Chapter 9

6:30 a.m.

It's already mid-October, and it rained last night.

There were still many water stains on the road.

In an old residential area in a corner of Yancheng.

Tong Yao was carrying a schoolbag and holding a jacket in her hand. She was only wearing a short-sleeved school uniform, which was made of thin fabric. When the wind blew, her skin would get cold and goosebumps would appear.

Why not wear the school uniform jacket? Because it rained last night, and the clothes that were hanging outside to dry weren't brought in, so they're soaked.

I forced myself to walk to the side of the road, and a car drove by, kicking up a pile of bullets.

Then Tong Yao immediately took off her backpack and put on her coat.

The movements were swift and decisive.

She walked along the curb until she saw a bus stop and then stopped.

Maple trees are planted along the roads in Yancheng. Now that autumn has arrived, the leaves have turned yellow and will fall when the wind blows.

Because of the rain last night, the road was covered with maple leaves, looking golden from afar.

While waiting for the bus, another gust of wind blew by, and Tong Yao couldn't help but cup her hands and breathe on them.

After waiting for about 5 minutes, bus number 42 slowly pulled into the station.

She got on the bus. Tong Yao's home was very close to the bus terminal, and there were only two stops along the way where there were hardly any people, so there were usually not many people on the bus when she got on.

Aside from a few elderly people who were heading to the early morning market, there were only two or three students on the bus.

Tong Yao squeezed the strap of her backpack and walked straight to the back seat of the car.

She put down her schoolbag and sat in the corner.

Then, he skillfully took out the word cards from his bag and continued to memorize the words.

After the bus started moving, gusts of wind would occasionally seep in through the gaps in the front windows that weren't closed properly.

Tong Yao frowned, ignored it, and continued to memorize vocabulary words.

After about ten minutes, the bus entered the city center and stopped at an intersection. It was rush hour. A traffic policeman was on duty in the middle of the intersection.

She was lucky; the traffic jam was cleared in just a few minutes.

The next second, the bus's announcement came on: "Century Square Station has arrived."

Then the bus stop doors opened automatically.

A group of students rushed up.

There was also a boy with a buzz cut among them.

Lin Li has been here for half a month and hasn't cut her hair. Her hair, which used to be a buzz cut close to her scalp, has grown quite a bit.

Coupled with his innocent puppy eyes, he gives the impression of a dog in the hallucination—a golden retriever puppy, or even more so if it were blond.

Actually, Lin Li's home is in the Times Center, which is a bit further from Century Square.

He got up early today and walked in the opposite direction from the school.

We walked for about two or three more stops.

After getting on the bus, Lin Li began looking for something.

Then my gaze fell on the back seat of the car.

The girl kept her head down, completely unaware.

Lin Li walked over and sat down in the empty seat next to Tong Yao.

Tong Yao stopped what she was doing and looked up curiously after Lin Li sat down.

Lin Li did not miss the surprise in Tong Yao's eyes.

Before she could speak, he said, "The physical exam is coming up soon, so I'm going for a morning run to exercise."

Yes, in the third year of junior high school, students not only have to face the high school entrance exam, but also a physical education exam.

It's October now, and there are still about two to three months until the physical education exam.

In her past life, she seemed to have come in second to last in the 800-meter physical education test, and failed, while Tong Yao got a perfect score.

They truly excel in all aspects of moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education.

As for why he came here for a morning run, Lin Li didn't say. He couldn't very well say that he did it on purpose so that he could spend more time with you, could he?

Tong Yao didn't ask her anything, she just said, "Good morning."

So I continued memorizing vocabulary.

Just two seconds later, she suddenly remembered something, then took out a vocabulary book from her bag and handed it to Lin Li.

"For you."

Surprisingly, she still remembered. Lin Li obediently took the flashcard and said, "Thank you."

Lin Li wanted to say something, but when she looked at Tong Yao's cool profile, her face suddenly turned red.

He stopped talking.

Shifting my attention to the word cards in my hand, the first word that catches my eye is "abandon".

Seeing this word immediately brings to mind the meme associated with it.

"Second Class Egg, hahaha." Lin Li couldn't help but laugh.

Lin Li's spoken language has an accent. At first, it was just normal Chinese pronunciation, but after watching a lot of those parody videos, she unconsciously picked up their accents.

Lin Li speaks English like an old man who has spoken a dialect his whole life and is speaking Mandarin for the first time.

"Abandon." A cool female voice came from Lin Li's left.

It's Tong Yao.

Lin Li was stunned for a moment, then she understood.

She is teaching herself the correct pronunciation.

He was in a playful mood and deliberately read it again with an accent.

"Two plates of egg~".

As soon as she finished speaking, Tong Yao suddenly stopped what she was doing and put the word cards back in her schoolbag.

She looked down and rummaged through her schoolbag, her calm voice tinged with a hint of teasing, "Top student, is your accent really that bad?"

"This way of memorizing words is fast and efficient."

Lin Li cracked jokes.

"I also speak Korean."

"Unnie! The front wheel turns but the back wheel doesn't, seumida~!"

Then, Tong Yao remained indifferent, seemingly unmoved by Lin Li's joke.

She took out her Chinese textbook from her schoolbag, glanced at it, closed it, and began to recite the text.

Lin Li could only laugh awkwardly, inwardly complaining.

That's really funny...

Seeing that Tong Yao was no longer paying attention to him, he had no choice but to obediently start memorizing vocabulary.

This time, the accent was authentic; you could immediately tell he was Chinese, and his pronunciation was correct.

Actually, he could read it well if he read it carefully, but he's just used to reading it with an accent.

