Chapter 62

Finally reaching the finish line, Lu Ping deflated completely, sprawling out flat on the grass in the inner lane of the track.

The other boys around him were much the same, lying scattered every which way. As the PE teacher put it, they all had the makings of corpse extras in the film studios next door.

Lu Ping hadn’t run in ages, especially not in the second half, when he’d sprinted like mad to keep ahead of those brainless idiots from Classes 9 and 10… The results of his overexertion were obvious: his legs felt like noodles, and his chest heaved like a rundown old engine.

After lying on the grass for a bit, Lu Ping started feeling cold. It had rained every night lately, and the daytime sun wasn’t strong enough, leaving a misty dampness clinging to the grass blades all day—and now to him.

The PE teacher kept urging them nearby: “Get up, get up! Don’t just lie there after running—walk it off slowly!”

But no one listened.

Lu Ping figured lying there forever was getting too chilly and decided to sit up. Just as he did, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out and saw a message from Shen Yuze.

【Shen Yuze: Get up. The ground’s cold.】

“…” Lu Ping gripped his phone and looked toward the track. Sure enough, Shen Yuze stood there, gazing over at him from afar.

Through the crowd, their eyes met. Lu Ping’s feelings were complicated. This whole week, he’d been dodging Shen Yuze and even deliberately ignoring him, but Shen Yuze didn’t seem to mind at all. The bailout earlier and this concern now warmed something in Lu Ping’s chest.

Before that warmth could fade, his phone buzzed again with a new message.

【Shen Yuze: Your butt can’t get cold.】

Lu Ping: “…………………………”

What the hell was “your butt can’t get cold” supposed to mean?!

The doctor’s exact words had been: “Keep the tailbone warm after the fracture heals.” So why did it sound so weird coming out of Shen Yuze’s mouth?

Lu Ping locked his phone, shoved it back in his pocket, and flopped straight back down onto the ground—ha, tell him to get up? No way, he wouldn’t. It was his butt, and he got the final say. Shen Yuze had no business sticking his nose in!

The students rested for a good while before the PE teacher blew his whistle repeatedly, forcing them to drag themselves up and reform lines.

“Making you run a warm-up lap was like asking for your lives,” the PE teacher said, checking his watch. “No more whining. Next up: sit-ups. Your class is huge—no time for dawdling.”

The announcement sparked instant groans across the group.

Everyone had just run themselves ragged, and now they had to do sit-ups? Could they just do the “lying down” part and skip the “sitting up”?

The PE teacher ignored the complaints. Twenty mats were already laid out nearby. He blew his whistle, scanned the class, and asked, “Who wants to go first?”

The line of 150 students went dead silent. No one spoke up.

The PE teacher huffed: “Fine, playing mute? We’ll go by rows then. First four rows pair up front-to-back. Rows one and two pair front-back, rows three and four pair front-back—twenty groups total. Switch after you’re done.”

It sounded fair enough at first… but the guy standing right in front of Lu Ping was Glasses Boy from Class 9! They’d just clashed during the run, and now they had to train together?

Lu Ping worried he’d lose control during sit-ups and accidentally kick the guy in the face!

Feeling indignant, Lu Ping raised his hand: “Teacher, I—”

“—Report!” A boy from the front row cut him off, drowning out his voice. “Can we skip the front-back pairing?”

The PE teacher was fed up with these annoying high schoolers and nearly snapped at him. But when he saw it was Shen Yuze speaking, he swallowed his scolding.

Shen Yuze was a star in the teachers’ eyes right now—he’d won a big award for the school, and his photo had been on the big screen in front of the teaching building for a whole week! Every teacher loved top students, PE teachers included.

The PE teacher asked, “Shen Classmate, why don’t you want to pair with the guy behind you?”

Shen Yuze said bluntly, “Because I don’t know him.”

Everyone: “…”

Sure, the guy behind him was from another class, but they’d all been in PE together for half a semester—claiming not to know him was pretty cold!

The PE teacher rubbed his temples: “…So what do you suggest?”

Shen Yuze: “Can’t we pick our own partners?” He glanced back at the class. “I bet everyone would prefer that.”

Girls immediately chimed in agreement. Everyone had their buddies—they wanted to pair with people they knew.

Under the strong push from the class, the PE teacher finally caved and allowed free pairing.

Once he nodded, the line dissolved into chaos as everyone eagerly rushed to their friends, plotting how to go easy on each other during sit-ups. Glasses Boy, who’d been in front of Lu Ping, turned with a fake smile: “You got lucky this time.”

Lu Ping shot back righteously: “Yeah, I am lucky. Heaven’s favorite—that’s me. Nyah nyah.”

With the PE teacher watching, Glasses Boy couldn’t start anything and stormed off fuming.

Once Glasses Boy was gone, Shen Yuze appeared in front of Lu Ping.

