We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

During the afternoon class meeting, Wu Changguo talked about the New Year's Eve party, and Zhang Qian, the art and literature committee member, was appointed as the general director of the class party.

"Mu Bai, Li Mu Bai, what kind of performance are you going to give?" Chen Qiuhe asked him after dinner.

"I won't act."

Taking advantage of Xie Shu's absence, Chen Qiuhe lowered her voice and said, "Let me tell you, XS is thinking of putting on a play."

"Um."

"That's it? No comment?"

"What else do you want to show your appreciation?" Li Mubai asked, puzzled.

"For example, asking if there's a female lead who's XS and if there's a male lead."

"Not interested."

"Are you really not interested?"

He's truly incapable of acting. Even if Chen Qiuhe tries the same trick again, he won't give in. Of course, he doesn't believe Chen Qiuhe would actually say it; he probably just pretended to threaten him last time.

"That's enough." During evening self-study, teacher Yang Qin pulled Xie Shu and Li Mubai over for a final revision.

Teacher Yang returned the composition books to the two students and said, "Go back and rewrite them on a piece of paper, then write down your grade, class, name, and hometown, and hand them in to me at a time."

"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Yang." Xie Shu bowed slightly to express his gratitude, and Li Mubai followed suit.

It's finally over. I hope all the hard work, day and night, wasn't for nothing.

"Shubao, is it true that you said you were going to perform in a play at noon?" Deng Yi asked when they returned to the dormitory that evening, and everyone else looked at Xie Shu.

Actually, many girls in the class sometimes feel that Xie Shu is out of place with them. They talk about celebrities, anime, and gossip, but Xie Shu never participates. In this class, the only people who are close to her are probably Deng Yi and Chen Qiuhe.

Xie Shuchao gave Deng Yi a light "hmm".

"Have you decided what to write?"

"not yet."

Hmm—everyone looked at each other, and for a moment they fell silent.

"How about we put on a play about a knight rescuing a princess? Xie Shu can play the princess, and I can play the knight, shooting the bad guys right through the mud, hehehe," Chen Qiuhe suggested.

"Ah, Qiuhe, what you're saying is terrifying!" Ye Manqi exclaimed.

"Let's wait and see what Shu Bao thinks," Deng Yi interrupted the others' suggestions, since Xie Shu was the one who first proposed the play.

Xie Shu didn't speak. She actually had a preliminary idea, but it still needed to be improved.

"Everyone, please sign up for the program! This might be the last New Year's Eve party in high school. If you have any ideas, feel free to talk to me privately."

During Tuesday afternoon's integrated practical class (which was actually a self-study period), Zhang Qian tried to get her classmates to sign up, but not many were very enthusiastic.

As the weather grew colder in December, physical education classes were moved to the gymnasium. After a short warm-up, students were dismissed for free time.

Li Mubai casually found a seat. He didn't always go to the rooftop to brave the wind and cold in this weather. Most of the time, he would find a quiet corner and sit there for an entire class period.

Xie Shu wasn't dragged to play badminton today. Instead, he found a spot with tables and chairs and scribbled away, which can be considered as revising his manuscript.

"Li Mubai, don't just sit there like an old man. Come and fight me," Chen Qiuhe said.

"What is confrontation?" Li Mubai asked, looking up.

"It's 1v1 basketball."

"I won't fight."

"So what games do you play?" Chen Qiuhe plopped down next to him.

"Table tennis."

"Oh wow, I can play a little too! How about we go play some pool?"

Li Mubai was somewhat tempted. Come to think of it, he hadn't touched a table tennis ball since the third year of junior high school.

"Let's go!" Chen Qiuhe pulled him up.

"Alright, alright, I'll grant your request." Li Mubai pulled his arm back.

"Tch." Chen Qiuhe laughed disdainfully.

"How do you play without a racket and a ball?" Li Mubai asked.

"Duh, just borrow it from the equipment room."

Heh, how dare you call me stupid? I'll beat you so badly you won't be able to get up again.

Li Mubai only ever visited the equipment room at No. 6 Middle School when he was doing manual labor.

Back in the first year of high school, we were still moving basketballs around. The teacher was going to teach a basketball lesson, and he was clumsily dribbling the basketball. Before he knew it, the basketball rolled away and ended up taking Xie Shu's basketball with him, which was quite embarrassing. Luckily, it was summer at the time.

He remembered hearing voices saying, "He's trying to get Xie Shu's attention this way," though those voices quickly disappeared, they still left an impression on him.

Chen Qiuhe skillfully borrowed two rackets and two balls, registered his name with the teacher in the equipment room, and was then led to the billiard table.

The pool tables at No. 6 Middle School are quite rare. Li Mubai had never seen them outside the gymnasium, but he found these two in an inconspicuous corner of the gymnasium.

The racket I'm holding isn't exactly a great one, but as long as I have it, what else matters?

"Come on, I'll serve first," Chen Qiuhe said.

"Let's begin."

He got into position and waited for his opponent to serve.

Chen Qiuhe tossed the ball onto the table with her left hand, and it bounced in the air. She then gripped her racket with her right hand and lunged forward, only to miss...

Li Mubai looked at this scene in confusion. Didn't you say you knew how to play billiards?

"Wait, my body hasn't adjusted yet."

No, I haven't been possessed yet; I haven't adapted to the body properly.

Chen Qiuhe served again, and this time she finally hit the ball, but it went high, forming a parabola.

Could it be that he can't serve? Li Mubai received the ball and hit it back as usual, but the opponent couldn't return it.

"Oh dear." So Chen Qiuhe doesn't know how to play billiards at all.

After that, Li Mubai adjusted his rhythm and just played casually.

After Li Mubai fed her a few balls, Chen Qiuhe gradually got used to billiards and began to be able to catch some faster balls.

"Not bad, not bad."

Li Mubai looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man standing not far away. The man clapped his hands and laughed, then went to Chen Qiuhe's side and said, "Young lady, could I spar with this young man?"

"Sure, Uncle, I just need to take a break."

"Young man, you'd better take this seriously. Your uncle used to play pool all the time when he was young."

Li Mubai glanced at the other person: a suit, overcoat, white shirt, and knitted vest. Could he be some leader?

"Young man, you serve first," the other player said with a smile.

Li Mubai abandoned his fighting style against Chen Qiuhe and first played a probing shot to gauge his opponent's strength.

The middle-aged man saw the ball bounce on the table, and his right hand was poised to smash the ball, which Li Mubai barely caught.

Holy crap, he's got real talent.

Li Mubai and the middle-aged man began to fight back and forth, while Chen Qiuhe stood by and watched.

I remember seeing a post online that said when playing ball with your boss, you shouldn't overpower them, but also shouldn't lose too obviously. It's best to go back and forth, and then narrowly lose by one or two points.

However, this does not apply to certain leaders, because these people may have been playing for decades and do not need young people to give way to them.

After playing for nearly ten minutes, Li Mubai felt a little tired. After winning a point, the middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, let's stop here for today. You young people are in better shape."

"Come play again next time you have the chance." He put down his racket, left with those words, and departed.

"Chen Qiuhe, are you still going to fight?" Li Mubai looked at Chen Qiuhe standing next to him.

"I'm not fighting anymore, you're too amazing! You actually managed to beat the cleaning uncle."

It turned out to be the school's unsung hero, dressed like a leader; I almost thought I'd stumbled upon a scene from a novel.

call out!

"The whistle has blown. Pack up, go back to the assembly point, get out of class dismissed."

"Um."

Li Mubai looked towards the group and saw someone also looking at them. Xie Shu? How long had she been watching?