NH chapter 013

Chapter 13: The Flower on the High Mountain

Shen Tingyu ate very elegantly, chewing slowly and hardly making any noise. At least that’s what Huo Ye observed for now; he guessed that Shen Tingyu must have had strict upbringing, where talking while eating would earn a slap.

Huo Ye finished eating first and sat beside him waiting, unconsciously tapping his fingers lightly on the table, not sure what he was thinking.

After a while, Shen Tingyu also finished, but neither of them rushed to leave, silently intending to rest for a few minutes.

Shen Tingyu took a small sip of water, hesitated, and finally asked, “Why don’t you like eating chicken legs?”

It is somewhat impolite to inquire about someone’s food preferences, as it is a relatively private matter. Showing excessive curiosity after only knowing each other for a few days might offend the other person. Shen Tingyu was aware of this, but he still asked.

At the mention, Huo Ye glanced over with clear eyes, as if it were a casual question.

“Not liking it means I just don’t like it; there’s no reason,” Huo Ye replied lightly. “I didn’t eat much of it before, thought it was great, but then when I tried it, I threw up. It’s too greasy for my stomach. Over time, it just didn’t seem that great anymore, and I stopped liking it.”

Shen Tingyu stared at him suspiciously, “Is that true? How did you grow so tall without eating meat? You look pretty capable.”

Huo Ye laughed, lifting up the hem of his shirt to show Shen Tingyu his flat, solid abs, saying, “My height is thanks to family genes; I just naturally have a low body fat percentage.” He mischievously winked, “Not good at fighting, but I can take a hit.”

Nearby, some girls who hadn’t left after finishing their meals were secretly observing the two, and when they saw this scene, their voices rose a few notches, excited to the point of blushing.

After all, both of them were prominent figures in the school. Huo Ye already had a considerable reputation, and the new transfer student was also making headlines, looking equally handsome and charming, making them even more eye-catching together.

Teenage girls tend to be somewhat rebellious, and they were particularly attracted to a boy like Huo Ye, who was both mischievous and unexpectedly tender; those who disliked him naturally also found themselves liking him.

Shen Tingyu seemed to get his tail stepped on, suddenly jumping up and pulling Huo Ye’s shirt back down, scolding him with an ugly expression, gritting his teeth as he said, “What are you lifting your shirt for?!”

Huo Ye feigned innocence, raising his hands, “I didn’t do anything.”

Shen Tingyu kept pulling at his shirt while gloomily glancing back at where the noise was coming from—suddenly, there was a “click.”

A girl had accidentally forgotten to turn off her camera flash while taking a picture, capturing Shen Tingyu’s surprised look. She covered her mouth in astonishment, looking at her phone screen, exclaiming, “Oh my, that photo is so handsome!”

Shen Tingyu: “……”

Does everyone in this school have a problem?

“It’s fine; what’s wrong with taking a couple of photos of such a handsome guy? Be generous.” Huo Ye casually patted Shen Tingyu’s shoulder, signaling him not to be nervous, then tilted his head slightly from behind him, giving the girls across a friendly smile.

The girl who took the photo was stunned for two seconds before immediately raising her phone for another shot, saying, “Oh my God, behind this great face is an even greater face!”

“Wow, he’s so capable, I can’t handle it.” One of her friends excitedly tapped her arm, “Send it to me, send it to me! I want to post it on the forum!”

Huo Ye had one hand on Shen Tingyu’s shoulder, while the other hand grinned at the camera, forming a peace sign. At that moment, Shen Tingyu had already turned his head back, showing just half of his chiseled side profile, which seemed somewhat unhappy—these rare photos later became an unspoken memory of that summer.

In the afternoon, there was a physical education class. The physical education courses in Lanjing Private High School #2 were actually quite relaxed; after a simple warm-up, it mostly turned into free activity time for the students.

The class monitor brought over several large boxes filled with various sports equipment; basketball, shuttlecock, tennis, table tennis, badminton, the whole works. The playground and the adjacent gym could accommodate a few classes at a time without feeling crowded.

The second-year class A had mostly boys, more than fifty in total, with only about ten girls. Today they were in the same physical education class with class B from the same year, and the boys from both classes were preparing for a match, discussing who would play.

Someone expressed concern, “What to do? There’s a guy named Liao on the other team who plays dirty, and they have a lot of tall athletes. We’ve lost two or three times already; can we win?”

“Shut up, Zhang Li! Why boost their morale and kill our spirit? Who isn’t tall? I signed up at the gym this summer and have been training specifically!” The class monitor puffed out his chest, showing off his noticeably inflated muscles, signaling for them to touch.

Everyone reached out to squeeze and began chatting excitedly, saying things like, “Old Zhao, not bad! You’ve got some skills.”

“Skills? It’s all just fat! To train for half an hour, I’d have to eat three bowls of rice, right?”—“Damn, Wu Zhen, stop making stuff up! I only had two bowls!”

“Oh my, this feels good! You must have been drinking a lot of protein powder, right? Old Zhao, you’re almost turning into a bullfrog!”

“Damn! Touching is fine, but who pulled my hair?!”

