He kissed her—a kiss as thin as a cicada's wing.
Tomorrow is the sports meet, and as expected, Lin Shih-jen suffered from insomnia that night. She went to bed early to try and fall asleep, but tossed and turned and couldn't drift off. Night always tears away the fragile disguise of humanity, and the thought of appearing on the playground in a cheerleading uniform made her feel as embarrassed as ants fleeing in the rain, impossible to stop.
Lin Shiren's phone vibrated under his pillow. He swiped the screen and saw a group message from Chen Mo to all members. It included important notes, the schedule for each project tomorrow, and a final reminder not to be late. The neat "Received" messages were interspersed with Li Pengfei's very chuunibyou (delusional) and passionate emoji.
Why did the principal make an exception and allow the senior students to participate in the sports meet this year?
He blinked, as if he'd been abducted by aliens.
It's alright, it'll be over in a blink of an eye. At worst, you'll just have to reincarnate.
The self-hypnosis in my mind went like this, but my body was very honest. I counted more than three thousand sheep before I finally fell asleep in a daze.
As a result, she didn't hear the alarm clock the next day and almost missed school when she opened her eyes. She jumped out of bed, washed up, and rushed to school without even having breakfast.
The sky was clear and blue, with white clouds as the main feature against the backdrop of blue. Occasionally, a few birds would fly over the green trees. Pleasant music played over the school radio, and the students all had smiles on their faces. In that moment, I felt a sense of wonder at how wonderful springtime was.
The tree-lined avenue was covered with banners cheering on the sports meet. Pedestrians walked in twos and threes. Suddenly, Ruan Ya's voice rang out from the crowd, asking, "Lin Shiren, why aren't you wearing makeup?"
Someone looked over at the sound. Lin Shiren covered her face and hurried over, slightly out of breath: "I'm sorry, I don't know how to do makeup."
Ruan Ya, holding her arm, rolled her eyes helplessly: "I'm really fed up with you."
In the end, I was dragged to get my makeup done.
Ruan Ya is genuinely enthusiastic, but also has a serious case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Many people come and go into the restroom, but she calmly applies makeup to Lin Shiren under all sorts of scrutiny. This ease and skill are something most people can't do.
"Don't move, your dark circles are a bit heavy, let me cover them up for you."
"Isn't it too pale?" Lin Shiren was still a little embarrassed, which could be seen from her wandering eyes.
"Your natural skin tone is fair, and my powder isn't your shade, so I can only use concealer and primer. But your skin is great; you don't have any blemishes, and your pores are small..."
Ruan Ya had grown quite fond of Lin Shiren after these few encounters; he was easy to get along with and not pretentious. She pulled an eyeliner from her makeup bag and said, "Close your eyes."
Lin Shiren obediently did as she was told, and Ruan Ya elongated the outer corners of her eyes according to her eye shape.
"Your skin is beautiful too," she added belatedly, as a polite remark.
"I rely entirely on face masks to stay alive." Ruan Ya's mother owns a beauty salon. She has always had a keen eye for beauty and is a sucker for good looks. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to be friends with Xu Yiqiao.
After applying mascara to Lin Shiren, she sprayed on a layer of setting spray and reminded him, "You must remove your makeup when you get home tonight, otherwise you'll easily get closed comedones. Autumn and winter are coming soon, so remember to moisturize more."
"Okay, I've got it."
After a beauty lesson packed with useful information, Lin Shih-Jin looked at her face in the bathroom mirror and felt it looked a little unfamiliar. She frowned slightly and asked, "Is my makeup too heavy?"
"Where's the thickest part?!"
"I feel like I'm about to put on a concert."
Ruan Ya's eyes lit up: "That's just right."
"..."
The stands were already arranged by class. When they returned, ten minutes had passed since the assembly time. Li Pengfei, with his sharp eyes, immediately shouted excitedly, "Our cheerleading team's most beautiful girl is here!"
Shen Xuqing looked over, Xu Yiqiao looked over, and Zhou Lin also turned his head to look over. Just as their gazes fell heavily on her, the campus radio happened to switch to a ballad. Lin Shiren put down the hand that was smoothing her stray hairs, and her appearance clearly appeared in front of everyone.
She left in a hurry that morning and forgot to wear her coat. She was only wearing a fitted cheerleading outfit, her skin was dazzlingly white in the sunlight, and her features were delicate and three-dimensional. She stared blankly at the road in front of her, her unease and embarrassment written all over her face.
One boy stared in disbelief: "There's a difference between the photo and the real person. The person looks even better. It's true that the school uniform sealed off his good looks."
