In the third year of high school, I exchanged bodies with Yukinoshita

"Are you satisfied like this? Just looking at him makes you satisfied, and you don't want to go any further." Yan Meng changed her previous playful tone and suddenly asked Li Shu seriously.

Li Shu looked at Yan Meng and answered seriously, "It's good like this, there's no need to change anything." His tone began to turn relaxed, "Besides, we're already in the third year of high school, so Master shouldn't be thinking about falling in love. Preparing for the exam is what we should do. I think Master is in a good state today, and I don't want to disturb him."

"It's up to you. After all, this is your own business. I can only give you advice." Yan Meng's tone became more serious. "We have been classmates for two years. I know your temper. You just take everything too seriously. Sometimes it's better to follow your feelings. We are only young once if we act impulsively. Sometimes, not trying is more regrettable than failing."

Li Shu opened his mouth to say something, but Fang Xuan, who was standing beside him, already sensed that the atmosphere was a little off, and said jokingly, "I'm going to act impulsively and have some duck neck rice today."

Yan Meng also realized that her tone was a bit harsh, and followed Fang Xuan's direction to change the subject. "Let's not do this. Some attempts are unnecessary."

The three of them finished their meal in the cafeteria and sat down to eat. The two girls asked Fang Xuan to go back first, and they went to the school supermarket to buy some drinks.

"I'm sorry, my tone was a bit harsh just now." Yan Meng sincerely apologized to Li Shu.

"It doesn't matter. But there's one thing I must emphasize: I really don't like Master."

Chapter 4: It is easy to avoid open love, but difficult to prevent secret love

Fang Xuan returned to the classroom and saw Zuo Yu sitting in his seat, looking somewhat annoyed. It seemed that his afternoon sleep had been unsuccessful. He walked over to Zuo Yu and teased, "You really can't sleep at your age." Then he saw Zuo Yu looking at him with a very cold gaze. If looks could kill, he would have died ten times over.

Yukinoshita lay on the table for more than ten minutes, not feeling sleepy at all, and a little angry with herself. Then Fang Xuan spoke to her in a teasing tone, and Fang Xuan unfortunately became the punching bag.

"Calm down, we can try it at night, no need to be so anxious." Zuo Yu suggested in his mind.

Yukinoshita also calmed down and apologized to Fang Xuan first. "I'm sorry, I'm not in a good mood today."

Fang Xuan didn't take it too seriously. "We're all buddies, why apologize? It's painful when you want to sleep but can't, I understand." He then chuckled, "Just now, your apprentice and my girlfriend almost got into a fight, but luckily I stopped them. You owe me one, so treat me to a meal later."

Yan Meng is still the same. Aside from her name, she's like a man in every other way, with a straightforward personality. Zuo Yu thought to himself.

"What do you think about Li Shu's secret crush on you?" Fang Xuan changed his joking tone and asked seriously.

Yukinoshita asked Zuo Yu in her heart, "Are you deliberately using other people's feelings to control them?"

"No, she doesn't admit that she likes me. We used to be desk mates and we usually brought each other lunch. Because she got into the small class through connections, her grades were a bit behind, so I helped her. Later, she asked me to be her teacher, and then our relationship became master-disciple."

"So you know she likes you?"

"She can't hide it. Anyone with eyes can see it."

"Then why don't you refuse?"

"Please, should I just say, 'I'm handsome, I know you like me, but I don't like you, can you please stay away from me?' Where did this narcissist come from?"

"Why can't you just say it like this? What's wrong with solving it directly?"

"Relationships between people aren't so easy to resolve. Besides, the hints I've given are already very explicit, almost explicit. Unfortunately, it's easy to avoid an open crush, but hard to guard against a secret one."

While the two were arguing in their minds, Fang Xuan saw Zuo Yu lost in thought, probably wanting to solve the problem completely.

"Do you have any idea, Master Zuo?" Fang Xuan asked.

"What do you have in mind?" Zuo Yu still wanted to see what Xuexia had to say.

"Just tell me I don't have any romantic feelings for you and don't have any contact with her in the future. That will definitely solve the problem."

When you say this, others will just think you are too self-righteous. It seems that Yukinoshita has a big flaw in interpersonal communication.

"Honestly, I don't know where you got the confidence to solve the problem this way. There's only one outcome for you: a complete falling out between the two of us, and then Li Shu will be looked down upon by the class. Her methods for getting in weren't very shady to begin with, and now she's having trouble with her former master. How the class will treat her is obvious. Do you have the courage to bear this consequence?" Zuo Yu's tone was very serious. "Don't take things for granted. Think more, especially when it comes to interpersonal relationships."

After hearing this, Yukinoshita fell silent, as if she had thought of something bad, and stopped refutation of Zuo Yu. After a long silence, she asked, "Then what should we do?"

