INSIDER Chapter 48

Wednesday Afternoon: Physical Education Class
For high school students, the first period on Wednesday afternoon is physical education class. This is an exciting and enjoyable class for the boys and girls alike. In the midst of the monotonous and tedious high school studies, these non-academic classes are the only ones that offer a bit of relaxation. However, it’s most disheartening when these classes are occasionally taken over by other teachers.

The PE teacher led everyone in warm-up exercises, laid out the activity requirements, and then dismissed everyone for free activities within the playground area.

The girls walked off in groups to find shaded spots, chatting about topics that the boys wouldn’t understand. The boys, on the other hand, formed groups for sports—soccer, basketball, ping-pong, you name it.

Zhang Cheng and Qian Wenhao approached with a basketball, enthusiastically inviting Lu Chu and Li Bo to join them for a game.

Lu Chu smiled and declined, “You guys go ahead. Li Bo just transferred here and isn’t familiar with the school yet. I’ll take this time to show him around.”

Qian Wenhao offered, “Need any help?”

“No need, you guys go play ball,” Lu Chu replied. “Didn’t you agree to meet Wang Tong and the others? I’ll be fine on my own, and it’s less conspicuous with just one person.”

“True,” Zhang Cheng scratched his head. “The PE teacher told us to stay within the playground area. If too many of us head towards the teaching buildings, we’ll get noticed and won’t avoid a scolding.”

Just then, Wang Tong shouted from the nearby basketball court, “Zhang Cheng! Qian Wenhao! Are you ready yet? We’re waiting for you, and the ball is with you!”

“Coming!” Zhang Cheng responded loudly. He turned to wave at Lu Chu, “We’re off then.”

With that, Zhang Cheng and Qian Wenhao ran towards the basketball court.

As the best high school in the city, Yucai High School is quite large, covering an area of over 100,000 square meters. Walking around the campus, stopping to chat, one class period could easily pass by.

During class time, the school was empty except for the playground where PE class was held.

The afternoon sun was somewhat glaring, but fortunately, tall poplar trees lined the paths, casting large shadows with their dense foliage. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, forming circular spots of light on the ground.

Between the poplar trees, there were designated areas for parking bicycles. Every morning and noon, class discipline monitors would check if their class’s bicycles were properly and neatly parked.

Lu Chu didn’t need to explain all this to Li Bo because Li Bo had experienced this long ago. Even as a clearer, he might have come here to eliminate instability factors. Both enjoyed the leisurely time as Lu Chu walked and talked, his smile occasionally illuminated by the sunlight, giving it an unreal beauty.

The two walked to the school’s most remote area, the experimental building, and stopped.

“This is the most secluded spot in the school,” Lu Chu said, looking around.

Li Bo suddenly looked up at the top floor of the experimental building, his eyes cold.

Lu Chu followed his gaze and recalled the story Zhang Cheng had told earlier.

“I think,” Lu Chu pondered for a moment and then spoke, “this mission only requires us to ‘stay active within the school grounds.’ It doesn’t provide any other clues. Maybe this means that no matter what dangerous events happen here, as long as I stay within the school grounds, even if I deliberately avoid what’s happening and don’t seek the truth, the ‘rules’ will consider the mission successful once the time is up.”

Li Bo turned and looked at him affirmatively, signaling him to continue.

Lu Chu continued, “But the ‘rules’ wouldn’t make it that easy. So, the most likely scenario is that trouble will find us even if we don’t approach it or try to avoid it. It will force us out of the school grounds, violating the ‘stay within the school grounds’ rule.”

Lu Chu shook his head, “We must always be prepared. Taking chances is the most dangerous thing.”

Li Bo stood beside Lu Chu, hands casually in his pockets. After listening, he turned his gaze back to the top floor of the experimental building.

After a moment, he said, “You’ll be fine.”

Lu Chu was taken aback, not knowing what Li Bo meant, but felt a warmth in his heart.

“Yeah.”

Before PE class ended, they had to gather again. Lu Chu and Li Bo returned to the playground early. The PE teacher said a few words and then dismissed the class.

Zhang Cheng and the others, sweaty, headed to the supermarket for water, gulping down half a bottle.

