Run-Up. Takeoff.

"Ah—"

The girls in class sighed in disappointment.

Ridiculous. Tang Zhe’s jump hadn’t even cleared the height of his last attempt—he’d been smacked straight down by the bar.

"Huff…"

The sports trainee battling him for first place breathed a sigh of relief. To him, Tang Zhe’s stamina seemed utterly drained. This jump was lower than his height from two rounds ago. Meanwhile, he’d only lightly brushed the bar before failing. Victory was his.

It had been messy, but his dignity was saved. If a few sports trainees got swept by a regular student at the meet, people would laugh their heads off.

"Huff…"

What he didn’t expect was Tang Zhe sighing in relief too.

Truth was, Tang Zhe had half-assed that jump. He was tired, sure—but not powerless. Honestly, he’d barely used any strength.

So on the second jump, he stunned everyone.

"Hah!"

His shout startled nearby girls. Cleanly, he cleared a height even years-trained athletes couldn’t surpass.

Holy crap!

What a massive embarrassment!

The sports students’ faces darkened. What kind of freak was this?

"Yay—!"

The class girls cheered wildly. Admittedly, Tang Zhe’s leap won him secret admirers. Bonus points for his looks—he could probably snag a girlfriend in class now. Though, realistically? Nah.

Meanwhile, Li Mo—who’d been secretly watching—slipped away after he cleared the bar. Her expression was sour.

Before registration, he’d looked down on her. Sure, he was skilled and took first place—but why had she felt so happy? Remembering her worry before his final jump and the joy when he soared, she wanted to slap herself awake. And that powerful leap after his shout… she’d actually thought Tang Zhe looked cool.

Though he was handsome… that moment was clearly—

"Huff… Calm down. Calm down."

Hiding in a bathroom stall, she pressed her hand to her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart. Useless.

"Idiot, why so excited? It’s not your win—why act pumped?!"

Frustrated, she thumped her chest. Ouch. Her face burned. Had she awakened a superpower? One that made her burst into flames?

Wild thoughts swirled, but she refused to face the truth. The scene replayed: Tang Zhe’s shift from careless to serious after their accidental eye contact before the final round… Damn it! So cool too!

"Ahhh…"

Her mind turned to mush. Li Mo gave up, leaned against the door, covered her flushed face, and squatted.

I must… be broken somewhere…

…

…

"What’s wrong?"

When Li Mo returned to the class stands, Tang Zhe was already back. The homeroom teacher had ditched to slack off in the office. Girls crowded around Tang Zhe. He was teaming up with Shen Yi and others in a game, but the groups were split—coordination sucked. Some girls chatted him up about nothing, making him awkward.

"Nothing."

Li Mo’s mood soured. She squeezed between Tang Zhe and a girl, shoving the other aside. Li Mo was never polite in class. Though oddly well-behaved lately, girls didn’t dare complain.

She’d saved Tang Zhe from awkwardness—though she didn’t see it that way. Annoyed, she snapped, "Finish fast. Let me join."

"Ah… well."

Tang Zhe sighed helplessly, showing her his screen. "Four players… full."

…

*Can’t you play with me? You barely know them—why them and not me? Switch games! Five-player ones exist!*

She burned to yell jealous words at him. But she’d just calmed down—no losing control again. Outwardly, she sulked. Ignoring him, she stared at the field, thoughts drifting.

"Ah…"

No surprise—she was angry again. But this time, her anger didn’t fluster him. It made her… cute.

Holy crap!

Something’s wrong.

Tang Zhe had felt this before, but now it was different. Weird! Earlier, he’d just lusted after Li Mo’s looks—thought him kinda cute. But now…

That sulking face, deliberately showing anger, wanting comfort but too dense to get it, then giving up sadly… With his looks, he was a cute girl upset by a clueless guy, with nowhere to vent.

It triggered Tang Zhe hard—so hard he feared he’d turn gay.

Damn it. Making this guy masculine was urgent. Or he’d end up gay! Cutting ties would solve it. This thought had crossed his mind before. Li Mo looked and acted like a girl—tsundere, willfully spoiled toward him. Only childhood friendship made it bearable.

But in the end… he couldn’t. That image of him alone on a bench… Sigh.

*I’ll ask what game he wants later.*

"Now announcing senior year high jump results: First place, Li Mo, proceed to the podium. Second place…"

The broadcast echoed. Everyone heard. Classmates immediately yelled at Li Mo and Tang Zhe to collect awards—they didn’t care about fallout, just wanted fun.

The pair ignored it. But a PE teacher arrived, demanding, "Who’s Li Mo? Go now!"

"Okay, okay. Coming."

As they stalled, Liu Shishi stood. She smiled sweetly at the teacher, then kicked both their butts. "Go get your medals. Move."

She yanked them up. While the teacher turned away, she shoved them into the stairwell. "Hide in the bathroom. Don’t come out."

"Huh? Oh."

Bewildered, they stumbled off.

"Huff… Such a hassle."

Liu Shishi planted hands on hips, sighing. These two were hopeless—she had to fix this.

"Huh? Where’d they go?"

The PE teacher turned back, finding no one. He walked over.

"Hmm? No clue," Liu Shishi played dumb. "Probably busy on a date with his partner."