Summer in Your Name - 20
Saving the Beauty
For over a month, the study pace had been relentless. PE class, which Sheng Xia used to dread, had become something she looked forward to.
The school had canceled arts, music, civics, and other non exam subjects for senior year, the only one left was PE. During PE, the massive machine called ‘senior year’ would briefly pause, entering a rest period.
At Affiliated High, PE curriculum varied by class and semester. Word was that first year featured swimming, waltz, Latin, aerobics, and tai chi. The higher the grade, the more hardcore it got.
This semester, Class 6's PE class was basketball. The boys were thrilled. Most of the girls less so.
Thursday afternoon's first period was PE. Sheng Xia parked her scooter and headed straight for the sports field.
People were scattered in small groups under the trees by the field. The PE teacher had just arrived, and with a loud “Class begins!” the students lazily lined up.
Sheng Xia was new, she didn't know where to stand. Xin Xiaohe ran over and grabbed her arm. "Stand to my left." Then she he paused, comparing heights, realizing Sheng Xia was actually taller. "Are you wearing insoles?"
"No."
The girls nearby looked over.
Sheng Xia was in plain white canvas shoes. Where would insoles be?
"Sheng Xia's taller than Old Xin! Wouldn't have guessed!"
"She is!"
Xin Xiaohe: "Then stand to my right."
Sheng Xia let herself be shuffled around.
The boys behind them craned their necks, also surprised by this discovery.
Amidst the chatter, Zhang Shu and Hou Junqi appeared, pushing a cart of basketballs from the gym. The wheels rattled and clanged against the ground.
Well, it was just Hou Junqi pushing. Zhang Shu walked beside him, dribbling a ball, occasionally doing a crossover, his posture and walking rhythm relaxed. No deliberate pauses to show off.
Sunlight danced in his soft bangs. The boy was radiant. Dazzling.
No wonder people said youth was synonymous with sunshine.
Even with daily exposure building immunity, the girls still whisper in twos and threes.
Xin Xiaohe's roommate, Zhou Xuanxuan, said, "Hou Junqi's actually kinda hot when he plays basketball, but next to Zhang Shu, he might as well be a eunuch.”
“Hahaha!” Xin Xiaohe burst out laughing, not holding back. "True."
They bickered constantly, but even Xin Xiaohe had to admit Zhang Shu had the looks.
Hou Junqi was admitted as a basketball athlete but stopped training after an injury. Once he stopped, he'd gained weight fast, losing his former shape. Luckily, he was tall. On his own, he didn't look fat, just stocky.
If he weren't standing next to Zhang Shu, he'd probably still pass as a good-looking guy.
"Sheng Xia," Xin Xiaohe patted her shoulder, "which school has hotter guys? No. 2 High or Affiliated High?"
Sheng Xia was spacing out, staring at the knee pad peeking out from under Zhang Shu’s basketball shorts, completely frozen.
"Sheng Xia?"
She snapped back. "Huh?"
"No. 2 High guys or Affiliated High?"
Sheng Xia considered.
Generally speaking, probably No. 2 High. Most of them knew how to dress, especially those who ran with "the crowd." Despite their rough edges, they knew how to carry themselves. The guys here were plainer by comparison.
But individually...
Zhou Xuanxuan grinned. "Don't put her on the spot. Can't you see her staring at Zhang Shu? Her eyes are glued to him."
Sheng Xia: ...
She swore she hadn't.
But, maybe she was imagining it, she felt Zhang Shu’s gaze kept flickering toward her too.
Oh no, he’s wearing that knee pad to send her a message, isn’t he?
Xin Xiaohe noticed her pale expression. "Xia Xia, is your period over? How are you going to play ball later?"
Sheng Xia blinked.
It was true what they said. Tell one lie, and you need a hundred more to cover it up.
"Almost. I'll be fine."
---
Hou Junqi, as sports rep, was surprisingly competent. He led the warm-up run, guided the stretching, and demonstrated drills with the teacher. Even more professional than the teacher himself.
Then came free practice. The boys didn't need practice. They split into teams and started playing right away.
The girls just tossed balls back and forth, chatting idly under the blazing sun.
