Chapter 477: Qiaomu Private High School |
“Why are you hiding!” Fang Dian took a few vigorous leaps and jumped in front of Bai Liu, grabbing his face and giving it a good rub. After she finished, she stared thoughtfully at Bai Liu’s face, which she had rubbed out of shape, and fell into deep thought for a while. “What’s going on? I feel like we haven’t seen each other for a few hours, but you feel like you’ve grown up.”
Even in the game, Bai Liu felt his back tighten under Fang Dian’s thoughtful gaze.
He felt like this person seemed to know nothing, yet also seemed to know everything—that eerie feeling of being seen through. Bai Liu had experienced it countless times since he was a child.
If Spades was a wild animal of pure instinct, then Fang Dian was an instinctive animal who could think; her level of terror was more than double that of Spades. Bai Liu had almost never successfully flickered (fooled/misled) Fang Dian.
Moreover, every time, Fang Dian could accurately guess why Bai Liu was flickering her and what Bai Liu was thinking about. This caused Bai Liu to feel a strange sense of sympathy for Lu Yizhan for a period of time.
…Living with this kind of person day and night, Lu Yizhan, it’s a good thing you’re a good person.
Bai Liu averted his gaze and calmly shifted the topic: “Let’s go. How much could I have grown in just a few hours?”
“Hmm…” Fang Dian rubbed her chin. She stared at Bai Liu for a moment and said something startling, “You give me the feeling now that you’re about twenty-three or twenty-four years old. You’re so mature.”
The indeed twenty-four-year-old Bai Liu: “…”
“Lu Yizhan is giving a speech on stage?” Bai Liu seamlessly took up the topic. “Aren’t you the number one student? Why is he the one giving the speech?”
Fang Dian waved her hand dismissively. “Sigh, a while ago when I was playing ball, I hit a student. The parents made such a fuss, acting like it was life or death, so I was pulled from the lineup.”
Bai Liu vaguely remembered something. He asked, “What was that student’s name?”
“Bao Kangle.” Fang Dian recalled for a moment and looked at Bai Liu. “I think he’s a student of your English teacher. I spiked a ball right between his legs and he fell flat on his butt. He was scared half to death, his face went white. His mom came to our classroom to make a scene, but since I’m in the ‘Small Rocket’ class and she’s just a regular class English teacher, she couldn’t get in. So, it ended with me just being taken off the speaker list for the mobilization rally.”
Fang Dian shrugged indifferently. “At the time, that guy named Bao Kangle screamed so miserably, I thought I had broken his dick.”
Bai Liu: “…”
Now he knew who Hou Tong learned that phrase “broken dick” from.
Bai Liu looked at Fang Dian. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask if she knew about the situation between Bao Kangle and him.
Seeing Bai Liu hesitating to speak, Fang Dian beat him to it with a slightly confused counter-question: “Is something wrong? Isn’t it a very normal thing for me to hit someone while playing ball? You and Lu Yizhan were also spiked by me back then, weren’t you?”
It was that feeling again.
That feeling where the other party seemed to know everything and was venting anger on your behalf, yet you couldn’t find any trace of intentionality. Everything looked like a coincidence or an accident, making it so you couldn’t even owe them a favor or say a word of thanks.
Fang Dian was simply too good at using this trick.
Bai Liu took a deep breath, his expression becoming complicated for a rare moment.
It was common for Fang Dian to hit people with her spikes; she wasn’t lying just now. Back then, he and Lu Yizhan had indeed been hit by Fang Dian’s ball, and they had truly “not known each other until they fought”.
Back then, Lu Yizhan was wandering around the volleyball court, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally. He seemed to want to see someone inside the court. When Bai Liu told him to go in, he had an expression of being startled, waving his hands frantically in terror, indicating he was fine just watching from here and would absolutely not go in.
But even if Lu Yizhan wouldn’t go in, Bai Liu was going to go in. He was extremely interested in what this “good person” who was Buddhist about everything was actually interested in. It was as interesting as seeing a flower bloom in the crack of a rock.
