“Everyone, listen up! I’ll remind you one last time. Tomorrow, the senior executives from our school’s investor, Skyvoid Group, will form an inspection team and come to Skyvoid Academy for a visit. You all better be on full alert and show them your very best side!”

“““We knoooow~~~~~~~~~~”””

Homeroom teacher Li Zhen of Class 2-3 clenched his fist on the podium, voice full of fighting spirit, but the response from below was nothing but lazy drawls. Seeing all those slack expressions, his already-knitted brows tightened even more. Academy leadership would also be doing rounds in every class tomorrow, and this directly affected his teaching evaluation. Just as he was about to hammer the point in again—

Ring ring ring ring ring.

The clear afternoon dismissal bell rang out. The students below instantly burst into commotion. Everyone perked right up, eyes burning holes into Li Zhen. He let out a helpless sigh.

“Alright, class dismissed.”

“Yesss! Finally over!”

“Old Li was so damn naggy today.”

“Yeah, it’s just some inspection. What’s the big deal?”

“But I heard the chairman of the Group is coming this time.”

“Tch, what’s that got to do with me? He’s gotta be some old dude, and it’s not like he’ll bump my grades.”

Watching his students suddenly act like they’d just mainlined chicken blood and casually call him Old Li to his face, Li Zhen could only stand there, helpless and exasperated.

(Sigh, better just head home early and spend some time with the wife and kid.)

Thinking that, he packed up his teaching materials and got ready to leave.

The campus of Skyvoid Academy, quiet just moments ago, burst into noise as soon as the bell finished ringing. Energetic students streamed along the paths, walking and chatting.

At the back row by the window, Lin Yichen was slumped over his desk, limp as a noodle. His brain had been running at full throttle all through class; now he just wanted to shut it down for a bit.

The boy in front turned to talk to him.

“Hey, hey, Yichen, Skyvoid Group’s people are coming. Isn’t your sister one of their higher–ups? Is she coming too?”

“How would I know? She didn’t tell me anything. And you already have a girlfriend, so why are you worrying about my sister?”

“I’m just asking, haha… Come on, stop lying there. You packed up yet?”

“Yeah, doing it now.”

The boy talking to Yichen was Le Zhenghong, one of his close friends. His hair was exaggeratedly spiked upward, metal accessories hanging off him, but that sunny, handsome face carried an easy, hearty grin.

Most people couldn’t figure out how someone who looked like a total delinquent like Zhenghong had ended up friends with someone as model–student as Yichen. But Yichen knew Zhenghong only looked bad on the outside.

After Yichen finished packing, the two of them walked out of the classroom together.

Skyvoid Academy was famous for its active clubs, so after school most students headed straight for their clubrooms.

“Yichen, have you thought about that thing yet?”

“What thing?”

“What else? Joining our basketball club, obviously.”

“Sorry, I still don’t want to join the basketball club.”

Yichen rejected him without hesitation.

Zhenghong sighed, then immediately flashed an easygoing smile.

“I see. Alright then. But if you ever change your mind, you’d better tell me. With your talent, you’re super welcome no matter when you join.”

“Haha, you’re exaggerating. Got it.”

Zhenghong stretched with a lazy groan, then shrugged with a relaxed look.

“Man, seems like this persuasion attempt failed too.”

“You call that persuasion? You’re just completing a mission for your club president.”

Yichen shot him a disdainful look.

“Hey, hey, sure, the president did tell me to rope you in. But I genuinely want you in the club too, you know.”

Last week, during a friendly match inside the basketball club, Yichen had gone on as a substitute by coincidence. His ball handling was nothing special, but his three–point shooting from outside the arc had an absurdly high hit rate.

After that match, the club president started inviting Yichen to join nonstop, and as both a club member and Yichen’s friend, Zhenghong was naturally given the job of talking him into it.

But Zhenghong knew Yichen’s heart wasn’t really in that sort of thing, so he mostly just went through the motions.

“Oh right, you’re coming to the game on Saturday, yeah? The president’s super hyped about it.”

Zhenghong tossed out another request. Yichen thought for a moment.

“I’ll… think about it.”

By then they’d reached a fork in the path. Zhenghong sighed.

“Alright, I’m heading to the club. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

The two of them split, each heading in a different direction.

Yichen walked slowly, taking in the scenery as he went. The campus scenery was one of Skyvoid Academy’s highlights. If he had to describe it in one line, it’d be: a beautiful garden–style campus. Yichen really liked strolling along the school paths like this, taking his time and enjoying the view.

Just as he was about to reach the school gate, a burst of noise came from the tennis courts beside the path. Yichen saw several dozen boys clustered around the outside fence.

“Does that mean Shiyue has a match today?”

Muttering to himself, he headed over. Sure enough, inside the court two girls were locked in a fierce rally. One of them, a long–haired girl in tennis whites, was exactly the “Shiyue” he’d mentioned. He didn’t recognize the short–haired girl on the other side—probably from another school.

Almost every gaze around the court was glued to the girl named Shiyue.

Her full name was Shiyue Zhao, ace of the girls’ division in Skyvoid Academy’s tennis club. She’d once made it into the top four at the national high school tennis tournament. She had classic, delicate features and a gorgeous figure, and her grades were always near the top of the year. Add in how approachable she was, with none of that top–student arrogance, and it was no surprise she’d become the school beauty and idol rolled into one. On normal days, the tennis courts only ever drew this big of a crowd when she was on court.