Hearing Lin Li's clear and accurate pronunciation, Tong Yao paused for a second while reciting the text, but quickly resumed her normal recitation.

…………

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

The bus's announcement system came on.

Lin Li and Tong Yao got off the car one after the other.

The sound of bus doors closing rang out.

Looking at the leaves that had fallen overnight, Lin Li couldn't help but sigh at how beautiful they were.

The short distance from the bus stop to the school gate is lined with maple trees.

The density is much higher here compared to the previous roadside area.

Just as I looked up to admire it.

But then we saw Tong Yao take off her coat, revealing her school uniform short-sleeved shirt underneath.

"Aren't you cold?" Lin Li asked in surprise.

"It's alright." Tong Yao looked down, folded her coat neatly, and held it in her hand.

Lin Li followed behind Tong Yao and sighed, "Beautiful women are creatures that aren't afraid of the cold!"

The next second, Tong Yao's bright red fingertips revealed her true thoughts.

"Where's your school uniform jacket?" Lin Li asked.

"It's been washed, but it's not dry yet."

Listen, Lin Li took off her school uniform.

"for you."

"Thank you, but no need."

Tong Yao shook her head.

Lin Li thought about it and realized that it didn't seem appropriate for a girl to wear boys' clothes.

I glanced at the milk tea shop at the school gate out of the corner of my eye.

"You go in first, I'm going to buy something."

Tong Yao didn't understand what Lin Li was going to do, and just then the wind picked up again.

She ignored Lin Li and went into the school.

During this time, Lin Li secretly glanced at her a few times.

He remarked, "They're moving so fast."

...

"Ring ring ring"

Meanwhile, "Hey classmate, here's your milk tea."

Lin Li had just received the milk tea when she heard noises coming from the school.

Why did the bell ring so quickly?

She ran into the school with the milk tea in her hand.

Clang

Lin Li pushed open the classroom door and strode in. She glanced at the podium; the teacher hadn't arrived yet, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he placed the milk tea he was holding on Tong Yao's table.

Tong Yao is still doing practice problems.

Looking at the extra milk tea on the table, she looked up at Lin Li with a puzzled expression.

"Here, let me warm your hands."

Lin Li said somewhat awkwardly.

"Thanks."

Tong Yao, unusually, did not refuse. She put down her pen and held the milk tea in her hands.

Physical education class.

Their physical education class was in the third period, and the students were all standing in rows on the playground.

Compared to the chill of the morning, the sun is up much earlier now.

Lin Li was still a little warm wearing his jacket, so he took it off and wore only his school uniform short-sleeved shirt.

I glanced at the iron railings beside the track.

Holding the clothes in his hand wasn't a good idea. But everyone was standing properly, and he couldn't very well leave the line to hang the school uniform on the railing.

I turned my head and glanced at the classmates around me.

But they were all wearing their school uniform jackets obediently, at most unzipping them, none of them took them off.

In the entire group, only two people were still wearing short sleeves.

One is Lin Li, and the other is Tong Yao.

Children in puberty are generally shy; girls often wear coats all year round, and so do boys.

She can understand girls, but why do boys do the same?

"Next week, the school will hold an autumn sports meet. Those who want to participate should register with their get out of class monitor after class."

"Now, the boys and girls are divided into two groups: girls 800m and boys 1500m."

As the PE teacher spoke, he stood on the track to the side and picked up the whistle hanging around his neck.

"Ready! Run!"

As the whistle blew.

Everyone started running.

If you were to ask Lin Li which class she hated the most, it wouldn't be math or physics, but physical education.

He hates running the most.

It wasn't that he lacked stamina; it was that he was about to get a stitch.

A side stitch is very uncomfortable.

So, as they ran, Lin Li broke away from the main group and trailed behind.

He lied to Tong Yao when he told her he went for a morning run; he'd rather do push-ups than run.

"Run! The last boy to run will get hit with a stick!"

The PE teacher pulled out an iron rod from somewhere.

!!

Lin Li suddenly remembered it again.

My middle school PE teacher loved to physically punish students. It was okay with the girls, but with the boys…

In my past life, because I was a girl, I would only get scolded a few times and then made to run a lap as punishment.

He's doomed!

Thinking about it, he glanced back at the PE teacher, only to see him swinging an iron bar at the air.

Lin Li felt as if he could hear the sonic boom of the stick hitting the air.

Instantly, he felt full of energy.

Damn it, run!

He hadn't run more than a couple of steps.

Lin Li's breathing became heavier and heavier, and she kept clutching her waist, her posture becoming increasingly awkward.

It hurts so much! He's got a stitch in his side.

"Adjust your breathing."

A cool, clear female voice came from the side.

Before he knew it, Tong Yao had run up to his side.

Compared to Lin Li's lifeless appearance, Tong Yao looked much better.

There was only a little sweat on his forehead, and his breathing was steady and strong.

Lin Li opened her mouth, wanting to speak.

The burning pain in his respiratory tract made him unable to speak.

"Don't talk, adjust your breathing." Tong Yao quickened her pace and ran ahead of Lin Li.

Then Lin Li took a deep breath and began breathing in rhythm with Tong Yao's running.

Gradually, the pain in my lower back decreased.

I was happy for just a second.

Then I saw Tong Yao stop in front of me.

"Why did you stop running?" Lin Li asked, puzzled.

Cheng Yu's mocking voice came from behind.

"Weakling, you've been tricked by Yao Yao, okay?"

Looking back, I saw a large group of girls, with a few boys mixed in.

Lin Li understood at a glance.

He's definitely the last one, no doubt about it.

then.

The sound of something cutting through the air rang out on the playground.

Then came Lin Li's scream.