Over the past month, the learning pace had been incredibly tight. Physical education class, which she used to dislike most during the hot summer, had now become something she looked forward to.

In the third year of high school, art, music, and moral education classes were canceled. Among non-college entrance exam subjects, only PE remained. Only during PE class would this massive machine called “Senior Year” temporarily halt maintenance.

PE classes varied by class and semester at the affiliated school. Rumor had it that in freshman year, they had swimming, waltz, Latin dance, aerobics, and tai chi. As students advanced to higher grades, the classes became more intensive.

This semester, Class 6’s PE course was basketball. The boys were ecstatic while most girls showed little interest.

Thursday afternoon’s first period was PE. Sheng Xia parked her bike and went straight to the playground.

Under the shade of trees near the playground, students sat in small groups. The PE teacher had just arrived, and with a “Class begins!” the students lazily lined up.

As a newcomer, Sheng Xia wasn’t sure where to stand. Xin Xiaohe ran over and pulled her arm, “Stand on my left!” After saying this, she compared their heights and found Sheng Xia was taller than her. “Are you wearing height-increasing insoles?”

“No, I’m not.”

The girls nearby all looked over.

Sheng Xia wore white canvas shoes – where could there be any height increasers?

“Sheng Xia is taller than Old Xin, how did we not notice before?”

“It’s true!”

Xin Xiaohe: “Then stand on my right!”

And so Sheng Xia was moved back and forth.

The boys peeking from behind also found it surprising.

Amid the chattering, Zhang Shu and Hou Junqi pushed a cart of basketballs from the gymnasium direction, the wheels making clanking sounds against the ground.

Hou Junqi was pushing it alone while Zhang Shu walked beside him bouncing a ball, occasionally dribbling between his legs, his movements casual without deliberately trying to look cool…

Sunlight danced on his soft bangs, making the youth bright and dazzling.

No wonder people say youth is synonymous with sunshine.

Even though classmates had developed immunity after being together for so long, girls still gathered in twos and threes, whispering amongst themselves.

Xin Xiaohe’s roommate Zhou Xuanxuan said: “Hou Junqi actually looks quite handsome when playing basketball, but standing next to Zhang Shu he looks like a eunuch.”

“Hahaha,” Xin Xiaohe laughed openly, “That’s so true.”

Although they often bickered, Xin Xiaohe had to admit Zhang Shu’s physical attributes were impressive.

Hou Junqi was originally recruited as a basketball sports scholar, but after an injury, he stopped training. Once he became inactive, he quickly gained weight, losing his previous form. Fortunately, his height made up for it – looking at him alone he wasn’t really fat, just rather sturdy.

If he wasn’t standing next to Zhang Shu, he would probably be considered a handsome guy.

“Sheng Xia,” Xin Xiaohe patted Sheng Xia’s shoulder, “Are the boys from No. 2 High School more handsome, or the ones from our affiliated school?”

Sheng Xia was in a daze, staring at the knee guard showing beneath Zhang Shu’s basketball shorts, completely frozen.

“Sheng Xia?”

Sheng Xia snapped back, “Hm?”

“No. 2 High School boys or our school’s?”

Sheng Xia fell into thought.

Generally speaking, it should be No. 2 High School – most of them dressed better, especially those who were more “street-smart”. Though they were unruly, they knew how to look good. In comparison, the affiliated school boys were more plain.

But if talking about individuals…

Zhou Xuanxuan said with a grin: “Stop putting her on the spot, didn’t you see how she was staring at Zhang Shu with stars in her eyes?”

Sheng Xia: …

Heaven knows she wasn’t.

And whether it was just her being oversensitive, she felt Zhang Shu’s gaze occasionally landing on her too.

This is bad, he’s wearing the knee guard – he must be here to intimidate her.

Seeing her poor expression, Xin Xiaohe asked: “Xia Xia, is your period over? How are you going to play basketball later?”

Sheng Xia froze.

It was true – one lie requires a hundred more to cover it up.

“Almost done, it’s fine,” she answered.

As the PE representative, Hou Junqi was quite professional, first leading everyone in a jog to warm up, then doing some stretches, and demonstrating some moves with the teacher – even more professionally than the teacher.

Then it was free practice time. The boys didn’t need practice, immediately breaking into groups of three to five for games.

The girls tossed the ball back and forth between each other, standing in the scorching sun chatting idly.

