《Not Yet Brilliant》


 Chapter 1

    No. 7 High School had no humanity. That was what He Pingyi concluded two weeks after school began.


    Why did the school leaders decide to have running exercises in the afternoon in August, ah? Even though he was complaining, He Pingyi still casually tossed his open book onto his desk, straddled the small chair with his long legs, and grabbed Wang Xiaoweis neck to drag him outside.


    Your uncle! Wang Xiaowei, who was almost 1.8 meters tall, had his neck gripped so tightly that he gasped, Go go go, let go, Im not going.


    A big man pretends to be ill in order to escape from P.E. class. Hes not ashamed tolose face.


    How am I pretending to be ill? I


    I know, before Wang Xiaowei finished speaking, his words were cut off and snatched by He Pingyi. You broke your little sisters bonsai, so she chased you and beat you. You jumped down the stairs and didnt land firmly. You sat on the ground, but unfortunately there was a kid on the first floor who left his skateboard there, and you sat on it and hurt your butt. But when did this happen? Do you even remember?


    Get lost, Wang Xiaowei corrected impatiently. My little sisters plant wasnt a bonsai, it was a succulent. My little sister raised it well.


    Oh, a succulent. He Pingyi didnt feel there was any difference. Isnt it still growing a plant in a pot?


    Bullshit, Wang Xiaowei tossed He Pingyis arm off of his shoulder. Donttouchme.


    He Pingyi smiled lazily, just like usual.


    They were two weeks into school, but Wang Xiaowei felt that his deskmate never woke up. From the moment he arrived until now, his eyes were always half open at most, and when he was picked by the teacher to answer questions, he would briefly stand up, but only to two-thirds of his height. Wang Xiaowei straightened his crooked collar, tilted his head, and glanced at He Pingyi. Just then, he saw the thin scar on He Pingyis brow bone. It was very shallow, but very long. Wang Xiaowei had already asked He Pingyi how he got the scar before, but He Pingyi didnt answer. However, Wang Xiaowei was very curious about this matter, and every time he saw the scar he couldnt hold it in and the words slipped out of his mouth.


    You, this


    Eh? He Pingyi turned his head and looked over the railing on the second floor to the big loudspeaker on the main building. He pretended to be surprised and raised his eyebrows cooperatively: Hey, they changed the song.


    Hearing these words, Wang Xiaowei also listened to the loudspeaker: Ah! Theyre actually not playing Chrysanthemum Terrace? What song is this, eh?


    He Pingyi bopped his head twice following the melody of the song, but didnt answer. He just swung his arm and continued walking forward.


    Out of all the seasons, He Pingyi most disliked summer because it was hot and sleepy.


    The corridor was crowded with people and He Pingyis vision swayed up and down. Half conscious, he felt that he could fall asleep even when walking. When he was sleepy, He Pingyi could exhibit the peak of his laziness, for example, at the moment, he stingily used the absolute minimum amount of strength he could use to control his body. To Wang Xiaowei, it seemed that every time He Pingyis foot landed on the ground, the impact could cause his joints and bones to crash and tremble like there was an earthquake, and he didnt know whether or not all of his organs were dizzy or carsick.


    He Pingyi was so sleepy that he couldnt open his eyes and he frequently let out big yawns. He pressed one hand against his neck and turned his neck to loosen it. However, if his shoulder on one side was tensed tightly, the swing range of his hand on the other side would increase unconsciously.


    As a result, his next swing hit the person behind him.


    He Pingyi was so startled that he woke up immediately and hurriedly turned around. He didnt have time to see the person behind him clearly as he urgently rushed to say, Im sorry, Im sorry.


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    The corridor was filled with noisy voices and sounds that drowned out his thoughts, and the face in front of him seemed to be magnified infinitely, becoming the only clear existence in his mind.


    Gentle and soft.


    Unexpectedly, in that split second, those were the words that came to He Pingyis mind.


    Once upon a time, he thought that those adjectives were only used in writing to make sentences sound good. He never thought that the first time he distinctly realized that those two words could be used in such a way would be when he was in a panicked rush to turn around and was stunned by a boys smile.


    If he had to describe his shock at that moment, He Pingyi could only recount those two uncivilized words that popped out of his head with a sigh. As if lacking oxygen, He Pingyi lost the ability to control his body, and he stupidly turned his head back around and walked down the last two steps.


    When he walked out of the corridor and the sunshine shone on his face again, He Pingyi suddenly had an intense, crazy, and exciting idea in his head if that boy was a girl, he would definitely chase him and marry him.


    This idea didnt seem like one he would normally have, which scared him. He Pingyi was a little confused. He couldnt help stopping and turning around to look back the way he came, but layer after layer of people in school uniforms poured out of the corridor, and he looked for a long time but he couldnt find that face again.


    Wang Xiaowei was still talking to him. Seeing that there was suddenly no one beside him, he turned around to look for him in puzzlement: What are you doing?


    He Pingyi immediately asked Wang Xiaowei, Which class has a good-looking boy with a white face?


    What? The question came too suddenly. Wang Xiaowei was so startled that his head jerked forward.


