Love Me in Another Universe

Chapter 25. A Special Birthday (Part 1)

May 20, 1995, Saturday.

The last two periods of the afternoon were self-study sessions. However, many students' minds had already wandered far, far away, and Guan Xuchen was no exception. Today was his birthday, but it happened to fall on a long week, requiring school on Saturday. He was eager for school to end early, not only to celebrate his birthday with his parents at home, but more importantly, to see what birthday gift Gao Xinglang would give him this year.

At the start of the first self-study session, Miss Wang, the headteacher, visited the classroom to check on the students, urging them to focus on their homework. She also asked Cheng Xianchu, the class monitor, to sit by the podium to oversee discipline, and then she left.

At first, the students were relatively well-behaved, with only some whispering, laughing, and chatting, keeping the classroom mostly quiet. Cheng Xianchu, seated beside the podium, was intently working on his homework, occasionally looking up to gently admonish students who were being too loud.

However, after a while, a few students approached the podium to ask Cheng Xianchu for permission to use the restroom. Cheng Xianchu merely glanced up, responded with a simple "Go ahead," and then continued his homework without further ado.

A few minutes later, Gao Xinglang strolled from the back row to where Guan Xuchen was seated, leaned over, and whispered, "Soupy, I need to use the restroom. Accompany me."

"But I don't..." before Guan Xuchen could finish, he saw Gao Xinglang already at the podium, so he got up and followed.

"Monitor, we need to use the restroom," Gao Xinglang said to Cheng Xianchu.

Cheng Xianchu raised his head, looked at Gao Xinglang and Guan Xuchen, and then said, "Okay, come back quickly." With that, he returned his attention to his homework.

After they left the restroom, Guan Xuchen wanted to head back to the classroom, but Gao Xinglang held him back. Gao Xinglang whispered, "Soupy, have you finished your homework?"

Guan Xuchen nodded and replied, "Yes. What's up, Lang?"

With a sly grin, Gao Xinglang said, "I've finished my homework too. How about we go play table tennis? We can play until school's out and then head home."

"Oh..." Guan Xuchen was a bit disappointed. He thought Gao Xinglang was going to give him a birthday present. He then asked in a low voice, "But class is not yet over. It's not really good. What if Miss Wang finds out?"

"It's fine, just now I looked out the window and saw her boyfriend come to pick her up and leave. They must have gone on a date and won't be back today!" Gao Xinglang said with a mischievous smile.

"But what about the class monitor keeping order?" Guan Xuchen was tempted to play, but he still felt uneasy.

"It's okay," Gao Xinglang reassured him, "That nerd sits up there and only cares about reading. He won't bother as long as we are quiet. Besides, quite a few classmates said they were going to the restroom and haven't come back yet; they must have gone to play too. Anyway, as the Chinese saying goes, 'no one blames a crowd for wrongdoing'. Even if Miss Wang finds out, she'll only give a mild scolding at most. She left early herself."

"Well..." Guan Xuchen was tempted by the idea and asked, "Aren't we going to play basketball instead?"

Gao Xinglang shook his head and said, "The basketball team has been training too hard lately. And we have another session tomorrow morning. Don't you feel like playing table tennis? Would you rather play basketball?"

"No, whatever you say, Lang," Guan Xuchen replied cheerfully, then asked, "But do we have bats and a ping-pong ball?"

Gao Xinglang smiled cunningly and said, "Not now, but later."