The matter of someone from Ying Hua Experimental School issuing a challenge had caused quite a stir. Everyone passing through the hallway was talking about it.
When Xu Sheng entered the classroom the next day, he once again forgot which page he had stopped memorising vocabulary words on.
“Not this page, keep flipping.”
In the morning, as if they had some kind of unspoken connection, the two of them had simultaneously opened their doors.
Both of them had also stood dumbfounded in the doorway.
The atmosphere became strangely indescribable. Just as Shao Zhan was about to speak, Xu Sheng took two steps back and abruptly slammed his door shut.
Two seconds later, the door opened again.
Xu Sheng’s originally planned route was to go to the cafeteria, but somehow, because he was intentionally avoiding something, he walked in the opposite direction and went straight to the classroom building.
Faced with Shao Zhan’s greeting, Xu Sheng flipped over a page in his vocabulary book, his mind in disarray. He couldn’t possibly say out loud that seeing Shao Zhan made him think of the rooftop, and this left him at a loss.
Half a second later, Xu Sheng said, “I, um, exercising?”
“…”
Shao Zhan didn’t continue dwelling on this point and handed him soy milk. “Study after you eat your breakfast.”
The soy milk was hot.
Xu Sheng retracted his fingers, and made a sound of acknowledgement.
Xu Sheng thought that he could forget about the rooftop incident after a good night’s sleep, but it was only now that he realised this event would not blow over just like that.
Xu Sheng hadn’t even taken more than a few sips of his soy milk when Hou Jun burst in like a whirlwind, backpack on shoulders, and shouting before even he reached the doorway, “Zhan ge!”
This group of people was like a bunch of turnips; they came one after another, and there was even a string of people following behind Hou Jun.
“That guy surnamed Duan from Ying Hua, he’s fucking arrogant.” Hou Jun dashed over and sat down in front of Xu Sheng. “We’ve all seen the post.”
Tan Kai followed closely behind, extending his arm from behind Hou Jun, nodding in agreement while trying to snatch a pan-fried bun from Xu Sheng’s breakfast bag. “Yeah, but if you think about it, it’s understandable. He’s at the top of Ying Hua in his year, and last year you pinned him down and rubbed him into the dirt. This year, he wants to reclaim his reputation.”
Yuan Ziqiang, “I want to eat one too.”
“…” Xu Sheng remained speechless and pushed his breakfast over to them.
Shen Wenhao, feeling poetic, exclaimed, “The envy of the enemy is the best form of praise.”
After Shen Wenhao finished speaking, he turned to Shao Zhan and said, “Sheng ge, can you hand in today’s Chinese assignment? Meng laoshi said that you haven’t submitted your homework for a week. If you don’t submit it today, you won’t be allowed into language class.”
Shao Zhan, “…”
Shen Wenhao, “How are you not turning in your homework every day?. It’s not good for me to keep reporting it to Meng laoshi like this either.”
These days were still as difficult as before.
Xu Sheng and Shao Zhan were both bearing pressures they shouldn’t have to bear.
The post from Ying Hua’s top scorer immediately skyrocketed the already high level of attention for the Four School Competition League. In just one night, the number of replies exceeded ten thousand.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
——Our study god will definitely continue to dominate. We advise this Ying Hua contestant to think about their words of defeat in advance.
——Vaevs ubv lr ybecv ab gfluc reqgfwf.
Vbwf qfbqif fnfc kfca ragjluta ab lcnjvlcu Tlcu Lej Szqfglwfcaji Llut’r bcilcf obgew, jcv rbbc atf Tlcu Lej raevfcar jirb fzqibvfv.
Ktf afcrlbc rqgfjv jgbecv atf akb rmtbbir.
Ktlr sfjg’r Mbeg Vmtbbi Jbwqfalalbc Ofjuef tjv ageis yfmbwf j gfji yjaaif obg uibgs.
The player who might be pushed onto the battlefield, Xu Sheng, felt extremely conflicted.
After Hou Jun and the others left, Xu Sheng finished his remaining breakfast in a few bites and remembered to say thank you.
“Zhan ge, go to Meng laoshi’s office.” A classmate who came in later knocked on the door twice. “Meng laoshi is looking for you.”
