173: Do you even know how to pull?

December 25th, Christmas Day. There wasn't much of a festive atmosphere in Ancheng. Christmas Eve yesterday had already been localized to mean 'peaceful,' and Christmas Day... the birthday of a foreign religious figure?

Who cares.

Don't interfere with my review and ranking up!

With the Joint Exam at the end of the month approaching, the study atmosphere in grade 12 remained intense.

Thanks to the excellent networking skills of the No. 7 Middle School leadership, every monthly exam after entering grade 12 became a Joint Exam. Whether it was within the city, province, or outside the province, they always managed to collaborate with other high schools for a Joint Exam.

This also increased the scale and importance of the exams.

This exam was just a city-wide Joint Exam, so the difficulty wouldn't be too high. Since the Spring Festival was in mid-February, the Nine Provinces Joint Examination, a much larger event, would take place at the end of January, after New Year's Day.

But whether it was this city-wide Joint Exam or the Nine Provinces Joint Examination a month later, every exam was a good opportunity to test oneself and identify weaknesses. grade 12 students aiming for university would take them seriously.

December 29th and December 30th, two consecutive days of exams concluded.

On the morning of the 31st, results wouldn't be out today, and there was also the New Years Day Gala. For all students, it was a relaxed and pleasant day. Although they still had classes and studied, the atmosphere throughout the campus was very lighthearted.

The snow had stopped a few days ago, but there were still remnants on the eaves, lawns, and many deserted corners of the campus.

The weather was nice today, a rare warm winter sun. Because the temperature was too low, the recent extended break exercises had been canceled. The students of grade 12 class 7 leaned on the corridor railing on the second floor, sunbathing and discussing the New Years Day Gala that evening.

"Tonight, the liberal arts classes have a hot dance. I heard the girls are wearing black stockings and short skirts. Lin You, is this news reliable?" Class monitor Hu Yunfei pushed up his glasses.

The New Years Day Gala had already been rehearsed, and Lin You, as a representative for two programs, had indeed seen most of the performances.

"They don't wear performance costumes during rehearsals. It's a hot dance, but all I saw were long sleeves and long pants."

Chen Yang, beside him, gritted his teeth and said, "Heh, what right do you have to see black stockings and short skirts? You already have performances with Xie Xingmeng and Du Zhaoyu... Damn it, the more I think about it, the more upset I get. You really deserve to die, Lin You!"

After the rehearsals before the exam, the program list was finalized. All the programs were no longer a secret at No. 7 Middle School. Lin You and Xie Xingmeng singing and playing, and Lin You accompanying Du Zhaoyu's Guzheng with a sword dance... grade 12 class 7 boys had known about it for a long time. Fortunately, there were two days of exams as a buffer, otherwise, Lin You didn't know how much he would have been criticized to his face and behind his back.

Proper high schools don't select school beauties, and No. 7 Middle School, as a key high school, certainly doesn't popularize it. But the boys' group already had a good idea of which girls in their grade were beautiful.

Although there were pretty girls in other classes, no one would object to calling either Xie Xingmeng or Du Zhaoyu school-belle-level beauties.

Du Zhaoyu was already a prominent figure, and after entering grade 12, she firmly held the top spot in the grade. With numerous halos, she was the goddess in the hearts of most boys.

As for Xie Xingmeng, the boys of grade 12 class 7 were constantly exposed to her beauty, so her status was also extraordinary.

And Lin You? Although he had good grades, was good at sports, was handsome, and had even acted heroically, what right did he have... wait, he actually seemed qualified.

Thinking this, the boys in the grade 12 class 7 corridor felt even more upset!

The entire day's classes had a relaxed atmosphere, until the last free activity period, when Old Zhang came into the classroom to announce early dismissal. All students were to eat first, then gather at the school's sports field, and then depart in sequence for the nearby Ancheng Gymnasium.

Because all of grade 12 was participating this time, the number of people surged. The No. 7 Middle School auditorium couldn't accommodate all the teachers and students, so the New Years Day Gala venue was moved to the Ancheng Indoor Gymnasium, not far from the school, which was large enough for everyone.

Lin You returned alone to his neighborhood, had dinner at a small-dish restaurant outside the complex, and then went home to change into the Tang-style round-collar robe that Du Zhaoyu had bought for him.

