Exercises

During PE class, with the school sports meet drawing near, the teacher had freed up time for the students, cancelling lessons.

They were all encouraged to practice their respective events and retrieve the necessary sports equipment from the storage room.

Ji Ze took a shot put.

Prior to this, Teacher Tian and his classmates, having learned he had signed up for an event, had all inquired, some even offering, “Are there not enough people?”

“I can join.”

Ji Ze waved his hand dismissively.

“No,” he stated.

“I wanted to sign up myself.”

“But, your body…”

“I will intensify my practice,” Ji Ze assured them.

“I won’t hold the class back.”

“No, that’s not it!”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Ji Ze paused for a moment before nodding.

“I understand.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

Thus, during PE class, Ji Ze found an empty spot off to the side and began his practice.

The teacher had drawn lines on the ground with chalk, allowing students to gauge their throwing distance and track their progress.

Ji Ze attempted his first throw, but it barely crossed the ten-meter line.

For a boy, this distance was quite short.

He frowned, adjusted his posture, and threw again.

This time, it reached 10.5 meters.

Jiang Hao had been observing him from the start.

He approached Ji Ze ahead of the others, patting his shoulder.

“Class Monitor, your throwing posture is a bit off.”

Ji Ze turned to look at him, then earnestly glanced at the shot put in his hand.

Ultimately, he handed it to Jiang Hao, requesting a demonstration.

Jiang Hao explained in detail, “Separate your feet, one in front of the other, about 25 centimeters apart.”

“Shift your body’s center of gravity slightly forward, towards the center point between your feet.”

“Then, grip the ball firmly, just like this, with your fingers evenly spread to prevent it from slipping.”

After positioning himself and gripping the ball securely, he swung his arm up and down twice before unleashing a powerful throw.

The shot put sailed far, easily landing on the fifteen-meter line.

Ji Ze stared at that line, almost wishing it could shift to where his own throw had landed.

He had only managed just over ten meters; the difference was simply too vast.

“Try it the way I showed you.”

Ji Ze took the shot put, positioned himself, and mimicked the grip perfectly.

“Like this, right?”

Jiang Hao adjusted his thumb slightly, moving it a fraction.

“Correct,” he affirmed.

Ji Ze pressed his lips together, raising the shot put above his head.

Recalling Jiang Hao’s earlier movements, he was about to swing twice and throw.

Suddenly, a hand appeared on his lower back.

Someone was supporting his waist, pressing his right shoulder back, and whispering in his ear, “You need to lean back, curving your body into an arc.”

Ji Ze stiffened, his composure faltering.

“You, you can just tell me.”

“I’ll do it myself…”

“But you can’t see, so you wouldn’t know how much to curve,” Jiang Hao’s hand remained on his waist.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

“I won’t hurt you.”

Ji Ze’s ears began to redden, and he felt utterly speechless.

Was that the main point?! He thought.

‘Big brother, this posture is highly problematic!’

Every time he was with Jiang Hao, the latter’s unreserved attitude left Ji Ze feeling mentally exhausted, unable to voice his objections.

‘Alright, just focus on practicing.’

‘This is normal, perfectly normal,’ he thought.

Ji Ze began to self-hypnotize, but his ears continued to burn red.

He leaned back, guided by Jiang Hao’s hand, then looked up, directly into the vast blue sky.

Pushing off with his back foot, he powerfully hurled the shot put diagonally forward and upward with both arms.

After stabilizing himself, he immediately looked down.

“Twelve meters.”

“Once your posture is correct, more practice will easily add a few more meters,” Jiang Hao, who had been watching, said with a smile.

For the remainder of the time, Ji Ze continued to practice for a while longer.

Jiang Hao was almost always teaching him hands-on.

The moment he saw Ji Ze sweating and panting, he immediately took hold of his wrist, pulling him aside to rest without a word.

“Since you’ve entered, of course you’ll want to strive for a good ranking,” Jiang Hao said.

“All sports require skill and practice.”

“However, everything has its limits.”

“Ji Ze, if you feel unwell, you must say so.”

“It’s normal for unexpected situations to arise during a competition; you can always be replaced.”

“If you’re willing, I can even step in for you.”

Ji Ze wiped the sweat from his neck with a tissue, shaking his head.

“There’s no need.”

Jiang Hao looked at him and smiled.

“Then, good luck, Class Monitor.”

“I’ll be here cheering you on.”

