Chapter 3

Song Cheng was tall and lean, her long limbs muscular from years of sports, covered in thin yet powerful muscle, with prominent finger bones gripping the basketball firmly. Her fierce words effectively silenced the group of boys.

Compared to Qin Li’s reprimands or Wen Xiangyi’s beauty and intimidating presence, Song Cheng really looked like she might throw a punch.

Chen Zihao, the tallest of the boys, stepped forward, “Sorry, sorry, we didn’t mean it.”

Song Cheng glanced at Wen Xiangyi, “Who should you apologize to?”

Chen Zihao said, “Sorry, Wen Xiangyi.”

Wen Xiangyi, uninterested, simply replied, “Be more careful next time.”

Only then did Song Cheng feel it was acceptable.

She tossed the ball forward, and Chen Zihao quickly caught it, taking the ball with the boys to a distant corner of the court.

Song Cheng watched the danger retreat with satisfaction, but suddenly, the stray hair brushing against her ear made her itch, and she heard Wen Xiangyi’s steady breathing.

“…”

After hugging Wen Xiangyi so effortlessly for years, she had forgotten to let go.

Had she held on for so long that Wen Xiangyi’s sharp mind might have noticed something?

Thinking about it made Song Cheng nervous, swallowing hard.

No, no, she had to let go quickly.

But her nervousness caused her to panic, and panic made her clumsy. As she withdrew her arm, she felt Wen Xiangyi’s waist seemed a bit slimmer now, so she touched it unconsciously. Indeed, it was two or three inches slimmer than Wen Xiangyi was last night.

Was Wen Xiangyi not eating?

Beside her, Wen Xiangyi’s body suddenly stiffened.

Wait.

What did your hand just do?

Song Cheng was truly panicking now.

She stared straight ahead, not daring to look at Wen Xiangyi’s expression, avoiding eye contact as she pulled away quickly.

Qin Li and the other girls gathered around, their eyes shifting between the two.

“Song Cheng, you reacted so fast.”

“Wen Xiangyi, are you okay?”

Wen Xiangyi said, “I’m fine.”

She turned to Song Cheng.

Song Cheng had already moved to the side, but it felt like Wen Xiangyi’s touch and warmth still lingered. The area where Wen Xiangyi had been touched was invaded by a lingering tingling sensation, which was hard to ignore.

As for the place on her waist where she had been touched, if Song Cheng hadn’t pulled away quickly, Wen Xiangyi would have slapped that inexplicable hand away.

Wen Xiangyi’s expression was far from friendly. Song Cheng couldn’t believe it, almost rubbing her eyes in disbelief.

What’s going on?

Wasn’t Wen Xiangyi supposed to be scolding Chen Zihao and the others?

Previously, at a banquet, someone had intentionally knocked over a server’s drink to embarrass Wen Xiangyi. Song Cheng had similarly hidden Wen Xiangyi in her embrace, and the drink spilled all over her back, leaving Wen Xiangyi unharmed.

Although Wen Xiangyi later, in retaliation, poured wine on Song Cheng, making her work extra hours, at least Wen Xiangyi’s expression had changed when the wine was spilled. Wen Xiangyi had smiled gently while touching her and had taken decisive action to get her revenge.

So why, just because they weren’t familiar now, did Wen Xiangyi react so severely to a simple accidental touch?

Song Cheng felt a bit wronged, looking at the silent Wen Xiangyi with rising anxiety. Fortunately, the sports teacher’s whistle for assembly saved her.

She turned and walked toward the assembly point, her retreating figure appearing cool and detached to everyone.

Qin Li remarked, “I didn’t expect her to be so enthusiastic.”

He Nianyao nodded, “I saw it too. After the ball almost hit Qin Li, she just stood by the side of the court.”

“I saw that as well. When the ball was heading towards Wen Xiangyi, her whole demeanor changed,” another girl said excitedly, “Song Cheng is so cool!”

Having been in the same class for over a year, Song Cheng had mostly kept to herself, isolating from the group.

Today’s incident gave several girls a new perspective on her.

As everyone chatted and walked to the assembly, Wen Xiangyi remained silent.

For a long time, the place where she had been touched still felt uncomfortable, with a presence that demanded her attention.

Uncomfortable.

