Afternoon.
The scorching sun hung in the center of the blue sky, and the weather was quite hot.
At one o'clock, the class bell rang, and the students of Class 3-B rushed downstairs, laughing and joking, to the shoe lockers to change into their outdoor shoes.
Hoshino Jun was assigned to go with another male classmate to get the rackets and balls.
This afternoon's outdoor class was tennis.
The boys looked forward to the girls' skirts flying on the tennis court, and the girls looked forward to the boys' heroic figures in the match.
In this sport, Takasaki Yusuke's popularity among the girls was, for once, close to Hoshino Jun's.
This was because Takasaki Yusuke was one of the tennis club's aces.
"When we play a match later, Yusuke, you have to go easy on me, okay?"
"I can't do that. After all, my girlfriend is going to watch me today, so how can I lose in front of her?"
"Eh~ You annoying normie, Yusuke, I really envy you for having such a cute girlfriend."
"Well, childhood sweethearts' love, you can't envy that."
"Stop talking, damn it, I'm going to die of jealousy!"
While complimenting Takasaki Yusuke, Takayanagi Jo-kun glanced at Hoshino Jun with a half-smile:
"Speaking of which, someone else, like Yusuke, is also in the tennis club. I wonder who is stronger between Yusuke and him."
Takasaki Yusuke and Takayanagi Jo-kun both had good looks. They could both be called handsome, the kind that could join a boy band if they dressed up.
Unfortunately.
With Hoshino Jun, an especially outstanding flower, their good looks could only serve as supporting green leaves.
Only in such rare moments of home-court advantage could Takasaki Yusuke and Takayanagi Jo-kun barely manage to provoke and find some sense of presence.
"You're being too nosy, Jo-kun. Have you finished your three-thousand-word self-reflection?"
As Hoshino Jun's words fell, Takayanagi Jo-kun's face instantly darkened.
Tonight, he would be going home very late again, and he'd probably be lectured by his mother again.
"Hmph, Hoshino-kun is the one being too nosy, isn't he? We never said who it was."
Takasaki Yusuke recalled being scared by Hoshino Jun that morning and then being punished with writing a self-reflection, making his teeth itch with anger.
"Idiot."
"What did you say?"
Some people are truly pitiful; they don't even understand Chinese national essence.
Looking at the bewildered Takasaki Yusuke, Hoshino Jun had no time to argue with him.
He had more important things to do. After distributing the tennis rackets, he followed the crowd to the tennis court.
As soon as he approached, he heard the cheerful laughter of the girls.
Today was Wednesday, and the classes for Year 3 Class A and Class 3-B were the same every Wednesday afternoon.
Year 3 Class A came down earlier than Class 3-B, and by now, the people from Year 3 Class A had already occupied half of the tennis court.
"Nana-chan, catch!"
The commotion of the Year 3 Class A girls attracted most of the attention. Hoshino Jun, who usually didn't feel much about girls, was also paying attention.
Above the pure white sports shoes were a pair of plump, fair, and tender legs. The blue and white tennis skirt fluttered freely on the court, and her full, round chest seemed ready to burst from her upper body.
Every step Kato Nana took made one feel like a nosebleed was about to gush out.
"Quite smart, knowing that wearing stockings during exercise would make her feet smell."
Noticing the small white socks the girl was wearing, Hoshino Jun nodded approvingly, then his gaze focused on the girl's ample bosom.
So cute, indeed.
"It's just that, being overly cute, it seems a bit too fake."
Could it be that Kato Nana really didn't know how alluring the exercise she was doing right now was?
Hilarious.
Even a beautiful airhead like Mrs. Takayanagi knew how to be modest, so how could a top student from Year 3 Class A not understand?
After a few hours of investigation that morning, Hoshino Jun was now seventy percent sure that Kato Nana was deliberately dressed this way.
Next to the blackboard in each classroom were general details about the students in that class.
During those few hours in the morning, Hoshino Jun took the opportunity to pass by Year 3 Class A several times and successfully saw the introduction about Kato Nana.
"Kato Nana."
"Year 3 Class A."
"Swimming Club."