“Dribble it! Play properly! What’s with just throwing it around, are you dolphins?” The PE teacher’s roar came across, and the girls didn’t dare slack off anymore, spreading out to practice dribbling.

Back at No. 2 High School, PE classes were very relaxed – just running two laps before free activity.

So Sheng Xia had barely touched a basketball before, let alone dribbling. She couldn’t even bounce the ball properly, laboriously dribbling from one end of the court to the other, then laboriously dribbling back.

She kept hunching over the ball, not paying attention to her surroundings, until she heard someone shout: “Sheng Xia!”

She had just straightened up holding the ball when she saw another basketball hurtling towards her from above at high speed, whistling through the air with intimidating force.

At the same time, a figure in a basketball uniform was rushing towards her. A strong arm wrapped around her shoulder pulling her aside, then immediately let go to catch the ball firmly with both hands.

The ball stopped right in front of her eyes.

At point-blank range.

Sheng Xia was still in shock, her heart pounding violently and rapidly.

Zhang Shu’s face appeared from behind the ball, “Ha!” He pretended to slam the ball at her, pulling back at the last second, gripping it tightly. Sheng Xia’s eyes instinctively closed at the fake move. Zhang Shu’s face was unrestrained and radiant, “Scared silly?”

Xin Xiaohe, who had called out to her earlier, also ran to her side, “Are you okay? Don’t practice near them, they play too roughly.”

Sheng Xia finally came back to her senses.

Just now, their ball had flown over, and Zhang Shu had blocked it.

Right now his expression was seeking credit for his deed.

“Thanks,” Sheng Xia mumbled, hugging her arms, feeling her shoulder where he had briefly touched her growing warm.

Zhang Shu’s mouth curved up: “No problem.”

With that he dribbled back to the court, the boys looking in Sheng Xia’s direction hooting and hollering things like “heroic rescue” and “Shu-ge is awesome” that all made their way into Sheng Xia’s ears.

Even Xin Xiaohe said with a smile: “Man you should have seen how fast Zhang Shu ran, faster than the ball, wasn’t that cool?”

“I… I didn’t see clearly.”

“Really?”

“Mm.”

“Hmm~”

By the end of class, Sheng Xia never wanted to attend PE again.

As soon as she got back to the classroom she wilted, but Zhang Shu was in a completely different state – his whole person radiating energy, seeming to have endless vitality to burn.

His forehead was covered in sweat as he stood under the fan, head tilted back pouring soda down his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down like swallowing quail eggs whole.

“Got any tissues?” he asked, looking down after finishing a can of soda.

Sheng Xia took out a pack of tissues from her drawer and handed it to him. He took them without ceremony, pulling out more than half the pack to wipe his sweat after lifting his bangs.

Hou Junqi walked in from outside the classroom, saw this scene, and said with a grin: “Oh, someone gets beautiful girl service after playing basketball, how blessed is that? The treatment after a heroic rescue is different, huh?”

Sheng Xia slowly withdrew her hand holding the tissues, throwing them on his desk with an expression that said – help yourself.

Zhang Shu glanced at her rapidly reddening earlobes, crumpled up the used tissues into a ball, and threw it at Hou Junqi’s head, “Here, beautiful girl’s favor, catch it, feeling blessed?”

Hou Junqi covered his head with both hands to block the tissue attack: “Fuck, is that necessary man!”

…

After officially starting school, senior year couldn’t blatantly have make-up classes anymore. The school organized collective “self-study” all day Saturday and Sunday morning, voluntary participation, but everyone knew if they didn’t come they’d fall behind – almost no one didn’t participate.

It effectively became just Sunday afternoon as half a day off.

On Saturday most people in class changed out of their blue and white uniforms into regular clothes, bringing back the vibrancy from the make-up class period.

Many girls wore pretty dresses or super short shorts, looking radiant.

But Sheng Xia still wore that blue and white uniform, collar buttoned up tight, pants hanging loose.

Xin Xiaohe asked: “Xia Xia, why are you still wearing your uniform?”

Sheng Xia looked down at herself, “Hm? Why shouldn’t I?”

Zhang Shu heard and turned his head, involuntarily searching his memory – what did she wear before getting her uniform?

He had no impression, just that it couldn’t have been much different from the uniform.

“You don’t need to wear it on weekends?” said Xin Xiaohe.

Sheng Xia’s eyes curved into crescents: “Oh, I didn’t notice, it’s all the same anyway.”

