The Martial Path

Time passed quickly.

Before one knew it, more than a month had passed since the day Lin Zichen dominated the Martial Arts Team.

Since that day, Lin Zichen's status in the team had changed.

He had transformed from a newcomer who had just joined the team into the team's ace.

However, only the attitudes of the coach and his teammates had changed; he himself remained exactly the same.

After school, he would still come to the gymnasium to practice martial arts, still find a spot to train by himself, and still shower and head home at 6:30 PM sharp.

As for Shen Qinghan, she still waited in the gymnasium every day for Lin Zichen to finish his training so they could go home together.

While waiting, Shen Qinghan would either read books or work on practice problems, occasionally taking out her phone to snap a few nice photos of Lin Zichen, making the time pass quite pleasantly.

Sometimes, when she saw Lin Zichen sweating profusely, she would take the initiative to step forward and wipe it off for him.

The people in the gym looked on at the scenes of the two of them together with nothing but envy.

The girls envied Shen Qinghan, envying that she could be Lin Zichen's childhood sweetheart and stay by his side every day.

The boys envied Lin Zichen, envying that he could have a childhood sweetheart like Shen Qinghan who knew how to take care of others.

Regarding the envy of others, Lin Zichen felt no ripples in his heart.

As for Shen Qinghan, she was very much in line with the temperament of a young girl in the midst of puberty; facing the envious gazes cast by her peers, she felt a sense of delight in her heart.

"Hanhan, let's go."

In the gymnasium, after Lin Zichen finished his martial arts practice and came out of the changing room after showering, he looked at Shen Qinghan, who was waiting quietly at the entrance, and said.

Hearing this, Shen Qinghan obediently followed, her high ponytail swaying with her steps, full of the youthful and lively aura of a young girl.

The seven teammates who remained in the gymnasium to continue training all felt incredibly envious as they watched Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan come and go as a pair every day.

"Alright, stop envying and get back to training!"

"Summer vacation is almost here, and we are about to welcome the new year's Eight-School League. Like previous years, there are only five spots for participants; whoever is strong gets to go."

"Now that Zichen has already secured one spot, there are only four spots left for the seven of you to fight over. Only those who perform well will get to compete."

Seeing that the team members were all staring blankly at the backs of the childhood sweethearts as they left, Guo Xiangyuan immediately spoke up to spur them on.

Upon hearing this, the seven of them immediately threw themselves back into training with a sense of urgency, fearing they would fall behind others.

Five of them were in their third year of middle school.

This year's Eight-School League was the last one they could participate in, and none of them wanted to have any regrets.

In the blink of an eye.

The second semester of the first year of middle school was about to end, with only one week left until the final exams.

During this week, in order to help Shen Qinghan get good grades, Lin Zichen would go to her room every night to help her fill in the gaps in her knowledge.

That night.

Lin Zichen had just finished dinner and showered, then headed out to walk to Shen Qinghan's house next door.

Xu Meng knew he would arrive on time, so she had already opened the door and was waiting for him at the entrance.

Seeing him arrive, she said with a smile:

"Xiao Chen, it's really been a trouble for you lately, having to come over every night to tutor Hanhan. After you finish your exams and start summer vacation, Auntie Meng will give you a gift. You can have whatever you want."

"Auntie Meng, you're too kind. Hanhan and I grew up together; helping her is only right."

Lin Zichen smiled and said.

After that, he entered the house and headed straight for the second floor.

Shen Qinghan's room was on the second floor, separated from his own room by only two walls.

It could be said that their rooms were right next to each other.

He arrived at Shen Qinghan's door and stopped.

He saw that the door was ajar.

Lin Zichen didn't think much of it, pushed the door open, and walked in, saying, "Hanhan, I..."

He wanted to say "I'm here," but before he could finish his sentence, he almost bit his tongue, and he froze in place.

Because at this moment, the young girl in the room was sitting on the bed trying to put on her pajama pants, and right above the pajama pants was a very conspicuous diaper.

Lin Zichen: "..."

Shen Qinghan: "..."

At this moment, both of them were silent, the air nearly solidified, and the atmosphere was extremely awkward for a while.

After a moment of regaining his senses, Lin Zichen took the initiative to break the silence: "Uh... I'll come back in a bit."

After saying this, he hurriedly turned and left, closing the bedroom door behind him.

The moment Lin Zichen left, Shen Qinghan's face flushed red, and she covered her head with the quilt, curled up into a ball on the bed, and went completely still...

