[080] The Young Lady Shows No Regard for Chivalry

"Sister Danran!"

Fang Chang'an recognized Fang Danran and immediately greeted her with a smile. He then turned to Shen Mo and introduced, "That's my sister, Fang Danran—the 'Dan' from 'The water is calm and mist rises.'"

Shen Mo turned her head, her sparkling eyes sizing up Fang Danran, and followed with a sweet smile, calling out, "Sister Danran!"

Fang Danran snapped out of her daze and quickly responded with a smile, "Hello."

"My deskmate, Shen Mo—the 'Shen' from Shen Garden, and the 'Mo' that is very pale."

According to custom, the person of higher status should be introduced to others first, but since Fang Chang'an and Fang Danran were blood relatives, putting the guest first was not considered rude. Besides, neither of them seemed to care, or even know, about such etiquette.

Shen Mo noticed he hadn't teased her with "the 'Mo' whose skin is fairer than snow," but "very pale Mo" meant much the same. She found it amusing, yet felt a strange shyness, pouting slightly and shooting him a playful glare.

Fang Danran took it all in, her gaze at the two tinged with suspicion.

In his previous life, Fang Chang'an had only first heard someone call others "senior" or "junior" after entering university. Here, at least in this middle school environment, such titles weren't popular.

It was common for classmates to address their friends' siblings as brother or sister.

But Shen Mo was so lovely, her smile so sweet, and her greeting so natural. Having just seen Fang Chang'an and her get out of the same car, the fifteen-year-old Fang Danran couldn't help but overthink.

She also remembered last week, when Fang Chang'an gave her some candy and said it was from his deskmate—this girl, presumably.

Pretty as she was—very pretty, in fact—she seemed just a bit too young...

Fang Chang'an sensed the situation, but it wasn't appropriate to explain openly. He gestured that they should head to school first, and since the two were waiting, Fang Danran walked over.

She glanced at their schoolbags, and as they walked side by side into the school gate, she asked softly, "Did you just come from home?"

"No, we both came from our homeroom teacher's house."

Grandpa Fang Luguo had a definitive say in everything Fang Chang'an did at school, so Fang Chang'an didn't want his grandparents to misunderstand. He explained, "I went to Teacher Cheng's house to borrow a book. Teacher Cheng invited me to dinner. Shen Mo is Teacher Cheng's husband's niece, so we ate together, and her husband brought us here afterward."

Fang Danran nodded, indicating she understood, then asked, "What book did you borrow?"

Fang Chang'an replied with a smile, "Lu Xun."

"What?" Fang Danran had expected some study guide material. Hearing his answer, she couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.

Fang Chang'an laughed, "Just something to read outside of class."

Fang Danran didn't talk much with Fang Chang'an normally and was unsure how to comment. She was silent for a moment before asking, "Have you started new lessons yet? How's it going, can you keep up?"

Fang Chang'an nodded, smiling, "We've started, I can follow."

"You haven't even attended class!"

Walking on his right, Shen Mo pouted, secretly grumbling in her heart, but loyally refrained from exposing him in front of Fang Chang'an's sister.

Fang Danran was a diligent student with good grades and didn't appreciate her cousin's overconfidence, but she was gentle and didn't contradict him. She nodded and smiled, "It's good you can keep up, but don't get complacent. Listen carefully, do lots of practice, build a solid foundation. When you review in ninth grade, it'll be much easier."

Fang Chang'an nodded, "Alright, I'll listen to you, Sister Danran."

His promise was so direct and simple that Fang Danran didn't know how to respond. Fang Chang'an then asked, "Sister Danran, do you go home for all three meals every day?"

Fang Danran nodded, "I usually do."

"Is there enough time?"

"Sometimes it's a bit rushed, but the meals are ready when I get home, so I just eat and come back."

Fang Chang'an nodded again and asked, "Sister Danran, how's your practice for the PE additional test going?"

Fang Danran blushed a little and smiled, "We haven't officially started training yet; probably next semester. Last week I tried running and standing long jump, barely passed."

In truth, she had just missed passing both, but wanted to preserve a bit of elder-sister dignity, especially with Fang Chang'an's classmate present, so she kept the truth to herself.

"The exam's not until next year, there's still time. If you start practicing now, you'll definitely make it," Fang Chang'an encouraged her with a smile.

Fang Danran nodded and smiled, "I'll try my best!"

She didn't say "Mm," which marked a small step towards a more relaxed sibling relationship.

After a few casual exchanges, they reached the teaching building. Fang Chang'an waved to Fang Danran, and Shen Mo waved her little hand as well, saying, "Goodbye, Sister Danran."