She scanned the crowd, finding the tall, distinctive figure of Song Cheng, whose short ponytail swayed with every step, listlessly flicking as she kicked pebbles.

Qin Li asked, “Are you watching Song Cheng?”

Wen Xiangyi replied, “Mm.”

Just because they weren’t familiar with each other, Wen Xiangyi wouldn’t be so unforgiving over an accidental touch!

Song Cheng felt a bit wronged, her anxiety growing as she looked at the silent Wen Xiangyi. Luckily, the sports teacher’s whistle for assembly saved her.

She turned and walked toward the assembly point, her retreating figure appearing cool and detached to everyone.

Qin Li remarked, “I didn’t expect her to be so enthusiastic.”

He Nianyao nodded, “I saw it too. After the ball almost hit Qin Li, she just stood by the side of the court.”

“I saw that too. When the ball was heading towards Wen Xiangyi, her whole demeanor changed,” another girl said excitedly, “Song Cheng is so cool!”

Having been in the same class for over a year, Song Cheng had mostly kept to herself, remaining isolated from the group.

Today’s incident gave several girls a new perspective on her.

As everyone chatted and walked to the assembly, Wen Xiangyi remained silent.

For a long time, the spot on her waist where she had been touched still felt uncomfortable, with a presence that couldn’t be ignored.

Uncomfortable.

She scanned the crowd, finding the tall, distinctive figure of Song Cheng, whose short ponytail swayed as she kicked pebbles, listlessly flicking them.

Qin Li asked, “Are you watching Song Cheng?”

Wen Xiangyi replied, “Mm.”

Qin Li continued, “She seems to be paying a lot of attention to you today.”

There must be a reason behind this. Wen Xiangyi couldn’t believe that a girl she had no interactions with would suddenly be interested in her.

She found Song Cheng inexplicable and overly nosy.

Wen Xiangyi disliked strangers’ closeness and touch even more than a harmless ball hit.

She had no interest in continuing this topic: “After the assembly, there’s a quiz next period. Have you reviewed?”

Qin Li, indeed, was distracted: “Oh no, I haven’t finished my cheat sheet!”

“…”

The school bell rang soon after.

Students headed to the classroom in groups, and Song Cheng was among them.

She was supposed to stay on the court for training, but she had fainted today and could take half a day off.

So, Song Cheng followed everyone back to Class 5.

After everyone was seated, she walked to the only empty seat in the last row and opened her somewhat used Chinese textbook, with “Song Cheng” written on the cover page.

The “Song” was slightly off, and the last stroke of “Cheng” was very short.

It was her handwriting.

Song Cheng sat down immediately.

Her deskmate was the girl who had been with Wen Xiangyi earlier. Song Cheng glanced at her notebook, which had the name He Nianyao written on it. She had a vague impression of this name.

Before she could ponder Wen Xiangyi’s earlier attitude, the class bell rang, and the physics teacher walked in. Without a word, he handed out the test papers.

On the podium, the physics teacher’s thermos cup emitted white steam.

The test papers were distributed to the front row, and Song Cheng carefully smoothed out her snow-white test paper, scanning from the first page to the fourth.

Great, she couldn’t solve any of the problems.

She sat there with a serene expression, daydreaming.

Currently, education in Xiangwu hasn’t reformed, and the educational philosophy at the Third Middle School leans towards equality among all students. In the second year, art students, sports students, and academic students are not separated into different classes. This also gives sports and art students time to reconsider their choices and return to academic subjects.

But Song Cheng recalled that in the third year, the school would select two top classes to focus on intensive study. Students from sports and art backgrounds would also be grouped into a few classes for targeted supplementary lessons.

In other words, if she wanted to excel in academic subjects, she should bring it up with the teacher now, in the second year, to start planning her studies early.

During the physics quiz, Song Cheng had a serious expression as she questioned herself.

Did she really want to give up sports?

Yes. There are no job prospects for sports majors; no matter how well she trains, she’ll only end up as an object of desire!

But if she switched back now, could she really get into college?

Looking at the still pristine test paper, Song Cheng suddenly felt deflated.

Ugh, she couldn’t decide.

She might as well start answering questions.

She picked up her pen, pondered over the first question, hesitated for a long time, and finally marked “C.”

