“Not bad, huh?”
“Though it’s a bit lacking compared to those from the Art Club, it has some unique characteristics.”
Isn’t that just a high-EQ way of putting it?
Lin Yi propped her cheek on one hand. “So, what you’re saying is, you found the ghostwriter?”
“I didn’t find them.”
“Huh?”
Jian Shuye looked out the window. “That piece was submitted as homework during last week’s quiz. But as I just told you, the Student Council doesn’t allow clubs to recruit members before the Club Recruitment Fair.”
“So?”
“So, these clubs found a loophole.” Jian Shuye sneered. “They claim the submissions are from students interested in joining. The Art Club did the same. The work doesn’t have a name, only a number. And the list matching numbers to names is in the hands of the Art Club president.”
“Then just go ask the president for it,” Lin Yi said.
Jian Shuye didn’t speak.
Lin Yi suddenly understood. “I get it. You must have offended the Art Club presi—”
“That’s not called ‘offending’,” Jian Shuye corrected. “That’s called offering reasonable suggestions to the Art Club. It’s just that the suggestions weren’t adopted.”
Isn’t that still offending them?
Seriously, won’t you get dragged into a dark room one day by a coalition of club presidents?
Lin Yi thought about that scene and felt a little excited.
Hehehe, imagining the noble Jian Shuye tied to a chair or something…
Jian Shuye frowned deeply. “I feel like you’re thinking about something I’d really hate.”
“Huh? Can you read my mind?”
“Probably. It’s all written on your face.”
Lin Yi quickly rubbed her cheeks and adjusted her expression.
Jian Shuye glanced at her phone and said to Lin Yi, “It’s getting late. Consider your work done for today. Dismissed.”
“Oh.”
[Triggered ‘Three Girls, There Must Be My Teacher’. Acquired Skill: Gifted by Nature (When training any existing skill, training speed increases based on Attribute level.)]
But she had no time to care about system skills right now. She just felt that Jian Shuye might have run into a tough opponent this time.
Lin Yi looked back at Jian Shuye, confirmed the other girl had no further instructions, and turned to leave.
Jian Shuye didn’t speak again, just closed her eyes, lost in thought.
—
—
Lin Yi left the Club Building. Her route passed through the Gymnasium.
She casually walked up to the Badminton Hall and saw the Badminton Team members training.
They wore matching sportswear. When they jumped, their sleeves rode up slightly, revealing slender yet powerful forearms.
Like a flock of white butterflies about to take flight.
The girls’ hair ends were slightly damp with sweat, clinging to the sides of their necks, outlining graceful lines.
Beads of sweat on their foreheads refracted the sunlight, sliding down their cheeks and dripping onto the floor, leaving small wet marks.
Some practiced in pairs, their figures crisscrossing as the white shuttlecock danced back and forth between them.
Among them, Yan Jianxing was especially eye-catching.
“Jianxing, nice shot!”
“So fast.”
“She jumps so high, so cool.”
“What’s that? Are you looking at Jianxing like she’s a handsome guy?”
This is what youth is supposed to be like, Lin Yi sighed to herself.
In contrast, she was being exploited by Jian Shuye on one hand and following behind her to offend various clubs on the other. She felt her future at Zhuming Girls’ High School was destined to be bleak.
Earlier, she had even thought that if Jian Shuye got cornered in a dark alley, she might have a hand in it.
Now it seemed she definitely would have a hand in it—because if Jian Shuye got beaten up, she would undoubtedly be on the receiving end too.
Because the lackey is always more hateful than the evil mastermind.
“Alright, break time!”
The girls retreated from the courts, wiping sweat and chatting with laughter.
Yan Jianxing was tilting her head back to drink water when the Captain patted her shoulder. She then turned and looked at Lin Yi outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
Seeing Lin Yi, Yan Jianxing immediately tightened the bottle cap and waved at her.
Since she’d been spotted, there was no need to stay outside.
Lin Yi walked boldly into the court. Yan Jianxing jogged over with quick steps, her beautiful face under the high ponytail a real feast for the eyes.