Back at his seat, Zhang Cheng was shooed away by some girls who couldn’t stand the smell of sweat. He ran to Lu Chu’s desk with a mournful face, “I’ve been exiled!”

Lu Chu laughed, “What happened?”

“They said I smell of sweat!” Zhang Cheng said indignantly, “This is manly! Lu Chu, do I smell bad?”

Zhang Cheng raised his arm towards Lu Chu. Before Lu Chu could dodge, an arm appeared in front of him, and Lu Chu was pulled back into someone’s embrace, avoiding Zhang Cheng’s sweaty arm.

Lu Chu looked up and met Li Bo’s eyes.

Li Bo was sitting beside Lu Chu, one arm around Lu Chu’s chest, the other blocking Zhang Cheng’s arm. This move made Lu Chu fall into Li Bo’s embrace, enveloped by him.

“Wow!” Zhang Cheng exclaimed dramatically, “Even you guys are bullying me.”

He sniffed himself and insisted, “I don’t smell! Why so disdainful?”

Lu Chu laughed genuinely, “Ask Qian Wenhao.”

Qian Wenhao, several rows away, joined in, “Didn’t you wash up? You do smell of sweat. Look at me—” He rolled up his sleeve, showing his arm. “Wash your face and arms after exercise, and you’ll feel refreshed!”

He pointed to Lu Chu, “No wonder the girls don’t like you. You scared Lu Chu into Li Bo’s arms.”

Only then did Lu Chu realize he was still in Li Bo’s embrace.

The bell rang, and Zhang Cheng and Qian Wenhao stopped fooling around and returned to their seats.

Li Bo released Lu Chu, who gave him a grateful smile.

“No problem,” Li Bo said quietly, “I just didn’t want him to touch you.”

For students, study time always feels slow and tedious.

So far, this round had been calm. Apart from Liu Qian’s entire dormitory catching a fever, which, although strange, didn’t cause much commotion. In this season, many people were catching colds. The hospital confirmed they just had regular fevers, and most people accepted that the whole dormitory had caught a cold by coincidence, rare but possible.

Only Meng Yu, recalling her conversation with Liu Qian, felt something more was at play. She couldn’t help but imagine various supernatural scenarios, discussing her theories with classmates during the day and scaring herself at night.

Zhang Cheng often teased her for being scared but still talking about it, and he, along with Lu Chu and others, teased her until she chased them around the classroom. Everything seemed normal, and time passed until Friday afternoon.

High school wasn’t as easy as junior high, especially now in the second semester of the second year, approaching senior year. They no longer had weekends off. Whether day students or boarders, they only had one weekend off every two weeks, and the interim weekend only gave a half-day break on Sunday afternoon, with the rest of the time filled with classes.

Zhang Cheng was in a low mood.

Lu Chu asked, “What’s wrong? You seem down.”

“Sigh,” Zhang Cheng sighed, “I’m exhausted. This week is a full week of classes, only a half-day break on Sunday afternoon. I’m fed up with classes.”

“Study, study, always studying,” Qian Wenhao added, “I can’t wait to go to college.”

While organizing his notes, Lu Chu asked, “Are you staying at school on Sunday afternoon?”

“Of course not!” Zhang Cheng immediately replied. “I’m going to get a leave slip from Old Lu, home is the best place.”

Qian Wenhao quickly said, “Remember to call me when you go!”

“Got it, we’ll go after the second period,” Zhang Cheng then looked at Lu Chu and Li Bo, “What about you two? Going home?”

“No,” Lu Chu shook his head, “I’ll stay.”

The task required staying within the school grounds, so Lu Chu couldn’t leave. Leaving the school meant failing the mission, and Lu Chu suspected that leaving would lead to various disasters, like car accidents, falling into wells, being attacked, or even natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis.

Li Bo added, “I’ll stay too.”

“Two model students,” Zhang Cheng sighed. “But it seems Zheng Wei also stays during half-day breaks. It’ll be up to you two.”

Zheng Wei, the other aloof person in Lu Chu’s dorm, was a top student who didn’t like talking or socializing, making him easy to overlook.

“No trouble,” Lu Chu smiled. “He just doesn’t like socializing.” In other words, he wasn’t a threat, and avoiding him wouldn’t be hard.

Zheng Wei, sitting in a corner, glanced at Lu Chu with his head down.

