Willpower Scores Big Points

Li Shiyan came running back from the restroom, swinging her little hands in the air.

As she got closer, she even added a little skip to her step.

However, she sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off. Why did it feel like Little Chun was ignoring Shen Nian? And Shen Nian... he was just looking down at his phone.

Had she really been in the restroom for that long?

Li Shiyan quietly sidled up next to Xia Yanchun. Under the dim glow of the streetlights, she could only vaguely make out Xia Yanchun's slightly lowered face.

"Little Chun, are we still taking pictures?"

"Of course," Xia Yanchun took a deep breath and smiled. "Let's take a couple more, and then we can head back to our seats."

"Mhm."

No one paid any attention to Shen Nian, but he didn't mind at all.

It was better to keep a bit of distance in front of Li Shiyan. Intimacy was something meant for just the two of them; it was enough that only they knew about it.

Shen Nian dutifully played the role of photographer. After he finished taking photos of the girls, it was Li Shiyan's turn behind the camera.

It was past nine o'clock when the trio finally returned to the sports field and settled back into their seats.

A trip to the restroom had taken half an hour, and it was still just the three of them.

Observing this, Su Kexi let out a sigh.

Previously, when she went out for Haidilao with a few other teachers, it had been the exact same trio. How on earth were these three so close?

What kind of dynamic did they really have?

Was it a pure, three-way friendship?

A standard setup of a couple plus a wingwoman?

Or, more outrageously, two girls fighting over one boy?

Regardless of their setup, the three of them simply radiated youth.

She could cry from envy.

How was it that some people had such colorful high school lives?

Su Kexi buried her face in her hands. She had worked her fingers to the bone, skipping meals and sleep just to get a high score on the college entrance exam, completely missing out on the sweetness of youth. Now that she was working, churning out endless lesson plans and presentations every day, the sweetest thing she got to experience was the sugar spilling over from someone else's youth.

Youth.

It really was wonderful.

The New Year's Day gala was quite long, but it was strictly kept to a ten-thirty finish. This was the usual time evening self-study ended, and since the school was surrounded by residential neighborhoods, running any later would easily lead to noise complaints.

Following the live awards ceremony, the New Year's Day gala officially came to a close.

The classes exited in an orderly fashion, each student tasked with carrying their chair back to the classroom.

Ma Mingfan carried his chair. He had accidentally gotten sucked into a few matches of Naruto earlier and had nearly forgotten about Liang Jing. It was only when he belatedly realized she was still sitting beside him that he finally started playing Minecraft with her.

For a moment, he couldn't tell if Liang Jing's presence was just that faint or if Naruto was simply too fun. She hadn't even made a peep to remind him she was there.

Since they had been playing games together just moments ago, Liang Jing was currently walking right in front of him. Perhaps lacking arm strength, she kept switching the hand carrying her chair. She looked like she was struggling a bit, her high ponytail swishing back and forth with the rhythm of her steps.

Shen Nian's earlier words suddenly popped back into his mind.

He wanted to tug on Liang Jing's hair.

But Ma Mingfan held himself back, afraid she might tell the teacher.

Even though they were practically adults and snitching to a teacher was a bit unrealistic, he still had his reservations. It was a classic case of once bitten, twice shy.

They were just gaming buddies. They weren't close at all.

"Ma Mingfan, are you going to play later tonight?" Liang Jing deliberately slowed her pace, glancing back at him with a smile.

"I'm down for whatever."

"Are we getting ready to fight the Ender Dragon?"

"Yeah."

The Ender Dragon was the final boss of Minecraft. Defeating it meant completing the main questline and bringing the story to an end.

In truth, Ma Mingfan had wanted to fight the Ender Dragon ages ago. He just hadn't brought it up because Liang Jing looked so happy building houses and landscaping all by herself.

"After we beat the Ender Dragon, can we still play on this save file?" Liang Jing asked, nodding her head.

"Of course."

"Oh, good. I thought we wouldn't be able to log back into this world once we beat it. I've built so many things; if I couldn't play it anymore, my world would literally end."

"We could just start a new one."

"I'm emotionally attached to this one. Starting a new world means doing everything all over again."

Ma Mingfan remained silent. It was true that some people played on a single save file for years on end, and that was without even using mods, they would have entire chests full of diamonds.