Right now, her summer tennis outfit showed off every curve of her stunning body, and her running, racket–swinging motions radiated youth from head to toe.

Both girls had solid skills, but Shiyue’s was clearly a step above. With clean, elegant swings, she kept her opponent under steady pressure.

The boys around them cheered with every beautiful shot she made, but the real reason they were all so drawn to her needed no explanation.

While the boys surrounded her like stars circling the moon, yelling her name and shouting encouragement, Yichen stayed calm, just watching quietly.

All of a sudden, right in the middle of a heated rally, Shiyue turned and looked straight at him. Those dark, bright eyes met his for a brief second, then slid back to her opponent.

It was only a moment, but in the middle of a match the movement was obvious. Quite a few boys who noticed her line of sight followed it to Yichen, their eyes full of confusion and jealousy. Yichen could only give a bitter little smile.

Just then, his phone rang. He pulled it out, checked the caller ID, and a joyful smile tugged at his face. He stepped aside and hit accept.

“Hello, Sis.”

“Yichen, are you out of school yet?”

A soft, melodious female voice came through the speaker.

“Yeah, just finished. I’m heading to cram school. What’s up?”

“Eh~~? I can’t call if there’s nothing up?”

Her tone turned a little teasing.

“Of course you can… Just spit it out already.”

Yichen deliberately sounded impatient, but the corners of his mouth couldn’t help twitching upward.

“Honestly, I don’t remember ever teaching you to talk to your sister like that.”

“Yes, ma’am~ Just say it already, I’m almost out of the school gate.”

“I’m coming home tomorrow.”

The very next second, Yichen’s face lit up like a kid getting a long–awaited present. Realizing how obvious it was, he hurried to smooth his expression out again. No way was he letting anyone see him react like that.

“Oh. How many days?”

“Two or three, I guess. Geez, you used to get so excited when you heard I was coming back. Why do you sound so cold now~”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m thrilled. So when are you getting home?”

“Friday night. Ah, but it’ll probably be a bit late, so you don’t have to wait up. Oh, but you might see me a little earlier than that.”

Zixuan’s voice turned mysteriously playful.

“That’s tomorrow, isn’t it?” Yichen suddenly remembered that Skyvoid Group was coming to visit. “Sis, are you coming to school tomorrow?”

“Heehee, you’ll have to guess.”

“Uh, fine, don’t tell me then. Bye.”

“Tch~ See you tomorrow, bye–bye.”

Yichen hung up and stared at the screen for a moment, the joy in his chest spilling right back onto his face.

Ever since that trip, he hadn’t seen his sister Zixuan for more than two weeks.

He checked the time on his phone: 5:15. It was getting late, so Yichen headed straight out the school gate.

Ten minutes’ walk from the gate brought him to the base of a tall building. On the outside, big characters read: Xinghuo Cram School.

That’s right, Yichen was going to tutoring.

Before high school, he’d been the classic slacker, messing around all day with a bunch of good–for–nothing buddies. Getting into Skyvoid Academy at all had only been possible because of his sister’s connections. For various reasons, once he started high school, Yichen decided to actually try. But with his rock–bottom entrance exam scores, he just couldn’t keep up with the school curriculum. Cram school was his only option.

Now that he was in his second year, his grades had at least reached honor–student level. But with his weak foundation, he’d decided to stay in cram school until the end of the first semester of Year Two.

His session was an hour and a half, from 5:30 to 7:00.

Time passed quickly. Stretching lazily to loosen his stiff body, Yichen walked out of the cram school building.

Standing by the roadside in front of the entrance was a girl with long, jet–black hair. Her graceful figure stood straight and tall. A light breeze blew past, making that glossy hair sway and ripple. Her head was slightly lowered, the corner of her delicate profile lifted in a faint smile, as if she were quietly looking forward to something. Passersby couldn’t help sneaking glances at her one after another.

It was the same Shiyue Zhao from the tennis court.

Yichen walked over without thinking about it.

“Shiyue, have you been waiting long?”

The girl called Shiyue blinked in surprise, then, seeing him, broke into a sweet smile.

“I just got here.”

“Let’s go then.”

“Mm.”

After finishing up at the tennis club, Shiyue had headed out alone. No one would have guessed she’d gone to the cram school to wait for Yichen.

The two of them walked side by side.

“Shiyue, did the tennis club have a match today?”

“It was a friendly with the tennis club from the school next door. You came by to watch just now, didn’t you?”

Her smile grew a little brighter as she said it, clearly happy.

“I only watched for a bit on my way out. So, you won?”

“Mm. But my opponent was really strong too. Looks like there’ll be a lot of tough rivals at the next tournament.”

“Haha, congrats.”

“How about you, Yichen? Is the cram school going okay?”

“Not bad. I’m planning to stick with it for one more semester.”

“I see. Do your best, okay?”

Her voice was soft and gentle, and paired with that quiet way of speaking, it had a strangely soothing effect.

They walked and talked like that, and ten minutes later they reached a residential district in the eastern part of the city. At the entrance stood a lavish gate, and inside were rows of standalone villas. One look and it was obvious that normal people could never afford to live there. The place was called Dingfeng Shangjing, one of the most upscale residential areas in Heavenly Bay City.

Once inside, the two of them headed to a villa at the very back.

This was Yichen’s home.

The villa covered 720 square meters, one of the most luxurious mansions in the whole estate. But despite all that space, only Yichen and his sister Zixuan lived there—and Zixuan was rarely home.

Shiyue wasn’t here to hang out or visit as a guest.

She was here because she worked here.