For high school students, the first period on Wednesday afternoon is physical education class. This is an exciting and enjoyable class for the boys and girls alike. In the midst of the monotonous and tedious high school studies, these non-academic classes are the only ones that offer a bit of relaxation. However, it’s most disheartening when these classes are occasionally taken over by other teachers.

The PE teacher led everyone in warm-up exercises, laid out the activity requirements, and then dismissed everyone for free activities within the playground area.

The girls walked off in groups to find shaded spots, chatting about topics that the boys wouldn’t understand. The boys, on the other hand, formed groups for sports—soccer, basketball, ping-pong, you name it.

Zhang Cheng and Qian Wenhao approached with a basketball, enthusiastically inviting Lu Chu and Li Bo to join them for a game.

Lu Chu smiled and declined, “You guys go ahead. Li Bo just transferred here and isn’t familiar with the school yet. I’ll take this time to show him around.”

Qian Wenhao offered, “Need any help?”

“No need, you guys go play ball,” Lu Chu replied. “Didn’t you agree to meet Wang Tong and the others? I’ll be fine on my own, and it’s less conspicuous with just one person.”

“True,” Zhang Cheng scratched his head. “The PE teacher told us to stay within the playground area. If too many of us head towards the teaching buildings, we’ll get noticed and won’t avoid a scolding.”

Just then, Wang Tong shouted from the nearby basketball court, “Zhang Cheng! Qian Wenhao! Are you ready yet? We’re waiting for you, and the ball is with you!”

“Coming!” Zhang Cheng responded loudly. He turned to wave at Lu Chu, “We’re off then.”

With that, Zhang Cheng and Qian Wenhao ran towards the basketball court.

As the best high school in the city, Yucai High School is quite large, covering an area of over 100,000 square meters. Walking around the campus, stopping to chat, one class period could easily pass by.

During class time, the school was empty except for the playground where PE class was held.

The afternoon sun was somewhat glaring, but fortunately, tall poplar trees lined the paths, casting large shadows with their dense foliage. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, forming circular spots of light on the ground.

Between the poplar trees, there were designated areas for parking bicycles. Every morning and noon, class discipline monitors would check if their class’s bicycles were properly and neatly parked.

Lu Chu didn’t need to explain all this to Li Bo because Li Bo had experienced this long ago. Even as a clearer, he might have come here to eliminate instability factors. Both enjoyed the leisurely time as Lu Chu walked and talked, his smile occasionally illuminated by the sunlight, giving it an unreal beauty.

The two walked to the school’s most remote area, the experimental building, and stopped.

“This is the most secluded spot in the school,” Lu Chu said, looking around.

Li Bo suddenly looked up at the top floor of the experimental building, his eyes cold.

Lu Chu followed his gaze and recalled the story Zhang Cheng had told earlier.

“I think,” Lu Chu pondered for a moment and then spoke, “this mission only requires us to ‘stay active within the school grounds.’ It doesn’t provide any other clues. Maybe this means that no matter what dangerous events happen here, as long as I stay within the school grounds, even if I deliberately avoid what’s happening and don’t seek the truth, the ‘rules’ will consider the mission successful once the time is up.”

Li Bo turned and looked at him affirmatively, signaling him to continue.

Lu Chu continued, “But the ‘rules’ wouldn’t make it that easy. So, the most likely scenario is that trouble will find us even if we don’t approach it or try to avoid it. It will force us out of the school grounds, violating the ‘stay within the school grounds’ rule.”

Lu Chu shook his head, “We must always be prepared. Taking chances is the most dangerous thing.”

Li Bo stood beside Lu Chu, hands casually in his pockets. After listening, he turned his gaze back to the top floor of the experimental building.

After a moment, he said, “You’ll be fine.”

Lu Chu was taken aback, not knowing what Li Bo meant, but felt a warmth in his heart.

“Yeah.”

---

Before PE class ended, they had to gather again. Lu Chu and Li Bo returned to the playground early. The PE teacher said a few words and then dismissed the class.

Zhang Cheng and the others, sweaty, headed to the supermarket for water, gulping down half a bottle.

Back at his seat, Zhang Cheng was shooed away by some girls who couldn’t stand the smell of sweat. He ran to Lu Chu’s desk with a mournful face, “I’ve been exiled!”

