After the second class on Wednesday morning, the senior high school students gathered on the large field to do their morning exercises.

In every class, there were always one or two students who took the exercises seriously, while the rest just went through the motions, waving their arms and legs carelessly.

Xu Xing fell somewhere in between — he seriously waved his arms and legs, but wasn’t just going through the motions.

After the exercises, Xu Xing and Tang Mian squeezed into the school shop and bought six black pepper sausages. They each ate two slowly, then took the other two back to the classroom for Wang Zicong.

When they returned to the classroom, Xu Xing hadn’t even had a chance to hand the bag of sausages to Wang Zicong when Lu Che, sitting behind him, intercepted it halfway. “Class rep, are those for me?” he asked, reaching out with a self-satisfied grin.

Xu Xing reflexively hid the bag behind his back, mercilessly replying, “You’re overthinking it.”

Lu Che was confused. “Huh?”

Xu Xing ignored him and handed the sausages to Wang Zicong with a smile, gently patting Wang Zicong’s chubby shoulder. “I bought these for you, enjoy them while they’re still warm,” he said warmly.

Wang Zicong was overwhelmed with surprise as he accepted the bag.

Lu Che, feeling wronged, slumped onto his desk and tugged at Xu Xing’s clothes, pitifully complaining, “Class rep, I’m hungry too.”

Xu Xing shook off his hand, but Lu Che persistently whined about being hungry.

Annoyed, Xu Xing stood up and turned around, giving Lu Che a light push. “Move aside!”

After pushing him, Xu Xing bent down and rummaged through Lu Che’s desk, pulling out a heap of snacks and laying them out one by one in front of him. With a stern face, Xu Xing asked, “Hungry? You’ve got all this food and you’re still complaining?”

To Xu Xing, Lu Che was just being difficult for no reason.

Lu Che chuckled and said, “How about I trade all these snacks with Wang Zicong for a sausage?”

Xu Xing: “…”

What’s wrong with this guy?

Wang Zicong quickly responded, “Sure, sure! You can have both sausages, I’ll just take one box of Wangzai milk.”

Lu Che tore open a pack of Wangzai milk, took out one box for Wang Zicong, and traded him for one sausage, saying sincerely, “One is enough.”

Xu Xing watched as the two completed their “fair trade” and, resting his chin on his hand, gazed out the window, rolling his eyes so hard they almost got stuck.

Just then, a hand reached over his shoulder and placed a box of Wangzai milk on his desk.

Xu Xing glanced at the milk, then turned to look at Lu Che.

Lu Che, grinning while biting into his sausage, said, “It’s for you. You don’t have to trade for it.”

Xu Xing: “…”

He didn’t even ask for it!

Xu Xing grumbled, “Thanks, I guess.”

He casually tore open the attached straw, inserted it into the box, and took a sip—

The Wangzai milk was a bit sweet.

After the third class, Jiang Jize walked to the back door of Class 7 and peeked inside. Seeing that Lu Che and the others were there, he walked in through the back door.

Ke Di, lounging against Zhou Mang’s shoulder while cracking sunflower seeds, waved to Jiang Jize. “Hey, here to see our big brother Che?”

Stretching lazily, Jiang Jize smiled. “No, I’m here for your sweetheart,” he said, then turned to Zhou Mang and asked, “Zhou Mang, did you finish your Chinese workbook, pages 57 to 60?”

Zhou Mang looked up and replied, “Yeah.”

Jiang Jize was pleased and quickly borrowed the workbook to deal with the Chinese teacher.

Hearing his name, Lu Che glanced back casually but didn’t care much at first. Then he remembered how Xu Xing had been concerned about Jiang Jize before and suddenly felt a bit more alert.

As Jiang Jize stood beside Ke Di, waiting for Zhou Mang to dig out the workbook, his gaze wandered to the wall covered in sticky notes. He asked curiously, “What’s all this?”

The first note he saw was Lu Che’s, written with bold, confident strokes: “Find a girlfriend.”

Jiang Jize laughed. “What is this, a dating board for singles?”

Ke Di glanced at the wall and explained, “You’re too shallow. This is our Class 7 wish wall.”

Jiang Jize responded indifferently, “Oh.”

His eyes then fell on another note in the shape of an oval speech bubble: “To my future self, I hope you accumulate more courage in the days ahead — Xiao Shun.”

As Jiang Jize took the workbook from Zhou Mang, his gaze lingered on Xiao Shun’s note, repeating the words in his head.

