A Secret in the Sports Field

However, that was a concern for the afternoon. For now, she still had no choice but to head to the sports field.

Despite her discomfort, being among others felt significantly safer than being alone.

Carrying a sense of unease, the young woman descended the stairs alone.

During the break for third-year high school students, the corridors were always eerily empty.

Enduring strange glances alone was an unpleasant experience, especially for Ye Xingmian, who was still running a high fever and felt a peculiar emptiness in her chest.

Clutching her chest, the young woman kept her head down, slowly making her way to the sports field.

A painful sense of loneliness always washed over her whenever she saw the scattered crowds on the field, moving in twos and threes.

The young woman hugged her chest and sat in a corner, waiting for class to begin.

Even now, she remained profoundly unaccustomed to her body. The slightest movement would cause intense friction, a sensation that was both painful and bizarre, like an electric shock—a tingling numbness that she simply couldn’t get used to.

Yet, despite everything, she couldn’t conceive of any other way to alleviate this predicament beyond tightly covering her chest.

Finally, class began. Spotting her classmates gathering in formation under the sports representative’s command in the distance, the young woman hurried over.

The formation followed a specific order: girls in front, boys behind, with taller individuals on the left and shorter ones on the right.

Due to her physical condition, Ye Xingmian hadn’t attended a physical education class in a long time.

The last row of the formation was naturally filled with tall, burly boys. She attempted to squeeze through the human wall, hoping to return to her previous spot.

“Hey, who are you?”

A tanned boy, over 1.8 meters tall and wearing a thin jacket, clearly looked ready to play basketball. He frowned, staring at the girl attempting to squeeze past him.

“Th-that… could you let me in?”

Seeing that she couldn’t get through, Ye Xingmian grew nervous.

Clutching her chest, she lowered her head and asked cautiously.

“Hey, have you seen her before?”

He nudged the boy beside him.

The other boy merely glanced at the young woman before shaking his head.

“No impression.”

“Eh?”

It was understandable that they had no impression of her; after all, the young woman was usually inconspicuous at school.

Still, their expressions couldn’t help but make her nervous.

“Are you in our class?”

“Y-yes… I am Ye Xingmian…”

“Oh, you’re that short boy. Why are you acting like a girl? The PE teacher rearranged the lines earlier; go ask the sports representative.”

“Oh… alright…”

Ultimately, he still couldn’t find his place. The young man was left with only one choice: to ask the sports representative directly in front of the entire class.

However, he was thin-skinned and harbored a secret, which presented a significant challenge to his psyche.

Finally, mustering his courage, he walked to the front of the line. Before he could speak, a voice suddenly called out from nearby.

Someone was calling his name.

Turning his gaze towards the source of the voice, his eyes widened slightly.

“Cl-class President…?”

The petite young woman, the class president, stood at the very front of the formation, her calm eyes fixed on him.

Then she waved towards him.

After much hesitation, the young man still walked over with a slight delay.

“What is it, Class President…?”

Liu Yinuo looked at the young man before her, sensing a good opportunity to interact, and spoke.

“Ye-Xingmian, do you not have a spot? You can stand next to me for now. I’ll explain your situation to the teacher when they arrive.”

“Eh… is that alright?”

His cherry-pink eyes widened slightly, revealing their crystalline sparkle, which caused Liu Yinuo to momentarily lose herself in thought.

“It’s fine, just stand here next to me.”

A moment later, Liu Yinuo recovered and turned her head, gesturing to the spot beside her.

She was at the very end of the first row, and the spot beside her naturally formed a small protrusion outside the main formation, making it quite conspicuous.

“Thank you…”

Clutching his chest, the young man weakly offered his thanks. Beside him, Liu Yinuo responded with a smile. She looked at the boy next to her, pleased that she had successfully helped him.

However, she failed to notice the young man’s feverish, swaying body, which resembled a flag caught in a strong wind, as if he might faint at any moment.

Before the PE teacher arrived, Ye Xingmian, feeling terribly dizzy and unwell, bit his lip, attempting to use the pain to clear his head. Just as he managed to regain some composure, he looked up and gazed forward.

Yet, he suddenly spotted someone he wished not to see…

Qin Haiyue, the blonde, blue-eyed young woman, stood in the distance, coldly watching him. Upon realizing he had seen her, a sneer curled her lips. She made a slitting motion across her neck with one hand.

This gesture sent a chill through him, as if he had plunged into an icy abyss.

His limbs grew unnaturally cold. Despite still having a fever and a throbbing head, fear made his entire body tremble, causing the arms he had been clutching to his chest to inadvertently drop.

“Ye-Xingmian… what’s wrong…?”

Noticing the strange expression on the young man’s face, Liu Yinuo frowned subtly. She followed his gaze but saw nothing; the empty buildings between them were deserted.

“N-nothing…”

When Liu Yinuo turned back, the boy beside her had already lowered his head, clutching his arms, and remained silent.

However, this strange reaction still put the young woman on alert.

Liu Yinuo said nothing, and everyone quietly waited for the PE teacher to arrive.

The PE teacher for Class 14 was a tall man with a seemingly gentle and approachable disposition. He had barely arrived when he was hastily stopped by Ye Xingmian.

Despite his timid nature and petite stature, making him resemble a tiny titmouse before the towering PE teacher, he still spoke in a trembling, hoarse voice.

“T-teacher… I’m not feeling well… I’d like to ask for leave to return to the classroom…”

“Hmm? Go ahead. Do you want someone to accompany you?”

Perhaps seeing the young man’s obedient demeanor, coupled with the fact that few students skipped PE class and rarely lied, the tall PE teacher readily agreed. Only after Ye Xingmian slowly departed with unsteady steps did the teacher feel a touch of oddness.

“Who was that girl? I don’t recall seeing her before.”

A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the crowd.

“Teacher, he’s a boy!”

“A boy?” He scratched the back of his head, seemingly troubled by his inability to even discern someone’s gender. “How can he be a boy? He looks completely like a girl, doesn’t he?”

Just as he was still pondering and preparing to start class, another girl from the front row called out to him.

“Teacher, the homeroom teacher called for me before class. I need to go as well.”

“Oh, you’re the Class President, aren’t you? Go on, go on.”

After Ye Xingmian left, Liu Yinuo also departed.

The PE teacher rallied the students to prepare for laps, but amidst the lively crowd, a young woman with a sullen expression appeared distracted.

Lin Ziyan moved her wrists and ankles with the crowd, yet her gaze occasionally drifted elsewhere.

It was in the direction where Liu Yinuo had previously run towards Ye Xingmian.