    His face is white. Hes not very tall. He should be quite He Pingyi looked around twice, then saw the baffled expression on Wang Xiaoweis face. Forget it, its ok.


    During the running exercise, each class would gather first, and then the students on duty in the school that week would record the number of students in attendance and on leave from each class. The school insisted that students should not sit all the time, so as long as they didnt have a serious disease where they couldnt move or stand, even if they were on leave they had to stand on the side and bask in the sun. This was also the reason why He Pingyi was ashamed of Wang Xiaowei before. All the girls who had to ask for leave forcertain reasonsstood there. Right away, Wang Xiaowei was embarrassed for trying to hide in the classroom and sleep.


    After arriving at the assembly place, Wang Xiaowei tried to stand to the side but He Pingyi firmly grabbed his collar and dragged him into theline. Wang Xiaowei stood there pouting and muttering to himself, meanwhile, He Pingyi still hadnt regained his soul after that glance a moment ago.


    The senior high school Grade 3 of No. 7 High School was assigned to a separate campus, and the experimental class was further segregated into a small two-story building. The first floor housed the teachers office and toilet, and the second floor contained the classrooms. There were six classes, four science classes and two liberal arts classes. The science classes and the liberal arts classes were separated on either side of the stairs. There were only so many classes in the whole building. You havent seen this person, ah? Is he in the liberal arts class?


    He Pingyi put his hand in his pants pocket, wrinkled his brows, took two small steps in place, and then stepped onto the white line on the ground.


    White skin, big eyes, no glasses, short stature, smile


    Is there anyone whos asking for leave? Chen Ji, the head teacher, stood in front of the class and shouted.


    Yes!


    Chen Ji had already started to call the Sports Committee when He Pingyi suddenly called out. Chen Ji looked up and saw He Pingyi raising his hand.


    Next to him, Wang Xiaowei was stunned by He Pingyis coherent way of luring the enemy in deep, and thenthe cicada shed its carapace. He was so startled that he stopped and stared blankly for a moment, then he could only glare at He Pingyi as he walked away. WTF?


    He Pingyis psychological quality was obviously better than that of Wang Xiaowei. He stepped out of the line frankly, and his walking posture did not show any discomfort.


    When the class started running, Wang Xiaowei was still mouthing curses at He Pingyi.


    During the first class break in the afternoon, the sun was really bright. He Pingyi couldnt open his eyes, but he persisted in squinting at the classes passing by. To his annoyance, his school imitated other schools and did some block type running exercises. Everyone was practically sticking to each other, so sometimes he couldnt see the people on the inside of the blocks.


    He Pingyi didnt know what he was currently doing. Maybe he wanted to know what class that boy was in, maybe he wanted to be friends with him, or maybe


    Later, He Pingyi recalled that, in fact, at that time, maybe he was merely trying to prove that what just happened wasnt a dream, and there really was such a smile in the world.


    This urgent desire to catch something important that he was feeling now, he had been feeling for a while, and yet, for a long time before, he hadnt ever felt it at all.


    He Pingyi faced the sun, then turned around. The passing class shouted one, two, three, four and their class slogan. He Pingyi tried not to miss any single one of the passing faces. Even if there was only a part of a nose or a corner of an eye peeking out through a small gap, he would carefully identify it. But after a long time, He Pingyi still didnt see the boy.


    His sunburnt eyebrows furrowed more and more, and the creases deepened, showcasing his anxiousness. He tried his best to think about how to depict the boys face a little more meticulously, but then he found that he had just met the boy in a hurry, and all of his attention was attracted to his face and his smile, so he couldnt even remember what his hair style looked like.


    White skin, big eyes, no glasses, short stature, smile


    He Pingyis eyes suddenly widened.


    The sun was obscured by a cloud, and the light darkened. The class that was running over shouted some confused and disordered slogans, but He Pingyi didnt listen to them at all.


    On the outside of the first row, there was a boy whose running rhythm was subtly different from that of the others. The boy continuously looked at him with a somewhat blank expression on his face. Except for the pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose and the absence of a smile on his face, he completely matched the impression in He Pingyis mind.


    Immediately, He Pingyi slightly tightened the hand that was in his pocket. He wanted to smile at the boy, but such a gesture of goodwill was too strange and unfamiliar to He Pingyi. On top of that, he was nervous at the moment, so he didnt lift the corners of his mouth.


    However, the progress of the team continued uninterrupted, and no one waited for him to sort out his expression. He Pingyi watched as the boy was about to be blocked from his sight by the person running next to him, and he anxiously moved to follow after him for a few steps. The girl standing beside him was bowing her head tostudy, and when he suddenly moved, he scared her, causing her to look up at him, unclear of the situation.


    Aware of his unexpected gaffe, He Pingyi coughed and returned to his place.


    When he looked up again, that class had already run far away.


    After seeing the boy again, He Pingyi at last regained his usual calmness and rationality. When the people in his class ran by again, he began to count the classes that passed after them, waiting for the boy to pass him on the second lap. In the meantime, he filled in the details of the portrait in his mind.


    White skin, big eyes, nice nose, nice mouth, glasses


    So, he wears glasses?