Unexpectedly, Kato Nana was not in a literature-related club but was a member of the swimming club.
Coincidentally, Hoshino Jun had friends in the swimming club, so he inquired on LINE and learned a lot of useful information.
This cute girl didn't have many friends in the swimming club, and in terms of swimming, she could truly be called an airhead.
But even so, she never missed any swimming training.
Just as Hoshino Jun was contemplating how to proceed, Kato Nana suddenly waved cheerfully in Hoshino Jun's direction.
Behind her, a haughty male voice came in sync with her action.
"Hoshino-kun, do you want to play a match together?"
The words sounded like an invitation, but the tone was bold and impolite, domineering as if issuing a challenge.
And indeed, Takasaki Yusuke wanted to challenge Hoshino Jun while he had the home-court advantage.
"Why should I play with you?"
"Eh~!"
Takayanagi Jo-kun deliberately shouted loudly, then jokingly teased:
"Hoshino, you're not afraid of losing to Yusuke, so you don't dare to accept the challenge, are you?"
The students from Year 3 Class A and Class 3-B around them all looked over at the same time, letting out a gasp. Especially upon seeing that it concerned the school heartthrob Hoshino Jun, the girls' burning passion for gossip instantly ignited in their hearts.
"Don't be like that, Hoshino. We're all classmates, just playing a normal game. Winning or losing isn't a big deal."
Takasaki Yusuke suddenly seemed like a different person, smiling warmly: "At most, I'll give you a few points."
These words sounded like he was doing Hoshino Jun a favor, but in reality, it was a more hypocritical way of saying that Hoshino Jun was inferior to him.
Even if Hoshino Jun continued to refuse to play, just based on those few sentences, Takasaki Yusuke had already gained an advantage.
"Hoshino-kun, want to try playing together?"
"Alright!"
"No— Huh? You agreed!"
Hearing this, Takasaki Yusuke's mind almost couldn't process it. He clearly hadn't expected Hoshino Jun to agree to play with him.
But well, it was perfect.
Verbal victory was nowhere near as satisfying as personally crushing this famous handsome guy.
"I knew it! How could the great Hoshino-kun be afraid of playing tennis with me?" Takasaki Yusuke raised an eyebrow and said flamboyantly.
In the tennis club, Takasaki Yusuke ranked in the top ten, while Hoshino Jun had always been a slacker.
Therefore, Takasaki Yusuke was very confident.
In his opinion.
This was just a one-sided slaughter with no suspense.
"Stop the idle chatter. We're not that close."
Hoshino Jun twisted his wrist and picked up a tennis ball from the ground: "Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm really good at tennis, you know. I hope Takasaki-kun doesn't cry later."
Takasaki Yusuke froze for a moment, then burst out laughing as if he had heard something hilarious.
"Alright, perfect. I'd also like to see you cry, Hoshino."
Hoshino Jun smiled, said nothing, and strode towards the court.
A young man's thoughts were too easy to guess. Hoshino Jun already knew what Takasaki Yusuke and Takayanagi Jo-kun were thinking even before they left the school building.
Takasaki Yusuke, it seemed, really wanted to perform well in front of his girlfriend.
What he didn't know, however, was that all of this was within Hoshino Jun's expectations.
Slacking off in the tennis club before was just to avoid training and go home early to prepare dinner for his aunt.
It wasn't that Hoshino Jun couldn't do it.
April was the season for sweating profusely.
The match hadn't even started, but the area was already surrounded by people.
Takasaki Yusuke's girlfriend, Kato Nana, was a little surprised to see Hoshino-kun, the kind classmate she had met this morning, arranging a match with her boyfriend.
Adhering to the principle of childhood sweethearts, Kato Nana still brought a few of her girlfriends from Year 3 Class A and stood on the sidelines, loudly cheering for Takasaki Yusuke.
At the same time, she cast an apologetic look at Hoshino Jun.
"Takasaki-kun is truly blessed. Not only is he an ace in the tennis club, but he also has a cute girlfriend."
"So, Hoshino Jun, who is frantic with jealousy, will shatter Takasaki-kun's happiness today."
Hoshino Jun said so.