “First Middle School! Go!”

Seventh Middle School’s supporters matched their enthusiasm: “Jiang Chengyi, go! Seventh Middle School, go!”

At this point, solid skills and mental fortitude weren’t enough—strategy was crucial.

Usually, when watching Jiang Chengyi play, Lu Yan always felt he had an arrogant streak, but in this crucial match, he appeared remarkably steady, maintaining his composure no matter how tight the opposing team’s defense became.

From the start, Seventh Middle School seized the initiative. They maintained their lead throughout the fifteen-minute overtime, with Jiang Chengyi’s final rebound shot securing their victory.

When the final whistle blew, Seventh Middle School’s students erupted in thunderous cheers. While surrounded by the coach and teammates, Jiang Chengyi somehow managed to glance toward the stands.

After the match, Deng Man left early for her mother’s birthday, declining to join the celebration. The remaining students eagerly discussed evening celebration plans—nominally for the victory, but just an excuse to relax.

Last time, Tang Jie had gone to confess to that boy, initially full of determination, but ultimately lost her nerve. After rambling about various topics, she never got to the point. Though she’d given up then, she wasn’t ready to let go completely. So when she heard about the evening gathering, Tang Jie quickly said to Lu Yan: “I want to go! I must go!”

Lu Yan had to call her mother for permission. Hearing that many classmates would attend, her mother felt somewhat relieved and, after confirming the location, instructed: “You must be home by nine o’clock. If necessary, I’ll come pick you up.” Then she hung up.

Upon arriving, just as they entered, the boy Tang Jie had a crush on happened to pass by with his classmates.

Tang Jie’s eyes lit up. She quickly handed all her belongings to Lu Yan and rushed off to find him.

Lu Yan needed to use the restroom, but after waiting a while without spotting any familiar classmates, she had to carry all their bags to find the bathroom.

Unexpectedly, she encountered Jiang Chengyi and other boys coming from the opposite direction, accompanied by several girls, mostly from Class Three and some from other classes.

Ding Jing, seemingly feeling threatened by the surrounding girls, had been walking alongside Jiang Chengyi when she suddenly stopped. She took out a pack of wet wipes from her small bag and stood on tiptoe to wipe his sweat.

Jiang Chengyi, who had been talking with his friends, suddenly jerked away from Ding Jing’s wet wipe as if touched by something dirty, frowning as he said: “What are you doing?”

The atmosphere grew awkward until one of Jiang Chengyi’s friends tried to ease the tension: “What’s wrong with you, Jiang Chengyi? It’s just a wet wipe, why are you so startled?”

Ding Jing laughed naturally and said: “I’m a Virgo, but when it comes to germaphobia, I can’t compare to you, Jiang Chengyi. I suspect your aunt recorded your birthday wrong—you must be a Virgo, not a Scorpio. Fine, if you won’t use an opened pack, surely you can accept a new one. Here’s a fresh pack, use it to wipe your sweat.”

“No need,” Jiang Chengyi still refused the wet wipes. Turning his head, he saw Lu Yan and fell silent.

Lu Yan didn’t look at him again, though she did smile at one of the boys from the technology group as she passed by.

That boy was Liang Dong, whom she’d worked with in last month’s technology competition. She knew him better than the others.

The other boys reacted enviously, teasing: “Not bad, Liang Dong.”

Lu Yan quickly reached the end of the corridor, turned the corner, found the bathroom, and went in.

After washing her hands and shouldering all the bags, she emerged from the bathroom.

After a few steps, she saw Jiang Chengyi. Everyone else had disappeared, leaving him alone in the corridor.

“What a coincidence,” he smiled as she came out.

She glanced at him: “Quite a coincidence.”

He watched her approach, his gaze falling on the two bags on her shoulders: “That’s a lot to carry. Need help? I can take them for you.”

“No need,” she smiled in refusal.

“Come on,” he smiled lazily. “I haven’t properly apologized for last time. Let me carry your bag as an apology.”

Lu Yan recalled the earlier scene and suddenly stopped: “Alright then, thank you.”

She handed him one of the bags, and after he took it, casually mentioned: “This bag was just on the bathroom counter, so it might not be very clean. Hope you don’t mind.”

Jiang Chengyi calmly checked the name on the bag, then quickly smiled and said: “That’s nothing.”

Lu Yan realized she had unconsciously handed him her bag, and seeing how naturally he took it made her slightly nervous.

He walked beside her in silence for a while. When they passed the KTV’s snack shop, he suddenly asked: “Would you like something to eat?”

She was indeed hungry, so she pointed to the bag: “I brought lots of snacks in the bag.”

She stepped in front of him, unzipped the bag, and took out a bread roll.

As she tore open the paper wrapper and took a bite, she looked up to find him watching her with a smile, though she couldn’t tell if he was looking at her or the bread.

She hesitated before asking: “Would you like some?”

“Yes,” he answered quickly.

She reached into the bag for another bread roll to offer him.

He refused to take it, staring at the one in her hand: “Yours looks tastier. I’ll just take half of that one.”

“But I’ve already taken a bite of this one.”

“I know,” he said with certainty.

She looked up at him.

Under his gaze, not only did her face grow hot, but her fair neck also gradually turned pink.

She couldn’t keep pretending anymore.