June 28, Saturday.
The first thing Song Yunshen did when he opened his eyes was feel his chest.
Flat.
What a shame, they hadn't swapped.
Wait, what was he saying "what a shame" for?!
Good thing they hadn't swapped.
Otherwise, with so much going on today, if they really had swapped, he would have worried that Xia Kening couldn't handle it all.
The day before yesterday, he had gone to school for exams, no less. Most of the time, he hadn't needed to talk to anyone, so the risk of being found out had been low.
Today, he had to accompany Xia Yunuo to find her uncle, meet Xia Jinshu for lunch, and then go to his uncle's house in the afternoon to play with Yingying and stay for dinner that evening.
If any one of those things went wrong, there was a good chance they would be found out.
Besides, Xia Kening would be coming home from school today too. If Song Yunshen swapped bodies with her, wouldn't he have to stay at his own tenant's place?
He didn't even know whether Xia Kening slept in the master bedroom or the living room at home.
As he thought about it, Song Yunshen got up and washed, then, keeping an eye on the time, quickly changed into his school uniform, slung his backpack over his shoulders, went downstairs, hopped on his bicycle, and sped toward school.
It was the same as always today: he timed his arrival at school just right.
The bell for morning self-study rang just as Song Yunshen reached the classroom.
Since only the technology exam remained of their finals, the morning self-study period had, for once, been given to the technology teacher.
Technology wasn't considered very important at school, though. Each technology teacher had to teach eight classes, and there were only two of them for the entire grade.
By comparison, teachers of minor subjects handled four classes, while teachers of major subjects had only two.
He made it just in time again.
Can't he get up earlier?
Could he be staying up late every night?
Song Yunshen had just sat down when Xia Yunuo's thoughts rang out in his mind.
She cared about him quite a bit.
But Song Yunshen didn't stay up late. Evening self-study ended at nine thirty every day, and he got home at about nine forty.
He would check the Future Diary, write a diary entry of his own, take a shower, and get into bed. By the time the whole routine was done, it would be around ten.
Then he would lie in bed scrolling through Douyin for half an hour, occasionally reading a novel, before drifting happily off to sleep.
He got a full eight hours of sleep every day, and he thought his routine was pretty healthy.
"Playing ball this afternoon?" Xu Zhuoyue gave him a nudge with his elbow and asked in a low voice.
"Nope." Song Yunshen refused without hesitation. "I've got family stuff."
"How the hell do you have family stuff every single week?" Xu Zhuoyue grumbled. "What could be so important? More important than playing ball with your bro?"
"Playing with my little cousin."
"Oh, Yingying." Xu Zhuoyue clearly knew Zhao Ying too. "How old is she now?"
"Over three, I think," Song Yunshen said. "She'll be starting kindergarten in the second half of the year."
"Damn." Xu Zhuoyue couldn't help marveling. "When you said your uncle had hooked up with Teacher Ruan, I didn't believe you. Now their kid's already this big."
"And it was all thanks to me." Song Yunshen chuckled. "Your bro's got such amazing skills at tying the red thread, and you still can't find yourself a girlfriend. You ought to take a good look at yourself."
"Can you get one yourself, dumbass?" Xu Zhuoyue said crossly. "And you're giving me crap."
"I'm having lunch with a beauty today," Song Yunshen shot back.
"Heh, you're just having lunch with Xia Yunuo, aren't you? Any other progress this week? Are you two official?"
"Sorry." Song Yunshen spoke as casually as could be. "It's not Xia Yunuo. I'm having lunch with Xia Jinshu today."
"Go on, keep bragging." Xu Zhuoyue didn't believe him for a second. Not half a word out of this bastard's mouth was true.
There was nothing Song Yunshen could do about it. A spectacular life always broke the mold, beyond the understanding of mere mortals.
So he wouldn't hold it against Xu Zhuoyue.
"It's okay. No matter how much you doubt me, Daddy still loves you."
"Get lost!"
The morning technology exam went smoothly.
At nine thirty, everyone returned to the classroom for more self-study.
Several subject teachers came into the classroom one after another and began handing out summer homework.
Before long, Song Yunshen's desk was piled high with exam papers and exercise books for every subject, enough to stuff his entire backpack full.