Muttering to himself, Jiang Jize said, “What kind of courage…”

Ke Di, hearing him, chimed in, “Courage is ‘ce,’ c—e.”

He helpfully spelled out the word for Jiang Jize.

Jiang Jize chuckled and teased, “Looks like Zhou Mang’s been influencing you to study again, huh?”

Ke Di grinned. “Wuli Mang Mang is always amazing.”

After a bit more banter with Ke Di, Jiang Jize left.

Meanwhile, Xu Xing quietly worked on his assignments. Suddenly, a hand reached over and placed another box of Wangzai milk on his desk.

Turning around, Xu Xing asked, “What now?”

Lu Che smiled mischievously. “It’s your reward~”

In the background, Jiang Jize was still joking and laughing, but Xu Xing hadn’t paid him any attention, which made Lu Che feel victorious, like he’d won a small battle just for himself.

Xu Xing: “…”

He wordlessly accepted the “reward” and stashed it in his desk.

In the afternoon, after two more classes.

After doing eye exercises, most of the class was drowsy and slumped over their desks.

Xu Xing stood up and gazed out the window for a break. Hearing some noise behind him, he glanced back and saw that Lu Che and Fu Dai were playing a game of Five-in-a-Row on scrap paper.

The grid was roughly drawn, with sparse X’s and O’s scattered across it. Fu Dai occasionally pinched his ears in thought, frowning slightly, while Lu Che appeared relaxed, casually drawing his circles.

Xu Xing took a quick look at the game and could already tell that Lu Che had it in the bag, even though they were only halfway through.

Ke Di, perched on his desk as he watched the game, started boasting, “No one can beat our big brother Che at Five-in-a-Row. Anyone who challenges him will end up in a deadlock with no way out. The best strategy is just not to play him at all, haha.”

Taking a sip from his cup, Ke Di nodded in agreement with his own sage advice, based on personal experience.

Lu Che, still spinning his pen lazily, glanced at Xu Xing and asked, “Class rep, want to play a round with me?”

Xu Xing scoffed at Ke Di’s exaggerated claims. Five-in-a-Row? It’s all about whoever gets the first move; there’s no way someone’s unbeatable. It’s just boasting.

Xu Xing dragged his chair over and sat down across from Lu Che. “Sure, I’ll play after you two finish.”

No sooner had he said this than Lu Che placed three more pieces, sealing Fu Dai’s fate in an instant.

Fu Dai: “…”

Lu Che flipped the page and, using a ruler he pulled from under his desk, neatly drew a new grid. Xu Xing frowned and said, “You don’t have to be so precise.”

Ignoring him, Lu Che swiftly finished drawing the grid and handed Xu Xing a black pen while keeping a red one for himself.

Xu Xing drew the X’s, and Lu Che drew the O’s.

Xu Xing went first, carefully placing his first X in the clean, tidy grid, his expression immediately turning serious.

After the second class on Wednesday morning, the senior class gathered on the big playground to do morning exercises.

In every class, there are always one or two students who take the exercises seriously, while the rest of the students just go through the motions, flailing their arms and legs aimlessly.

Xu Xing fell somewhere in between—he was earnestly flailing his arms and legs, not just going through the motions.

After the morning exercises, Xu Xing and Tang Mian squeezed into the snack shop to buy six black pepper sausages. They each slowly ate two, then took the remaining two back to the classroom for Wang Zicong.

Upon returning to class, Xu Xing hadn’t had the chance to hand over the bag of sausages to Wang Zicong when he was intercepted midway by Lu Che from the back row. “Class monitor, is that for me?”

Lu Che confidently reached out his hand toward him.

Xu Xing instinctively hid the bag behind his back and coldly replied, “You’re thinking too much.”

Lu Che: “Huh?”

Xu Xing then brought the two sausages in front of Wang Zicong, even patting Wang Zicong’s plump shoulder affectionately, smiling as he said, “Deskmate, I bought these for you; eat them while they’re still warm.”

Wang Zicong was pleasantly surprised to receive the bag.

Hearing this, Lu Che felt wronged and leaned over the desk, tugging at Xu Xing’s shirt with a pitiful expression. “Class monitor, I’m hungry too.”

Xu Xing shrugged off Lu Che’s grip and stood up in annoyance, turning to push Lu Che back a bit. “Get out of the way!”

