The Slip Into the Pool Chapter 1

"Yes, it's him."

Max Ye had just taken a sip of water when Owen Zhou, who was standing next to him, nudged him with his elbow.

He squinted his eyes and looked out through the glass window of the store. He saw a tall boy in a white T-shirt and black pants carrying mineral water from a truck. He stacked three boxes together and carried them up effortlessly into the store.

Max Ye stuck out his tongue and licked the water stains on his lips, and asked irrelevantly: "Emily Sun... do you want to sit in the passenger seat of a truck and laugh?"

Owen Zhou was stunned for a moment, then he slammed the table and said, "How can that be possible? This guy is from the next class, doing odd jobs here to earn money, not a formal porter."

Max Ye followed the boy who was moving things, watching him put three boxes of heavy objects on the ground, open the boxes neatly, and stack the mineral water on the shelf with two bottles in each hand. It was hot at noon, but he didn't seem to sweat much, unlike the boys in the school who would sweat on their backs after walking around the playground, and their clothes would stick to their bodies and become dirty.

After taking another sip of mineral water, Max Ye smacked his lips and asked with a frown, "Is he from our school?"

"Yeah, didn't I say that? He's a top student from the Normal University High School. He just transferred here this semester. For the scholarship, they said that if he gets into Peking University or Tsinghua University, the school will give him a six-digit reward." Owen Zhou spat, "It's not easy for the school leaders to save this little bit of face. Last month, he was reported for working outside the school. Guess what? He was shelved by the teaching staff because it didn't affect his attendance rate. I finally understand that school rules and regulations are bullSh!t in front of such a tyrant."

Owen Zhou was very resentful towards that boy. The reason was simple: the girl named Emily Sun, whom Owen Zhou had been pursuing recently, had eaten his breakfast for 49 days, then twisted her fingers and rejected him, saying, "I'm sorry, I already have someone I like."

Owen Zhou went berserk on the spot and asked who Emily Sun liked. He immediately went to find his good friend Max Ye and threatened to beat that guy up.

Max Ye was not in a hurry. He drank the water slowly and knocked the bottom of the empty bottle on the table: "Let me ask you, is that guy dating Emily Sun?"

Owen Zhou shook his head: "Not yet."

"Then why did you call me here?"

Owen Zhou was so angry just now that he grabbed Max Ye anxiously. Now he was confused and scratched his hair, unable to remember why he called him over.

Max Ye was defeated by his friend's EQ and curled his lips: "That is to say, Emily Sun likes him unilaterally, and you like Emily Sun unilaterally, then you still have a chance."

"But..." Owen Zhou was speechless.

Max Ye stood up and knocked his wooden head with a half-empty mineral water bottle: "But what is it? Two options. Either you fight hard to get her back, or you give in and chase after another girl. I'll flip a coin to make the decision for you?"

As he spoke, he reached into his trouser pocket, but was held down by Owen Zhou. He said shyly, "I can do this myself... I can do it myself."

Max Ye threw away the empty bottle, patted his but.t and stood up: "I'm leaving first, please help me block Lao Sun's class this afternoon."

Owen Zhou got anxious and stood up: "Where are you going? I don't have the courage to attend Mr. Sun's class. Last time, I almost got my parents called in."

Max Ye took out the car keys from his pocket and tossed them twice in his hand: "Who borrowed my car yesterday? Ryan Liu or Dylan Zhao..."

Owen Zhou hurriedly raised his hand and compromised with a bitter face: "It's me, it's me. I've made an appointment with Emily Sun to go to the outskirts of Beijing next week. I'll block her for you, as many times as you want."

Max Ye was satisfied. He held the car keys, punched Owen Zhou on the shoulder, and comforted him: "I say, since Emily Sun has accepted your invitation, it means you still have a chance. Try harder and don't lose heart."

The mineral water in the small supermarket was very bitter. Max Ye still felt uncomfortable in his mouth when he reached the door. He turned a corner and prepared to escape through the back door of the school. His eyes inadvertently passed through the glass window of the supermarket and caught a glimpse of Owen Zhou, his love rival, who was still moving things.

Max Ye had good eyesight and could clearly see the strong and smooth lines of his arms under his short sleeves from a long distance. A girl was talking to him, and he lowered his head slightly to the side, revealing his high nose bridge and naturally curved thin lips.

Max Ye tasted it and thought, he doesn't look like a top student at all.

There was a small side door at the back door that was only wide enough for one person to pass through. The security guard was dozing off inside during the lunch break. Max Ye stepped out with familiarity and bumped into the real academic master, class monitor Leo Liao, who was parking his bicycle.

The No. 6 Middle School where Max Ye is located can barely be considered a key school in the district. In response to the country's call to give priority to quality and let a hundred flowers bloom, its students include those who are enrolled through the national unified enrollment system and those who are admitted with funds raised, as well as those who are invited with scholarships like Leo Liao. Their main role is to keep up appearances and ensure that after the college entrance examination every year, the school can happily hang up a banner that reads "Congratulations to student XX for being admitted to a well-known university."

