Chapter 57

"A check during recess?!" Lin Li looked at the notice and was on the verge of tears.

"This is completely different from the student council I imagined!" He envisioned the student council as a place where he and Tong Yao would hold meetings to discuss "important school matters" and work side-by-side in various activities.

Instead of taking a small notebook and wandering around the back of each class's line after the second period every day, recording whose movements were not standard or who was whispering to each other.

Luo Yan stood beside him, looking at the notice, her face expressionless, but her heart was in turmoil.

The morning exercise check... This meant that every day there was a fixed, twenty-minute period where only she and Lin Li (at least mentally) were visible to the entire grade. She could openly walk beside him, observe him, and even... in a sense, "possess" his attention during that time.

"Let's go, Lin Li, it's time for the check-up." The first check-up task has arrived. Luo Yan holds the record board, her voice still calm, but with a hint of urging that is barely perceptible.

Lin Li let out a groan and reluctantly followed behind her, muttering, "What's there to check..."

-

On the playground, during recess.

The two walked one after the other at the back of their respective classes' lines. Lin Li was absent-minded, his gaze constantly drifting towards Class One, trying to find that familiar figure amidst their synchronized movements. His scoreboard was blank; he had completely forgotten his duty.

Luo Yan, on the other hand, was exceptionally meticulous. She not only recorded the perfunctory actions, but also noted down who wasn't dressed properly and whose expression was too lazy.

"Class 5, the third boy in the back row, his movements are seriously off, and he's whispering to each other," Luo Yan calmly reported, her pen scratching across the whiteboard.

Lin Li looked in the direction of the gaze and saw his roommate, Huang Wen. Huang Wen also saw them, winked at Lin Li, and made a face.

He couldn't help but chuckle and raised his hand to greet her, but was interrupted by Luo Yan's stern voice: "Lin Li, please maintain the impartiality of the inspection and do not interact with the person being inspected."

Lin Li's hand froze in mid-air, then she awkwardly lowered it, muttering to herself, "Why is she taking it so seriously..."

Meanwhile, in a team.

Tong Yao performed the stretching exercises with perfect form, but out of the corner of her eye, she could catch a glimpse of two figures weaving through the crowd.

Lin Li still looked unreliable, looking around aimlessly, not like someone who came to work, but more like an old man taking a stroll.

Tong Yao guessed that Lin Li would probably be dismissed again soon.

But when she saw Luo Yan following closely behind Lin Li, holding the notepad meticulously and even with a slightly aggressive air, a subtle sense of unease quietly swept over her.

That girl... the way she looked at Lin Li always seemed too focused, almost abnormally so.

As soon as the bell rang to end the morning exercises, Lin Li immediately shoved the record board into Luo Yan's hands: "You summarize it, I'm leaving now!"

After saying that, before Luo Yan could react, he ran off towards Class 1 like a wild horse, wanting to take advantage of the brief moment to say a few words to Tong Yao.

Lin Li walked through the crowd and stood next to Tong Yao. Seeing that Tong Yao ignored him, he nudged her with his shoulder.

Then, without saying a word, without even glancing at the shoulder where he had been causing trouble, Tong Yao's right hand struck with lightning speed, her index finger and thumb accurately pinching a small patch of soft flesh on his side, and then twisting it forcefully—

"Hiss—!" Lin Li gasped instantly, her smile froze, and her body instinctively tried to dodge, but Tong Yao's seemingly casual but actually firm fingers held her in place.

“On your first official day of work, you’re not taking it seriously,” Tong Yao said in a low voice. “Lin Li, if you continue to be so passive and unmotivated, I will consider suggesting to the teacher in charge that you be removed from your position.”

His gaze began to wander guiltily, unable to meet her eyes. Finally, he gave in and mumbled something indistinctly and with a hint of grievance:

"...Okay, I understand."

Tong Yao then released her hand, as if nothing had happened, and continued to look ahead, only her lips twitched almost imperceptibly, as if she was trying her best to suppress a smile.

Lin Li obediently followed Tong Yao, remaining quiet for a moment, but ultimately couldn't resist moving a little closer to her and saying in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Um... Tong Yao, does your student council... need any helpers?"

Tong Yao didn't even bother to glance at him, only replying with two words:

"We don't lack anything."

Lin Li: "...Oh."

_

The next few days.

Lin Li was still mostly perfunctory in her work, and almost completely ignored Tong Yao's words.

Luo Yan, on the other hand, took on all the tasks without complaint, filling the void in "Lin Li" in an almost self-destructive way.

Lin Li simply thought Luo Yan was a very good person and immediately forgot all the unpleasantness between them.

