AIBBFSCITMLA Chapter 5

The companion sitting across from Gu Jingfeng awkwardly touched his nose. He glanced back at He Tang, who seemed completely oblivious to the mental turmoil of the people around her, then sheepishly turned back around.

Meanwhile, the school forum had exploded.

[What’s going on? She didn’t sit next to Gu Jingfeng?]

[Does she really not like Gu Jingfeng anymore? Does that mean I can make a move now?]

[Get lost, commenter above. The whole school knows He Tang likes Gu Jingfeng. Our man Gu hasn’t even said anything yet. Why are you butting in?]

[Could it really be love at first sight with that handsome guy from yesterday?]

[Seriously, does anyone have a photo of that handsome guy from yesterday? I’m dying of curiosity. I really want to see what he looks like. He’s even outshining our school heartthrob?]

[Love at first sight? No way. Lin Min and the others said He Tang is doing this as a new tactic to pursue Gu Jingfeng. Playing hard to get.]

[Huh? Since when is she so high-level?]

He Tang, who had never once logged into the school forum, was leisurely eating her lunch and scrolling on her phone. The faint smile on her lips did not escape Gu Jingfeng’s eyes.

Throughout it all, Gu Jingfeng hadn’t taken part in a single discussion. He kept his head lowered, continuing to eat, though his gaze would occasionally drift, almost imperceptibly, toward He Tang not far away.

The girl had her hair tied in a ponytail, exposing the fair, slender line of her neck. She ate while glancing at her phone, the corners of her eyes slightly lifted. She paid no attention to the gazes around her, calm and unbothered as if everything had nothing to do with her.

After finishing her meal, He Tang walked straight out of the cafeteria without so much as a glance at Gu Jingfeng. Lin Min and Xia Lian, who had been hiding in the distance observing, slowly furrowed their brows.

What was He Tang thinking? She hadn’t gone to find Gu Jingfeng at all. She had looked perfectly content eating alone. How was she already so different from the old He Tang?

Someone nearby leaned in and asked Lin Min, “Does He Tang actually like Gu Jingfeng or not?”

Lin Min hesitated. Remembering her previous confident claims, she said, “She likes him. It’s called playing hard to get, understand?”

The classmate nodded, completely convinced. After all, the two of them were He Tang’s best friends.

—

There was a physical education class in the afternoon. He Tang stretched lazily and followed the crowd onto the school field. Several classes were already there, and some sports students were even playing volleyball off to the side.

The September heat still lingered heavily in the air. He Tang, in her blue-and-white school uniform, stepped onto the track and immediately drew attention. Her skin was fair, her features delicate, and when she raised her arms to tie her hair back, her slender wrists caught the sunlight.

A group of boys couldn’t help but stare. Some of them even blushed.

He Tang’s appearance was naturally striking. Her almond-shaped eyes carried a soft, glimmering light, and her cherry-colored lips looked especially vivid against her fair skin. Now, with less of that former fragility and more ease in her expression, she seemed even more eye-catching.

If it weren’t for the fact that He Tang’s pursuit of Gu Jingfeng had already become known throughout the entire school, the line of people wanting to pursue her might have stretched all the way to No. 2 High School.

But not daring to pursue her was one thing; secretly liking her was another—especially now that rumors were spreading that He Tang no longer liked Gu Jingfeng, especially now that her entire demeanor had changed, as if she had been reborn.

If the old He Tang had been attractive primarily because of her extremely beautiful face and her delicate vulnerability that made people want to protect her, then the current He Tang was attractive more because of the carefree, unrestrained aura she unconsciously exuded. It wasn’t just heart-stirring—it was spellbinding.

Just standing there and sweeping her gaze across the field was enough to make people feel weak in the knees.

And those who had once mocked He Tang for failing to win over Gu Jingfeng now looked at this inexplicably transformed version of her and felt an uncomfortable irritation.

She already possessed beauty. It wasn’t fair for her to have anything else.

Fate had made her family go bankrupt. Fate had made Gu Jingfeng not like her. But that still wasn’t enough, far from enough—to quell the jealousy simmering in their hearts.

He Tang followed the PE teacher through the warm-up exercises, completely ignoring the stares around her. After all, her former self had looked much the same and had already been popular enough.

Senior-year PE class was always perfunctory, just a way to loosen up the body. After running two laps, the teacher allowed everyone to move freely.

He Tang felt refreshed after a few laps. She swung her arms lightly, stretching her body. Just as she was enjoying the moment, something suddenly slammed into her back, nearly knocking her face-first to the ground.

She steadied herself with both hands before her knees could hit the floor, and saw a volleyball bouncing forcefully away from her back. Her brows tightened slightly.

She straightened up, turned around, and saw a group of athletic girls standing not far away, chins lifted, looking at her with openly mocking expressions.

“Sorry, my aim was off,” said the girl at the front. She was over 1.7 meters tall and had a strong, athletic build. Her eyes held a clear provocation as she looked at He Tang.

He Tang moved her body, rubbed her back, and calmly walked over to the volleyball, picking it up.

“An apology should be sincere,” she said, her voice cold, carrying not a trace of warmth.

Students gradually gathered around.

The girls from the volleyball team on the other side of the net also came over. One of them walked up to He Tang with a worried expression and lowered her voice. “Don’t pick a fight with Li Yang and the others. She’s crazy. She likes Gu Jingfeng. Don’t provoke her.”

He Tang blinked slowly. Not pick a fight? Just take a hit for nothing? That’s not my style.

