Volume 1 / Chapter 24: Being Leaned On
The soft white clouds in the sky once again veiled the sunlight, but that only brought relief to the exhausted students. The autumn breeze, which had carried a hint of warmth earlier, now turned refreshingly cool.
Having just finished their run, most of the students were too worn out to move. As the breeze brushed past them, they simply closed their eyes in quiet enjoyment.
Mò XuÄyĂĄo could feel the weight on her shoulders grow heavierâas if WĂĄng JiÄlè and Mò XiÇoxiĂ o had fully relaxed and were now pressing their entire bodies against her.
Instead of fighting over who got the best spot, HuÄ YĂnyĂn just shot Mò XuÄyĂĄo a mischievous wink and trotted off to a quiet corner where no one else had sat.
Somehow, she didnât seem as carefree or flippant as she pretended to be on the surface.
The school grounds were lined with sweet osmanthus trees. In Hangzhou, these trees were seemingly everywhereâon streets, in schoolyards, and even inside residential communities.
And when they bloomed, their delicate fragrance truly did linger in every corner of the air.
The faint floral scent filled the atmosphere, gradually relaxing Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs bodyâwhich had gone stiff from having two girls leaning against her.
She still felt a bit shy about this kind of physical closeness with girls.
Sixteen years of accumulated male-thinking still flowed through her current body, and part of her couldnât help but want to put her arms around the two of themâto exude a calm, masculine charm.
âOf course, that was all just in her imagination.
Neither in her past life nor now did her appearance or demeanor align with anything resembling a âcalm and steady man.â
When Mò XuÄyĂĄo came back to her senses, she realized that her hands had somehow come to rest on the shoulders of WĂĄng JiÄlè and Mò XiÇoxiĂ o.
Startled, she quickly tried to pull them awayâonly to have one hand suddenly grabbed by Mò XiÇoxiĂ o.
âNyaa... Itâs too hot, donât move around, XiÇo YĂĄo~ Let us lean on you a bit longer~â
âUhâŚâ Mò XuÄyĂĄo let out an awkward laugh and gingerly withdrew her handâalso taking back the one that had been resting on WĂĄng JiÄlèâs shoulder.
âAiyoyoooââ came a teasing voice from a nearby girl.
She was a plump girl who looked very much like a panda. Her mannerisms and expressions made the words matchmaker pop into Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs mind.
Yes... just like the stereotypical matchmakers from TV dramasâeven her tone of voice matched.
âA husband with two wives, huh! So which one of you is the first wife, and which oneâs the second?â
âTiĂĄn XÄŤnnĂĄn, youâre jealous, arenât you?â Mò XiÇoxiĂ o grinned, eyes narrowing playfully. Her hair tickled Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs neck slightly.
At that moment, Mò XuÄyĂĄo wasnât just feeling a strange, inexplicable joyâshe was also feeling a certain unease, like she had somehow offended the two girls.
Even though it was the two of them who had leaned on her first, her male-leaning mind couldnât help but feel that this kind of closeness was⌠irresponsible.
âOf course Iâm the first wife!â WĂĄng JiÄlè chimed in cheerfully, completely unfazed, picking up right where TiĂĄn XÄŤnnĂĄn left off. âSomeone like XiĂ oxiĂ o is definitely more suited to being the second wife~â
âI think Mò XiÇoxiĂ o seems more like the type for the main wife. Sheâs got that gentle and refined vibe,â someone else offered.
âSo youâre saying Iâm not gentle at all, huh?â WĂĄng JiÄlè pouted with a light snort.
âWell, at the very least, you donât give off the gentle, virtuous wife feel,â TiĂĄn XÄŤnnĂĄn said cheerfully, completely unconcerned about voicing her opinions. âHmm... you seem more like the... flirtatious type.â
Flirtatious!
Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs face flushed deep red. She couldnât help but glance sideways at WĂĄng JiÄlèâsuddenly imagining her lying in her bed, all shy and coquettish.
To be fair, Mò XuÄyĂĄo had indulged in such fantasies before. After all, they were in high school. It wasnât like she was clueless about such things.
Itâs just... those thoughts had always been limited to fantasy. She had never acted on themânot even attempted the legendary "Five Dragons Coil the Pillar" method of self-relief.
Because while such thoughts stirred her mind, she had never had the physiological response of a real boy. Quite the oppositeâsuch moments tended to leave her chest feeling oddly sore.
And now, she was feeling that same sour tingle again.
Like a jolt of electricity zipping through her whole body.
âOh my my~ Your âhusbandâ is blushing!â TiĂĄn XÄŤnnĂĄn exclaimed dramatically, setting off a wave of light laughter from the other girls.
But everyone still looked drainedâeven the laughter felt tired.
They had just run two thousand meters, after all. Feeling drained was perfectly normal.
In the high school entrance exam, P.E. still counted as part of the score. But in the college entrance exam, it didnât.
Unless you were a specialized athlete, most people eventually slacked off when it came to sports.
Theyâd only managed that two-thousand-meter run because they were still fresh high school freshmen. Their middle school fitness hadnât completely worn off yet.