The round-collar robe was moon-white and a bit thin, but Lin You wore thermal underwear underneath, so he wouldn't be cold. After looking in the mirror for a while, Lin You put on a classical-style single ponytail wig, and his demeanor immediately changed, transforming into a Tang Dynasty swordsman.

After Lin You finished dressing, he checked his phone. It was almost 5:30 PM, so he took his long sword out of the room and went to the living room, striking a pose facing the door at a 45-degree angle, with the tip of his sword pointing to the ground with one hand.

After waiting for a short while, Lin You heard the sound of the door lock opening, frowned slightly, and his expression immediately turned cold and weathered—recently, he had spent a lot of time online researching how swordsmen should look cool for his sword dance practice.

The moment Wang Huilin opened the door, she saw a young swordsman in white ancient attire, standing tall and straight, his left hand resting on his abdomen, his right hand holding a sword with the tip pointing to the ground, long hair falling over his shoulders, a perfect side profile, a slight frown, and cold, weathered eyes... What a battle-damaged young swordsman after a great war!

"Son, don't move yet, wait for me to take a picture and post it on Moments!"

...Five minutes later, Lin You hurriedly put on a long black down jacket, fled home, and escaped the fate of being posed and photographed by his mother, Wang Huilin, like a 1:1 scale figurine.

In short, Lin You had already made an appearance on Wang Huilin's Moments before even arriving at the New Years Day Gala venue.

Because the Ancheng Indoor Gymnasium was in another direction from the school, Lin You went downstairs and rode his electric scooter. If it weren't for the dim light, his ancient-modern combined outfit would definitely have turned heads.

Teachers and students watching the gala entered at 6:30 PM, and the gala officially began at 7:00 PM. Lin You parked his electric scooter and walked into the indoor gymnasium, following the signs to the backstage area.

The students were already lined up here according to their performance order. The opening act was a song and dance performance. Lin You and Du Zhaoyu's program was ranked third, which was quite early, while Lin You and Xie Xingmeng's program was ranked twenty-seventh out of a total of thirty-three programs.

Thanks to No. 7 Middle School for the assist!

According to the program order, Lin You and Du Zhaoyu needed to go backstage to prepare before the opening. After their performance, Lin You could go to his class's seating area to watch programs for over an hour, then return backstage before 9 PM to line up and prepare for the program with Xie Xingmeng.

So, even though Lin You had already confessed to both Du Zhaoyu and Xie Xingmeng about having another program, neither girl had attended the rehearsals due to exam preparations. At this moment, Lin You didn't have to endure the "agony" of them meeting.

"Where's that Xie Xingmeng from your class?" Du Zhaoyu's first words upon meeting made Lin You's heart skip a beat.

Lin You, without batting an eye, calmly replied, "My program with her is twenty-seventh. She won't be backstage this early to prepare."

"Oh... I was thinking of getting to know her." Du Zhaoyu had seen the program list, so of course she knew where Lin You's other program was ranked.

Months ago, when the basketball game started, Du Zhaoyu already knew that as Lin You performed more and more brilliantly, he would attract the favor of many members of the opposite sex.

But she was very confident in herself, and now she was just gently testing Lin You.

Lin You's heart pounded, but he forced a casual smile on his face, "What a coincidence, which girl in the grade doesn't want to be friends with Du Zhaoyu? Xie Xingmeng from our class also really wants to meet you."

Du Zhaoyu thought for a moment, then shook her head, "Still... let's not. I'm not used to making friends so awkwardly."

See? See? See? Little Mengmeng, I didn't lie to you at all! Xiao Yu'er, who is so popular, only has Su Wenwen as a close girl friend in grade 12 class 1. Isn't this the reason?!

"Ah? I even promised Xie Xingmeng I'd introduce you two? What a pity."

Hearing this, Du Zhaoyu looked a little embarrassed. Although she wasn't interested in socializing with strangers, if it was a friend introduced by Lin You, she could accept it.

"Is that so? If you promised, then..."

Lin You's heart suddenly raced. Xiao Yu'er, why aren't you playing by the rules? Do you even know how to play hard to get?

Which wave did you play hard to get?

"Forget it, forget it. Xiao Yu'er, just be yourself, I support you! I'll help you decline Xie Xingmeng later."