Chapter 2 – What a Considerate Boy

Not long after Fang Chuning arrived at the classroom, the boy entered, carrying his books.

They were in the same class. To be precise, they had been classmates from kindergarten to elementary school, middle school, and now. Although the two of them had a strong “connection,” they had almost never spoken to each other despite being in the same class for so long.

Except now, due to their roles as the President and Vice President, they occasionally had to communicate.

The boy always appeared gentle, polite, and easy to get along with towards others, but when it came to her, he seemed particularly perfunctory, even cold.

Fang Chuning had noticed long ago that he seemed to dislike her. Now that she had taken the President position that should have been his, he disliked her even more, to the point where he couldn’t be bothered to be perfunctory and occasionally gave her the cold shoulder.

She had never been the type to eagerly please someone who showed no interest. Although they were “childhood sweethearts,” since he disliked her, she wouldn’t bother trying to engage with him.

Fang Chuning stubbornly took out her textbooks from her backpack, which also contained materials for the arts performance two months later.

Gao Qiong, who was sitting next to her, was chatting and laughing with the male classmate behind her. The male classmate was blushing from her teasing, and his eyes kept unintentionally scanning the back of the person next to her.

After one class, while Fang Chuning was busy writing post-class exercises, the boy behind her suddenly came over with his book. He lightly bit his lower lip, his face flushed. “President, I didn’t understand this question the teacher explained just now. Can you explain it to me again?”

Fang Chuning took a moment from her busy schedule to glance at the question he was pointing at. “Didn’t the teacher just explain this question twice? Weren’t you listening?”

Whether it was due to shame or something else, the boy’s face turned bright red. He didn’t dare to make eye contact with her, and his voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. “Please, President…”

Sometimes Fang Chuning couldn’t understand. There was the top student in the class, but they wouldn’t ask him and instead came to ask her, who had barely made it into the top ten.

From any perspective, wouldn’t that Vice President seem more approachable than her?

She glanced at the Vice President in the other row, who had turned around to talk to the boy behind him. Who knows what he said, but he smiled shyly and charmingly, and one could tell at a glance that he had an incredibly good temper.

Fang Chuning seriously thought that it might be because he was too good-looking, so other boys would have a sense of rejection and jealousy towards him to some extent, thus choosing her.

As a qualified student council president, Fang Chuning certainly wouldn’t refuse such a small request. She took his book and patiently re-explained it to him. The boy listened attentively with his head lowered, and the distance between the two was somewhat ambiguous.

On the other side of the classroom, seeing that his good friend hadn’t paid attention to him for a while and seemed to be in a daze, Qin Shaoqing couldn’t help but raise his hand and wave it in front of him.

“Muzhou?”

“Hm?” Xu Muzhou slightly turned his eyes to look at him.

Qin Shaoqing complained, “What are you thinking about? You didn’t even listen to what I was saying, right?”

Xu Muzhou smiled gently and said mildly, “No, I thought what you just said made a lot of sense. I agree with you.”

“Right? Right? Even you think it’s good!” The boy smiled happily.

Xu Muzhou smiled without saying a word. His pale and slender fingers held a pen, forcefully carving a neither long nor short gash on the book, incredibly savage.

During the usual lunch break, Fang Chuning would stay in the president’s office. This office was specially opened for her by the principal, and the decor inside was added and arranged according to her preferences, making it comfortable and quiet.

Gao Qiong lay on the sofa, holding a phone and tapping it boredly. “Do you want to play a game?”

Fang Chuning was looking at the materials for the arts performance two months later and didn’t pay any attention to her.

Gao Qiong leaned over. “Have you decided what our class will perform?”

“No, leave this kind of thing to the class monitor.”

Fang Chuning put the materials aside, draped her arm back, and leaned on the sofa casually. She glanced at the weather outside. “Is it going to rain?”

“Hmm, it looks like it. Why don’t we go play tennis later?”

Fang Chuning gave her a look of disdain. “Playing with you would be no challenge at all.”

Gao Qiong didn’t mind.

“Why do you need so much pressure? Playing is to release pressure.”

It sounded somewhat reasonable. Fang Chuning assumed a pensive pose. This person had let her down so much last night. If she didn’t get back at her, she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

“Alright, let’s play then.”

Other girls joined in as well. These girls were the type who liked to follow Gao Qiong around and ingratiate themselves with her all day. After all, in terms of money and power at school, the Gao family was second only to the Fang family. Fang Chuning didn’t like having a group of people following her around, so they subconsciously shifted their target of flattery to Gao Qiong, who also had a say at school and had a close relationship with Fang Chuning.

Fang Chuning, who had changed into sportswear, waved her tennis racket and glanced at the person approaching her. “What’s up?”

The girl in front of her, whose appearance was awkward, was someone she remembered. She was the youngest daughter of the Zhu family, and her name seemed to be Zhu Xixi. This name was as festive as her appearance. Her face was chubby and rosy, and her plump figure stretched the sportswear out of shape.

Zhu Xixi’s face turned red with embarrassment, reluctant but having no choice but to say, “Can I… can I join?”

Meaning, can she participate in the tennis match.