"Sister Ping." Xu Zhuoyue let out a long sigh and reached out to poke the back of the girl sitting in front of him. "I'm reserving your summer homework in advance. I'll treat you to a feast during the break!"
"No thanks." Kang Ping flatly declined the meal. "If you want it, come get it from my house yourself. I don't have time to bring it to you."
"Of course. How could I trouble you to deliver it yourself, Sister Ping?" Xu Zhuoyue said with a grin. "Just tell me when you're done, and I'll come get it right away."
"Tell me when you're done copying it," Song Yunshen reminded him from the side. "And write neatly when you copy, okay? Don't make it look like a dog chewed it up."
"If you're copying secondhand homework, quit your whining." Xu Zhuoyue looked speechless. "You're that picky? What, you think you're ordering food? You're lucky there's anything to eat at all!"
"Sister Ping, how about lending it to me first instead?" Song Yunshen immediately turned to Kang Ping with a grin. "I can come get it from your house too."
"Oh." Kang Ping nodded. "I'll be coming to school for make-up classes over the summer anyway. I'm planning to sign up for chemistry and biology, so if you want it, I can just bring it to school for you."
"That would be such a bother."
"It's fine."
"Then thanks in advance."
"You're welcome."
"Wait..." Xu Zhuoyue watched them, utterly dumbfounded, before flying into a rage. "What's so impressive about you two ganging up on me?!"
"I can just give it to you to copy after I'm done," Song Yunshen said with a chuckle.
"How was your handwriting on that winter homework last time any different from dog shit?!" Xu Zhuoyue burst out cursing. "Except it didn't stink, it was exactly the same! How the hell am I supposed to copy that?!"
"Can't be helped. Sister Ping's lending it to me first."
"But I asked first!"
"Can't help being handsome and popular."
"Why don't you go borrow Xia Yunuo's?!"
"What if she leaves it all until the break's almost over? Sister Ping's still the most reliable."
"You bastard!"
Sitting in front of them, Kang Ping grew tired of listening and couldn't help saying, "Can't you just borrow mine to copy after he's done?"
"What if other classmates want to borrow it too?" Xu Zhuoyue looked indignant. "I'm doing this for the good of the whole class."
"How very kind of you." Song Yunshen clapped his hands, moved to tears. "Then why don't you be the last one to copy it? You can return it to Sister Ping when you're done."
"That works too." Kang Ping gave a mild nod.
"Sister Ping, Sister Ping." Zhong Long came over from the back row to join in, speaking quietly. "Let me copy it second, will you? Same as always, twenty yuan per subject."
"Mm." Kang Ping nodded in agreement. "Ask Song Yunshen for it when the time comes."
"No problem!" Zhong Long beamed, then turned to pitch his business to the other classmates.
"Lao Song's a bastard, fine, but why does Fat Dragon get to go ahead of me too?!" Xu Zhuoyue shouted at the injustice.
"He pays," Kang Ping said calmly. "You can go ahead too if you pay. Twenty yuan per subject."
Xu Zhuoyue said, "Uh..."
"Just go to Fat Dragon." Song Yunshen patted him on the shoulder. "He charges five yuan per subject."
"Then I might as well copy yours!"
"See? Wouldn't it have been better to say that in the first place?"
"Fuck!"
With his summer homework taken care of in advance, Song Yunshen felt relaxed in body and mind. Then he heard Xia Yunuo's thoughts.
Now should be about right, shouldn't it? All the summer homework has been handed out, so Teacher Song should be back in the office too.
But how do I ask Song Yunshen? All our classmates are here in the classroom. It feels so awkward.
Maybe I should just go by myself. Having him come with me to the office would be a little strange too.
It wouldn't be good if the teachers got the wrong idea.
Hearing those thoughts, Song Yunshen turned to look at Xia Yunuo and saw her get up from her seat alone and walk straight toward the classroom's back door.
Seeing this, Song Yunshen immediately got up and patted Xu Zhuoyue on the shoulder, signaling him to move aside.
"Where are you going?"
"To play the hero and save the beauty."
"More like a bear going to take a shit, right? You make a trip to the bathroom sound like an epic."
"Hmph, mortal."