Chapter 11

Bet

Sweep the fallen leaves. 

Sweeping the leaves after school. 

How does someone even sweep?

Bian Shengjian simply held his chin in his hand and thought about this serious question in silence for half a minute, but after all, as someone who had never held a broom twice, he had to admit that he was indeed a little spoiled in some respects.

“You’re going to sweep the fallen leaves on the playground?” Lu Shen said.

“Shut up.” Bian Shengjian glared at him.

“Do you want me to help you?” Lu Shen raised the corner of his mouth. “You don’t even know how to hold a broom, do you? Young master.”

“What’s your problem?” Bian Shengjian turned his head and stared at him. “Also, don’t call me young master.”

“Be careful with your hands. Don’t overdo it or your hands will be full of blisters.” Lu Shen warned him with a smile.

Bian Shengjian looked down at his hand subconsciously. Well, the bony joints were clear, the knuckles were slender, and the nails were neatly cut. At first glance, it really belonged to a young master.

Full of blisters? Before Shengjian can figure out why the hands can have blisters from just sweeping leaves, the monitor sticks out half of his head outside the door of the class and shouts, “It’s time for gym class! Hurry down there!”

Bian Shengjian was taken aback by the shout, and before he could straighten up subconsciously, Zhou Li grabbed his arm, “Go, go! Or else Brother Zhao will scold us again!”

“Brother Zhao?” Bian Shengjian was forced to run while being pulled by the arm. When he passed by the door, he saw Lu Shen still seated on his chair with a calm face, watching him run past the door.

Bian Shengjian took a couple more steps before he released his arm from Zhou Li’s grip. When he remembered the look that Lu Shen had just given him, he suddenly felt strange. It was only now that he realized that Lu Shen seemed to be alone all the time. Except for the times he ate with him and went back to the dormitory with him, he didn’t really notice other people in class talking to him. Even in class, his name was never called. Obviously, there were only so few students in class. Although Lu Shen was not born with a popular face, he shouldn’t be reduced to such a level of isolation.

…Isolation?

Bian Shengjian was stunned when the word popped into his mind, he hesitated for a while before turning to look at Zhou Li, “Before we turned around…Did you notice Lu Shen? What do you think of him?”

As soon as he said that, Shengjian regretted it a little. This kind of meddling behavior was really not his style, but Lu Shen’s situation was really special. Since the time Shengjian had been with Lu Shen, he had always felt that there seemed to be a layer of light mist between them, like a flower in the mirror, and the moon in the water. He couldn’t see through him.

And his temperament changes a lot, he can fight and also bear being beaten. Bian Shengjian was a little surprised to find that he was actually quite interested in Lu Shen’s affairs. Before, when Bian Shengjian was fooling around every day with Li Fei and the others, he had never given much thought to those people. It might be because Lu Shen was fundamentally different from them. One side embodied the simplicity and naturalness of a middle school student while the other type was quite deep and mysterious.

“Lu Shen?” Zhou Li stared at him for a few seconds “Who is that?”

“Our classmate, who else could he be?” Bian Shengjian frowned at him, “The one that sits at the corner, two seats away from me…”

Bian Shengjian stopped abruptly as he spoke. At this moment, he suddenly felt a cool wind rattling down his back. “You can’t… you can’t see him?”

“Oh, him.” Zhao Li thought for a while before he suddenly realized. “Yes, there seems to be such a person in our class, but he is usually quiet, and I haven’t spoken to him much.”

“The one in the corner, can you really see him?” Bian Shengjian still asked although he felt that as soon as the question was asked, he would be immediately classified as a lunatic. But at this time he was still eager to verify, so at least in the future, he could calm a pile of wishful thinking caused by this matter.

For most people, it was easy to conjure up fears from your own imagination.

“I definitely can see him.” Zhou Li glanced at him inexplicably. “Isn’t it a ghost if you can’t see it? Brother Jian, are you okay today?”

“No.” Bian Shengjian breathed a sigh of relief, “Just asking.”

“What are you two standing still for? Get over here!” There was another shout in the distance, and Zhou Li hurriedly took two steps forward with Bian Shenjian. “Come here!”

“We’re going to a PE class right?” Bian Shengjian was a little speechless about Zhou Li’s reaction which made it seem like they were entering a battlefield, “Why are you in such a hurry?”