"I can only let it go and delay it for now. If she doesn't cross the line, then neither will I. There's no correct answer to most things in this world, so it's better not to make mistakes."

Fang Xuan looked at Zuo Yu who was hesitant to answer and said comfortingly, "It's okay. There really is no answer to this kind of question. As far as maintaining the status quo is concerned, it's already a good answer."

"It's fine to just treat us as ordinary friends." Yukinoshita answered according to Zuo Yu's meaning.

"Li Shu has been restrained enough. He knows there will be no result, so he just watches quietly. It's good to be a friend." Fang Xuan also agreed with this approach.

Li Shu and Yan Meng also returned to the classroom. Li Shu handed all the items to Zuo Yu. "Perfectly completed the task, Master. Fang Xuan didn't touch this card at all."

"Why am I the villain today? I'm being looked down upon. This isn't fair." Fang Xuan complained.

Yukinoshita looked at the food Li Shu handed her with a complicated expression, but she still took it and prepared to eat it directly in the classroom.

"No eating in class." Zuo Yu reminded himself. Yukinoshita walked out of the classroom with something in hand.

The evening sun gently streams down upon the teaching building, its pillars evenly distributing the light to every classroom. For ordinary people, dusk is like the evening tide: after a busy day, people are immersed in the cool yet reassuring waters, awaiting the next morning tide and once again facing the scorching sun. For high school seniors, night is a time to settle down, to gather the day's gains, and then, carrying their dreams, to float upwards, the cycle repeats itself.

In front of the senior high school building stood the playground. The green grass, the golden sunset, and the gray skyscrapers formed a powerful scene, like a blanket of heat. Yukinoshita quickly finished her meal; the evening heat during the sweltering summer heat was always unbearable. But Yukinoshita didn't go straight back to the classroom. Instead, she leaned against the handrail in the hallway, watching the three of them chatting and laughing in the class. She asked a question, "Why did you become friends?"

"There's no reason. If I have to find a reason, it's that we can play together."

Becoming friends with just this reason is cheap enough.

"You're thinking now that your friendship is really cheap, right?"

Yukinoshita was a little confused and wanted to ask why.

"In addition, you're so easy to understand. You have a naive fantasy about interpersonal relationships, but you don't have many friends. Add to that the mystifying confidence you possess when it comes to handling them. I'm not sure if you enjoy solitude, but your poor interpersonal skills have left you friendless. Yet, you possess a certain confidence that your approach is sound, so you're insanely elevating your friends. Your definition of a friend is a genuine, soul-mate, not some cheap friend acquired through connections. You subconsciously look down on our friendship, am I right?"

Zuo Yu's words were like a sharp knife that cut through Xue Xia's shell, causing her to feel a slight pain. But she still believed she was not wrong. "Is it wrong for me to pursue a soul mate?"

"Of course you're right, but you shouldn't abandon everything in pursuit of a soul mate. That's a bit too extreme. The best things don't come alone; they come with everything else. People aren't perfect, so communication between two people is even less likely to be perfect. There's no such thing as a perfect relationship. Although imperfect, it's beautiful. It's like you're now one-sidedly thinking that Li Shu is a weak person who likes to cling to the powerful. You think our relationship is one of a weak person forcing himself to cling to others in order to avoid being isolated. Am I wrong?"

"Yes, I don't like Li Shu's lifestyle very much. I think she is a weak person. Unless she makes herself strong, she will never be truly strong." Yukinoshita frankly admitted her thoughts.

"Then, let me slowly tell you the story of Li Shu. I have witnessed her growth." Zuo Yu did not like to deny other people's efforts due to one-sided views, which was why he criticized Xueshita so fiercely for looking down on Li Shu.

The head teacher walked out of the office slowly and saw Zuo Yu standing outside, seemingly in deep thought. A few students were chatting in the corridor, looking at the playground. They joked to Zuo Yu with a smile on their faces, "You're thinking about life here. What have you come up with?"

"I'm not thinking about life, I'm planning my life. The result of my planning is that now we should go into the house and write the test paper." Zuo Yu instructed Xuexia to answer.

"You little bastards, why don't you go in quickly?" the head teacher scolded with a smile.

Chapter 5: Grades Are Everything

The lights in the classroom were on. Xueshita sat on the podium, using Zuo Yu's body and the knowledge in his head to write his test paper, listening to him telling the story of Li Shu in his own voice.

"Our class is small, and all of us are from the top 50 students in the grade. Li Shu's grades aren't bad, ranking over 150th in the grade. She might have a place in the intensive class, but she's not good enough for our class. The school generally arranges exams based on grades, from the highest to the lowest. This means that all of our classmates have known each other through multiple exams. Li Shu entered the class with us, but most people don't know her, except Yan Meng."