That day, Lin Li once again skillfully shoved the clipboard into Luo Yan's hand, then excused himself to go to the restroom, actually sneaking off to the convenience store. When he returned, popsicle in his mouth, the morning exercises were over, and the crowd was dispersing. He saw Luo Yan still standing there, head down, seemingly lost in thought, staring at the clipboard.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on her and making her slender, always ramrod straight back look somewhat lonely.

Lin Li paused, a faint, almost negligible pang of guilt crossing his mind. He walked over and mumbled, "Um... thank you for your hard work."

Luo Yan suddenly raised her head and glanced at him. Her eyes were extremely complex, with a fleeting panic, an undisguised resentment, and a trace of... a deep stubbornness that Lin Li couldn't understand.

She said nothing, but quickly closed the clipboard, hugged it, turned and left, her steps so fast it was almost as if she were running away.

Lin Li was a little confused by her gaze, scratched his head, and didn't think much of it. His attention was quickly drawn to Tong Yao, who was having a small meeting with several ministers not far away.

Over there, the presidium's extraordinary meeting is underway.

Holding her notebook, Zhou Mingfang clearly and calmly assigned tasks in a structured manner: "Yes, the preliminary plans for each project of the arts festival need to be compiled by next week. Department heads of the Arts and Sports Department and the Academic Department, please prepare and send me the detailed budget by noon on Friday."

As she spoke, her gaze swept over each minister present, exuding an undeniable competence.

As the vice chairman, Tong Yao stood half a step behind Zhou Mingfang. She did not interrupt, but instead added details and offered suggestions in a timely manner during the intervals when Zhou Mingfang was assigning tasks. Her voice was not as penetrating as Zhou Mingfang's, but it had a kind of convincing calmness.

"I've seen the first draft of the promotional display board. The theme color could be brighter to better match the theme of youth and vitality."

"The online channel for registration statistics must be kept smooth. The technical department should follow up to avoid the system lag that happened last year."

"The mobilization work in each class may require the cooperation of the academic department to clarify the details of the bonus points and increase participation."

Her words were concise and powerful, and every suggestion she made hit the nail on the head. Several ministers nodded and took careful notes.

Sunlight shone on them, outlining their focused silhouettes. It was an aura of strategic planning that was completely different from the "inspection post" where Lin Li was located.

Lin Li, with a nearly melted popsicle dangling from her mouth, watched from afar, then suddenly forgot she was going to take a bite.

He had seen Tong Yao in many different ways—glaring at him impatiently, helplessly being pestered by him, pinching him in a fit of rage, and even occasionally smiling with her eyes crinkling when he made her laugh.

But the Tong Yao standing in the center of the crowd, calm, professional, and radiating the aura of a leader, felt both familiar and unfamiliar to him.

An unprecedented and clear realization struck him: she was growing and running rapidly in places he couldn't see.

Lin Li nodded in satisfaction. Yes, Tong Yao should be like this. But after feeling gratified, a sense of panic about being abandoned welled up inside her.

He looked down at the melted, sticky popsicle in his hand, then looked up at the group of people discussing "art festival," "budget," and "plans," and for the first time, he began to doubt his own nonchalant attitude.

"Hey, Lin Li, what are you looking at? Are you completely mesmerized?" Huang Wen approached him at some point, followed his gaze, and nudged him with his elbow knowingly. "Tsk, stop looking. That's the presidium. They're not from our world."

Lin Li, unusually, did not refute, but simply mumbled an "Mmm," then stuffed the melted popsicle into his mouth, the coldness sending a shiver down his spine.

He and Tong Yao were never from the same world...

Thinking it over, Lin Li threw the popsicle stick into the trash can and followed Huang Wen back to the classroom.

In the dormitory at night.

Lin Li lay in bed, tossing and turning, her mind filled with Tong Yao's calm speech on the playground during the day, and the seemingly fierce but actually weak fingertips when she pinched herself.

He suddenly sat up with a jolt, startling Huang Wen on the opposite bed.

What are you doing?

Lin Li ignored him, scratched her hair, and showed a resolute look on her face: "No way! I can't let myself be looked down upon like this!"

Why can't he be from the same world as Tong Yao?

I will work hard!

"Huh?" Huang Wen was baffled.

"Checking the morning exercises!" Lin Li's eyes blazed. "I'm going to do a good job!"

Huang Wen looked at him like he was an idiot: "What happened to you?"

Lin Li snorted, lay back down, pulled the blanket over her head, and muffled her voice: "What do you know! This is called... anyway, you wouldn't understand."