"Dribble! Move! What are you, seals playing catch?" The PE teacher's roar jolted the girls out of their slacking. They spread out and started practicing dribbling.
Back at No. 2 High, PE class was a breeze. Run a couple laps, then free time.
Sheng Xia had barely ever touched a basketball. Forget dribbling; she couldn't even bounce it properly. She awkwardly shuffled the ball from one end of the court to the other, then awkwardly shuffled back.
She was hunched over, focused on the ball, oblivious to her surroundings. Then she heard someone shout, "Sheng Xia!”
She clutched the ball and straightened up, a basketball was hurtling toward her from high in the air, whistling as it came, menacing.
At the same time, a figure in basketball gear rushed toward her. A solid arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her aside. Then it let go as both hands caught the ball cleanly.
The ball stopped inches from her face.
A hair's breadth away.
Sheng Xia's heart pounded wildly, still reeling from the scare.
Zhang Shu's face appeared from behind the ball. "Boo!" He fake threw the ball at her, then pulled it back, gripping it tight. Sheng Xia's eyes flinched shut at the fake move. Zhang Shu's smile was unrestrained, almost smug. "Scared silly?"
Xin Xiaohe, who'd shouted out earlier, ran over. "You okay? Don't practice near them. They play too rough."
Sheng Xia finally processed what happened.
The ball had flown toward her. Zhang Shu had stopped it.
And now he was waiting for his medal.
"Thanks," she murmured, hugging her arms, feeling the shoulder he'd briefly touched grow warm.
Zhang Shu's mouth curved. "No big deal.”
He dribbled back onto the court. The other guys looked their way, whistling and hooting. "Hero saves beauty!” "Shu-ge's freaking awesome!" All of it drilled into Sheng Xia's ears.
Even Xin Xiaohe grinned. “Girl, you have no idea how fast Zhang Shu ran. Faster than the ball. Wasn't that hot?"
"I... I didn't see clearly."
"Really?"
"Mm."
"Oooh~"
---
By the end of class, Sheng Xia never wanted to take PE again.
Back in the classroom, she was drained. Zhang Shu, on the other hand, was the opposite. He was glowing, brimming with vitality.
Sweat covered his forehead. He stood under the fan, tilting his head back, chugging soda. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, like he was swallowing quail eggs whole.
"Got a tissue?" he asked, lowering his head after finishing the can.
Sheng Xia pulled a pack from her drawer and handed it over. He didn't stand on ceremony, yanking out half the pack and lifting his bangs to wipe his sweat.
Hou Junqi walked in from the hallway. Seeing this, he grinned. "Ooh, someone's getting beauty service after a game. How’d you get so lucky? Hero saves beauty, and the treatment is different, huh?"
Sheng Xia's hand, still holding the tissues, slowly withdrew. She dropped the pack onto his desk with a look that said: Help yourself.
Zhang Shu glanced at her rapidly reddening earlobes. He crumpled the used tissues into a ball and tossed it at Hou Junqi's head. "Here, beauty's favor. Catch it. Feeling lucky?"
Hou Junqi shielded his head from the tissue attack. "Damn! Was that necessary?!"
---
Once school officially started, senior year couldn't openly schedule extra classes anymore. On Saturdays and Sunday mornings, the school organized all day "self-study" sessions. Participation was "voluntary." But everyone knew if you didn't come, you'd fall behind. Almost no one opted out.
Effectively, they only had Sunday afternoons off.
On Saturday, most of the class swapped their blue and white uniforms for casual clothes. The classroom brightened, just like during holiday extra classes.
Many girls wore pretty dresses or shorts, full of flair.
Sheng Xia, though, stuck to her blue-and-white uniform, collar buttoned up tight, pants loose and flowing.
Xin Xiaohe asked, "Xia Xia, why are you still in uniform?"
Sheng Xia looked down at herself. "Hm? Why wouldn't I?"
Zhang Shu heard this and turned. He tried to recall what she'd worn before she got her uniforms.
Nothing came to mind. Probably not much different from the uniform anyway.
"We don't have to wear it on weekends," Xin Xiaohe said.
Sheng Xia's eyes curved into crescents. "Oh, I didn't know. It's all the same to me."
