A New Week, An Unexpected Lesson

A new week begins.

The days at school always seem endless and monotonous, and after several days, Chen Ran hasn’t felt anything particularly special.

The late summer sun of September is scorching, around 3:30 PM on a Thursday afternoon.

Today, Chen Ran didn’t immediately return home after school let out at 3:00 PM, but instead accompanied Cold to the archery club’s activities.

After all, how could a fake boyfriend and girlfriend not attend each other’s club activities even once?

It just wouldn’t make sense.

Luckily, with the new employee, Ipinas, gradually getting the hang of things at the convenience store, Chen Ran also asked Jiang Zilin to take over the afternoon shift, helping to manage the store until evening when he and Cold would return home.

Today, Chen Ran accompanied Cold to the archery club for their daily practice.

The bright gymnasium.

The wooden floor, reflecting the sunlight, always emitted a grating sound.

Outside, in the courtyard bathed in golden light, the targets accompanied the ‘swoosh-swoosh-swoosh-swoosh’ of arrows piercing deep into them.

Chen Ran sat on the edge of the gymnasium, watching Cold in the distance.

The girl’s long hair was completely tied back in a bun, secured with a bamboo skewer.

Her delicate, charming face was glistening with sweat in the sunlight.

She wore a pure white archery uniform, somewhat old-fashioned, with the lapels of the long coat tucked into her waist, accentuating her graceful, slender figure.

Beneath her deep blue pleated skirt, her feet were bare, showing only a pair of pure white socks, as it was indoors.

Hmm.

Cold actually looks better in her archery uniform than in her school uniform.

The girl just looks more beautiful in these more traditional clothes.

So, she’s more suited to a classic style?

Cold’s fair, slender fingers pulled back the bowstring, as these high school girls in the archery club used modern compound bows.

Unlike ancient bows that required a strongman to pull, these modern bows were still not easy to handle.

Cold had a considerable amount of strength, able to chase her sister around the house and even pin Jiang Zilin to the ground, leaving her to cry out for help.

Well, being able to beat someone like Jiang Zilin, who spends all day at home, isn’t really something to brag about.

Chen Ran, lost in thought, felt a bit sluggish.

The archery club’s daily practice was simple and routine.

It was just watching the vibrant, youthful girls shoot arrows at targets set up in the courtyard, illuminated by the sun.

And.

Senior members were leading new members in warm-up exercises or teaching them how to draw the bow.

Chen Ran didn’t expect that his homeroom teacher, Aili—with her healthy, slightly tan skin, and a head of wavy, auburn shoulder-length hair, a pure foreigner—was also the archery club’s instructor.

Right now, Aili was seriously guiding the new members on how to draw the bow.

She helped the new girls in the archery club pull back the bowstring and maintain the drawn position, aiming at the targets in the distant courtyard.

Many of the girls, who couldn’t pull the bow on their own, were assisted in this way to practice shooting—Chen Ran knew this much.

The force required to draw the bow and the force needed to maintain the drawn position were different.

About a quarter of the total force.

So, with a sixty-pound bow, maintaining the drawn position only required about fifteen pounds of force.

This was a stage every beginner in archery had to go through.

First, adapt to maintaining the drawn position and releasing the arrow, then gradually build strength to draw the bow independently.

Chen Ran sat at the edge of the gymnasium, watching the vibrant, youthful girls continuously draw their bows and shoot.

Hmm~

Feeling a bit sleepy, Chen Ran thought about finding a corner to nap, unnoticed by anyone.

But as the only male in the entire school, how could he not be noticed?

“Chen Ran~”

A short-haired, slender girl quickly bounced over, having just finished her archery practice, her body drenched in sweat, even soaking her pure white archery uniform.

She was one of Cold’s friends at school.

Chen Ran didn’t even know her name, but she was very familiar and insisted on him trying archery.

“Come on, Chen Ran, try it!”

“I… I’m not really into sports…”

Chen Ran waved his hand, mainly because if he showed any athletic ability, he would face invitations from various clubs—he was already the “hot guy” at school, constantly being pulled into different club activities.

He just wanted to continue being a “go-home-club” member, leaving school every afternoon at 3:00 PM, which was just fine.

“Come on, let’s go!”

The girl’s enthusiasm was overwhelming.

And when others noticed the commotion, they quickly gathered around, pushing Chen Ran to try archery.

As a result,

Chen Ran soon found himself standing under the eaves, facing the golden sunlight and the courtyard, surrounded by other girls and Cold’s friend, who quickly shoved a bow into his arms.

Then, she giggled mischievously, and Chen Ran realized she looked especially pretty when she smiled.

Her two large, dark eyes sparkled like twinkling stars.

Curved and beautiful.

“Cold, Cold~”

The girl quickly hugged Cold, who had turned to look at them, seemingly confused about the situation.

“Quick, teach your little boyfriend to shoot, or I will!”

“…”

Under her friend’s teasing gaze, Cold’s fair, delicate face turned a bright red.

This girlish reaction naturally didn’t escape the notice of the other girls, and soon, “Oh~” sounds of excitement filled the air.

Chen Ran didn’t expect things to turn out this way.

But soon enough,

Cold was pushed by her friend right next to Chen Ran.

“Go on, Cold, show your little boyfriend your skills!”

“Umm…”

Chen Ran knew Cold’s abilities all too well.

The current situation left no room for refusal, and Chen Ran, pressing his lips together, saw Cold blush, giving him a pitiful glance, before huffing slightly.

Then,

she moved closer and actually started teaching him how to shoot an arrow…