90: There is no right or wrong in liking.

Training continued.

While running, Yu Heng glanced at the bench on the sidelines,

Shen Yueling and Ning Yutong were sitting side by side; Meng Shirui had left sometime earlier.

He withdrew his gaze, used a change of direction to shake off the defense, and took a mid-range shot.

The ball hit the back rim, bounced up, and didn't go in.

"Tsk." Yu Heng shook his hand and retreated to defend.

The phone in his pocket vibrated twice.

He took advantage of the opponent's inbound pass to pull out his phone and glance at it.

There were two WeChat messages on the lock screen.

He swiped the screen open with one hand.

Bai Xinran: "I've set off for the Villa. The live stream will still be from four to nine tonight."

Qin Ya: "Reporting in! My mom dropped me off at the Villa! I'm wearing stockings again today~ Black ones!"

Qin Ya: "Why have you been so busy lately? I haven't seen you for two days!"

Yu Heng grinned; she really wore black ones.

"Yu Heng! Watch the ball!" Hao Junran roared.

The basketball whizzed past Yu Heng's ear. He snapped back to attention and immediately turned to chase after the opposing half.

Training continued for another half hour before the Coach blew the whistle for assembly and spoke briefly.

"Alright, that's it for today. Dismissed!"

The team members walked off the court in small groups.

Ning Yutong stood up from the bench, scurried over to Yu Heng, and asked, "Do you want some water?"

"I'm okay." Yu Heng bent down, picked up his jacket from the ground and draped it over his shoulder, grabbing the plastic bag containing medicine, "Let's go. I need to go back to the dorm first to shower—I'm drenched in sweat—and then head to the Lecture Hall."

"Should we go ahead then?" Ning Yutong asked.

Shen Yueling didn't speak but stood up as well.

The three walked out of the basketball gym side by side.

The evening wind blew, bringing a chill.

Ning Yutong walked ahead, while Yu Heng deliberately slowed his pace.

Shen Yueling's pace also slowed down.

The two opened up a short distance between themselves and Ning Yutong ahead.

Yu Heng turned his head and lowered his voice: "You didn't get caught in the rain this morning, did you?"

Shen Yueling looked straight ahead, her tone flat: "Why don't you wait until it snows to ask?"

Yu Heng froze.

Was she complaining that he hadn't checked on her this morning?

That was true. The rain was heavy, and he was only focused on sharing an umbrella with Ning Yutong.

"My bad, my bad," Yu Heng grinned, his voice slightly coaxing, "I was rushing to class this morning and didn't think."

Shen Yueling didn't reply and quickened her steps.

"Hey," Yu Heng caught up, his shoulder brushing against the sleeve of her coat, "Why don't you ask if *I* got wet?"

Shen Yueling didn't stop walking, her voice drifting back: "Didn't someone bring you an umbrella?"

Yu Heng's heart skipped a beat.

"How did you know?" he asked.

Shen Yueling finally turned her head and glanced at him.

"I went to bring you an umbrella this morning," she said slowly, "but I realized I was too late, so I left."

After speaking, she quickened her pace, caught up with Ning Yutong ahead, and didn't look back at Yu Heng.

Yu Heng stood where he was, rubbing his nose.

This was bad.

She was angry.

Ning Yutong watched Shen Yueling approach, then looked at Yu Heng, whose expression was a bit stiff, and quietly asked, "Yue Ling, are you still going to the club recruitment event tonight?"

"Yes," Shen Yueling said. "But I'll go back to the dorm first to change."

"Okay, I'll go back and change too!" Ning Yutong smiled, turned to Yu Heng, and asked, "Shall we go now?"

Yu Heng's mind was still on their previous conversation, and he casually replied, "Mm, take care on the way."

The two girls walked side by side toward the dormitories.

Ning Yutong clasped her hands behind her back, tilting her head to look at Shen Yueling's profile: "Yue Ling, you went to bring Yu Heng an umbrella this morning too?"

Her voice was soft and cautious.

She had heard their conversation just now, which was why she had deliberately walked ahead the whole time.

Shen Yueling's steps seemed to pause slightly, and she hummed in affirmation.

She had indeed gone that morning, walking to the roadside with her umbrella, just in time to see Yu Heng and Ning Yutong approaching.

