They Aren't Ordinary Classmates

Hu Lai (Class 2, Year 1)

On the very last line of the list, there was only one name, standing alone yet stubbornly taking up an entire row.

Against the white paper, the bold red letters were exceptionally striking.

It was "Hu Lai," not "Hu Cai," nor "Hu Lai" with a different character. There was only one student surnamed Hu in Class 2, Year 1.

Those who had been confirmed as not selected let out waves of wails and disappointed sighs.

But even more people stared at that name in stunned disbelief.

Some of them were thinking, Who is this Hu Lai from Class 2, Year 1?!

Others were thinking, Why that lucky bastard?!

The tall Mao Xiao burst out laughing when he saw the name on the list. He said to the companions around him, "Well? Didn't I tell you? He really made the school team!"

But his companions were already dumbfounded. No one responded to him.

Because of Mao Xiao, they all knew that Hu Lai existed, but they simply could not understand why someone like him had made the school team.

In their eyes, plenty of people were more qualified than Hu Lai to join the school team.

Could this be part of his luck too?

This guy... was he someone blessed with absurdly good luck?!

Lucky enough to score a hat trick in that match, and lucky enough to make the school team based on a performance like that?

After putting up the notice, Li Ziqiang did not leave right away. Instead, he stood beside it and watched the students wearing all sorts of expressions.

He noticed quite a few gazes shifting back and forth between the list and Hu Lai, their eyes filled with complicated emotions.

They all seemed unable to understand why Hu Lai had been the final person selected for the school team.

No one cared why he, the school team's head coach, was still standing there, nor did anyone come up to ask why he had chosen Hu Lai.

Everyone seemed to have been scared speechless.

Li Ziqiang was not surprised by this at all. When he had decided to put Hu Lai on the list, he had already prepared himself and imagined what would happen.

Because even he himself felt that this was simply too unbelievable...

Then he turned his gaze toward his daughter.

Clearly, his daughter still had not noticed her father looking at her.

At first, she stared at the list in shock, her face full of confusion and surprise. Then she looked toward Hu Lai, and an irrepressible smile appeared on her face. Her eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled.

As her father, Li Ziqiang had to admit that he rarely saw such a happy smile on his daughter's face.

His gaze shifted to that short boy, who was completely unaware of his daughter's gaze.

Li Ziqiang's expression darkened further.

Li Qingqing truly had not expected the final spot to belong to Hu Lai. Although she had hoped for a miracle before the tryouts, when the miracle actually happened, her first reaction was still disbelief.

Hadn't Dad personally said that Hu Lai still did not meet the standards for joining the school team?

Why had he recruited him after all?

Could what she had said to her father have made a difference?

Although Dad had not admitted it out loud, had he seriously considered her opinion deep down?

Thinking of this, she looked toward Hu Lai, a smile appearing on her face.

No matter the reason, it was good that he had made the school team. It was good that he got in.

Although the one-year training plan she had prepared was no longer needed, Dad's training was definitely better than hers. That was a good thing for Hu Lai.

She could finally rest easy and no longer feel as though she had let him down.

The more she thought about it, the more relieved she felt.

As for her concern that morning over whether Hu Lai would get carried away, she had long since tossed it to the back of her mind.

Now that he had made the school team, who cared about that crap...

Li Qingqing did not go over to congratulate Hu Lai. Instead, she turned and left the notice board.

She had learned what she most wanted to know and received the perfect answer. Relaxed and cheerful, she headed toward the school building with light steps, her ponytail swishing behind her.

Perhaps it was just an illusion, but the noon sunlight seemed much brighter as well.

Li Ziqiang watched his daughter skip all the way into the Year 1 school building.

Then he too turned and left the lively notice board.

Luo Kai was still leaning against the railing. He paid no attention to what was happening in the small plaza below, nor did he care whether his name was on that list. His gaze was now fixed on the end of the corridor.

A bright, radiant figure was emerging from the stairwell there.

Although everyone wore the school's standard-issued yellow-and-blue tracksuit uniforms, only Li Qingqing's seemed to gleam under the sunlight. The yellow portions reflected the rays, bathing her from head to toe in a dazzling golden radiance.

Just like holy light.

Now, that ball of holy light flickered and pulsed out of the dark stairwell, drawing closer to him.

When she was close enough, Luo Kai saw the smile blooming on Li Qingqing's face.

It was an incredibly infectious smile; anyone who saw it seemed unable to help feeling happy along with her.

Even Luo Kai could not stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.

Noticing Luo Kai staring at her, Li Qingqing smiled and greeted him. "Hello, Luo Kai."

"Ah... h-hello, Li Qingqing..."

The "prince" who always handled himself with ease around other girls was actually stammering now.

Faced with the slightly awkward boy, Li Qingqing gave him a faint smile and slipped into the classroom.

Luo Kai remained immersed in Li Qingqing's smile for a long while before it finally dawned on him—why was Li Qingqing so happy?

Could it be...

A thought surfaced in his mind.

Then he saw Li Zhiqun appear in the hallway, looking utterly dejected. Even his steps were unsteady as he staggered past Luo Kai and headed into the classroom.

Luo Kai found this rather strange. Whenever Li Zhiqun saw him before, he would never simply leave without greeting him.

At times, Luo Kai found Li Zhiqun's bootlicking annoying, but being ignored outright like this also made him uncomfortable.

