We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"Feng Wanli, are you going to participate in the debate competition?"

During the lunch break, Li Mubai went to Feng Wanli's seat and asked a question.

"Why are you asking about the debate competition too?" Feng Wanli asked, puzzled.

"Yang Kun and the others asked you too?" Upon hearing this, Li Mubai instantly understood.

"Yes, but I'm not participating in the debate competition. The second semester of my junior year is a crucial time, and I need to focus on my studies. I'm sorry."

"All right."

"Hey, your team doesn't even have four people?" Yang Kun said.

"No, we're still missing one."

"What a coincidence! We're one short too. Why don't you come work for us?"

"No, it wouldn't be good for me to switch teams halfway through."

"Hey, I have an idea for you. If you really can't find them, you can try looking in other classes," Yang Kun said.

"Are there any class restrictions for forming teams?" Li Mubai asked.

"No limit, we're just about to ask other classes."

Other classes? Li Mubai seems to be more familiar with Zhang Wen, but would Xie Shu be willing?

"Class monitor, is it okay if we invite people from other classes to participate in the debate?" Li Mubai asked directly in the afternoon.

"Okay." She turned around and nodded.

"No, is it a boy or a girl?" Chen Qiuhe asked.

"Boys."

"Boys won't do; we're an all-female debate team."

"..." Li Mubai fell silent for a moment. "Am I not a boy?"

"No, it's because you're often with us, so you've gradually been assimilated into a girl by us," Chen Qiuhe said.

"Hmph." Xie Shu let out a very short, light laugh.

Well, if it makes Xie Shu happy, then it doesn't matter if he bears some nonsense. This is about sharing Xie Shu's joy and sorrow.

"Focus on preparing for class." Xie Shu's smile quickly disappeared, and she said softly, "We have a lot to learn this semester, so don't worry too much about the debate competition."

"it is good."

Li Mubai nodded. This semester, he had to finish studying all the elective compulsory textbooks so that he could enter the first round of review for the senior year as soon as possible. He even had to use one of his evening self-study sessions for classes, which showed how rushed the time was.

Although the core subjects are so demanding, physical education classes still need to be held.

A light drizzle was falling outside, and the three classes that were having physical education class were called to assemble at the basketball court in the gymnasium.

Standing in the crowd, Li Mubai saw Lan Shiyu and Xu Yao walking side by side.

Could Lan Shiyu do it? The thought popped into his head, but he quickly dismissed it. It was unlikely that she wouldn't know Xie Shu and Chen Qiuhe. After all, the debate team was a team, and it was better for the members to know each other.

call out--

"Class Three, assemble!" the physical education teacher of Class Three called out loudly.

The same warm-up exercises, the same three laps around the basketball court, and the same dismissal.

"Li Mubai, let's go play pool!" Chen Qiuhe said, with Xie Shu and Deng Yi standing next to her. The three of them looked at him.

"Can I go?" Yang Kun asked, turning to Li Mubai.

"Let's go play badminton then," Chen Qiuhe said immediately.

"..." Yang Kun gave an awkward laugh. "I was just kidding."

Watching Li Mubai and the three girls leave, Yang Kun desperately wished he had a life-swapping system. Seventeen years! Why hadn't his system arrived yet?!

"Stop looking. Don't force yourself into circles you can't fit into." Zhao Feng nudged him with his elbow.

"I hate it! If I had run for vice class monitor back then, wouldn't everything have been different!"

"I didn't even get the job, and you did?"

"Hey Zhao, Chicken Bro, come play basketball!" Jiao Yong urged from the side. He paused, then added, "Aren't we going to get revenge for being beaten by Class One last semester?"

"Yes, aren't we going to avenge the grudge from ten years ago?" Seeing no one respond, Yang Kun continued, "Humans, is this Earth?"

"Idiot, come quick!"

"oh oh."

