Chapter 12

A few days after that incident.

Early in the morning, Tong Yao left her home.

I boarded the bus with my schoolbag on my back.

I sat down in the same seat, took out my flashcards, and started memorizing words.

I heard the bus announcement: "Century Square has arrived."

The bus doors opened, and a group of students rushed on.

Tong Yao searched through the crowd.

Unfortunately, the boy with the buzz cut was no longer among the crowd.

She pursed her lips and lowered her head to memorize vocabulary words again.

He didn't look up until he heard the voice saying "Center of the Times."

The group that boarded the bus was still a group of unfamiliar faces.

I suddenly felt a little out of place.

Tong Yao looked at the words in her hand and realized she couldn't memorize them.

She sighed and put the vocabulary card into her school uniform pocket.

I turned to look out the window.

"Yancheng Middle School, we've arrived. Passengers, please disembark..."

Tong Yao didn't see Lin Li again until the bus arrived at the station and she walked into the school.

This situation has been going on for several days now. Lin Li avoids Tong Yao whenever she sees her, and she no longer takes the bus.

At school, Lin Li always kept her head down and studied without ever looking up.

In the classroom.

Lin Li had arrived long ago. He sat in his seat, staring blankly at the Chinese textbook in his hand.

Until I felt someone sit down next to me.

My body tensed up instantly.

"Wait a moment..."

"I'm going to the restroom."

Before Tong Yao could speak, Lin Li suddenly stood up and fled out the door.

He wasn't lying; he really did need to use the restroom.

Before entering the restroom, Lin Li paused and looked up.

After confirming that it was indeed the men's restroom, I went inside.

Next, take off your pants, take out your penis, urinate, put it back in, and pull up your pants—all in one smooth motion.

When washing your hands, look at yourself in the mirror.

He knew he was acting awkwardly, but the thought of the scene in the infirmary made his ears burn uncontrollably.

He still didn't know how to face her.

He shook the water off his hands and patted his burning cheeks.

Then he took a deep breath and went outside.

Back in the classroom.

Liu Hongli stood on the podium, holding the sports meet's list in her hand.

"The sports meet will begin at 10 o'clock."

"You'll have a self-study period for the first period. After class, gather on the playground to watch the opening ceremony. Remember to bring your chairs out."

Sports meets usually last for several days. At first, it's novel, but it gets boring after a while, so he brings playing cards to the sports meet every year.

However, the school definitely wouldn't allow it, so we'd have to play in secret.

Thinking it over, Lin Li returned to her seat.

Because of his improved weekly test scores, his homeroom teacher gave him a lot more conduct points.

Mathematics and Chemistry each received a 10-point bonus for a perfect score, English received a 5-point bonus, and Physics received a 5-point bonus.

In addition, actively answer questions in your daily life.

His conduct score dropped from -80 to -30.

If he can achieve a ranking in the sports meet, he can get an additional 10 points on top of the 5 points.

He signed up for the long jump and shot put, two events. If he wins a medal this time, his conduct grade will be restored to a positive number.

Then he won't have to sweep the floor anymore.

During self-study, Lin Li read some Chinese and then some political history.

He needs to hurry up and catch up on his humanities grades.

As he was reading, he caught a glimpse of Tong Yao looking at him out of the corner of his eye. His fingers tightened instantly as he turned the pages, he lowered his head even further, and even his breathing became softer.

"Lin Li." Tong Yao's voice was still cold, but there was a slight, almost imperceptible pause compared to usual.

Lin Li's ears turned bright red instantly. She forced a "hmm" and didn't dare to look up.

There was a two-second silence. He heard Tong Yao sigh, her voice tinged with a hint of helplessness: "Is my water bottle still with you?"

Lin Li was startled, only then belatedly realizing that it was the water glass.

He was in a panic at the time, and when he returned to the classroom, he casually put the cup in his schoolbag and took it back with him. However, because he was hiding from Tong Yao in such a hurry, he forgot to return it.

He suddenly looked up, his voice barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz: "I'm sorry, I took it home. I'll... I'll bring it back to you tomorrow..."

"It's nothing. I thought we had another fight and you were ignoring me on purpose," Tong Yao said calmly, looking down as she worked on her homework.

Thinking about her behavior over the past few days, Lin Li lowered her head in shame: "We didn't argue, it wasn't intentional."

Tong Yao kept her head down, but the corners of her mouth curved almost imperceptibly. She didn't bring up the previous matter again, but said, "In that case, the teacher will have the two of us take charge of timing at the finish line later. You don't have any objections, do you?"

Lin Li naturally dared not refuse again: "No, no objection."

Then, Lin Li received the politics and history books handed to her by Tong Yao.

Lin Li was puzzled; he had his own book.

Tong Yao didn't even look up and said, "Your book is all blank. Look at mine, the teacher has highlighted the important points."

Lin Li flipped through the book in her hand.

Okay, there really aren't any notes at all. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a new book.

"Thanks."

It seems this matter is over! Lin Li was secretly delighted.

………………

Self-study period ends.

The quiet teaching building immediately erupted in excitement.

The sounds of tables and chairs being moved could be heard from both upstairs and downstairs.

Lin Li carried a stool with her left hand and another with her right.

One is his, and the other is naturally Tong Yao's.