So he opened his mouth to call out to him. "Hey, Li..."

Just then, a loud shout from afar cut him off. "LI ZHIQUN!!"

If there had been a mirror in front of Li Zhiqun right now, he would have gotten a vivid understanding of the expression "as if his parents had died."

But unfortunately, there was no such mirror.

He had once wanted to see that expression on Hu Lai's face, but now all he could see was Hu Lai's smug triumph.

Standing at the back door of Class Two, Year One, he watched Hu Lai and Song Jiajia strut toward him with swaggering, arrogant steps.

The moment he saw that name on the list, it was as though lightning had blasted his soul out of him. His mind was filled with question marks.

How could it be Hu Lai?

Why wasn't it me?

Why did it have to be Hu Lai?

Why couldn't it be me?!

What the hell made that bastard worthy?!

What gave him the right to make the school team?!

Surrounded by question marks and exclamation points, he did not even know how he had left that noisy place and returned to the classroom.

He could not remember anything that had happened along the way. He had not even seen Luo Kai.

Not until that smug voice behind him abruptly snapped him out of his daze.

While he had been spacing out, Hu Lai and Song Jiajia had already reached him. Hu Lai held out his hand. "Time to honor your promise, Li Zhiqun."

Li Zhiqun stared blankly at Hu Lai without speaking.

Seeing this, Hu Lai asked, "What? Don't tell me you're planning to welch on the bet, Li Zhiqun? I made the school team, so you owe me one hundred yuan!"

At Hu Lai's words, the classroom erupted—many students had only just learned the result. Hu Lai had actually made the school team!?

The looks many of them gave Hu Lai changed.

Looking at Hu Lai gloating before him, Li Zhiqun's grief and indignation knew no bounds—How could I be worse than this bastard?!

He was unwilling to bow his head and admit defeat to Hu Lai, especially in front of the entire class—after Hu Lai's shout, everyone was looking their way now.

More importantly, he did not have one hundred yuan to spare.

So he gritted his teeth and said, "Welch on what? This was your own wishful thinking from the start. When did I ever say I'd bet with you?"

Before Hu Lai could speak, Song Jiajia, standing beside him, got agitated. "Wow, Li Zhiqun, you really have no shame!"

"What did I do? What proof do you have? Let me tell you, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. You say I made a bet with you—then show me the proof!" Li Zhiqun had decided to go all in. Closing his eyes, he shouted at the top of his lungs. He was certain that Hu Lai and Song Jiajia could not produce any evidence; after all, they could not possibly have recorded audio or video at the time.

Since there was no proof, all he had to do was deny it to the bitter end, and there would be no way to verify it.

Hu Lai was not very surprised. Instead, he laughed. "All right, just as expected of you, Li Zhiqun! I knew you'd welch on the bet..."

Li Zhiqun's face twisted viciously. "Cut the crap! If you don't have proof, don't make things up! Who's welching? I never agreed to bet with you, so why are you getting worked up all by yourself?"

"Shameless!" Song Jiajia snapped.

"Who's shameless? You people must be so desperate for money that you've lost your minds! You're slandering me! You say I made a bet with you, then show me the proof! Do you think one hundred yuan is a small amount? Like I'd just casually take it out and bet it? Show me the proof! Otherwise, you're falsely accusing me!"

Li Zhiqun shouted louder and louder, drawing even more attention. Although many people had seen and heard them making the bet in the classroom that morning, no one had stepped forward even now. This delighted Li Zhiqun—didn't that just prove how awful Hu Lai's reputation was? No one was willing to speak up for him!

At that thought, Li Zhiqun's foul mood improved somewhat. Perhaps this was the only comfort he had today...

But just then.

"I can testify." A tall figure rose from her seat and looked at Li Zhiqun by the classroom door, her voice crisp.

She was still holding a phone in her hand.

"I have a video of your bet with Hu Lai this morning. Want me to play it for you?"

She stared at Li Zhiqun, her eyes sparkling.

Everyone in the classroom turned their surprised gazes toward the standing Li Qingqing. They had not expected Li Qingqing to step forward and speak up for Hu Lai, nor had they expected her to have recorded a video...

Luo Kai stared blankly at Li Qingqing as well.

The one who had stood up for Hu Lai was actually her...

Li Zhiqun was equally surprised by Li Qingqing's appearance. For a moment, he did not know how to respond.

Of course, he could not snap back at Li Qingqing the way he had dealt with Hu Lai and Song Jiajia, because he knew perfectly well how Brother Kai felt about Li Qingqing...

He could only force himself to swallow his anger, then turn around and shoot Hu Lai and Song Jiajia a vicious glare before returning to his seat.

He did not bring up the bet again, deciding to play the coward to the end.

Anyway, if he refused to pay, could Hu Lai and Song Jiajia really pounce on him and rob him directly?

Heh, then the nature of things would be completely different!

Luo Kai no longer paid attention to the grudge between Li Zhiqun and Hu Lai. He simply stared blankly at Li Qingqing.

She cared whether Hu Lai could make the school team.

When Hu Lai had truly been selected for the school team, she had smiled so happily.

When Hu Lai and Li Zhiqun argued, she had been the only one to stand up and speak for Hu Lai.

Putting those three things together confirmed the question in his heart.

Li Qingqing and Hu Lai were definitely not just ordinary classmates!