The boy in the basketball jersey chuckled knowingly. “Man, she must be a real goddess.”

This group of boys came from similar privileged backgrounds and had crossed paths in clubs like horseback riding. Unlike some of the international class students who kept to themselves, they quickly became friends.

One of the boys sitting farther back sighed, “Who knows? I haven’t seen her, but from the way he acts, she must be someone special.”

It wasn’t just him—none of the boys who were close to Lu Li had ever seen this so-called childhood friend. They only knew that Lu Li treasured this person. The gloves and wrist guards gifted by her were off-limits to anyone else.

Whenever their horseback riding lessons ended, Lu Li would leave in a rush, claiming he had to go pick up his little childhood friend from math class.

The reason they were so certain this person was his childhood friend was because Lu Li had bragged about how the wrist guards were a gift from someone younger than him, who was very cute and pretty.

Pretty, cute, and likely someone who had grown up with him—what else could she be but a childhood sweetheart?

However, Lu Li had a bad temper and rarely spoke about her, leaving the group to piece things together. They were fairly certain she also attended the same Middle School.

Otherwise, why would Lu Li wear the wrist guards she gave him during a basketball game and save a front-row seat?

Despite their best efforts, they hadn’t yet figured out which class this girl was in. Naturally, they ruled out the advanced class.

Lu Li’s face always darkened at the mention of that class, probably because he found their constant reciting of texts before class annoying. There was no way his “goddess-like” childhood friend would be in a class like that.

They also ruled out Class Eight, since Lu Li hadn’t approached any girls from there during the game today.

After ruling out several classes, they still hadn’t found a likely candidate and had to give up for now.

One of the boys, talking too much, grew thirsty. He noticed that the bottle of water on his desk was empty, having been drained during the game, and he turned to see a full bottle of water on Lu Li’s desk, seemingly unopened.

Thinking Lu Li had simply bought an extra, the boy casually reached for the bottle, only to have Lu Li lift his head, narrow his eyes, and silently hand him a bottle of energy drink instead. The water bottle was immediately stashed away in Lu Li’s backpack.

It was the same look Lu Li had whenever someone tried to touch his wrist guards—strictly off-limits.

Holding the energy drink, the boy finally caught on that the water bottle was special. He grinned and asked teasingly, “Who gave you that water?”

Lu Li remained as cold as ever, but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. Lazily, he responded, “Someone gave it to me.”

The boys exchanged knowing glances and started teasing him, laughing and making suggestive comments.

Just before the next class began, a group of girls in the front row suddenly started talking more loudly, turning their heads to look outside the window.

Qin Lan, still in his basketball jersey, glanced outside and muttered, “Looks like Rocket Class won the Red Flag again this week.”

The Red Flag was a weekly award given to the class with the highest score in areas like hygiene and discipline.

One of the boys asked, “How come it’s always the same guy from Rocket Class picking up the Red Flag? Isn’t their class president a girl?”

Qin Lan clicked his tongue. “You don’t get it. He’s Liu Laopo’s prized student, always ranked first. Of course, she’s going to show him off every chance she gets.”

Lu Li, who had been lying on his desk, suddenly sat up. He drew back the curtain, allowing a bright beam of sunlight to spill into the room. The light created clean-cut shadows along the floor.

In the hallway outside, a boy carrying the Red Flag walked through the sunlight, his figure as dazzling as freshly fallen snow. His face was serene, with sharp, clean lines, and his lips had a pale, rose-like tint that made him look slightly sickly.

But he was still strikingly beautiful.

A red mark was visible on the back of his hand where the string of the Red Flag had left an imprint. Lu Li knew, though, that it wasn’t the string that had left such a deep mark—it was just that Jiang Yi’s skin bruised too easily.

In the past, when Lu Li would playfully bite Jiang Yi on the arm, the teeth marks would take days to fade.

Lu Li’s throat tightened as he stared intently at Jiang Yi, watching him slowly walk away with the Red Flag in hand.

Jiang Yi returned to his classroom and hung the flag on the podium.

Just as the bell rang for class, Jiang Yi returned to his seat. His deskmate, Cai Fang, looked up from a pile of test papers, adjusting his glasses with envy as he glanced at Jiang Yi’s already neatly organized notes.

Even though they attended the same classes, some people could listen and simultaneously summarize while taking notes, whereas Cai Fang had to jot down key points first and complete his notes after class.

Noticing Cai Fang’s gaze on his notebook, Jiang Yi handed it over to him.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Cai Fang hesitated. After all, the competition in the Rocket Class was fierce—students could be eliminated at any time. But the temptation of the top student’s notes was too strong. After a brief internal struggle, Cai Fang gave in and accepted the notebook.

Holding the notes, Cai Fang commented, “The rankings for the monthly exam will be posted soon on the bulletin board. Do you want to check it out?”

Jiang Yi shook his head. Cai Fang eagerly volunteered, “I’ll go and check for you. I’ll see how many points the second place is behind you.”

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Jiang Yi had just put down his pen when he saw Cai Fang excitedly rush downstairs, followed by a few other classmates.

The bulletin board downstairs was already packed with students, buzzing with excitement.

Not far from the board, a few boys from the International Class 2 leaned against the railing, puzzled as they watched Lu Li stand there with a mysterious expression, not bothering to check his own results.

Qin Lan whispered, “He’s probably waiting for his childhood friend.”

Every time the rankings were posted, Lu Li lingered around the bulletin board for a while.

Curious, the group of boys began glancing around, trying to figure out who this mysterious childhood friend was.

The noise from the crowd was loud and chaotic.

“Jiang Yi from the Rocket Class is first again this time.”

“Always first. Amazing.”

“Students from the Rocket Class really are on another level…”

Lu Li’s mood visibly improved as he listened to the crowd praise Jiang Yi. If he could, he’d attach a speaker to each person’s mouth, hook it up to the PA system, and have those words broadcast throughout the school a dozen times.

“Hey, Cai Fang! Your deskmate is amazing—he’s first in the grade again!”

“Yeah, he’s incredible. His notes are fast and thorough!”

Lu Li paused, squinting toward the two boys speaking.

One of the boys, wearing glasses, adjusted them and said excitedly, “The teacher said we only switch seats every three months, so I still get to sit with Jiang Yi for another month.”

The other boy, clearly envious, added, “Lucky you! I’ve heard he explains things even better than the teachers sometimes.”

The boy with glasses wore an expression full of pride, as if sitting next to the top student made him feel special, as if he shared a close bond with Jiang Yi.

Lu Li’s face remained expressionless as he stared at the two boys walking farther away.

After a while, he let out a heavy, cold snort.

So what if they got to sit next to the top student? He got to sleep in the same bed as Jiang Yi every night.

Was he proud?