Tong Yao wanted to move it herself, but she couldn't go against Lin Li's insistence.

He had no choice but to follow Lin Li to the playground empty-handed.

On the playground.

Liu Hongli had arrived long ago.

She shouted loudly, instructing the students to place their benches in order according to their class's location.

Lin Li placed the two stools close together.

"Please sit down."

The words were spoken.

Then I heard, "Yaoyao! Come sit here!"

Cheng Yu's voice rang out.

She sat in the first row and stood to greet people.

Lin Li's face darkened.

I haven't seen Cheng Yu for the past few days, and I almost forgot about that troublesome guy.

Because it was a sports meet, Liu Hongli let Cheng Yu finish her reflection and return to school.

After all, Cheng Yu had signed up for several projects.

Cheng Yu, who was in front of me, was occupying the seat next to me and wouldn't let anyone else sit there.

We're just waiting for Tong Yao to come down.

Tong Yao naturally saw it.

Although Cheng Yu disappointed her that day, they were childhood friends after all, and their friendship was still there.

Tong Yao hesitated, wondering whether she should go over.

Lin Li grabbed Tong Yao's hand and then sat her down on her shoulder.

"We'll be timing things later, so we'll sit in the back."

"Convenient," Lin Li said, her voice growing stronger with each word.

"Yaoyao, come here!" Cheng Yu said with a smile as she looked in Tong Yao's direction.

It was as if that day had never happened.

Lin Li sighed, marveling at how strong this person's mental fortitude was.

His skin is thicker than a city wall.

"Sit still!" Liu Hongli had somehow ended up standing in the first row.

Seeing that there was an empty seat next to Cheng Yu, he plopped down and sat down.

Seeing Cheng Yu sitting up with a constipated look on her face, Lin Li laughed out loud.

"Serves you right!"

"Ahem!" An elderly man with a receding hairline walked onto the platform in the middle of the playground.

He picked up the microphone and tested the sound. "Today!"

"The 130th Autumn Sports Meet of Yancheng Middle School has officially begun!"

The old man with the receding hairline is the principal of Yancheng Middle School. I don't know why these leaders like to utter one word at a time when they speak.

The principal's name was Wang Daosheng, and he also had a nickname.

The Tao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two. At that time, the game "King of Glory" was very popular, so his nickname was Taiyi Zhenren.

Actually, his big belly image is quite similar to that of Taiyi Zhenren in Nezha.

The opening ceremony of the sports meet was performed by students from the first and second years of junior high school.

A group of people are doing gymnastics.

That's really perfunctory.

Then it was time for individual performances.

A boy carrying a guitar went up to the stage.

The host's voice was broadcast to every corner: "Class 2, Grade 8, Liu Xing, playing guitar and singing 'Those Years'."

The boy hung the guitar around his neck and patted the microphone in front of him.

Fingers pluck the strings.

A beautiful rhythm began.

"Back to the starting point"

Your youthful face in my memory

We have finally arrived at this day.

...

I long to go back to those years.

Back to the classroom seat

Intentionally provoking your gentle scolding.

Arrangement and combination on the blackboard

Are you willing to untie it?

Who sat with whom, and who loved her?

The heavy rains I missed over the years

The love that was missed in those years

I want to hug you.

Embrace the courage of what you've missed

I once wanted to conquer the world.

Only in retrospect did I realize

This world, bit by bit

It's all about you.

This song is from the Taiwanese movie "You Are the Apple of My Eye".

The male singer's voice was beautiful and very immersive.

Lin Li listened intently, and perhaps thinking of herself, her eyes reddened slightly.

He sighed wistfully and said to Tong Yao, "This song comes from a movie, 'You Are the Apple of My Eye'."

I don't know if you've seen it.

Tong Yao shook her head blankly, not understanding why she was being asked that.

Seeing that Tong Yao didn't speak, he laughed and said, "The male lead in this movie pursued the female lead from high school to college, but in the end they still missed each other."

Tong Yao simply blinked, turned her head and glanced at Lin Li.

Seeing his touched expression, she said quietly, "What's wrong? You've been dumped?"

"Heartbroken?" Lin Li murmured, repeating the two words, her voice trembling slightly at the end.

What a joke! It didn't even start, so how could it be a breakup?

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Lin Li twitched the corner of her mouth and smiled nonchalantly, "I was just engrossed in listening. How could that be? What are you talking about?"

But, judging from your appearance, it doesn't seem impossible...

Tong Yao looked at Lin Li, but didn't say anything.

Will you have someone you like in the future?

As she thought about it, Tong Yao's throat felt a little sore.

What's wrong with her?

The boy's performance ended sometime later, and the two of them sat silently on the bench, lost in thought.

At this moment, Liu Hongli's voice rang out again.

"Tong Yao, Lin Li, the men's competition is about to begin. You can go now."

"Let's go," Tong Yao said calmly as she stood up.

"Oh, oh, let's go." Lin Li stood up.

The two went to the small house next to the playground.

This is the classroom where sports equipment is stored.

"Lin Li, come here!"

Physical education teacher Mr. Jiang was directing a group of people to move things they would need later.

Lin Li walked over.

Teacher Jiang pointed to the mountain of tables and benches piled up at the door.

"Move a set of tables and chairs to the finish line."

"Tong Yao, go to the office next door and push the whiteboard out."