Sideline wind
She inserted the key into the lock and turned it half a turn, making a soft "click." Luo Yan pushed open the door to her rented apartment. The motion-sensor light in the entryway turned on, casting a warm yellow glow across the wooden floor. In the living room, her father, Luo Zhongheng, was facing his laptop, his fingers flying across the keyboard. The blue light from the screen made his profile appear cold and hard. Her mother, Ren Qin, wearing an apron, peeked out from the kitchen, a few strands of hair damp with moisture: "You're back? The soup is keeping it warm in the clay pot."
This is a rented room near the school for parents to accompany their children while they study. They take turns coming over, and both of them happen to be here tonight. Luo Yan put her schoolbag down next to the shoe cabinet, kicked off her canvas shoes, and said in a muffled voice, "Hmm, not hungry."
Ren Qin wiped her hands and came out of the kitchen, her apron strap loosely knotted at her waist: "How was the weekly math quiz?"
“It’s fine.” Luo Yan shuffled towards her room in her slippers. As she passed her desk, she caught a glimpse of Luo Zhongheng still engrossed in his code, the only sound the continuous “tap-tap” of the keyboard in the silence. She didn’t say anything more and pushed open the bedroom door.
She closed the door, shutting out the sounds from the living room, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing into a chair. The stack of Song Tian's letters in the side pocket of her backpack made her ribs clench. She turned her head, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the table, before finally opening her browser and typing "Yiyang Normal University."
That was Qi Sheng's alma mater. When the search result popped up, her fingertip paused inexplicably. On the screen, the building with its green tiles and white walls looked particularly beautiful in the sunlight. She stared at it for a while, then felt the thought was absurd, so she simply closed the page, put on her headphones, and tried to use music to block out her chaotic thoughts.
The third period on the second day was physical education.
The stadium has a high dome, and the autumn sunlight shines through the high windows, casting bright, almost dazzling spots of light on the plastic floor.
Qi Sheng stood at the front of the line, his black tracksuit accentuating his tall and straight figure, the brand logo on his chest gleaming coldly white in the light. "Today we're practicing calisthenics." He clapped his hands, his voice carrying through the loudspeaker across the venue, crisp and clean like a knife slicing tofu, "What I missed during summer vacation, I'm catching up now."
A few scattered complaints arose from below. Luo Yan, standing in the middle of the line, secretly exchanged a glance with her deskmate, Lin Yi. The broadcast exercises were rigid and boring, but Qi Sheng taught them with exceptional seriousness. "Straighten your wrists," "Open up the range of motion," "Pay attention to the rhythm," his voice, amplified by the loudspeaker, had a metallic quality, yet it was surprisingly clear and easy to hear.
Luo Yan swayed her arms to the music, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards the exercise platform. Qi Sheng performed the movements with an almost obsessive-compulsive standard; every stretch and turn was imbued with energy, bringing a youthful vibrancy to the otherwise stiff calisthenics. Sunlight streamed down his shoulders, and sweat slid down his jawline, splashing onto the floor of the exercise platform, leaving a small dark patch.
"Hey," Lin Yi's voice whispered in her ear, filled with gossipy excitement, "Look at Teacher Qi, he's so eye-catching."
Luo Yan remained silent, but in her heart she silently agreed. This person seemed to be born to stand in the light.
After practicing the movements for most of the class, Qi Sheng finally relented: "Twenty minutes of free time, but don't wander off."
The crowd scattered with a "whoosh," the boys rushing towards the basketball court like madmen with their balls, while the girls gathered in twos and threes under the shade of the trees. Luo Yan and Lin Yi leaned against the railing outside the basketball court, chatting idly, but their eyes were drawn to the boys playing on the court—several sports students were moving so fast and fiercely that they drew gasps of surprise from the sidelines.
"Oh, right," Lin Yi suddenly nudged her arm, her eyes shining like stars, "I've recently fallen for a boy, and I really want you to draw him for me!"
Luo Yan raised an eyebrow, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the cold metal of the railing: "What kind?"
"I'll show you during the next activity class," Lin Yi said mysteriously, keeping everyone in suspense.
The two chatted for a while longer. With free time approaching, Lin Yi said she needed to go to the gym to get her jacket and asked Luo Yan to wait for her there. Luo Yan nodded, watching Lin Yi run off before her gaze returned to the field.
At some point, Qi Sheng also leaned against the railing on the other side, holding an unopened bottle of water, intently watching the game, his expression as serene as a statue. Sunlight fell on his profile, giving him a soft golden edge.
Luo Yan's heart skipped a beat: He likes watching basketball?
The thought had barely formed when a burst of laughter erupted from the court, followed by the loud "bang" of a basketball going out of control—a boy had misjudged his shot, and the basketball flew straight out of bounds, its trajectory pointing directly towards Luo Yan.
She instinctively tensed up. This sudden loss of control caught her off guard. Before her brain could even command her body, she caught a glimpse of a dark figure darting towards her out of the corner of her eye.
With a whoosh of wind and a soft "snap," the out-of-control basketball was caught firmly in the palm of the hand.
Luo Yan looked up and met Qi Sheng's gaze.
He had just intercepted the ball, his fingertips still slightly clenched, his knuckles turning a faint white from the force. Seeing her looking over, he raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible helplessness: "Hey, even when watching the game, you have to think about yourself."
His voice was close, slightly panting from exercise, mixed with the scent of sunshine and sweat, subtly overlapping with the aroma she had caught by the vending machine last time. Luo Yan's cheeks flushed slightly, her heart skipped a beat, but she calmed herself down and whispered, "Thank you, teacher."
Qi Sheng didn't say anything more, simply tossing the ball onto the court, where it landed precisely in the arms of the boy who had just made the mistake. The boy was stunned for a moment, then quickly bowed in Qi Sheng's direction: "Thank you, Teacher Qi!"
Qi Sheng ignored him, and as he turned around, his gaze lingered on Luo Yan's face for half a second before he slowly walked toward the stadium.
Luo Yan remained in the same position, the coolness of the railing creeping up her skin as she touched it with her fingertips, yet she couldn't suppress the inexplicable restlessness in her heart. She watched Qi Sheng's figure disappear into the stadium entrance, the sunlight stretching his shadow long, like an elongated silhouette painting.
Just then, Lin Yi ran back with her coat. Seeing her standing there motionless, she asked curiously, "What are you daydreaming about?"
Luo Yan shook her head, suppressing her inexplicable emotions, and mumbled, "It's nothing, I almost got hit by the ball."
Lin Yi didn't delve into it, and took her arm as they walked towards the gymnasium: "Let's go, let's go, it's time to gather. By the way, you said Teacher Qi is from Yiyang Normal School, what's the school like? My sister said the scenery there is amazing."
Luo Yan recalled the pictures she had searched for last night and said softly, "They were quite pretty in the photos."
As the two walked into the gymnasium, Luo Yan subconsciously glanced at the direction of the exercise platform again—Qi Sheng was already standing there, talking to the sports committee member with his head down, his profile clearly defined under the lights.
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