Forty minutes later, they began collecting the papers.

Song Cheng stretched lazily.

She was exhausted—more so than running 3,000 meters.

The student in front, taking advantage of the commotion, turned around: “Do you want to compare answers? The first five questions!”

Song Cheng replied, “CABBA.”

The student in front, along with her deskmate He Nianyao, all looked at their papers again in shock and then back at Song Cheng:

“Why?”

Song Cheng said, “It’s a feeling.”

“?”

She thought for a moment, “And it just rolls off the tongue.”

“???“

The student in front muttered, “Why on earth did I ask Song Cheng for answers…”

He Nianyao admired, “One dares to ask, one dares to answer.”

When the papers were collected, Song Cheng saw that Wen Xiangyi was in charge of collecting her group’s papers.

“…”

Song Cheng’s previously calm demeanor faltered.

If Wen Xiangyi glanced even briefly, she would see Song Cheng’s random choices and the large blank spaces on the back of the paper with a lone answer.

Oh no, she was about to make a fool of herself in front of Wen Xiangyi.

Before Wen Xiangyi could arrive, Song Cheng hurriedly collected the test papers from the three people around her, putting her own paper at the bottom of the pile and handing it to Wen Xiangyi.

“Please take these.”

Wen Xiangyi looked at her, took the papers, and placed them with the others.

Safe.

Song Cheng let out a quiet sigh of relief as she watched Wen Xiangyi’s actions.

After Wen Xiangyi left, Song Cheng asked He Nianyao, “How is Wen Xiangyi’s physics performance?”

He Nianyao looked puzzled, “Song Cheng, did you lose your memory when you fainted? Don’t scare me.”

“Wen Xiangyi is definitely first,” He Nianyao said with certainty.

The student in front turned around and emphasized, “She’s the top in the entire grade.”

Wen Xiangyi’s grades are so good?

She’s already so wealthy, and her academic performance is still outstanding. Incredible.

But, then again, the Wen Xiangyi in Song Cheng’s memory was never interested in eating, drinking, and playing around.

Moreover, she’s exceptionally smart and excels at everything she does.

Sigh.

Song Cheng was thoroughly troubled.

There’s still a long way to go in the second year, with minor tests every three days and major tests every five days.

With her current abysmal grades, wouldn’t she just look like a clown in front of Wen Xiangyi?

No way.

For the sake of her dignity, she had to focus on her studies.

Moreover, continuing with sports would significantly increase the risk of being targeted by Wen Xiangyi. Didn’t Wen Xiangyi already show interest in her body before?

Returning to high school, wasn’t she supposed to change her destiny?

On one side of the scale, weights keep increasing, while on the other side, they keep decreasing. When the class bell rang, Song Cheng stood up and walked out of the classroom with determination—

To find the homeroom teacher!

After a few steps, she hesitated and stopped.

…Where is the homeroom teacher’s office?

Students passed by in the corridor, and she didn’t recognize any of them. The world around her seemed like a relic of her past, and she felt like an outsider, standing here as if she were in a foreign land.

The sky outside was high, with a breeze blowing and the camphor trees rustling. Song Cheng stood there, a sense of loneliness and helplessness swelling in her heart.

Just then, Wen Xiangyi, holding the physics test paper, passed by her.

This familiar Wen Xiangyi was graceful and elegant, like the carefully crafted perfumes she wore. No matter what scent, it always had a composed and mature undertone.

But the Wen Xiangyi before her now wasn’t wearing a plain custom suit but the blue-and-white school uniform of the Third Middle School. The luxurious handbag was replaced with a physics test paper. Her long hair wasn’t curled but tied in a simple low ponytail, with some soft strands hanging by her sweet face.

In this form, she seemed more approachable.

At least at this moment, in her vicinity, Song Cheng only recognized her.

Song Cheng silently followed behind her.

She moved quietly, ensuring she made no noise, but Wen Xiangyi seemed to be as sensitive to her surroundings as a vigilant animal. After just a few steps, she turned around and looked at Song Cheng quietly.

Song Cheng immediately said, “I’m going to the teacher’s office.”

Going to?

Finding the emphasized explanation amusing, Wen Xiangyi said:

“I didn’t say you were following me.”