    He Pingyi quickly bowed his head and smiled.


    Not tall, thin, hair a little longer than men usually have, smile


    Didnt smile ah just now


    Thinking of that, He Pingyi felt somewhat regretful.


    For the second lap, He Pingyi accurately positioned himself for the arrival ofClass 8. Even though they just entered his field of view, He Pingyis gaze had already locked onto the boys body immediately.


    But this time, the boy didnt look at him. Not only did he not look, but he also seemed to be deliberately avoiding his gaze, always looking straight ahead.


    He Pingyi didnt know if he was being overly sensitive, but he still tilted his head and stared at the boy silently.


    At last, when he was about to run right in front of He Pingyi, the boy turned his head to the side. Just like before, he gazed at He Pingyi blankly.


    He Pingyi raised his hand, but didnt raise it too high. He only raised it until it was level with his chest, and then he waved to the boy. He Pingyi swore that this was the most gentle movement and expression he had ever made.


    Surprisingly, the boys face was very calm, neither frightened nor startled and, in fact, it didnt change whatsoever because of He Pingyis waving.


    He Pingyi didnt put down his hand. He kept smiling and continued to look at the boy.


    A lot of time seemed to have passed. He Pingyi took a deep breath and thought that the boy would just run past him peacefully. Suddenly, the boy raised his chin slightly, looked at him, and smiled.


    As a result, He Pingyi completed the last and most important descriptive word.


    He looks beautiful when he smiles.


    Extremely beautiful.


    That day, He Pingyi finally met Jing Can.


    ¨C


    T/N: They met ahh!!! Also, I kind of overestimated how much time I would have to work on this this week, so Im not quite done with the next 3 chapters that I was planning on posting today. But hopefully I can finish them by Monday and post them then instead

 Chapter 2

    He Pingyi didn¡¯t know whether or not he and that boy could now be considered to be acquainted with each other. Although he technically said hello to him the other day, he didn¡¯t even know the very basics about him, like his name, and the boy probably didn¡¯t know where he came from either. He was continuously waiting for the day they would run into each other again and he could talk to him and get to know him, but strangely, after a long time had passed, and he came and went many times, he still hadn¡¯t met him again.


    During the physical education class that day, He Pingyi originally planned to lie on his desk in the classroom and catch up on sleep. However, there were several boys in each class who liked playing basketball, and P.E. class was the one time when all the classes gathered together, so they could enthusiastically let loose and create a hubbub. As soon as the math teacher said that class was over, Wang Xiaowei immediately reached one foot under his desk and drew out a basketball, then he fished it up into his embrace and urged He Pingyi to quickly go to the basketball court.


    3v3, half court, for He Pingyi it could be considered an easy, effortless match. Coupled with the fact that there were several classmates in the class whose skill level was truly pretty good, He Pingyi played smoothly, in a relaxed manner. When he aimed at the basketball hoop to shoot, his heart unexpectedly surged with an excitement that he hadn¡¯t felt in a long time. But in the second half, when He Pingyi¡¯s condition became even better, the rhythm of a few people on the court suddenly became very abnormal. For example, Wang Xiaowei could lose the ball when dribbling, he didn¡¯t look at the basketball hoop when he was shooting, and he didn¡¯t even know where he was aiming. During the break, He Pingyi stepped forward and asked Wang Xiaowei in a perplexed manner, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    The expression on Wang Xiaowei¡¯s face was unnatural, and his eyes were dodgy and evasive, not at all like his usual faceless and skinless appearance.


    He Pingyi¡¯s gaze followed the direction of Wang Xiaowei¡¯s stealthy glance, and he saw a girl sitting on the third step of the grandstand. Long curly hair draped over her shoulders, and she wore a polo shirt, which was very common to wear in summer. Even He Pingyi should sincerely praise her for her beauty.


    He Pingyi indifferently glanced at her, then used one hand to slap Wang Xiaowei on the back of his head: ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted, play basketball properly.¡±


    But when he turned around, he found that, at that moment, Wang Xiaowei was not the only one on the court who was stealing glances.


    He Pingyi held the ball with both hands and tilted his head, anticipating that the second half of the game might not be so smooth.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Wang Xiaowei suddenly caught up with him and whispered in his ear apprehensively, ¡°You don¡¯t know her ah? I¡¯ll tell you, Wen Xiangying, from Class 8¡­¡±


    ¡°Class 8?¡± He Pingyi stopped and immediately became energetic. He turned around in a circle and swept the sports field with his eyes.


    Where¡¯s that little smiling face?


    ¡°He Pingyi!¡±


    His teammate suddenly called out to him, but He Pingyi¡¯s reaction was somewhat sluggish. As soon as he looked in the direction of his teammate, the basketball had already passed over his head and flew out of the court. He looked at the basketball that had already rushed far away, then he turned back to face his teammate and raised his hand, apologizing for his mistake.


    He Pingyi trotted to catch up to the ball, then he picked it up and held it in his hand. He hadn¡¯t given up on searching the huge sports field for the boy. A crowd of people gathered in front of the rock climbing wall on the other side of the sports field. He couldn¡¯t see the people on the rock climbing wall clearly, but he could already hear the rowdy jeers and laughter of the people below.


