My bedroom or a hotel room with a king-size bed. Take your pick.]
Lu Yuanqiu looked away without saying anything, quietly watching the homeroom teacher and the restless students ahead.
Of course he wanted to see Bai Qingxia in a pretty schoolgirl uniform.
He wanted to see her enjoying the confidence that came from the beauty of youth, just like the other girls.
Besides, she had such outstanding natural looks.
Her face went without saying. She was tall, with long legs and fair skin. Lu Yuanqiu had never seen her with her long hair loose, but he could imagine it.
The girl wore a white blouse and a short pleated skirt, her waist slender, her bust beautifully curved, her long legs fair and luminous. With her hands behind her back, she let her dark hair cascade like a waterfall in the sunlight, her smile as clear and enchanting as the warm spring sun.
So beautiful.
Unfortunately, heaven had given her a beautiful face but denied her the chance to show it off.
Of course, Lu Yuanqiu could pay to help her, and he would gladly do so.
He even had enough money to buy dozens of outfits. At this age, all his New Year gift money was still sitting in his bank account.
But he also knew that simply giving money or clothes to a poor girl with a strong sense of pride was the worst way to help her.
So for now, he chose to keep his intentions to himself.
Liu Wei waved her hand. "Then it's settled. We'll go with those schoolgirl uniforms... I don't understand all this JK and DK stuff. Anyway, boys and girls, give your money and sizes to the class monitor within the week, as soon as possible. He'll order everything together."
Wang Haoran clapped his hands and added, "Remember, everyone! Fifty yuan a set!"
"Hooray!!!"
The excited boys cheered, while the girls blushed in shy anticipation.
Bai Qingxia raised her head in surprise when she heard the price, then silently lowered it again and went back to her textbook.
After Liu Wei left, their English teacher, Su Miaomiao, walked in.
Only half a day had passed, but she had already changed into a white blouse and pencil pants, keeping her lovely legs completely covered.
Zhong Jincheng, sitting by the door in the back row, immediately beat his chest and stamped his feet, heaving a long, mournful sigh. "Alas! Woe is me!"
Su Miaomiao lifted her delicate face and looked over in confusion. "What's wrong, Zhong Jincheng?"
Lu Yuanqiu rested both hands behind his head and answered loudly, "When a man loses his target, he loses his dreams."
Zhong Jincheng glared at him.
Su Miaomiao looked bemused. She truly had no idea what went on inside the heads of boys this age.
"Dong~ dong~ dong~ dong~"
The bell rang, and Zheng Yifeng's bloodline awakened once more. His handsome face slammed onto his desk, and he began snoring.
Since it was the first day back at school, there was no evening study session.
Once the fourth afternoon period ended, the students were free.
A day without evening study, topped off with PE for the final period, was an explosive delight for any student!
Class 28's fourth period on Tuesday afternoon happened to be PE.
A boy with a mushroom haircut let out an excited yell. "Head downstairs and line up!!"
His name was Zhang Bowen, and he was the sports representative. When he ran for the position in their second year, he had received the most votes.
There was no special reason. He was simply popular, though his abilities in every sport were actually quite average.
In his previous life, Lu Yuanqiu had been pretty bitter about it, but now he no longer cared.
Being the sports representative or not was irrelevant. Getting into university was what mattered most now.
Lu Yuanqiu packed his bag and turned to Bai Qingxia. "Then it's settled. Come to my place this Saturday and tutor me."
Bai Qingxia froze, then began packing her bag as she said in a cool voice, "I can tutor you, but I never said I'd go to your house."
At that, Lu Yuanqiu rested one hand on the back of his chair and the other on the desk, facing her. Looking rather shameless, he held up his fingers to count:
"Then I'll name a few quiet places, and you can choose. Option one, my bedroom. Option two, the supermarket storeroom-the place where you got searched. Option three, a private karaoke room. Option four, a hotel room with a king-size bed."
Bai Qingxia looked up and stared quietly at Lu Yuanqiu, waiting for him to list more options.
But Lu Yuanqiu merely smiled with mischievous intent.
At that moment, she understood. Lu Yuanqiu was forcing her to choose his bedroom...
Bai Qingxia's right earlobe reddened slightly. "I can go to your house, but someone else has to be home."
