CHAPTER 303: CHAPTER 302: HELPING REPEATEDLY

The bell for the end of the second class rang, and students began to file out of the classroom. Zhen Yu also stood up, knowing that the break between major classes was the same at every school.

Just as she stood up, someone grabbed her wrist. Zhen Yu frowned instantly, raising her left arm hastily to break free from Lu Huai’s grip. Glancing sideways with a frosty tone, she said, "What’s the matter? Spit it out!"

Considering Lu Huai was somewhat of a friend, Zhen Yu swallowed back the words "Hands off!"

Lu Huai stared blankly at his empty palm for a moment, then asked, "Aren’t you going to change into your uniform before heading down?"

Zhen Yu hadn’t expected him to stop her for this reason, her expression softened considerably, "Do I have to wear it?"

"Yep! You must wear it as long as you’re at school!" Lu Huai replied swiftly.

Zhen Yu pursed her lips, pulled out the bag with her uniform from under her desk, and sincerely said, "Thanks!"

Lu Huai waved his hand, "No worries! I’m heading down now!"

"Alright!"

As Lu Huai went downstairs, Zhen Yu quickly ran to the girls’ restroom carrying her uniform bag.

Out in public, Zhen Yu absolutely wouldn’t change clothes. She stood in a corner of the restroom, quickly pulled the uniform pants over her own, then dumped the uniform bag into the trash can before running off while slipping on the jacket.

She arrived at the sports field just in time; most students were already in their places. Being new and unfamiliar, Zhen Yu directly went to stand at the end of the line of Class 1 of Fourth Grade.

---

"Hey! Are you the new transfer student?" A boy from the neighboring class suddenly turned his head and asked.

Zhen Yu kept her eyes straight ahead, acting as if he didn’t exist.

But the boy was persistent, "Hey! I’m talking to you! Didn’t you hear me?"

Zhen Yu continued to play the statute.

The surrounding students all looked on as the boy grew annoyed. "What’s wrong with you!? You have no manners at all! Someone’s talking to you, and you can’t even say a word!"

Zhen Yu didn’t want to stoop to this kind of person’s level and decided to move to a different spot.

Then, she suddenly heard Lu Huai’s low shout, "Will you die if you don’t talk!?"

The fear of sudden silence...

The music for the radio calisthenics promptly started, and no one talked anymore, moving along with the exercise.

It wasn’t until the broadcast announced "Dismissed," that the orderly rows on the sports field gradually loosened and the students began to leave in small groups.

---

The heat of the ’autumn tiger’ can’t last long, but Zhen Yu got a light sweat from exercising in two layers of clothes. Just as she was hurrying away, someone called out to her; Zhen Yu almost couldn’t suppress her inner irritation, thinking it was another meddler!

Luckily, it was Lu Huai, who also stood in the back rows, who promptly spoke up, "This is our class sports representative; he’s probably going to assign you a spot."

Lu Huai then looked at the boy who called out, "Right?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah!"

"... Oh," Zhen Yu calmed down and responded with little enthusiasm.

Seeing this, Lu Huai thought her mood was down because of the earlier incident and blinked before turning away.

Zhen Yu had grown taller over the summer and was now one of the tallest girls in her class.

The sports representative planned to have her stand at the very back of the girls, making it easy for him to just inform the boys to reserve a space for her.

Zhen Yu quickly accepted the arrangement, waved at the representative, and ran back to the new teaching building.

---

Girls’ bathroom, after washing both hands and face, Zhen Yu finally got rid of the heat enveloping her whole body.

Feeling better, she found herself looking especially beautiful in the mirror.

"Indeed... youth is invincible!"

After tidying herself up and flicking the water droplets off her hands, Zhen Yu headed to the classroom.

Students in the hallway moved aside to give way when they saw her, and she didn’t find it strange. She thought it was simply because her hands and face were wet that people wanted to keep their distance.

----

Lu Huai had returned to his seat earlier, and upon Zhen Yu’s entrance, he looked up at her.

The girl was still dressed in her school uniform, except she had unzipped her jacket, revealing the long-sleeved T-shirt beneath.

It was the same T-shirt she had worn to school that day.

Most of the students in the classroom wore summer uniform T-shirts with autumn uniform pants. Seeing Zhen Yu dressed like this, the first word that popped into Lu Huai’s mind was—Hot!

No wonder she even washed her face!

As he was musing about this, Zhen Yu had already taken her seat.

Lu Huai looked down at his desk drawer, pulled out a can of cola, and placed it on Zhen Yu’s desk, "Here!

Zhen Yu glanced at the can of cola ’sweating’ on the table, then at Lu Huai, took the can with her hand, and stuffed it back into his drawer.

Only then, under Lu Huai’s questioning gaze, did she explain: "I don’t drink cola, and I don’t drink chilled beverages either, but thank you!"

Just as Lu Huai was about to speak, Zhen Yu added another sentence, "Oh right! Thank you for what happened on the playground earlier."

"...No need to be polite." Lu Huai replied half-heartedly, opened his mouth, but still asked what he had wanted to ask, "So what do you drink?"

"Plain water." Zhen Yu answered while taking a water bottle out of her backpack, unscrewed the lid, and took a few sips.

At this moment, Lu Huai thought Zhen Yu was truly an oddity! Maybe it was precisely because she was an oddity that he wanted to befriend her!

"Later, go ask Old Liu for a summer uniform set! After all, you’ll have to wear it next year!"

Zhen Yu looked at the T-shirt on Lu Huai’s body, nodded, and thanked him.

So, during the break of the third period class, Zhen Yu went to find the homeroom teacher.

Teacher Liu told her to make time in the afternoon to come by, to pick up the uniform and at the same time get the fee sheet, and pay the money on Wednesday!

----

As soon as the bell for the last class of the morning rang, students immediately surged with enthusiasm, lunch break!

"Zhen Yu! We’re on the same route, let’s go home together!" Gu Qing’s Voice called from the front row.

Zhen Yu continued packing her bag without lifting her head, "No thanks, you better hurry up! I’m going to the cafeteria." She needed to get a meal card at the cafeteria, just in case there was bad weather one day, the meal card would come in handy.

Gu Qing hesitated for a moment, just about to say she’d accompany her to the cafeteria, her friend beside her tugged her, "Let’s go! She’s not going home to eat!"

Gu was not so good at refusing, so she was half-pushed, half-pulled away by her friend.

In a blink, the classroom was nearly empty, but Lu Huai was still sprawled at his desk.

Only now, he was facing Zhen Yu’s direction.

"You’re going to eat at the cafeteria? Every day?" Lu Huai asked lazily.

He had helped her several times that morning, whether needed or not, help was still given.

Not in the place to give a cold shoulder anymore, Zhen Yu replied, "Today is a special case."

"Oh... then let’s go!" Lu Huai suddenly straightened up like a limp animal that had grown bones, "I eat there every day; I’ll show you which dish is tasty!"