    ¡°Girls are faster than you!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t even come down!¡±


    He Pingyi couldn¡¯t quite hear the exact content of their heckling, but he squinted and saw two people hanging on the rock climbing wall, one on the left and the other on the right. One of them was a thin boy, and his small fair arms were exposed.


    He Pingyi turned and ran a few steps towards the basketball court. He threw the ball over and shouted to Wang Xiaowei, ¡°Let Da Xiao go first!¡±


    When he turned back again and walked towards the direction of the rock climbing wall, the boy had already climbed up a short distance in the brief time that he was away. In fact, this rock climbing wall wasn¡¯t very high. To He Pingyi, it was more like a toy for children to play with. However, He Pingyi could see the boy¡¯s dilemma, he had no room to advance or retreat. He guessed that the boy ran out of strength and was just holding on, unwilling to come down.


    He Pingyi shook his head slightly, sighed, and started walking over there.


    The girl on the other side had already reached the top, and the boys around the bottom seized the opportunity to talk again. Their jokes started to become more and more unforgiving, and they asked the person above if he could climb to the top.


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    The physical education teacher also figured that he wouldn¡¯t be able to climb to the top, so he hurriedly looked for steps for the person above to come down. But the boy didn¡¯t seem to hear him. While shaking, he raised his hand up to the next climbing hold.


    He Pingyi didn¡¯t study hard and wasn¡¯t an Internet addicted youth, so he was lucky enough to still have excellent eyesight. On a campus where the myopia rate was soaring, he still had perfect 20/20 vision. He was already standing in the crowd of noisy people and from his current viewpoint he could even clearly see the blue veins on the back of the boy¡¯s hands that were raised due to physical exertion.


    The sun was still very big. He Pingyi thought that the boy must feel very uncomfortable at the top of the rock climbing wall.


    The boy slowly moved his hands and feet, and finally, he barely reached the top.


    He Pingyi stood quietly, facing the dazzling sunlight, and he kept his head tilted up the entire time. It wasn¡¯t until he watched the boy get down from the climbing wall safely that he breathed a sigh of relief, and raised his leg to walk to the bathroom.


    His spirit separated from his body due to the nerve-racking situation, and he walked very slowly. He Pingyi began to carefully recall what the others called the boy just now. Jingcai? Jing Can?


    He Pingyi turned his head to look back and saw that the boy didn¡¯t join the group standing below the rock climbing wall, rather, he continued to walk forward with his head slightly lowered. He was already about to walk under the shade of the trees on the side of the sports field. There was a blocky advertising billboard over there. By the time He Pingyi walked to the door of the bathroom, the boy had already hidden behind the billboard. He Pingyi once again stood still for a moment, but his sight was blocked by the big brand¡®s advertisement. No matter how he looked, he couldn¡¯t see anything except two shoes occasionally moving, and he didn¡¯t know what the boy was doing.


    He Pingyi estimated that the boy wouldn¡¯t be able to run away for a while, but also, he hadn¡¯t really thought about how to approach him and get to know him, so he went to the bathroom, washed his hands, put his hands in his pockets, and started to walk over there. Halfway back to where the boy was, He Pingyi felt that something was still wrong. He pondered for a moment, then he ran to the equipment room and borrowed a basketball.


    He lightly tossed the basketball back and forth between his hands, pretending to be careless. He Pingyi quickly walked back, and when he was about to reach the shade of the tree, he put a little force into his left hand and staggered his right hand, and the basketball was ¡°accidentally¡± pushed out.


    The boy was squatting on the ground, and the basketball accurately rolled right in front of him and stopped.


    He Pingyi trotted after the ball and raised eyebrows in his heart: three points, match point.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, uh¡­¡± He Pingyi hesitated and one of his hands unconsciously patted the side of his leg. ¡°I wasn¡¯t careful.¡±


    The boy raised his head, and when he saw He Pingyi, he seemed to be stunned. He Pingyi looked down below the boy¡¯s arm, only to find that he was not tying his shoelaces, but rather, he was pulling up his pants leg to examine the wound on his ankle.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± He Pingyi asked immediately.


    The corners of the boy¡¯s mouth moved, but he just continued to look straight at him without opening his mouth or even making a sound.


    ¡°Did you get hurt on the rock climbing wall just now?¡± He Pingyi asked very naturally, as if he didn¡¯t care about the boy¡¯s silence at all.


    This time, the boy pulled down his pants leg and stood up.


    In fact, He Pingyi was really not someone who was easy to get along with, but now he had switched with someone else. He Pingyi had already left long ago and this aspect of himself would definitely never come back. But quite strangely, at that moment, He Pingyi¡¯s mind was completely full of what to say next, so much so that he didn¡¯t even bother to think about why the boy ignored him, let alone why he was angry.


    He Pingyi lifted his hand, extended his index finger, and pointed to himself: ¡°Don¡¯t you remember me?¡±


    The first time they met was in the corridor, and the second time was on the sports field. In just a few short seconds, those two brief, fragmented episodes had already played out thousands of times in He Pingyi¡¯s head.


