I was born and listened to my neighbor's older sister talk about her family of origin.

Lin Youxun looked embarrassed by Lin Xinghe's sudden request.

"Xinghe, stop fooling around."

She felt that Lin Xinghe had been acting strangely these past two days, as if she was deliberately trying to get her close to Jiang Ye.

Doesn't she really dislike him?

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ye readily agreed.

"Okay."

Lin Youxun: "But..."

Jiang Ye turned to look at her: "Lin Youxun, there are only two girls, and the test is about to start. Are you planning to abandon me as your deskmate and just find any boy to do the leg stretches?"

Lin Youxun glanced at the boys with restless eyes not far away and was immediately speechless.

Indeed, she had a better feeling about Jiang Ye than about other boys.

The PE teacher glanced at the time, frowned, and waved his hand: "Alright, alright, hurry up, we're dismissed after the test. Jiang Ye, you're in a group with Lin Youxun, everyone else, get moving!"

Since the teacher had spoken, Lin Youxun couldn't say anything more.

He Xiangnan's eyes kept darting between Jiang Ye and Lin Youxun, and then he stared at Lin Xinghe several times.

He wouldn't believe a word of it if there was nothing between them!

And you still say you're just acquaintances?!

Jiang Ye, you're not a brother at all!

He Xiangnan silently raised his middle finger at Jiang Ye.

Unfortunately, he didn't see it; he had already walked with Lin Youxun to the mat on the side.

Lin Xinghe declined the other boys' offers and silently sat down under the shade of a tree not far away, limping, and watched the scene unfold with her knees drawn up to her chest.

She didn't show any expression, but she was actually furious inside.

She... she actually handed her own sister over to someone else?!

Even though she had already made up her mind, Lin Xinghe immediately felt a thousand regrets.

"that……"

On the other side, Lin Youxun looked at Jiang Ye with a slightly uneasy expression.

"Thank you for your help."

Jiang Ye walked directly to the other end of the mat and squatted down: "You can lie down, I'll hold you down."

Lin Youxun lay flat on the mat with her legs bent.

Jiang Ye placed his hands on the back of her feet.

The boy's palms were large and warm; even through the fabric of his sneakers, you could still feel the heat.

Lin Youxun's cheeks flushed slightly, and she held her head in her hands.

"Ready, go!"

The teacher started the stopwatch.

Lin Youxun's emotions began to fluctuate.

She wasn't very strong, and when she reached thirty reps, her speed noticeably slowed down, her breathing became heavy, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"Inhale, don't hold your breath."

Jiang Ye's voice came from above, steady and clear.

Use the strength of your waist and abdomen, don't strain your neck.

With his guidance and support, Lin Youxun gradually regained her rhythm.

Every time she got up, she could see Jiang Ye's face so close to hers.

His eyes were focused, and his hands were like two iron hoops, firmly nailed to her feet without the slightest tremor.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the trees beside the playground, casting dappled shadows on him.

Undeniably, this boy, who was only a few months older than her, possessed a maturity and reliability far beyond his years.

Lin Youxun's heart was beating very fast.

She couldn't tell if she was tired or for some other reason; she just felt that the sunlight was a bit too bright today.

"Time's up!"

The whistle blew.

Lin Youxun collapsed onto the mat, exhausted, panting heavily.

Jiang Ye let go, stood up, looked down at Lin Youxun who was still panting on the mat, and gave her a thumbs up.

"Forty-five, perfect score, not bad."

Upon hearing this, she gave him a genuine smile, one that seemed to come from the exhaustion of her strength.

After recovering from the exhaustion, Lin Youxun used the cushion to get up, but her legs were weak and her body swayed uncontrollably.

Jiang Ye instinctively reached out to help.

Just as he raised his arm, a very faint "click" sound came from the ground.

Both of them lowered their heads at the same time.

A small, flesh-colored creature was lying on the rough cement ground, its shell seemingly cracked open.

Lin Youxun's hand instinctively reached for her right ear.

empty.

