Dedicated to studying, yet forced into a chaotic situation.

Chapter 17 Don't flatter yourself, what are you thinking?

I listened attentively in class in the afternoon and used the break time to memorize two more short English passages. Before I knew it, it was time for the fourth self-study period.

Shi Sui attended nine classes diligently that day and memorized three short English passages, earning a total of 435 points. She stored the points in the system and decided not to withdraw them for the time being, thinking she would open a bank account when she had time on the weekend.

Having made plans with Xiao Youran to watch a basketball game, Shi Sui slipped out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. She always arrived early, never late.

"Is your deskmate in a hurry to go to the toilet?" Yan Ze turned around and looked at Chi Yan.

Chi Yan had just woken up. He reached out and rubbed the back of his head. His short, black hair peeked out from between his fingers, making his fingers look white and slender. He looked towards the open back door, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Who cares about her?" Chi Yan glanced at Yan Ze and asked, "Why are you so concerned about her?"

"She promised me this morning that she would come to watch me play ball this afternoon."

"Hmm?" Chi Yan raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat disbelieving.

Why would she go watch Yan Ze play basketball instead of him yesterday afternoon?

"Never mind, I won't disturb you from sleeping." Yan Ze waved his hand, picked up the ball at his feet, and said, "I'm going to play ball. I have a match against Class 2."

He got up to leave, but his arm was pulled, causing him to lose his balance and sway slightly. He looked back and asked, "What's wrong, Brother Chi?"

"Together." Chi Yan released his hand and said lazily.

"I asked you out this morning, but you said you were too lazy to go."

"I've changed my mind." Chi Yan clicked his tongue lightly. "Why so much nonsense?"

Yan Ze: "..." The Great Demon King's thoughts are like needles at the bottom of the sea.

When Shi Sui arrived at the place where she was moving bottled water at noon, it was an indoor basketball court. It was very large, much larger than the playground of her previous school. There were several such large indoor sports halls in Xinghua, while her previous school only had one playground.

Xiao Youran had already arrived. When she saw Shi Sui, she waved and said, "Shi Sui, over here."

Shi Sui walked over and found herself in an activity room with a sign that read 'Student Council Sports Department Activity Room 3'.

In the center of the room stood an impressive long table, flanked by neatly arranged soft-backed, wheeled chairs. A large glass display case was filled with trophies.

"This activity room mainly handles basketball," Xiao Youran introduced. "I'm the head of the sports department. Look, these are all trophies we've won in our school's basketball tournaments. We've always been number one in every college league."

Shi Sui was dazzled by the gleaming golden trophy and exclaimed with genuine admiration, "Amazing!"

“Yes, that’s right.” Xiao Youran said with great pride, “Next week, our second-year high school class will be holding a basketball tournament, so this afternoon we specially arranged an exhibition match between Class 1 and Class 2 as a warm-up for next week’s basketball tournament.”

"Oh, right," Xiao Youran remembered, "Shi Sui, you transferred to Class 1, right?"

Shi Sui nodded, somewhat helplessly, "It's just a temporary transfer to Class 1. I don't know where I'll be assigned next week."

Xiao Youran heard from Jiang Tianyao that Shi Sui's studies were very poor. She had never attended primary school and only knew how to fight in school. She had to pull a lot of strings to get into Xinghua School. Her family regretted not letting her repeat the first year of high school.

"It's okay," Xiao Youran comforted her. "Any class is better than the international class. I heard that the people in the international class are lazy and good-for-nothing, they just sleep and play on their phones all day, they come to school to waste their time."

Although she was right, Shi Sui thought, "Everyone in the international class is great. They don't make any noise when they play on their phones or sleep in class, and they never disturb the teacher's lecture."

"One is influenced by one's surroundings; it's best to leave the international class as soon as possible."

Two more members of the sports department arrived one after another, both of them girls. They saw Xiao Youran chatting with a girl.

I've never seen this girl before. She seems to have a good relationship with the department head. Is she a newly recruited member?

“Let’s go, let’s move our things out first?” one of the members suggested.

The main items were three boxes of electrolyte water, a sports injury first aid kit, and a basket of sterilized new towels.

If there was only one girl present, she would not hesitate to carry water, but if there were only girls present, they all hesitated. No one wanted to do physical labor.

The newly arrived sports department members picked up a first-aid kit and towels: "Minister, we'll go put our things down first, and we'll help you carry the water when we come back later."

No one knew how long she meant by "wait a while".

Xiao Youran looked rather grim. She recalled how, in the past, the members would always choose the easiest tasks, do a little work, and then run off to chat with the boys, leaving her to do all the hard work.

"Let's go." Shi Sui stacked the three boxes of electrolyte water together, picked them up easily, and asked, "Xiao Youran, can you show me the way? Where are we going?"

Xiao Youran looked at the girl in front of her, came back to her senses, and said embarrassedly, "Let's move it together."

"It's okay, I used to move things all the time, this isn't heavy for me," Shi Sui smiled.

Xiao Youran shook her head, trying to help: "I can barely carry this box by myself, how can you carry three? Don't try to be a hero."

"I carried all this over from the cafeteria in one go at noon, I'm not showing off, I'm really strong." Shi Sui invited, "You can pinch the muscles on my arm."

Xiao Youran froze for a second, her gaze lingering on the girl's arm. It was hidden by the long-sleeved school uniform, but as if possessed, she reached out and gently pinched it.

He definitely has muscles! Girls with muscles make you feel the most secure!

She immediately withdrew her hand, her cheeks flushing red.

"Thank you, you've helped me again," Xiao Youran said softly, her head bowed.

"It's no big deal."

"After the basketball game, I'll treat you to dessert. I know a really good dessert shop outside of school!"

"Okay, okay," Shi Sui readily agreed.

Then, she suddenly realized that she seemed to accept anything as long as it was food—she was really shameless.

When they reappeared in the basketball arena, there were already quite a few people in the stands, and many players were warming up on the court.

"Brother Chi, Brother Chi!" Yan Ze's eyes lit up. "Look over there! I knew Shi Sui would come to watch me play basketball."

Chi Yan: I saw her even if you didn't say anything.

He not only saw it, but he also saw her carrying three boxes of electrolyte water by herself. Chi Yan frowned: "Who told her to buy so much water?"

He can't drink that much by himself.

Shi Sui had just put down her bottled water when her phone beeped twice, indicating a new message—could it be that the system was secretly downloading some kind of listening exercise for her again?

She opened her phone and saw a new message on WeChat. When she opened it, she found that the Money Tree had given her another two hundred yuan.

Shi Sui: "?" She subconsciously looked around, her intuition telling her that Chi Yan was nearby.

Sure enough, the boy was standing under the basketball hoop not far away. His outstanding appearance made him stand out at a glance. He was holding a phone in one hand, his eyes were half-closed, and his chin was slightly raised.

Refreshing, bright, and youthful—it's irresistible.

They looked at each other across the hustle and bustle of the stadium, and Chi Yan inexplicably felt a little hot.

Yan Ze, standing beside him, was excited, his face beaming with joy: "Look, look! Your deskmate smiled at me!"

Chi Yan rolled her eyes and unceremoniously covered his face with one hand: "Don't flatter yourself, what are you thinking?"

My deskmate was clearly smiling at me.

Shi Sui, overjoyed and unable to hide her smile after receiving two hundred, thought: "What are they doing?"