Betting on the Game
"You two, clean the public restrooms for a week."
"Defacing the honor roll! What did you do to the top student's photo?"
"Chen Yiyang, what are you staring at me for? Even if you drew on yourself, it's not allowed! If the principal finds out, you'll be in the worst trouble!"
"..."
In the corridor, the girl in a white dress and the boy in a jacket over his jersey stood a meter apart.
Yun Mi had just escaped, but the dean was cunning and caught them by taking a shortcut.
She looked down at her shoes, puzzled.
It was Chen Yiyang who drew, so why was she taking the blame too?
The disciplinary director at Shanfu was a good-natured person, but his boss, the "bald donkey," wasn't. He admonished them, "Next time you paint, do it where there are no cameras! The principal gets up early every Monday to admire the top students from each grade. If I hadn't seen it, and the principal checked the surveillance, what do you think would have happened?"
He asked them, "Got it?"
Yun Mi: "Mm."
Her tone dragged on.
One of them dealt with, the director walked up to Chen Yiyang.
Chen Yiyang still had a dark red headband tied around his forehead. He glanced at the girl beside him. He had originally planned not to admit it, but Yun Mi had taken the punishment on her own. Helpless, Chen Yiyang snorted and said coldly, "I get it."
As soon as the director left, Chen Yiyang turned to head back to the basketball court, but someone called out to him, "Chen Yiyang!"
The angrier Yun Mi thought about it, the more furious she became. "You clean the women's restroom."
Chen Yiyang turned sideways and saw Yun Mi glaring at him furiously.
The girl said, "Or else I'll hate you."
"..."
Yun Mi returned to the classroom sulkily to do her exercises. Ding Yuan noticed her gloomy expression and thought she had been scolded by Du Yun again.
Just as Yun Mi opened her workbook, a bag of juice gummy candies was tossed in front of her.
Peach flavor.
The girl looked sideways in confusion. Ding Yuan pretended not to care, waving her hand. "A gift for you."
Yun Mi felt warm inside and softly made an excuse: "I'm fine. I just remembered I haven't written my essay."
Ding Yuan's heart sank. These candies were imported from Japan, and such a small bag cost seventeen yuan at the school store. Since Yun Mi was fine, Ding Yuan wanted to take it back. But she saw Yun Mi casually put the candy into her desk.
"..."
Ding Yuan's heart ached, but she said, "Want to go to the small sports ground later?"
Yun Mi had just come back from there. Remembering Chen Yiyang's handsome face made her both angry and annoyed. She didn't know if her threat had worked. She wished she could punch Chen Yiyang a couple of times to vent. Impatiently, she asked, "What for?"
"To watch the boys play ball," Ding Yuan said matter-of-factly. She chuckled and put her phone screen in front of Yun Mi. "The grade group chat says Chen Yiyang is betting on a game with someone. The loser has to clean the public restrooms for all three grades, including the women's. Haha, so funny. Want to go watch the excitement?"
Yun Mi looked up blankly, her fair face with amber-colored eyes flickering. She froze.
She had thought Chen Yiyang... didn't care whether she hated him or not.
But a single "hate" had actually worked.
There were quite a few boys playing at school on Saturday. Yun Mi sat on the bleachers, and Ding Yuan asked, "Mimi, who do you want to win?"
Just after one round, Class 8 was temporarily ahead. The rest area for Class 1 was just a few steps below Yun Mi.
Of course Chen Yiyang—if he lost, she'd have to clean the restrooms again?
Yun Mi rested her chin on her hand, watching the slightly curled ends of Chen Yiyang's hair, but she said, "Class 8."
Ding Yuan had only asked casually, never expecting a traitor. She didn't understand: "Why are you rooting for Class 8?"
Zhou Shihui called out, "Hey, Yun Mi, do you know what we're betting on?"
Yun Mi looked at Zhou Shihui, feeling sorry for him. He didn't even know he'd been played by Chen Yiyang.
Chen Yiyang had already shifted the conflict from "one person being punished to clean restrooms" to "the losing class cleans the restrooms."
Yun Mi said coldly, "I know."
Zhou Shihui always felt a little embarrassed when talking to Yun Mi. He tilted his chin and said, "Then why aren't you cheering for your own class? For example..." He couldn't bring himself to say his own name, so he glanced around and said, "Chen Yiyang."
"..."
Yun Mi looked up, her gaze suddenly meeting Chen Yiyang's turned face. The boy tilted his head slightly, squinted, and smiled faintly.
Yun Mi bit her lip, resigned to her fate. "Cheer, right?"
Behind Yun Mi was the chain-link fence of the small sports ground. Dense green plants struggled to break through the mesh, sprawling out.
Under the vast blue sky, the girl in the white dress on the green-painted steps mechanically raised both hands. Yun Mi clenched her fists, shook them suddenly, and made a standard "cheerleading" gesture. She smiled, looking optimistic, and said, "Go!"
The next second, her face fell, and she said perfunctorily, "Cheer done."
"..."