Chapter 13: My Bedroom or the Hotel Suite—Your Choice

Lu Yuanqiu shifted his gaze away, saying nothing, quietly watching the homeroom teacher and the restless students ahead.

Of course, he wanted to see Bai Qingxia dressed beautifully in a JK uniform.

He longed to see Bai Qingxia, like the other girls, revel in the youthful grace of her own body and the sense of accomplishment that came with it.

All the more so, given her exceptional natural gifts.

Her face needed no mention; she was tall, with long legs and fair skin. Lu Yuanqiu had never seen her with her hair let down, but he could easily imagine the scene.

A young girl in a white blouse and pleated skirt, slender-waisted, her figure graceful, long legs glowing with a porcelain sheen, her hands clasped behind her back, dark tresses cascading like a waterfall in the sunlight, and a smile on her face as radiant and clear as the spring sun.

Too beautiful for words.

Yet fate had bestowed her such beauty, only to deprive her of the chance to show it.

Certainly, Lu Yuanqiu could offer her help, and he was more than willing.

He even had enough money to buy dozens of uniforms, his New Year’s money safely tucked away in his bank account at this age.

But he knew well that to help a proud girl from a poor family, simply giving her money or clothes was the least reliable way.

So, for now, he chose to keep silent and bide his time.

Liu Wei waved her hand. “It’s decided then, JK uniforms... I don’t really know the difference between JK or DK. Anyway, boys and girls, submit your money and sizes to the class monitor within a week. The monitor will handle the purchases.”

Wang Haoran clapped his hands and added, “Remember, everyone, fifty yuan a set!”

“Great!!”

The boys cheered excitedly, while the girls blushed with shy anticipation.

When Bai Qingxia heard the price, she raised her head in surprise, then quietly bowed it again and returned to her textbook.

After Liu Wei left, the English teacher, Su Miaomiao, entered the room.

Though only half a day had passed, she now wore a white blouse and pencil pants, her shapely legs modestly concealed.

In the back row by the door, Zhong Jincheng beat his chest and sighed in mock grief, trying to stifle his tears. “Alas! What a pity!”

Su Miaomiao lifted her delicate face, looking over in confusion. “What is it, Zhong?”

Lu Yuanqiu, hands behind his head, called out, “When a man loses his target, he loses his ideals as well.”

Zhong Jincheng shot him a glare.

Su Miaomiao looked at them oddly, unable to fathom what went on in the minds of boys this age.

“Dong, dong, dong, dong—”

The bell rang for class. Zheng Yifeng’s blood seemed to awaken once more; his handsome face fell forward onto the desk, and he began to snore.

As it was the first day of the new term, there was no evening study session.

After the fourth class in the afternoon, the students were free.

The rare joy of no evening self-study, coupled with the last class being PE, was an explosive delight for the students!

For Class 28, the fourth period on Tuesday afternoons was PE.

A boy with a mushroom haircut let out an excited yell, “Downstairs for assembly!!”

His name was Zhang Bowen, the PE monitor. When he ran for the position in sophomore year, he received the highest number of votes.

There was no special reason—he was just popular, though in truth, his athletic skills were quite average.

In his previous life, Lu Yuanqiu had found this unfair, but now it no longer mattered.

Whether or not he was the PE monitor was trivial; what mattered now was getting into university.

Lu Yuanqiu packed his bag and turned to Bai Qingxia. “It’s settled then. You’ll come to my house this Saturday to tutor me.”

Bai Qingxia froze for a moment, then continued packing her bag, replying in a cool tone, “I’ll tutor you, but I never agreed to go to your house.”

Lu Yuanqiu, hearing this, rested one arm on the back of his chair and the other on the desk, facing her with a hint of roguishness as he counted off on his fingers:

“Let me offer you a few quiet places. Option one, my bedroom. Option two, the storeroom at the supermarket (where they frisked us). Option three, a KTV private room. Option four, a hotel suite.”

Bai Qingxia looked up and stared at Lu Yuanqiu, waiting for him to continue with the options.

But she soon realized that Lu Yuanqiu was grinning mischievously.

In that instant, she understood—Lu Yuanqiu was forcing her to choose the bedroom...

