Fang Yinan’s smile stiffened a little at Lu Yan’s words. The others who were participating in the high jump instantly exchanged knowing looks. Xia Fei glanced at Lu Yan with a look of approval, then sat in the seat Lu Yan had just left. 

Xia Ruan looked at Lu Yan in surprise. Did he know what he was doing? Because he had switched seats with Xia Fei, the two of them were now sitting directly across from each other. Lu Yan seemed to notice Xia Ruan’s gaze and gave her a slight nod. Xia Ruan quickly looked away. 

Yang Xiaomi was as confused as Fang Yinan. He looked at Xia Fei sitting next to Fang Yinan, then at Lu Yan who had taken the other seat, and guessed that Lu Yan’s actions were probably due to Xia Fei’s request. After all, they were deskmates; helping with small favors was natural. But Fang Yinan obviously liked Lu Yan. What was she supposed to do now? 

Lu Yan didn’t seem to notice Fang Yinan and Yang Xiaomi’s inner conflict. He continued chatting with them, smiling as he said, “Fang Yinan, Yang Xiaomi, you can wait until the dishes here are served and eat together. It’ll be livelier that way.” 

Fang Yinan paused as she held her chopsticks. She quickly glanced in Lu Yan’s direction and saw him looking down, deep in thought. She hurriedly shook her head. “No need. We ordered things we like.” 

Yang Xiaomi seemed to understand how uneasy Fang Yinan felt at the moment and quickly nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’s all stuff we like.” As she spoke, she began eating in big bites. 

Seeing Fang Yinan bury her head in her food, Xia Fei gave up on trying to continue the conversation and turned his attention to observing Fang Yinan’s plate to figure out her preferences. Ruan Ruan said girls care most about these little details. 

Fan Shujuan observed everything. She gently nudged Xia Ruan with her elbow and glanced back and forth between Xia Fei and Fang Yinan. Xia Ruan nodded, then saw Fan Shujuan’s sympathetic look. Anyone with eyes could tell Fang Yinan clearly had a crush on Lu Yan. 

Xia Ruan shrugged indifferently. Men, after all, need a few setbacks to grow up. 

When Xia Fei and the other two high jumpers went to the window to pick up the dishes they ordered, Fang Yinan and Yang Xiaomi had almost finished eating. They stood and waved to Xia Ruan and the others, “We’re done eating, we’ll leave first. See you later.” 

Xia Ruan and Fan Shujuan waved back, “See you later.” 

Fang Yinan glanced at Lu Yan and suddenly noticed he had put on earphones and was listening to something. She bit her lip and picked up her plate, leaving together with Yang Xiaomi. 

Xia Fei put the two plates of food he was holding on the table, glanced at the spot where Fang Yinan had been sitting, and casually said, “They finished eating already?” 

Xia Ruan nodded, “Yeah, they’re done, so they left ahead.” 

Wang Hao heard from the other two high jumpers that Xia Fei’s crush was here too. He put the dishes on the table and then glanced at Xia Ruan and Fan Shujuan, scratching his head in confusion. Weren’t there supposed to be four girls? Why were there only two now? Which one was Xia Fei’s crush? He looked at the sympathetic looks others were giving Xia Fei and quickly swallowed the words he almost blurted out. 

Seeing the others all looking at him like they had something to say but couldn’t, Xia Fei was puzzled. “Why are you all staring at me? Let’s eat.” 

The gray-clothed boy next to Wang Hao said, “It’s better they left. Otherwise, your image would be affected.” 

Xia Fei stuffed a rib he was holding with chopsticks into his mouth and then defiantly finished it before saying, “How am I affecting my image?” 

“Act a bit more refined. Girls like refined guys.” He even cast a meaningful glance toward Lu Yan. 

Of course Xia Fei had noticed what everyone else had. Compared to him, Fang Yinan clearly had more feelings for Lu Yan. He glanced at the calm-looking Lu Yan. Well, everything about Lu Yan was better than him. Liking Lu Yan made sense. If he were a girl, maybe he would… No, no! As if! No way he’d like a guy like that. 

Lu Yan completely ignored the judgment from the high jump team members. To him, Fang Yinan and he were just rivals appreciating each other’s skills. 

Fan Shujuan noticed that Xia Fei wasn’t angry at Lu Yan for Fang Yinan’s affection. In that moment, her fondness for him grew a little more. 

Seeing Xia Ruan and Fan Shujuan hardly touched their chopsticks, Xia Fei quickly put the last two vegetable dishes in front of them and hesitated before asking, “If you don’t like what we ordered, do you want to order two more dishes?” 

“No need. I think it’s fine.” Life had been tough before, so Xia Ruan wasn’t picky about food. Likewise, she didn’t have any favorites. To her, food was just something to fill her stomach. Fan Shujuan, on the other hand, saw how the boys were wolfing everything down and felt like taking more would be stealing from them, so she just stuck to eating the vegetables in front of her. 

Teenage boys really had an enormous appetite. Xia Ruan and Fan Shujuan were dumbfounded, thinking they wouldn’t finish so much food, but in the end, they had to order even more. Even the seemingly slender Lu Yan ate two big bowls of rice. 

