Chapter Twenty: Intimate Gestures

The winter weather in Beijing was as unpredictable as ever. A chilly wind swept through in the morning, but by noon, the warmth returned, making one almost believe spring had arrived.

Xutong, Xiaolin, and a few others were walking back from the basketball court. Xutong was carrying his down jacket in his hand, having just taken it off, and chatting as he walked.

“I say, have you guys noticed? Boss Xiao has changed a lot lately. When we played basketball just now, he was like a whole different person. Even the guys from Class Five were stunned. Tsk tsk, he was fierce!”

Yuan Weiye chimed in immediately, “Yeah, yeah, but he’s gotten a lot sneakier too.” But with his own shifty expression, it was hard to tell where he found the nerve to call anyone else sneaky.

Everyone else simply ignored Yuan Weiye’s words. After the incident at yesterday’s lecture, they’d given him a new nickname: Oddball.

“Mm-hmm. Xiaolin is getting more and more scholarly these days. He was talking history with me this morning. The sad thing is, I couldn’t even out-talk him,” Lin Xudong added.

“Oh, that’s a new one. Could it be that Boss Xiao is about to defy the heavens and shed his underachiever status for good?” Wang Tao spun the basketball in his hand as he spoke to Lin Xudong.

“Heh, underachiever or not—I won’t explain. Wait for the next mock exam, and you’ll all see a whole new me.” With that, Xiaolin lunged forward like a tiger, snatching the ball from Wang Tao’s hands. He gave it a couple of resounding bounces against the ground, then leaped up and executed a perfect jump shot, shouting, “Three-pointer!” The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air.

“My, praise you a little and you get all full of yourself,” Wang Tao quipped, watching Xiaolin steal the ball.

“Exactly, exactly. We know you inside out. If you’re not showing off, we’re not your friends,” Xutong teased as well.

“Haha. Do you dare make a bet with me?” Xiaolin had already fetched the ball and tossed it to Xutong with a grin.

Xutong caught the ball mid-jump. “What kind of bet?”

“If I make the top ten in the class in the next mock exam, you’ll all treat me to karaoke. If I lose, I’ll treat you. How about it?”

Before Xutong could answer, Yuan Weiye jumped in, “Deal! Karaoke it is. But you don’t have to make the top ten—if you get into the top twenty, we lose.”

“Come on, Yuan Weiye, could you not cut in? If he said top ten, our chances of winning would be way higher. Now you’ve made it much harder for us to win. I’m speechless,” Xutong grumbled with exasperation.

Meanwhile, Lin Xudong was counting on his fingers, deep in thought. Wang Tao, curious, asked, “What are you calculating, Doctor?”

Lin Xudong chuckled, “Even with the top twenty, I think our odds are decent. Our class has forty people, but since it’s Class One, everyone’s grades are pretty good. For Xiaolin to make the top twenty, he’d need at least 320 points. Last time, he barely passed 200. There are two weeks till the mock exam, so he’d have to improve by over a hundred points in just two weeks. What do you think the odds are?”

Enlightened, Xutong and Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up. “No wonder you’re called Doctor. We’ll take that bet!”

Xiaolin smiled quietly to himself. Two weeks, over a hundred points—he was willing to take that gamble. He wouldn’t lose, and neither would Yuqing.

In the classroom, Tan Linlin was chatting with Wang Yuqing.

“Yuqing, have you noticed? Xiaolin’s gotten more handsome lately!”

“Oh? Is that so?” Wang Yuqing replied with a smile, though she was thinking to herself, He’s always been handsome.

“I’m serious! At yesterday’s lecture, the three of you stood together, and the aura—wow!” Tan Linlin’s eyes sparkled with little stars.

“You’re being silly again. Should I introduce you to Gao Zheng?” Wang Yuqing teased with a laugh.

“Ugh, I don’t like pale sweet potatoes!” Tan Linlin pouted.

Tan Linlin had given Gao Zheng the nickname “Pale Sweet Potato” because of his fair complexion and, in her eyes, his skinny, potato-like appearance.

“Hey, Yuqing, you didn’t see Mr. Yan’s face yesterday—it went green! He probably wanted to use you three for contrast to prove his point, but Xiaolin totally stole the show. Poor Mr. Yan!” Tan Linlin giggled.

Remembering Yan Zheng’s expression from the day before, Wang Yuqing couldn’t help but laugh as well.

Just then, Xiaolin and his friends walked into the classroom. Seeing Tan Linlin and Wang Yuqing laughing so happily, they approached.

“What are you two talking about? You look so happy,” Xiaolin asked.

“Oh, it’s the genius Xiao! You’re a celebrity now!” Tan Linlin greeted him cheerfully.

“Huh? What celebrity? I’m just an ordinary person, not some Genius Xiao,” Xiaolin replied, baffled.

“Yuqing said so. Your old nickname was Genius Xiao,” Tan Linlin blurted out, unwittingly selling Wang Yuqing out. Wang Yuqing cursed her friend internally—what a blabbermouth! When she noticed Xiaolin looking at her, she blushed and hurried back to her seat.

Xiaolin scratched his nose, following Wang Yuqing back to his own seat. Xutong and the others gathered around Tan Linlin to continue chatting.

Once seated, Xiaolin shifted on the bench and lazily said, “I made a bet with them, too.”

“What kind of bet?” Wang Yuqing’s interest was piqued as she looked up at Xiaolin.

“Nothing much. If I make the top twenty in class on the next mock exam, they’ll treat me to karaoke. If I lose, I’ll treat them,” Xiaolin replied coolly, as if making the top twenty was no big deal.

Wang Yuqing laughed. “Xiaolin, you’ve set them up. Don’t forget to invite me when they treat you to karaoke.”

“You can sing?” Xiaolin asked in surprise.

“Who says I can’t?” Wang Yuqing scoffed, giving Xiaolin a sidelong glance.

Dazed by her look, Xiaolin laughed sheepishly.

Seeing his silly grin, Wang Yuqing playfully teased, “Xiaolin, you don’t sing off-key, do you? Don’t scare us when the time comes.”

At her words, Xiaolin gently patted Wang Yuqing on the head. “How could I? I’m a karaoke king.”

Wang Yuqing was stunned by his gesture—she never expected Xiaolin to pat her head. For a moment, she forgot to react and just stood there, letting him pat her gently.

“Hey, Xiaolin! How can you take advantage of my Yuqing like that? Want me to beat you up?” Tan Linlin happened to turn around and saw Xiaolin’s hand, shouting at him.

“Ah... what are you doing?” Wang Yuqing snapped out of her daze, flustered by the eyes of the whole class. She hastily brushed Xiaolin’s hand away, her pretty face flushed crimson.

“Tsk, tsk, Boss Xiao, we really admire you. If you two want to show off your affection, could you not do it in the classroom?” Xutong shook his head, clicking his tongue.

Xiaolin ignored him. Looking at the bashful Wang Yuqing, he wondered at himself—patting someone’s head was something he used to do with Ma Yunrou as a sign of intimacy. Could it be that he’d fallen for Wang Yuqing? No, that couldn’t be. He shook his head vigorously, trying to toss the thought away.