"Whoa, Ji Fan, you moron!" Yue Feather thought fast, flipped over the table, scrambled out of his seat, and tackled Ji Fan into a playful scuffle.

"What the heck are you doing?"

"Didn’t you say you loved me? Come on, I’ll accept your love today."

"What the hell? When did I ever say that?" Ji Fan looked utterly bewildered, blocking Yue Feather’s advances.

The crowd’s attention, barely settled on Zhan Qi, instantly snapped to the two boys.

Most yawned and turned back to their own tasks.

"Ugh, those two clowns—so loud this early morning…"

"Just get together already! I ship you!" a fangirl shouted excitedly, nearly waving imaginary glow sticks.

"So, who’s the top and who’s the bottom between them?"

"Hmm… Ji Fan’s gotta be the top. Yue Feather seems more like the bottom."

"Eh~ I think Yue Feather should be the top…"

"Why?"

"A tsundere bottom and a weak top."

"Hmm… kinda makes sense…"

Yue Feather dragged Ji Fan all the way to the hallway, sighed in relief, and finally let go.

"What the heck was that for?" Ji Fan looked completely lost.

"You idiot, do you even realize what you just did?"

"What?"

"What you said."

"I was just caring about Zhan Qi!"

"You don’t show care like that! And you yelled way too loud. If you had bad acne, would you want everyone staring?"

"Oh… yeah, I guess…"

"I thought you were a love expert. Guess you’ve got zero emotional intelligence…"

"Darn it, I just didn’t think!"

"Alright, alright…"

"Do you think Zhan Qi will hate me?"

"How should I know? You’re the one who likes her. But Zhan Qi’s so sweet—she probably won’t hate you that easily."

"Ah… I hope so…" Ji Fan patted Yue Feather’s shoulder hard, dead serious. "Thanks for bailing me out. Help me more next time, okay?"

"Got it… you’re sitting right behind me anyway…"

"Two desks behind."

"Same thing. It’s close enough—we’ll have chances."

"Hmm… probably."

A light rain had dampened the playground that morning, but it didn’t stop outdoor activities like the assembly.

After English class, Yue Feather felt drained. His English was pitiful; grammar was all Greek to him, and memorizing a few words was a win.

Tong Junxiao sat behind Yue Feather, with the class monitor beside him. The two desk mates shared stiff, silent air.

Not a single word passed between them all morning—even during breaks.

"Seriously? Aren’t they supposed to be a couple?" Yue Feather thought. Even he and Zhan Qi exchanged a few words, like "Excuse me, bathroom break."

The fourth period was PE—a rare sight near semester’s end. Art and other minor classes vanished too. Today wasn’t for fun; it was fitness testing. The PE final exam.

Yue Feather hated fourth-period PE most when it meant tests. Intense exercise right before lunch killed his appetite. Lunchtime was short—he’d force down a little, then starve later. He usually ate extra at noon to save money, but this ruined everything.

Only two tests: long-distance running (1000m boys, 800m girls), then pull-ups for boys, sit-ups for girls. All Yue Feather’s weaknesses. Honestly, he sucked at every sport except sit-and-reach. His flexibility beat most girls’—touching his toes was effortless.

Everyone had vanity. Even low-key Yue Feather did. He stayed low-key because he had no skills to show off.

At pull-ups, he barely managed one using jump momentum. The second attempt? Half a rep. He hung awkwardly on the bar.

"Hang for two minutes, and I’ll pass you," the PE teacher said "generously."

Yue Feather rolled his eyes. Embarrassing, but he needed to pass. Two minutes crawled by. His arms burned until the teacher finally called, "Down."

"Not bad. Three minutes."

"..." Yue Feather bit back a curse and trudged aside.

"Wow, Yue Feather! You hung that long—why not do more pull-ups?" Wei Xiaoxin laughed.

"Wish I could," Yue Feather sighed. He always slacked in PE. Pull-ups? Forget it. His fitness was near the bottom—just above the chubby guys.

"Ugh… 1000 meters again… so annoying…" Boys grumbled as they headed to the track after pull-ups. They stood with Yue Feather now, but once running, they’d ditch the slowpokes. Hypocrites—like bragging "I suck at math" after scoring 90. Fake modesty was just showing off. Human vanity, Yue Feather figured. Or maybe he was just sour grapes.

Boys and girls ran together, girls one lap shorter.

"On your marks! Get set! Go!" The PE teacher’s shout sent complainers flying like arrows.

Yue Feather tried to keep up, but the gap widened. Anxiety spiked—if he failed, he’d redo it later. Exhausting. Even Wei Xiaoxin, usually last with him, sprinted ahead like a maniac, beating the PE monitor by half a lap.

"Is he crazy…?" Yue Feather thought.

Wei Xiaoxin’s speed forced others to rush, wrecking their breathing rhythm. Long runs lived on rhythm. Lose it, and stamina drained fast.

After leading most of a lap, Wei Xiaoxin stopped dead. Panting, he jeered at the chasing pack: "Haha, run faster! Tired yet?"

Shameless bastard…

Yue Feather caught up to walking Wei Xiaoxin, breathless. "Hey… you… really had to…?"

"Gotta mess with these fakers," Wei Xiaoxin shrugged. "I don’t care about passing anyway."

"You… are… something…" Yue Feather gave a thumbs-up. Honestly? Kinda satisfying.

Girls’ group looked "united"—small gaps, running together. But factions were obvious. Core girls clustered in the middle; outsiders led or lagged. Some even blocked paths—forcing detours that burned extra energy.

"Hey, check those girls? Tsk tsk, scheming much."

"Scheming?" Yue Feather was clueless. "They seem united to me."

"Are you faking dumb or actually dumb?"

"Darn…" Yue Feather’s energy ran out. He stopped and walked beside Wei Xiaoxin.

The girls’ group caught up, bustling past them. Wei Xiaoxin and Yue Feather stepped aside.

*Thud.* Zhan Qi, last in line, tripped on her untied shoelace. She hit the rubber track hard, scraping her elbow raw.

Just as Yue Feather was about to rush over to help Zhan Qi up, Wei Xiaoxin held him back.

"Ji Fan's overtaking from behind. Let him have this chance to shine."

"But he hasn't finished the race yet."

"Well, if he won't sacrifice even this small thing, what right does Ji Fan have to claim he likes Zhan Qi?"

Ji Fan's feelings for Zhan Qi were known to his closest friends.

Yue Feather watched Ji Fan sprinting frantically. He must have seen Zhan Qi lying on the ground by now.

Yue Feather clenched his fists involuntarily. He muttered softly, "Don't let anyone down, Ji Fan!"