Almost the instant he stood by the edge of the volleyball court, Bai Liu knew who Lu Yizhan wanted to see.
Fang Dian was simply too dazzling; she was practically glowing.
“Steady, don’t panic!”
She was wearing athletic shorts and a short top. Her figure was well-proportioned and healthy, with a layer of sweat seeping through her skin. Her features were beautiful and grand, bright and radiant. Her face carried a joyful smile from being completely immersed in the athletic game. Her ponytail jumped and fell with her light and agile movements. Her eyes were focused on that blue and yellow striped volleyball that was crossing the net and falling:
“I’ve got it!”
“Receive it, receive it! Second pass, get it!”
Fang Dian retreated two steps, took a running jump, and her supple waist arched back in the air. Her eyes stared sharply at the ball spinning in the air. Her arm swung down, as decisive and forceful as if she were swinging a heavy sword:
“I’ve got it—!!”
“Bang!”
The ball spiked right on the edge of the white line. The whistle blew, a point was scored. Fang Dian raised a hand with a wave and smiled brilliantly: “Good ball, everyone keep working hard.”
“Yes, Captain!”
At this moment, Lu Yizhan, who was looking everywhere for Bai Liu, noticed Bai Liu standing by the court. Seeing his gaze fixed on Fang Dian inside the court, Lu Yizhan nearly had cardiac arrest. He almost scrambled over: “Bai Liu! What are you doing!”
At the same time, Fang Dian served a ball that flew wild, crossing the high wire mesh fence and landing right on the head of Lu Yizhan, who was hurriedly running over.
“Ow!” Lu Yizhan let out a cry of pain as he clutched his head.
Fang Dian stuck out her tongue upon hearing this. Her teammates behind her didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Captain, you hit someone again!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Fang Dian jogged over, waving her hand. “I’ll go apologize and see how they are.”
Fang Dian walked over. Lu Yizhan, with teary eyes, rubbed his head and picked up the ball. The moment they turned their heads, they locked eyes across the wire mesh.
The two of them seemed to freeze, staring blankly at each other. A light breeze blew through their hair and clothes, as if they were the only two people left in the world.
Bai Liu, standing by the wire mesh between the two: …
He suddenly felt like he was quite redundant.
Lu Yizhan didn’t know where to put his gaze. His entire face flushed red instantly, and his speech became stuttered: “He-Hello, Student Fang!”
“Is this your… volleyball?”
As Lu Yizhan spoke, he even used his school uniform to wipe the ball. When he walked over, his hands and feet moved in unison, and he even tripped himself up. He looked eagerly at Fang Dian through the wire mesh: “There’s a wire mesh blocking us. H-How do I give the ball back to you?”
Walk around and give it to her.
Bai Liu thought expressionlessly from the side.
Lu Yizhan, your brain is usually quite useful, why has it short-circuited now?
“You can toss it over the top to me.” Fang Dian leaned diagonally against the wire mesh. Her whole body exuded a vibrant heat from exercising. Her hands gripped the wire mesh as she narrowed her eyes at Lu Yizhan’s face. “Your name is Lu Yizhan, right?”
Lu Yizhan immediately stood at attention, calling out reflexively while holding the ball: “Yes, Captain!”
After a moment, Lu Yizhan asked blankly: “You know me?”
Fang Dian couldn’t help but burst into a laugh: “You and I entered in the same batch! You’re second place and I’m first place. Our photos have been hanging on the Wall of Honor on the first floor for a whole semester. It would be more abnormal if I didn’t know you, right?”
“Oh, oh, is that so?” Lu Yizhan scratched his head embarrassedly, his face getting even redder. “That photo doesn’t look good. If I had known…”
“It really doesn’t look that good.” Fang Dian praised generously, “The real you is much handsomer than the photo.”
Seeing that Lu Yizhan’s face was about to burn to the point of a total blackout, he forcefully dragged Bai Liu over and introduced him seriously to Fang Dian: “This is Bai Liu, my best friend.”
