Chapter Thirty-One: Preparing for the Journey Home

Lu You raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes as he stared at Meng Yi.

"Haven't been disciplined in three days, so you're ready to tear the roof off, are you?"

Meng Yi shivered, a slight chill running through his heart. But seeing so many people around, he felt he had no reason to be intimidated, so he spoke up again: "Why are you looking at me? Just share your opinion."

Lu You withdrew his gaze, elegantly poured a glass of orange juice, and replied, "I don't know. I've never been on a date."

Meng Yi wouldn't give up. "Just give us your thoughts. It doesn't have to be based on personal experience."

Lu You lowered his eyes, watching the orange pulp float in his glass. After thinking for a moment, he said slowly, "I think where you go depends mostly on how the girl feels about you and the state of your relationship."

"How so?" The boys perked up, interested.

"For instance, if my dad asks my mom to go back to their room to watch a movie, my mom would be very happy. But, would any of you dare to ask a girl from class to come back to your house?" Lu You offered as an example.

"I'd probably get slapped into the ground," Meng Yi replied.

"Exactly. So, where you take a girl depends on your understanding of her and the distance in your relationship."

"Ugh... Monitor, that's so vague. Can't you give us something practical? Stop talking theory."

"Where would I get practical experience? From you?" Lu You retorted. "I'm just an armchair strategist. At least some of you have good relationships with girls; I don't."

"You're so handsome, I can't believe you're this useless."

Lu You took a metaphorical arrow to the chest and said gloomily, "Does having a good appearance necessarily mean having an extensive romantic history? That’s a prejudice."

"Then let's say, hypothetically, you meet a girl you like and want to ask her out. Where would you choose to go?"

Lu You subconsciously pictured Tang Wan, then quickly cast the thought aside—he couldn't be too specific, or he'd be pestered with questions.

After careful consideration, he said, "I wouldn't ask her out right away. I'd first create opportunities to meet in daily life and get to know her slowly. If you just walk up and ask someone out, it would probably scare them."

"That actually makes sense." A few of them fell into thought.

Lu You's "teacher mode" kicked in involuntarily. He said in a gentle tone, "As high school students, your priority should be studying. If you really like someone, the best way to attract her is to become a better version of yourself—improve your grades, your spirit, your outlook, and your character. Make yourself shine."

"There's a saying: 'If you bloom, the butterflies will come.' To make a girl like you, the essence is that you yourself must be attractive and have qualities worth liking."

"For example, why do most of you subconsciously assume I have a girlfriend?" Lu You asked them.

Meng Yi was the first to answer: "With that face of yours, it would be weird if you didn't."

"Although that sounded a bit harsh, it boils down to me being good-looking," Lu You said, his face neither flushing nor twitching, leaving everyone in awe of his thick skin.

"Appearance is an inherent advantage I possess. Think about the male leads in TV dramas—why are they liked by the female leads? It’s because the writers give them many virtues: handsomeness, devotion, talent, and so on."

"Even we guys, when we notice a girl, it's because a certain spark touches us—her looks, her voice, her smile, or some ordinary yet unique action."

"So, if you really meet someone you like, work hard to improve yourself first, let the other person notice you, and then think about the rest."

"But what about the main character in 'Born in the Eastern Districts'? He's so disgusting, why does he still attract the heroine?" someone interjected at an awkward moment.

"You called him a piece of trash yourself—do you really expect him to correctly understand what it means to be excellent?" Lu You retorted dryly.

"But it takes time to become excellent. What if she gets snatched up by someone else in the meantime?"

"Then you let go slowly. Being unable to forget is still better than being brokenhearted."

"Well said!" Meng Yi raised his plastic cup of Wong Lo Kat. "A real man knows when to hold on and when to let go. Starting today, we’re going to work hard to become excellent!" He downed the drink as if it were liquor.

"I hope you don't end up being the one who can't let go," Lu You teased, raising his own cup.

The rest of the dormitory followed suit.

"To being carefree!"

"To being healthy!"

"Uh, to being a man!"

...

Meanwhile, in the girls' dormitory.

Tang Wan was curled up in her bunk, surrounded by roommates sitting on the beds around her, staring at her like tigers watching their prey.

"Confession brings leniency, resistance brings severity. Please, start talking."

Tang Wan glanced nervously at her roommates and said tremulously, "May I ask what the problem is? I don't really understand the current situation."

"Still playing dumb!" A girl slapped the bed frame with a loud *bang*.

Tang Wan flinched and said cautiously, "I really don't know what you're talking about." She shot a pleading look toward Xu Nian.

"Ha..." Xu Nian sighed, motioned for the others to step back, and said, "Let me handle this." She put on a serious, professional expression.

"Tang Wan, what is your relationship with him?"

"Who?" Tang Wan was still playing the fool.

"Class 3's monitor, Lu You," Xu Nian said, cutting off her escape.

"Um... just a normal relationship." The words were normal, but Tang Wan's eyes and tone were unusually soft.

"That expression of yours is anything but normal!"

"Tell us how you met, or we’re resorting to extrajudicial punishment!"

The girls on the next bed made a show of getting up.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Tang Wan said quickly. "Don't be impulsive. I just showered; I don't want to get sweaty."

"Good choice!"

Tang Wan sat cross-legged and picked up a small handheld fan. Recalling the memory, a warm smile spread across her face. "We met in June. He was sitting in the park playing on his phone, and a short-legged cat was lying on his lap. I just wanted to pet the cat, but I didn't expect him to be so good-looking."

