Chapter 6: “Senior”

[Oh, so they’re a couple.]

Wednesday was a day that inspired both love and hate.

What made it lovable was the physical education (PE) class in the morning.

Mr. Li Zhiyuan, the PE teacher for Class 1, was no ordinary man. Fierce and unyielding, he refused to let any core subject teachers encroach on his class time, insisting that students needed rigorous physical exercise. However, despite his stern demeanor, he had a soft spot, especially for the girls. If they pleaded with him, he wouldn’t make them run laps, and the boys would also benefit by being allowed to engage in free activities. For years, he had been affectionately referred to as “Bodhisattva Li” by the students.

What made Wednesday hateful was the weekly test in the afternoon.

No. 1 High’s hands-off approach to student management worked because the school knew its provincial-level students were capable of self-discipline. Exams served as the best form of motivation: You can choose not to study, sure—but no one’s forcing you. Yet we’ll keep testing you every day, posting rankings in every class. Are you scared? Embarrassed by your poor scores?

The weekly tests were scheduled like this: Every Wednesday afternoon, during the last two periods, there would be an exam. The first week tested math, the second week Chinese literature, the third week English, and the fourth week the comprehensive science subjects. After a month, the cycle would complete, and rankings would be posted.

Intensely stimulating.

This relentless schedule drove students mad, especially the top students in Class 1, who cared deeply about their grades. By Wednesday morning, the atmosphere was already tense, and even the excitement for PE class had diminished significantly.

The only person seemingly unaffected by all this was Hou Zihao, who had gone to bed at 2 a.m. the night before.

He strolled into the classroom just as the bell for morning reading rang, meeting Old Pan’s disapproving glare at the door. But Hou Zihao didn’t seem particularly bothered, walking past him with nonchalance and taking his seat.

Old Pan huffed and puffed but, having caught him doing nothing explicitly wrong, paced around the room supervising the class as they recited mandatory texts for the college entrance exam. Eventually, still fuming, he left.

Sigh—Old Pan always seemed perpetually angry.

As soon as he was gone, Hou Zihao immediately turned to Zhou Leqi and quietly asked her, “Sorry… did you already hand in yesterday’s biology homework?”

Zhou Leqi glanced at him, noticing the bloodshot eyes—he’d clearly stayed up late the night before.

She didn’t know why he’d pulled an all-nighter, nor was she particularly interested. Without hesitation, she pulled the biology worksheet from her desk drawer and handed it over.

Effortlessly practiced.

As a former academic god, Zhou Leqi was accustomed to lending her homework to others. Back when she was studying for her repeat year, nearly everyone in the class had copied her work at some point. So when Hou Zihao spoke, she knew exactly what he wanted and handed it over without hesitation.

Hou Zihao accepted it and began copying, muttering, “Thanks. Next time, I’ll let you copy mine.”

Let her copy?

Zhou Leqi raised an eyebrow.

…She never neglected her homework.

When the morning reading ended, Yan Lin came to collect the assignments. Still bitter about Hou Zihao abandoning their gaming session the previous day, he sneered, “You look awful. Kidney problems?”

At that moment, Zhou Leqi, who had been drinking water, choked audibly.

Hou Zihao felt an intense urge to strangle Yan Lin right then and there. Finally, the third period arrived—it was PE class, Zhou Leqi’s least favorite.

Aside from being physically inept at sports, the greater challenge lay in social interactions. During free activity time, she often felt awkward. Last year, during her repeat year, her classmates all had their own groups of friends, leaving her isolated. And Mr. Li didn’t allow students to bring books to the field, so she ended up aimlessly wandering the playground alone.

Like a wandering ghost.

This year, however, things were slightly different—she encountered a few enthusiastic girls.

For instance, their class president, Yuan Jiahui.

Class 1 had nine girls in total, including Zhou Leqi, and the other seven all stuck together with Yuan Jiahui. She seemed to be the responsible type, feeling it her duty to unite her classmates. So during free activity time, she brought the other girls over to chat with Zhou Leqi.

The girls were lively, but two stood out in Zhou Leqi’s mind: Gao Qianqian, a tall girl, and Xu Xin, a slightly chubby one. They were Yuan Jiahui’s closest confidantes.

They dragged Zhou Leqi to the convenience store to buy drinks. Yuan Jiahui even bought an extra bottle of water. Gao Qianqian asked, “Why are you buying two bottles?”

Xu Xin, quicker on the uptake, blurted out, “Obviously, it’s for someone else.”

Her eyes darted toward the basketball court, where the boys were playing.

Zhou Leqi wasn’t familiar with the dynamics among these juniors, but from this exchange, she deduced that Yuan Jiahui was dating someone in the class.

She found it surprising—Old Pan was notoriously strict. She remembered a couple from her original graduating class who had been caught. They were publicly criticized, forced to write self-criticisms, and even had their parents called in. Eventually, they were suspended for a month, which severely impacted their college entrance exams.

While Zhou Leqi personally disapproved of early romance, she felt it wasn’t her place to judge. So she said nothing, simply holding the cold bottle of water to cool herself against the summer heat.

