Chapter 8

Xu Nianlei's alcoholic father, Xu Jianguo, came to the school again. This time he wasn't drinking, but he had accumulated gambling debts and wanted to ask his daughter for money.

He blocked Xu Nianlei at the school gate as she was leaving school, tugging at her schoolbag, his voice not loud but full of threat: "You brat, give me some money! I know your mom must have given you your allowance!"

"I didn't! Let me go!" Xu Nianlei was shocked and scared, struggling desperately, which attracted the attention of the surrounding classmates.

Just then, Lu Baiyan and several boys happened to pass by. Seeing this scene, he immediately frowned, strode forward, pushed Xu Jianguo's hand away, and shielded Xu Nianlei behind him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Lu Baiyan's voice carried an unusual coldness. Although young, he possessed an unassailable aura.

Xu Jianguo was stunned by him, and seeing that more people were gathering around, he cursed a few harsh words and left dejectedly.

Lu Baiyan turned to look at Xu Nianlei, whose face was pale and who was trembling all over, and asked softly, "Are you alright?"

Xu Nianlei, still shaken, shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. At that moment, his back, shielding her, was like a mountain she could lean on.

Somehow, the news of Xu Nianlei returning home late and being harassed at the school gate reached Wang Xiuqin's ears again.

"Tell me! Who was that old man at the school gate today?! Was it your damned dad who came looking for you again? Or did you get involved with some shady characters outside?" Wang Xiuqin interrogated her like a criminal.

Exhausted, Xu Nianlei weakly explained, "It was my dad... He came to ask for money, but the class monitor and classmates passed by and chased him away."

"Class monitor? It's that Lu Baiyan again?" Wang Xiuqin's eyes instantly sharpened like knives. "Why is he always associated with you? Let me tell you, Xu Nianlei, don't think you can climb the social ladder just by climbing up the social ladder! What kind of family does he come from? What kind of family do you come from? Stop daydreaming! Behave yourself and study hard! If I hear anything about you and him again, I won't let you off the hook!"

Every word her mother said struck Xu Nianlei's heart like a hammer blow, shattering the budding warmth she had just begun to feel.

In the grade-level basketball league finals, Lu Baiyan played as a key player for his class. He usually looks thin, but on the court, he is agile and accurate in his shooting, attracting a lot of attention.

Xu Nianlei sat in the stands with her classmates. Watching him run, jump, and sweat on the field, listening to the cheers of the girls around him, she felt a sense of pride mixed with an indescribable distance. He was so dazzling, while she was so ordinary.

During halftime, Liu Yiduo and Wen Wanyu, carrying water and towels, walked confidently towards the team's rest area. Liu Yiduo handed the water to Lu Baiyan, smiling broadly as she spoke. Lu Baiyan politely accepted it, nodded, and maintained his indifferent expression.

As Xu Nianlei watched this scene, she silently gripped the bottle of water she hadn't dared to give away, which was resting on her lap.

In the end, Lu Baiyan led his class to victory. The entire stadium erupted in cheers. He stood in the center of the crowd, slightly out of breath, his forehead damp with sweat, his eyes bright. At that moment, Xu Nianlei felt that what separated them was not just a few rows of seats, but the entire galaxy.

One Saturday afternoon, Xu Nianlei went to the county library to look up information. Among the quiet bookshelves, she unexpectedly saw a familiar figure.

Lu Baiyan was sitting by the window, sunlight streaming through the glass onto him. He was looking down, intently at a thick physics competition book, with several English novels beside him.

He seemed to sense her gaze, looked up, and his eyes met hers.

Xu Nianlei, like a startled fawn, hurriedly looked away, pretending to look for a book.

Lu Baiyan closed his book and walked over: "You're here to study too?"

"Hmm... I'm here to find some information," Xu Nianlei replied softly.

“There’s a seat over there.” Lu Baiyan pointed to the table opposite where he had just been sitting.

As if guided by fate, Xu Nianlei followed him. The two sat down facing each other, each reading a book, the only sound the occasional rustling of pages turning. The warm sunlight shone down, and time seemed to slow down. This was the first time they had shared a room so "peacefully" outside of school.

During this time, Xu Nianlei had a question about an English grammar point that she didn't quite understand. After hesitating for a moment, she quietly asked him for help. Lu Baiyan put down his book and patiently explained it to her.

That afternoon, the sunlight, the scent of books, and his deep voice as he explained things became an extremely precious and beautiful memory in Xu Nianlei's gloomy youth.

The scene of them studying together in the library was seen by another classmate. New rumors quickly emerged, more specific and unpleasant than before.

"I heard they all went to the library together this weekend!"

"So fast? You pretended not to know me at school!"

"Xu Nianlei looks honest, but I didn't expect her to be so cunning..."

"Why would Lu Baiyan be interested in her? What's in it for him?"

Wen Wanyu deliberately said to Liu Yiduo in a place where Xu Nianlei could hear: "Duoduo, some people just don't know their own limitations. They think they can rise to the top with a little trickery. They don't even know if they are worthy of it."

This time, Liu Yiduo didn't smile. Her gaze towards Xu Nianlei was filled with obvious coldness and hostility.

Xu Nianlei was once again thrust into the spotlight. She tried to explain, but no one believed her; instead, her attempts only made things worse. Lu Baiyan seemed to have caught wind of the situation as well, but he remained silent, only the atmosphere around him seemed even more oppressive. To Xu Nianlei, this silence felt more like an invisible pressure.

The rumors eventually reached Zhao Mei's ears. She went directly to the homeroom teacher and made it clear that she hoped the teacher could adjust the seating arrangement to avoid any "unnecessary misunderstandings" that might affect her son's concentration on preparing for the upcoming physics competition.

Although the homeroom teacher felt it was making a mountain out of a molehill, considering Lu Baiyan's special circumstances, she still spoke to Xu Nianlei tactfully, implying that she should be mindful of her influence and maintain an appropriate distance from her classmates.

Xu Nianlei emerged from the office, her face burning, her heart ice-cold. She understood; this was Lu Baiyan's mother's intention. That invisible class barrier, once again, stood before her in the most direct way.

Back in the classroom, looking at the empty seat next to her, she realized for the first time clearly that what separated her and him was not just gossip, but two worlds that could never intersect. Her cautious affection seemed so ridiculous and out of place in the face of reality.