After pushing Lu Che aside, Xu Xing bent down and rummaged through Lu Che’s desk pocket, pulling out a pile of snacks and laying them out in front of Lu Che. He held a serious face and asked, “What are you complaining about? With so much food, can’t you shut up for once?”

Xu Xing thought that this person just loved to cause trouble.

Lu Che chuckled, “Then I’ll trade these snacks with Wang Zicong for a sausage, okay?”

Xu Xing: “……”

Was this person out of his mind?

Wang Zicong quickly chimed in, “Sure, sure! You can have both sausages; I’ll just take a box of Wangzai milk.”

Lu Che unwrapped a box of Wangzai milk and handed one to Wang Zicong, trading it for one of the black pepper sausages, saying seriously, “Just one is enough.”

Xu Xing turned his face to see Wang Zicong and Lu Che reaching a fair deal. He rested his chin in his hand and looked out the window, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

At that moment, someone behind him reached over his shoulder and placed a box of Wangzai milk on his desk.

Xu Xing glanced at the milk, then turned back to look at Lu Che.

Lu Che, with a black pepper sausage in his mouth and a smile on his face, said, “This is for you; you don’t need to trade.”

Xu Xing: “……”

He never said he wanted it.

Xu Xing snorted and replied, “Well, thanks then.”

He casually unwrapped the little straw that came with the box and poked it into the opening, taking a sip—

The Wangzai milk was a bit sweet.

After the third class, Jiang Jize walked to the back door of Class Seven and looked inside. Seeing that Lu Che and the others were present, he directly walked in through the back door.

Ke Di was leaning against Zhou Mang’s shoulder, munching on sunflower seeds. Upon seeing Jiang Jize approach, he waved and greeted, “Hey, are you here to find Brother Che?”

Jiang Jize stretched and smiled. “No, I’m here to find you, my dear.” He then turned to Zhou Mang and asked, “Zhou Mang, have you completed pages 57 to 60 of your Chinese practice book?”

Zhou Mang looked up and replied, “I have.”

Jiang Jize, pleased to hear this, quickly borrowed Zhou Mang’s practice book to deal with the Chinese teacher.

Lu Che turned to look back when he heard his name, initially indifferent, but when he recalled how Xu Xing had shown concern for Jiang Jize before, he couldn’t help but feel vigilant.

Jiang Jize stood beside Ke Di, waiting for Zhou Mang to retrieve the practice book from under the desk. While yawning, his casual gaze landed on a wall covered in sticky notes, and he asked with interest, “What’s this?”

The first thing Jiang Jize noticed was Lu Che’s sticky note, written in strong, bold handwriting: “To Get a partner.”

Jiang Jize laughed, “What’s this? A romantic space for single men and women?”

Ke Di glanced back and explained, “You’re shallow; this is our class’s wish wall.”

Jiang Jize replied dismissively, “Oh.”

His gaze then landed on an oval sticky note on the right half of the wall: “To my future self, may you gather more courage in the days to come—Xiao Shun.”

Jiang Jize took the Chinese practice book from Zou Mang and unconsciously fixated on Xiao Shun’s sticky note, repeating that sentence in his mind.

Jiang Jize mumbled to himself, “What kind of courage?”

Ke Di responded, “Courage is ce, c—e.”

He even helpfully spelled out the word for Jiang Jize.

Jiang Jize scoffed and praised, “Looks like Zhou Mang has been revived lately; you’ve even started studying with him.”

Ke Di cheerfully said, “Wuli Mang Mang has always been great.”

After chatting with Ke Di for a bit, Jiang Jize left.

Meanwhile, Xu Xing was quietly working on his homework when he suddenly saw a hand reach over from behind and place a box of Wangzai milk on his desk.

Xu Xing turned around and asked, “What’s that for?”

Lu Che smiled, “This is a reward for you~”

Jiang Jize was laughing and chatting from behind, but Xu Xing hadn’t acknowledged him at all, which made Lu Che feel a sense of accomplishment, as if it were a victory of his own.

Xu Xing: “……”

He inexplicably accepted Lu Che’s gift and tossed it under his desk.

After two afternoon classes, they finished doing the eye exercises, and a wave of drowsiness washed over the class.

Xu Xing stood up and gazed out the window for a moment. Hearing some noise next to him, he turned to look and saw Lu Che and Fu Dai playing Gomoku^[1]Gomoku, also called Five in a Row, is an abstract strategy board game. on a piece of draft paper again.

The squares drawn haphazardly were scattered with sparse circles and crosses. Fu Dai occasionally pinched his earlobes, frowning slightly, while Lu Che had a relaxed expression, casually drawing circles.

