Could you pick me up for school tomorrow morning?
"It's fine. Come on! What's there to be embarrassed about? We're happy today. Isn't a hug perfectly normal?"
Lu Yuanqiu smiled and moved closer.
Bai Qingxia glanced back at the steps, then stepped forward with a blush and pushed hard against Lu Yuanqiu's chest, keeping him from coming any closer.
But the tall, solidly built boy didn't budge.
She felt as though she had turned back into the girl he had cornered and bullied in the supermarket storeroom.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?! What are you doing?! Harassing a young girl under cover of darkness, huh?!"
Lu Yuanqiu froze and turned toward the voice.
Only then did he notice a helpful stranger on an electric scooter, who had stopped with one foot planted on the steps and was glaring at the scene before him.
The knight in shining armor had arrived.
Lu Yuanqiu wasn't wearing his school uniform, and with his buzz cut, he looked like a muscular young punk. Bai Qingxia, meanwhile, was in her school uniform, looking innocent and delicate, her eyes still red.
It didn't take much imagination to figure out what was going on.
Lu Yuanqiu lifted his chin. "Yeah, I'm harassing her. So what? What's it got to do with you?"
"Right, now you've pissed me off! Come on! Let's fight!"
The man was the straightforward type. He immediately parked his scooter and got off. Seeing this, Bai Qingxia hurried forward and spread her arms, shielding Lu Yuanqiu behind her. She glared nervously at the man, refusing to let him approach Lu Yuanqiu, while the cake in her hand swayed slightly in midair.
The man froze where he stood. Once he understood what he was seeing, he swallowed, his expression instantly turning speechless.
Lu Yuanqiu was delighted. From behind Bai Qingxia, he stuck his tongue out at the man with an obnoxious grin.
Smack! The man slapped himself across the face, then went back to his scooter, cursing. "Fine. I'm just a fucking idiot!"
He quickly rode away, as though one more glance would make him spit blood on the spot.
Once he was gone, Bai Qingxia lowered her arms and turned around to glare at Lu Yuanqiu, embarrassed and annoyed.
Lu Yuanqiu hurriedly wiped the silly expression off his face.
He held out the leather shoes and picked up where he had left off. "It's a birthday present, so don't stand on ceremony. You have to get me a present on my birthday too."
Bai Qingxia lowered her gaze and reached out to take them.
"But your birthday's already passed," she said hesitantly.
"Then just..." Lu Yuanqiu had barely begun before he froze and stared at her. "You know when my birthday is?"
Bai Qingxia's lovely eyes slowly widened, and she quickly looked away. "N-no. I don't know."
She was lying.
But Lu Yuanqiu had no idea how the girl before him had learned his birthday.
"Anyway, you can just get me a present on my birthday next year. That's how exchanging gifts works."
Bai Qingxia lowered her head and nodded gently.
She turned to go home, then stopped as though she had remembered something. "Lu Yuanqiu, could you... could you pick me up for school tomorrow morning? Just wait for me at the entrance to Osmanthus Lane."
Tomorrow was sports day, and the morning opening ceremony required every class in the school to march in formation.
That meant every student had to arrive in their class outfit and gather in the classroom. Since Bai Qingxia didn't live on campus, she would have to put hers on at home.
She probably didn't want passersby staring at her on the way...
Lu Yuanqiu instantly understood what she meant and agreed with a smile. "Sure."
Bai Qingxia smiled too. "Thank you. Tomorrow at seven... seven thirty."
"Okay."
Early the next morning.
Lu Yuanqiu was woken by his alarm at seven and sprang out of bed.
After hurriedly washing up, he took his DK uniform down from the balcony.
Su Xiaoya had a habit of washing new clothes before letting the children wear them, so she had tossed his class outfit into the washing machine as soon as he brought it home.
As he changed in front of the bathroom mirror, Lu Tian came over. "You don't know how to tie a tie, do you, dummy? Let me teach-"
His voice cut off abruptly. The blue tie around Lu Yuanqiu's neck was tied perfectly. The son gave his father a disdainful glance and walked past him.
"Have you worn a tie before?"
Lu Tian turned around in surprise.
Lu Yuanqiu said, "It's a talent every real man is born with!"
Please. Before I was reborn, I wore suits more than anything else. How could I not know how to tie a tie?
Leaving home, Lu Yuanqiu rode his bicycle to their agreed meeting spot at the entrance to Osmanthus Lane.
He checked his watch. It was almost seven thirty.
Before long, a girl in a school uniform arrived at the lane entrance with a pink backpack. Lu Yuanqiu looked at her in puzzlement. "Where's your class outfit?"
"Under my school uniform," Bai Qingxia said awkwardly.
Lu Yuanqiu glanced down. The thighs of Bai Qingxia's uniform trousers looked bulky, presumably because of the skirt underneath, but she was still wearing canvas sneakers.
Before Lu Yuanqiu could ask, she hurriedly explained, "The leather shoes are in my backpack!"
"All right. Hop on."
Honestly... she's covered up in her school uniform and still asked me to pick her up. Isn't that a bit unnecessary?
Lu Yuanqiu found the thought amusing.
Along the way, they saw plenty of teenagers in outlandish outfits, including one in blue-and-white-striped hospital pajamas. Needless to say, they had to be students from No. 7 Middle School.
The annual autumn sports meet was basically one giant cosplay event.
They parted ways a few hundred meters from the school, and Lu Yuanqiu rode onto campus first.
When he reached Class 28, more than a dozen students were already in the classroom, all wearing their matching outfits.
Whether they knew each other well or not, the girls had instinctively gathered into a huddle, whispering shyly and excitedly.
Two or three boys were sitting by the windows, probably still waiting for their close friends to arrive. They posed with deliberately brooding expressions, looking terribly melancholy.
When Lu Yuanqiu walked into the classroom in his outfit, the girls turned in unison, sneaked quick glances up and down him like little thieves, then hastily huddled together again and resumed whispering.
Whatever they were saying, several of the girls started stamping their feet in excitement.
Thick-skinned as ever, Lu Yuanqiu leaned closer to listen.
"I never would've guessed Lu Yuanqiu would look so handsome in a uniform."
"He's tall and well built, so clothes look good on him. He's probably the most muscular boy in our class."
"But I still prefer someone fair and slim like Zheng Yifeng. Paired with a DK uniform, he looks absolutely"
"amazing. A total Japanese-style heartthrob."
Lu Yuanqiu said, "How amazing?"
The girls immediately turned around and shoved him away, their faces red. "What's a boy like you doing eavesdropping?! Go away, go away!"
Just then, Bai Qingxia walked through the door.
The girls turned again, looking her over in surprise.
"Why isn't she wearing the outfit?"
Bai Qingxia ignored everyone and silently walked over to her seat.
After putting down her backpack, she picked up the class placard beside her seat.
During the extended breaks over the past few days, while the rest of the class had been doing their morning runs, she had been practicing walking with the placard on the sports field with the Homeroom Teacher.
Liu Wei had been surprised to discover how poised Bai Qingxia looked when she walked.
It wasn't just her appearance. Liu Wei had noticed an indescribable air about Bai Qingxia, as though she had once received formal dance training.