Time passed quickly.

Before anyone knew it, more than a month had gone by since the day Lin Zichen dominated the Martial Arts Team.

From that day on, Lin Zichen’s status in the team changed.

From a newcomer, he directly transformed into the team’s ace.

However, what changed was only the coach’s and teammates’ attitudes toward him, while he himself didn’t really change much.

After school, he still went to the gym to practice martial arts, still found a place to train alone and still went home after showering at 6:30 p.m.

As for Shen Qinghan, she still waited in the gym every day for Lin Zichen to finish training so they could go home together.

While waiting, Shen Qinghan either read books or did practice problems. Sometimes she would take out her phone to snap a few candid pictures of Lin Zichen and the time passed pleasantly.

Sometimes, seeing Lin Zichen sweating heavily, she would even step forward to wipe it off for him.

Scenes like this made everyone in the gym envious.

The girls envied Shen Qinghan for being Lin Zichen’s childhood friend and for being able to stay by his side every day.

The boys envied Lin Zichen for having Shen Qinghan, a childhood friend who took such good care of him.

Lin Zichen himself felt no emotion at others’ envy.

But Shen Qinghan, as a girl in her adolescence, felt joy in her heart whenever she noticed the envious gazes of other girls.

"Hanhan, let’s go."

In the gym, Lin Zichen finished his training, showered in the locker room and called out to Shen Qinghan waiting at the door.

Hearing him, Shen Qinghan obediently followed, her high ponytail swaying with each step, full of youthful liveliness.

The seven teammates still training in the gym, watching Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan come and go together every day, couldn’t help but envy them.

"Alright, stop staring and get back to training! Summer break is coming and with it the annual Eight School League. As always, there are only five spots to compete. The best ones get them. Zichen already has one spot secured. That leaves only four for the seven of you. Whoever performs best will get to compete."

Seeing the team still distracted by the departing pair, Guo Xiangyuan immediately pushed them to focus again.

The seven instantly wore urgent looks and threw themselves back into training, afraid of falling behind.

Five of them were in their third year of middle school.

This year’s Eight School League would be their last chance to compete and none of them wanted to have regrets.

* * *

Time flew by.

The second semester of the first year was about to end, with only a week left before final exams.

That week, in order to help Shen Qinghan score well, Lin Zichen went to her room every night to help fill in her weak points.

That evening, after eating and showering, Lin Zichen headed next door to Shen Qinghan’s house.

Xu Meng knew he came punctually, so she had already opened the door and was waiting.

When she saw him, she smiled and said, "Xiao Chen, you’ve been working hard these days, coming every night to tutor Hanhan. Once exams are over and it’s summer break, Aunt Meng will give you a gift. You can choose whatever you like."

"You’re too polite, Aunt Meng. Hanhan and I grew up together, so helping her is only natural."

Lin Zichen smiled, then he headed straight inside and went up to the second floor.

Shen Qinghan’s room was upstairs, only two walls away from his own room.

Their rooms were practically side by side.

He stopped at her door.

It was half open.

Without thinking, Lin Zichen pushed it open and stepped inside, "Hanhan, I—"

He wanted to say “I’m here,” but before he finished, he almost bit his tongue, freezing in place.

Because the girl inside was sitting on her bed, pulling up her pajama pants and right above them was a very noticeable diaper.

Lin Zichen: "..."

Shen Qinghan: "..."

At that moment, silence fell. The air froze, the atmosphere unbearably awkward.

After a brief pause, Lin Zichen spoke first, breaking the silence, "Uh… I’ll come back later."

He quickly turned and left, closing the door behind him.

As soon as he left, Shen Qinghan’s face turned bright red. She pulled the blanket over her head, curled into a ball and stopped moving.

She felt socially dead, wishing she could live on another planet.

* * *

Ten minutes later.

When Lin Zichen felt enough time had passed, he knocked on her door, his voice tinged with awkwardness, "Hanhan, is it okay if I come in now?"

"Mm…" came Shen Qinghan’s nearly inaudible reply. Clearly, she hadn’t recovered from the embarrassing scene.

Lin Zichen acted as though nothing had happened, calmly pushing the door open and entering.

"Um… I only need to wear diapers when I sleep. During the day I don’t need them."

Shen Qinghan pressed her lips together, speaking with difficulty, her delicate face red with embarrassment.

Lin Zichen didn’t know how to respond, so he just nodded, "Mm, I know."

Neither said anything more, the silence returning.

But soon, Shen Qinghan chose to break it. Twirling her hair with pale fingers, she tried to look natural as she started a new topic, "At dinner, I asked my parents whether they thought I looked prettier with my hair tied up or left loose. Dad said loose, Mom said tied up. Xiao Chen, do you think I look prettier with my hair tied or not?"

As she asked, Shen Qinghan gathered her courage, looking into Lin Zichen’s eyes. She wanted to use this topic to skip past the diaper incident, so they wouldn’t be awkward anymore.

Without hesitation, Lin Zichen said, "I think both look good."

"That’s so perfunctory. Pick one."

"Then… tied looks better."

"What about single ponytail, twin ponytails, or a bun? Which looks better?"

"I prefer buns and single ponytails."

"Then I’ll do a bun tomorrow and a single ponytail the next day… Oh and do you think low or high ponytails look better?"

"I think high ponytails look good…"

Slowly, the two relaxed into conversation. The earlier awkwardness vanished.

It seemed as if the diaper incident had been forgotten, never mentioned again.

Before long, they got to the night’s task: one as student revising, the other as teacher tutoring, spending a fulfilling night at the desk together.

* * *

Days later.

Shanhai Middle School welcomed final exams.

As always, top student Lin Zichen easily took first place in the whole school.

Shen Qinghan also did very well.

In just one year, she had risen from third-to-last to the top twenty in her class, proudly holding a Progress Pioneer award.

This came partly from her own effort, but mostly thanks to Lin Zichen’s help.

"Xiao Chen, it’s all thanks to you that I did so well this time!"

In the classroom, Shen Qinghan looked at her award certificate with joy, smiling brightly at Lin Zichen.

Lin Zichen smiled back, "It’s mainly because you studied hard yourself."

"Xiao Chen, at this rate, in two years I’ll definitely be in the same class as you. Then we can keep being desk mates!" Shen Qinghan said expectantly.

Desk mates in the same class?

Hearing that, Lin Zichen remembered he hadn’t told her he planned to enroll in the Martial Arts Class in high school.

So he said, "Hanhan, I’ve already decided to join the Martial Arts Class in high school."

"Then I’ll join the Martial Arts Class too!" Shen Qinghan said without hesitation.

Lin Zichen wasn’t sure if the path of martial arts was suitable for her, but seeing her determination, it had to be.

"If you’ve decided to walk the martial path, then starting today, you’ll need to change your focus. You should study more about Aberrant Beasts, gene fusion and mechanical modification."

"Mm, I’ll work hard!"

Shen Qinghan said with energy.

She wasn’t bad in those areas, since she had read many books with Lin Zichen as a child. She had confidence.

The only part she lacked confidence in was her physical fitness.

Lin Zichen thought of that and quickly said, "From now on, after school, when I go to the gym, you’ll train with me. I’ll teach you some exercises to strengthen your body."

"Mm, I’ll listen to Xiao Chen!" Shen Qinghan nodded obediently.

Her whole life had taught her one thing: whatever it was, following Lin Zichen was never wrong.