Shen Yuze said: “You’re with me.”

His tone was flat, not even asking—like he knew Lu Ping wouldn’t refuse.

It was their first real exchange since the jealousy incident.

Lu Ping felt guilty. Just seeing Shen Yuze’s eyes now made him flash back to that ridiculous dream—and the panic and emptiness after waking.

He glanced around, but all the other guys had already paired up. He couldn’t just crash the girls’ group—Shen Yuze was his only option.

“Fine, okay.” Lu Ping had been all feisty with everyone else, but around Shen Yuze, he turned into a pitiful little mouse. “We’ll pair up.”

Lu Ping thought: It’s only a one-minute timer for sit-ups. Blink, and it’s over! No need to stress!

…

The mats were laid out, forty students in twenty pairs, each on a mat. The rest stood back, ready to count.

Shen Yuze lay down first. Lu Ping squatted at his feet, holding his ankles.

But the PE teacher wasn’t satisfied: “Listeners holding feet: no hands—sit on them!”

Lu Ping blurted: “Sit where???”

“Lu Ping, are you an idiot?” the PE teacher snapped. “On his feet, obviously. Or do you want to sit on his body?”

Lu Ping: “…”

Shen Yuze let out a soft chuckle.

Some guys protested—they had expensive sneakers they babied even when walking, and now some sweaty dude was supposed to sit on them? No way!

The PE teacher ignored them all.

Lu Ping’s face burned. He’d sat on classmates’ feet before, no big deal—but with Shen Yuze as partner, it felt awkward.

Seeing him hesitate, Shen Yuze sat up, wiped his shoe, and said: “It’s clean.”

“…” But Lu Ping wasn’t hesitating over dirty shoes!

Everyone else was already sitting as instructed, so Lu Ping couldn’t make a scene. He reluctantly settled onto Shen Yuze’s feet.

Shen Yuze bent his legs, lay back on the mat, and looked up at the flustered Lu Ping.

After sitting, Lu Ping flailed his hands awkwardly until Shen Yuze prompted: “Hold my knees.” He quickly pressed them to Shen Yuze’s.

The PE teacher checked all twenty pairs, confirmed good form, and blew the whistle.

The shrill blast started the timer. Everyone on the mats powered up, using core strength to rise.

Shen Yuze cradled his head, his waist and abs moving fluidly with power. Before Lu Ping could prepare, Shen Yuze was right in his face!

For that second, they were inches apart. Shen Yuze’s striking features filled Lu Ping’s vision—no space between them, eyes locked, breaths mingling clearly.

It felt like an extension of that absurd dream.

Just one more centimeter, and there’d be no distance at all.

Shen Yuze’s long lashes fluttered like a butterfly landing on Lu Ping’s heart. Before Lu Ping could catch it, Shen Yuze pulled away—

Down, up, down, up.

Each brief closeness led to the next separation.

He’d done sit-ups thousands of times since childhood, but never had his heart pounded like this.

Lu Ping forgot to blink, staring dumbly as Shen Yuze approached again and again, lips parting with heavier breaths each time, jade-pale cheeks flushing faintly…

The sixty seconds dragged on forever.

The whistle finally blew again. Shen Yuze stopped, and Lu Ping snapped back—time was up.

Shen Yuze sat up, fresh sweat beading on his forehead from the run and sit-ups, trickling down into his collar.

“Not bad, Shen Yuze,” the PE teacher said, stopping by with the scoresheet. “Everyone else is wiped, but yours were textbook… Lu Ping, how many did he do?”

Lu Ping: “…” He stammered, unable to answer.

His head had been total mush; he’d lost count completely!

Luckily, the watching girls jumped in eagerly.

“Report, teacher—Shen Yuze did 62!”

“I got 64!”

“Me too—64!”

They had PE in their high school entrance exams—guys needed 52 for full points. Lu Ping had slaved over it back then but slacked after starting high school… Even at his peak, he’d never hit 55!

The PE teacher was impressed: “Impressive, Shen Yuze. Not many sports kids here break 60… Strong core, huh!”

Strong core…

Lu Ping’s gaze lingered on Shen Yuze’s abdomen, hidden under the thick uniform. Probably true… Wonder how many abs he had.

—Wait!

What did Shen Yuze’s abs have to do with him??

If he wanted abs, he could just train his own!

If he hadn’t been afraid of drawing attention with too big a movement, Lu Ping really would have shaken his head to fling out all those messy thoughts swirling in his mind.

After the first group of students finished, Lu Ping was logically supposed to switch and do the second group’s sit-ups. But the teacher remembered the medical note Lu Ping had submitted earlier about his cracked coccyx and excused him from the test.

Lu Ping breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t done sit-ups in ages—if he’d huffed and puffed his way through only forty or so, how could he ever show his face in front of Shen Yuze again? He’d lose all his dignity!

