Chapter 8: Strawberry matcha milk on her desk
When Lin Zhiyuan saw Mo Yunru in the hallway, he wanted to talk to her, but the thought of possibly coming across as a creep stopped him in his tracks. Instead, he decided to simply look at her from behind and try to get her attention that way. He tried to catch her attention, but despite his efforts, she didn't seem to notice or acknowledge him. He was starting to wonder if he should approach her directly and start a conversation, even if it meant risking coming across as a creep.
Finally arriving at the basketball court, Lin Zhiyuan placed his bag on the bench and took a deep breath. As the practice began, Lin Zhiyuan couldn't help but keep sighing every few minutes, as if there was something on his mind. His focus seemed to be elsewhere, and his usual enthusiastic and lively demeanor had changed into one of distraction.
The other players noticed his behavior and would occasionally look in his direction with confused looks on their faces, although they never said anything about his actions.
The team manager, Wu Lisha, noticed Lin's visibly distracted mood during the practice and decided to blow the whistle and clap loudly to gather everyone's attention.
"Okay, everyone, gather around!" Wu Lisha shouted.
Everyone looked up from their workouts, puzzled by the interruption, but quickly did as instructed. While the other players gathered around, Lin Zhiyuan continued to sit on the bench; it was obvious he wasn't paying attention.
Mu Chen noticed that Lin Zhiyuan wasn't paying attention to what Wu Lisha said, and he lightly slapped the back of his head.
Lin Zhiyuan awakened from his trance. "Hey, what was that for?"
"You weren't listening, were you?"
Lin Zhiyuan pouted. "I-I was."
"Okay, so what did Lisha say?"
"I don't know."
Before Mu Chen could say anything else, the team manager, Wu Lisha, quickly interrupted him and called for a huddle. "Lin Zhiyuan, what's the reason you're so distracted today?"
Lin Zhiyuan scratched the back of his head. "I think I'm just not in the mood—no, no. I think I'm sick."
Fu Yichen was standing beside Hu Jun, a tall and muscular third-year high school student who was the team's power forward. Hu Jun was 190 cm tall and had a slim yet impressive physique. His facial features were handsome and striking, with his sharp jaw and tall nose complementing his tall and slender frame. His sleepy yet intense eyes gave him a mysterious and attractive air, making it hard to look away when he was around.
Fu Yichen, who was standing beside Hu Jun, snickered. "Zhiyuan, I know what kind of sickness you have."
Lin Zhiyuan curiously looked up at him. "What is it?"
"Love sickness," he said before laughing hard.
Everyone rolled their eyes.
Once they had all made their way back home, the basketball team members immediately bombarded the team's WeChat group chat with messages. A flurry of texts and images came pouring in from all members of the team.
Not Yichen: [I bet all of you a hundred yuan that Zhiyuan likes the transfer student from Xu Ran's class.]
June: [LOL with the way Zhiyuan looked at the transfer student; everyone who saw it will know he likes her. What kind of idiot doesn't know Lin Zhiyuan like her.]{dumbfounded.jpg}
Chenmu: [That idiot is Zhiyuan himself.]
Lin Zhiyuan, who was reading the messages, frowned. Who likes who?
Lin Zhiyuan typed something, then quickly sent it.
Yuanzhi: [??? What are you all talking about? Me? Like her? ]{dumbfounded.jpg}
Not Yichen: [YEAH. It's pretty obvious, actually.]
Lin Zhiyuan was silent for a few seconds and just sent a question mark.
Yuanzhi: [??? ]
Not Yichen: [WAIT. Don't tell me your heart hasn't skipped a beat when you saw her, or finding your thoughts drifting back to her; maybe you find yourself smiling or feeling happy just at the thought of her.]. DON'T TELL ME YOU HAVEN'T FELT THAT]
Lin Zhiyuan was speechless. Isn't that normal? He questioned himself.
Wait...
"Now that I think about it... wait... are you kidding me?"
