On Monday back at school, a restless energy buzzed through the classroom—after all, the freshman showcase was that afternoon.

Sure, the small auditorium’s acts wouldn’t be polished. But for students? Anything beating desk duty was a win.

Feng Yijiu arrived slightly early. As a minor class officer, it was time to work.

“Everyone! Grab your ‘Little Blue’ math workbooks—homework check!” she called out.

Amid the scrambling chaos, Feng Yijiu glanced at Li Hao. He noticed, and turned his head away.

*Tch. Still holding a grudge?* Amused by his sullen face, she found it oddly hilarious.

“Hey~ Did you know? I hung out with Wenyao all afternoon yesterday,” she winked at him. “She’s really sweet, you know.”

Li Hao shot to his feet, glaring at the hypocrite trying to steal his girl.

*Aren’t you just a *bit* handsomer? Family *billion* times richer? Grades *slightly* better?*

“What’s with you? She’s not my type,” Feng Yijiu teased, enjoying his flustered look. “Whoa—calm down! Trying to broadcast this to the whole class?”

Li Hao took a few deep breaths, lowered his head, and trudged off to collect homework from the other side.

“Here, take this,” Feng Yijiu said, stacking her pile onto his. “Teacher assigned *you*, Mr. Strongman, to carry stuff. I’m the recovering patient, remember?”

Li Hao squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the urge to look at the person making his fists itch.

“Sigh… Someone this petty’s gonna regret it someday,” she smiled. “Boys should be proactive, read the room, and take care of girls. Otherwise—Wenyao’s perfectly fine alone. Why keep a deadweight like you around?”

Li Hao watched Feng Yijiu skip ahead with empty hands, then eyed his own thick stack. *Her words kinda make sense… but not really.*

*Especially—how about you practice what you preach first?!*

“Oh, you two worked hard,” Teacher Jiang greeted with a warm smile.

“Good morning, Teacher Jiang!” Feng Yijiu chirped.

“Ahao, just set the homework there,” Teacher Jiang said, pointing to an empty desk—tacitly accepting his heavy-lifter role. “Yijiu, before math class, could you sketch these auxiliary diagrams? Like this…”

Li Hao’s heart sank. *Reality check: Li Hao = “Strongman” = Fake Class Rep.*

Life’s tough. He sighed.

“What’s our class performing again?” Feng Yijiu asked. Having skipped military training, she was clueless.

“Three girls… singing, I think,” Li Hao muttered, still gloomy.

“Oh?” Feng Yijiu blinked. *Did I bully him *that* hard?*

“Huh? Yijiu, good morning!” Zhou Wenyao appeared near the stairwell.

“Wenyao! Morning!” Feng Yijiu greeted, subtly kicking the stiff Li Hao beside her.

“This is my partner, Li Hao. We’re math class reps,” she introduced.

“Y-you… hello,” Li Hao stammered, face locked in a strained smile. Feng Yijiu felt secondhand cringe.

“Hello,” Zhou Wenyao smiled gently. “I’ll head in—Teacher needs me.”

“Mm-hmm!” Feng Yijiu waved.

“G-goodbye…”

*Ugh. Hopeless.* Feng Yijiu gave up.

Once Zhou Wenyao was gone, Feng Yijiu flashed Li Hao a thumbs-down. “Your game’s *that* weak? Even *anyone* else wouldn’t be impressed.”

Li Hao fell silent. *…Yeah. I was kinda pathetic.*

“Step one,” Feng Yijiu held up a slender finger. “Treat girls like guys. Greet them how you’d greet a dude.”

Li Hao blinked.

*Oh. Right. Just treat all girls like the monster standing here.* He glanced at Feng Yijiu. *Is this… really how a guy’s supposed to act?*

Noting her flat chest and utterly boyish tone, he shook his head with a wry smile. *Fencing? Hard pass.*

“Hey! Were you even listening?!” Feng Yijiu huffed, cheeks faintly warm. *Definitely NOT because she had to tilt her head up slightly to meet his eyes—nope!*

“O-oh!” Li Hao jolted back.

Seeing his half-hearted nod, she turned away. “Forget it. You’re on your own!”

“But you promised—”

“That was the *free* version,” she pouted. “Listen close: Boys chasing girls? Seven words: Be bold. Be attentive. Thick skin. Done. Lesson over.”

“And before—?”

“What before?” She rolled her eyes. “VIP content. Paid.”

“I… I’ll pay,” Li Hao grimaced. His parents’ “raise sons poor” policy left his allowance tight—and most was already earmarked “dating funds.”

*…Does learning this count?* he wondered.

“Tch. I don’t need money,” Feng Yijiu scoffed. Her dad kept shoving cash at her, paranoid she’d elope for spicy strips. “But you *failed to recharge*.” She stepped back with a grin. “Rule two: Miss a girl’s words? Opportunity’s gone.”

*Ding-ding-ding!* The flag-raising bell rang. Feng Yijiu stuck out her tongue in a silly face and skipped downstairs.

“Seriously… you’re not even a girl,” Li Hao muttered, arms full. Trudging back to class, he whispered to himself:

“Hello, classmate. I’m Li Hao. Nice to meet you…”