Chapter 2 The Lonely One

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The classroom’s ceiling fans spun rapidly, barely dispelling the summer’s stuffy heat, but the students’ inner agitation steadily increased.

The half-month-long National Foundation Day holiday was approaching, and less than two minutes remained until the last class ended.

Most students in Class 5 of the second year of high school were already packing their bags or looking out the window, as the “cultural class” currently underway seemed unimportant to them.

However,

a male student whose desk was against the wall was still listening attentively, his gaze quickly flitting between the blackboard and his notebook, trying to record as much of the content as possible.

Ring! Ring!

The dismissal bell rang.

The restless students left the classroom in groups of three or five, their hurried steps mixed with sprints, as if they were afraid of being left behind at school.

The male student only began to leisurely pack his books after ensuring that all his notes were completely copied.

Just then,

a shadow spread, attaching itself to and covering his desk.

The male student instinctively clenched his fists and quickly turned around.

What met his eyes were a pair of female hands resting lightly on the edge of the desk.

Looking up along the fair but somewhat muscular arms, a gentle and familiar smiling face quickly disarmed the male student’s guard.

The owner of the shadow was Wu Wen, the current class monitor of Class 5, second year of high school.

Her height of 1.7 meters and almost perfect body proportions, coupled with today’s high ponytail, immediately showed that she was extremely good at sports.

Today was the eve of the holiday, so there was no need to wear school uniforms.

Class Monitor Wu was wearing a casual summer tracksuit, a white T-shirt with a light-colored sun protection jacket over it, and close-fitting sports shorts and white shoes on her lower half.

After confirming the class monitor’s identity, the male student lowered his guard and continued to put away his books.

“Hey, Luo Di, I’m planning to go out for two days in the middle of the holiday. Are you free?”

“No.”

The class monitor, who was directly rejected, did not give up. Instead, she leaned closer and lowered her voice,

“It’s not ‘playing’. My family used their connections to get an early ‘practical experience’ opportunity. You know what this is; if successful, it will be recorded in our personal files, which helps with next year’s Advancement exam.”

Luo Di did not respond immediately, continuing to put away his books.

The class monitor waited patiently.

Only after the last book was put away did he finally speak, “Who else is going?”

“If you’re included, there will be four people in total.

This includes a guy from our class who took leave, and a friend of mine from outside school – she’s a girl, by the way. Two boys and two girls, a balance of yin and yang.

Don’t worry, they are all top students with excellent sports performance; they definitely won’t hold you back.”

Early practical experience was a very rare opportunity, so Luo Di nodded and agreed.

The class monitor extended her arm in front of him, almost filling his entire vision, and pointed to the flexible metal bracelet on her wrist.

“For the practical experience, we’re estimated to depart in seven days. However, I’ll call you the day before departure to arrange for everyone to meet up once beforehand, and then we’ll go together to purchase the necessary supplies for the practical experience.”

“Okay.”

Just then, the school’s broadcast announcement coincidentally rang out.

“All teachers and students are requested to swipe their cards and leave the school within fifteen minutes. The school will conduct a comprehensive inspection before the holiday. Those who do not leave on time will be given a demerit and sent to the school medical office for a comprehensive examination.”

“Luo Di, want to race? See who can run to the school gate first?”

“No.”

The class monitor, already in a running stance, could only sigh, “Oh, alright.”

The two walked one after another on campus. No matter how eagerly the class monitor waved her hand in front, Luo Di always maintained a normal walking speed, as if he had already calculated the time in his mind and wasn’t worried about being left inside the school.

When he walked out of the school gate, the class monitor was already sitting in an expensive private car.

Luo Di could vaguely feel someone observing him from inside the car, but he seemed to have long been accustomed to such gazes and paid no mind to them.

He then boarded the familiar public bus, taking the window seat in the last row. Just as he was about to take a nap, a loud, special broadcast echoed through the bus compartment.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Three high-frequency, ear-splitting alert tones sounded first, emphasizing the importance of the broadcast content.

“Tomorrow marks the annual National Foundation Day, and all citizens will enjoy a fifteen-day holiday. A special reminder: while enjoying your holiday, please strictly adhere to the ‘National Corner Safety Law’.

Those designated as regional service providers during the holiday period are requested to fulfill their duties, and corresponding holiday compensation will be provided later.

Citizens traveling during the holiday must obey the corner law of different regions.

Those who need to go to the suburbs are requested to make necessary preparations in advance, present a health check certificate before leaving the city, and undergo a comprehensive psychological examination upon returning to the urban area.”

The first part of the broadcast was played in Russian.

Although Luo Di was of Huaxia Country nationality, he could fully understand it, as Russian was included in the compulsory cultural courses.

Subsequent broadcasts were played in four other versions: Chinese, English, German, and Italian.

According to Luo Di’s original plan, he would stay at home for the entire holiday, but now he needed to change it for the “practical experience.”

“Thirteenth Resettlement Community has arrived. The doors will close in ten seconds.”

After Luo Di got off the bus with his backpack, he quickly walked to the deepest part of the Xiaoqu (residential complex), where his home was located.

On the shoe cabinet at the entrance hung a photo of a family of four.

Besides his parents, Luo Di also had an older sister.

However, there was a letter left on the shoe cabinet, stating that his parents had already taken his sister on vacation. This year’s National Foundation Day would be spent by him, the busy high school student, looking after the house.

Luo Di did not complain; instead, he was very happy.

He liked being alone at home the most; traveling was actually a very painful experience for him.

He took frozen beef and green peppers from the refrigerator and steamed two large steamed buns.

While cooking, Luo Di also took out a beautifully packaged disc and a metal dumbbell marked 25kg from his bedroom, placing them in the living room area in advance.

Buzz!

The TV turned on, and the disc player loaded.

The movie title “Friday the 13th Part III” appeared on the LCD screen, and the BGM from the previous era began to play.

Luo Di held a steamed bun with shredded green pepper and beef in one hand and a dumbbell in the other.

Each bite corresponded to one dumbbell curl.

And throughout the entire eating and exercising process, Luo Di never took his eyes off the screen, even though he had watched this movie no less than thirty times.

That’s right.

He had liked these types of movies since he was a child, especially being fascinated by the characters in them.

Unlike Class Monitor Wu and others who had systematic specialized training,

Luo Di did not receive any guidance during non-class hours. He simply wanted to achieve a physique like the movie characters, training his body in the most routine way.

Dumbbells, weighted squats, push-ups, and night runs of over ten kilometers every evening were his training regimen.

He believed that as long as he persevered, he would one day acquire a physique similar to the Murderer in the movies.