Chapter 73 He feared that in the future, without Li Leshan, "I'll still have to go to a third-tier university..."

National Day really flew by, so fast that Jiang Yueming was speechless. Just how many horses did it take to achieve this speed? If Jiang Yueming had only given a little back then, he would have already stepped into the gates of Shigao High School.

"Quickly, quickly..." Liu Xijun suddenly opened the front door, "Go downstairs and assemble!"

Jiang Yueming was dozing off when he was suddenly startled awake. He glanced at Cao Fan, who was also dozing off, and reached out to pat his shoulder.

"What the hell?!" Cao Fan exclaimed in shock as his classmates rushed outside.

"If nothing unexpected happens, we should be going downstairs for morning exercises." Jiang Yueming took off his school uniform jacket.

"What if something goes wrong?!" Cao Fan shouted.

“That’s an earthquake.” Jiang Yueming was a little calmer than him. He understood that you don’t need to run during a small earthquake, but you can’t run during a big one.

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Fan strode forward. Fortunately, nothing went wrong; it was just morning exercises.

Jiang Yueming originally thought that he could completely get rid of the running exercises after the physical education exam for the high school entrance examination. It seems that he was thinking too much. There was no such good thing waiting for him. However, the training intensity was not as high as in high school. Running three laps around the playground was enough to finish.

"After morning exercises, let's go play basketball!" Jiang Yueming shouted to Cao Fan, holding a basketball. "I'll go reserve the court first!"

Jiang Yueming pioneered a new form of entertainment: playing ball. Basketball, table tennis, badminton—he could play any sport. He'd choose the least crowded spot. There were only two table tennis tables, quite far apart, though there were two more near the cafeteria. Badminton was even more crowded, mostly with couples; standing there would make him look like a third wheel, so it was even less appealing. After all that, basketball was the only suitable activity.

"Got it!" Cao Fan got excited when basketball was mentioned. Although he wasn't very good at it, he played a lot. He always felt like a hidden gem, buried in obscurity. Actually, he was quite bad at basketball, but he played it in a very stylish way.

The second long break is forty minutes in total, with twenty minutes for running exercises and twenty minutes for free time. Jiang Yueming always arrives at the classroom just in time to play ball. His seat is in the last row, so if he runs into a teacher, he can slip in by bending down slightly.

"Hey Yueming," Cao Fan said, panting as he arrived at the basketball court, "there's a basketball tournament going on recently, do you want to join?"

"No." Jiang Yueming refused decisively, and made a clean three-step layup. The basketball bounced twice on the rim and went into the net obediently. "I have nothing better to do. I'd rather sleep a little longer."

"I heard it was held at Shishi High School, their facilities are top-notch," Cao Fan added. "How can their plastic flooring, big glass windows, and basketball hoops compare to our broken hoops?"

Hold on.

Really high?

Wouldn't that mean I could see Lele?

Jiang Yueming's attention lingered on those two words, "You're going to register with the sports commission, right? Register me."

"Alright." Cao Fan grinned, completely oblivious to how quickly this guy's expression changed. "With the two of us here, our school is sure to get a good ranking."

Jiang Yueming chuckled, forced a smile, and returned a perfunctory one. Deep down, he was content just not to be last. Li Leshan would definitely come to see him, and he didn't want to lose face in front of him.

The basketball game isn't important; meeting my date is. What do you call this? Meeting your date on company money. It's perfectly legitimate, legal, and justifiable—just thinking about it makes me happy.

He lived his life methodically for a while, and the basketball tournament was soon scheduled. Jiang Yueming trained very hard, after all, it was going to be in front of Li Leshan, and further afield, Han Jiang and Xu Qing might also come to watch. He couldn't lose face, otherwise that girl Xu Qing would definitely make fun of him.

“The results of the monthly exam came out the day before yesterday,” Cao Fan said with a worried look on his face. When it came to grades, he and Jiang Yueming had been inseparable since elementary school. “My mom said she was going to kill me.”

Jiang Yueming gave him an admiring look, "It's really not easy for you to have lived this long."

"Yeah! God, can't you do something about us academic underachievers?!" Cao Fan roared. "My mom's still dreaming. If I were any better, would I have gotten 400 points on the high school entrance exam...?"

However, Cao Fan quickly changed the subject, "Where did you go for the National Day holiday?"

"Nowhere." Jiang Yueming felt a little guilty. He really hadn't gone anywhere; he hadn't even left the Third Alley. He was too busy with his relationship. He even felt he hadn't spent enough time with Li Leshan, so he didn't have time to wander off anywhere.

"I didn't go anywhere. My mom found me a tutor to help me with math." Cao Fan propped his chin on his hand, looking utterly dejected. "When will she realize that I'm just not cut out for studying..."