“Brother Jian, you just transferred recently,” Zhou Li sighed as he ran, “You don’t know Brother Zhao…. he, forget it, let’s hurry up to where everyone is first. “

Bian Shengjian was dragged by Zhou Li to where the group was lined up. Although some boys in the class were very dissatisfied with this, they just glared at Bian Shengjian and said nothing.

“Line up! Ready! Run!” The class monitor shouted from the front of the line and the whole class started to move. Bian Shengjian was standing in the back row and was a little baffled by this action that was similar to military training and could only run together with the group.

“What is this for?” He asked Zhou Li in a low voice. Bian Shengjian turned his head and suddenly saw Lu Shen, who had joined the team at some point, right next to him, running forward intently.

“Brother Zhao is our physical education teacher,” Zhou Li whispered back, “He was a veteran previously, yet he came to our school to teach physical education for some reason. He still likes to command his students to do some exercises that were usually done in military camps…”

Bian Shengjian frowned, “Why are the teachers in our school so weird?”

“Hey, it’s good to have one.” Zhou Li’s tone was a little helpless, “…helped me scared away a few bunch of snobs before actually.”

Bian Shengjian was about to speak, but the person in front suddenly stopped. Bian Shengjian reacted too slowly and bumped into the person in front. “Hey!”

“Who’s talking!?” A stern voice suddenly shouted ahead, and the team instantly became silent.

“Class Monitor, line them up first!” The person who spoke did not find the source of the voice for a long time and shouted to the class monitor in dissatisfaction.

“Yes!” The class monitor took the lead in dispersing the line and instructed them to turn to the right. At this turn, Shengjian finally saw the veteran Brother Zhao, Zhou Li mentioned.

No, according to how he looks right now, he should be called ‘Holiday Zhao?’

Bian Shengjian looked at this brother who was wearing a straw hat and flip-flops. For a long time, he really couldn’t associate the image of the person in front of him with a physical education teacher. After all, back in his old school…….forget it.

“Your assembly time was one minute and twenty-five seconds slower! Class Monitor, report the reason!” Brother Zhao said, using the stopwatch in his hand.

“The reason is that two classmates were slow to come.” The monitor hesitated before slowly saying.

“Huh? Who is it? Show me!” Brother Zhao’s eyes swept back and forth amongst the class, not paying attention to the embarrassed expression of the class monitor at the moment.

“It was me.”

Bian Shengjian took a step forward, stretched out his hand, and grasped Zhou Li’s shoulder, preventing him from stepping forward too. “I’m the only one.”

“What’s your name?” Brother Zhao turned to look at him.

“Bian Shengjian.” Bian Shengjian looked at him without turning his head.

“Okay, you’re quite righteous.” Brother Zhao sneered, “Go and run ten laps by yourself.”

“Brother Zhao, I will run with him!” Zhou Li was stunned for a moment, but he couldn’t help raising his hand, “I also slowed down the class just now.”

“Don’t mind him,” Shengjian frowned, “I’ll run by myself.”

“Did you hear that?” Brother Zhao sneered at Zhou Li. “If you are a man, you have to be brave and this boy will not be allowed to leave class until he finishes today.”

“It won’t take up the whole class period.” Bian Shengjian said, and moved his hands and feet at will. “Fifteen minutes or so will do.”

“Boy, are you crazy?” Brother Zhao looked him up and down a few times “Look at your skin and tender meat… OK, run and let me see what you can do.”

Bian Shengjian raised his hands and rolled up his sleeves. He happened to be wearing baggy shorts today, which was not a big problem for running. However, in the first few days of school, he didn’t have time to go to the gym because he had to deal with various things. He’s state was not definitely as good as before.

After Bian Shengjian finished preparing, he jumped in his spot twice and after Brother Zhao gave the order, he rushed forward. Bian Shengjian was agile and experienced, he quickly stabilized his breathing, just like how he exercised before.

Inhale for three steps, exhale for three steps. Breathe through your nose, don’t open your mouth too wide, and pay attention to frequency.

The whole class just stood there and watched Bian Shengjian run around the oval running track at a fast and uniform speed. Some people couldn’t help but look down at their watch a few times, “Fuck…did he just almost run a lap in less than a minute?” 

“Right,” the boy who ate a leek box this morning snorted disdainfully, “Just look at him pretending to be energetic for now, he will definitely slow down after a while.”

“Yes, keep up this speed!” Brother Zhao shouted from the side of the runway with a serious look.

Bian Shengjian didn’t speak but raised his sweaty chin when passing by the class, and the expression on his face was relaxed and arrogant.

