"What's wrong with a middle-aged and elderly dance competition?" He Chao said. "It's pretty cool. Most people don't have this opportunity."

Xie Yu looked at him and slowly pushed up his sleeve, moving his wrist a few times. "Are you sure you want to continue this topic?"

The implication was very clear. If you keep fucking talking, you'll die on the spot.

He Chao continued to ask, "Wasn't it particularly sensational when you guys went on stage?"

"Did you win any awards?"

"..."

Liu Cunhao and the others were signing up and discussing song selection when they heard a familiar sound of a table and chair being kicked from the back row.

"Oh," Liu Cunhao looked back calmly. "Don't mind them, let's continue talking."

Luo Wenqiang scratched his head and muttered, "Is it just my imagination, or have they been fighting less frequently lately?"

Whenever these two were together, it seemed as if an invisible barrier separated them from all the noise around them.

It was a subtle feeling, but something just didn't feel quite right.

Xie Yu was the type of person who always did what he said. He had hit He Chao a few times before He Chao finally grabbed his wrist. As he stepped back, he almost tripped over a chair. "You really hit me," he said.

Then he added in a low voice, "You'll hit even your boyfriend?"

Xie Yu bent down to pick up the chair that had fallen over and pushed it to the side so it wouldn't get in his way. "You asked for it," he said.

During lunch break, Old Tang came over to hand out homework and also brought news about the upcoming performance.

"Let me tell you something, next month is the school anniversary, I believe Wan Da has already told you," said Old Tang, causing laughter from the audience. He paused and continued, "Each class needs to prepare a performance, so everyone please sign up and decide whether we should do a skit or something else. Xu Jing, you're in charge of this."

The cultural committee representative was called out, and raised her hand, saying, "Okay, teacher."

Xie Yu had no interest in the arts performance, and he had already left a memorable and embarrassing moment in his life by dancing on stage, which could easily be listed as one of the top three most awkward moments of his life.

While Old Tang was speaking, Xie Yu was sleeping on his desk and didn't notice the cultural committee representative staring at him and He Chao for a long time.

Xu Jing secretly wanted these two to take the lead.

After all, Class 3 had a reputation to uphold, and their performance would definitely be impressive.

And during the performance, the leaders in the audience will score each class's program. Since they are participating, they definitely want to come in first.

"Would He Chao be willing to participate?"

After Old Tang left, the six or seven of them gathered in a small circle. After Xu Jing finished asking, Liu Cunhao patted the table and said, "Of course, no need to ask. Look at Brother Chao, he shines brightly and creates waves wherever he goes. Everywhere is his stage."

Xu Jing asked again, "What about Xie Yu?"

Liu Cunhao didn't say any more.

Luo Wenqiang pondered, "This...this would be a bit difficult. How about you choose someone else? Look at me, I'm pretty coordinated with my limbs."

Wan Da said, "Not just a bit difficult, you might as well think about which cemetery you want to be buried in after you die."

After discussing for a while, they walked downstairs to the exercuse ground and lined up for class, but still hadn't come up with a solution.

Whether they were doing their physical education class or had free time, the basketball team didn't welcome He Chao. They refused to play with him no matter what. So he went to Xu Qingqing and took two badminton rackets from her. "Old Xie, do you want to play?"

Xie Yu reached out and took one of the rackets, thinking to himself that it was just badminton, a straightforward game. Even if He Chao tried to be tricky, he probably couldn't cause any trouble. "Shall we go to the gym?"

He Chao asked. "Let's see if there's any space left," he replied. "If not, we can play outside."

The gym was crowded with badminton shuttlecocks flying everywhere. Many people were sitting in the empty rest areas on both sides. Xie Yu carried the rackets and walked to the very back before finding an empty spot.

The two of them stood on opposite sides.

He Chao unzipped his jacket and verbally showed off his skills.

Just as he finished boasting, Xie Yu hit a fierce cross-court shot towards him and said, "Stop talking nonsense."

Xu Qingqing couldn't find a place to play and sat on the side, being pulled by the cultural committee representative to choose songs.

The three songs were all very exciting, the kind that gave off a feeling like they could blow up the school when they go on stage.

"Listen, which one do you like?" Xu Jing said again, "Wan Da thinks the second one is better, and I plan to finalise the song today. Ah, I really want to invite Xie Yu to join the group...but I dare not."

Xu Qingqing couldn't decide and muttered, "I think they're all pretty good, it's up to you."

She vaguely heard the people around her murmuring, and she took off her headphones and looked up to see the two big shots playing in the corner.

Although they were standing in a slightly remote location, they were still the most eye-catching.

During their last autumn outing, they joked that anyone could get lost, but they would never lose their classmates Brother Chao and Brother Yu. Their distinctive figures were recognizable from behind.

Many people around them were also looking and whispering, "So handsome."

After a few more "handsome" comments, someone said, "But they play so aggressively."

When playing badminton, Xie Yu was as fierce as if he were fighting. Especially when he jumped up to smash the shuttlecock, the sharpness of his movements was accompanied by the wind.

He almost killed He Chao with one of his smashes, but luckily He Chao reacted quickly and instinctively stepped back a few steps to catch the shuttlecock.

The two of them played back and forth, and their movements became more and more intense.

Especially Xie Yu, he was playing as if his life depended on it.

"Fuck," He Chao was provoked by Xie Yu's attitude and took off his jacket, throwing it on the ground. "You're pretty aggressive, little friend."