The rest of the PE class was spent testing everyone’s sit-up abilities. The student with the worst score only managed 26, a world apart from Shen Yuze’s performance.

Class finally ended, and the students scattered in a noisy rush toward the school store for cold drinks. Only Lu Ping was held back.

The PE teacher said, “Lu Ping, since you didn’t do sit-ups earlier, help collect the mats.”

Lu Ping agreed.

The mats were foldable, army-green ones that were durable and dirt-resistant, and quite light. Twenty of them stacked together could be carried in two trips.

Lu Ping picked up ten mats and wobbled toward the storage room.

The sports equipment warehouse was behind the rostrum on the playground—a cramped, dim room that rarely saw sunlight, lit only by a faint yellow bulb overhead. In the corner sat several large baskets filled with deflated basketballs and volleyballs. There were also a few rusty iron racks arranged into a narrow aisle, sparsely stocked with gear like featherless shuttlecocks and rackets no one had touched in ages.

Lu Ping stacked his mats in the corner, turned to leave, and headed out for the second pile. But just as he stepped outside, he ran into Shen Yuze—who was already carrying the remaining ten mats in his arms.

Lu Ping stammered, reaching out to take them. “How did you… Give them to me.”

Shen Yuze dodged his hand. “Tell me where they go. I’ll put them there directly.”

So Lu Ping led him into the warehouse. The iron racks blocked most of the light, so almost no sunlight reached the back. They had to rely on the dim bulb overhead to find their way.

They soon reached the end of the room. Lu Ping pointed to the mats he’d already placed. “Just put them next to these.”

Shen Yuze did as told.

With that said, silence fell between them.

Lu Ping gazed at Shen Yuze, and Shen Yuze gazed back at Lu Ping. The space was dim and cramped, the air far from fresh, but oddly enough, neither wanted to leave just yet. They were content to linger a little longer—even if they said nothing, did nothing, just quietly staring into each other’s eyes.

Some wondrous chemical reaction slowly filled the air around them, needing only a spark to ignite.

Lu Ping often felt that Shen Yuze’s gaze was like a pool of warm spring water. He immersed himself in it, savoring the calm satisfaction of being soaked through, yet always fearing that surging currents might one day swallow him whole.

Just imagining that possibility made Lu Ping shudder.

He couldn’t stay any longer. Lu Ping turned to leave, but Shen Yuze called out after just one step. “Pingping.”

See? Shen Yuze was so cunning—he’d called him Pingping again, knowing full well Lu Ping couldn’t bear to refuse him.

Lu Ping froze in place, head slightly bowed. After a long moment, he mumbled a vague “Hm?” from his throat—half question, half response.

Shen Yuze said, “Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”

The poor little mouse’s entire back trembled as he asked guiltily, “Explanation for what?”

Soft footsteps approached from behind. The young man took a step closer, his chest nearly pressing against Lu Ping’s back, separated by the tiniest distance.

Shen Yuze raised his hand—the boy thought it would land on him, but it didn’t. Instead, the palm passed by his side and braced against the iron rack in front of them.

Shen Yuze had turned his body into a cage, trapping Lu Ping in that narrow space. “First, explain why you weren’t paying attention in class and kept using the mirror to sneak peeks at me.”

Lu Ping: “!!!” Shy and stubborn, he refused to admit it. “I… I didn’t sneak any peeks at you with a mirror!”

“Shouldn’t you review the principle of light reflection before doing something sneaky next time?” Shen Yuze chuckled lightly, his laughter tickling Lu Ping’s ear tips and turning his earlobes red. “If you can see me in the mirror, of course I can see you.”

“…”

“If you’ve forgotten, I can remind you.” Shen Yuze ticked them off on his fingers. “Math class Tuesday morning, geography in the afternoon; English Wednesday morning, study hall in the afternoon; and…”

“—Stop!” Lu Ping had thought he’d only been caught that one time before PE class. He never imagined Shen Yuze had seen every single stolen glance crystal clear!

Thank goodness it was so dark here, or Shen Yuze would have seen his face flushed crimson.

In his fluster, Lu Ping forgot how “dangerous” their position was. He turned to argue with Shen Yuze but overlooked the cluttered floor—he didn’t know what he kicked, but his ankle throbbed with pain, and he suddenly lost his balance, toppling sideways!

Seeing him fall, Shen Yuze instinctively reached to grab him. But due to his own poor judgment of the surroundings, he ended up being dragged down with Lu Ping!

Yet the anticipated pain never came—

Right beside them were the stacked mats. Lu Ping landed squarely on the soft cushions, which provided the perfect buffer for his body.

At the same time, Shen Yuze tumbled down with him, accidentally pinning Lu Ping beneath him…

The room fell utterly silent.

Dust danced in the faint yellow light.

And,

Two heartbeats gradually synced as one.