"Goodbye," Fang Danran replied, smiling warmly at the well-behaved, pretty girl as she waved back.

After bidding farewell to his cousin, Fang Chang'an and Shen Mo walked up the stairs together. Shen Mo asked, "Will we have to take the PE test too?"

"Of course. Thirty points for PE, fifteen for lab."

"Ah, what does that include?"

"Lab's just physics and chemistry experiments. PE is standing long jump, throwing a medicine ball, and running."

Shen Mo nodded, then asked, "Should we start practicing now?"

"Uh..."

Fang Chang'an glanced at her slender arms and legs, quietly estimating that no matter how weak he was, he couldn't possibly be weaker than her. Still, caution was best.

He replied casually, "We're only in seventh grade. No need to rush."

Shen Mo pouted, "But don't you run every day? I want to practice too."

Alarm bells went off in Fang Chang'an's mind. He looked at her and asked, "You want to run with me?"

The little girl seemed serious about it, but after a moment's thought, she said, "I can't come that early; I'd have to go with my aunt. And after evening study, I have to leave."

Fang Chang'an quietly let out a breath, inwardly mocking himself for being so timid, afraid to have a pretty girl run with him... But what could he do? He wasn't in good shape!

Then Shen Mo said, "How about we try it in PE class on Thursday?"

Seventh and eighth grades had one PE class a week. Fang Chang'an's PE class was Thursday morning. Last week, they only did formation drills, ran a bit, then broke for free activity, with many heading straight back to the classroom.

"Forget it, forget it!" Fang Chang'an quickly tried to dissuade her. "The PE teacher has plans, and besides, there aren't any supplies. How can we practice? Just let it go."

"But we can practice running and jumping ourselves, can't we?" Shen Mo didn't understand his lack of enthusiasm and looked at him with confusion, pouting again. "If you won't practice, I'll practice on my own."

As they spoke, the two had reached the classroom door. Fang Chang'an stopped and let her enter first, then followed to their seats. Shen Mo stood aside, letting him go in first.

On Sunday night during self-study, everyone had plenty of time. The classroom was already full, the laziness of the weekend lingering, and it was the first meeting after school started. The room was buzzing with chatter.

Wang Ke was talking with Wang Hao, Zheng Lili, and a girl from the back row. Hearing movement, she turned to see Fang Chang'an and Shen Mo arrive together. She blinked, seeming a bit surprised and puzzled.

But she said nothing, nor greeted them, choosing instead to listen to Wang Hao and Zheng Lili.

Fang Chang'an sat down and took out "Lu Xun 2," planning to read it first. As he opened it, Shen Mo put down her bag, her expression a bit gleeful, and leaned over to Wang Ke's desk, poking Wang Ke's arm with a finger.

Wang Ke turned, puzzled, to look at Shen Mo.

Shen Mo whispered, "Wang Ke, did you know we have a PE test for the high school entrance exams?"

Fang Chang'an felt a pang of dread.

Wang Ke glanced at him, lowered her voice, "Yeah, I know. What about it?"

Shen Mo brightened, suggesting, "Next PE class, let's practice together. I'll run, you time me; you run, I'll time you. We can practice jumping together, and medicine ball we'll wait until ninth grade."

Wang Ke nodded, glanced at Fang Chang'an, then asked, "Just the two of us?"

Shen Mo pouted, "I asked Fang Chang'an, but he wouldn't agree."

Wang Ke blinked, glanced at Fang Chang'an, then covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh.

Shen Mo asked curiously, "What's so funny?"

Wang Ke managed to suppress her laughter, beckoned Shen Mo closer, and whispered something in her ear, hand shielding her mouth.

Fang Chang'an listened intently, catching fragments—"he," "we...run...," "then...," "sat down hard..."—amid suppressed giggles.

Laughter was contagious, especially among children. Even before Shen Mo fully understood, she couldn't help but join in.

Soon, Wang Ke finished, and Shen Mo asked, "Really?" Then burst into another fit of laughter.

Wang Ke joined in, and the two girls laughed harder and louder, attracting the attention of those nearby, but they didn't care, both sprawled on Wang Ke's desk, laughing together.

Fang Chang'an sat upright, reading his book with all the decorum of someone "deaf to the outside world, wholly focused on the classics," silently telling himself:

"As long as I don't feel awkward, they're the ones who'll feel awkward!"

If they weren't in the classroom, if it were just the three of them, Fang Chang'an would have been tempted to use the popular internet slang of the future to joke: Little miss, you don't play fair. Weren't you going to practice alone?