I Fell In Love With My Rival (GL) - Chapter 25.1

September 1st marked the official start of the new school year at Jiangcheng No.1 High School. For the sophomore year, a complete class reshuffle was underway.

The former Class 3 class president was handing out preference forms to the students. Starting next week, everyone would be redistributed and placed into new classes—each person facing an entirely fresh academic environment.

Yang Yuxia slumped over her desk, frowning as she looked at the form in her hands. “What are you guys picking—liberal arts or science?”

Song Rao didn’t hesitate at all. “Science for me. Our family has recently expanded into foreign trade. After I graduate high school, I’ll major in international economics. Once I finish university, I can take over our new overseas business.”

Yang Yuxia turned to Su Chunyin. “Niaoniao, what about you—arts or science?”

Su Chunyin paused for a moment before answering, “Science.”

Yang Yuxia let out a dramatic groan. “I got into this school on a sports scholarship. Technically, choosing liberal arts would give me more balance between study and competitions. But if you two are both going with science, what am I supposed to do all alone?”

Song Rao gave her a pat on the shoulder. “We’ve stuck together for over ten years. Do these two years really matter that much? Subject selection affects your future—pick what’s best for you, not just to follow us.”

“Well… you’re not wrong…” Yang Yuxia still looked conflicted. Just then, Xu Chang, who had been listening quietly, spoke up. “I’m going with liberal arts.”

The group was stunned. It was still relatively uncommon for boys to choose liberal arts, and Xu Chang didn’t seem the type to enjoy those subjects.

Under their surprised stares, Xu Chang remained calm. “I talked it over with my family during the break. My grades are average, so whether I choose arts or science, I’ll probably just make it into a second-tier university. But I used to take art lessons as a kid and had some talent. I figured I might as well pick it back up and pursue the arts path. Studying painting is easier if I go with liberal arts.”

Yang Yuxia looked worried. “Xu Chang, isn’t it a bit late to start learning how to paint now?”

Xu Chang scratched the back of his head and smiled brightly. “Not for me.”

That reassured everyone a bit. After a moment’s hesitation, Yang Yuxia finally made up her mind. “Alright, I’ll go with liberal arts too!”

She slung an arm around Xu Chang’s shoulder. “Good thing I’ve got you with me!”

After filling out the preference forms, the school held its first flag-raising ceremony of the semester.

Before the ceremony began, Su Chunyin kept rising on tiptoe, trying to spot someone on the podium—but the figure she was hoping for never appeared.

Song Rao noticed her repeatedly looking over and asked in a low voice, “You’re looking for Fu Erqiu?”

Su Chunyin nodded. She had nothing to hide in front of Song Rao anyway.

Song Rao took a quick glance at the podium. The ceremony was about to start, and the national anthem had already begun playing over the loudspeakers. The representative standing on the stage wasn’t the usual familiar face but a substitute.

Leaning closer to Su Chunyin, Song Rao whispered, “I heard from someone in Class 1 that Fu Erqiu took a leave of absence. She probably won’t be back until next week.”

Next week? That’s after the class reshuffle.

The ceremony officially began, but Su Chunyin’s mind was elsewhere. Only one thought kept circling in her head:

Would Fu Erqiu pick liberal arts or science? Her math and physics were so good—surely she’d choose science… right?

Even after the ceremony ended, Su Chunyin couldn’t stop thinking about it. Realizing how much it bothered her, she slammed the table in frustration.

“Damn it! If she convinced me to choose arts but ends up picking science herself, that’s just bullshit!”

Behind her, Yang Yuxia, who was playing a game of Go on her exercise book, jumped in surprise at the sudden noise. She hadn’t heard what was said, just saw Su Chunyin’s reaction. She leaned forward, asking,

“What got into her?”

Song Rao shrugged. “No idea.” Then, while Yang Yuxia was distracted, she drew the final move on the page. “Five in a row—I win.”

Yang Yuxia snapped back to attention and instantly protested, “No way! You cheated while I wasn’t looking! That one doesn’t count!”

Even with Fu Erqiu absent, life carried on.

At Jiangcheng No.1 High, liberal arts and science classes were held in two separate buildings. Once the reshuffle took place next week, it meant Xu Chang, Yang Yuxia, Song Rao, and Su Chunyin would no longer study, walk home, or hang out as freely as before.

Yang Yuxia was particularly sentimental. “No one will go to the bathroom with me anymore.” She looked over at Xu Chang’s dark face. “And Xu Chang can’t even pretend to be a girl to sneak in with me. What a shame.” She completely ignored the way Xu Chang’s face darkened even more after her joke.

Su Chunyin felt a pang of sadness too. This was the first time in their lives they were truly facing separation. Last semester had already been rough with Lu Fang’s growing distance, and now a class split awaited.

Everything felt like a signal from life that they were growing up. College entrance exams, university, future careers, and even families loomed ahead. How long could this pure friendship last in the face of real-world change? Everything beyond now seemed cloaked in uncertainty.

Perhaps because of that, they treasured their last few days together even more. They rearranged their seats to be closer, stayed glued to each other in class and after school, and made plans to go to milk tea shops, dessert cafes, BBQ joints, internet cafés, coffeehouses, pool halls—or just hang out at each other’s homes. As if by doing so, they could delay the coming goodbye just a little longer.

