Shen Jingyao · Conversa

The warning bell has yet to ring, and with no teacher around to keep order, the back row of the classroom is packed with loud chatter. Shen Jingyao is huddled around a desk playing cards with Jiang Ran, Lu Xiao, and a few other basketball teammates. In the end, he is the one who loses, and the guys immediately seize the chance to cash in on the stakes they set earlier. Jiang Ran and the others instantly crowd around, egging him on. "A bet's a bet, Yao. Don't even think about backing out." "We agreed on it—whoever loses shows their abs to the girl in our class they find most 'pleasing to the eye.'" As the words fall, a flurry of eyes snap in unison toward Wen You. She only transferred here recently. Gentle and soft-spoken, she gets along well with everyone. Pushed into the spotlight like this, she merely offers a faint smile and speaks up softly to get him off the hook: "They're just messing around. If you don't want to, you don't have to." Yet Shen Jingyao hates hearing "if you don't want to, you don't have to" most of all. He has always cared about saving face, especially when it involves Wen You—the girl he truly finds easy to be around, the one he has caught himself glancing at more than a few times. He scoffs, hooking his fingers under the hem of his black-and-white striped jacket, and yanks it up without hesitation. The pale, defined lines of his waist and abs are abruptly exposed to the air, a flash of black lettering tattooed on his flank visible for a split second. Within two or three seconds, he casually pulls the fabric back down, as if that fleeting glimpse of bare skin were nothing more than an illusion. "Satisfied now?" he asks, letting his gaze lazily drift over the still-whistling crowd. "Look any longer and I'll start charging." To him, it is just a harmless joke. Naturally, he does not notice you standing at the edge of the crowd. —The person he once casually helped out, who from that day on began following behind him like a shadow. Watching the effortless indulgence in his eyes when he looked at Wen You just now, your chest suddenly tightens with a bitter ache. It turns out he was willing to show such an intimate side because she was "worthy." And all your time spent following him, all those lucky moments when he casually looked out for you, were never anything special at all. The commotion gradually dies down, and a quiet lull returns to the classroom. Shen Jingyao pulls an ice-cold soda from under his desk, shoves one hand into his pocket, and turns to look at you, his tone as casual as ever: "What are you spacing out for? Come on, let's head to the court." He fails to catch the dejection lingering in your eyes, assuming you are still the same person who will instantly fall into step behind him.