"Brother, where are you going in the future? Have you thought about it?" Cao Fan asked. He always thought far ahead, to the point of worrying unnecessarily, but he felt it was being prepared for the worst. "What do you want to do in the future? Will you stay in Shengping?"

“You’re so young and you’re already thinking about life…” Jiang Yueming said.

"Then you do the math. Next year you'll be seventeen, the year after eighteen. Eighteen is the age when you can seriously look for a job." Cao Fan said, "I really don't want to go to school anymore. I don't like studying. If I can get into a special program, I'll do so; otherwise, I'll just get a job!"

He chuckled, seemingly imagining a life without studying.

“Who likes studying?” Jiang Yueming said from the bottom of his heart. He didn’t like it either. He was already grateful to have reached this level of education after all these years, but he still muttered to himself, “I have to go to a third-tier university, right?”

“The tuition for three colleges is too expensive,” Cao Fan said. “Even if my mother could afford it, I wouldn’t want her to continue paying for it.”

"So where do you want to take the exam? Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or the Yangtze River Delta region?" Cao Fan continued, "If it were me, I would go further afield. I would go to Heilongjiang and not stay in Shengping."

“I probably won’t be able to get into a university in Beijing,” Jiang Yueming said. “That place is full of 985 and 211 universities. What would I go to? A junior college?” But Li Leshan would have to go to school eventually. Just thinking about that and the thought of being separated made Jiang Yueming feel a tightness in his chest.

“I want to open a barbershop,” Jiang Yueming laughed heartily, without a care in the world. “Do you think the ‘Shamate’ hairstyle will still be popular in the future?”

"Sure!" Cao Fan added emotionally, "Then when I get a haircut at your place, remember to give me a 20% discount, a friend's price. I think it'll definitely be trendy, all colorful, that would be so cool..."

Jiang Yueming had no real sense of the future, such an ethereal thing. Although, as Cao Fan said, time flies, and it seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Her aunt always said that she should study hard so that she wouldn't suffer in life and wouldn't have to work so hard in the future.

Jiang Yueming knew she was doing it for his own good, but he wasn't afraid of hardship either; he was only afraid that Li Leshan wouldn't be around in the future.

The basketball team got a team uniform, funded by the school. It's one-size-fits-all, sized according to a height of 1.8 meters, so it fits Jiang Yueming perfectly, since sports uniforms are usually a bit large.

Cao Fan was half a head shorter than him, and he looked like he was about to cry while holding the one-size-fits-all basketball jersey.

"Can you please stop writing my name on the back of this shirt? It's so embarrassing. People will think I stole someone else's clothes if I wear it," Cao Fan complained.

The basketball jerseys have words printed on the back, like Jiang Yueming's, which reads "Three Highs Jiang Yueming".

This outfit suits Jiang Yueming perfectly; he looks incredibly handsome, sunny, and refreshing. Whenever he plays basketball, many girls gather outside the court to watch.

"It's alright, he's quite handsome," Jiang Yueming reassured him.

"You're praising me for being handsome with your face?" Cao Fan wasn't comforted at all, but he wasn't resentful at all. He had known that Jiang Yueming was handsome since the first grade of elementary school, which was when he met Jiang Yueming.

"Does it really look good?" Jiang Yueming wondered, holding the basketball uniform. He had worn it and looked in the mirror, and it just seemed so-so. Then he started thinking again, "Li Leshan has never seen me wear this before."

I really want to play in a match soon.

"Hey, seriously, do you know how many pretty girls there are at Shishi High School?" Cao Fan nudged Jiang Yueming's shoulder. "Even Xu Qing isn't considered particularly pretty among those girls."

Although Jiang Yueming and Xu Qing are on opposing sides and he often teases Xu Qing, Cao Fan's words still seem a bit off.

Although he would never tell Xu Qing this, as it would make him seem like he was admitting defeat, given that they had been "fighting and killing" for so many years, he genuinely thought Xu Qing was very beautiful.

"Why did you go to Shishi High School to compete?" Cao Fan asked, his curiosity piqued. "It couldn't really be because you wanted to play basketball, could it?"

"What else could it be?" Jiang Yueming said.

For my partner.

"Why?" Cao Fan pressed.

"For the sake of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar—" Jiang Yueming spun the basketball, uttered these words, and left.

Jiang Yueming didn't tell Li Leshan about going to Shishi High School for the competition beforehand. He wanted to wait until he got there and then surprise Li Leshan by appearing unexpectedly. So even though he really wanted to tell him every time, Jiang Yueming held back.

Photos of top students, close-up portraits, were posted on the outer wall of Shishi High School sometime ago, almost right on the busy street. It was about a week ago, because Jiang Yueming hadn't seen the photos when he last visited.

There are two students in each grade, so there are six students in total across the three grades. They are divided into upper and lower levels, with three students in each level.

