The first day of senior year at Yunjiang High started with a scream. Not mine. Tang Tang's. "Shen Xingruo! We're desk mates with _him_!" Tang Tang hissed, shoving her phone in my face.
The school forum was already exploding: `Devil King Lu Jingchen x Top Student Shen Xingruo — same desk?! RIP Xingruo #DeskMateSaga` I stared at the seat in the back row by the window. My name tag, printed neat and innocent. Right next to his — scratched in black marker, like he owned it. Lu Jingchen. Three characters that made every girl in Year 3 either swoon or run.
"Great," I muttered, dropping my bag. "Just great." Lu Jingchen hadn't shown up yet. His reputation had. Three detentions last semester. Zero homework submissions. Captain of the basketball team that won nationals. And that black Ducati that woke up the entire dorm block at 2 AM when he snuck back in. "Move my desk," I told Tang Tang. "You can't. Coach Lin Zhao assigned it. Said 'top student should influence the problem student'." She winced. "Sorry, bestie. I tried. He just said 'Shen Xingruo can handle him or nobody can'." Coach Lin Zhao. Ex-national player, now our PE teacher. Also the only adult Lu Jingchen didn't cuss out. If he assigned it, it was final.
The back door slammed. Every head turned. Lu Jingchen walked in, uniform jacket tied around his waist, white T-shirt riding up when he stretched. Basketball under one arm, helmet in the other hand. Dark hair, bored eyes, and a fresh cut on his eyebrow that was definitely not from basketball. He scanned the room, saw me, and stopped. "Tch." That was it. Just one sound. Then he stalked to our desk, dropped his helmet on my half with a _thud_, and slumped into the chair. "That's my space," I said. He didn't look at me. Pulled out earbuds, put them in, and kicked his feet up on the desk. His sneakers were inches from my new calculus textbook. Size 45. Scuffed. Probably kicked someone with them yesterday.
I shoved his feet off. Hard. His eyes snapped to me. Cold. Amused. Dangerous. "Touch me again, Top Student, and you'll regret it." "Touch your dirty shoes again? No thanks. There's a hygiene rule for a reason, Bad Boy." Someone gasped. Tang Tang mouthed '_you're gonna die_' from two rows up. Lu Jingchen just smirked. He leaned in, close enough that I smelled mint gum and motor oil.
"You talk a lot for someone who's about to fail PE." "I don't fail." I shoved his helmet back to his side. It fell off the desk and clattered. The whole class went silent. Jiang Wanyue, sitting in the front row with her perfect posture and violin case, turned around. She looked at me, then at Lu Jingchen, then back at me. Her expression didn't change, but her fingers tightened on her pen.
Everyone knew she'd dated Lu Jingchen for three months last year. Everyone also knew he dumped her by text. But it's said that she spreads the rumors of dating Lu Jingchen.Coach Lin Zhao chose that moment to walk in. Whistle around his neck, clipboard in hand, built like the trophies lining his office. He took one look at us, then at the helmet on the floor. "Lu Jingchen. Shen Xingruo. My office. Now." Lu Jingchen stood, slow and lazy, grabbed his basketball, and spun it on his finger. "After you, _desk mate_." I grabbed my books and followed him out, ignoring Tang Tang's thumbs-up and the whispers. As we passed the door, I saw Gu Yanche in the hallway. Violin case on his back, two breakfast buns in his hands. My childhood friend. He frowned when he saw who I was with, then lifted one bun in question. I shook my head. Not now.
In the hall, Lu Jingchen walked ahead, bouncing the ball. I kept two steps behind. "Why do you hate me?" I blurted before I could stop myself. He stopped bouncing. Didn't turn around. "I don't hate you, Shen Xingruo." Then he looked over his shoulder, eyes sharp under the messy hair. "I just don't like people who think they're better than me." He tossed the basketball. I flinched, but he caught it one-handed before it hit my face. "Welcome to senior year, Top Student," he said, and walked into Coach Lin's office without waiting.
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Coach Lin's office smelled like old basketballs and disinfectant. A half-dead cactus sat by the window — probably the only thing Lu Jingchen hadn't killed in this school. Coach Lin sat down, folded his arms, and looked between us like we were two stray cats he found fighting. "One day. You two lasted _one day_ before causing problems." "He put his shoes on my textbook," I said first, arms crossed. "She pushed me," Lu Jingchen countered, still spinning his basketball. "Violent behavior, Coach. Very un-top-student-like." "Your helmet was on my side of the desk." "Your face was on my side of the world. Still is."
"Enough," Coach Lin snapped. His whistle hit the desk with a crack. "Jingchen, you're on probation. One more fight and you're benched for nationals. Xingruo, you're his study partner. Official." "What?!" I choked. "I didn't agree to that." "You don't get to agree. Your test scores are top of the year. His are bottom of the barrel." Coach Lin pointed at Lu Jingchen. "You want to play? She gets you passing grades. Every week."
Lu Jingchen stopped spinning the ball. _Thump_. He caught it, finally looking at me like I was a real person and not a fly buzzing around his helmet. "And if I refuse?" he asked, voice low. "Then your Ducati stays locked in the school garage until graduation." That got him. His jaw ticked. Everyone knew Lu Jingchen lived on that bike. He skipped class to ride. Snuck out to race. "Fine," he said, standing up. "Come on, Top Student. Let's go study." He said _study_ like it was a curse word. "I have class," I shot back. "Skip it." He walked out, not waiting for permission.
Coach Lin just sighed and waved me off. "Try not to kill each other before lunch. And Jingchen — behave. Your brother's watching." Brother? I froze. Right. Lu Yanze. The other highschool heartthrob. Stepbrothers, same grade, different mothers. Lu Yanze was the calm one. Point guard. Student council. Girls called him "Cold Moon" and Lu Jingchen "Wild Wolf".
I found Lu Jingchen leaning against the hallway wall, earbuds back in. When he saw me, he pulled one out. "Rules," he said, tossing me the basketball suddenly. I caught it on instinct, nearly dropping it. "One. Don't touch my bike hmm... just in case. Two. Don't tell me what to do. Three. Don't fall in love with me." I almost laughed. "Confident much?" "Just experienced." He smirked, pushing off the wall. "Your boyfriend Gu Yanche's not gonna like this arrangement." "He's not my boyfriend," I said, too fast. Lu Jingchen noticed. His smirk widened. "Good." He started walking toward the stairs. "Library. Now. If I'm failing, you're failing with me." "Wait—" I jogged to keep up, still holding his stupid basketball. "Why do you even care about passing? You've never cared before."
He stopped at the top of the stairwell. For a second, the bad boy mask slipped. His eyes went to the window, to the sports field where the team was already running drills. Hao Zixuan waved at him, then saw me and nearly tripped. Lu Jingchen didn't wave back. "Because if I'm benched, I lose the only thing I'm good at," he said quietly. Then the mask was back. "And because Coach will actually lock up my bike. That thing costs more than your entire scholarship." He took the basketball from my hands, fingers brushing mine. "Try to keep up, Shen Xingruo." And he ran down the stairs two at a time, leaving me standing there, heart pounding for a reason that had nothing to do with running.
Outside the stairwell window, a black car pulled up to the school gate. Xu Fang climbed out, captain of Deqiu High's team. Lu Jingchen's rival. He looked up, right at our window, and his expression went dark when he saw me. The boy was going to ruin my life.