He Tang spun the ball in her hand. Suddenly, she raised her hand and hit the ball with force. The ball spun rapidly as it shot toward the provocative Li Yang. In front of everyone’s shocked eyes, it slammed with a loud thud directly into Li Yang’s right cheek.

Under the powerful impact of the ball, Li Yang collapsed hard to the ground. The entire field fell silent.

Three seconds later, Li Yang’s right cheek began to burn with pain. Her coarse voice rang out across the field.

“Fuck! He Tang! I’ll kill you!”

Li Yang scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain on her face, and was about to charge at He Tang when her teammates held her back.

“Calm down! The teacher is right here! Do you want to get written up?”

He Tang looked at Li Yang’s right cheek and smiled with great satisfaction—a very unrestrained smile. “I’m returning your ball to you. Just my bad luck, my aim was off too.”

Although this body was much weaker compared to her previous one, it was still acceptable. It would do for now.

Li Yang was already mad with rage. In front of everyone, she had been hit by He Tang! Hit by that bankrupt, unprotected, fragile little He Tang!

But the teacher was right there. She couldn’t just hit back; it wouldn’t do her any good.

Li Yang calmed down slightly, suppressing her fury. When her gaze landed on the volleyball at her feet, a sudden idea occurred to her.

“He Tang, do you have the guts to play a volleyball match against me?” Li Yang’s smile was malicious.

“Why would I play volleyball with you?”

“Are you fucking scared? Hah, I knew it. You’re just a coward!”

“Hah.” He Tang let out a light laugh. She knew exactly what Li Yang was up to. But suddenly, she felt that turning the tables might not be a bad idea.

“Fine. Since you want to play against me so badly, I’ll grant you a match.” The corner of He Tang’s lips curved into a bright, unrestrained smile. The onlookers were mesmerized, as if this truly were a royal bestowal.

Li Yang was so angry she could vomit blood, but she comforted herself internally: Don’t get worked up. If you can’t tolerate small things, you’ll ruin a big plan. As long as He Tang agrees to play, I can smash her to pieces with the volleyball!

Li Yang’s team remained intact, while He Tang joined the team they had been playing against, substituting for one of the players, and stepped onto the court.

Almost the entire field gathered around. Some even started a livestream and posted the room number on the school forum, so that students elsewhere could also watch this exciting showdown.

Meanwhile, in the classroom of Grade 12 Class 6, the students could barely contain their excitement. They secretly took out their phones, quietly refreshing comments and bullet-screen messages on the forum and in the livestream room.

Gu Jingfeng glanced at his very excited deskmate and asked indifferently, “Why are you so excited?”

His deskmate leaned in, his eyes sparkling with the thrill of gossip, and whispered, “He Tang and Li Yang are fighting over you!”

Gu Jingfeng frowned. At his deskmate’s prompting, he opened the livestream.

[Has it started? Has it started yet? I’m not late, am I?]

[Not yet, they haven’t started playing!]

[Fuck! I’m in physics class right now, secretly watching the livestream. This is so intense!]

[As excited as I am, I still have to ask: does He Tang even know how to play volleyball?]

[Even if she can play, can she beat a sports major? Just look at Li Yang’s physique, then look at He Tang’s. My god, she’s completely outclassed!]

[Yeah, He Tang really doesn’t know her limits. Can she compete with a sports major? Even if she learned something in PE class, that was just for fun. In a real match, she’ll be crushed in minutes.]

[Speaking of which, Li Yang definitely has bad intentions. She wants to use the match to hurt He Tang.]

[I’m a bit worried about He Tang. With those slender arms and legs of hers, can she handle it? Will she end up in the hospital? I’ve heard getting hit by a volleyball hurts like hell!]

[He Tang is truly desperately in love with our school heartthrob Gu. She won’t give up even if she gets hurt.]

[Oh, please. The person above must have just gotten internet access. He Tang doesn’t like Gu Jingfeng at all. She confessed to someone else, remember?]

Gu Jingfeng glanced at the forum and the bullet-screen comments, then looked back at the livestream. In the video, He Tang was smiling brightly, her eyes curved into crescent moons. Her face was innocent and harmless, yet unexpectedly captivating.

Why go provoking someone like that? She was clearly outmatched.

Gu Jingfeng didn’t understand. He couldn’t fathom what was going through He Tang’s mind at all.

Meanwhile, He Tang stood in front of the net. The blue-and-white school uniform looked pure and harmless on her. Her arms were fair and slender. Compared to Li Yang across the net, she looked quite fragile.

But she didn’t seem to care at all. She smiled brightly, with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

The match quickly began. The opposing side served first. The rally continued, and the match grew increasingly intense.

Li Yang kept her eyes fixed on He Tang. She hadn’t expected He Tang’s movements to be so professional. But she wasn’t afraid—she wasn’t there to play volleyball.

Li Yang watched the ball come toward her. The corner of her mouth curled into a smile. She leapt up and spiked the ball with force. The ball shot toward He Tang, heading straight for her head.

Everyone gasped, breaking into a cold sweat for He Tang. Oh no, what a shame—her face! If that ball hit her, would she be disfigured?

But just as everyone was lamenting He Tang’s fate, she took a step forward, intercepted the ball early, leapt up, and spiked it back. The ball instantly changed direction and slammed—thud—directly into Li Yang’s left cheek.

The entire field fell silent. Even the viewers in front of the livestream forgot to send bullet-screen comments.

What? Li Yang tried to hit He Tang and got counterattacked?

Did my eyes just lie to me?

Meanwhile, He Tang had already landed steadily on the ground. She looked at Li Yang, the corners of her lips curling up slightly in a well-behaved, harmless smile.

Now they’re symmetrical. Ah, so satisfying.