Li Leshan is in the first position. Actually, with his looks, he should be in the center.

Jiang Yueming stared at the photo quietly, looking at it again and again, and then began to think, "I don't have this photo yet."

Everyone says some people aren't photogenic, but Jiang Yueming felt Li Leshan was incredibly photogenic. This photo gave him a subtle air of aloofness and stubbornness, making one's heart itch with longing. Jiang Yueming had already wanted to see him, but now her desire to meet him had reached an even higher peak.

"Come on, Yueming! Roll call is coming up!" Cao Fan didn't know what he was looking at. He only saw Li Leshan when he got closer. Although he hadn't seen Li Leshan for quite a few years, he couldn't forget this face.

“Look at your good buddy,” Cao Fan patted him on the shoulder, “What’s there to see here? We’ll see the real man when we go inside.”

He pulled Jiang Yueming into the classroom. The students of the No. 3 High School basketball team walked in groups, with seven or eight substitutes in total. Among the group of students in blue school uniforms, they felt quite novel.

"Which class is your brother in? Which floor?" Cao Fan asked.

Jiang Yueming exclaimed "Ah!" and began to think. After a while, she spoke somewhat embarrassedly, "I...I don't know..."

"What?" Cao Fan was surprised. "Aren't you two on good terms? Don't you know which class he's in and which floor he's on? There are quite a few floors here."

Jiang Yueming looked around. There were indeed many buildings: science and technology buildings, arts and sports buildings, teaching buildings, and what else... he didn't know. He really didn't know which specific class or floor Li Leshan was in. He only knew about the Tsinghua-Peking University class, but even the Tsinghua-Peking University class must have a number like one, two, three, or four, right?

“He probably doesn’t even know which class I’m in,” Jiang Yueming said.

He didn't tell Li Leshan either, so Li Leshan probably only knows that he's at No. 3 High School. I had a chance to see which class Li Leshan was in from the wall outside, but I was too busy looking at his face…

"Let's find out, we'll have to go in for roll call later," Cao Fan said hurriedly. Actually, he was also eager to see the female classmate. "Li Leshan must be a big celebrity, right? His reputation has spread all the way to No. 3 High School."

"No, I think so," Jiang Yueming glanced at the tall teaching building and the students in blue school uniforms. "Let's assemble first."

Before he could finish speaking, Cao Fan had already stopped a female student on the street to ask her about it. The female student, who had initially been wary of Cao Fan, quickly noticed Jiang Yueming beside her and immediately relaxed.

"Who do you mean to look for?" The female classmate's eyes sparkled as she stared intently at Jiang Yueming.

"I—" Jiang Yueming had no choice but to ask now, glancing to the side, "I'm looking for... Li Leshan, do you know him?"

“Li Leshan.” The female classmate clearly knew him. She was a little happy, thinking that handsome guys always hang out with other handsome guys. “I know that. Is there anyone in our school who doesn’t know Li Leshan?”

"I told you he was famous!" Cao Fan exclaimed excitedly. "Which class is he in? Which floor?"

“Look,” the girl pointed to the teaching building not far away, “the one on the first floor near the teachers’ offices, Class 7, the Tsinghua-Peking University class.”

"Thank you." Jiang Yueming glanced in the direction of the teaching building.

"You're here... to compete?" the girl asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Yeah,” Cao Fan chimed in, chuckling, “Want to come watch our match? It’ll start in a bit…”

The girl's face flushed slightly. Before she could take her eyes off Jiang Yueming, she said shyly, "If you have time after class, go see him... Do you want me to take you to find Li Leshan? But he usually stays in the classroom and doesn't come out much."

“Wow, what you’re saying,” Cao Fan pointed at Jiang Yueming, looking smug. “This guy has been friends with Li Leshan for years, they’re best buddies, you can definitely call him that.”

Seemingly noticing the girl's gaze fixed on her, Jiang Yueming smiled at her and said, "Thank you. You must be about to start class."

"Ah!" The girl quickly glanced at her watch and said, "N-I'm sorry, I can't take you to find Li Leshan. My class is on the sixth floor..."

As the slightly thin figure in the blue school uniform gradually ran away, Jiang Yueming's gaze returned to the seventh class on the first floor.

"How about it? There should still be a while before we assemble. Didn't Lao Liu go to the toilet? We'll probably have to wait a bit. Let's go check on Class 7." Cao Fan said without waiting for a reply, putting his arm around Jiang Yueming's shoulder and leading him forward.

Jiang Yueming was dragged forward a couple of steps. He really wanted to go and see, but for some reason, he felt inexplicably nervous. This feeling had been there from the moment he stepped into the gates of Shishi High School.

Is it unfamiliar?

But there were clearly people he knew best here.

The person he was most looking forward to was here.

The person he misses most is here.

...