Chapter Thirteen: The Start of the School Year
August 31, Wednesday, 10 a.m.
After a month, Lu You changed into his school uniform and tidied his appearance in front of the mirror. His hair had been casually trimmed by Teacher Tony yesterday, ensuring it fit the image of a high school student.
Throughout August, Lu You had followed his plan and lived steadily. Compared to when he first arrived in this world, he had grown a little taller, nearly reaching 158 cm.
Tears welled up in his eyes—thankfully, he could still grow taller.
Combined with daily exercise, his body had improved considerably. Though he hadn’t developed abs yet, there were at least some visible muscle lines.
After finishing his grooming, Lu You started packing his bag. The new semester had officially begun, and a shoulder bag wouldn’t suffice.
He placed two folders neatly organized yesterday, a draft notebook, a notebook for notes, his pencil case, wallet, and a pack of tissues inside. Then he stuffed a thermos and an umbrella into the side pockets of the backpack.
Double-checking carefully to ensure nothing was missing, Lu You slung the bag over his shoulder and headed downstairs.
The house was quiet; he was alone. His father had gone to work, and his mother wouldn’t leave for class until the afternoon, so she took his little sister and Xiao Bao out for a walk.
Lu You mounted his bicycle, eyeing the pink electric scooter nearby with a growing urge.
Just over half a month more—he could endure.
His birthday was September 21; by then, riding a bike would be legal.
He opened the rolling gate, took a deep breath, pedaled, and set off for school.
Entering the school by bike, though classes didn’t start until 2:30 p.m., quite a few students and parents had already arrived. Occasionally, he saw students with volunteer badges hanging from their shoulders.
Most students present seemed to be boarders, carrying the classic big plastic tubs, bamboo mats, hangers, and bedding.
It felt much like the orientation of first-year college students.
In his previous life, Lu You hadn’t attended high school but did go to university, graduating after two years before pursuing graduate studies abroad.
After parking his bike in the underground garage, he headed straight to his classroom. Passing the second floor, he glanced inside; the entire floor was quiet. According to Li Yu’s WeChat message yesterday, they should be having self-study now.
Lu You arrived at Classroom 3 and heard only the whir of the ceiling fan. There were no classmates present, though a few desks already held backpacks or books, indicating seats had been chosen before departure.
He picked a spot toward the back by the inner window. Despite his height likely causing the board to be blocked by those in front, he didn’t mind much. The teacher’s lectures weren’t especially important to him; better seats should be reserved for those who needed them more.
Lu You took out his materials. There was still plenty of time before Li Yu’s class ended. He planned to tackle his daily study tasks first.
Every day, he completed one integrated science test, one math mock exam for the college entrance exam, and one English mock exam. Unfortunately, since he was starting biology and chemistry from scratch and had only studied first-year content over the summer, the integrated science test had to be limited to first-year material.
His math and physics thinking had nearly adapted to the high school level, and cases requiring advanced theorems were gradually decreasing. The next step was to increase speed and maintain accuracy.
It was 10:30 a.m.; Li Yu’s class ended at noon. An hour and a half was enough for Lu You to finish biology and chemistry in the integrated science paper.
He sent Li Yu a WeChat message before starting the test.
Ly: Let me know when class ends.
...
During Lu You’s test, some students occasionally came in. Seeing someone actually working on a test, they thought he was a weirdo but didn’t linger, just found a spot and left.
Just as Lu You finished the last chemistry question, his phone vibrated beside him.
“Sea Turtle: Come down.”
“Ly: On my way.”
After replying to Li Yu, he tidied his desk, grabbed his wallet and phone, and headed out of the classroom.
---
Arriving at Classroom 2, about half the students were still inside. Peeking through the front door, he saw Li Yu sitting two rows from the back, chatting with his deskmate. Just as Lu You was about to enter, he sensed a strange atmosphere—many eyes were fixed on him.
Li Yu noticed the sudden quiet and looked up, meeting Lu You’s gaze.
Lu You: Get out here quickly!
Li Yu: Okay!
They exchanged a quick look. Li Yu stood up immediately and said to his deskmate, “I’m leaving first; my friend’s here.”
The deskmate glanced toward the door and whispered, “Damn, your friend’s looks make me feel a bit inferior.”
“No worries, you’re taller than him—that’s already a win,” Li Yu whispered back.
The deskmate nodded in agreement.
The two stepped into the corridor.
“Next time, I should come find you,” Li Yu said with a hint of helplessness.
“Huh? Why? Isn’t it more convenient for me to be on the third floor?” Lu You asked, puzzled.
“Didn’t you feel a lot of people staring at you just now?”
“I did, so what?” Lu You still didn’t understand.
“Don’t you care?” Li Yu was surprised.