She had turned and left immediately, the rainwater from the edge of the umbrella dripping onto her neck, feeling cool and damp.

"I'm on the second floor, and you're on the sixth, so I'm a bit closer," Ning Yutong pursed her lips. "Next time, I'll walk slower."

This might sound like boasting, but that wasn't what she meant.

She just didn't want Shen Yueling to misunderstand that she deliberately got there first.

This was a form of showing weakness, perhaps. She knew Shen Yueling was a bit proud, and both of them liked Yu Heng—there was no right or wrong in that.

Before Yu Heng established a clear relationship with either of them, what were they?

Enemies? Not exactly.

Rivals? It hadn't quite reached that level.

After all, they had always been good friends.

Shen Yueling didn't reply; she understood the meaning behind Ning Yutong's words.

Walk slower?

Did that mean giving up the opportunity?

Who asked you to give way?

She recalled a break during their third year of high school when the three of them gathered to play poker, with only enough time for one round.

The stake for that round was that the loser had to have a small turtle drawn on the back of their hand by the winner.

Yu Heng was the landlord, and he won.

He first grabbed Ning Yutong's hand and cheerfully drew a crooked turtle.

When it was her turn, the Homeroom Teacher suddenly appeared at the back door. Yu Heng pulled his hand back quickly and didn't get to draw it.

She ignored Yu Heng for the rest of the day, leaving him confused.

It was Ning Yutong who secretly told him that she was upset Yu Heng hadn't drawn on her, seeing it as differential treatment.

Thinking of this, Shen Yueling felt a little unsettled.

A sense of inexplicable irritation welled up again.

She wasn't annoyed at Ning Yutong; she was annoyed at Yu Heng. What exactly did he want?

He had laid his cards on the table with her, but what about Ning Yutong?

Was he just stringing her along?

She finally spoke, her voice still flat, but not as cold: "It was just an umbrella. Whoever was closer brought it. As long as he didn't get wet, it's fine."

———

Lecture Hall 204

Yu Heng sat in the middle of the first row, with Qin Lu on his left and Ning Yutong on his right.

On the podium, the third interviewee was giving their self-introduction.

It was a boy wearing glasses who spoke with a slight stutter.

Yu Heng wasn't listening carefully.

His peripheral vision glanced to the right.

Yu Heng's fingers paused on his knee, then moved half an inch to the right.

His hand touched the hem of Qin Lu's trousers.

Yu Heng's fingertip lightly brushed the stocking material.

Qin Lu's body instantly tensed up.

She didn't turn her head, her eyes still fixed on the interviewee on the podium.

Yu Heng's fingers moved again.

"Yu Heng." Qin Lu turned her head, stared at him, and whispered, "If you mess around again, I won't let you touch me ever again."

Yu Heng was stunned and pulled his hand back.

He didn't make another move until the interviews ended at six o'clock.

After the last person stepped down, Ning Yutong organized the scoring sheets on the table and turned to ask Yu Heng, "Out of today's candidates, which ones do you think should be admitted?"

Yu Heng scanned the list and mentioned a few names.

They were all those who had performed decently today.

Ning Yutong nodded, wrote them down, and then looked at Qin Lu: "Teacher Qin, what do you think?"

Qin Lu had already stood up and was tidying her bag.

"I don't have any objections," she said. "You two can decide."

Ning Yutong hummed in acknowledgement and started packing up.

Yu Heng also stood up and stretched his stiff neck.

He glanced at Qin Lu.

Qin Lu happened to be looking at him too.

The two held eye contact for a second.

Qin Lu looked away first, picked up her bag, and said, "I'll head back now. Thank you for your hard work."

"Goodbye, Teacher Qin," Ning Yutong quickly said.

Qin Lu nodded and turned to walk towards the classroom door.

Her high heels clicked crisply on the floor tiles.

Yu Heng stared at her retreating figure until she walked out the classroom door.

"Yu Heng?" Ning Yutong called him.

Yu Heng snapped back to attention: "Hmm?"

"Shall we go too?" Ning Yutong had finished tidying up. "Are you going back to the dorm or..."

"Back to the Villa," Yu Heng said. "Bai Xinran and Qin Ya are still live streaming."

"Alright~" Ning Yutong nodded, not asking further. "Then Yue Ling and I will head back to the dorms first."