The students and parents who attend this school do so for money or profit, but Max Ye is different. He attends this school because it is close to home.

For example, now, he can walk out the back door in fifteen minutes to his doorstep, which is much closer than that damn international school. He can have three meals a day at home and take time to sleep more. In addition, the school management is neither strict nor loose, and the pace is slow and comfortable. When Max Ye, who was promoted to high school, argued with his father and failed, he became unreasonable and insisted on going to No. 6 Middle School, crying and making a fuss, because he felt that he could not find a place better suitable for him than No. 6 Middle School.

However, even the most perfect place has its flaws, such as being assigned to a monitor who is more responsible than the head teacher. Leo Liao, nicknamed Liao Baoyuan, spends almost all his time and energy on caring about the lives of his classmates, in addition to studying himself and assisting the teacher to encourage his classmates to study. He even remembers when the girls in the class have their periods and takes the initiative to ask for leave for them during physical education classes. He is a dedicated person.

But for the rebellious boys and girls of 17 or 18 years old, this characteristic of his is very annoying. For example, at this moment, Leo Liao locked the car, looked at Max Ye clearly, and ran to him with a book in his arms: "Student Ye, where are you going? There are three minutes left before the bell rings."

The back door was narrow and sparsely populated, and one could see the end at a glance. Max Ye simply didn't hide and lied, "I'm going back to get a book. I need it this afternoon."

Liao Yi said solemnly, "Which book did you forget to bring? Physics or biology? I'll go to next door to borrow it for you."

Max Ye almost rolled his eyes, but smiled: "I didn't bring any. It's okay, don't bother. I borrowed Emily Sun's notebook yesterday and left it at home. If I don't go back to get it, she might kill me this afternoon."

Leo Liao pushed his glasses and said, "Is that so? Then you should go and come back soon. I will borrow the chemistry notes from Cheng from the next class this afternoon and make a copy for you. You dropped five places in the quiz last week."

Max Ye didn't know any classmate Cheng, so he was in a hurry to leave. He thanked the class monitor with a smile, turned around and ran away after dealing with him.

Because Owen Zhou's relationship problems delayed him for some time, Max Ye didn't drive today. Fortunately, he had long arms and legs and could run fast, so he still had time to go to the store to pick up the flowers and cake he had ordered in the morning.

When they got home, mother Laura Luo was about to take a nap. Seeing her son coming back, she immediately put on her coat, told her aunt to take out the fresh milk squares that had just been put in the refrigerator, and pulled Max Ye to sit at the table: "It's been ready in the morning, and I've been waiting for you to come back. Come on, eat it, or it will be stale if you leave it out for a while."

Laura Luo spoke softly, like a gentle breeze, blowing away some of Max Ye's irritability caused by his father's absence. He picked up a small square of fresh milk and threw it into his mouth, chewing and praising: "It's delicious."

Laura Luo smiled gently: "You, I told you not to rush back at noon, the same applies to the evening."

Max Ye patted the cake box and said, "By evening, the flowers and cakes will no longer be fresh."

There were no numbers on the birthday candles, and others could not tell that Laura Luo was already 40 years old. She clasped her hands together, rested her chin on the back of her hands, closed her eyes and made a wish. The midday sun fell on her, as if she was covered with a layer of delicate and hazy halo.

Max Ye narrowed his eyes, and in a trance, time went back. The woman in the white dress in front of him turned back into the girl in the old photo, ignorant and naive, and unworldly. Only the gentleness between her eyebrows and eyes remained the same as before.

Since he had asked Owen Zhou for help, Max Ye naturally would not go to school in the afternoon.

He didn't drive. Instead, he took out the dusty bicycle from the garage, wiped it roughly, and rode out the door.

The phone in his pocket was set with navigation. He followed the voice instructions in the headphones, turning left and right. When he saw the house number of Yulin Community in the distance, he stepped on the brakes to slow down.

Max Ye had never been to this place. He occasionally passed by it while driving but was too lazy to take a look. Several gray five-story buildings were crowded together. A preliminary estimate was that there were at least three hundred families living in them, but the area was less than half the size of the Ye family's villa garden in the suburbs of Beijing. Max Ye sneered contemptuously, thinking that such a shabby house could actually house a beautiful woman. The old man was really amazing.

There was no security guard at the gate of the community, so Max Ye rode all the way in. The so-called building numbers of the old buildings had long been worn out by wind and sun. Max Ye asked an old man who was walking downstairs, and only then did he learn that Building 3 was the one in front of him.

Max Ye looked up, but could see nothing except the colorful clothes drying on the balconies of each house.

The weather in late summer and early autumn was still a little hot. The old man fanned himself and looked up along his line of sight: "Which one are you looking at, young man?"

The uncovered trash can downstairs gave off the stench of rotting food. Max Ye subconsciously frowned, shook his head and said "just take a look", then turned his bike around and headed towards the gate of the community.

After riding for less than 20 meters, Max Ye turned back, supported himself on one foot, raised his chin slightly, used a haughty expression to cover up his inner uneasiness, and asked the old man standing there: "Excuse me, is there a woman named Cheng in this building?"