“What’s there to care about? I’m just here to see my friend, not doing anything else. Let them look if they want, just don’t bother me.” Lu You said casually.
“As long as you don’t mind.” Seeing he truly wasn’t bothered, Li Yu dropped it and changed the subject. “Eat out or cafeteria? Since you’re back at school today, we can sneak out.”
“Sha County Hotel. We’ll eat at the cafeteria tonight.”
“Wait, when did Sha County open a hotel?”
“The Sha County snack place right across from school!”
“Dummy, Sha County snack is just Sha County snack, not a hotel.”
...
Lu You sipped from a glass bottle of soy milk through a straw and asked, “How’s high school life?”
Since Li Yu started school, they hadn’t kept in touch much. Even on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon—normally rest times—the school “suggested” students stay for self-study.
Hearing the question, Li Yu’s eyes seemed to lose their light.
“Don’t ask. Those jerks are ruthless. They promised they’d just leave during rest time, not attend self-study. But on the first Saturday night, when I was about to find you, the teacher called: ‘Li Yu, are you sick? You’re the only one not here.’ I raced over on my bike like it was on fire.”
Lu You nearly spat out his soy milk. “Wow, that harsh? No wonder you haven’t come to see me in a month.”
Li Yu raised his hand, ready to punch the table but restrained himself, thinking he was eating at someone else’s place.
“This damn school, I swear if you don’t get into the Rocket class next semester, I’ll have my dad pull some strings to get me out.”
“Any new friends in a month? You seem to get along with your deskmate.”
“Don’t say. That guy studies like his life depends on it. Doesn’t talk to anyone, just buries his head in books.”
“Your whole class can’t be like that, right?” Lu You said, then a figure flashed through his mind.
Tang Wan didn’t seem like the quiet type.
After all, they had almost daily WeChat exchanges in August about Xiao Bao.
Li Yu shook his head. “Of course not. The problem is the crazy temporary class leader. Not the top student but bossy, always running to the teachers. Even during dinner breaks, he says no talking in the classroom to avoid disturbing others. I want to punch him; he’s the only one studying there.”
Just then, a waiter brought their order of fried noodles and steamed dumplings. After he left, Li Yu continued.
“Even my quiet deskmate knows to find a quiet spot to study and only comes back when evening self-study is about to start.”
Li Yu picked up some noodles but paused, then set down his chopsticks and added, “Also, this jerk looks down on those who scored better in entrance exams.”
“Really? Looks down on higher scorers?” Lu You looked baffled.
People like that exist?
“Rumor has it, he thinks he did poorly and otherwise would be first in the city. You know Tang Wan, right?”
Lu You raised an eyebrow, squinting briefly before returning to his calm expression. “Of course I know her. I even added her on WeChat. She’s the top scorer in your class.”
“When did you add her on WeChat? Never mind, it’s not important. One dinner break, she took out her phone for less than ten seconds, and this guy got up on the podium saying the classroom is for studying, if you want to use your phone go outside. Then he said some people think they’re pretty good, so they start acting wild, but when their grades stagnate and others catch up, they cry. It sounded so sarcastic.”
“And then? Tang Wan didn’t just listen quietly, right?”
“She just said ‘oh’ and ignored him, then went to the hallway to play on her phone. A few days later, when math test results came out, she got the test from the office and snapped a photo of her perfect score on his desk, saying, ‘I think stagnation is fine.’ The whole class was thrilled—well, except him.”
“Didn’t you report him to the teacher? How can someone like that be class leader?”
“Tried. The teacher said wait for the formal election next class meeting, so we just have to endure for now. Enough about him—it’s gross. Let’s eat.”
Lu You imagined Tang Wan expressionlessly slapping her test paper on the desk and saying that, and chuckled.
Li Yu, focused on his food, looked up and asked, “What’s so funny?”
Lu You shook his head. “Just thought of something amusing.”
“What? Share it so I can laugh too.”
“The Li Yifeng Studio said their artist was fine, and the online rumors were fake.”
“And?”
“The next day, Li Yifeng was publicly reported by the police.”
“That’s pretty funny.”
...
At 2 p.m., after chatting with Li Yu, Lu You returned to the classroom.
Most classmates had arrived by then, including his deskmate and those in front and behind him. To his right, across the aisle, was a window.
Lu You took his seat. Everyone around was either playing on their phones or chatting with neighbors, paying little attention to him.
Not a single familiar face—awkward.
He wanted to find someone to talk to and glanced at his deskmate—a slightly dark-skinned, bespectacled, somewhat plump boy chatting on his phone.
Should he say hi?
The thought barely formed before he dismissed it.
Forget it, better finish a couple of problems first. Once the teacher starts talking, there’ll be no time to write.
Lu You took out the test he hadn’t finished in the morning and continued his daily routine.