"Ah, Ru Yan, if you want to go, you need to hurry up," An Ran said as she dragged Liu Ru Yan out of the classroom.
"Wait a minute, this isn't the direction to the playground," Liu Ru Yan said, noticing that although they had gone down the stairs, An Ran was pulling her left instead of right. She couldn't help but wonder, "Isn't this towards the small store?"
"Are you stupid? On such a hot day, you should bring Lu Chuan a bottle of water or something," An Ran said with a look of exasperation, clearly frustrated with Liu Ru Yan's cluelessness.
"Does he really need it? The line to give Lu Chuan water must stretch to the school gate. He won't miss this one bottle from me," Liu Ru Yan said, whether in self-mockery or to mock Lu Chuan.
"How could he not need it? Hey, believe me. Besides, whether he needs it or not is his problem, but whether you give it or not is yours," An Ran was very committed to her role as a helper.
Liu Ru Yan suddenly narrowed her eyes and interrogated, "An Ran, you don't also like Lu Chuan, do you? Are you also going to give him water?"
"What are you talking about, Liu Ru Yan? I don't like Lu Chuan at all," An Ran nearly choked on her own words.
"Not going to see Lu Chuan, so it must be to see Ye Zi Ming?" Liu Ru Yan exclaimed.
"Shh, I'm not watching anyone. Are you going or not? Stop dawdling."
"Alright, alright, let's go buy it."
There are two basketball courts at the First High School, one outdoors and one inside the sports hall. At the moment, there were people playing on the outdoor court, but there was no crowd watching, which clearly meant Lu Chuan and his team were inside the sports hall.
Sure enough, as soon as Liu Ru Yan and An Ran walked into the sports hall, they were greeted by cheers, the sound of basketballs hitting the hoop, teammates calling out to each other, and the sharp squeak of sneakers on the floor.
The sports hall was just as hot as the outdoor court. Standing at the entrance, Liu Ru Yan could already smell the scent of young sweat inside. She wrinkled her nose, "With so many people packed in here, I wonder what's so interesting to watch."
Most girls don't really understand things like pull-up shots or fadeaways; they are just here to see the handsome guys.
Liu Ru Yan spotted Lu Chuan on the court immediately. His physique and skin tone stood out, and Liu Ru Yan felt a pang of jealousy every time she saw his long, straight legs. How could someone be so good-looking and so slim?
"Nice shot."
"So handsome~"
At that moment, Lu Chuan made a three-point shot, smoothly aiming and shooting in one fluid motion, which led to screams from the girls in the stands.
Liu Ru Yan and An Ran squeezed to the front row, and Lu Chuan happened to see them. He gave them a slight smile, which made the crowd even more excited, amazed that the campus heartthrob was smiling.
Soon, Lu Chuan was back in the game, and his coordination with Ye Zi Ming was impeccable. Ye Zi Ming passed him the ball, and Lu Chuan scored several more points.
"Do you know, Ru Yan, Lu Chuan and Ye Zi Ming are incredible at basketball. Last year, our class was competing with Class 9 for the championship. Their class had several sports specialists, and we were trailing behind at the beginning. But guess what, with their amazing teamwork, we slowly caught up and eventually won..."
An Ran eagerly explained to Liu Ru Yan how great Lu Chuan and his team were while watching the game, but Liu Ru Yan didn't listen at all.
She watched Lu Chuan on the court. He was sunny, healthy, and exuded youthfulness. With just a casual flick of his head, countless girls would swoon over him. Wasn't he just like a character who had walked out of a comic?
Besides being handsome and good at sports, Lu Chuan was also excellent in academics. He seemed almost terrifyingly perfect. Did he have any flaws? Liu Ru Yan pondered carefully.
He would take injured stray cats to the vet, remind girls on the bus to watch their wallets, and pretend to be helplessly accommodating when she was unreasonable, though he was a bit indifferent to others. Were these flaws? Not really, at least not in Liu Ru Yan's eyes.
"Hey~ What are you thinking about? Are you so engrossed in watching me play?" Liu Ru Yan was lost in thought when a large, well-defined hand waved in front of her face.
It was Lu Chuan. Was the halftime break over so soon? Liu Ru Yan was momentarily speechless, standing there dumbfounded.
Lu Chuan naturally took the drink from Liu Ru Yan's hand. "Is this for me? Thanks, but next time get the lime flavor. I don't like the peach flavor."
"If you don't like it, don't drink it. So many people are waiting to give you water," Liu Ru Yan replied.
Only then did Liu Ru Yan realize that all the people who had been around her had seemingly moved back a step, creating a one-meter space around them.
Looking at the surrounding eyes filled with hostility, as if ready to pounce and pull her hair for a showdown, Liu Ru Yan felt a shiver run down her spine.
"An Ran, I guess this bottle is for me then," Ye Zi Ming said, staring at the drink in An Ran's hand.
"Here you go."
Lu Chuan and Ye Zi Ming gulped down half of the bottle each, then handed the remaining drink back to Liu Ru Yan and An Ran before returning to the court.
The crowd didn't surge back in, as if they had their own protective barrier.
"Hey, Ru Yan, you didn't see how Lu Chuan rejected all the other girls trying to give him water and headed straight for you. That scene was so Mary Sue, so dreamy," An Ran excitedly described the scene to Liu Ru Yan as soon as Lu Chuan returned to the court. "How could you be so distracted?"
"Well, I don't understand basketball, and I was thinking about that chemistry question on the exam," Liu Ru Yan wasn't sure why she lied. Perhaps she hadn't realized she'd be infatuated with Lu Chuan one day.
"You're something. Poor Lu Chuan is so devoted to you," An Ran shook her head, muttering.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, just calling you silly and saying you've gotten dumb from studying too hard."
"Oh." Liu Ru Yan wasn't in the mood to argue with her. She looked back at Lu Chuan on the court, realizing watching basketball was quite interesting. She regretted missing so many chances to see handsome guys over the past eighteen years.
As expected, Lu Chuan's team won by a large margin, and the crowd continued to cheer passionately, their enthusiasm showing no signs of fading.
This time, Liu Ru Yan wasn't distracted. As Lu Chuan walked over, she timely handed him the drink she had been holding.
Lu Chuan looked surprised for a second, then smiled as he took the drink. At that moment, the sweat on his forehead seemed to dissolve in her eyes, and the smell of sweat in the sports hall seemed to turn sweet.
"Let's go, clean up and head home," Lu Chuan said softly to Liu Ru Yan.
It felt like something was different, yet also like nothing had changed at all.