"Sister Su Nuan, I hope it's fine if I call you that too? I'm aiming for the same high school as my brother—City No. 1."

"You can just call me sis, Yiyi."

"Sister Su Nuan, you're rushing things. Being the girlfriend of a block of wood like him must be exhausting, right?"

"Sometimes it is tiring. But isn’t it more meaningful when two clumsy first-timers learn and grow together?"

"Hey! Weren’t we talking about *my* situation? Why are you two chatting away?" Gu Chuchu protested.

"What’s there to discuss about your mess? We’ve gone over it endlessly."

"Wishing you both luck with tomorrow’s plan. I’m heading to bed now. Goodnight, everyone."

After sending the message in the group chat, Lin Yiyi texted Lin Shu privately: "Goodnight, Brother."

Her bedtime had arrived.

"I’m turning in too. Gotta train early tomorrow."

Staying up late felt great, but waking up early hurt. He regretted not sleeping sooner last night. Thankfully, after a day packed with training and studying, Lin Shu had no trouble drifting off.

Su Nuan and Gu Chuchu also bid goodnight in the group before privately messaging Lin Shu.

"Goodnight. That greedy Gu Chuchu will definitely push you into more outrageous things tomorrow. Watch yourself."

"Can’t wait for tomorrow, Senior. Goodnight."

After all that discussion, their plan was simple: eat breakfast together in the sports storage room, then have Lin Shu walk Gu Chuchu back to her classroom. If Dash was there, Lin Shu would ask him to meet after school—better than Gu Chuchu inviting him herself, to avoid misunderstandings like Tian Peng’s.

Su Nuan thought Gu Chuchu should invite Dash herself. Give him hope, then crush it. The sharp disappointment might make him back off.

Lin Shu didn’t want Gu Chuchu’s relationship with Dash to turn hostile. If Dash got angry, her position in class would grow even more awkward—opposite to their original goal. After all, Lin Shu’s classroom was several buildings away. Too far to help in time.

Lin Shu woke up grumpier than usual, lingering in bed. His dad’s snores still rumbled loudly—he must’ve just fallen asleep after spending the night with Auntie Liang at the bar. Things were heating up between them.

At school, he spotted a familiar absence during morning drills: Yang Chao. *Since when does he show up?*

"Lin Shu, how’d you pull off another big stunt? You’re on the Confession Wall again!" Yang Chao slapped his back excitedly.

"So you spend all day scrolling online?"

Turns out he’d only come early for gossip.

"Look—someone’s asking who this cool dunking guy is and wants his contact info. Anonymous."

"Seriously? Doesn’t anyone remember?"

"Not everyone saw last week’s post. And you were *too* cool yesterday—it’s hard to connect the dots. Comments below have people pointing it out. Some girls even said they like you *more* after learning you’re ‘two-timing.’ Guess it’s true—bad boys get the girls."

"Ugh! Why didn’t you call me for a chance to shine like that, Bro Shu? Teach me your ways! I wanna be popular too!" Yang Chao shook him vigorously.

Lin Shu wished he knew the secret himself—Su Nuan and Gu Chuchu’s confessions were fake. He brushed it off.

"Do you have a sister?" Lin Shu asked seriously.

"No? Why?"

"Then I can’t help you."

"What does having a sister have to do with popularity? Are you trying to trade my sister for secrets?"

"You read too many comics. I meant—if you had a sister your age, you could talk to her about what girls like or hate at this age. Use it as reference."

"Bro Shu, what about cousins? Female cousins?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Then I’ll introduce them to you."

"Were you even listening? I said *talk to them* about dating."

"But we don’t get along! If they tell my uncles I asked about dating tips, I’ll never survive New Year’s at home. Better to ‘offer’ them to you in exchange for popularity secrets. There’s gotta be one or two you’d like."

"I told you, there’s no secret! But if you want dunking tips, I’ll share my training routine. For equipment, use my dad’s gym. On quiet weekend mornings when I’m there, you can train without a membership. I’ll coach you—I’m getting my fitness trainer cert tomorrow anyway."

He’d just turned seventeen, and his skills were already up to standard.

"Bro Shu, here are my cousins’ WeChat IDs. Which one do you want? Or all?"

"None. Drills started five minutes ago. Run."

*Sigh.* All that beating around the bush just to learn dunks.

Today, a foldable desk sat atop the ping-pong table in the sports storage room, holding their breakfast. It almost looked proper.

"We should clean this place up sometime. No one comes up to this loft but us," Su Nuan said, swinging her legs. "Not even a lightbulb installed."

"Sure! How about this weekend?"

On this, Gu Chuchu and Su Nuan actually agreed.

"Can’t this weekend. I’m busy picking up my sister for her No. 1 High entrance exam."

"Early admission exams are this weekend. My classroom’s a testing site—I have to move all my books out. I was gonna take them to the office, but everyone’ll do that. Books might go missing. Maybe I’ll just move them here."

After breakfast, Gu Chuchu beamed, hooking her arm through Lin Shu’s as they walked toward the middle school building. She kept glancing back at Su Nuan, winking and sticking out her tongue.

Su Nuan’s icy glare sent a chill down Lin Shu’s spine.

When the middle school section was added, the new campus was still under construction. For now, both sections shared one building. Even after completion, enrollment would expand.

Lin Shu occasionally visited for physics and chemistry labs. Floors one to three held middle school classrooms; four and five were labs. He only used the stairs, never wandering the corridors.

Wearing his high school uniform—and fresh off multiple Confession Wall features—Lin Shu drew stares and whispers wherever he went.

Walking Gu Chuchu into her classroom silenced the noisy room instantly. A strong smell of steamed pork buns hung in the air.

The back blackboard still displayed Qingming Festival artwork. Lin Shu’s class had erased theirs weeks ago for math homework.

"Senior, this is my seat."

Gu Chuchu sat at the front row, first desk.

"Figures. I’m always in the very back."

"Because you’re so tall, Senior."

She stood on tiptoe but couldn’t reach his head. Lin Shu lowered his head slightly, letting her ruffle his hair.

Liu Benyu—Dash—sat in the very back row, a basketball tucked under his desk.

Lin Shu walked over. "Dash, free after lunch?"

"For a little while, yeah."

"Let’s talk at the pavilion. It’s about Chuchu."

"Okay, Senior Lin Shu."

Polite enough—but his fists were clenched tight.

"I’m heading back to class. Pay attention," Lin Shu said, flicking Gu Chuchu’s nose—a deliberate display of affection for the whole class to see.

"Senior, let me walk you out!"

The moment Lin Shu reached the door, Gu Chuchu chased after him. She sandwiched his large hand between her small ones, front and back. After they left, the classroom buzzed until morning reading began.

Lin Shu sprinted back to his own classroom, barely making it. The monitor’s seat was empty. Then someone announced the class group chat had been disbanded.

Lin Shu checked his phone. The student-only group—without teachers—had been dissolved by the monitor. The official group, managed by their homeroom teacher, still existed. The monitor had simply quit. *What the…*

"Guess you really got him expelled."

Su Nuan’s message popped up. Lin Shu glanced at her seat. She caught his eye and swayed happily in her chair.

"You share the blame too."