Someone in the class immediately shouted and whistled, “Bian Shengjian, you’re very good at pretending!”

“Don’t look for trouble.” Brother Zhao glared at the person, “Or you can go and run with him.”

The embarrassed young man who made the taunt immediately closed his mouth, and watched Bian Shengjian as he shuttled across the runway like an arrow released from its bow. When running, he seemed to be in a relaxed state, especially every time his hands and feet moved forward. The muscle lines looked beautiful, the contours were distinct and not too exaggerated. It was a very strong and youthful body for a young man. 

“So handsome!” Finally, a girl couldn’t help but exclaim.

“How many laps has he run already?” Zhou Li, also watching amongst the class, looked very restless at the moment, counting the number of laps Shengjian has run over and over while stomping his feet. “Damn it, isn’t he running too fast? If he stops, will he bleed from his seven orifices?”

“…No.” Lu Shen glanced at him lightly, “It’s already been eight laps.”

“Fifteen minutes is up!” Brother Zhao shouted.

“Tsk.” Bian Shengjian adjusted his posture to prepare for the final sprint, but the fact that he basically maintained his speed since the first few laps had already amazed many boys in the class. “Holy crap, you are awesome!”

After the last lap, Brother Zhao immediately stopped the stopwatch, and the time displayed on it was seventeen minutes and three seconds.

“Brother Jian!” Zhou Li rushed up first, and Lu Shen followed closely behind. “How are you that fast?!”

“…It’s alright.” Bian Shengjian stopped and adjusted his breathing before slowly walking toward them. The sweat all over his body seemed to be glowing under the sunlight.

“Drink some water, drink some water.” Zhou Li hurriedly offered his own water bottle, “Damn it, Brother, I don’t even know what to say. You’re really too fast.”

Bian Shengjian unscrewed the bottle and swallowed two mouthfuls of water, then turned his back to the group of girls and wiped the sweat on his face with the hem of his clothes before saying, “It was not that fast.”

“It was!” Zhou Li immediately shouted, “I was even afraid that the bottom of your feet would somehow ignite some sparks!”

“Wipe your sweat.” Lu Shen, who got a towel from nowhere, put it on Bian Shengjian’s neck, sounding a little worried, “Be careful of catching a cold.”

“That’s unlikely to happen.” Bian Shengjian took off the towel from his neck and wiped his head and face with it before heaving a sigh of relief “Thanks.”

“You guys, return to the group.” Brother Zhao observed for a long time before speaking.

“Yes.” Zhou Li immediately raised his eyebrows. “Brother Zhao, you see…”

“It was so-so, it’s much worse than when I was in the military camp before.” Brother Zhao didn’t look at him, his eyes fixed on Bian Shengjian.

“Really?” Bian Shengjian put down the towel and looked at him rudely, “I didn’t do my best that time.”

“Would you like to compete with me?” Brother Zhao said suddenly.

“Okay.” Bian Shengjian raised the corner of his mouth, and the sweat on his neck flowed into his collarbone again “What are you good at?”

“Pull-ups.” Brother Zhao pointed to the uneven bars not far away, and his tone didn’t fluctuate, “Dare to accept?”

“I do.” Bian Shengjian pinched the collar of his shirt and fanned himself casually.

“Compete with each other over what?” Zhou Li was anxious, “Brother Zhao, how can you be like this! He just finished ten laps!”

“Young man, your physical strength is good.” Brother Zhao said, taking off the straw hat on his head and fanning himself with it. “How many years has it been since I was discharged from the army? Don’t tell me you can’t compare to this old ginger head?”

“You…” Zhou Li looked anxious to hit someone, but Bian Shengjian motioned him to shut up first. “Yes, but I have a condition. “

“What conditions?” Brother Zhao looked at him.

“If I win, our class won’t ever do your messy military camp exercises in the future.” Bian Shengjian said.

“…Okay.” Brother Zhao fanned his hand, “What if you lose?”

Bian Shengjian frowned and thought for a while before speaking, “I hadn’t thought of that, since I don’t plan on losing.”

After listening to his words, Brother Zhao suddenly laughed heartily, and after laughing, he stretched out his hand and patted Shengjian’s shoulder vigorously, “If you lose, then you’ll be delivering me tea for two weeks in my office. How about that?”

“Deal.” Bian Shengjian said.

The author has something to say:

I like to write about some frivolous teenagers ^-^

Continue tomorrow.