Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

Wang Wei had just finished speaking.

Chen Tingting grabbed an empty plastic bottle from the table and threw it at the table.

"Fuck you!"

Li Jiaxin rolled her eyes, kicked Wang Wei in the shin, and cursed:

"Idiot, this is jump rope."

Wang Wei was kicked and winced in pain.

"Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier?"

Wang Wei rubbed his leg, showing no shame whatsoever.

"You should have said it was jump rope."

"Back in the day, I was a real expert at jump rope."

"Back in high school, whenever I jumped on the playground, I was guaranteed to be surrounded by a group of girls watching me."

Bai Li rolled up the jump rope again, stuffed it back into the compartment of Jiang Ruyue's schoolbag, and zipped it up.

He turned to Wang Wei and mercilessly exposed his shortcomings:

"You weighed over 200 pounds back then. Your whole body was jiggling with fat. Not only were you fat, but you also evolved organs that you shouldn't have had."

Bai Li's tone was calm, yet extremely lethal:

"Everyone gathered around to see you flaunt your breasts."

Then he looked at Chen Tingting:

"Back then, some girls would ask him what his daily diet was like, since he was more developed than them."

After hearing this, Chen Tingting pointed at Wang Wei and burst out laughing.

Lin Xiaoshuang laughed so hard she collapsed onto the table, her shoulders trembling.

Zhang Qian shook her head repeatedly, her face full of disgust.

Jiang Ruyue sat on the sofa, her chin resting on her hands:

"So I only jump in empty stairwells."

"After all, the playground is too small and there are too many people. I don't want the kind of thing you're talking about to happen."

Wang Wei's true colors were exposed in public, and he lost face.

"Kids back then were really clever."

Wang Wei muttered something to himself, trying to save face.

Bai Li leaned against the folding table, glancing at him sideways:

"How dare you criticize others? You're the most critical person in the whole class."

"Pah! You pervert!" Chen Tingting and Li Jiaxin said in unison.

The two worked in perfect harmony, each taking one side and delivering two more kicks to Wang Wei's smelly buttocks.

Unable to withstand the beating from these young women, Wang Wei covered his backside and ran towards the gate.

He stopped just as he reached the doorway, leaned half his body out, and shouted into the house:

"Sisters-in-law! Back in the day, Brother Li went to the playground every day to watch Xia Qing jump rope!"

After saying that, he slipped away faster than a rabbit.

The door slammed shut.

Bai Li stood still, looking at Chen Tingting and then at Li Jiaxin.

"That fat bastard, he's got a real jerk for talking." Bai Li coughed twice. "He really should have his salary docked."

Li Jiaxin fiddled with her purple hair and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Go ahead and look."

Li Jiaxin spoke casually, completely unconcerned:

"Back then you were adulterers, it's your turn to look."

Several black lines appeared on Bai Li's forehead.

He straightened up and looked at Li Jiaxin, who was earnestly correcting him:

"That's called a couple."

Li Jiaxin stuck out her tongue, too lazy to refute.

Chen Tingting chimed in from the side.

"Big brother, we're not jealous at all."

She tossed her red hair and said in a carefree manner:

"What's so great about Xia Qing? Is she bigger than me? Are her legs as long as Jiaxin's? Is she as good as Qianqian in bed? She's nothing."

Zhang Qian covered her mouth and laughed:

"That's right, my brother's judgment is much better now than it was in high school."

Bai Li was amused by the girls' words.

He pulled out a chair and sat down, continuing the conversation about school.

"The playground at No. 1 Middle School has been expanded and is now quite large."

Bai Li reminisces about her high school days:

"People are much more dispersed now, so there shouldn't be any more crowding and onlookers gathering like that."

Lin Xiaoshuang curiously leaned over and asked:

Was it crowded before?

"It's very crowded." Bai Li drew a circle on the table with her finger:

"Back in our day, the school often engaged in formalism."

"Once, we invited some top-rated lecturer from outside to hold a meeting and share his secrets to learning."

Bai Li gestured to illustrate the scene at that time:

"The entire school's teachers and students were gathered on the playground to listen to the lecture. Thousands of people were crammed into that tiny space."

"Teaching a large group of people at once is incredibly crowded; there's barely room to turn around."

Jiang Ruyue listened to these words.

She still had that blank, robotic look, blinked her bright eyes, and had an innocent expression.

"Oh," Jiang Ruyue blurted out.

"No wonder it's called the playground."

The entire room fell silent.

The potato chips in Chen Tingting's hand fell to the ground.

Lin Xiaoshuang opened her mouth wide, and the milk tea straw slipped out of her mouth.

The veins on Bai Li's forehead throbbed twice.

He stood up and walked to Jiang Ruyue.

Raise your hand. Bend your fingers. Aim at her smooth, full forehead.

"when!"

The crisp sound of a snap on the head echoed in the room.

"Ouch!"

Jiang Ruyue cried out in pain, covered her forehead with both hands, and shrank back.

Five minutes later.

Jiang Ruyue sat in the corner of the sofa, looking aggrieved, her hands covering a small bump that had just appeared on her head.

With tears in her eyes, she looked incredibly pitiful.

The exam is coming up soon.

Jiang Ruyue sniffed, her voice trembling with tears:

"Aren't you afraid of knocking me out of my mind?"

Bai Li looked down at her, showing absolutely no pity or tenderness.

"If you're stupid, I'll take care of you." Bai Li retorted sharply.

"You think I'd really let you go and give foot massages or deliver food?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ruyue held back her tears.

The grievances from before vanished into thin air, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

Bai Li ignored the speed at which her expression changed and turned to look at the few energetic young women standing to the side.

He put away his joking attitude and began to plan his next trip.

"Then let's do it this way." Bai Li looked at Li Jiaxin: "I'll accompany Jiaxin home tomorrow."

He reached out and took Li Jiaxin's wrist, making her sit next to him.

Li Jiaxin leaned closer, her purple hair brushing against Bai Li's shoulder.

"No matter what the progress is, I will come back a day early."

Bai Li made a promise to Jiang Ruyue:

"I'll accompany you to see the exam venue, and then stay with you throughout the entire exam."

Li Jiaxin was not unhappy at all when she heard about this arrangement.

She grasped Bai Li's fingers in her hand, her voice gentle:

"It's alright, brother, I understand. Exams are important and can't be delayed."

Zhang Qian nodded repeatedly in agreement:

"Yes, we have plenty of time, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Bai Li patted Li Jiaxin's hand, quite satisfied with the girls' good manners.

Just as he was about to get up and call everyone home.

Li Jiaxin suddenly raised her head.

Her gentle, considerate, and understanding older sister demeanor vanished completely in a second.

Her alluring eyes were fixed on Bai Li:

"That……"

She lowered her voice and her long legs rubbed restlessly against Bai Li's knees.

She turned her head and met Zhang Qian's gaze.

Zhang Qian immediately understood and pressed herself against them from both sides.

Li Jiaxin licked her red lips, her voice full of allure:

"tonight……"

"Shouldn't we make it up to Qianqian and me in advance?"