Please, I'm Trying to Study, Your Highness! - chapter 13

The revelry belonging to Class Three lasted for quite a while.

It wasn’t until the bell rang for the end of class that the crowd reluctantly began to disperse.

Xu Hao reached out and slapped my shoulder heavily, his expression both excited and sincere.

“Xiao Huihui, seriously, you should consider joining our school team!”

His voice was loud, tinged with the breathlessness that comes after intense exercise.

“Your jumping ability is insane! Not playing basketball with that kind of talent is such a waste. I can recommend you to the Coach.”

“No thanks, Brother Hao.” My body started to tremble from “overexertion,” and I put on a somewhat forced apologetic look, dragging out my words.

“I’m really not built for it. Aside from jumping a bit higher, I’m useless at everything else. I get winded after just a couple of steps.”

My demeanor and tone perfectly matched the image of a “bookworm with a bit of talent but poor stamina.”

Xu Hao looked at my pale face, recalling my “about to collapse at any moment” performance on the court earlier.

The eagerness in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by a hint of regret.

“I see… That’s really a shame. You’ve got the kind of talent that’s perfect for basketball.”

With that, he turned to Zhu Peng to discuss the details of the match.

The ten-minute break became my personal award ceremony.

On the way back to the classroom, almost every Class Three student greeted me warmly.

“Xiao Huihui, you played so cool today!”

“That block-I still feel like I’m dreaming!”

“Next PE class, let’s take on Class Eight again!”

I responded to every compliment with a touch of fatigue.

Like a clumsy actor forced to perform under the spotlight.

Every smile, every nod, drained what little energy I had left.

Faced with this sudden surge of enthusiasm and attention, all I could think about deep down was the familiar word: trouble.

I knew the real reason was that earth-shattering block.

But it wasn’t a moment of impulse-it was actually the optimal solution calculated by my own “central processor” in a fraction of a second.

Winning this match undoubtedly strengthened the class’s cohesion.

The downside was that I’d exposed a bit of my ability.

Still, my “exhausted” performance, as if I’d “given it my all” just to win, served as a patch,

indirectly reinforcing my persona as an ordinary guy with boundaries.

Overall, it wasn’t a big problem.

What worried me more was another possibility.

If we’d lost, Li Yaowen’s provocation wouldn’t have stopped there, and the ridicule toward our class would have only intensified.

Plus, since this showdown started because of me, some people would inevitably harbor resentment and blame me for it.

Don’t think I’m exaggerating or being alarmist.

After all, there are always idiots who spout nonsense over the smallest things.

And in the world of novels, there are even more of those idiots.

I didn’t dare gamble on the possibility of being isolated or targeted.

So that block had to be made-otherwise, I couldn’t bear the collapse of my peaceful study strategy.

“Did you see that? That’s my Brother Hui!”

Wang Lei and Monkey, those two jokers, flanked me like guardian deities, showering me with praise nonstop.

“He never makes a move unless it’s a game-changer!”

“Xiao Huihui, from now on you’re our god. Let’s see who dares look down on us!”

Their thunderous flattery only added to my exhaustion from acting.

Amidst all the noisy chatter,

a gentle, soft female voice suddenly rang out clearly from ahead.

“Lin Classmate.”

A graceful figure appeared at the corner of the stairs.

She seemed about to go upstairs and ran right into us.

It was Shen Ruanruan.

This time, she wasn’t wearing her perfectly tailored school uniform shirt, but a light sports outfit.

Compared to Xia Shiyu’s carefully styled look in similar attire, Shen Ruanruan’s outfit lacked any deliberate allure.

She simply stood there quietly, like an orchid in a secluded valley.

Her temperament was elegant and pure, stirring the heart.

Turns out she and I have PE class at the same time.

That thought flashed through my mind.

Only then did I realize that the commotion on the field earlier… she’d probably watched the whole thing from start to finish.

She stood a few steps away, her clear, almond-shaped eyes like autumn water first glancing over Wang Lei and Monkey’s stunned faces, then naturally settling on me.

“You played really well in PE class.”

As expected, Shen Ruanruan brought up the topic.

“Shen Classmate saw it too?” I rubbed the back of my neck, forcing a few tired chuckles.

“Just a lucky break, really. Almost dragged the class down.”

She shook her head. “Not at all.”

Her voice was gentle, her gaze warm with the unique kindness of a Saintess. “That last shot was crucial. Everyone saw how hard you tried, Lin Classmate.”