……

"Wait a minute, Shu Bao, let Chen Qiuhe and I go first." Since Xie Shu and Li Mubai had been playing for a long time, Deng Yi took the racket first. She wasn't interested in playing table tennis, but she couldn't just stand there doing nothing.

"it is good."

Xie Shu handed her the racket and stood beside her with Li Mubai.

"Class monitor, do you like playing badminton?" The air was slightly silent when Li Mubai took the initiative to start a conversation.

"I don't dislike it."

Does "not dislike" mean "don't like"?

"Well... class monitor, you're pretty good at badminton."

"..." Xie Shu was silent for a moment. She turned her head to look at him and said in a very soft voice, "When I was in elementary school, someone suddenly had a whim and asked me to study to participate in competitions."

"What was the result of the match?"

"How can you expect to get good results by cramming at the last minute?" She looked away, her eyes lowered, her voice low.

"Participating in the competition will also help you grow, just like you said this morning, class monitor." Noticing that Xie Shu seemed to be in a bad mood, Li Mubai immediately comforted him.

Not knowing if it had worked, Xie Shu simply smiled and then asked:

"And you? Why do you play table tennis?"

"Yeah—I learned it gradually by playing table tennis with my classmates in elementary school."

Well, there's no story to tell about how he started playing billiards; it was simply to play with his classmates.

"That's good," Xie Shu commented, then asked, "Did you participate in any competitions?"

"No, I'm just an amateur."

"If it's a competition organized by the school, many people are at an amateur level, like in this debate competition."

Li Mubai feels he has mild stage fright, which means he feels nervous and anxious when performing in public.

The essay contest I participated in last semester and the poetry and couplet contest I will be participating in this weekend are both online events, so I don't need to be there in person or receive any attention.

But today's debates are different; not only are they watched by onlookers, but they also have to engage in fierce verbal battles with other teams.

"Don't be nervous. If you can get the team together, you can be the first speaker," Xie Shu said.

First speaker, first speaker, so what exactly does the first speaker do? Li Mubai doesn't understand the debate process; his current main focus is on assembling the team.

"Young man, playing pool?" a strong voice rang out.

Li Mubai turned around and saw the old man who used to sweep the floor, now a security guard.

I don't know if being transferred from sweeping to security is a lateral move or a promotion.

He greeted Xie Shu, while Chen Qiuhe and Deng Yi looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Uncle, what brings you here?" Li Mubai asked.

"Don't keep calling me 'uncle,' I'm almost seventy. My surname is Du."

"I can't believe you're seventy, Grandpa Du," Li Mubai said, unconsciously switching to a more respectful form of address, after all, it's important to respect the elderly and care for the young.

"Young man, what's your surname?"

"My name is Li Mubai." He smiled shyly.

"Little girl, what's your surname?" Grandpa Du asked Xie Shu again.

"Grandpa Du, my surname is Xie, and my given name is Shu, as in 'sparse stars and pale moon'." Xie Shu was quite polite to the old man.

"Oh, you must be Xie Shu. Good results, keep it up," Grandpa Du praised.

"Why does this security guard uniform look like something a teacher would wear?" Li Mubai wondered.

"Hey Li Mubai, let's have a go."

"Grandpa Du, aren't you going to keep watch?" Li Mubai asked, puzzled.

"I was on patrol and just happened to be passing by."

Is being a security guard really that easy? All they do is scroll through their phones and wander around campus. If Li Mubai ever has nowhere else to turn, he should just become a security guard.

Li Mubai and Grandpa Du replaced Chen Qiuhe and Deng Yi.

"Who is this?" Deng Yi asked in a low voice.

"I don't know." Xie Shu wasn't an expert.

"Can't you tell? He's the security guard at the gate. He used to be the school's cleaner," Chen Qiuhe said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, okay." Deng Yi didn't press further. She looked at Xie Shu and said, "Xie Shu, do you still want to play billiards? If so, we can go to the equipment room and borrow some rackets."

"No."

She's not only uninterested in badminton, but also in table tennis...