She immediately picked up the little thing, patted it nervously, and put it back in her ear.

But all that could be heard from inside was a cacophony of crackling noises.

Her expression darkened, and she took it off again.

Jiang Ye watched her series of movements, his brow furrowing: "Did you break it?"

Lin Youxun held the small hearing aid in her hand, and it took her several seconds to belatedly realize what he had said.

She carefully placed the broken hearing aid into her school uniform pocket, nodded gently, and then reached out and, without much emotion, took off the intact hearing aid from her other ear and put it away as well.

On one side is noise, and on the other is deathly silence. That feeling of imbalance is more unbearable than not being able to hear anything at all.

The whole world fell silent instantly.

After the girls finished their tests, it was soon the boys' turn to be tested on pull-ups.

The PE teacher strode over, clearly wanting to see why they were dawdling, and looked at Jiang Ye.

"What's going on? Hurry up and leave after you're done with the test!"

The PE teacher was clearly not a mild-mannered person; his voice was impatient.

The other students, noticing the commotion, also turned their attention to this area.

Lin Youxun saw the PE teacher's mouth moving and also noticed the irritated expression on his face.

She opened her mouth, as if to say that nothing was wrong.

But he couldn't utter a single word.

When she can't hear her own voice, the tone of her voice changes.

Although she has adjusted very well over the years, it still sounds a little strange to outsiders.

She was ridiculed a lot because of this.

Even though she's much more relaxed now, she still finds it hard to say things when facing most people.

Lin Youxun's lips pressed into a straight line, and her hands, hanging at her sides, unconsciously clenched the seams of her school uniform trousers.

Just as Lin Youxun felt she was about to be pierced by those gazes, a figure appeared out of nowhere and blocked most of her view.

It's Jiang Ye.

He didn't turn around to look at her, but lazily met the PE teacher's impatient face: "Teacher, it's nothing."

The PE teacher looked him up and down, then glanced at Lin Youxun, but didn't think much of it.

Not every teacher can remember the details of every student in every class.

Especially teachers like physical education teachers who are chronically ill.

Since they'll get sick often anyway, why bother remembering the special circumstances of these fragile students?

Especially now that school has just started.

If there's anything, these students will definitely rush to tell him, so he doesn't need to remember it at all.

So he said gruffly, "Then hurry up, those who have finished the tests go to the other side and move around, don't stand here."

The boys, no longer caring about the excitement, were urged by him to run to the pull-up bar and begin taking the test one by one according to their student ID numbers.

The world remained deathly silent.

Lin Youxun watched as Jiang Ye turned around.

He didn't speak.

The empty wind on the playground and the noise of other students became a silent backdrop.

Then, Lin Youxun saw Jiang Ye raise his hand.

His fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles, and he made a series of sign language gestures in her field of vision.

—Keep your hearing aid safe. Just call me if you need any help.

He made a few more hand gestures, a casual smile on his lips, and his mouth movements matched the words.

—Shall I go ahead then?

Lin Youxun looked at him, somewhat dazed.

Based on her experience over the past few years, shouldn't this accident have followed an extremely boring and predictable trajectory?

The male classmate spoke up for her and explained to the teacher that her hearing aid was broken.

Then, the PE teacher would look at her with a strange gaze, perhaps with sympathy, perhaps with a softened expression, or perhaps with even more impatience.

Then, either because she delayed the course progress, or because of her special circumstances, she will no longer have to take the same courses as other students.

She didn't want either of them.

On the surface, Lin Youxun seemed not to care about being different from others, and appeared to have long been used to it.

But deep down, she had had enough.

Why are you looking at her with that strange gaze when you just can't hear clearly?

However, judging from the situation just now, Jiang Ye didn't seem to offer any explanation.

On the contrary, the physical education teacher left without any apparent reason.

This was the development she wanted, and something she had never expected.

Why would he do that?

But before she could think too much, Jiang Ye had already turned and run away.

They seemed completely unconcerned about whether she, a deaf person, would have any problems being here alone.