Yuan Jiahui blushed, lightly hitting Xu Xin. After laughing with her friends for a moment, she glanced at Zhou Leqi, chiding them, “What nonsense are you spouting in front of the academic goddess? Stop embarrassing me!”

Then, stepping closer, she linked arms with Zhou Leqi and smiled, “Let’s go watch the boys play basketball. Some of them are really good—it’s worth seeing.”

Unaccustomed to such familiarity from people she barely knew, Zhou Leqi stiffened slightly, her aversion to social interaction flaring up again. But not wanting to appear too aloof, she smiled faintly and said, “Alright.”

The basketball court was bustling.

The boys were already deep in the game, the ball flying everywhere. From a distance, it was almost impossible to track. The sidelines were even livelier, packed with girls cheering and shouting.

Most of these girls weren’t from their class—they were from Class 43, the humanities class, which had more girls than boys, the opposite of Class 1.

One short-haired girl with a round, cherubic face stood out. Clutching a bottle of Pocari Sweat, she jumped and shouted loudly, calling Yan Lin’s name and yelling, “Hey! Don’t bump into Yan Lin!—Hey, you! Watch it!—Ah, Yan Lin, go for it! Mom loves you! Drive past them! Block him! Yes, yes, yes!”

Zhou Leqi: ?

All the girls from Class 1 burst into laughter. Gao Qianqian leaned over to explain to Zhou Leqi, “That’s Mi Lan from Class 43. She was in the same class as Yan Lin in their freshman year. Rumor has it she’s been chasing him ever since. It’s ridiculous.”

Xu Xin chimed in, “Exactly! Ridiculous. Yan Lin completely ignores her—it’s all her enthusiasm. Their homeroom teacher has scolded her countless times, but she’s still going crazy.—Sigh, Yan Lin’s such a cold guy; he must be so annoyed.”

Zhou Leqi was genuinely taken aback.

Times had truly changed… Despite Old Pan’s fearsome reputation, he couldn’t suppress early romances.

Led by Yuan Jiahui, they found a spot on the concrete steps beside the basketball court to watch the game. That’s when Zhou Leqi realized Mi Lan was the exception—she was the only one cheering for Yan Lin. Everyone else was rooting for Hou Zihao.

Though clueless about sports, even Zhou Leqi could tell he was exceptional.

Tall and lanky, the basketball seemed tiny in his hands, creating a distorted sense of scale. His movements were lightning-fast; it was hard to follow his dribbling. Running, jumping, shooting—all his actions flowed seamlessly. The ball arced beautifully through the air, landing perfectly in the hoop. Even if someone pointed him out as a sports prodigy, she wouldn’t have doubted it.

He scored frequently, likely the highest scorer on the court. Each successful shot triggered cheers from the sidelines, and his friends swarmed around him to high-five and celebrate. The vigor of youth radiated from him—bright and healthy.

Zhou Leqi watched silently for a while, lost in thought. She was jolted back to reality only when the whistle signaling the end of the game blew. By then, the boys were heading off the court—the winners flushed with triumph, the losers dejected. It was easy to tell who belonged to which group.

The scene grew even livelier. Girls surrounded the players, laughing and chatting amidst the chaos. Zhou Leqi heard Xu Xin and the others nearby saying they were going to pass water to the boys.

She looked at the boy everyone was talking about and realized he was looking in her direction. His sharp features were striking under the sunlight. He muttered a quick “excuse me” to those around him and started walking toward them.

Zhou Leqi didn’t think for a second that he was coming for her. Sure enough, after climbing two steps onto the concrete platform, Yuan Jiahui extended her hand, offering him the bottle of mineral water with a smile, “Here, thirsty?”

Ah, so the extra bottle Yuan Jiahui bought was for Hou Zihao.

Hou Zihao seemed momentarily stunned, glancing abruptly at Zhou Leqi before accepting the water and thanking Yuan Jiahui.

Ah, so they were a couple.

Zhou Leqi suddenly understood, recalling how Yuan Jiahui often approached Hou Zihao during breaks over the past two days. Everything clicked into place. She thought: Early romance might not be right, but it does look kind of sweet.

Youth is about taking risks, knowing full well it might not work out. She hoped they wouldn’t get caught by Old Pan, so their relationship could last longer.

Just as she was thinking this, she noticed Hou Zihao looking at her again. She found it strange that he was staring at her now—perhaps he was worried she’d report their secret to Old Pan.

She pursed her lips. At that moment, Yuan Jiahui turned to her and said, “Senior, see? Didn’t I tell you? Monkey’s amazing at basketball.”

There was nothing wrong with the statement, but the word “senior” grated on Zhou Leqi’s ears.

Her voice carried far, and since everyone’s attention was already on Hou Zihao, this loud declaration of “senior” reached many ears. Until now, the legendary “academic goddess” who had repeated twice remained unknown to Class 43, but now everyone knew. Curious, scrutinizing, and bystander gazes converged on Zhou Leqi.

In an instant, she felt a chill run down her spine.