    The boy didn¡¯t pay attention to him at all, but He Pingyi also couldn¡¯t make out the slightest bit of dislike for himself from his eyes. When he was about to tell the boy where they met, the boy opened his mouth.


    ¡°Have we met?¡±


    Calm, hesitant, from his experience, this was He Pingyi¡¯s understanding of the boy¡¯s manner of speaking.


    This was the first sentence he said to him, and also the first time he heard his voice, the first time he heard him say, ¡°we¡±. For a very long time to come, this sentence would make He Pingyi¡¯s heart stir every time he thought about it.


    ¡°Yes, we have.¡± He Pingyi said.


    The boy listened, used his hand to push up his glasses, and lowered his eyes and his head. He Pingyi immediately tilted his head, leaned forward slightly, and continued to look at his face. He Pingyi found that the boy¡¯s eyelashes were surprisingly extraordinarily long. Just now, his eyeglasses were worn low, so He Pingyi hadn¡¯t noticed yet. With this one look, He Pingyi discovered that his eyelashes seemed to have swept to the lenses of his glasses.


    ¡°On the basketball court,¡± He Pingyi patronized others¡¯ eyelashes and lost his ability to speak. ¡°Oh no, on the stairs, I wasn¡¯t careful and accidentally hit you, and I said hello to you during the running exercises.¡±


    He Pingyi couldn¡¯t breathe or swallow. After saying this, he could only try to sound the boy out, so he asked tentatively, ¡°Do you remember?¡±


    Sunshine flew on top of the boy¡¯s eyelashes and they quivered.


    He Pingyi gathered enough patience and waited for a sufficient amount of time. Unexpectedly, the boy who smiled at him a few days ago shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    This time, He Pingyi was completely stunned and he froze. However, under the boy¡¯s attentive gaze, he very quickly nodded and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. My name is He Pingyi, Class 21. Just now¡­ I heard them call you, but I couldn¡¯t hear them clearly. What¡¯s your name? I¡¯m afraid I misheard it.¡±


    He Pingyi tried his best to recount what happened a short while ago without bringing up anything bad. In his heart, he sweated profusely for himself, he was afraid that even so, the boy would still avoid him completely. He Pingyi had never taken the initiative to make friends like this. He never expected that he would get off to a bad start on his first attempt. He looked down at the basketball he had purposely taken to mess with. He thought it was the same. He insisted on meeting and getting to know people in such an awkward way. It was like a blind date. Who could bear it?


    ¡°Jing Can.¡±


    Before he had time to despair, He Pingyi heard a clear voice.


    He lifted his head to look at the boy, just in time to meet his gaze. This look gave him a familiar feeling. It was just like the other day in the corridor, and like during the second lap of the running exercise, he smiled at him in the same way. Combined with this same smiling expression, his gaze softened He Pingyi¡¯s heart.


    At this time, He Pingyi was sure that the boy must have been on guard against himself, during the running exercise and just now.


    ¡°En,¡± He Pingyi was suddenly satisfied by his bravery and he felt a sense of accomplishment. He looked into his eyes and savored his name. He was trying to restrain himself, but he couldn¡¯t help the corner of his mouth from lifting into a smile. If Wang Xiaowei saw He Pingyi¡¯s smile at that moment, he may not believe that that was his deskmate who can only smile lazily.


    ¡°Which Can?¡±


    ¡°The one with a lot of strokes.¡±


    Unlike before, after Jing Can said his name, he was much less silent. He didn¡¯t continue to ignore He Pingyi, who was previously basically talking to himself. This also verified He Pingyi¡¯s guess about whether or not he was on guard.


    ¡°Oh¡­ a lot of them.¡±


    He Pingyi murmured repeatedly, turned his eyes carelessly to the direction of the sports field, and saw groups of students playing various sports. It was really strange. It was obviously very noisy over there. He Pingyi stood together with Jing Can, but he felt very peaceful, and very comfortable.


    ¡°Our class is going to reassemble.¡±


    What broke the silence was the silence itself. After hearing this voice, He Pingyi immediately nodded.


    Seeing that he still had no intention of leaving, Jing Can asked again, ¡°I¡¯m leaving. Are you not going to play basketball?¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± He Pingyi at last regained his consciousness. ¡°Going, going.¡±


    He took a step forward and bent down to pick up his basketball. When he stood up, he saw that Jing Can¡®s gaze was fixed on the basketball.


    ¡°Are you good at basketball?¡±


    ¡°Me?,¡± He Pingyi thought for a moment and decided to be modest. ¡°Not bad, do you want to play basketball? I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    Jing Can smiled this time, and, compared to the first time He Pingyi met him, his smile was even more open. Just like before, it was very beautiful.