The school had been in session for nearly a week, yet the boys from class A hadn’t shown any intention of making new friends. Only a few classroom representatives had spoken to Huo Ye, considered a slight acquaintance.

As soon as the physical education teacher announced free activity, it became clear who had friends and who didn’t. If you stood alone, it felt particularly awkward.

Shen Tingyu had no classmates he knew; within the vast school, he could only hold on to Huo Ye. He gazed towards the lively basketball court, his expression surprisingly quiet and blank, perhaps recalling his brothers.

Suddenly, a shuttlecock flew over from far away, soaring through the summer greenery, and hit Shen Tingyu on the chest.

A spark of realization flickered in Shen Tingyu, catching the shuttlecock. He turned to see Huo Ye holding two rackets on his shoulder, the few strands of hair on his forehead illuminated by the bright sunlight in brilliant golden hues.

“Hi, want to play? Any sport is fine; I can do them all,” Huo Ye said calmly.

Shen Tingyu tossed the shuttlecock up and raised an eyebrow, asking him, “Golf too?”

“I can’t do that.”

Huo Ye smiled helplessly, “Don’t put me on the spot, Young Master.”

On their side, Shen Tingyu and Huo Ye were like two old men, playing badminton back and forth without intense smashes, maintaining a surprisingly leisurely pace.

Meanwhile, the basketball game on the other side was unusually intense. The boys were in high spirits, bumping into each other, making long passes, shooting threes, veins popping as they yelled, killing each other’s eyes in a fierce showdown that was like a gladiatorial arena.

Other classmates who didn’t play basketball or engage in sports were sitting with practice books, attempting homework while glancing occasionally. In reality, they ended up writing very little but felt comforted just holding them.

“Aren’t the school beauties from your class playing basketball?” a girl from class B asked.

The A class girl was taken aback, “School beauty? Fang Ying is on leave today.”

“Who mentioned Fang Ying? You silly.” The girl from class B pushed her, and those behind her laughed understandingly. “I’m talking about the new elite transfer student in your class; don’t you think? With those red lips and white teeth, he could star just by washing his face. Compared to him, Fang Ying looks like a common girl; it’s truly incredible.”

The A class girl caught on, feeling helpless but amused, “I’m impressed by your imagination. But now that you mention it, it might actually be true.”

“Hey, hey, hey, take advantage of the moment and add him on WeChat before anyone else does. Have you added him yet?”

The A class girl shook her head, “No, I can’t; as far as I know, no one in the class has added him on WeChat yet. He’s handsome for sure, but he has a really cold personality and doesn’t talk to girls at all.”

“Wow, so this is what it means to be a flower on a high mountain?”

By the end of the first half of the game, the score was lopsided. The boys from class A were sweating profusely, running around like ants on a hot stove, feeling anxious.

A few players from the opposing team, who played dirty, had knocked down their forwards and guards, causing injuries like sore elbows and swollen ankles. There was no way they could continue playing.

Wu Zhen cursed as he gasped, “Damn it, what the hell? Not enough already and they play dirty? Whoever takes the ball next can create a family tree for themselves!”

“I’m so over it. That Liao bastard just poked his elbow into my kidney on purpose. I’m still in pain!” The class monitor Zhao Jiayan grimaced.

Zhang Li wiped his sweat, looking worried, “What now? Dong Ge went to the infirmary, and others can’t play. We’re short on men.”

“Damn it, do we A class have no guys left?”

Silence.

Silence was the bridge over troubled water tonight.

Wait, hold on. It seems…?

Everyone abruptly turned around in unison, and across half the basketball court, A class’s Shen Tingyu and Huo Ye were leisurely playing badminton.

Clearly, both were over six feet tall and looked like they could dominate a basketball match, yet they had changed completely, opting to play a children’s game.

Everyone: “……”

Though still, the last men of class A.

Zhang Li suggested quietly, “How about….” After more than half a minute of discussion, they decided to put aside their differences and let Zhao Jiayan, the class monitor, take the lead as they confidently strode over, a group of them appearing ready for a fight.

Shen Tingyu caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, his gaze slightly squinting, but he maintained his expressionless face, calmly saying, “Someone’s coming.”

Huo Ye, with his back to them, asked, confused, “Who?”

He swung a racket back again.

Shen Tingyu casually returned the stroke, keeping his eyes locked on the approaching figures, feeling the tension rising in the air. He warned, “It’s the group from class A.”

“Aren’t you part of class A?” Huo Ye didn’t understand, the racket turning in his hand as he turned to look.

Zhao Jiayan was now very close to him, and Shen Tingyu walked over, lifting the net without a sound, stopping a few steps in front of Huo Ye.

The atmosphere unexpectedly became tense.

Though trained and built like a bullfrog, standing in front of Shen Tingyu, who was almost a head taller, Zhao Jiayan’s momentum suddenly shrank, and with Shen Tingyu coldly pressing down on him, the look in his eyes was no different from looking at a dog, enough to make one feel small.

“…” Zhao Jiayan swallowed nervously, forcing himself to speak awkwardly, “Hey, want to play?”

Shen Tingyu: “……”

Is it okay to hit you?