Chapter 31

As soon as Liao Lanxin spoke, Su Miao Miao’s first step came to a halt.

Before she could look up, the owner of the loose voice had already stopped beside her, lazily smiling and asking, “Seeing your master and wanting to run away immediately—am I raising an ungrateful little apprentice?”

Su Miao Miao: “…”

Shang Yan glanced in the direction the girl was about to leave—the school basketball team’s jerseys were very conspicuous.

Shang Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, then looked at Qi Wenyue, “Where are you all planning to go?”

Under Shang Yan’s gaze, Qi Wenyue held back a shiver. After a second of silence, she made the choice to sell out her friend—

“Miao Miao said she wants to watch the school basketball team’s game.”

Su Miao Miao: “……??”

“Oh.”

Shang Yan’s eyes deepened slightly.

With one hand in his pocket, he raised the other hand, bypassing the hoodie draped on the girl’s back, and placed it on her thin shoulder.

Shang Yan leaned down beside Su Miao Miao.

“Want to watch the school basketball team’s game?”

“…”

At this moment, the emotion in his voice could probably be classified as a rare display of gentleness from him.

Su Miao Miao hesitated for a moment, then cautiously tested, “I want to…?”

At the end, she didn’t dare to state it assertively, but instead, her voice rose slightly.

The clear black eyes that looked over were bright and transparent.

They showed an unmistakable desire to survive, and a hint of timidity.

Shang Yan couldn’t help but smile.

“You can watch.”

“…”

Su Miao Miao’s eyes lit up.

Shang Yan continued, “Once the grass on your master’s grave has turned into spirits, you can think about it all you want.”

Su Miao Miao: “…………….”

Unable to hold back, the girl quickly glanced up at Shang Yan, then looked down and muttered softly.

“Then mine would have turned into spirits too.”

The boy beside her suddenly laughed.

He was clearly very amused.

Su Miao Miao was momentarily stunned by his laughter and turned to look at him in confusion.

Shang Yan was looking down at her.His refined face showed a playful surprise—

“After wanting to see your master take off his shirt, are you now even thinking… about being buried in the same grave with your master?”

Su Miao Miao: “——??”

Just as Su Miao Miao was about to retort, they heard Li Zhe and a few others calling out to Shang Yan from a distance.

Shang Yan straightened up and patted the girl’s head.

He smiled down at her.

“Nice ambition. Keep it up.”

With that, he left.

Su Miao Miao: “…………….”

After staring at the boy’s back with a heart full of resentment, she turned around to face two pairs of extremely complicated eyes.

Liao Lanxin looked thoughtful and intrigued.

Qi Wenyue was shocked—there was even a hint of “people are not what they seem” astonishment in her eyes.

Su Miao Miao felt a deep sense of helplessness. “He was joking… it’s really not at all like he said.”

Qi Wenyue, after struggling to digest what she had heard, chose to selectively ignore Su Miao Miao’s pale explanation.

She turned resentfully to Liao Lanxin—”Desk mate, I’m so jealous.”

Liao Lanxin snorted with a low laugh. “You might get even more jealous in the future.”

Qi Wenyue, not noticing this comment, had already turned back to Su Miao Miao.

“Miao Miao, my dear, I’ve suddenly realized that the stepmother theory I told you before lunch doesn’t apply to you at all. Don’t worry—Brother Yan spoils his apprentices so much that I think he’d sooner get you a new stepmother than replace you.”

Su Miao Miao was on the verge of tears.“I really never said that…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Qi Wenyue drifted to the side and added, “You just said what all the girls at our school have been thinking but never dared to say out loud…”

Su Miao Miao: “…”

There was no way to defend herself.

The bell for the first period rang.

Each class began to assemble at the call of their sports committee members.

The PE teacher for the class, a woman, held the attendance list and called names from the beginning.

When she glanced at Shang Yan in the back row, her expression showed particular surprise. However, she didn’t say anything and moved on from him.

After finishing the roll call, the PE teacher suddenly remembered.

“Oh, your class has a new student this semester, right? I remember they weren’t here last class. Are they here today?”

“…Teacher.”

Su Miao Miao, who had never participated in the class lineup, naturally didn’t have a designated spot, so she had been quietly standing behind the PE teacher since the beginning.

Perhaps because of her petite stature, she hadn’t been noticed.

Hearing her voice, the PE teacher turned around and was surprised to see her.

“…I heard from your homeroom teacher that you don’t have to participate in group activities.”

After expressing her amazement internally, the PE teacher turned back to the class and joked, “Such a pretty girl just watching you all run—your class’s boys are very lucky, aren’t they?”

In the middle of the class, someone among Li Zhe and his group joked, “With Brother Yan running with us, the girls in our class are lucky too.”

The whole class burst into laughter.

Curious and envious glances came from neighboring classes.

“You’re quick to respond.”

The PE teacher raised the whistle around her neck and blew it forcefully.