    ¡°I¡¯m too short.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, anyone can play basketball, what¡¯s so important about height,¡± He emphasized again, ¡°If you want to learn, come and find me. I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know whether it was because of the urging of Class 8¡¯s physical education teacher¡¯s whistle, or Jing Can really wanted to learn, in any case, Jing Can smiled, nodded, and said, ¡°OK.¡±


    With this answer, He Pingyi held the basketball and planned to leave.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right,¡± turning around and glancing at Jing Can¡¯s ankle, He Pingyi recalled the damaged skin and the purple bruise he saw. ¡°Your ankle¡¯s injured. Do you want to go to the infirmary to take care of it? If you don¡¯t deal with it, it¡¯s easy for it to get inflamed, especially since it¡¯s summer.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s OK,¡± Jing Can didn¡¯t care much about it. He even raised his foot and let it hang for a while. ¡°It¡¯s not serious. I¡¯ll apply some medicine after school.¡±


    He Pingyi nodded.


    He Pingyi then held the ball in his arms and ran a distance away. He looked back again and found that Jing Can was still standing beside the billboard, looking at himself fixedly. His expression seemed to have once again returned to an undisturbed state. He Pingyi¡¯s heart trembled. He turned around, went back towards Jing Can, and waved.


    Jing Can didn¡¯t respond. He Pingyi soon stopped, cocked his head, and furrowed his brow, but then looked at Jing Can with a smile.


    Until Jing Can finally smiled back at him and waved gently.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    A/N: I¡¯ve been waiting for a long time~

 Chapter 3

    It rained twice in succession in Huihe City, which slightly washed away the summer heat. Because she caught a mild cold, He Pingyi¡¯s mother took IV drips for four days so that she could catch up with his father, who was on a business trip. He Pingyi asked for leave from school for these four days so he could look after her. When he went back to school, the pile of test papers and exercises on his desk made him wonder if the college entrance examination would be held next month.


    Seeing his headache, Wang Xiaowei pulled six or seven sheets from the pile of test papers and said, ¡°Do these first. These are the ones that we¡¯re going to go over in class over the next few days.¡±


    He Pingyi stared at the words on the test paper and wondered in puzzlement: ¡°Didn¡¯t we finish our lesson on this topic? Why are there so many questions to do?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t finish explaining.¡± Wang Xiaowei finished writing the word ¡°proof¡±, then took his pen and tapped it twice on the head of a paper. ¡°This is the lesson¡¯s¡­ After. Class. Questions, ah.¡±


    When the class bell rang, He Pingyi pinched his eyebrows, took a deep breath, folded the test papers into a stack, and stuffed them into his desk drawer for the time being. The Chinese teacher walked into the classroom holding his textbook in his arms. Wang Xiaowei wrote the last formula, turned the paper over to the four blank questions on the back, and finally couldn¡¯t help complaining in a low voice: ¡°What are they talking about over and over again? What quality, well-rounded education? Fart¡­¡±


    During the day the teacher was lecturing, so He Pingyi could only work on his assignments with all his might during the last free self-study session in the evening. But the problem was¡­


    He Pingyi looked at the geometric figure on the test paper and threw away his pen.


    The problem was, he also couldn¡¯t do it, ah.


    ¡°Alas.¡± He Pingyi sighed and didn¡¯t want to write any more. But he knew that, in the future, he wouldn¡¯t be able to reap anything without sowing, and he wouldn¡¯t have a chance to get rich quick overnight, so now he could only resignedly pick up the pen he had thrown away and keep writing.


    ¡°Not going, ah?¡±


    ¡°You go first.¡± He Pingyi looked at his watch and thought about how he would have to look at the physics exercises after finishing the math test paper. That set of questions was so difficult that if he didn¡¯t do it when the teacher explained, he was afraid that he might not be able to make sense of even half a word of it.


    Everyone else in the classroom left one by one. When He Pingyi finished his assignments, it was already almost 11:30 pm. He rubbed his sore shoulders, stood up, yawned, and turned off the lights.


    At this time, there were practically no people left inside the school, and even the dormitory building had entered its last short period of noise before turning off the lights. He Pingyi locked the door and briefly looked out over the railing. Several street lamps were still on, so there was virtually no darkness remaining in his field of view.


    It was the first time that He Pingyi had seen such a quiet campus. On weekdays, he always rushed to arrive on time, flying in just on the edge of not being late. And then, at the end of the day, he once again hurried away, along with a large number of college entrance exam candidates leaving the campus. Ringing school bells, lectures, reciting words from memory, discussions, and test papers being turned over, there was no lack of sounds like these in the campus everyday. He Pingyi stopped, leaned against the railing, and stretched his arm out on top of the railing so he could look at the campus below. A lone figure happened to make its way into his field of vision, wearing a school uniform, carrying a schoolbag, and wearing thick glasses.


    He Pingyi stared blankly.


    Jing Can?


    He poked his neck out again and took a closer look at the figure. After confirming that it was Jing Can, He Pingyi bent his arms and rested his upper body on the railing to see what he was doing.


    Downstairs, Jing Can trotted forward to a drainage grate on the side, extended one leg, assumed the posture of a drifting car, drew an arc on the ground with his foot, and turned around the corner.


    He Pingyi lifted his chin up from his arm. He saw Jing Can run two more steps, then stop and look back at the road he had just run.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    He Pingyi abruptly opened his mouth. Downstairs, Jing Can was startled and he trembled with fear, then he suddenly sharply raised his head to look up.