She didn’t use words like “amazing” or “cool” that carry strong emotional color.

Instead, she chose “crucial” and “hard work.”

Her objectively encouraging phrasing was like a breath of fresh spring air.

I was momentarily speechless.

The “luck” excuse I’d prepared felt pale in comparison to her words. “Everyone… was pretty united.”
“Mm.” She nodded slightly, seeming to accept the explanation and dropped the topic.

“Well, I won’t disturb you guys any longer.”

With that, she gave the three of us a slight bow-a gesture so easily overlooked by most, yet a mark of good upbringing.

She walked upstairs with light steps, her clean ponytail tracing a gentle arc through the air.

Only after her figure disappeared at the end of the stairs did the two stone statues beside me finally thaw.

Seriously, why do you two always act like this whenever you meet a girl?

You guys are really playing your NPC roles to perfection.

Are you going to pounce on me in a minute and ask what kind of relationship I have with her?

I silently complained.

“Damn! Xiao Huihui, spill it!”

Monkey was the first to screech, “How do you know Shen Ruanruan?! That’s Shen Ruanruan!”

See? I knew it.

Fatty wore the same shocked expression, his chubby chin almost dropping to the floor. “Brother Hui… you… you and Goddess Shen, you guys…”

“Enough with the goddess talk.”

Their shouting was giving me a headache. I rubbed my temples. “She was my classmate in junior high. We just bumped into each other and said hi. What’s the big deal?”

“Ju… junior high classmates?!” Monkey’s voice changed pitch.

“She’s the Shen Family’s heiress! I heard her family is into ocean shipping and finance, just as powerful as Xia Shiyu’s family-a real financial magnate!”

“Wait…” Wang Lei suddenly caught onto something, grabbing me with a face full of sleazy gossip.

“Brother Hui, do you think… Goddess Shen… could she be interested in you? Otherwise, why would she come over just to talk to you, and even compliment you!”

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

Even before food poisoning, I wouldn’t dare to fantasize like that.

I’m just a Goblin struggling in the mud, while she’s a Saintess high above the clouds.

There’s an unbridgeable chasm between us.

Her actions just now were nothing more than the result of good upbringing.

She saw her former classmate perform well on the court and, passing by, offered a polite word of encouragement.

It was a purely procedural social gesture, devoid of any personal emotion.

Too lazy to explain further to these two hormone-driven guys, I simply quickened my pace, leaving their nonsense behind.

Interested in me?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

Chapter 14 Shen Ruanruan & Strange Feelings

Time is a chapter of a book yellowed by autumn sunlight.

Page by page, it turns quietly.

The heat brought by the basketball game was quickly washed away by the upcoming monthly exams and heavy coursework.

Everything seemed to be back on track.

“Have you guys noticed that Xiao Huihui from Class Three… has been looking pretty handsome lately?”

Inside Class One’s classroom.

During lunch break, a few girls gathered, whispering gossip.

Shen Ruanruan was hugging a stack of homework books she had just retrieved from the teacher’s office.

She tiptoed back to her seat, just in time to overhear their conversation.

“Which Xiao Gun Gun?” A girl painting her nails asked without looking up.

“Not Gun, it’s Lin Hui.”

The girl who spoke first corrected her, a hint of excitement in her voice.

“The guy who, during last Friday’s PE class, blocked that epic shot in the match against Class Eight.”

“Oh… him, I remember now.”

The girl painting her nails paused, recalling as she spoke.

“Isn’t he the one with the black-rimmed glasses, bangs almost poking into his eyes, always looking listless, like he could fall asleep anywhere-a total homebody?”

“Yeah! But did you see him play that day? When he got serious… that look in his eyes, that vibe, he was completely different!”

“Especially that final block, so cool.”

“Exactly! He usually looks so down, but his explosiveness is insane.”

“Didn’t you notice how long his legs are? I heard the longer the legs, the… tsk.”

Standing by her seat, clutching the thick stack of homework, Shen Ruanruan listened quietly.

When a certain word came up, a fleeting trace of confusion flashed through her clear, watery eyes-so brief no one noticed.

The girls’ discussion continued, growing more animated and gradually drifting toward a more indescribable direction.

The focus shifted from that earth-shattering block to more blush-inducing, heart-racing private details.

“By the way, did you notice? When he jumped up to block, his T-shirt lifted-I think… I think I saw his abs!”

A short-haired girl lowered her voice, leading the topic.

“Really, the lines were so clear. Not exaggerated like a muscle guy, but they looked… so smooth and powerful.”