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

A gentle breeze rustled through, swaying languidly.

Listening to Jiang Hao, Ji Ze felt a warmth spread through his heart.

“Mm.”

Jiang Hao noticed a tiny fleck of white tissue paper clinging to Ji Ze’s neck as he wiped away sweat, and he casually reached out to remove it.

Ji Ze, unaware, felt a tickle on his neck and instantly turned to him with a wary expression.

“What are you doing?”

“Tissue paper,” Jiang Hao said, opening his hand to show him.

Ji Ze clasped his neck, his expression somewhat stiff.

“Oh, thank you.”

Jiang Hao crumpled the tissue fragment in his hand, tilting his head as he looked at Ji Ze.

“I’ve noticed you blush really easily, you know.”

“Are you secretly a girl?”

Ji Ze, mortified, snapped, “Get lost!”

Jiang Hao propped his chin with his hand, grinning mischievously.

“It’s fine!”

“Class Monitor, you’re pretty, so blushing just makes you look even better.”

“What’s there to be afraid of?”

“Besides, it’s obvious at a glance that you’re a boy; no one will mistake you.”

Ji Ze remained silent, but his face grew progressively redder, feeling hot to the touch.

He simply turned his head and then his back to Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao could only see the back of his head and his flushed earlobes.

Feeling a slight regret, he reached out to playfully tug at the ends of Ji Ze’s hair, drawing out his words in boredom.

“Class Monitor, are you angry?”

“I was complimenting you!”

“Your skin is fair, which is why your blushes show easily.”

“There’s no need to be shy~”

Ji Ze, annoyed, swung his hand back, swatting away the hand playing with his hair.

No sooner had he swatted it away than the hand clung back, persistent and irritating.

Ji Ze’s heart grew increasingly agitated.

After several repeated attempts, he finally couldn’t help but turn back and glare at Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao laughed, raising his hands in surrender.

‘I’ve really provoked him now.’

‘Better calm down for a bit, then continue later,’ he thought.

Once sufficiently rested, Ji Ze picked up the shot put at his feet and resumed practicing.

Jiang Hao, meanwhile, continued his delightful mission of instruction.

Not far away, Yu Huageng walked past, tugging at her shirt.

“It’s so damn hot,” she grumbled impatiently.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than someone lightly tapped her on the head.

Liang Zhuo said, “Don’t use profanity so casually.”

“Without profanity, I can’t possibly express my surging, restless feelings,” Yu Huageng pouted.

Her gaze then fell upon Ji Ze’s situation, and she involuntarily raised her hand, wanting to say something but unable to find the right words.

Her face was scrunched up like a steamed bun.

“He… they…”

Liang Zhuo remained composed.

He glanced over and said, “The new student is teaching the Class Monitor how to throw the shot put.”

“What about it?”

“No, but… look at their posture, it’s a bit, you know…” Yu Huageng struggled to articulate her thoughts.

“What?” Liang Zhuo asked calmly.

“Oh, isn’t it obvious…”

“You really don’t see anything at all?” Yu Huageng was at a loss for words.

Liang Zhuo took her arm.

“Come on, didn’t you say you wanted to buy a cold drink?”

Yu Huageng certainly remembered, but there was something more important now!

She was dragged away by this blockhead, and every time she tried to speak, Liang Zhuo would perfectly intercept her with an ice cream or a cola.

Liang Zhuo took a large gulp of iced tea, twisting the cap back on.

“Oh, right.”

“Yesterday, the Class Beauty from Class One called me because of a club meeting.”

“The teacher had asked her to give me a form.”

Yu Huageng was twirling her ice cream, meticulously trying to prevent any part from melting too quickly onto her hand.

She responded absently, “Oh.”

Liang Zhuo turned and glanced at her.

That Class Beauty had come to Class Five to find him several times, and the other boys had already started teasing, asking if they were secretly dating, gossiping intensely.

Yet, the person he truly wished would gossip about it seemed completely indifferent.

And what’s more…

“I’m telling you, Chi Jiaqi’s skin is really amazing.”

“Last time she wore a skirt, her legs looked like she was wearing silk stockings.”

“I asked if I could touch them, just her knee, and she blushed, so cute.”

“And she really wasn’t wearing stockings; her skin was so smooth, a top-notch feel.”

“Any guy who becomes her boyfriend in the future will be so lucky~”

Liang Zhuo: “…”