"Shh—!!"

Down in the empty lot, Ren Jie somehow fished out a whistle and blew it—a sharp blast echoing through the entire school building.

Rarely did Grade 12, Class 5 get a PE class, so they weren’t about to miss it.

In under two minutes, they’d gathered downstairs in a neat square formation—the same as flag-raising ceremonies: boys left, girls right, then sorted by height front to back.

Lu Yu naturally stood in the last row. Lin Beixing, slightly taller than average among the girls, stood right in the center.

The sun blazed mercilessly overhead, baking everyone until heads felt fuzzy.

From Lu Yu’s view, a young man in sweatpants strode up with crisp posture.

Dark-skinned, biceps sharply defined—he looked every bit a fitness trainer.

*Must be the PE teacher*, Lu Yu thought.

"Ten minutes late. Exactly." The man’s voice rang firm as his gaze swept the crowd.

"PE teachers may keep ‘mysteriously’ falling ill, but we’re not *dead* yet. Forgotten PE class exists?"

Unlike academic teachers, he was young, with a dry wit.

Silence. Too few interactions left the class unsure how to respond.

"Hehe…"

Ren Jie—the de facto PE monitor—broke the quiet, scratching his neck.

"Teacher Zhang, everyone’s swamped with exams lately… we just didn’t react in time."

*Thump!* A kick landed squarely on his butt.

"My surname is Li, damn it!"

Ren Jie clutched his rear, laughing awkwardly. "Ahaha! Teacher Li, Teacher Li!"

"You? The PE monitor? Don’t even know my name?!" Another kick.

"Oof! Teacher Li—no wonder you’re trained! What a kick!" Ren Jie stumbled dramatically before steadying himself.

The class erupted in laughter.

Even Lu Yu, usually stone-faced, shook with silent giggles, shoulders trembling.

After the commotion, Teacher Li clapped sharply. "One lap around the track. Then free time. Back here two minutes before dismissal."

Cheers exploded.

For stressed-out seniors, forty minutes of freedom felt like a godsend.

Stroll the field, shoot hoops, read under shade, or raid the snack shop—every option glittered.

Lu Yu hadn’t even decided what to do.

Post-lap, he and Ren Jie hauled equipment from the PE office.

Lu Yu finished the run effortlessly.

Not so the girls. Buried in studies all day, most lacked stamina.

By the time Lu Yu and Ren Jie set down the gear, the girls were still straggling in.

Lu Yu’s eyes drifted.

Lin Beixing’s figure held a quiet magnetism—he spotted her instantly.

Running wasn’t her strength. One 400-meter lap nearly matched her *daily* activity.

Slightly hunched, hands braced on knees, she’d unbuttoned her top collar and fanned air inside, flushed from the heat.

Lu Yu glanced at his ice-cold cola on the ground. *Should I go over?*

*Lure Lin Beixing with a frozen cola…*

*Seems kinda easy.*

But in that hesitation, classmates swarmed her.

Lu Yu lingered at a distance, listening.

Invites to the snack shop, shade-chatting, even dragging her back to solve math problems.

Lin Beixing wore her gentle, practiced smile—undecided, yet too polite to refuse.

No wonder she was the class’s popular queen.

Lu Yu’s gaze softened, wistful.

"Staring at something, Brother Lu?" Ren Jie smirked. He knew *exactly* who Lu Yu watched.

Just wanted him to admit it.

Lu Yu waved him off, silent.

Truth was, he didn’t know why he kept looking.

Before the body swap, Lin Beixing was just a pretty class monitor—distant, irrelevant.

At first, it was the memory of *having been her*.

Now… he still cared.

"So? Snack shop chill or hit the court?" Ren Jie had hauled the gear *just* to play ball—a rare chance.

Exercise eased stress. (Though for slackers like them? Meh.)

Jiangshui No.1 High’s equipment stash was solid: shuttlecocks, dumbbells, soccer balls, basketballs, ping pong sets—you name it.

"Ball it is."

Lu Yu plucked a decently inflated basketball, gave it a test dribble, and glanced once more at the crowd around Lin Beixing.

"Let’s go! One-on-one—who scores more~~" Ren Jie chirped, trailing Lu Yu toward the court.

"Decided yet, Beixing?"

As the girls’ unofficial decider, her choice shaped theirs. All waited.

"I’ve got it!" someone piped. "Buy popsicles first, grab books from class, then read under the tree—covers everything!"

Cheers followed.

"Perfect~!"

"Everyone gets their wish!"

Lin Beixing nodded gently, smile fixed but distant.

Then—a faint *thump-thump-thump*.

She turned.

In her clear eyes, Lu Yu’s retreating figure shimmered.