16. Make up for regrets

Soon, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan arrived at the principal's office.

As they entered, they saw that the room was packed with teachers, so full that there weren't enough seats for everyone, with half of them standing.

"Come, Zi Chen, let me introduce you."

"This is your homeroom teacher, Mr. Guan Feng."

"This is your math teacher, Mr. Bai Yuanhe."

"This is your physics teacher..."

Seeing Lin Zichen come in, Principal Chen immediately got up and walked over, enthusiastically introducing him to the various subject teachers of the class.

The class he was placed in was a top class. From the first year of junior high, they had to learn physics and chemistry and even had additional competition courses, making the learning intensity very high.

"Zi Chen, the school has high hopes for you. We hope that in the next three years, you can bring countless honors to the school."

After introducing the teachers, Principal Chen patted Lin Zichen on the shoulder, expressing his great expectations for him.

He then let Lin Zichen have a good talk with each of the subject teachers, while he turned to continue talking with his parents.

In another corner, Shen Qinghan's family sat ignored, feeling out of place and barely noticeable throughout the entire meeting.

Shen Jianye and Xu Meng were quite worried about this.

Their daughter was smart and beautiful, but compared to Lin Zichen, who was currently the center of attention, she seemed too ordinary, even inconspicuous.

With such a big gap, the two children would gradually drift apart sooner or later, until they belonged to two different worlds.

What should they do?

Unlike her parents, Shen Qinghan had never thought about these problems. She just thought that Lin Zichen was very impressive, and as his closest childhood friend, she felt extremely proud.

Look, this boy is not only handsome but also excels in both arts and sports, exceptionally outstanding.

You may not believe it, but he is my childhood friend, oh, we've grown up together, and our relationship is super, super close.

Are you guys jealous?

...

Lin Zichen didn't have much to talk about with the teachers.

Because by that time, he had already self-studied all the middle and high school courses, and had even completed advanced mathematics.

With the help of "Heavenly Roots," he had learned all of them to a very high level.

Take math, for example, he could easily achieve perfect scores on every test.

Thus, Lin Zichen merely exchanged pleasantries with each of the subject teachers to familiarize himself with them, then quickly found an excuse to leave with Shen Qinghan.

After the two children left,

Lin Yansheng noticed the awkwardness of Shen Jianye and Xu Meng in the corner and realized he had been neglectful.

He had been so engrossed in conversation with the principal that he had forgotten about his two friends.

Once he realized this, he immediately took the initiative to steer the conversation towards his friends, telling the various subject teachers, "Everyone, our Xiao Chen and their Han Han are the best of friends. They have promised to attend the same high school and university since they were young. I hope you can pay extra attention to these two kids."

Zhang Wanxin heard this and added, "Xiao Chen has always been stubborn since he was a child. If he says he will do something, he will definitely do it. He and Han Han have agreed to go to high school and university together. Even if Han Han underperformed and could only go to a more ordinary school, that child would surely follow. Please, teachers, take care of them."

Principal Chen was a shrewd man and understood their meaning. He immediately smiled at the teachers and said, "As teachers of the class, you must pay more attention to the two children. Don't let them fall behind in their studies."

After speaking, he proactively approached Shen Jianye and his wife to chat cordially and learn about Shen Qinghan's situation.

Seeing this, the other teachers also started to converse with Shen Jianye and Xu Meng.

Shen Jianye and Xu Meng felt honored by the attention and glanced toward Lin Yansheng and Zhang Wanxin, mentally noting the kindness of their two friends.

...

The school playground.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan sat on the grass.

They watched the coming and going of students, greatly enjoying the tranquility of the moment.

Soon, they too would become students at this school, spending three years of middle school here.

"Xiao Chen, look over there, there's a badminton court, and it just so happens my dad has a pair of rackets in his car. Want to go play badminton?"

"Sure."

The two hit it off instantly and immediately headed back to the principal's office to get the keys from Shen Jianye, then took the badminton rackets from the car.

Next, they made their way to the badminton court.

"Xiao Chen, we're in such good luck. There's one last empty court left, and we got it!" Shen Qinghan said excitedly.

Seeing her so overjoyed, Lin Zichen couldn't help feeling a little envious.

This girl is so easily satisfied. A small piece of good fortune could make her joy soar.

"Xiao Chen, watch my 'Fairy Curveball'!"

"Xiao Chen, I have another move, the 'Magical Girl Deceptive Ball'!"

"Xiao Chen, don't be too smug, you certainly won't catch my 'Celestial Flower Scattering Ball'!"

On the court, Shen Qinghan was like a child who refused to grow up, constantly shouting out all sorts of childish moves, her delicate face brimming with a radiant smile.

Lin Zichen was amused by Shen Qinghan's childishness and found her inexplicably cute.

Just when the two were having a blast, two older boys who hadn't found an empty court walked into theirs without a word.

These two boys said nothing, just came in and started playing with their own shuttlecock, utterly ignoring Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan as if they didn't exist.

"What are you doing? We are already playing badminton here!" Shen Qinghan said, looking at them with displeasure.

However, those two boys totally disregarded her.

Especially the buzz-cut boy on the same side of the court as her, who directly retorted:

"Tch, if you want to play, play. If not, move aside and cool off."

This was a blatant act of court-crashing, particularly common in elementary and junior high schools.

Some of the older students would often use their age and larger size to bully their way into courts for basketball, badminton, or table tennis when they couldn't find an open one, displacing the younger students.

Lin Zichen had seen plenty of this behavior during his school days in his past life.

Back then, he lacked the power to stop it, either keeping out of it or, when it happened to him, sucking it up.

But, times had changed.

It was time to make up for the regrets of his youth.

Thinking this, Lin Zichen seized the opportunity. When the shuttlecock was hit over from the opposite side, he swiftly stepped in and struck the incoming shuttlecock, sending it flying out of bounds!

With this strike, he had held back, using less than ten percent of his strength.

Yet, the shuttlecock instantly flew dozens of meters away, taking who knows how long before gently touching the ground.

Seeing this exaggerated scene, the two boys who'd come to crash the court were stunned.

Lin Zichen, holding his racket, pointed at them and emotionlessly asked, "Are you still playing?"

The two boys shivered at his words, looking at Lin Zichen as if he was a monster, and quickly left without a word.

Lin Zichen picked up his shuttlecock and, with a gentle voice, smiled at Shen Qinghan across the court:

"Han Han, let's continue."

"Oh, oh, continue."

Shen Qinghan, having recovered, agreed and picked up her racket to continue playing badminton with Lin Zichen.

She too had been shocked by what just happened.

But remembering that Lin Zichen has incapacitated two adults in an alley back when he was just a second-grader, she quickly started to take it for granted.

...

PS: Bowls up, seeking monthly and recommendation tickets!