Thump-thump-thump—

The rhythmic thud of basketballs hitting backboards and rims echoed across the court.

Even at noon, the playground buzzed with players across three courts. Students lounged in the shaded corridors and pavilions, chatting or studying.

Lin Shu and Su Nuan cut straight through the courts toward the teaching building.

A basketball slammed off the backboard and hurtled toward Su Nuan’s head.

Lin Shu lunged forward, leapt, and caught it cleanly. He dribbled twice to feel the ball, then launched a textbook fadeaway jumper. Swish. The net trembled.

"Nice shot."

Lin Shu pumped his fist. He turned—and froze. Su Nuan was staring at him, a trace of coldness in her eyes.

"Why stop now? Go play with them. Lunch break still has thirty minutes left."

"Nah. I don’t even know them." Lin Shu waved his hands.

His daily exercise quota was already maxed out. Two PE classes a week felt like torture. Playing a full game now would wreck his afternoon classes.

"If only you were this diligent with your studies."

The classroom held only seven or eight students. Even the class couple was there—locked in a shameless embrace, far bolder than Lin Shu and Su Nuan’s fake relationship.

Su Nuan dropped her bag at her desk, then dragged her chair beside Lin Shu’s. She pulled out an English test paper.

"Let’s study English. Rote memorization would bore you to death. We’ll start with multiple-choice questions to build your confidence. Interest makes learning twice as effective."

"Or crush my confidence and make me hate English more?"

Lin Shu’s English was stuck at middle-school level—maybe worse. He guessed blindly through a few questions before his eyelids grew heavy.

Su Nuan twisted his thigh flesh, left then right. The searing pain jolted him awake. She never changed spots.

After twenty questions, Su Nuan graded his answers with a red pen. She made him translate each question, hinted at unknown words, then re-answer.

Right or wrong, she explained every concept—vocabulary, grammar, everything.

As the classroom filled and class time neared, Lin Shu finally escaped English hell.

"Your accuracy’s decent when you focus. We’ll continue tomorrow."

"Tomorrow’s Saturday."

"Can’t study on Saturdays?"

Lin Shu had no comeback.

"No evening self-study tonight. I’ll have extra training. I’ll be here late. Don’t wait for me."

"I *will* wait! I said it before—if nothing urgent comes up, we leave school together. That’s non-negotiable. Besides..." Su Nuan leaned closer, voice dropping. "We have important business tonight. Did you forget?"

She carried her chair back to her seat.

*Important business? The contract?*

After the last two afternoon classes, Lin Shu slipped out to change in the playground restroom.

He’d just stripped off his shirt when Yang Chao slammed into his back.

"Lin Shu! You’re trending! Check the confession wall account!"

"I didn’t add it."

Yang Chao thrust his phone forward. The screen showed an anonymous post on the school’s confession wall:

"*Sisters, exposing a campus player: Lin Shu, Class 6 Grade 10, sports-track student. Two-timing girls, playing with emotions. Stay away.*"

Attached was a heavily blurred photo—Lin Shu eating breakfast on the lawn that morning with Gu Chu Chu and Su Nuan.

Gu Chu Chu and Su Nuan’s faces were pixelated beyond recognition. Lin Shu’s? Crystal clear. Even his class was exposed.

Comments flooded in:

"*Poor Su Nuan has such a great girlfriend, yet he cheats?*"

"*He’s had dozens of girlfriends. Changes them like clothes. Total player. Hope they break up soon.*"

Gu Chu Chu got less attention. Two theories dominated: she was an innocent victim tricked by Lin Shu, or the homewrecker destroying his relationship with Su Nuan.

The blurring made the photo’s authenticity questionable.

"Is this really you? Some Photoshop prank? You don’t even *have* a girlfriend! And Su Nuan? Who’d frame you like this?"

"I *did* offend someone. Let’s head to the court."

Teammates from the sports class swarmed Lin Shu, demanding the truth. He dodged their questions.

But a few girls who’d seen the trio that morning spilled the tea:

"*Lin Shu and Su Nuan are basically a couple. Even the homeroom teacher called them to the office today...*"

Yang Chao gripped Lin Shu’s shoulders, shaking him. "Tell me it’s fake."

"Yeah. It’s fake."

Lin Shu wasn’t lying.

