Zhao Dongling caught sight of Jiang Han and trotted over.
"Well? Did it work?"
Jiang Han flashed an OK sign.
"I stepped up myself, so it's guaranteed."
Zhao Dongling was overjoyed, nearly picking Jiang Han up to spin him around.
"Bro, I seriously want to give you a romantic spin right now."
Jiang Han shuddered, goosebumps rising all over his arms.
"Hard pass. I don't swing that way, my dude."
With that, he carefully eyed Zhao Dongling's appearance.
Sturdy build, plus a full beard.
Wasn't this guy the "Liu Tianxian of the gay community"?
"Old Zhao, take my advice and don't go traveling to Shudu, assuming you're straight, that is," Jiang Han said earnestly, patting him on the shoulder.
Zhao Dongling looked confused. "Why can't I go? I was planning to head down there for a feast of hotpot right after the college entrance exams."
Jiang Han let out a dry, awkward laugh.
"I'm just afraid your backside won't survive the trip."
"You motherfucker..." Zhao Dongling finally caught his meaning and practically wanted to rain two punches down on him.
Jiang Han executed a silky-smooth dodge.
"You still need practice."
While they were messing around, it happened to be Zhuang Yongzhi's turn for the pull-ups.
His face turned beet red, veins bulging on his arms.
No matter how hard he tried, he only managed to inch up a tiny fraction.
At that moment, Zhuang Yongzhi unleashed the ultimate pull-up technique—stretching his neck.
He stretched his neck out for all he was worth, looking just like a rooster crowing at dawn.
Zhang Ruo couldn't help but let loose.
"You brat, I asked you to do pull-ups, not neck stretches! Do you want me to give you a zero right now?"
Zhuang Yongzhi climbed down with a miserable expression.
"Teacher, you might as well just give me a zero then."
Hearing that, Zhang Ruo felt the urge to curse up a storm again.
At this point, Jiang Han stepped forward on his own initiative.
"Teacher, it's my turn."
He dusted off his hands and struck a gymnastics entry pose for everyone.
"Let me show you all what real strength looks like."
Zhuang Yongzhi mentally cursed him out.
The bastard was showing off again.
Yet he still found himself stopping in his tracks to watch Jiang Han's grand display of flexing.
Jiang Han grabbed the bar with both hands, applied a tiny bit of force, and effortlessly rose to the standard height.
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
...
All the boys couldn't help keeping rhythm for Jiang Han.
Even Zhuang Yongzhi, who had been relegated to a mere foil, found himself chanting along.
After yelling out a few numbers, he mentally called himself an idiot.
Always happy to act like Jiang Han's lackey! And enjoying every damn minute of it too!
He really was pathetic!!
As for archenemy Lu Xing, he hid off to the side like a shady rat, gritting his teeth at Jiang Han.
He kept silently chanting for Jiang Han to fall.
Jiang Han knocked out thirty pull-ups with total ease.
He hopped down, panting slightly.
Casually lifting his hem to wipe away sweat, he revealed a rock-solid six-pack—well, technically an eight-pack—with absolute casualness.
Some girls from the class happened to walk by and let out exaggerated shrieks.
"Ahhhhh!!! Everyone look at Jiang Han's abs! You just know he's super strong!!"
Some girls stared openly, while others covered their eyes with their hands, only to peek through an oversized gap between their fingers.
All the boys: Holy shit!
Jiang Han, would you die if you stopped showing off?
They wanted to put on a show like Jiang Han, too.
Yet when they lifted their shirts, all they found was a single, unified roll of flesh divided into upper and lower tiers.
At that sight, many of them quietly lowered their shirts back down.
Real men know when to yield.
Never force your way into a lane you're not built for.
...
Toward the end of PE class, Jiang Han smilingly handed a bottle of water to Zhang Ruo.
"Teacher Zhang, I've got something I want to talk to you about."
Guessing what bullshit the kid was holding in, Zhang Ruo said lazily, "You're here to talk about the sports competition, aren't you?"
"If so, let me tell you right now: there's nothing to discuss."
Jiang Han smiled. "Teacher, that's just small-minded of you. I'm just here to shoot the breeze."
Having seen plenty of slick-talking students, Zhang Ruo stood as steady as an old dog.
"Shoot what breeze? I don't have time to listen to you ramble."
Unfazed, Jiang Han suddenly shifted his tone.
"Teacher Zhang, when I came to class yesterday, I saw Teacher Zhao Qian slap some guy. Do you think they broke up?"
"I'm super curious about this piece of gossip and was dying to ask around about it."
As he spoke, Jiang Han watched Zhang Ruo's reaction.
Sure enough, the man's initially flawless expression began to crumble.
"How can you kids be sticking your noses into a teacher's personal life?"
Zhang Ruo paused, then pivoted.
"Still, it shows good intentions for a student to care about their teachers. If you happen to run into Teacher Zhao, be sure to put in a good word for me."
Jiang Han promised, "I'll definitely praise Teacher Zhang like nobody before or since."
Zhang Ruo's lips twitched, struggling harder to suppress a grin than an AK-47, yet he maintained a nonchalant expression.
"Oh, just normal output will do. No need to go overboard."
Jiang Han nodded, then pivoted straight to today's real objective.
"So, Teacher, can we talk about the basketball tournament now?"
Nodding, Zhang Ruo forced himself to be patient and listen to Jiang Han's proposal.
"Here's the deal, Teacher. I think we should distribute basketball sign-up sheets across the whole school and let everyone form teams freely. That way, we avoid the awkwardness of certain classes lacking enough strong boy players."
"As for team names, let them pick whatever they want. After the tournament ends, we could even organize an inter-school league to contribute to our nation's athletic development."
Though Jiang Han threw in some nonsense at the very end, Zhang Ruo still seriously considered the feasibility of the plan.
Actually, this was for the best anyway. Class activities already included tug-of-war and track and field, so they might as well let people be more flexible with basketball.
"If the boys' tournament is changing, shouldn't the girls' tournament change too, or won't we hear an earful from them?" Zhang Ruo was terrified of that bunch of girls.
Jiang Han calmly shook his head.
"Teacher, do you really think there's any class in our school with weak girls?"
That question genuinely stumped Zhang Ruo.
Having served as a basketball referee for the girls for so many years, he knew those girls regularly pulled off superhuman performances whenever their emotions ran high during matches.
In contrast, many of the boys were far less resilient than the girls.
They acted like total cowards on the court.
"True enough. You have no idea—during the sports meeting last year, the girls from two different classes got into an all-out brawl, and when I went to pull them apart, I got scratched up..." Zhang Ruo poured out his grievances.
Jiang Han listened quietly until he finally watched Zhang Ruo sign his full name on the form.
Only then did he let out a breath of relief.
"Teacher, should I head back to class now?"
Zhang Ruo lifted an eyelid. "Don't rush. Take this form down to the Student Union and have them post the notice."
Sensible as ever, Jiang Han took the application form and said with a grin, "You got it."
After taking two steps away, he turned back around.
"Don't worry, Teacher, I'll go ask around about Teacher Zhao's situation for you tomorrow."
Zhang Ruo cursed him with a smile.
"Get lost..."
Stepping out of the sports field, Jiang Han wandered around for a bit before finally locating the Student Union office.
He walked in and spotted a single male student inside.
"Hello? Anyone here?"
The boy turned around and looked at Jiang Han with a startled expression.
"Cousin, what brings you here?"