Xu Xing took a glance at the board, and with not even half the pieces down, the outcome was already decided.

Ke Di was sitting at his desk observing the game. Seeing Xu Xing looking over, he began to boast, “Brother Che’s Gomoku is unbeatable. Once you face him, you’ll definitely find yourself in a predicament, and it’s only a matter of time before you’re out of options. So, the best solution is to avoid playing Gomoku with Brother Che—haha.”

Ke Di took a sip of water from his cup and nodded in agreement with his own experienced conclusion.

Lu Che, twirling a pen between his fingers, looked up at Xu Xing and asked, “Class monitor, do you want to play a game with me?”

Xu Xing found Ke Di’s earlier remarks quite ridiculous. He thought playing Gomoku was merely about the first move having the advantage; where was the unbeatable, invincible aspect—just boasting.

Xu Xing dragged a chair over to sit down across from Lu Che. “Sure, I’ll play once you’re done.”

As soon as he finished saying this, the pen Lu Che was twirling between his fingers stopped, and he placed down three pieces. In the blink of an eye, Fu Dai was left with no options.

Fu Dai: “……”

Lu Che flipped a page and pulled out a ruler from under the desk, drawing a neat board for the game. Xu Xing frowned and said, “Just draw it casually.”

Lu Che didn’t respond to him, quickly finishing the drawing with the ruler and then handing Xu Xing a black gel pen while picking up a red one for himself.

Xu Xing drew crosses while Lu Che drew circles.

Xu Xing took the first move, making the first cross on the clean, neat game board, instantly furrowing his brows in seriousness.

And Lu Che, just like before, had a relaxed expression, casually drawing circles.

Ke Di and Fu Dai sat nearby, watching the game.

Ke Di bit the edge of his water cup and cheerfully said, “The class monitor must be feeling the same way I did the first time I played with Brother Che—disbelieving in his own luck.”

Fu Dai made a sound of acknowledgment but didn’t speak. Although he had been completely crushed by Lu Che, he still held on to his disbelief.

As the saying goes, a good game can turn the tide in three moves.

Xu Xing’s brows, initially slightly furrowed, began to relax. Although he had dismissed Ke Di’s boasting earlier, he approached this game with utmost seriousness. After just ten moves, he felt confident of his victory.

Lu Che had painstakingly drawn the game board, and it hadn’t been in vain; they were nearly filling up the board. Xu Xing finally laid down a four-in-a-row formation.

Xu Xing set down his pen, trying to conceal his satisfaction, and calmly said, “I don’t think we need to continue.”

Lu Che, with a slight smile, showed no signs of impatience or frustration at losing, lightly chuckling as he replied, “Of course we have to continue.”

Lu Che placed the red pen at an empty spot in the center of the board—

Xu Xing casually turned to grab his thermos, took a sip of water, and when he turned back, he saw Lu Che had drawn a solid red heart in the center of the board.

Xu Xing: “……”

But that wasn’t all; Lu Che then connected the red pieces on the board into a heart shape, encircling that solid heart in the middle.

Fu Dai: “……”

The visual was so discomforting it felt like it needed to be reported.

Ke Di: “……”

Brother Che truly lived up to his name; even in losing, he was so creative.

Lu Che tore off the sheet of draft paper and handed it to Xu Xing, saying, “Class monitor, I lost to you~ Here’s a keepsake for you. I’ve only lost to you so far.”

Xu Xing stared at the paper in Lu Che’s hand; if it weren’t for the overly sincere expression on Lu Che’s face, he might have conflated him with the girl who had once passed him a love letter.

Xu Xing snapped out of his daze and directly refused, “You should keep it as a memento. You’re not the first person I’ve beaten at Gomoku…”

After saying this, Xu Xing turned around and sat back down.

Before long, the class bell rang.

As the teacher walked into the classroom and turned to write on the blackboard, the person behind him slipped the sheet of paper under Xu Xing’s desk.

A low, magnetic voice whispered in Xu Xing’s ear—

Lu Che said softly, “You can’t go back on your word just because you beat me~”

Xu Xing: “……”

---

Author’s Note:

At the beginning of this story, I forgot whether I mentioned in the comments or on Weibo, but Lu Che noticed Xu Xing long ago, Xu Xing’s first impression in Lu Che’s mind has always been that he has sharp tounge but soft hearted—sensitive and very kind [maybe……].