When Lin realized the depth of his feelings for Mo Yunru, he began to question whether or not he had just fuxked up. He had always believed that love would just get in the way, but for some reason, when it came to Mo, he felt like he didn't dislike it.
Lin Zhiyuan decided to try and get some rest, hoping to clear his mind from all the thoughts and emotions that had been running through his head. However, as he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, he found himself unable to relax in his attempt to do so. The feelings that he had discovered towards Mo Yunru were too powerful and distracting for him to just push aside and forget, so all he could do was lay there, with the thoughts of his new-found feelings filling his mind and keeping him up all night.
...
The next day
As Mo Yunru arrived at her classroom, she saw Ling Ran sitting beside her desk. Ling Ran then smiled and waved at her as she did the same.
After taking her seat beside Ling Ran, Mo quickly noticed that there were several things under her desk that caught her attention. Under her desk, she discovered a bunch of chocolates and a letter, probably love letters, which she found quite unexpected. On top of her desk, on the other hand, there was a cartoon image of strawberry matcha milk, which also had a note attached to it that caught her eye.
"Have a good day." As Mo observed the note attached to the cartoons of strawberry matcha milk, she couldn't help but notice the beautiful handwriting, which was bold yet gentle. It was as if each letter was being written with delicate care and precision.
"Wow, that's a lot of chocolates and letters, Yun'er. It's just your second day, but you already have a lot of admirers."
Mo Yunru looked at her. "Do you want one, Ran? I can't possibly finish all of this."
Ling Ran shook her head. "No thank you; I'm not a fan of sweet things," she paused. "Oh, by the way, A'yu, have you decided what club you'll choose? Everyone needs to be in a club."
Mo Yunru was silent for a second. "Not yet."
Ling Ran then smiled happily, as if it's a good thing she hasn't picked a club yet. "If you don't have a club in mind yet, why don't you try the Student Council? I heard that senior Yang Jie, the Student Council's treasurer, will transfer schools next month, and she's been stressing about finding someone who'll replace her."
Mo Yunru thought about it for a second. There's a lot of pros to joining a student council, so why not give it a try? "Okay, why don't you go with me later?"
When it was time for lunch, Mo Yunru and Ling Ran sat at the same table where they had sat together the day before. The two of them sat next to each other and ate their meals in silence for the most part, with a few small talk topics here and there to break the silence.
As Mo Yunru was sitting at the lunch table in silence, someone suddenly placed two cartoons of strawberry matcha milk in front of her. She looked up and was surprised to see that it was Lin Zhiyuw himself who had given them to her. He was blushing profusely, as his cheeks were a bright red from embarrassment. She could sense his bashfulness through the way he looked down avoidantly as he placed the cartons of milk in front of her.
Everyone who witnessed Lin Zhiyuan giving Mo Yunru the cartoons of strawberry matcha milk was surprised and even dumbfounded. It was well known that he always kept his distance from girls; even if he was smiling at them when talking, it was still noticeable that he was putting up a wall when interacting with them. So when Lin Zhiyuan suddenly gave Mo Yunru the cartons of matcha milk, everyone was caught off guard by the sudden gesture, as it was so out of character. Some were even beginning to wonder if Lin Zhiyuan was interested in men.
'So he was the one who gave me the strawberry matcha milk this morning.'
"Uh, thank you?"
Lin Zhiyuan blushed more. "No need to thank me. I just found them on the road."
Mo Yunru was silent. Seriously?
How cute. She thought.
She smiled. "Won't I get diarrhea if I drink this?"
Lin Zhiyuan was panicking. What if she won't drink it? "No, of course not. I just bought it."
"Thank you." She smiled thanking him again.
When Lin Zhiyuan saw the way Mo Yunru's eyes disappeared into crescents, he was almost taken aback by her smile. She had a bright and radiant smile, one that seemed to shine like the sun, illuminating her whole face. As he beheld her smile, he couldn't help but take in the sight with wonder and amazement.
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