Now, Xu Sheng felt that nowhere was safe, and that the world was targeting him everywhere. “What does Meng laoshi want from me?”
Shao Zhan replied, “Probably because he saw the school’s online forum.”
“Fuck.” Xu Sheng didn’t want to deal with anything related to the Four School Competition Leaguet. “Can I not go?”
Shao Zhan encouraged him expressionlessly. “Be brave.”
Xu Sheng, “…”
“Bring your phone,” Shao Zhan added. “If something comes up, send me a text.”
Meng Guowei really had seen the forum post. Normally, teachers wouldn’t notice things like this, but this situation regarding a Ying Hua student posting on their school’s forum had gotten too big, and it had alerted the school officials.
Xu Sheng nervously knocked on the door. “Reporting.”
Meng Guowei put down what he was holding and said, “Shao Zhan? Come in.”
It was still early in the morning, so there weren’t many people in the office. Zhou Yuan was currently watering the plant he was raising on the balcony.
As a frequent visitor to this office, Xu Sheng was used to Meng Guowei scolding him without even batting an eye. But this was the first time he felt that the office could also be a stressful place.
“Meng laoshi.” Xu Sheng took a breath and walked to Meng Guowei’s desk. “Were you looking for me?”
Meng Guowei had merely wanted to comfort his student and to make sure he wasn’t affected by the current situation.
Meng Guowei said, “I know about the situation with the school forum. Don’t worry.”
Xu Sheng thought to himself that he was fucking worrying himself to death.
Meng Guowei had complete trust in Shao Zhan. “You’ll be fine, we just need to perform steadily.”
Something majorly wrong is going to happen, right?
Meng Guowei patted Xu Sheng on the shoulder, completely unaware that inside the body of this Lin Jiang Sixth High student he was so proud of, resided the soul of a pure academic failure. With the intention to comfort and instil confidence, he smiled and said, “We all believe in you!”
Xu Sheng, “…”
Meng Guowei checked the time and said, “There’s actually another matter I wanted to discuss with you. Homeroom Teacher Gu has arranged an interview with you before the competition. It’s almost time, so let’s go now.”
“Before the competition,” Xu Sheng struggled to say, “What?”
Meng Guowei, “Interview.”
Meng Guowei was about to take Xu Sheng there, but Xu Sheng almost went crazy upon hearing the word “interview.” He slowed down his footsteps and sent two phrases to Shao Zhan: Gu Yanwang’s office, save me.
In Gu Yanwang’s office, there was a chair placed neatly against the wall. A landscape painting hung directly above the chair, and there was even a sash draped over it.
“When student Shao Zhan arrives later…” Gu Yanwang busied around. He took two steps back and asked, “He’ll sit in this position. What do you think?”
Gu Yanwang was speaking to the school’s newspaper reporter who was adjusting a tripod and a camera nearby.
The school’s newspaper reporter pushed his glasses up and said, “I think this position is good. It’s perfect for capturing the scene and fits today’s theme.”
Gu Yanwang nodded in satisfaction and waited for the excellent student Shao Zhan to arrive.
The moment “Shao Zhan” entered the room, his expression seemed somewhat unwilling. He hesitated at the doorway for a very long time. “Homeroom Teacher Gu, I…”
Gu Yanwang dragged him in straight away, he pointed to the seat saying, “Come, sit.”
After Xu Sheng sat down, Gu Yanwang hung the sash on him. It was only when the reporter pressed the shutter button and the “click” sound was heard that Xu Sheng could see what was written on the sash: Champion of the 14th Four School Competition League.
This year was the 15th year.
The sound of the shutter continued.
Gu Yanwang, “Relax, and just talk briefly about your study methods, your experience winning last year, and of course, highlight the ambitious spirit of our Lin Jiang Sixth High this year!”
In regards to this interview, they needed to talk about Ying Hua Experimental High.
Yesterday, Gu Yanwang had followed the students from Sixth High in the drama and read until he saw the posts on the Ying Hua forums. He discovered that a student named Duan Yaosheng had recorded an interview before the competition. How could they, Lin Jiang Sixth High, admit defeat?
They needed presence.
And that presence needed to be bigger than other schools’.