"Your gaming time with us won’t shrink, right? Can you hit Q-Wan tonight?"

"Doubt it..."

Hou Fei slapped Lin Shu’s back. "Bro, don’t let girls waste your prime years."

"Pity. I was gonna milk you for two mango pomelo sagos."

"Seriously? You pick the most expensive drink in the shop! You two could share one."

"Not a bad idea."

Yang Chao and Hou Fei nodded. They often shared water bottles anyway. Lin Shu always drank with the bottle hovering mid-air—a habit they exploited by squirting water up his nose. As fellow basketball team members, they trained together constantly. Their bond ran deep.

By the fourth afternoon class, Lin Shu spotted Su Nuan waiting under the pavilion, backpack ready.

Her class had self-study—probably chaotic with weekend fever setting in.

When the dismissal bell rang, Gu Chu Chu arrived. The two girls exchanged silent glances.

One read a book. The other scrolled her phone. *Would they fight?*

Forty minutes of brutal training later, groans filled the field. Routine static stretches and leg trampling began.

Lin Shu lay facedown on the grass. His heart sank as Su Nuan closed her book and walked over. *She’s planning some grand couple-act stunt again.*

Gu Chu Chu hesitated, then followed—keeping a careful distance.

Su Nuan clapped her hands before Lin Shu. "Excuse me. May I help Lin Shu with his cooldown?"

"P-please... go ahead."

Stammering, Yang Chao leapt off Lin Shu’s back and fled.

"What should I do?" Su Nuan tilted her head. "Hmm... stand on him like them?"

"No. Just tap his calves with loose fists. Or I can do active stretches myself."

Active stretches worked better, but being trampled? Painful yet blissful.

"Nope. Lie still. I’m stepping on you today."

Su Nuan slipped off her red tennis shoe, revealing a white ankle sock. Her foot landed squarely on Lin Shu’s hip.

"Where exactly? Any special pressure points?"

"We don’t fuss over acupoints. We just feel for tight knots. Stand on the leg, find the hard spots—especially the Achilles tendon. Three steps, guaranteed agony. Gets worse with every step." Lin Shu shuddered.

"Proper cooldown is crucial. Lactic acid builds up."

Yang Chao had planned to stretch alone—until the coach decided to "help."

"*Brother Monkey, save me—!*"

Under the coach’s stinky soles, Yang Chao clawed the grass, howling like a slaughtered pig. Everyone ignored him. The pain was real, but the next-day relief was worth it. The foot odor? Unbearable.

"I see. I see."

Su Nuan mimicked the coach’s technique.

"Hurts?"

"A little. Press harder."

Her foot was too gentle.

"Leg trampling is outdated! Uneven pressure ruins muscle fibers. I learned a new massage technique online. Let me handle senior’s cooldown!" Gu Chu Chu puffed out her chest.

She knelt on the other side, straightened Lin Shu’s calf, then used half-clenched fists to knead the muscles upward. She scraped along the fascial seams—but tired after a few sets. Her arms ached.

"Already giving up? All show, no go?" Su Nuan teased.

Lin Shu recognized the technique. Critics *did* trash leg trampling—it damaged fascia and muscle alignment. But students had no time. After cooldown came dinner, then evening self-study. Hot baths? Saunas? Forget it. Gu Chu Chu’s method exhausted the *masseur*. Everyone was half-dead after training. They just wanted relief.

No one got crippled by trampling. So they kept using it.

Foam rollers and massage guns were pricey and time-consuming. The former suited beginners; the latter needed pros. Lin Shu occasionally used a yoga roller at home.

"Can’t you two sync up? Different methods on each leg feels weird."

"*No!*"

His suggestion was instantly rejected.

"My massage is *way* comfier than Senior Su’s!"

A bizarre rivalry ignited.

"Don’t you even know Lin Xiaoshu *likes* being stepped on?"

"Senior... is that true?"

"Don’t make it sound like a fetish! Only after workouts—it feels good."

"Then I’ll step on you too, senior!"

Gu Chu Chu kicked off her canvas shoes, revealing pink socks. She planted her feet on Lin Shu’s calves.

Their pressures never matched. But Lin Shu got trampled to his heart’s content.

Except Su Nuan kept "accidentally" stomping his hips. Revenge, clearly.