"And then?"

"When I was about to leave, he asked for my contact information. Later, during registration, I found out we were in the same grade."

"He asked *you* for your contact info?" The group stirred. "How did he ask?"

"He said his cat could do a backflip and asked if I wanted to see a video."

"And you just gave it to him?"

"Yeah." Tang Wan's cheeks flushed. "I really did want to see the cat do a backflip when I added him."

"At the end of the day, you're just a sucker for a pretty face."

Tang Wan couldn't refute that and gave up, saying, "So what? Is it a crime? It's not like you guys are any different."

"Come to think of it," Li Womeng interjected, "Were you with our monitor just now? What were you doing for so long?"

"Honestly, we didn't do anything. We were in the rain shelter; everything he said was the truth."

Seeing that her expression was normal and she didn't seem to be lying, the group's interest waned.

"That's it? Boring."

"What else did you expect? I said it was just a normal classmate relationship," Tang Wan said, gaining some confidence.

Li Womeng turned her eyes to Xu Nian. Since she couldn't get gossip from Tang Wan, she would try her best friend.

"Xu Nian, you can talk to our monitor, right?"

Xu Nian thought, *The topic finally came to me.* She nodded and said, "We've spoken a few times."

"What kind of person do you think he is?"

"Hmm..." Xu Nian gathered her thoughts. "It's hard to say. My advice is, if you want to talk to him, it’s best to bring Tang Wan along. Otherwise, he's very difficult to communicate with for girls."

Li Womeng didn't quite believe it. "The monitor is very polite in class, isn't he? How could he be difficult to talk to?"

"You're the vice-monitor, so you have work-related interactions, which is why he can communicate normally with you. But you can try talking to him about something other than work. I'm not sure exactly what would happen, but I doubt you'd get very far."

Xu Nian still clearly remembered the two times Lu You had asked her to deliver things to Tang Wan.

Tang Wan was confused; she didn't feel like she was treated any differently—it was always just normal conversation.

Li Womeng thought for a moment and said, "I'll try it tomorrow. Let's drop the monitor for now and talk about other things. Did you watch any shows over the summer?"

"Yes! I watched one..."

...

The next day, 8:00 AM.

Lu You put on his school uniform, finished cleaning the dormitory, washed his two sets of military uniforms and hung them on the drying rack, packed his luggage, and went downstairs to assemble.

Once the whole class was gathered, Instructor Liu led them to the training ground in front of the flag-raising platform.

"Wait here for the shuttle bus. It might take a while. You're free to move around, but don't wander off—don't let the bus arrive and find you missing." With that, Instructor Liu walked off to chat with Section Chief Fu and the others.

Li Yu walked over to Lu You and asked, "How was the 'silver party' last night?"

"Not bad. The ghost stories they told were pretty good."

"Man, I'm jealous. We just laid on our boards and slept; it was boring."

"I told you to come over, but you said you wanted to sleep. Who’s fault is that?"

"Sigh!" Li Yu felt a deep sense of regret. "I wonder when we'll have another chance like that."

Lu You recalled Chunhua's educational arrangements and said, "Isn't there a school trip next semester? We can do it again then."

"What if you get assigned to Class 13 next semester?" Li Yu countered.

"Is it possible that I end up in your class?" Lu You answered with a question of his own.

Li Yu changed the subject. "Forget it, we'll see. What are you doing when you get back? Our two classes get two days off."

"What else? Keep my little sister and Xiao Bao company, maybe read some math papers to recharge. I haven't studied for nearly a week; my brain feels rusty."

"I'll come over too, then. I'm alone at home anyway."

"Sure." Lu You looked back at Class 2 after speaking. The atmosphere seemed lively, but something felt missing. "Right, where's your monitor? Why are you still acting in his place?"

"Hahaha," Li Yu burst out laughing. "That guy, the one in the blue shirt—he has to inspect all the interior affairs, so he won't be able to leave until the last bus in the afternoon."

Lu You laughed along. "Haha, good for him. At least I won't have to see that thing when I get on the bus."

Behind them, the girls were talking.

Li Womeng said, "I'm going over to talk to him."

"Go ahead."

Xu Nian and Tang Wan watched from the side without intervening.

Li Womeng walked up and tapped Lu You on the shoulder.

Lu You turned around, saw it was the vice-monitor, and gave a standard smile. "Vice-monitor, does the teacher have any arrangements?"

"No, the teacher doesn't have anything planned." Li Womeng shook her head, wanting to say more.

"That's good, then." Lu You walked away with Li Yu. Li Womeng stood frozen in place, feeling a bit awkward.

"Wanwan, you see? He has that same attitude with me, too—it's only different with you."

Tang Wan was also surprised. "It's my first time seeing this, too. It really does seem to be the case."

Xu Nian asked her in a low voice, "What are your thoughts on him?"

Ripples stirred in Tang Wan's heart, and she whispered, "I... I'm not sure. Maybe I have a crush on him?"

"Do you think about him every day?" Xu Nian pressed.

"Not to that extent. I just subconsciously look for him."

"That's good, then. You're not in too deep. Once we're back at school, it won't be as easy to see him as it is now."

Tang Wan felt a sense of loss and lowered her eyes, not knowing what to say.

"Niannian, let's find a place to sit. Standing is getting tiring."

"Sure, I want to put my backpack down, too. I'm starting to sweat."

...

An hour later, the shuttle bus arrived, and they began their journey home.