Another person said, "Damn, I should have signed up for the project too."
"You guys are so materialistic. You think you can't bring glory to the class without a cheerleading squad?"
Some people quickly retorted: "It's all because of staying up late, that's an occupational hazard."
Someone was eager to try: "Does anyone have a pen? Is it too late to write a love letter now?"
"It's too late!"
Li Pengfei finally roared out his resentment, the shrill sound from the plastic megaphone: "Everyone, sit down!"
The boys weren't annoyed; one by one, they looked away and continued laughing and joking.
Zhou Lin was also looking at Lin Shiren.
Unlike the others who would steal glances from time to time, he stared openly and unbiasedly, creating a particularly oppressive atmosphere. Many people noticed this. Xu Yiqiao frowned, his gaze shifting between the two of them. Lin Shiren felt inexplicably flustered and awkwardly looked away.
What's wrong with Zhou Lin?
For some reason, Lin Shiren suddenly imagined a jealous husband grabbing her neck and accusing her: "Didn't you have a crush on me? Why don't you dare to look at me? And why are you secretly colluding with Shen Xuqing? You liar!"
She got goosebumps from her own thoughts and deliberately turned her head away, leaving him with the back of her head.
Having been her deskmate for so long, Zhou Lin had come to some sense that this was a sign of guilt.
Oh.
While she kept saying she had a crush on him, she also had a playlist with Shen Xuqing's name on it. He felt like he was being played.
But he was surprisingly calm and easy to talk to, carrying water, gongs and drums, hanging banners, and even had the leisure to write two articles for the organizing committee.
Song Ci wasn't in the mood to contribute to the class. He paced back and forth in front of the stands until the first and second year high school teams had assembled and Zhou Lin had returned to his position. Only then did he come over with a cushion.
Why aren't you in a hurry at all?
Zhou Lin glanced at him indifferently: "What's the rush?"
"Team leader!"
Song Ci: "I asked Tang Shi last night. Although the playlist is a sensitive topic, it can only represent a girl's feelings at a certain time. Even if she had feelings for that person before, maybe it was before she met you?"
Zhou Lin knew who "that person" was, rested his elbows on his knees, and continued scrolling through his phone: "What does this have to do with me?"
Song Ci knew that this family wouldn't break up without him, so he put on a patient and earnest tone: "Stop being stubborn. If you end up as someone else's wife, you'll have nowhere to cry."
These words sounded particularly harsh, but Zhou Lin's eyes were as calm as a still pool, a stark contrast to the rousing music playing on the playground. Song Ci still looked at him with a profound and enigmatic expression.
After a long pause, he asked, "What are your thoughts?"
"Didn't you and Shen Xuqing both sign up for the 1,500 meters?"
Song Ci finally voiced her idea: "Let's see which of the two of you she cheers for during the competition..."
A cool breeze, hot sweat, the air is thick with youthful hormones.
One event after another proceeded smoothly with the starting gun firing. Lin Shih-Jin and his cheerleaders stood at the finish line, forgetting all about formations and movements. All that remained before the finish line was the fervent cheering.
"The spring breeze blows, the war drums beat, who are we afraid of!"
"Go! Go!"
Lin Shih-jen has been in Class 1 for two months, but she still doesn't feel a sense of belonging. Yesterday during practice, she felt that the slogan was a bit too cutesy and was hard to say. But she didn't expect that as she shouted it on the sports field, her sense of collective honor was completely ignited.
On the sports field, field events and track events were held at the same time. Class 1 made a lot of noise but achieved little. Their best result throughout the morning was fourth place in the women's shot put, and they were at the bottom in every sprint event. Li Pengfei's smile disappeared at a visible speed, and even the cheerleaders were dejected in the end.
With a long whistle, all the morning's competitions came to an end. Lin Shiren crossed the red track and returned to the Class 1 area, his throat parched.
There was a bunch of people in the stands who had drunk half a bottle of water and couldn't tell which one was theirs. She walked along the edge of the steps, heading to the place where the class kept its supplies. She accidentally kicked a Coke can, which rolled to Zhou Lin's feet, splashing the unfinished Coke onto his white shoes and making a big stain.
He didn't move an inch, as if it were someone else's shoes that were dirty; he only glanced at them briefly before looking up.
If it were Zhou Lin before today, Lin Shiren might have been able to turn the matter around by playing innocent, but his eyes this morning were filled with coldness, making people unconsciously feel scared.
He doesn't usually smile much and is aloof when interacting with people, but because of his exceptionally handsome features, many people still flock to him like moths to a flame. When he does smile from the bottom of his heart, it carries the youthful arrogance and tenderness of a boy.