Before Fang Chuning could say anything, the girls surrounding her had already started laughing mockingly. “Piggy Xixi, you’re not joking, are you? With that body of yours, you’d collapse just from walking a bit faster, and you want to learn to play tennis like others.”

Gao Qiong also held a tennis racket in her hand. She draped her arm around Fang Chuning’s neck and looked her up and down, grinning. “Are you sure?”

The giggling and mocking laughter made Zhu Xixi feel utterly humiliated. She wished she could shrink into a crack in the ground. At the same time, a sense of resentment rose in her heart.

If it weren’t for her family pressuring her to get on good terms with Fang Chuning, why would she have to embarrass herself in front of these people?

Among the group, the tall and curvaceous figures of the girls filled with youthful vitality made Zhu Xixi appear even more obese and unsightly. Feelings of inferiority were churning inside her. She lowered her head, her face looking unpleasant.

“If you want to play, then play.”

The girl’s slightly lazy voice was pleasant and magnetic. The mocking laughter around her instantly fell silent. Zhu Xixi quietly raised her head. The girl standing in front of her was as dazzling as the moonlight at night, never lacking followers around her. Everyone revolved around her as if she were the center of the world.

Zhu Xixi envied her while feeling a bit jealous. How nice would it be if she were the daughter of the Fang family?

Fang Chuning didn’t care whether Zhu Xixi played or not. Her goal today was to beat Gao Qiong until she sang “surrender.”

Many people were already standing by the tennis court, all male classmates who had come to cheer after hearing that they were going to play tennis. As soon as the girls appeared, people started shouting.

Without exception, it was:

“Go, President!!”

Or:

“President, I like you!”

There were also some more reserved ones who pretended to be casual:

“Go, Senior Gao!… President, you too!”

This word “too” successfully attracted Fang Chuning’s attention. She looked up and saw a boy standing at the front of a group of people. He had handsome features and fair skin, the kind of enduring and innocent type. When she looked over, he awkwardly shifted his gaze, the tips of his ears slightly red.

Fang Chuning had seen this kind of situation many times and didn’t mind. She casually glanced past him, but from the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. She paused, somewhat surprised that Xu Muzhou would also come here to watch people play.

She had thought that he only had eyes for endless books.

The overly beautiful boy’s attention wasn’t on her, but rather fixed on something behind her. Fang Chuning followed his gaze and turned around. A few girls behind her were chatting and laughing nonstop. Among them, the most eye-catching was a girl with deep and heroic Western features. She had a radiant face and a hearty laugh, the type that most boys liked.

Fang Chuning glanced at the boy’s direction again. So this person also liked this type, the kind who was physically developed but not as good at studying as her.

Tsk, his taste was just so-so.

Playing tennis was originally an exercise to train the body. Normally, Fang Chuning wouldn’t place too much importance on winning or losing, but today she felt all the blood in her body heating up, excited to the point of showing no mercy. Every time she won a point, enthusiastic cheers would erupt on the court.

Her ponytail swayed behind her head, creating a beautiful arc with her movements. Sweat slid down from her temple, past her snow-white cheeks that were flushed from the exercise, all the way to her jaw, and finally disappeared into her sportswear at the collarbone.

After a match, the girl panted slightly. A few strands of sweat-soaked hair stuck to her cheeks. Below her sports shorts were a pair of legs as straight and slender as chopsticks. Her thin sportswear was wet with sweat, clinging to her slender waist and back, the perfect curves making the boys on the scene blush.

Fang Chuning didn’t notice these things. She walked over and placed her hand on the net in the middle, glancing at Gao Qiong who was sitting on the ground, exhausted like a dog. She said smugly, “Do you yield?”

Gao Qiong rolled her eyes. She spoke while panting heavily, “You… you were a bit too intense today. It’s like you were on a rampage!”

“Because you’re an eyesore.” Fang Chuning raised her chin. “Remember to wash up and wait for me in bed tonight.”

Gao Qiong gave her the middle finger.

After a one-sided crushing match, Fang Chuning finally felt a bit better. She wiped the sticky sweat on her neck and was about to leave the court when she spotted a figure jogging over from the corner of her eye.

“President, have some water.” The boy’s face was slightly red, but his eyes were burning as he looked at her.

Only when he stood in front of her did she realize that wasn’t this the male classmate who sat behind her?

Fang Chuning was about to refuse, but then she heard the boy say, “You can’t drink cold water right after exercising. This is warm water, it’s better for your body.”

Countless boys had brought her water, but it was rare to find someone who could be so thoughtful. Fang Chuning was a bit moved. She took the cup and took a sip. It was indeed warm water, with a slight salty taste.

“I added some salt to it. You just sweated so much, drinking some light salt water can replenish fluids.”

What a good person! Fang Chuning sighed in admiration.

The boy held out a neatly folded towel with both hands, his smile sweet. “Wipe your sweat.”

“Thanks.”

As she wiped her sweat with the towel, Fang Chuning discreetly sized him up. She had been sitting in front of this male classmate for nearly half a semester, yet she still didn’t know his name. It seemed a bit inappropriate to ask directly like this. She would have to check the roll call list another day.

It was almost time for school to end, and as expected, it started raining.