After the meal, the group leaving the canteen attracted a lot of attention. Fan Shujuan was unaccustomed to such stares and pulled Xia Ruan to walk ahead first. 

Lu Yan’s gaze flickered as he looked at the slender figure ahead. Then he said to Xia Fei beside him, “I’m going to take a nap.” 

Even though Ming’an didn’t have self-study sessions, the school still had dorms available. Seeing Lu Yan heading toward the dorms, Xia Fei curled his lips. During sports week, almost no one was watching over them. He leaned closer to Wang Hao and the others. “Wanna go hang out?” 

Everyone knew what he meant by that. They checked the time, then nodded one after another. 

❖❖❖ 

Xia Ruan tilted her head and looked at Fan Shujuan beside her, “There’s still a long time before the afternoon sports meet. Where should we go now?” 

Fan Shujuan yawned, affected by the spring drowsiness. “Let’s take a nap and then get up just in time to watch the game.” 

“A nap?” Xia Ruan wasn’t used to taking naps. 

Fan Shujuan nodded: “Yeah, I’m really sleepy. Aren’t you?” 

Seeing her eyes almost closing, Xia Ruan couldn’t help laughing. “You’re that tired? I’m okay. I don’t feel sleepy.” 

“Spring makes you sleepy, fall does too. It’s natural. Come on, Ruan Ruan, let’s go nap.” Fan Shujuan tugged her toward the dorms. 

As the two walked toward the dorm, they unexpectedly ran into Fang Yinan and Yang Xiaomi. The two of them were carrying bags, probably just returning from the campus convenience store. Fang Yinan greeted them first. “You’re heading back to the dorm too?” 

Fan Shujuan smiled and nodded: “We’re going to take a nap for a bit. What about you?” 

“I’m going to put the stuff away in the dorm and then head to practice,” Fang Yinan said gently. 

Xia Ruan suddenly remembered that the first basketball game in the afternoon was between their class and Class One. Should she, the cheerleading captain, go or not? 

Once everyone returned to the dorm, Yang Xiaomi put down her bag and looked at Fang Yinan with a worried face. “Nan Nan, do you think Xia Ruan might come later? If I’d known, I would’ve told you not to mention you were going to practice.” 

Fang Yinan, holding a water cup, looked at her puzzled: “Why do you say that?” 

“If she comes, won’t she steal all the credit? You’re the one who’s been running the rehearsals this whole time.” Yang Xiaomi looked increasingly annoyed as she spoke. 

Fang Yinan handed her a yogurt she just bought and softly comforted her: “We’re all part of the same team; no need to be so calculating.” 

“That won’t do. She didn’t do anything. Nan Nan, you can’t be so weak,” Yang Xiaomi glared at Fang Yinan. 

Fang Yinan patted her shoulder and said quietly: “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” 

Meanwhile, Fan Shujuan asked Xia Ruan: “Are you going to watch their practice?” 

Xia Ruan was lying on the bed with her hands behind her head, sounding lazy. “Nope. If I go, they’ll just think I’m there to steal the spotlight.” 

Fan Shujuan thought for a moment and nodded: “True, you don’t want to stay captain anyway. You can just appoint Fang Yinan later.” 

Xia Ruan slowly closed her eyes, her tone relaxed like an autumn afternoon. “Mm, that’s the plan.” 

Fan Shujuan suddenly remembered something and excitedly said: “By the way, Fang Yinan will definitely be disappointed this afternoon.” 

Xia Ruan was a bit confused and hummed softly. 

Fan Shujuan said: “Lu Yan has a 3000-meter run this afternoon. I saw the list this morning, he won’t be playing in the first basketball game.” 

“Is that so? But it’s okay. There’s the second game and the ones after,” Xia Ruan said casually. For the male and female protagonist, there would always be a chance to meet. 

Yang Xiaomi followed Fang Yinan to the practice spot but kept looking around. The other cheerleaders had gotten used to her, and someone asked quickly: “Xiaomi, what are you looking at?” 

Yang Xiaomi hesitated, then looked at the girl and replied with a reluctant tone, “We ran into Xia Ruan earlier. I think she might show up, so I’m keeping watch.” 

“What’s she showing up for now?” the girl said with a pout. “She skipped so many practices, and now she wants to come right before the match? What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Others gathered around, hearing the whole story, and shared the same hostility toward Xia Ruan. Yang Xiaomi smirked a little. 

The cheerleaders changed into their uniforms, showing off slender arms and long legs. They glanced at one another, sharing knowing smiles. 

Fang Yinan had great body proportions. The cheerleading uniform made her look fair and beautiful. Her calves were slender and long, and even her exposed collarbones looked more delicate than others, making the nearby girls envious. 

Although Lu Yan wasn’t participating in the first basketball game, he still walked with the basketball team to the court. His 3,000-meter race was scheduled for half an hour later. 

The two groups met on their way to the basketball court. Though they usually saw each other practicing in school uniforms, now seeing them in uniforms and makeup, someone whistled excitedly. Lu Yan glanced up, wondering if Xia Ruan, the cheerleading captain, would come to cheer for the basketball team. 

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice Fang Yinan walking toward him. The two bumped right into each other. 

Just then, Xia Ruan, who had just come out with Fan Shujuan, saw the male and female protagonist hugging tightly.