But when she was a few meters from Lin Yi, she frowned, lifted her collar, and sniffed, seemingly worried about whether she smelled of sweat.
Lin Yi quickly took a few steps forward, closing the distance. “What’s wrong? Why stop there?”
“Don’t come closer.” Yan Jianxing immediately took a few steps back. “I… I just finished training. I’m all sweaty.”
“So what?”
“It smells.”
“I don’t think so.” Lin Yi sniffed the air. “A faint, pleasant scent, really.”
Yan Jianxing covered her face with her collar. “Lin Yi, you’re being a bit of a pervert…”
“Sorry.”
After a moment, Yan Jianxing borrowed a small electric fan from a teammate. Holding it, she blew air against her body, only then daring to get a bit closer to Lin Yi.
“What brings you here?”
Yan Jianxing looked at Lin Yi. “You’re still recovering. You shouldn’t run around. I was planning to bring some food back for you tonight.”
“Couldn’t sleep, just came out for a walk.”
Lin Yi could lie without batting an eye now. She didn’t know who she learned that from.
“Just a walk?”
“Mmm… Okay, fine. I came to see you.”
She couldn’t very well say she was following Jian Shuye around to cause trouble for everyone. That sounded way too punchable.
Yan Jianxing smiled, her neat, white teeth radiating vitality. “Hehe, if you want to look at me, wait until I’m back in the dorm after my shower. Look all you want then.”
“Eh—You’re roommates?”
“Jianxing, Jianxing, isn’t this the girl you brought last time?”
“Yeah, I heard from the Captain you wanted her to join the Badminton Team. So, did she agree?”
Girls from all sides ran over, surrounding Lin Yi.
“She’s so pretty. Why didn’t I see you in the freshman formation during the opening ceremony?”
“What’s your name, junior?”
“What’s your relationship with Yan Jianxing? ‘Back to the dorm’—are you really roommates?”
“Oh my god, I’m jealous. What dorm room can hold two girls like this?”
Lin Yi wore a troubled expression. For a moment, she felt like a little boy caught playing with mud alone in a park by a bunch of big sisters—small, weak, and helpless.
Yan Jianxing hurriedly used her racket to shield her. “Hey, everyone’s all smelly. Don’t crowd around her.”
“Hahaha, Jianxing’s getting flustered.”
“Alright, alright, stop teasing the junior. If you join the Badminton Team, we seniors can offer one-on-one tutoring, okay?”
“Fine, fine, we’ll go.”
Yan Jianxing smoothed the bangs on her forehead, then held her racket with both hands. “Sorry about that. These seniors are just very enthusiastic about new members. They were just as curious when I first joined the team.”
“Understood, understood. After all, playing sports requires a lot of passion.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Outside the window, the Track and Field Team seemed to have finished. Tall, slender girls were lining up to return to the Locker Room next door.
Lin Yi and Yan Jianxing spoke at the same time. “That…”
They spoke simultaneously again. “You go first…”
Finally, Yan Jianxing covered her mouth and laughed. “Okay, you go first.”
Lin Yi felt a bit awkward. “Um… Thank you. For taking care of me when I was sick.”
“It’s nothing, really. That’s what roommates should do.”
Lin Yi shook her head. “I… I don’t know how to thank you properly. But I feel like just saying ‘thank you’ isn’t enough. I’ll think of a way to repay…”
“Repay? That sounds too heavy!” Yan Jianxing waved her hand. “Like, just treat me to a meal someday. No need to be so formal.”
“Okay!” Lin Yi nodded. “So, what did you want to say?”
Yan Jianxing was taken aback, then looked around.
Finally, the toe of her right foot, clad in a black sports shoe, tapped the floor. She shook her head. “Nothing. I was just going to ask if you were feeling better.”
“I’m much better, really!”
“Mhm, I can see that.”
The Captain blew her whistle, calling everyone back from break.
Yan Jianxing waved. “I have to go assemble. Probably for dismissal. Do you want to wait for me, or…”
“I’ll wait here for you.”
“Okay.” Yan Jianxing nodded happily. “I’ll be right back.”