When he played by himself, he had lost count of how many worlds he had created. He rarely stuck with one save file for as long as Liang Jing did.

"Do you not want to play in this world anymore?"

"No, if you want to keep playing it, I'll play."

"Oh..." Liang Jing narrowed her eyes. "Then if I start a new world, will you play with me?"

"Sure."

"Mhm. After we beat the Ender Dragon, let's start a brand new world specifically to try out some mods. My phone's specs aren't that great, though, so I probably won't be able to run anything too demanding."

"We can just play casually. If you play this game non-stop, you'll get sick of it pretty fast."

"Gotcha." Liang Jing seemed to be in high spirits. "I just think this game is way more fun when you play it with someone you know."

Ma Mingfan blanked out for a second.

Shen Nian walked past them carrying two chairs, chatting and laughing with the class monitor as they went.

Now that was what you called being familiar with someone.

Ma Mingfan grew thoughtful.

"Let me carry your chair for you."

"?"

Liang Jing froze for a split second, feeling a bit weirded out. Who offered to carry a chair so formally?

She handed the chair over, and Ma Mingfan easily took it from her, mirroring Shen Nian who was walking up ahead.

This was also part of strengthening his willpower, it was practical application, a form of training. Before this, he never would have dared to strike up a conversation with a girl like Liang Jing.

As it turned out, training his willpower was actually paying off. Huge points for willpower.

If he was too embarrassed to even help out a girl he played video games with, then what was the point of training his willpower in the first place?

The whole reason he started training his willpower was because of Liang Jing, anyway...

Heaven knows how incredibly awkward it had been sitting next to her back then. He had wanted to say something but hadn't known what, leaving him no choice but to keep his head down and play his game.

He was deeply grateful to himself for sticking to his willpower training. Now, whether he was sitting next to Liang Jing or any other girl, he wouldn't feel awkward at all.

Unorthodox cultivation sure yielded fast results.

Liang Jing's mind fluttered a little. This was the first time someone had actively offered to carry a chair for her, and it was quite a novel feeling.

"Thank you. Isn't it heavy?"

"It's fine, it's fine. I..."

"What is it?"

Ma Mingfan cleared his throat and took a deep breath, his voice dropping lower and lower. "Can... can I touch your hair?"

Liang Jing stopped in her tracks and leaned in a little closer. "Can you what?"

"I want to touch your hair." His willpower seizing the high ground, Ma Mingfan decided to go through with his practical application.

Even if she rejected him, he would accept it gracefully. He couldn't let himself get anxious over it; at worst, he would just lose a gaming buddy.

Liang Jing looked bewildered. "Why do you want to touch my hair...?"

"We are familiar with each other now, so I just purely wanted to touch it." Ma Mingfan's newly inflated willpower was already beginning to deflate, rapidly losing steam.

"Uh... that's a super weird reason!"

Liang Jing gathered her hair, twirling it unconsciously. "I guess you can, but you have to give me a proper reason..."

Having received her permission, Ma Mingfan's willpower stormed the high ground once again.

"It is an inner demon of mine," he stated solemnly.

He then proceeded to tell Liang Jing the story of how, back in elementary school, he had playfully yanked the hair of a girl he didn't know sitting in front of him. She had told the teacher, resulting in him getting a stern lecture about respecting girls.

A man of true willpower was never afraid to share his dark past with others, he simply treated it as another form of training.

"If you pull the hair of a girl you hardly know, of course she's going to tell the teacher..." Liang Jing smiled in understanding after he finished explaining. "Is that why you want to touch my hair? To conquer your inner demons?"

"Yeah..."

"Am I the only girl you're close with?"

"Pretty much." Ma Mingfan couldn't be a universal charmer like Shen Nian, showering every girl with attention. For him, just having a casual, breezy chat with one or two girls was already a struggle.

After all, guys who could mingle with every girl in the class were the exception. The vast majority could only really hold a conversation with a select few.

Liang Jing covered her mouth and glanced around. "Sure, I guess. But... there are way too many people here right now. I'll let you touch it tomorrow when it's less crowded."

"Ahem, thanks."

"We're good friends, no need to thank me."

"..."

Ma Mingfan felt even better than if someone had just handed him fifty yuan for a free monthly gaming pass.