Chapter 96: The Roommates' Thoughts
“Cheer me on, okay!”
Yu Fan was getting ready to head to the starting line. He had a 100-meter race this afternoon.
Beside him, Li Mu turned his head away with a cold expression. He had no intention of replying.
Cheering someone on… that was too embarrassing.
There was no way Li Mu would do something like that.
“Don’t always look so serious! Come on, smile a little.” Yu Fan grinned at Li Mu.
Li Mu silently turned around and faced the other way.
In the distance, Chen Zhihao watched their interaction and seemed to be deep in thought.
So, they are a couple, huh? What they told Wang Chen earlier was probably part lie, part truth.
It was a shame he wasn’t that close with either Li Mu or Yu Fan. Otherwise, he could just ask them directly and satisfy his curiosity.
He turned his head and looked at Wang Chen lying on the grass next to him. The guy looked totally hopeless, staring up at the sky with a gloomy expression.
“Don’t be so down. It’s just a girl,” Chen Zhihao said, lightly kicking his leg. “Come on, let’s go watch Yu Fan’s race.”
“I’m not watching my rival’s race.”
“Then Zhao Yu and I will go.”
Just as Chen Zhihao was about to get up, he suddenly felt his pants being grabbed. He looked down and saw Wang Chen staring at him with a pitiful look.
For a muscular guy to look that pitiful, it was honestly kind of gross.
Chen Zhihao couldn’t handle it and sighed as he sat back down. “What is it?”
“Talk with me for a bit.” Wang Chen sighed and pulled Zhao Yu down too. The nerdy guy had no strength to resist and landed on the ground with a thud that nearly split him in two.
“I finally like someone, and she doesn’t even give me a chance?” Wang Chen lay back down and muttered to himself. “If she gave me a chance to try, at least I could move on afterward.”
Chen Zhihao didn’t know what to say. After a long pause, he whispered, “Maybe… Li Mu’s sister is actually—”
But before he could finish, Zhao Yu cut in, “Come on, no one’s out of reach! Why are you giving up so soon, Wang Tan?”
“I told you already, it’s Chen! Wang Chen!”
“Okay, Brother Tan.”
Wang Chen ignored him and turned to Chen Zhihao. "I can't be as bad as everyone says, right?"
Chen Zhihao blinked. “Wait… are you actually taking Zhao Yu seriously?”
“Yu Fan and I are not friends, just classmates. Then going after the same girl isn’t wrong, right?” Wang Chen rubbed his stubbly chin, eyes flashing. “I’m gonna sneak into the school next door and catch her there!”
“Don’t scare her away,” Zhao Yu added from the side, fanning the flames. “You can borrow my hair gel, fix up your look and dress nice.”
“Zhihao, lend me your suit!”
Wang Chen jumped up and pulled Chen Zhihao along toward the dorm, rushing off. “We’ll climb the wall, go back to the dorm, I’ll take a shower, and then borrow some perfume from Li Mu.”
“Huh?”
“That smell on Li Mu is nice, must be perfume. Since his sister doesn’t hate it, I’ll use some too.”
“Wait, hold on—”
“What do you mean wait? I’ll just send him a message and ask. I won’t ruin your suit or anything, okay? Afterward I’ll even take it to the dry cleaners.”
Zhao Yu quickly got up too and followed behind them, joining in the excitement. “Brother Tan, do you think Li Mu’s sister likes anime stuff? I just bought a new Umaru-chan pillow, it’s still unopened. You want to try that?”
“Sounds good.”
Back at the track, Li Mu was standing by the side, watching Yu Fan warm up at the starting line. Suddenly, he turned his head and looked in the direction of his three roommates, who were running off toward the dorm full of energy.
A puzzled look appeared on his face.
What’s the rush?
He couldn’t figure it out.
Li Mu frowned slightly, but just then, Yang Ye, who had somehow appeared beside him, asked, “You and Yu Fan have both dropped in your grades lately.”
Even though it was just a vocational school, the spring exam prep class still had monthly mock exams and weekly subject tests.
“Yeah.”
"I can understand your grades dropping..." Yang Ye glanced at Li Mu's figure, which could now be described as blossoming, then looked up at Yu Fan, who was crouching at the starting line, ready to go. "But why did Yu Fan's grades also drop? Is it because he’s been hanging out with you too much?”
“He got a part-time job outside.”
Yang Ye didn’t look too surprised and nodded. “Ah, that explains it.”
“That explains it?” Li Mu looked up at his teacher. “Weren’t you always against us doing long-term part-time jobs?”
Back in September when the school term started, Yang Ye had even pulled him aside for a talk, saying he could help him apply for school financial aid. He even said Li Mu could join him for lunch and dinner sometimes so he wouldn’t need to work part-time and risk his future just before the big exam.
“Well, Yu Fan’s family situation isn’t much better than yours, I think.”
“Really?”
Li Mu was doubtful. After all, Yu Fan was pretty generous with money, and his house was in a newly built area in the suburbs. Surely he didn’t lose both parents like Li Mu had?
“His mom apparently left when he was really young, and his dad bought a house a few years ago, but then got sick and hasn’t been able to work since.” Yang Ye knew a little about each student’s family situation.
But Yu Fan seems pretty generous though?
Li Mu was thinking that when suddenly the starting gun went off. The loud sound startled him, and he jumped a bit. Then, a figure quickly sped past in front of him.
He snapped back to reality and leaned forward to take a look. Yu Fan was already ahead of everyone.
Yu Fan was wearing athletic shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. His long legs were moving quickly, and girls on both sides of the track cheered loudly. A few seconds later, he finished first in the preliminary race.
As soon as he stopped running, several girls from their class rushed over to offer him a towel, water, and snacks. He thanked each one of them with a bright, sunny smile.
Watching Yu Fan enjoy all the attention made Li Mu feel even more jealous.
Damn. So bitter.
He turned his head away and was about to leave, but Yu Fan had already jogged over after confirming his time with the judge.
Grinning, Yu Fan showed off, “Well? First place!”
“That’s just the preliminary first place.”
“I’ll win the finals tomorrow too,” Yu Fan said with confidence, showing off his white teeth.
Li Mu looked at him and noticed his messy bangs. His forehead was a bit exposed, and honestly, he looked even better than usual.
“Your hair’s messed up.”
Yu Fan quickly took out his phone and used the front camera to fix his bangs.
For boys at their age, they could break an arm or bleed, but messy hair? Never.
Watching him nervously fix his hair, Li Mu found it hard to believe this guy was supposed to be as poor as he was.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, “I heard your family’s really poor?”
“Who said that?”
“The teacher.”
“Oh, I just fooled them back then,” Yu Fan said, curling his lips. “We weren’t that close at the time, so I made myself sound kind of poor. Who knows if they were after my money?”
“But my dad really doesn’t work anymore. He invested in a factory, so we get dividends every year.”
“......”
Yang Ye, standing right next to Li Mu, was left completely speechless.