A flush crept up the lobe of her right ear. “Fine, I’ll go to your house, but someone else must be there.”

Lu Yuanqiu replied earnestly, “Of course, of course.”

Bai Qingxia said nothing more. Once she finished packing, she hugged her pink backpack, faced Lu Yuanqiu, and nodded half-believingly, looking quite adorable.

Lu Yuanqiu smiled, feeling as if he had successfully lured her.

Nonsense, lured her? He’d saved her life—she practically owed him her life now. He regarded her as his own daughter.

As the rest of the class filed out, Lu Yuanqiu and Bai Qingxia hurried downstairs to join them.

Lu Yuanqiu deliberately waited for her to walk beside him, but noticed that Bai Qingxia, backpack on her shoulders, lagged behind, as if intentionally keeping her distance.

A strange girl.

Lu Yuanqiu didn’t mind. Slinging his blue backpack over one shoulder and hands in his pockets, he strolled toward the playground.

All six feet of him swayed casually.

Only then did Bai Qingxia, with her pink backpack, quicken her pace.

Seen from behind, the blue and pink backpacks of the boy and girl were especially eye-catching—a striking pair.

But it seemed only the keenest, most sensitive girls took notice of the sight.

After warm-up laps on the field,

Class 28 lined up in several rows, facing the tall, thin, dark-skinned PE teacher, Wang Ping.

Rumor had it that this man could do twenty pull-ups with a single hand—a bona fide powerhouse, and the secret idol of English teacher Su Miaomiao.

For this reason, Zhong Jincheng regarded Wang Ping as his rival in love.

Wang Ping addressed the class. “From next lesson onward, those signed up for the sports meet will begin specialized training. As for today’s class...”

He uttered the four most beloved words of every student’s youth.

“Free activity!”

Class 28 erupted in cheers, scattering like birds and beasts in an instant.

But for some, “free activity” was a nightmare.

These students were called “outsiders.”

When the crowds dispersed, they had no one to play with, no one to gossip with.

So they wandered the track like lost souls or sat dazed on the steps until the bell rang for the next class and the whistle summoned them back.

Bai Qingxia was one such person, though she didn’t mind.

As Lu Yuanqiu and a few boys made their way to the basketball court, Bai Qingxia headed for the steps where the bags were left.

She cherished her backpack, even placing a Chinese textbook under it to keep the bottom from getting dusty.

Sitting down by the steps, she cradled her backpack carefully in her arms, then brought the Chinese book up to her eyes.

Yet when she opened it, her gaze, instead of settling on the words, drifted automatically to the basketball court—she was always like this.

Every PE class during free period, the time she meant to spend studying was wasted watching the boys play basketball.

At that moment,

Lu Yuanqiu, clad in his school uniform, dribbled past defenders with lightning speed, leaving Wang Haoran staggering in his wake. Then, in three steps, he leapt up and slammed the ball into the hoop—a powerful dunk. The backboard hummed with the impact, and Lu Yuanqiu landed gracefully, rolling his neck.

Bai Qingxia’s beautiful eyes widened in astonishment from the steps.

On the edge of the court, Hu Caiwei and two of her friends stared, mouths agape.

Wang Haoran’s parted hair drooped down like a drenched chicken. He exclaimed in surprise, “Lu Yuanqiu, you can dunk?!”

From within the three-point line, “Sleeping God” Zheng Yifeng, “Atmosphere King” Gao Qiang, Liu Buxing, Liu Buneng—the “Biochemical Brothers”—and “Gun God” Zhong Jincheng, all wore looks of shock.

They were the main basketball players of Class 28 and had played with Lu Yuanqiu before.

But this was the first time they realized he could dunk.

In school days, a boy who could dunk was the undisputed god of the court.

Lu Yuanqiu was a little surprised himself. Since his rebirth yesterday, he’d noticed his strength had grown, his jumping ability increased as if by magic.

Was this the unexpected gift of being reborn?

Damn... couldn’t it have made me smarter instead? What use is a bit more strength? Will it get me into college?

“Lu Yuanqiu, you were so cool just now.”

Hu Caiwei, her cheeks tinged with red, spoke up.

Lu Yuanqiu gave her a brief glance before shifting his gaze away, looking toward the distant steps.

Suddenly, their eyes met.