She'd bought three sets of uniforms. Enough to rotate.
Xin Xiaohe said, "I bet you’d look great in white. Like, cotton or linen, or gauzy dresses. Actually, not just dresses, you'd look good in anything."
"I don't know," Sheng Xia replied.
"You've never worn one?" Xin Xiaohe saw the blank look on Sheng Xia's face and was surprised. "I thought I was the only one who never wore skirts."
Sheng Xia just said, "Because I ride a scooter."
"A scooter's fine. You don't have to pedal. You can just wear longer skirts."
"Mm… I guess.” Sheng Xia wasn't good at disagreeing. "Pants are just more convenient."
"When I was little, I loved wearing skirts. The super sparkly ones." Xin Xiaohe said, not sparing herself any embarrassment. “But my legs were so thick and dark, my friend said I looked like a fluorescent piglet, hahahaha. After that, I just admired skirts on other people.”
"No way, you're thin?" Sheng Xia meant it. Xin Xiaohe wasn't petite, but she definitely wasn’t heavy.
Xin Xiaohe sighed. "I only got thin in high school. But I’m not used to skirts anymore. They feel too breezy, haha.”
Sheng Xia nodded. She understood that feeling completely. "Same."
She liked them. But wasn't used to them anymore.
Zhang Shu, bored, found himself listening to the two girls chat, chin propped on his hand.
At her words, his eyebrow lifted.
Same?
Same what? She also got thinner in high school? Or she also wasn't used to wearing skirts?
An image flashed through his mind. Her in a dress. Pale arms. Delicate ankles. Waist so narrow, he glanced at his own forearm, he could probably circle it with one hand.
Cough. He cleared his throat lightly, his hand propping up his face now moved to cover his mouth and nose as he quickly turned away.
When Sheng Xia looked over at the sound, all she saw was the side of his lowered head.
He was wearing a black t-shirt today. No design, just a small, square rivet at the nape of his neck. That lone stud drew your eyes immediately.
And with his head down, a line of vertebrae protruded along his neck, disappearing into his short hair, like a little dragon’s spine.
It was just the right amount of wildness and strength.
For some reason, her mind flashed back to him blocking that ball for her. His palm meeting the high speed moving basketball. That solid thump. It must have hurt. Yet he didn't react at all.
And the strength with which he'd moved her, like he could lift her with one arm…
He cleared his throat again, soft, barely audible, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly.
Sheng Xia snapped out of it, quietly looking away. Her gaze fell on the knee pad on his legs again.
At least the gift was useful. Even if he eventually finds out the law book was from her, it’d probably balance things out, right? she thought.
---
On weekends, the underclassmen didn't have school. The lunch center was back to serving only the seniors, and it was practically empty.
Hou Junqi, never one to read the room, was great at making things awkward.
He plopped down right next to Sheng Xia and waved at Zhang Shu. "Over here!"
So Sheng Xia was once again sandwiched between two tall guys, head down like a kidnapped damsel.
Hou Junqi wolfed down his food, finished in record time, and went back for more. Zhang Shu ate at a normal pace, normal amount.
Sheng Xia ate little and deliberately fast. When she finished, she said, "I'm done. Going now," and left without waiting for a reply.
Announcing it was her politeness. Not waiting for an answer was her attitude.
Well. Someone's got a temper.
Since the "beauty's favor" incident, Sheng Xia had been ignoring them for two days.
In those two days, Zhang Shu played basketball every afternoon. Worn the knee pads every time. She hadn't reacted at all.
Interesting. Timid as she is, she's not scared off. Her conviction is strong.
The light of righteousness really was bright, huh?
"A-Shu, what are you staring at?" Hou Junqi waved a hand in front of Zhang Shu's face. "So devout?"
"Watching a bodhisattva," Zhang Shu said.
"...?"
Zhang Shu: "Just manifested. You didn't see?"
Hou Junqi looked at the door, completely lost. "...?"
Zhang Shu: "You’re lacking karmic blessings.”
Hou Junqi: "..."
Zhang Shu: "Watch less of that stuff. Do some good deeds."
Hou Junqi: "..."
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