“Alright, quiet down. Time to start warming up. Sports committee, lead the way. Girls, two laps; boys, four laps. Finish up and you’re dismissed, no slacking off!”

Amid the students’ reluctant complaints, the formation began running.

The PE teacher walked over to Su Miao Miao and kindly said, “I understand your situation. If you don’t want to come to PE class in the future, that’s okay.”

The female teacher paused, “Of course, if you want to come out for some fresh air and a walk, the teacher supports that too.”

“…Thank you, teacher.”

Su Miao Miao slightly bowed to the teacher.

The PE teacher smiled and nodded, then walked away.

Su Miao Miao breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on a stone step nearby.

In mid-October, the weather was starting to cool down.

However, the PE class for the second-year students was scheduled for the first period in the afternoon, when the sunlight was gentle, filtering through the sparse branches and leaves, casting broken shadows like scattered gold foil on people, bringing a warm feeling that inexplicably lifted one’s spirits.

Sitting on the steps, Su Miao Miao squinted contentedly and slowly opened her hands, her pale fingers touching the golden edges of the clouds, resembling a little cat stretching its paws in the sun.

Above her was the basketball court on the high stone steps, where the cheerful shouts of girls and the vigorous running of boys blended harmoniously. The wind blew from the expansive football field across from them, carrying the scent of the changing seasons.

This peaceful scene was suddenly interrupted by a few low exclamations coming from the stones steps not far away.

Su Miao Miao opened her eyes and looked to her right. Several girls sitting on the steps were patting their chests in relief.

A basketball was bouncing towards her from the bottom of the steps.

By chance, the ball rolled to a stop almost right at her feet.

Su Miao Miao paused, then stood up, walked over, and bent down to pick up the basketball that had stopped very close to her toes.

Just as she was about to straighten up, she heard a series of footsteps behind her—

“I’m really sorry, did I scare you?”

“…”

She stood up and turned around, and the boy who had come to a stop was stunned.

The boy was wearing the basketball uniform of the school team, with his black hair damp and sticking to his forehead.

His cheeks were somewhat thin, his skin fair, his eyebrows and eyes handsome, and his facial features well-defined. However, the slightly lowered gaze he directed at her was a bit stunned.

Su Miao Miao looked at him curiously.

The front of his jersey had “Chu Ming” printed in pinyin—he was clearly the one Liao Lanxin mentioned, the school basketball team captain, and Qi Wenyue’s number one idol.

“Your basketball.”

Su Miao Miao took the initiative to hand the basketball forward.

“…Ah, right, thank you!”

Chu Ming snapped out of his daze and took the basketball from her with both hands.

“Did it hit you? I’m very sorry, our team was doing a training match for new members, and we didn’t control the ball speed and trajectory.”

“…”

Su Miao Miao didn’t understand about half of what he said.

She withdrew her hand and nodded slightly, “It’s okay.”

Chu Ming felt a complex mix of emotions.

He couldn’t quite identify the tangled feeling in his heart, but for the first time, he felt an urge to actively inquire about this girl…

“Captain!”

From the top of the high stone steps came the shouts of several basketball team members.

Chu Ming suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.

Feeling a bit annoyed with himself, he didn’t show it on his face, just smiled at the girl and turned to climb the steps.

This brief encounter was quickly forgotten by Su Miao Miao.

The afternoon breeze made her feel extremely comfortable.

But not everyone felt the same.

—

By now, most of the second-year students in Class 2 had completed their lap and returned. The formation that was somewhat neat at the start was now scattered.

Some students were panting heavily, while others seemed unaffected.

And there were a few in between.

Su Miao Miao looked towards the middle and back of the loosely formed group.

Qi Wenyue was running while venting her frustrations at the male sports committee member in the class, “I said the shorter ones should be in the front… didn’t you listen? Are short people with short legs not worthy? Who can keep up with this pace!?”

Su Miao Miao couldn’t help but suppress a smile as she looked in the direction of the formation.

From the side, she looked charming with her smiling eyes.

“…Captain? Captain??”

At the edge of the basketball court above the high stone steps, a member of the school basketball team called out to Chu Ming in confusion.

Chu Ming hurriedly snapped back to attention. “What’s up?”

The boy looked at him suspiciously, then leaned over and looked down.

Seeing the figure of the girl under the tree, the boy smiled knowingly.

“Hey, now I get it. Our Captain Chu is smitten, huh?”

“Cut it out,” Chu Ming chuckled.

The boy teased, “Hey, why didn’t you just tell me? Besides, your taste is too normal! Ever since this girl came to Three Middle School, half of the guys have been crushing on Shu Wei, and now, half of them are chasing after this girl…”

Chu Ming was slightly taken aback and glanced down.

The boy rubbed his chin and winked at Chu Ming.

“And I reckon, quite a few who were originally into Shu Wei have changed their minds—after all, this girl is really beautiful. I’ve never seen such a beauty before in my life. Who knows what kind of trouble she’ll cause in a couple of years…”

Listening to his teammate gossiping beside him, Chu Ming frowned for a moment and asked, “Is this girl famous?”