"Still alright."

The air inside the room was stuffy, and Xie Yu felt a bit uncomfortable. He raised his hand and pulled down the zipper on his school uniform, saying, "I'm just a little better than you."

Before, Dalei and his friends were not used to playing basketball with him. They would always shout, "Are you playing basketball or fighting? Do you understand teamwork? We're a team. Boss Xie, if you call me again, I'll be a dog."

But after sleeping for a night, the scar healed and the pain was forgotten. The next day, he still happily brought the ball and said, "Let's go play basketball. I've arranged a match with the next street's Little Tiger Squad. Today, we'll have a death match."

In this neighborhood, all the kids around the same age have their own fixed teams. They love giving themselves embarrassing names, probably from watching too many movies.

Names like "Little Tiger Squad" or "Black Bull Squad."

As they played, sweat started to form on Xie Yu's back. He took off his jacket and, while He Chao was picking up the shuttlecock, half-bent over and fanned himself with his collar.

Xie Yu's loose-fitting thin sweater would sink in along with the fabric's momentum when he raised his hand to catch the shuttlecock, vaguely outlining his waist.

From He Chao's angle, you could see this person's slender collarbone and the outline of his waist that followed it downwards...

Xie Yu was still waiting for He Chao to throw the shuttlecock over when he heard He Chao say, "Not playing anymore."

Xie Yu's fingers were still grabbing onto his collar, not reacting in time. "Huh?"

He Chao said, "You fouled."

Like hell he fouled.

Where did he foul.

Xie Yu didn't quite understand, but He Chao had already called Xu Qingqing over to take his place: "Brother Qing, do you have nowhere to play? Come on over."

Xu Qingqing and Xu Jing walked over with their rackets.

Xu Jing was still thinking about the program, and when she saw Xie Yu, she gathered her courage and asked, "Um, Classmate Xie, our class is planning a program and we hope you can participate. You can provide any conditions, and the c-position is not a problem..."

Xie Yu had just put on his jacket.

He had no impression of this girl. Even after so long since the start of the school year, he couldn't remember her name.

But the girl looked at him with a serious and expectant gaze, with a pair of pure and shining eyes.

She was a bit timid, but still stood in front of him, trying her best to say everything.

Xu Qingqing stood by He Chao's side, watching as Xu Jing actually went up to ask. She exclaimed in surprise, "With Brother Yu's temper, Jingjing is just asking for trouble. It's impossible for him to agree."

But He Chao just smiled and said, "Not necessarily."

Xie Yu had said something to Xu Jing, but they were too far away to hear clearly. They only saw Xie Yu finish speaking, zip up his jacket, and walk over with a badminton racket in hand.

Xie Yu threw the racket into He Chao's arms and said, "Let's go."

He Chao took the racket and waved to Xu Qingqing, "See you later, Brother Qing."

Xu Qingqing waved back in a daze and walked up to the net, leaning against it and asking, "So, what did Brother Yu say?"

Xu Jing still hadn't come back to her senses and didn't answer. She just said, "Why don't you pinch me?"

Does that mean he agreed?

Xu Jing said, "It counts as him agreeing, although his response was quite indifferent. He just told me to do whatever I want."

The list of members participating in the program for Class 3 was quickly handed over to Old Tang. He emphasized several times that participation was the most important thing, and that rankings were not important at all. Then they began rehearsing fervently during their break time.

This group of people had a common problem: although they didn't dance very well, they were particularly intoxicated and each one felt like they were super cool.

Moreover, with He Chao leading the way, the classroom immediately turned into a stage.

Only Xie Yu sat at his desk, remembering the moves and not moving much, watching this group of people go crazy.

After He Chao finished his performance, he stood next to Xie Yu.

Xie Yu was holding a bottle of water and handed him the half-drunk mineral water without thinking, saying, "The king of the stage, why aren't you dancing anymore?"

He Chao gulped a few mouthfuls directly, wiped the corners of his mouth, and said, "These kids are growing up too fast. They're like the waves of the Yangtze River, surpassing the last generation quickly."

Xie Yu had put on headphones earlier to block out the noise, but now he took them off and realized that these kids had completely inherited He Chao's style: Wherever there was an audience, there was a stage.

Liu Cunhao said, "Please call us the invincible handsome boy band of the universe!"

Wan Da said, "Let me see your hands, friends over here!"

Luo Wenqiang said, "Not enough! Scream even louder!"

"..."

Old Wu came in with teaching materials and was startled by this three shouts. He thought he had walked into the wrong classroom, hesitated for a moment, then turned back and confirmed that the sign outside read 'Year 2, Class 3': "What are you guys doing? You're going to debut as the invincible handsome boy band of the universe?"

During class time, everyone settled down and listened attentively.

After finishing a section of the lesson and assigning homework, Old Wu suddenly thought of something and picked up the chalk again. "There's an extension question for this topic that I want to explain to you. Even if you don't understand it, it's okay. Don't be too fixated on it, just aim for the marks you can get."

Xie Yu looked up at the blackboard and saw that it was a question mixed with other topics, with a novel approach to the problem.

Most of the students took a quick glance and immediately gave up on the question.

As Xie Yu finished reading the question, he was about to use his phone's memo to jot down some notes when he noticed that He Chao, who had been playing games the entire class, was actually looking up at the blackboard.

He Chao was still holding his phone, but the game interface was still playing. The character named "Handsome He" on the screen was being attacked by a boss and lost a life.