The sun was high in the sky, and beads of sweat slid down her slender back. Lin Shiren looked at her long eyelashes covered in sweat and sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, I got your shoes dirty."
Zhou Lin didn't seem to intend to let her off the hook. He leaned forward, his handsome face slowly magnifying in front of her: "Is an apology all you're going to say?"
He had a clean scent about him, not perfume, but more like shampoo or shower gel, mixed with a hint of masculinity, enveloping her completely. They were usually much closer when they sat at the same desk, but now, in broad daylight, she had a strange feeling of being teased, and her cheeks began to burn.
Lin Shih-ren, you like Shen Xu-qing, how can you be so fickle? You had no choice but to lie to Zhou Lin about your crush on him back then. Could it be that you've been acting so much that you've even fooled yourself?
She shook her head vigorously and retorted, "I didn't do it on purpose, don't be so petty."
Someone called her name from afar. Lin Shiren looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shen Xuqing waving a bottle of water at her: "Looking for water? Here's an unopened one."
Before she could respond, half a bottle of water was shoved into her palm. She blinked and asked, "What's this?"
Zhou Lin's eyelids drooped, and he looked unhappy: "Do you know that only 1% of freshwater is usable by humans? Do you know that there are still two billion people in the world who lack access to safe drinking water?"
"so what?"
Without any warning, knowledge enters the brain in strange ways.
Or is this a surprise quiz? Will answering correctly make up for getting his shoes dirty?
Lin Shih-jen strained his brain to find the answer: "Is this a test to see when World Water Day is?"
Zhou Lin was silent for a few seconds, then laughed in exasperation: "So take your half-full bottle of water and don't waste water resources."
"..."
Lin Shiren picked up the half-empty bottle of water in his hand, looking suspicious: "Wait, how did you know this was my water? You're not deliberately messing with me, are you, making me drink your leftovers?"
"You mean I designed our connection..."
Before he could even utter the word "kiss," she abruptly covered his mouth, looking around frantically: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
The entire stands were filled with noise. Lin Shiren was standing less than half a meter in front of him. Zhou Lin's lips touched her soft palm, and his body suddenly went numb. At the same time, he realized that she only occasionally showed her unrestrained authenticity when talking to him. This discovery made him feel happy.
He mumbled, "It's your water, I've collected it for you."
Class teacher Chen Mo announced lunch break in front of the stands. Xu Yiqiao saw everything, until Dong Rui shouted, "Renren, let's go eat!" Lin Shiren took his hand off Zhou Lin's mouth, cleared his throat, and said, "Okay, I'll believe you this once."
As Zhou Lin watched her graceful figure from behind amidst the bustling crowd, a slight smile played on his lips.
Hsu Yi-chiao somewhat regretted asking Lin Shih-ren to join the cheerleading squad.
Before Lin Shiren came to the honors class, Zhou Lin was polite and considerate to girls, but he was somewhat aloof and unapproachable. This kind of temperament did not deter her, but instead made her more attractive.
It's not just boys who have a desire to conquer; girls do too.
It is said that girls from good families have a natural arrogance in their bones. Xu Yiqiao was born into a privileged family. If it weren't for Zhou Lin, she would never have bothered with any of that cheerleading stuff.
She had read many feminist books on independent personalities and thought that she had a stable core and would not engage in such low-level female competition. But she was still a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl after all. Watching Zhou Lin and Lin Shiren interact for a minute felt like enduring an entire winter.
But no matter how sour she felt inside, she couldn't say anything too harsh; she just wore her displeasure on her face.
Xu Yiqiao took a can of carbonated drink from the convenience store's freezer, and bought sandwiches, rice balls, and oden for Ruan Ya. After paying, he pulled the tab on the can with one hand and sat down with a "thump".
If Ruan Ya didn't realize her friend was in a bad mood by this point, then she'd be faking it: "What's wrong?"
"fine."
Although Xu Yiqiao didn't want to say much, he still added, "I'm tired."
Ruan Ya expressed her understanding, unwrapping the rice ball packaging: "Don't even mention you, I'm exhausted just sitting in the stands."
A comfortable cool breeze blew from the air conditioner vent, and her cheeks twitched slightly: "Zhou Lin has a match this afternoon, you can look forward to it!"
Lin Shih-Jin is also looking forward to the afternoon's match.
Shen Xuqing excels at long-distance running. When he was in junior high school, a provincial team coach tried to recruit him, but the deal fell through because he didn't want to go professional. As a result, he set the record for the 1,500 meters at Huiwen High School for two consecutive years.
