Lower back dimples

He suddenly gasped.

A cold drop of water landed on the back of his neck without warning, startling Ji Ze severely.

He quickly covered his mouth, just barely avoiding alarming the teacher on the podium.

Ji Ze turned sharply, his gaze piercing Jiang Hao with a fierce glare.

That expression struck Jiang Hao as oddly familiar.

He paused, then it clicked: it reminded him of a kitten he used to raise.

Soft and adorable, yet if teased too much, it would fix him with round, bright black eyes, seemingly ablaze.

It would be completely bristled with fury, requiring extensive coaxing before it would acknowledge him again.

Jiang Hao spread his hands, a hint of apology in his smile as he explained, “Your hair was sticking up…”

Ji Ze frowned, turning back and pulling his chair as far forward as possible.

He touched the water on his nape, then presented the back of his head to Jiang Hao, utterly silent.

Watching him, Jiang Hao saw that very tuft of hair indeed spring up again with a ‘whoosh’.

He couldn’t help but sigh.

His hands still itched to touch it, but for now, he dared not make any move.

For the rest of the class and even during the break, Ji Ze remained engrossed in his textbook, eating his bread and drinking milk, not sparing a single glance for his deskmate.

Jiang Hao slipped him several small notes, all of which were ignored.

Finally, he had no choice but to give up, deciding he would try again later.

The next period was physical education, a class almost all boys loved.

Jiang Hao felt stifled in the classroom and was eager to get out onto the field and move around.

As was customary, the entire class lined up by the track at the start of the lesson.

As a new student, Jiang Hao had slotted into the last row based on height.

After exchanging a few jokes with the student beside him, he suddenly remembered something.

He took two steps back, searching for the class monitor in the line, and found Ji Ze standing quietly in a shaded spot nearby.

The teacher blew a whistle, instructing the students to run a lap as a warm-up.

The students, in orderly rows, began jogging along the track.

Ji Ze entered the track, trailing at the very end of the line.

However, his pace was noticeably slower than the students ahead.

As he ran, he gradually fell behind the main group.

A lap didn’t take long.

Soon, the students had returned to their starting positions, beginning their warm-up exercises to the rhythm the teacher called out.

On the track, only Ji Ze remained, running slowly and steadily.

Jiang Hao bent to do his exercises, subtly glancing up at Ji Ze, who was making his way to the shaded area to rest.

Ji Ze was breathing heavily, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, moving at a leisurely pace.

Ji Ze sensed his gaze, turned his head to look at him, then looked away.

After standing for a moment, he sat down on the steps, fanning his face with his hand.

During this time, the PE teacher walked over to him, spoke a few words, and, after confirming he was alright, returned to the team to continue the lesson.

After demonstrating and guiding them through a few movements, the teacher waved his hand, dismissing the boys, who were already itching for action, to play basketball.

The girls headed to another area for badminton.

With a few skillful steals and crisp, leaping shots, Jiang Hao quickly integrated into the boys’ group, slinging arms over shoulders and engaging in playful banter.

Boys typically bonded easily, especially those who enjoyed sports; a couple of games and shared interests were often all it took to become fast friends.

Ji Ze watched from the sidelines, his hands resting on his knees.

Bored, he stared at ants for a while before finally letting out a yawn.

Looking up, his eyes met Jiang Hao’s, who had just passed the ball to someone else on the court.

He immediately clamped his mouth shut, withdrew his hand, and primly tugged at his collar before letting it go.

He then tapped the steps and sat upright, looking perfectly well-behaved.

Jiang Hao watched, a slight pause in his expression, then couldn’t help but chuckle.

Time slowly passed.

Ji Ze propped his chin on his hand, his head nodding, nearly falling completely asleep.

He was only roused when someone tapped his shoulder.

Ji Ze opened his eyes and looked up, seeing the sports committee member.

“Class Monitor, class is over.”

Ji Ze blinked, then nodded.

“Oh… thank you.”

Seeing the sports committee member pushing a basket full of basketballs, Ji Ze offered, “Let me help you return the balls.”

The sports committee member waved a dismissive hand.

“No need, it’s too sunny out.”

“Class Monitor, you should head back to class first.”