“…”

His teammate choked up, looking at Chu Ming with a complex expression.

“Captain, Captain, you better marry your basketball in the future.”

“…”

Chu Ming chuckled at him.

The boy sighed and started to explain.

“She’s a new student who transferred to Class 2 of the second year this semester. Her name is Su Miao Miao. We’ve been in school for over two years now, and she’s the first little beauty who has completely shaken up the position of our grade’s school flower, Shu Wei! I can’t believe you don’t even know her.”

“…”

In his mind, he couldn’t help but recall the image of the girl squinting her amber eyes under the dazzling sunlight as she handed him the basketball.

Chu Ming nodded. “Indeed.” He patted the ball and walked back.

“Huh? What do you mean ‘indeed’?”

“…”

“Captain! Don’t keep us in suspense, tell me what ‘indeed’ means?!”

“…”

—

Qi Wenyue and Liao Lanxin, sitting together as desk mates, were poles apart in personality and other aspects, but they shared one thing in common.

—They were both surprisingly bad at sports.

So, as they supported each other, half crawling and half walking to finish the last half lap, several boys in the class had already completed their four laps.

Shang Yan seemed to be the most relaxed among them.

However, after he stopped walking, his expression seemed somewhat unpleasant. Ignoring Li Zhe and his friends, he strode down the stone steps.

When Su Miao Miao came back to her senses, the sunlight had already cast the boy’s tall figure at her feet.

“…Master?”

Feeling that the person in front of her was suppressing some unsettling emotion beneath his silence, Su Miao Miao looked up in confusion.

Shang Yan frowned slightly, his dark eyes filled with a gloomy emotion.

“What were you talking about with Chu Ming just now?”

Su Miao Miao was taken aback.

“His basketball rolled over. I picked it up and gave it back to him.”

“And then?”

Su Miao Miao thought for a moment and shook her head. “Nothing else.”

“…”

Shang Yan’s eyes darkened slightly.

He looked up with a hostile gaze towards the silhouettes of the school basketball team members faintly visible on the stone steps.

If there really was nothing else…

Would Chu Ming have stood on the sidelines, staring at the girl for so long?

A complex, indescribable emotion surged in Shang Yan’s heart.

It was as if something had stepped into his territory and was greedily coveting his most cherished possession.

An uncontrollable violent emotion began to wind and spread from the depths of his heart.

Shang Yan took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the anger that threatened to overwhelm him.

He lowered his eyes, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Don’t talk to him again.”

Su Miao Miao: “…Why?”

Shang Yan replied perfunctorily, “Because he’s not a good person.”

Su Miao Miao: “…”

The girl muttered under her breath, “Someone told me today that you’re not a good person either, Master…”

“…”

Shang Yan narrowed his eyes, which were as black as ink. “Who?”

Su Miao Miao shook her head and murmured, “I won’t tell you.”

Shang Yan chuckled softly and turned to sit beside the girl. “Do you believe it?”

Su Miao Miao hesitated and turned to look at him with her beautiful, dark eyes.

“Should I believe it?”

“…”

A flicker of emotion crossed Shang Yan’s eyes.

After a moment, he lowered his eyelids, hiding the complex emotions in his eyes. All that remained was a slightly hoarse laugh from the exertion of exercise.

“Too late.”

Su Miao Miao was stunned. “Too late for what?”

“It’s too late to start believing now.”

Shang Yan squinted slightly with a smile, the corners of his lips lifting arrogantly on his handsome face.

“Now that you’ve become my disciple, do you really think you can escape from my grasp?”

Su Miao Miao stared at him for two seconds.Her pretty, delicate face showed no emotion.

After a moment of silence, she lowered her head, lightly scuffing the ground with her little white shoes.

Her voice was muffled, with a soft tone that made one’s heart ache.

“…I don’t hope to anymore.”

The sunlight cast her soft shadow on the ground at her feet, like a small, battered fluff ball.

Shang Yan suddenly felt very thirsty.

Not from his mouth, but from deep within his heart…

His eyes darkened, and he gave a light cough, turning his gaze away and changing the subject.

“…You can’t even do something like jogging?”

Su Miao Miao hesitated for a moment.

She looked up uneasily at the boy beside her. Seeing that his profile didn’t show any obvious emotion, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

“I can do it in moderation, but there’s no real need.”

Especially when considering the risks…The girl’s eyes dimmed.

Then she spoke, “Master, I just saw you running really fast.”

Her gaze traveled from the boy’s slightly messy black hair to his cold, pale forehead, and she was surprised to notice—”You’re hardly sweating?”

“Mm.”

Su Miao Miao, envious, murmured softly, “Your stamina is really good.”

“…”

Shang Yan paused.

After a moment, he laughed softly, his tongue pressing lightly against the roof of his mouth, his eyes darkening—

“In the future, I’ll let you know just how good my stamina is.”