The school reporter stood behind the camera lens and looked at Shao Zhan through the lens. He guided him on what to say. “Student, smile a bit, discuss your study methods.”
Xu Sheng couldn’t smile.
Therefore, the young man in the frame put on a cold expression. Although he was leaning against the chair with a slightly relaxed posture, this might have been the most accurate portrayal of his role as Shao Zhan.
Furthermore, what learning methods could he have as someone who never studied?
Xu Sheng felt like confessing on the spot before accepting whatever Meng Guowei had in store for him, whether it was taking him to the psychiatric hospital or something else.
After a moment of silence, Xu Sheng spoke up. “Talent is difficult to define.”
The school reporter, “…”
Gu Yanwang, “…”
The Meng Guowei standing by the door, “…”
The school reporter, “Then, what was your experience like winning the championship last year?”
Xu Sheng, “I won too quickly, so there wasn’t much time to feel anything.”
The school reporter became completely speechless.
Fortunately, the interview didn’t last long. Someone knocked on the door to Gu Yanwang’s office and a voice said, “Reporting.”
Although the tone was different, even if it was distorted, Gu Yanwang couldn’t mistake that voice for anyone else.
“Xu Sheng?” Gu Yanwang’s face, which was previously beaming, immediately changed. “What brings you here?”
Shao Zhan rushed over as soon as he saw Xu Sheng’s message.
But now that he was Xu Sheng, if Xu Sheng voluntarily knocked on Gu Yanwang’s door, what reason could he have?
There weren’t many options available.
After a moment, Shao Zhan said, “I came to reflect on myself.”
Gu Yanwang, “…”
Xu Sheng, “…”
“What do you mean by reflection?” Gu Yanwang wondered if something strange was happening today. “Do you even know the meaning of reflection?”
Shao Zhan could only list Xu Sheng’s bad behaviours and said, “I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and I do have issues with my attitude towards studying.”
In the end, this pre-match interview was hastily concluded with “Xu Sheng’s” disruptions.
After Xu Sheng left, he took off the sash and washed his face in the nearby restroom. When he came out, Shao Zhan was leaning against the wall, waiting for him.
At this time, it was still early in the morning, and there weren’t many people in the hallways.
Xu Sheng didn’t want to go straight back to the dorm, so he simply sat down on the stairs and leaned against them, saying, “We even went through the interview, so what should we do about the Four Schools Competition League?”
What should they do?
This question also stumped Shao Zhan.
The Four Schools Competition League was approaching, and there was barely a little over a week left for preparation.
They had even tried spiritual methods, and now they could only hope that they would switch back before the tournament. However, the chances of that happening seemed low. Even if it was a 50% probability, they couldn’t afford to gamble on it.
Xu Sheng pondered this problem and didn’t notice that Shao Zhan had taken two steps towards him.
Shao Zhan and Xu Sheng stood on two different steps. Shao Zhan bent slightly down, blocking the light in front of Xu Sheng’s eyes. Shao Zhan raised his hand, as if he were enchanted, and lightly pressed his fingers against Xu Sheng’s neck—this was a somewhat dangerous posture, not quite choking him, because he also lifted one finger to touch Xu Sheng’s chin, forcing him to lift his head.
And then he released his hand, his dry fingertips brushing past Xu Sheng’s throat.
Xu Sheng belatedly realised that he hadn’t noticed the water droplets running down his face when he was washing his face.
Shao Zhan straightened up and said, There’s only one way to go forward now. Xu Sheng must attend the competition.”
He didn’t know whether to say “I” or “you,” as both pronouns had ambiguity. Finally, he decided to straightforwardly just call out Xu Sheng’s name.
Xu Sheng took two seconds to react before quickly understanding what Shao Zhan meant.
He had to attend.
Regardless of how the situation might evolve, it was crucial to ensure that the real Shao Zhan was on the field.
Thank you for the chapter 🥰
Wouldn’t it be too funny if they managed to get Xu Sheng on the team, just for them to swap again? 🙈
Imao that would be insane. This whole matter is so problematic 😂
Thanks for the chapter!!
Thanks for the chp , I thought they were gonna kiss on the stairs just now_(:з”∠)_
Thanks for the chapter >.<