Ji Ze opened his mouth.

“…Oh.”

By the court, Jiang Hao had just made a shot.

He effortlessly caught the ball, then, while still several steps away from the basket, casually tossed it.

It landed precisely inside, causing the other balls to bounce and jostle around.

“Class Monitor, you’re still here,” Jiang Hao said.

Ji Ze stood up, patting his pants.

“Yes, I’m leaving now.”

Jiang Hao hummed in acknowledgment, then turned to the sports committee member.

“Want to buy some iced cola?”

The sports committee member nodded.

“Of course!”

“Let me return the balls first.”

He casually hooked an arm over Jiang Hao’s shoulder, grinning.

“What?”

“Are you planning to treat?”

Jiang Hao gave a shake of his shoulder, dislodging the arm.

“Get lost, it’s boiling hot.”

“I can treat, but you pay.”

The sports committee member laughed teasingly, then naturally walked with Jiang Hao towards the equipment room.

Not long after they started walking, Jiang Hao instinctively looked back, seeing only Ji Ze’s retreating figure heading towards the teaching building.

The sports committee member, curious, asked, “What are you looking at?”

“A pretty girl?”

He also looked back.

Jiang Hao asked, “Why didn’t you let the class monitor go with you to return the balls?”

The sports committee member replied matter-of-factly, “Didn’t you see how sunny it is?”

“Besides, it’s just returning balls, I can do it myself.”

Jiang Hao pointed to himself.

“What about me?”

“Am I not a person?”

The sports committee member chuckled, then replied seriously, “Of course not.”

“You’re the one treating.”

Jiang Hao laughed, playfully punching him, while the corner of his eye once again glanced behind him.

Ji Ze returned to the classroom, but first had to submit the attendance sheet.

On the way, he happened to run into the class monitor of Class Six.

They often met during meetings and had become quite familiar with each other.

The Class Six monitor glanced at Ji Ze’s form, saying enviously, “You’re so lucky.”

“Your classmates always cooperate so well, and they even volunteer to help when there’s something to do.”

“My head aches from managing discipline.”

“I must have been crazy to run for class monitor back then.”

Ji Ze clutched the form in his hand, quietly saying, “Yes, they are very good.”

The position of class monitor wasn’t something Ji Ze had initially wanted.

It was his homeroom teacher, Teacher Tian, who had asked him, wondering if he would be willing to contribute to the class.

Ji Ze was bewildered upon hearing this.

The class monitor position was very important, wasn’t it?

Was it really okay for him to take it?

Teacher Tian smiled encouragingly.

“I believe you can do very well.”

“During the class meeting, I’ll ask for everyone’s opinion.”

“They are very supportive of you.”

“Trust me this once, how about it?”

Ji Ze hesitated, then said, “If the students don’t object and think I can do it, I will try my best.”

Teacher Tian patted his shoulder.

“You can do it.”

“Communicate more with your classmates if anything comes up, or you can come to me for help.”

Ji Ze nodded earnestly.

When it was brought up in the class meeting, none of the students objected, instead thinking Ji Ze would be a good class monitor.

Their only concern was whether it would be too much of a burden on his health.

Teacher Tian said, “The class monitor’s job is extensive, so I hope all of you will cooperate well with Ji Ze.”

“You are a collective, a big family, and you must help each other.”

The students nodded.

In truth, even if Teacher Tian hadn’t said anything, they would have helped, as taking care of Ji Ze had become their habit.

Ji Ze wanted to fulfill his duties as class monitor properly, but in reality, he often didn’t need to do much.

Before he could even speak, his classmates, with their keen perceptiveness and thoughtfulness, would have already helped complete tasks, always considering his poor health.

Logically, this was a good thing, but over time, Ji Ze always felt a faint sense of loss.

After submitting the attendance sheet, the physics teacher called him over and asked him to take the homework back to the class to distribute.

Ji Ze took the pile and carried the homework back to the classroom.

Forty-odd notebooks had a considerable weight.

Ji Ze placed the homework on the podium, just about to start distributing it.

However, the student on duty, who was erasing the blackboard, saw him and casually called out the name of the subject representative, beckoning them over.