“I saw them too!”

Another girl immediately chimed in, cheeks flushed. “And his skin is so pale!”

“Yeah, yeah, that cool white skin-when the sunlight hit him, he looked like he was glowing… who can relate?”
“Sigh, to be honest, his skin is even fairer than mine. I put on sunscreen every day and still can’t get that complexion. It’s so unfair.”

“Great skin, amazing figure, looks sickly but there’s so much hidden under those clothes…”

All sorts of blushing remarks mingled with the girls’ giggles.

Shen Ruanruan didn’t interrupt the conversation, simply returned to her seat.

She took out her open notebook and pen from the drawer, ready to organize her notes from the afternoon class.

The tip of her pen glided lightly over the paper, her jade-like face revealing no unnecessary expression.

Her dignified and serene posture remained unchanged, as if separated from others by a silent world.

But…

Only she knew.

Those chattering discussions, every word, every sentence, carried tiny barbed feathers.

One by one, they seemed to brush lightly over the seemingly calm lake of her heart.

Her ears involuntarily caught every snippet about “Xiao Huihui,” and her thoughts drifted away from the dense words on the page.

Lin Hui in junior high wasn’t much different from now.

He was always laid-back and easygoing.

Wearing loose school uniforms, carrying an overstuffed backpack, walking with his eyes lowered, never drawing attention.

Behind his black-rimmed glasses, his eyes were often half-closed, revealing the fatigue of staying up late doing homework and getting up early the next day.

He always had a faint smile for everyone.

Describing him as a “cloud floating in the sky” was quite fitting.

Never competing, never taking the initiative.

Whether answering in class or competing in sports on the playground…

He always stood at the edge of the crowd, smiling as he watched others make a fuss.

Occasionally, when called upon, he’d lazily reply, “Whatever,” and then continue with his own business.

He was special.

Not like those energetic boys in class who would dash out to chase and play as soon as the bell rang.

Nor like the bookworms who cared about nothing but their textbooks, indifferent to everything else.

He did sit at his desk studying.

But when someone spoke to him, he’d immediately stop what he was doing and respond politely.

He got along well with everyone.

Whether facing top-performing class leaders or mischievous troublemakers,

He could always joke with them in a relaxed, harmless tone.

Perhaps it was this trait that led people to call him by the cute nickname “Xiao Huihui.”

But it was also this overly easygoing nature that made him lack something.

Something…

That could make adolescent girls’ hearts race-a strong, aggressive, captivating… something.

Like a glass of warm water, its greatest effect is to quench thirst.

It could never bring the intoxicating thrill and dizziness of a glass of strong liquor.

He could be a great classmate, a great friend.

But he was never the one who made girls toss and turn at night, clutching their pillows, yearning to be possessed by “him.”

Back then, he was harmless.

But last Friday.

On the basketball court, drenched in sweat and sunlight.

When Li Yaowen seized the chance to leap, ready to end the match with the most humiliating dunk.

When all hope was lost and everyone else had sunk into despair…

He, who had been drifting on the court as if just making up the numbers, moved.

It wasn’t a simple jump.

His powerful movement was precise and decisive.

With an unstoppable sharpness, he fiercely blocked the basketball that symbolized humiliation and defeat.

The laid-back aura around him was torn to shreds in that moment.

That block not only stopped Li Yaowen’s dunk, but also shattered everyone’s preconceived notions of him.

Warm water and strong liquor.

House cat and black panther.

The same person, yet not entirely the same.

And precisely because of this, the impact was far more lethal than simple strength or gentleness.

Like a deep-water bomb dropped into the heart, exploding when others were least guarded.

The heart-throbbing contrast comes from nothing more than this.

At her desk, Shen Ruanruan unconsciously traced the outline of a certain surname in the blank margin of her notebook.

“Hey? Ruanruan, when did you get back?”

A girl noticed her, smiled and waved, then pulled her into the conversation.

“We’re talking about Lin Hui from Class Three. Weren’t we both his classmates in junior high? What do you think of him?”

What do I think…?

Shen Ruanruan was pulled back to reality by the question.

“I’m not really sure,” she replied softly.

“I just happened to pass by that day, didn’t see very clearly.”

If a book’s cover is plain and dull enough, almost no one will truly open it to appreciate what’s inside.

But…

Her face remained gentle and serene, untouched by the dust of the world.

“But to win the match, he must be… really impressive, I guess.”

This unique treasure was now showing signs that others intended to open it and explore its depths.”