Chapter 10: The Forum  

…  

As dusk painted the training ground in honeyed hues, Lin Yumo removed her military cap, the faint scent of jasmine mingling with the fine beads of sweat in her hair.  

She smoothed the creases left by the cap with her fingertips, shaking her head lightly, sending a wisp of jasmine fragrance drifting through the air.  

“Little Jasmine~” Song Xingran draped herself over Lin Yumo’s shoulder like a koala. “I’m melting… really melting…” Suddenly, she buried her face in the crook of Lin Yumo’s neck and took a deep breath.  

“Ah, I’m alive again! How is even your sweat fragrant?” Lin Yumo giggled, squirming as she gently pushed her away.  

“Stop fooling around, let’s pack up,” Lin Yumo said, still laughing as she dodged Song Xingran’s antics.  

“I’m fully recharged now!” Song Xingran suddenly perked up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder with renewed energy.  

As the two walked toward the school gate, chatting and laughing, the Camouflage Formation of Class One had just disbanded.  

Jiang Bozhou bounded over like an excited hound, unscrewing his water bottle in three quick strides. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped down the water, droplets trickling from the corner of his mouth and staining the front of his camouflage uniform with dark patches.  

“Chi Miao, want some?” He lifted the bottle, its rim still glistening with moisture.  

Chi Miao, crouching beside his backpack, paused. His obsidian-dark eyes flicked toward the water bottle in Jiang Bozhou’s hand, a trace of disdain in his gaze.  

Slowly, he pulled a tissue from his bag and, under the fading sunlight, meticulously wiped his temples and neck. “Keep it for yourself.”  

Through the shifting crowd, Lin Yumo caught sight of Chi Miao standing beneath the tree’s shadow, carefully dabbing his neck with a tissue.  

The water bottle in his hand glinted silver in the sunset, a detail that reminded her of Song Xingran’s earlier chatter about “Lord Mio’s Abs.”  

The tips of Lin Yumo’s ears instantly flushed red.  

Jiang Bozhou scratched his head, unfazed by the cold response, and turned his attention to Wen Yannan, who was tying his shoelaces. He sidled up like an eager puppy. “Yannan, want some?”  

The only reply was a frosty glance. Wen Yannan wiped his sweat with a tissue and continued focusing on his shoelaces, as if the surrounding noise meant nothing to him.  

Undeterred, Jiang Bozhou hummed an off-key tune and roughly toweled off his sweat.  

Suddenly, his movements froze. His gaze locked onto something in the distance, and he jabbed his companions excitedly, the fabric of his uniform rustling. “Hey, look over there—there’s a really pretty girl.”  

Wen Yannan followed his pointing finger, his eyes flickering briefly behind his glasses before cooling again. He adjusted his frames and muttered, “Focus on your studies,” then returned to packing his things. Yet, his lowered lashes couldn’t quite hide the fleeting spark of admiration in his eyes.  

Chi Miao’s reaction was half a beat slower than the other two. When he finally looked up, his gaze met Lin Yumo’s soft, downward smile.  

The girl was laughing at something Song Xingran said, her eyes crinkling with mirth. The evening light bathed her flushed cheeks in a warm glow, as if she were wrapped in a soft, hazy filter. Her fair skin glowed with a healthy blush, like a freshly peeled lychee—juicy and tempting.  

The image overlapped with the fleeting glance they had shared that morning. Chi Miao’s fingers tightened imperceptibly around the tissue, his knuckles whitening, but his expression remained composed. His gaze lingered on the girl for three seconds longer before he smoothly looked away.

“What do you mean I’m holding back my studies? Want to compare with me?” Jiang Bozhou protested loudly, puffing out his chest defiantly.

Wen Yannan shot him a glance, thinking to himself: This blockhead seems carefree, yet his grades always rank near the top of the class. Who knows if he’s secretly grinding behind everyone’s backs.

Not bothering to engage further, Wen Yannan kicked the heel of Jiang Bozhou’s shoe as a signal to hurry up, then hoisted his backpack and strode ahead.

Jiang Bozhou scrambled to stuff his towel into his bag while chasing after him, shouting, “You dare kick me? I’ll kick you back!”

Chi Miao watched their playful scuffle from behind, an unconscious smile tugging at his lips as he followed after them.

……

As dusk deepened, Lin Yumo bid farewell to Song Xingran at the school gate and slid into the waiting car.

Uncle Wu thoughtfully adjusted the air conditioning lower, while the prepared jasmine tea in the back seat still steamed gently.

“Little Jasmine is back?” Mother Lin greeted her at the door, letting out a soft “oh!” as she took the heavy backpack. “Did you get sunburned today?”

As she spoke, she smoothed out the strands of hair flattened by her daughter’s cap with her fingers.

Lin Yumo collapsed onto the sofa like an exhausted kitten: “My bones are about to fall apart…”

Before she could finish, a cup of warm water appeared before her, with two unfurling jasmine buds resting at the bottom.

Cradling the cup, she took small sips, the warm liquid carrying the floral aroma down her throat, spreading a comforting warmth.

Through the frosted glass of the bathroom, the silhouette of the girl undoing her braid was visible. As water cascaded down her back, she noticed the new light tan lines around her waist.

The marks stood out starkly against her fair skin, yet they reminded her of Instructor Fang pointing at her military posture during training earlier, saying, “Now this is the standard.”

Fresh from her shower, the girl curled up at her desk in pajamas, her damp hair leaving dark water stains on her shoulders.

Her vocabulary book lay open to a dog-eared page—fifty new words memorized thoroughly in just twenty minutes.

She glanced at her phone just as the 8 PM alarm chimed.

When her phone vibrated on the nightstand, the screen lit up with twenty-nine friend requests, each with notes like “Class 7 classmate” or “Saw you during military training.”

Lin Yumo accepted each request from her Class 7 classmates one by one, then noticed Song Xingran’s avatar flashing in the pinned messages. The text bubble read, [You’re famous!!!] with three exclamation marks, like little fireworks bursting.

Attached was a forum link.

Lin Yumo tapped the notification to find a high-definition photo of Chi Miao holding their class placard pinned at the top of the page.

Chi Miao stood under the blazing sun with the placard, sweat tracing the sharp line of his jaw, glinting in the sunlight.

The post title boldly declared: [Lord of Zero looks so hot holding the sign!! Need his contact info]

Lin Yumo’s fingers unconsciously brushed the screen as her eyes skimmed the rapidly multiplying comments below:

[That’s Chi Miao. If you don’t know him, you’re missing out. Top scorer in this year’s A-city high school entrance exams, super handsome, comes from a wealthy family. If these traits were split among three people, I’d still go crazy. But they’re all on one person. OK, I’m officially losing it!!!]

This comment was pinned at the top, followed by a string of exclamation marks. The replies that followed made her ears burn:

[I heard when he plays basketball, his abs are super defined…]

[“Please, can someone secretly take a photo of him changing clothes?”]

[“Sister upstairs, tone it down a bit, your drool is dripping onto my screen.”]

Lin Yumo hurriedly locked her screen and flipped the overheating phone face down on the table.

The room suddenly became eerily quiet, leaving only her slightly rapid breathing.

After a few seconds, she couldn’t resist turning the screen back on, ultimately encrypting the photo and saving it to her album.