    Seeing his flustered expression, He Pingyi kept smiling and asked, ¡°I heard that you used the drainage grate to turn around the corner. It¡¯s really bogus, ah?¡±


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    ¡°Ct?¡± Alcu Jjc¡¯r gfrqbcrf kjr nfgs rajcvjgv, yea la kjr jmmbwqjclfv ys j rbwfktja mbcoerfv ojmlji fzqgfrrlbc.


    ¡°Shall we take a lap?¡± He Pingyi said this, then turned around with a smile and went downstairs.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you left yet?¡± When he saw that Jing Can was watching him walk over, He Pingyi raised his eyebrows and asked him this question.


    ¡°Doing homework.¡±


    A gust of wind suddenly arose. Jing Can was currently standing on a small stone step. When the wind blew, he didn¡¯t know whether it was cold or not and stood firm. He came down from the stone step and stamped his foot. Jing Can¡¯s hair on his forehead was too long. At that moment, he lowered his head and the hair on his forehead floated up in a sheet.


    ¡°The temperature has dropped recently. It¡¯s colder in the morning and evening. You should wear more.¡±


    The two people walked out along the teaching building side by side. Hearing what He Pingyi said, Jing Can looked at him quickly and replied seriously: ¡°I¡¯m also wearing a school uniform coat, but you¡¯re only wearing short sleeves.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± without thinking, He Pingyi immediately said, ¡°the problem is I¡¯m not cold ah.¡±


    Jing Can kicked a stone that was under his foot and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m not cold either.¡±


    After saying this, Jing Can continued to take two steps, and then he sneezed. He Pingyi bowed his head and laughed out loud. Jing Can glanced at him quickly, then pursed his lips and didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°How are you going home?¡± He Pingyi changed the subject and asked, ¡°Riding a bike?¡±


    ¡°Walking.¡±


    Probably in order to create a quiet learning atmosphere for senior high school Grade 3 students, the senior Grade 3 campus of No. 7 High School was no longer in the center of the city. To what extent was it separated from the city center? The campus had been built for five or six years, but the surrounding area had not been fully developed yet. There were no cars there during the day, and at night, you couldn¡¯t even see a single person. Fortunately, Huihe City was small. Although this location was considered to be the edge of the city in a sense, it wasn¡¯t far from the city center.


    It was the first time Jing Can stayed so late at this school. After he finished speaking, he looked towards the direction of the school gate and somewhat helplessly lowered his eyes.


    A rock rolled out again. Jing Can thought to himself, can¡¯t they install more lamps.


    He Pingyi had been continuously paying attention to the changes in Jing Can¡¯s expression. He suddenly felt that Jing Can was very contradictory, and in passing, he doubted whether his previous understanding of Jing Can was wrong. Before, when he saw Jing Can, He Pingyi completely could not guess what Jing Can was thinking when he didn¡¯t speak. But at this moment, his thoughts and every shift in his state of mind were clearly synchronized to his face in real time, which was so simple it couldn¡¯t be any simpler.


    When He Pingyi saw that Jing Can¡¯s brows were tightly locked in a frown but Jing Can didn¡¯t say anything to him, he simply patted Jing Can on the shoulder . ¡°Come with me to get my moped. It¡¯s too late at night. Let¡¯s go back together.¡±


    In a split second, Jing Can¡¯s face was full of pleasant surprise and relief, which didn¡¯t disappear at all when he raised his head to look at He Pingyi.


    He Pingyi once again denied his previous judgment of Jing Can in his heart. Such a child, how did he think that his thoughts were so deep?


    The two boys turned to go towards the vehicle shelter and, under the guidance of He Pingyi, walked straight to the side of a small electric moped.


    Looking at the design of two small purple flowers on the handlebar, Jing Can hesitated for a few seconds and in a low voice asked the person who was unlocking the moped: ¡°This is your moped ah?¡±


    ¡°Or else?¡± He Pingyi kicked away the kickstand, held the handles, and pushed the moped out. ¡°Am I even stealing a moped here at night ah? Get on the moped, don¡¯t be suspicious.¡±


    Jing Can moved to the side of the back seat, turned, and uncertainly attempted to get on twice, but ultimately didn¡¯t sit down.


    ¡°Sit cross legged and be stable.¡± He Pingyi finished explaining and reached his hand back, ¡°Give me your schoolbag.¡±


    After waiting for a while, there was still no weight in his hand. He Pingyi turned around and saw Jing Can staring at his hand, lost in thought.


    ¡°Why are you in a daze?¡± He Pingyi turned to the side and held out his hand again. ¡°Give it to me.¡±


    Cycling was not allowed in the school, but at this time, He Pingyi and Jing Can rode the moped around the school for two laps, and there was no one there to control them.


    ¡°Hey, do you also have a lot of homework in your liberal arts class?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    He Pingyi spoke suddenly, and Jing Can¡®s mind was wandering so he didn¡¯t hear him clearly.