Lu Chu laughed, “What happened?”

“They said I smell of sweat!” Zhang Cheng said indignantly, “This is manly! Lu Chu, do I smell bad?”

Zhang Cheng raised his arm towards Lu Chu. Before Lu Chu could dodge, an arm appeared in front of him, and Lu Chu was pulled back into someone’s embrace, avoiding Zhang Cheng’s sweaty arm.

Lu Chu looked up and met Li Bo’s eyes.

Li Bo was sitting beside Lu Chu, one arm around Lu Chu’s chest, the other blocking Zhang Cheng’s arm. This move made Lu Chu fall into Li Bo’s embrace, enveloped by him.

“Wow!” Zhang Cheng exclaimed dramatically, “Even you guys are bullying me.”

He sniffed himself and insisted, “I don’t smell! Why so disdainful?”

Lu Chu laughed genuinely, “Ask Qian Wenhao.”

Qian Wenhao, several rows away, joined in, “Didn’t you wash up? You do smell of sweat. Look at me—” He rolled up his sleeve, showing his arm. “Wash your face and arms after exercise, and you’ll feel refreshed!”

He pointed to Lu Chu, “No wonder the girls don’t like you. You scared Lu Chu into Li Bo’s arms.”

Only then did Lu Chu realize he was still in Li Bo’s embrace.

The bell rang, and Zhang Cheng and Qian Wenhao stopped fooling around and returned to their seats.

Li Bo released Lu Chu, who gave him a grateful smile.

“No problem,” Li Bo said quietly, “I just didn’t want him to touch you.”

---

For students, study time always feels slow and tedious.

So far, this round had been calm. Apart from Liu Qian’s entire dormitory catching a fever, which, although strange, didn’t cause much commotion. In this season, many people were catching colds. The hospital confirmed they just had regular fevers, and most people accepted that the whole dormitory had caught a cold by coincidence, rare but possible.

Only Meng Yu, recalling her conversation with Liu Qian, felt something more was at play. She couldn’t help but imagine various supernatural scenarios, discussing her theories with classmates during the day and scaring herself at night.

Zhang Cheng often teased her for being scared but still talking about it, and he, along with Lu Chu and others, teased her until she chased them around the classroom. Everything seemed normal, and time passed until Friday afternoon.

High school wasn’t as easy as junior high, especially now in the second semester of the second year, approaching senior year. They no longer had weekends off. Whether day students or boarders, they only had one weekend off every two weeks, and the interim weekend only gave a half-day break on Sunday afternoon, with the rest of the time filled with classes.

Zhang Cheng was in a low mood.

Lu Chu asked, “What’s wrong? You seem down.”

“Sigh,” Zhang Cheng sighed, “I’m exhausted. This week is a full week of classes, only a half-day break on Sunday afternoon. I’m fed up with classes.”

“Study, study, always studying,” Qian Wenhao added, “I can’t wait to go to college.”

While organizing his notes, Lu Chu asked, “Are you staying at school on Sunday afternoon?”

“Of course not!” Zhang Cheng immediately replied. “I’m going to get a leave slip from Old Lu, home is the best place.”

Qian Wenhao quickly said, “Remember to call me when you go!”

“Got it, we’ll go after the second period,” Zhang Cheng then looked at Lu Chu and Li Bo, “What about you two? Going home?”

“No,” Lu Chu shook his head, “I’ll stay.”

The task required staying within the school grounds, so Lu Chu couldn’t leave. Leaving the school meant failing the mission, and Lu Chu suspected that leaving would lead to various disasters, like car accidents, falling into wells, being attacked, or even natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis.

Li Bo added, “I’ll stay too.”

“Two model students,” Zhang Cheng sighed. “But it seems Zheng Wei also stays during half-day breaks. It’ll be up to you two.”

Zheng Wei, the other aloof person in Lu Chu’s dorm, was a top student who didn’t like talking or socializing, making him easy to overlook.

“No trouble,” Lu Chu smiled. “He just doesn’t like socializing.” In other words, he wasn’t a threat, and avoiding him wouldn’t be hard.

Zheng Wei, sitting in a corner, glanced at Lu Chu with his head down.