Lin Shih-Jin went to the side of the track to occupy a favorable position ten minutes before the start of the race.
Song Ci had been watching her since early morning. She gave Zhou Lin a wink. This guy even went home at noon to change his shoes. She thought he was finally showing some sense of crisis and about to show off. But then he mouthed four words: "We're going to win again."
Song Ci almost burst into a tirade of profanity.
I've never seen anything like Versailles. He deserves to stay single forever.
Amidst the rousing shouts, the starting pistol tore through the air, and the runners shot off like arrows. Everyone's eyes followed their movements, and Lin Shiren could hear the churning in his veins.
Zhou Lin was the most conspicuous person on the field.
It's not that Shen Xuqing isn't excellent, but Zhou Lin has never participated in long-distance running events before, which is even more surprising.
Tall and handsome, he wore a white tracksuit, complete with knee pads and a headband. His muscles were pale and well-defined. Lin Shiren unconsciously licked his lips, feeling a little afraid to look at him.
He started in second place, right behind Shen Xuqing, with a calm and indifferent expression. His sharp Adam's apple bobbed slightly with each breath, and most of the girls in the school were focused on him.
"Zhou Lin is so handsome!"
"He seems very athletic, why didn't he participate in any events before?"
"Zhou Lin, keep it up!"
"Hey, which class are you in? Why are you cheering on the boys in your class?"
These dense whispers gradually reached Lin Shiren's ears. She squinted and looked towards Class 1, where she saw Xu Yiqiao scrolling through her phone in the stands, completely uninterested in the game, with several other cheerleaders sitting around her.
People around her were screaming excitedly. Song Ci had come over at some point and stood next to her: "Who are you cheering for?"
Lin Shiren looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Shen Xuqing and Zhou Lin."
It's over.
The sinking-order clearing-order is now ahead of the smaller Zhou Zhou.
Song Ci immediately put on a worried expression: "Zhou Lin has never run a long-distance race before. This time, he was forced into it by Li Pengfei. I don't know if he can make it to the end. You should cheer him on more."
Lin Shih-ren waved the confetti and said casually, "Do you think he needs people to cheer him on?"
Indeed, the track was packed with cheerleaders from each class, with Zhou Lin's female fans being the most numerous. Song Ci turned her head and muttered softly, "How can this be the same?"
Meanwhile, on the field, Zhou Lin's movements were fluid and effortless, showing no signs of fatigue. He would occasionally glance in their direction during turns, sweat dripping from his forehead and his chest heaving violently.
Shen Xuqing wasn't in much better shape. Perhaps not expecting the person behind him to be so close, he glanced back, a movement that disrupted his breathing. His breathing became erratic, causing him to stumble. Zhou Lin seized the opportunity to overtake him, and the screams from the stands were deafening.
Lin Shiren was completely unaware that her fingertips were digging into her palms. As the two figures passed by, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Go for it! Go for it!"
She didn't call out anyone's name, her heart pounding, and for a moment she couldn't tell who she wanted to win.
On the last lap, the referee rang the bell to remind them, and Zhou Lin and Shen Xuqing began to accelerate. The last few in the pack had already been lapped, and Lin Shiren watched them sprint with bated breath.
Song Ci shouted to remind her, "Oh no, Xiao Zhouzhou is running out of energy. Let's go to the finish line."
"?"
Which eye of his saw that Zhou Lin lacked stamina? He clearly had excellent stamina and was in high spirits... Before she could even refute him, her wrist was suddenly tightened.
For the short distance of just one hundred meters, Lin Shiren was practically dragged along by Song Ci. Her chest heaved, sweat beaded on her nose, and her breathing was uneven: "I can't go on, I really... can't run anymore..."
Before she could finish speaking, a strong gust of wind came straight at her, startling her. Suddenly, her legs went weak, and she almost fell over. Just as she was about to stumble, someone pulled her up.
It's Zhou Lin.
But as soon as he crossed the finish line, before he could even stop sprinting, he fell backward, his elbows and back hitting the ground with a loud thud that sounded painful to anyone who heard it.
Lin Shih-jen was in much better condition. The moment he fell, he instinctively grabbed a lifeline. It didn't hurt, but his ears were ringing, and his lips hit a soft, cool, wet patch of skin. It was a short time, but enough to make him hear the gasps around him.
She and Zhou Lin, in full view of everyone...
They kissed?!
-----------------------
Author's note: 50 red envelopes~
Continue begging for nutrient solution~
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