Lu Yuanqiu answered solemnly, "There will be. Definitely."
Bai Qingxia said nothing more. Once she finished packing, she hugged her pink backpack with both hands and gave Lu Yuanqiu a doubtful little nod. She looked adorable.
Lu Yuanqiu smiled, feeling as though he had successfully lured her into his trap.
Pah! What trap?!
I saved her life. That life belongs to me now. I treat her like my own daughter!
Seeing that everyone else had left the classroom, Lu Yuanqiu and Bai Qingxia hurried downstairs to line up.
Lu Yuanqiu deliberately waited so they could walk side by side, only to discover that Bai Qingxia was strolling slowly behind him with her backpack on, as though deliberately keeping her distance.
What a strange girl.
Lu Yuanqiu stopped worrying about her. With his blue backpack slung over one shoulder and his hands in his pockets, he headed downstairs toward the sports field.
His six-foot frame swayed lazily as he walked.
Only then did Bai Qingxia quicken her pace a little, her pink backpack on her back.
From behind, the boy's blue backpack and the girl's pink one looked strikingly like a matching couple's set.
But apparently, only the more sensitive girl noticed it.
After they finished their warm-up run on the field.
All of Class 28 stood in several rows, looking at their tall, thin, dark-skinned PE teacher, Wang Ping.
Rumor had it that he could do twenty one-armed pull-ups. He was a genuine powerhouse, and the man of English teacher Su Miaomiao's dreams.
For that reason, Zhong Jincheng regarded Wang Ping as his romantic rival.
Wang Ping said, "Starting next class, everyone who signed up for the sports meet will train for their events. As for today..."
Then Wang Ping uttered the words students loved most.
"Free time!"
Class 28 cheered as one, scattering in an instant like birds and beasts.
But to certain people, those words were a nightmare.
These people were called "outsiders."
The moment the crowd dispersed, they had no one to play with and no one to gossip with.
They could only wander around the field like lonely ghosts
or sit on the steps in a daze until the bell rang and the whistle called them back into formation.
Bai Qingxia was one of those people, but she did not mind.
While Lu Yuanqiu headed to the basketball court with several boys, Bai Qingxia walked toward the steps where they had left their bags.
She took great care of her backpack, even placing her Chinese textbook, Compulsory Volume Three, underneath it to keep the bottom from getting dusty.
Reaching the steps, Bai Qingxia sat down, carefully set her backpack in her lap, and held up her Chinese textbook.
But after opening it, her gaze, which should have settled on the words, automatically drifted toward the basketball court. She always did this.
Every time they had free time in PE, she wasted the time she should have spent studying by watching the basketball court.
Just then.
Still wearing his school uniform, Lu Yuanqiu dribbled past his defender at speed, making Wang Haoran stumble from side to side. Then he took three steps toward the basket and threw down a powerful dunk. The rim hummed as Lu Yuanqiu landed smoothly and rolled his neck.
On the steps, Bai Qingxia's beautiful eyes widened in surprise.
At the edge of the basketball court, Hu Caiwei and her two close friends were also watching, dumbfounded.
Wang Haoran's center-parted hair drooped like a drenched chicken's feathers. He blurted out in surprise, "Lu Yuanqiu, you can fucking dunk?"
Inside the three-point line, the five others-Zheng Yifeng, the "god of sleep"; Gao Qiang, the "god of hype"; Liu Buxing and Liu Buneng, the "biohazard brothers"; and Zhong Jincheng, the "gunslinger"-all looked stunned.
They were pretty much Class 28's main basketball players, and it was not as though they had never played with Lu Yuanqiu before.
But this was the first time they had learned he could dunk.
In school, a boy who could dunk was the one true god of the basketball court.
Lu Yuanqiu was a little surprised himself. Since his rebirth yesterday, he had noticed that his strength had increased considerably, naturally improving his jumping ability.
Was this an unexpected perk of being reborn?
Fuck... You could've boosted my IQ instead!
What the hell is a little extra strength good for? Will it get me into university?!
"Lu Yuanqiu, you looked so cool just now."
Hu Caiwei spoke with a faint blush on her face.
Lu Yuanqiu gave her an indifferent glance, then looked away toward the distant steps.
Suddenly, their eyes met.