Guangya Academy.
Sophomore Class 8.
Back row by the window—the king’s domain.
First break between classes.
"Yue... do you know where the nearest cemetery is around here...?"
Gu Luo slumped lifelessly over his desk, muttering to Shen Yue beside him.
"A cemetery... let me think..."
As Shen Yue was mentally searching for an answer, Gu Luo quickly added:
"Never mind... just joking."
His heart felt weighed down by a heavy stone.
Gu Luo had finally pieced it together—the little angel and the little devil must have talked behind his back.
That would explain this morning’s conversation.
And last night’s battlefield at the dinner table.
The only silver lining in this mess was that the little devil hadn’t yet revealed what happened between them to the little angel.
And it seemed she might not plan to.
But who knew? One day, she might drop a bombshell out of nowhere.
Gu Luo felt like the Sword of Damocles was hanging over his head, ready to drop at any moment.
All he could do was tremble helplessly between the little angel and the little devil.
He had zero experience with romance—it was like crossing a river by feeling for stones, every step taken with extreme caution.
"Leave it to fate," he sighed.
After all, everything with the little devil had been "voluntary" under duress. If the day of reckoning ever came, at least there’d still be a sliver of hope.
But he prayed that day would never come.
He needed to have a serious talk with the little devil soon.
At the very least, he had to make sure she kept certain things buried forever.
Even if it cost him something, it’d be worth it.
Love was hard.
Love tangled between triplet beauties was even harder.
One wrong step, and it’d be a plunge into the abyss.
"Gu Luo... is something bothering you?"
Shen Yue studied his troubled expression with concern.
"Sort of... is it that obvious?" Gu Luo lifted his head slightly, forcing a weak smile.
"It’s practically written all over your face..." Shen Yue pressed her lips together. She was running on empty too, but she still softened her voice:
"Gu Luo, if you need help, just tell me. I might not be able to fix it, but I’ll listen."
"Mm. Thanks."
Her words lifted his spirits a little.
But this wasn’t something he could share.
It was a secret belonging only to him, the little angel, and the little devil—something to be buried deep in his heart.
Time always flew when weighed down by complicated emotions.
The bell for the second break rang, and the quiet classroom instantly buzzed with noise.
Old Wang stood at the podium, watching as several boys brandished badminton rackets like soldiers ready to charge into battle the moment they hit the hallway.
"Hold on, I have an announcement," he snapped, slapping the blackboard for emphasis. "Don’t you ever get tired of playing badminton every single day?"
"Old Wang, you just don’t get it—this is the soul of a badminton enthusiast!" a boy near the door shouted.
"Yeah, yeah. Once you start playing badminton, you’ll be hooked silent."
"My great-uncle’s third cousin used to lose money gambling every day. Then he got into badminton—guess what? Ended up spending even more than on cards."
"......"
"Alright, alright." Old Wang waved his hand impatiently before announcing, "The school sports meet will be held next Tuesday. Everyone can sign up for events with the class sports committee later."
"As for the group events, since our class ended up sprawled like a long snake formation in the three-legged race last year, let’s switch to tug-of-war this time."
"Everyone should participate enthusiastically..."
Before he could finish, Situ Wenyao stood up abruptly and declared with righteous fervor, "Give me all the events no one wants! The 1500-meter, the 3000-meter—hand them all to me!"
His words instantly sparked cheers from the class.
"Bro Bi, you’re the best!"
"Bro Bi, I love you!" the sports committee representative shouted excitedly. Without Situ Wenyao, the dreaded 3000-meter would have fallen to him.
"Thank god it’s Bro Bi—we’re saved!"
"......"
At that moment, the boys in the class erupted into rowdy applause.
Meanwhile, the girls watched with a mix of envy and resentment. Why wasn’t there a female version of Situ Wenyao in their class?
Ecstatic...
So damn ecstatic...
Listening to his classmates’ cheers, Situ Wenyao trembled slightly from sheer satisfaction.
The 3000-meter no one wanted to run? He’d run it. The dirty, exhausting tasks no one wanted to do? He’d do them. The activities no one wanted to join? He’d join them. Anything his classmates avoided—he’d take it all on.
This was the Way of Showing Off.
Old Wang nodded approvingly at Situ Wenyao and praised, "Everyone should learn from Wenyao. His spirit of selflessness is something we should all emulate."
Situ Wenyao was his favorite student in the class.
Always eager to answer questions, the first to volunteer for any event, the safety net for the entire class.
A student like this was a treasure—the kind every teacher dreamed of.
Hearing the public praise from their homeroom teacher, Situ Wenyao felt even more exhilarated.
Thankfully, he’d undergone Gu Luo’s desensitization training these past two weeks, or he might have actually trembled in front of everyone.
"Alright, go sign up with the sports committee. Once you’re done, you can head out to play." With that, Old Wang picked up his thermos of goji-infused water and strolled leisurely toward the door.
Before leaving, he added, "Oh, and Feng Youqing—you’re on for the women’s shot put."
Then he promptly exited the classroom.
The next second—
"Sports committee, sign me up for the 50-meter!"
"The 50-meter is mine!"
"Don’t even think about taking the 200!"
"Why isn’t badminton in the sports meet? This is rigged!" A boy waved his thousand-dollar racket indignantly.
"......"
The sports committee pulled a sign-up sheet from his desk and sighed at the badminton enthusiast. "The sports meet only has track, field, team, and fun events. Badminton is a separate competition—it’s not like it doesn’t exist. Just wait for it."
"But you can sign up for the shuttlecock kicking fun event. It’s got feathers too."
"You son of a—"
At the back of the classroom—
Shen Yue turned away from the commotion and asked Gu Luo beside her, "Gu Luo, is there any event you want to join?"
"I’m fine with anything. I’ll pick after everyone else has chosen." Gu Luo smiled, stretching lazily.
The class’s lively energy had lifted his mood a little.
Whatever. Cross that bridge when we get to it.
"I'm pretty useless. Last year, I joined the shot put event but got eliminated in the second round..." Shen Yue said, lowering her head dejectedly.
"It's fine. Not many girls are good at sports anyway."
Gu Luo glanced at Shen Yue and suddenly let out a soft "Huh?" before asking,
"Yue Ma... have you lost weight?"
At those words, Shen Yue immediately snapped out of her self-pitying mood. She instinctively tilted her head slightly and touched her hair, a little embarrassed.
"Have I...?"
Gu Luo nodded firmly. "Yeah, it’s not obvious at first glance, but you’ve definitely slimmed down a bit."
"Must be your imagination, haha..."
Shen Yue suppressed the joy bubbling inside her, not ready to reveal her progress just yet.
After winter break, she planned to give Gu Luo a biiiig surprise.
By then, maybe she’d even have a chance to remove the "just friends" label between them.
As for the "Yue Ma" nickname? She’d keep that forever.
It wasn’t like it got in the way.
Just as Gu Luo was about to say something else, a heavy hand suddenly clapped her shoulder.
"Ta-da!"
"Xuexue and I are here to hang out with you again!"
............
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