    ¡°Homework, why do I think these teachers leave too much homework? I was working on a test paper up until now, and I still have a huge pile of unfinished work.¡± He Pingyi adjusted the direction of the moped a little and went around the side of a speed bump. ¡°What homework were you catching up on? Was it also an after-class question?¡±


    In the back seat, Jing Can pushed up his eyeglasses, paused for a moment, and then said unnaturally: ¡°No it was, it was Chinese homework¡­ composition.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± He Pingyi thought he had heard wrong, ¡°Composition?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Jing Can answered honestly, ¡°Can¡¯t write it.¡±


    He Pingyi didn¡¯t know whether or not it was his illusion, but he heard a little grievance from the three words said by Jing Can behind him.


    ¡°Me too,¡± He Pingyi smiled and tried to ease Jing Can¡¯s embarrassment. ¡°I also don¡¯t know how to write a composition.¡±


    Maybe because it wasn¡¯t a glorious topic for him, Jing Can didn¡¯t speak again. He Pingyi became lazy easily when he rode his moped, especially at times like this when the street was so quiet. If he didn¡¯t take Jing Can with him, he might have ridden slowly until he fell asleep. He narrowed his eyes slightly and enjoyed the already somewhat cool evening breeze. The person behind him was also quiet the whole time.


    ¡°In the last few days, why haven¡¯t I¡­ why haven¡¯t I run into you at all?¡±


    Somewhat unexpectedly, after they passed one more block, Jing Can spoke first and broke the silence.


    ¡°Oh, something happened at home. I asked for a few days off.¡± He Pingyi finished speaking and thought for a while, ¡°But I also haven¡¯t seen you before ah, maybe because I don¡¯t go out of the classroom very often, so there aren¡¯t many opportunities to meet.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Jing Can asked softly.


    When he stopped at a red light, He Pingyi swept towards the direction of his home and suddenly recalled that he had just taken Jing Can and left without asking where his home was.


    ¡°Hey?¡± He Pingyi felt that his mind was probably not very bright at the moment. He Pingyi wanted to laugh, ¡°Where is your home ah? I forgot to ask you and you also didn¡¯t tell me. If I took you and dragged you away to sell you¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t finish his sentence because Jing Can suddenly reached out one hand and grabbed his clothes on one side of his waist. If his clothes didn¡¯t tighten and stick to his skin, He Pingyi might not have noticed the weight at all.


    The finger that peeked out on the side of his waist was so white that it was practically transparent. He Pingyi swept a glance at it and suddenly forgot what he wanted to say a moment ago.


    Turn left.


    ¡°39 Yanchao Road.¡±


    All the way until He Pingyi drove to Yanchao Road and stopped, Jing Can¡¯s hand didn¡¯t let go of his waist. He Pingyi also thought that Jing Can was riding too steadily. It turned out that Jing Can actually fell asleep in the back seat, so He Pingyi turned back, removed Jing Can¡¯s hand, and patted his arm. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Jing Can responded rather slowly, then very quickly got off the moped.


    He Pingyi turned his head to the side, glanced at the big house to look inside, and found that all of the lights in it were turned off. He raised his chin and said, ¡°Go back quickly. Your family members are all asleep.¡±


    Jing Can nodded obediently and turned around, and He Pingyi watched him as he walked towards the house. Unexpectedly, after taking a few steps, Jing Can suddenly turned his head back. He looked like he wanted to say something but was hesitant.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± He Pingyi took the initiative to ask.


    ¡°Earlier, you said it wrong.¡± Jing Can appeared to be somewhat nervous. He said this very slowly, as if he was testing whether He Pingyi would feel bad because of what he said. ¡°It should be, ¡®I also want to take a lap with you, do you have time?¡¯¡±


    He Pingyi just realized that what Jing Can said was the movie line he had said before.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Actually, he really didn¡¯t remember this sentence clearly. He estimated that what Jing Can said should be right, but seeing that he corrected himself so seriously, he suddenly wanted to tease him, ¡°Why do I think that what I said just now was right? Could you be remembering it incorrectly ah?¡±


    ¡°Impossible.¡± Jing Can didn¡¯t hesitate this time. He looked at He Pingyi and there were bright stars in his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s impossible for me to remember it incorrectly.¡±


    At that moment, Jing Can¡¯s face had a look that He Pingyi had never seen on it before  ¨C self-confidence and certainty.


    All of a sudden, He Pingyi was truly stunned.


    Seeing that he didn¡¯t respond, Jing Can¡¯s face flashed with some chagrin. He thought he had rudely embarrassed He Pingyi, so he hurriedly said ¡°goodbye¡± and turned to run away.


    ¡°Hey.¡± He Pingyi didn¡¯t understand why he suddenly fled. He slightly leaned forward and, with a smile on his face, called for him to stop.


    Jing Can turned his head, stopped where he was, and gazed at him. He Pingyi hooked up one corner of his mouth and smiled roguishly.


    ¡°I have time ah,¡± He Pingyi said. ¡°I¡¯ll come to pick you up early tomorrow morning, 6:50.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    A/N: Here are the lines of the movie ¡°Initial D¡±, there is also a meme/catchphrase behind this.