During the day, Su Chunyin spent every moment with them. Only at night did she have a chance to message Fu Erqiu and Qiu Ye. To avoid sending messages to the wrong person again, she dug out an old phone once used by Xu Yuhui and logged in with a separate account—one phone for each contact.

Strangely enough, Fu Erqiu and Qiu Ye had almost identical routines. Even their reply patterns were eerily similar. Sometimes, just as one screen lit up with a message from Fu Erqiu, the other would flash with a pop-up from Qiu Ye.

On a particularly message-heavy night, Su Chunyin found herself confused—was she chatting with Fu Erqiu or Qiu Ye? The line between the two began to blur. The more they talked, the more she felt like the person behind both screens might actually be the same.

Eventually, she asked the questions she had been holding back:

Fu Erqiu had chosen science, saying it offered broader career opportunities.

Qiu Ye’s father’s condition had stabilized, and she wouldn’t be as busy in the near future.

When Monday rolled around, the class reshuffle began—and Fu Erqiu finally returned to school.

The updated class list had just been posted outside each classroom. Inside, a whiteboard displayed the new seating arrangements. Su Chunyin and Song Rao had both been assigned to Class 1, and they helped each other move their belongings.

Su Chunyin’s new seat was in the third column of the fifth row. She had just set her things down and was about to start organizing them when a husky voice spoke above her:

“Excuse me, may I pass?”

She froze mid-reach. That voice—

“Fu Erqiu?”

Fu Erqiu looked noticeably thinner. She wore a low baseball cap, a face mask, and long sleeves and pants, completely covered except for her eyes. Even under her eyes, dark circles stood out starkly—she looked utterly exhausted.

Though it had only been ten days, seeing her again filled Su Chunyin with an overwhelming joy that made her want to leap from her seat. She forced herself to stay calm and glanced up at her. “Are you sick?”

“A little.” Fu Erqiu seemed to only just recognize her too. “You got placed in Class 1?”

Su Chunyin nodded and made room. “You here to grab your stuff? By the way, which class did you get—”

Instead of packing, Fu Erqiu slid into the seat next to her and laid her head on the desk.

“This is my seat.”

This was her seat? Su Chunyin stiffly turned to the whiteboard. She hadn’t looked at the other names around her—but now she saw it clearly:

Fu Erqiu was her desk mate.

Desk mates… desk mates! They were desk mates!

Su Chunyin swallowed hard. Her heart felt like it could power ten laps around the track. She reached out and poked Fu Erqiu. “Aren’t you going to sort your books?”

Each student had received a stack of new textbooks for the semester. Fu Erqiu’s books were neatly arranged on her desk—but now they were being used as a pillow.

Fu Erqiu raised a finger to her lips. “Shhh. Let me nap a bit. Wake me when class starts.”

Looking at her worn-out profile, her already thin face now paler than ever, Su Chunyin’s restless heart slowly settled into a deep ache. Even though she knew Fu Erqiu couldn’t see, she still nodded softly.

“Sleep well.”

With the reshuffle came new teachers. Though Su Chunyin’s homeroom teacher and P.E. teacher transferred with her, the rest were unfamiliar.

The first period’s teacher was a gentle young man who didn’t care much about classroom discipline. Su Chunyin thought about waking Fu Erqiu, even reached out to tap her shoulder—but when she saw the dark shadows under her eyes, she pulled her hand back.

Just one class.

Let her sleep through just this one.

That should be okay, right?

With that thought, Su Chunyin turned around and used one of her books to shield herself from view.

By the time Fu Erqiu woke up, the second period had already ended. She opened her eyes and saw Su Chunyin furrowing her brow in concentration as she wrote something with great effort. It wasn’t until Fu Erqiu shifted slightly that Su Chunyin noticed her deskmate was awake.

“You’re awake?” Su Chunyin beamed as soon as she saw her. She flipped forward two pages in her notebook and handed it over. “I took notes for the last class.”

Fu Erqiu’s gaze drifted from the notebook to the hand holding it. Su Chunyin’s hand was pale and delicate, the kind that obviously hadn’t done much manual work. Now, however, it was stained with blue-black ink from a fountain pen, and it earnestly held out the notebook.

Oblivious, Su Chunyin kept trying to pass it to her. “I was really focused—I didn’t miss a single thing the teacher said! I’ve never paid this much attention in class before!”

Her cheeks were flushed, and the lingering baby fat puffed out adorably as she spoke with her head down. Watching her, Fu Erqiu suddenly felt a tingling in her fingertips, a mischievous itch to reach out and pinch that soft face.

The thought lasted only a moment—but even then, Fu Erqiu had a strong sense the texture would be just as she imagined.

She accepted the notebook but didn’t look at it right away. Instead, she closed it and set it on her desk, then stood up calmly. “I’m going to the restroom.”

“Oh.” Su Chunyin watched her leave, then slumped onto her desk, discouraged. She wanted to ask, “Should we go together?”—but among girls, that kind of suggestion often implied closeness. Did she and Fu Erqiu have that kind of relationship?

Su Chunyin stared blankly at the desk. With the new class arrangement, everyone around her was still full of excitement—some chatting with new seatmates, others catching up with old friends.

When Fu Erqiu didn’t come back for a while, Su Chunyin started aimlessly scanning the classroom. Looking to the front, she saw Song Rao flipping through a newly acquired novel with her desk partner. Turning left, she saw Li Zihan and a few girls chatting and laughing. Then she glanced to the back—