She had bought three sets of uniforms, enough to rotate.

Xin Xiaohe said: “I feel like you’d look good in those white cotton or gauze dresses, ah no, not just dresses, you’d probably look good in anything!”

“I don’t know,” Sheng Xia replied.

“Haven’t you worn them before?” Xin Xiaohe saw Sheng Xia’s confused expression and was surprised, “I thought I was the only one who never wears dresses.”

Sheng Xia only said: “Because I ride a bike.”

“An electric bike should be fine, right? You don’t need to pedal, you could wear longer dresses?”

“Mm… that’s true,” Sheng Xia wasn’t good at disagreeing with others, “Pants are more convenient.”

“I loved wearing dresses when I was little, and they had to be sparkly ones,” Xin Xiaohe talked about her childhood, not sparing herself any face, “But my legs were so thick and dark, my childhood friend said I looked like a fluorescent pig hahahahaha, after that, I could only admire others wearing them.”

“No way, you’re thin?” This was Sheng Xia’s honest opinion. While Xin Xiaohe couldn’t be called slender, she wasn’t fat.

Xin Xiaohe sighed: “Only got thin in high school, but I don’t like wearing them anymore, not used to it now, always feels breezy, haha.”

Sheng Xia nodded, understanding this feeling well, “Me too.”

I like it, but not used to it anymore.

Zhang Shu was bored enough to prop his chin up listening to the two girls chat.

Hearing this, his eyebrows lifted.

She too?

She too what? She also got thin in high school, or she’s also not used to wearing dresses?

An image of her wearing a dress suddenly flashed through his mind – slender white arms, delicate white ankles, waist so narrow – he looked at his forearm, estimating he could probably encircle it with just one arm…

“Ahem.” He suddenly gave a light cough, the hand supporting his chin moving to cover his nose as he quickly turned his head away.

When Sheng Xia looked over at the sound, she only saw the side profile of the youth’s lowered head.

He wore a plain black T-shirt today with no patterns, just a small square rivet at the nape of his neck. Because there was only one, your eyes would unconsciously be drawn to it.

And with his head lowered, a string of vertebrae protruded at his nape, disappearing under his short hair, like a little dragon’s spine.

Those bones, with just the right hint of wildness and strength.

She inexplicably thought again of him blocking the ball for her, his palm colliding with the high-speed basketball making that “bang” sound that hurt just hearing it, yet he did not react at all.

And the force when he moved her aside as if he could lift her with just one arm…

He somehow gave another muffled cough, so quiet it was barely audible, just his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Sheng Xia came back to her senses, quietly shifting her gaze away, but looking down she saw those knee guards on his knees again.

Looks like that gift turned out quite useful, even if he eventually finds out the law book was from her, it should balance out the good and bad, Sheng Xia thought.

…

On weekends when first and second years didn’t have class, lunch service returned to catering to senior students, with very few people.

Hou Junqi was most skilled at being tactless and creating awkward atmospheres.

He immediately sat down brazenly next to Sheng Xia, and called out to Zhang Shu, “Over here!”

So Sheng Xia ended up sitting between two tall guys, head lowered like a kidnapped innocent young lady.

Hou Junqi ate like a wolf, wolfing down his food in two or three bites before going for seconds, while Zhang Shu ate at a normal pace with normal portions.

Sheng Xia ate a little and deliberately quickly, After finishing she said “I’m done, heading out first” and left without waiting for a response.

Saying something was her politeness, and not waiting for a response was her attitude.

Quite temperamental.

From the “beautiful girl’s favor” until now, Sheng Xia hadn’t spoken to either of them for two days.

These two afternoons Zhang Shu had gone to play basketball, wearing those knee guards every day, but hadn’t seen any special reaction from her.

Well well, timid as she was, she wasn’t scared – looks like her sense of righteousness was strong enough.

Was the light of justice really that bright?

“Shu-ge, what are you looking at?” Hou Junqi waved his hand in front of Zhang Shu’s face, “So devout?”

“Looking at Bodhisattva,” said Zhang Shu.

“…?”

Zhang Shu: “Just had a divine revelation, didn’t you see?”

Hou Junqi looked towards the door, completely confused: “…?”

Zhang Shu: “You lack enlightenment.”

Hou Junqi: “…”

Zhang Shu: “Watch less porn, do some good deeds.”

Hou Junqi: “…”