“Come quickly and hand out the homework.”

The subject representative immediately went to the podium, grabbed the homework, and began distributing it.

Ji Ze: “…”

‘Well, this is a good thing, a good thing.’

He then quietly returned to his seat.

In fact, distributing the homework wasn’t even his job; he had just thought of doing it while he was there.

His own homework was placed on his desk.

He opened it to check for any mistakes he had made yesterday and began recalculating and correcting them.

Beside him, his passionate deskmate, Jiang Hao, was sticky with sweat.

He tugged at his collar with one hand, fanning his neck furiously with his exercise book, but the heat wouldn’t subside.

He simply walked to the air conditioner at the back of the classroom, lifting the hem of his shirt to let the cold air blow on him.

The other boys gathered around the air conditioner, squinting as the cold air hit them.

Seeing Jiang Hao’s exposed stomach, they playfully patted it.

“Kid, you’ve got a good physique!”

“Six-pack abs, no less!”

Jiang Hao slapped away the hand.

“Get lost, your hands are all sweaty.”

“Don’t you dare touch me.”

The boys burst into laughter, then began showing off their own physiques.

‘So what if it’s abs?’

‘I have them too, and they’re huge!’

As they chatted, the conversation somehow drifted to another mark of a good physique: dimples of Venus.

These two indentations on the lower back, located on either side of the connection between the lumbar spine and the sacrum above the buttocks, are also known as “Venus dimples” and are considered the body’s eyes of sexiness.

The group of boys, bored, narcissistically began lifting their shirts to examine their own lower backs.

When they couldn’t see, they asked others to check for them, but alas, none had them.

Suddenly, one boy remembered something.

“Hey, I think the class monitor has those dimples.”

“I saw them before.”

The other boys were surprised.

“Really?”

“What do they look like?”

“But speaking of which, the class monitor has a pretty good physique too.”

Jiang Hao’s interest was piqued.

He blurted out, “Let’s just take a look, then.”

With that, he actually walked over, too quickly for anyone to stop him.

Ji Ze suddenly felt a chill on his lower back, startling him so much he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“He really does!”

“Quite sexy.”

Ji Ze sat on his chair, his back curving into a beautiful arc.

Close to the edge of his waistband, two deep dimples of Venus were clearly visible against his fair skin.

It truly was, undeniably, quite sexy.

Curious, Jiang Hao couldn’t resist reaching out to poke one.

Because the dimples were close to his waistband, the elastic of his school pants, touched by a finger, brought forth an abrupt sense of danger.

Goosebumps immediately erupted on Ji Ze’s back and arms.

He whirled around, swinging an elbow, his face flushed with both embarrassment and anger.

“Are you sick?!”

Jiang Hao stood behind him, his hand resting on Ji Ze’s waist, having lifted his shirt, almost as if he were embracing him from behind.

Ji Ze’s nostrils filled with Jiang Hao’s scent and body heat, and the realization that many classmates were watching made his face flush even deeper.

His ears were crimson, and a faint pink tinged his neck.

Jiang Hao stood extremely close behind him.

It was rare to see a boy blush so intensely, which he found a little odd.

Was it because of his fair skin?

And his pretty face?

In any case, it was quite pleasant to look at.

Having accidentally provoked him, Jiang Hao immediately retracted his hand, offering a knowing, placating smile.

“My apologies, Class Monitor, I startled you.”

Ji Ze was choked with indignation, his lips pressed into a thin line.

He wanted to explode, but the other party had apologized so promptly that continuing to scold him would make him seem overly sensitive.

He could only clench his fists in frustration, stiffly saying, “It’s fine.”

“Don’t just lift people’s clothes.”

Between straight men, jokes could often be more unrestrained, leaving him unsure how to respond, feeling a mix of helplessness and gritted teeth.

The other boys, witnessing this scene, pulled Jiang Hao back to the air conditioner, pressing down on his shoulder and whispering, “Kid, don’t bully our class monitor.”

“If you make him mad, do you believe we’ll beat you up?”

The tone was jocular, yet clearly contained a serious undercurrent.

Jiang Hao raised a hand in a salute, nodding with a smile.

“Understood, understood.”