âWah~ Her face really is red! So cute~â WĂĄng JiÄlè giggled like she was petting a golden retriever. With a silly grin, she reached out to stroke Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs head, even rubbing her sweaty cheek against her shoulder.
Mò XuÄyĂĄo could only sigh in helplessness. Faced with a girl as adorable as WĂĄng JiÄlè, how could she possibly get mad?
âWow, your husbandâs got such a nice temper!â
âWell, of course. I was the one who picked her~â WĂĄng JiÄlè said lazily, flopping onto Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs lap like she was drunk.
It was just a two-kilometer runâwas this really necessary?
âMy turn! The lapâs mineââ Mò XiÇoxiĂ o now joined the fray, and soon the two of them were sprawled out together on Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs legs.
The rest of P.E. class turned into quiet, peaceful sitting around.
TiĂĄn XÄŤnnĂĄn looked like she had more to say, but even she seemed too exhausted. She simply sat to the side, smiling with satisfaction at the trio.
As if watching her foolish daughter finally get married off...
Wait, what kind of weird expression is that?
No way should that kind of face be on a high schooler.
WĂĄng JiÄlè, that carefree airhead, actually fell asleep on Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs lapâand drooled all over it, leaving her both amused and exasperated.
Still, this feeling of being depended on, of being needed, was actually... kind of nice.
In a way, it deeply satisfied that male ego nestled within Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs heart.
Time seemed both long and shortâjust when Mò XuÄyĂĄo thought they still had more time, the bell rang for the end of class.
WĂĄng JiÄlè jerked awake, wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, and then noticed the wet patch on Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs leg.
She chuckled awkwardly and pulled a tissue from her pocket. âAhem~ I-Iâll clean it for youâŚâ
âLele always drools in her sleep,â Mò XiÇoxiĂ o said with a giggle, covering her mouth. âHmm~ XiÇo YĂĄoâs thighs are really comfortable. Slim, but not bony... soft yet springyâŚâ
Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs mouth twitched. Somehow, it sounded like she was describing food.
Like mochi or something.
The P.E. teacher blew his whistle after the bell finished ringing.
The students sluggishly shuffled over to gather around him.
Yè RĂĄn didnât seem too strict about it. Once he saw the headcount was more or less complete, he waved his hand and dismissed class.
The students wandered off toward the classroom, scattered and lazy.
A few boys, having recovered their strength after a twenty-minute break, sprinted toward the classroom like they were doing a 100-meter dash.
âAhhh~ That was a great rest,â WĂĄng JiÄlè said, stretching exaggeratedly while walking beside Mò XuÄyĂĄo.
âYou mean a great nap, right?â Mò XiÇoxiĂ o teased.
Compared to the relaxed duo, only Mò XuÄyĂĄo seemed a little awkward.
But she felt like she was beginning to understand something: girlsâ friendships could be just as fast-forming as boysâ.
It had only been a day and a half, yet Mò XiÇoxiĂ o and WĂĄng JiÄlè already felt like close friends.
Maybe not inseparably close, but their bond had definitely deepened.
They say groups of three are the most stable friendship structure.
Come to think of it, hadnât her old middle school bestie group also been a trio?
Except for a few boys, most students werenât in a rush to get back to class. The next subject wasnât a core oneâit was art.
As an elective, and one that barely had any exams, most students didnât take art class seriously. Only a few genuinely interested kids paid attention; the rest were just coasting through.
At least, thatâs how Mò XuÄyĂĄo remembered her middle school art class.
At 2:10 PM, the bell rang on time for class.
The students welcomed art class with lazy postures and scattered attention.
Surprisingly, the art teacher turned out to be a man. That caught Mò XuÄyĂĄo off guard.
Maybe it was because all her art teachers from elementary to middle school had been women.
It had left her subconsciously assuming that all art teachers were supposed to be female.
Just like how she still expected music teachers to be women too.
Speaking of which, YÇkĹng High didnât even offer music class. At least not for first-yearsâthere was no music on their schedule. Maybe home economics had squeezed it out.
âIâm gonna nap through this art classâŚâ WĂĄng JiÄlè mumbled, slumping over her desk and immediately picking up where her nap left off.
It looked like the art teacher really was the most easygoing one on staff.
Then again, most art teachers usually were.
While Mò XuÄyĂĄo propped her chin on her palm waiting for class to start, WĂĄng JiÄlè suddenly opened her eyes like sheâd remembered something important.
And then said, âAh, rightâthe art teacher has a weird name too. Itâs QiĹŤ YÏ⌠same sound as the current bulletin board theme, âQiĹŤ YĂŹâ (autumn sentiments), except his name uses the âeasyâ character.â
Mò XuÄyĂĄo nodded helplessly, silently admiring her dedication to random trivia.
After getting that out of her system, WĂĄng JiÄlè happily slipped back into her dreams.
âToday in art class, Iâd like to introduce everyone to a legendary artist and true polymathâLeonardo da Vinci. For this demonstration, Iâve specially printed large color illustrations,â said the surprisingly ordinary-looking art teacher QiĹŤ YĂŹ, standing at the podium with a warm smile.
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