She had died of social embarrassment and wanted to move to another planet.

Ten minutes later.

Feeling that enough time had passed, Lin Zichen reached out and knocked on the door in front of him, his voice tinged with a hint of awkwardness: "Hanhan, is it convenient for me to come in now?"

"Mm..." Shen Qinghan's voice came from inside the room, barely audible; it was clear she hadn't yet recovered from the awkward scene that had just unfolded.

Lin Zichen acted as if nothing had happened, pushing the door open and walking in with a calm expression.

"That... I only need to wear diapers when I sleep at night; I don't need them during the day."

Shen Qinghan bit her lip, feeling incredibly embarrassed as she took the initiative to bring it up, her delicate little face flushed crimson.

Lin Zichen didn't know how to respond, so he simply nodded: "Mm, I know."

Then, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere plunged back into awkwardness.

However, Shen Qinghan soon chose to break the tension herself. Her slender, fair fingers toyed with her hair as she tried to find a topic as naturally as possible:

"While we were eating dinner just now, I asked Mom and Dad a question. I asked them if they thought I looked better with my hair tied up or left down."

"Dad said I look better with it down, but Mom said I look better with it tied up."

"Xiao Chen, do you think I look better with my hair tied up or down?"

As she asked this, Shen Qinghan gathered her courage and looked into Lin Zichen's eyes, hoping to use this topic to skip over the diaper incident and end the awkwardness for both of them.

Lin Zichen answered without a second thought: "I think you look good either way."

"That's so dismissive. Pick one."

"Now that I think about it, I suppose you look a bit better with your hair tied up."

"Then do you think I look better with a single ponytail, a double ponytail, or maybe a bun?"

"I prefer buns and single ponytails."

"Then I'll wear a bun tomorrow, and a single ponytail the day after... Oh, and do you think a low ponytail or a high ponytail looks better?"

"I think a high ponytail looks good..."

Slowly, the two began to chat freely, no longer as awkward as when he had first entered the room.

It seemed that the matter of the diapers had been completely forgotten, never to be mentioned again.

Before long, they began the theme of the evening: one acting as the student reviewing, the other as the tutor, spending a fulfilling night together at the desk.

Time flew by in the blink of an eye.

A few days later.

Shanhai High School welcomed its final exams.

As the top student, Lin Zichen easily secured first place in the school, as always.

Shen Qinghan also performed very well.

In just one short year, she had gone from being third from the bottom at the start of the term to the top twenty in the class, happily receiving a certificate as a Progress Model Student.

This was partly due to her own hard work, but even more so to Lin Zichen's tutoring and help.

"Xiao Chen, thanks to you filling in the gaps in my knowledge, I did so well on this exam!"

In the classroom, Shen Qinghan looked at the "Progress Model Student" certificate in her hands, her little face full of joy as she looked at Lin Zichen.

Lin Zichen smiled and said: "It's mostly because you studied hard enough yourself."

"Xiao Chen, at this rate of progress, I'll definitely be able to get into the same class as you in two years. We'll keep being desk-mates then!" Shen Qinghan said with anticipation.

The same class, continuing to be desk-mates?

Hearing Shen Qinghan say this, Lin Zichen remembered that he hadn't mentioned his plan to join the Martial Arts track in high school yet, so he told her: "Hanhan, I've decided to join the Martial Arts track for high school."

"Then I'll join the Martial Arts track too!" Shen Qinghan said without a moment's hesitation.

Lin Zichen didn't know if she was suited for the path of martial arts, but seeing her say she would follow him without the slightest hesitation, he figured that even if it wasn't a perfect fit, it would have to do.

"If you've decided to walk the path of martial arts, then from today on, your study focus will have to change. You'll need to learn more about Exotic Beasts, genetic fusion, and mechanical modification."

"Mm, I'll do my best!"

Shen Qinghan said, full of drive.

She wasn't bad at all when it came to those subjects; after all, she had spent plenty of time reading books with Lin Zichen since they were children, so she still had confidence.

The only area where she lacked confidence was perhaps her physical fitness.

Lin Zichen thought of this as well and quickly said to her: "Then, from now on, when we go to the gym after school, you can practice martial arts with me. I'll teach you some exercises to strengthen your body."

"Mm, I'll listen to everything Xiao Chen says!" Shen Qinghan nodded obediently.

Her life experiences had taught her that no matter what the situation, listening to Lin Zichen was never the wrong choice.

PS: Setting out my bowl, asking for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!