The Loner

Rustle, rustle, rustle~

The ceiling fan spun rapidly, barely stirring away the summer heat, while the students' inner restlessness continued to build.

The half-month National Foundation Day holiday was about to begin, and there were less than two minutes left before the final class ended.

Most of the students in Class 5, Grade 11 were already packing their bags or staring out the windows. After all, the "cultural studies" class currently underway did not seem important to them.

However,

one boy whose desk was against the wall continued listening attentively, his gaze rapidly shifting between the blackboard and his notebook as he copied down as much as he could.

Ring, ring~

The dismissal bell rang.

The restless students left the classroom in small groups, jogging and even sprinting as though they were afraid of being trapped at school.

Only after ensuring that he had copied down every last note did the boy begin packing his books at an unhurried pace.

Just then,

a shadow spread over and covered his desk.

The boy instinctively clenched his fists and spun around.

What entered his sight was a pair of feminine hands lightly braced against the edge of his desk.

Following the pale arms, which carried defined muscle contours, upward, the familiar, gentle smile quickly dispelled the boy's wariness.

The owner of the shadow was Wu Wen, the current class monitor of Class 5, Grade 11.

At five feet seven, with nearly perfect proportions and a high ponytail today, she was clearly exceptionally athletic.

Since it was the day before the holiday, students did not need to wear uniforms.

Class Monitor Wu wore casual summer sportswear: a light sun jacket over a white T-shirt, along with fitted athletic shorts and white sneakers.

After confirming the class monitor's identity, the boy relaxed and continued packing his books.

"Hey, Luo Di. I'm planning to go out for two days around the middle of the holiday. Are you free?"

"No."

The class monitor did not give up after his blunt refusal. Instead, she leaned closer and lowered her voice.

"It's not for 'fun.' My family pulled some strings and got us an early chance for practical training. You know what that means. If we succeed, it'll be added to our personal records and help with next year's entrance exams."

Luo Di did not answer immediately and continued packing his books.

The class monitor waited patiently.

Only after putting away the last book did he finally speak. "Who's going?"

"If you join, there'll be four of us in total.

That includes a classmate of ours who's currently on leave, as well as an outside friend of mine. She's a girl, by the way. Two boys and two girls, Yin-Yang balance.

Don't worry. They're all top students with outstanding athletic grades. None of them will hold you back."

Early practical training was an extremely rare opportunity, so Luo Di nodded in agreement.

The class monitor extended her arm before him, nearly filling his entire field of vision, and pointed at the flexible metal wristband on her wrist.

"For the practical training, we're expected to leave in seven days. But I'll call you the day before we set off so everyone can meet in advance. Then we'll shop together for the supplies we need."

"Mm."

Just then, an announcement came over the school broadcast.

≮All teachers and students must swipe out of the school within fifteen minutes. The school will conduct a comprehensive pre-holiday inspection. Those who fail to leave on time will receive a demerit and be sent to the school infirmary for a comprehensive examination.≯

"Luo Di, want to race? Let's see who gets to the School Gate first!"

"No."

Already poised to run, the class monitor could only sigh. "Ah... fine."

The two walked through campus one after the other. No matter how urgently the class monitor waved for him to hurry from up ahead, Luo Di maintained his normal walking pace. It seemed he had already calculated the time in his mind and was not worried about being kept on campus.

By the time he walked out of the School Gate, the class monitor had already gotten into an expensive private car.

Luo Di could vaguely sense someone in the car watching him, but he seemed long accustomed to such gazes and found nothing worth caring about.

He boarded the bus he knew so well and took the window seat in the back row. Just as he was about to take a short nap, a loud special announcement sounded throughout the carriage.

Buzz~ Buzz~ Buzz~

Three bursts of high-frequency, ear-piercing tones sounded first, emphasizing the importance of the announcement.

"Tomorrow is the annual National Foundation Day, and all citizens will enjoy a fifteen-day holiday. We would especially like to remind everyone to strictly comply with the National Corner Safety Law while enjoying the holiday.

"Those designated as regional service personnel during the holiday must fulfill their duties. Appropriate holiday compensation will be provided afterward.

"Citizens traveling during the holiday must obey the Corner Law of each respective region.

"Those traveling to the suburbs must make the necessary preparations in advance, present medical examination certificates before leaving the city, and undergo comprehensive psychological examinations upon returning to the urban area."

The first portion of the announcement was broadcast in Russian.

Although Luo Di was a citizen of the Huaxia Nation, he could understand it perfectly. After all, Russian was included among the compulsory cultural studies courses.

The rest of the announcement was then played in Chinese, English, German, and Italian.

According to Luo Di's original plan, he would have stayed home for the entire holiday. But now, he needed to make changes for the sake of the practical training.

≮Residential Zone 13 has arrived. The doors will close in ten seconds.≯

After getting off the bus with his backpack, Luo Di quickly made his way to the deepest part of the residential zone, where his home was located.

A photograph of a family of four hung on the shoe cabinet by the entrance.

Besides his parents, Luo Di also had an older sister.

However, there was also a letter on the shoe cabinet. His parents had already taken his sister on vacation, leaving this busy high school student to watch the house during this year's National Foundation Day.

Rather than complain, Luo Di was quite happy about it.

What he liked most was being home alone. Traveling, on the other hand, was painful for him.

He took frozen beef and green peppers from the refrigerator, then steamed two large mantou.

While cooking, Luo Di went into his bedroom and brought out an exquisitely packaged disc and a metal dumbbell labeled 25 kg, placing them in the living room beforehand.

Buzz~

The television turned on, and the disc player began reading the disc.

The title Friday the 13th Part III appeared on the LCD screen, followed by BGM from a bygone era.

Luo Di held a mantou stuffed with shredded beef and green peppers in one hand and a dumbbell in the other.

Every bite he took corresponded to one dumbbell curl.

Moreover, throughout the entire meal and workout, Luo Di never took his eyes off the screen, even though he had watched the movie more than thirty times.

That was right.

He had loved this kind of movie since childhood, especially the characters in them.

Unlike the class monitor and the others, who had systematic specialized training,

Luo Di received no one's guidance outside class. He simply wanted a body like those movie characters, training his body through the most ordinary methods.

Dumbbells, weighted squats, push-ups, and nightly runs of more than ten kilometers were his training regimen.

He believed that if he kept at it, he would one day attain a body similar to those movie killers.