“I know.” Fang Dian’s eyes curved into smiles. “I often see you guys eating together in the cafeteria.”
Lu Yizhan swallowed nervously, his speech almost stuttering: “Do you think this Bai Liu… is he a good kid?”
“Then… then what do you think about being friends with Bai Liu?”
Fang Dian turned her head. She seemed to have become serious because of Lu Yizhan’s earnest inquiry. She held her chin thoughtfully and looked Bai Liu up and down carefully through the wire mesh.
Bai Liu, who was pushed right up to the wire mesh: …
He felt a vague, subtle sensation of a single mother on a blind date asking her potential partner if they could accept the child she raised alone.
“I think…” Fang Dian paused.
Lu Yizhan pressed against the wire mesh and asked urgently: “He’s a good kid, right, Captain!”
“I believe in your choice.” Fang Dian looked up and laughed. Her laugh was light and bright. “Yes, I also think he’s a good kid.”
“If it were me, I would want to be friends with him too.”
Lu Yizhan stared blankly at Fang Dian. He sat down on the ground as if he were completely drained, tears suddenly welling up. He murmured to himself: “…Thank you for validating my choice, Captain.”
*(T/N: Looks like Yizhan had a serious case of looserism when he first encountered Fang Dian in this world line, lol)*
“Captain, hurry back!” The other teammates called out helplessly from behind. “Stop hitting on handsome guys when you see them, training isn’t finished today!”
“O-K.” Without turning her head, Fang Dian raised an OK gesture and shook it. “Give me five more minutes, I’ll be right back.”
Lu Yizhan stood up hurriedly. He reached up to wipe the corner of his eye, took a deep breath, and tossed the ball over the wire mesh. He kept his head lowered deeply and pulled Bai Liu by the collar to leave: “Thank you, Cap… Student Fang. We’ll be going now.”
“We’ve taken up your time.”
“Wait.” Fang Dian steadily caught the ball Lu Yizhan had tossed back. She leaned close to the wire mesh and said very softly: “Could I trouble you to do me a favor before you go?”
Lu Yizhan, who was walking away quickly, stopped. He made a motion to turn around but stopped halfway, as if he didn’t dare to look back at Fang Dian behind him. His voice was also tight: “…I have things to do and need to leave first. If it’s not a very urgent matter, Student Fang should ask someone else for help.”
“Is that so?” Fang Dian’s voice was neither fast nor slow. “Then I’ll find someone else. Just now while playing, my movements were too vigorous, and the hook on my bra accidentally came undone. I wanted to ask Student Lu to block for me so I could hook it back.”
“Since Student Lu is unwilling to help, I’ll just have to find someone else.”
Lu Yizhan: “!!!”
“That won’t do!!” Lu Yizhan turned around abruptly. He took a few quick steps to the front of Fang Dian. Upon seeing Fang Dian holding the ball and looking at him with a half-smile, the momentum Lu Yizhan had built up instantly deflated. He turned around with a bowed back and a face flushed red. “I… I’ll block for you. You do the hook.”
Bai Liu, who had been lugged to the side by Lu Yizhan, had a numb expression: “…”
Why did he have to be brought along at a time like this?
He should be under the net, not in the “net”.
Fang Dian hooked it very quickly. When she finished, Lu Yizhan wanted to run again. Fang Dian lowered her voice again and said softly: “Student Lu, I’d like to ask you for one more favor.”
“Come a little closer, I’m embarrassed to say it out loud.”
This time Lu Yizhan didn’t dare run. He stayed in place honestly, thinking it was something a girl found hard to say out loud just like before. So he leaned his ear in and asked softly: “What is it?”
Fang Dian’s eyes and brows were full of smiles. She whispered into Lu Yizhan’s ear: “I want to hit on you.”
“Could you please give me your private contact information, handsome?”
Lu Yizhan’s entire face exploded into a bright red, his expression turning blank as his mouth hung open: “Eh?!”
Witnessing everything from the side, Bai Liu coldly averted his gaze.
So stupid.
