"You actually dared to hit me?"
Gavin Duan, sprawled on the ground, sucked in a sharp breath. His butt hurt like hell from the landing, and he honestly had no clue what just happened—he only felt a surge of force hit his head, and then his whole body flew out uncontrollably.
Rubbing his aching backside, Gavin glared furiously at Evan Lin, who was just standing there. When he saw Jill Jing hand the drumstick she was holding to Evan, his face twisted with rage. "Don't give it to him, Xiao Tu—that's the one I bought for you!"
Gavin and Jill had been classmates all the way from elementary to high school. He was always known as the official 'flower guardian' by her side.
Back in grade school, Gavin once dragged a fat kid who stole Jill's cookies into the bathroom for a beating; in middle school, he even stuffed a live snake into the desks of girls who bullied her.
He'd been punished by the school plenty of times for it, and gotten ambushed by people too, but Gavin was thick-skinned and never cared.
But now, seeing Jill about to give the drumstick he bought her to this guy, Gavin was so pissed he jumped up, absolutely fuming.
At his words, Jill frowned slightly, turned around, hopped down the steps, walked a few paces, and then shoved the drumstick straight into Gavin's mouth. "Then you eat it," she said.
Caught completely off guard, Gavin bit down on the drumstick, unable to say a word with his mouth stuffed, eyes wide and full of frustration.
After shoving the drumstick, Jill stepped back in front of Evan, her expression deadly serious. "Check answers."
At that moment, Evan Lin’s phone rang. It was Old Man Liu, asking where he was and telling him to head back to the hotel for a group dinner with all the Olympiad students that evening.
Evan gave a simple reply and hung up.
After hanging up, Evan walked down the steps. Gavin, still gnawing on his drumstick and scowling at Evan, was clearly hurting, but with Jill there, he only dared to glare a few times.
Seeing Evan about to leave, Jill snapped out of her thoughts, took a big gulp of cola, and looked at him: "Your name."
"Evan Lin."
After answering, Evan walked past her, hands in his pockets, heading out of the field.
Jill watched Evan’s back as he left, her brows furrowed. She’d never met anyone who disliked talking to her this much.
"Bunny, he’s gone, quit staring. Here, I’ve got a burger for you." Gavin ran over, pulled out a burger, and handed it to Jill, trying to win her over. (Note: 'Bunny' is Jill's nickname, from her surname 'Jing' and the word 'Tu' meaning rabbit.)
To outsiders, Gavin was always quick to throw punches, but around Jill, he was soft, even a little timid—worried she might suddenly get mad.
"Eat it yourself." Jill snorted, still annoyed Gavin tried to start a fight earlier.
"I just got anxious, thought he’d hurt you. Didn’t you see? I’m the one who got hurt!" Gavin whined, but Jill ignored him, bouncing over to the podium, pulling out pen and paper, and immediately started scribbling.
If Evan were still here, he’d see Jill scribbling out Olympiad problems—the solution paths matched his explanations, step for step.
Gavin saw this, gave a wry smile, and took a big bite of his burger. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the soccer guys watching the drama and snapped, "What’re you looking at? Go play your game!"
"Haha, Gavin, not joining us? Looks like you struck out again!" Number Seven called out, voice loud.
"Yeah, Gavin, you’re really slow—chased her for years and still nothing!" another boy joked, grinning.
Gavin put the bag of leftover drumsticks and burgers down by the field, glared at his buddies, and laughed, "All you do is talk crap! Keep it up and I’ll beat you to death!"
"Food’s here—grab it if you want! And quit running your mouths!"
After Gavin said that, the guys didn’t mind at all—they rushed over and split up the food in no time.
One boy threw his arm around Gavin’s shoulder, glanced at Jill still buried in her math at the podium, and said, "Gavin, you’ve liked Jill for years—how come there’s still nothing? We’re all worried for you."
"Yeah, we’re rooting for you. Even though I got beat up for talking to Bunny back then, I think it was worth it!" another boy chuckled. (Note: 'Bunny' is Jill's nickname.)
Gavin flicked the boy’s forehead, annoyed: "What result? Quit talking nonsense—she’s my little sister, got it?"
"Okay, okay, we get it—she’s your little sister."
The boys kept teasing, but Gavin didn’t mind. He took a bite of his burger, glanced at Jill bent over her math at the podium, and a trace of loneliness and helplessness flashed in his eyes.
"Haha, Gavin, not joining us? Looks like you struck out again!" Number Seven yelled.
"Yeah, Gavin, you’re really slow—chased her for years and still nothing!" another boy joked.
Gavin put the bag of leftover drumsticks and burgers down by the field, glared at his buddies, and laughed, "All you do is talk shit! If you keep it up, I’ll beat you to death!"
"There’s food here—grab it if you want! And quit running your mouths!"
After Gavin said that, the guys didn’t mind at all—they rushed over and split up the food in no time.
One boy slung his arm around Gavin’s shoulders, glanced at Jill still working on her math at the podium, and said, "Gavin, seriously, you’ve liked Jill for years—how come there’s still nothing? We’re all worried for you."
"Yeah, we’re rooting for you. Even though I got beat up by you for talking to Jill back in the day, I think it was worth it!" another boy chuckled.
Gavin flicked the boy’s forehead, annoyed: "What result? Quit talking nonsense—she’s my little sister, got it?"
"Okay, okay, we get it—she’s your little sister."
The boys kept teasing, but Gavin didn’t mind. He took a bite of his burger, his gaze drifting to Jill working on her problems at the podium, and a trace of loneliness and helplessness flashed in his eyes.