"Fang Xuan and I are considered the 'locals' of the small class, meaning we've been in it since we first entered the school. Later, when the arts and science classes were divided, our classes were reassigned. Yan Meng didn't perform well in the high school entrance exam, so she didn't get in. Her family wanted to send her in, but she refused, saying she had to rely on her own abilities to get in. That's how she met Li Shu, and they were deskmates for a year. She knew Li Shu's grades wouldn't allow him to get in, but he got in anyway, which means Li Shu got in through connections. Yan Meng didn't say anything about this. However, this kind of thing can't be hidden at all. When the results of the first monthly exam came out, Li Shu's name was not on the report card, and everyone knew what was going on."

"So, Li Shu was isolated because of this, and you helped her at this time." Yukinoshita Yukino recalled her elementary school days and said a little excitedly: "If you don't let her grow, it can't be considered a solution to the problem. She still relies on your reputation in the class, after all, she is not strong enough on her own."

Your reaction is a bit extreme. Have you been bullied?

"You're wrong. Our class schedule is already full, so where would we find the time to isolate her? It's not so much isolation as it is simply that she can't keep up with us. People are different, and she has a pretty strong sense of self-esteem. Her overly strong self-esteem made her somewhat uncomfortable in class, because she knew how she got in was known to everyone. She began to feel inferior, and when she encountered questions she didn't understand in class, she didn't dare ask, fearing being laughed at. Even if we were just joking, she would think we were talking about her. It got so serious that one morning during morning exercises, she fainted on the track. She was putting too much pressure on herself."

"That time, I took her to the infirmary. The doctor there was afraid of taking responsibility and frantically made excuses, refusing to treat her."

"What disease is it?" Yukinoshita asked worriedly.

"Her blood sugar was low, and she had trouble eating due to excessive stress, plus she wasn't getting enough sleep at night, so she fainted. I asked them to prescribe some glucose, and after she felt better, I took her to see a doctor I'm familiar with, who prescribed some tonic medicine. But the doctor told me that while physical illness is easy to treat, emotional illness is difficult to cure."

"What happens after that?"

"The head teacher discussed this with the parents, suggesting that if the child couldn't keep up with the pace here, he should return to the intensive class. But the parents were adamantly against it and later called her. I don't know what they said specifically, but it's easy to guess. It was something like, 'Do you know how much we've put in for you?', 'Why is there so much trouble in going to school?', 'Other people can understand, but you can't. Are you not paying attention in class?' This kind of talk. Parents are always like this, assuming that poor grades are due to a lack of effort. Anyway, she answered the phone next to me, and when she hung up, I could sense she was about to break down."

"She was incapable of doing anything, under pressure from her parents, and overly sensitive. Finally, her parents denied all her struggles, concluding she was just being pretentious. So, do you want to guess what would have happened if I hadn't intervened?"

Yukinoshita didn't dare to reveal the outcome; it was too heavy a consequence. Zuo Yu sensed Yukinoshita's silence and continued, "She wouldn't do such a foolish thing. In fact, Li Shu is very strong. She managed to hold back her tears in that situation. She would only continue to drive herself mad, heading down an even more insane path, and ultimately destroy her own personality in the madness. It's funny, the person who almost ruined her own child initially wanted her child to be better."

"So I suggested to her that she should be my deskmate. I would teach her and supervise her. And so she became my deskmate. Actually, solving all these problems is very simple. As long as her grades are good, most of the problems will be solved. If her grades are good, her parents will stop scolding her. If her grades are good, Li Shu's self-confidence will be restored a lot, and she will be able to continue studying here with peace of mind. It seems simple, but it is not simple at all. Her condition was so serious at that time that she would feel like vomiting whenever there was a major exam, and she could no longer take the exam normally."

"What should we do in this situation?"

"Healing her heart first is the only way to restore her confidence. It's not that difficult, really. Just encourage her. Most importantly, help her understand why her grades are declining despite her hard work. I told her that different students are like seeds, the class atmosphere is the soil, and the teacher is the sun. You just can't handle such a strong sun. We're progressing quickly, and the teacher's role is just to present information; the rest depends on our own understanding. People vary greatly. Don't imitate others' methods; develop your own. First, recognize the differences between people. I had Fang Xuan and Yan Meng demonstrate for her. Fang Xuan could memorize a piece of knowledge in three minutes, while Yan Meng took six. We had her try again, and fortunately, it only took eight minutes. Then I told her the gap wasn't that big, and it wasn't despairing. With the right approach, it could be bridged."

"We also wanted to increase her presence in the class, so I suggested that she manage the class finances. Actually, no one looked down on her, and the proposal was quickly approved. By collecting class fees and running errands for the teacher to print test papers, she could also feel that everyone treated her the same as an ordinary classmate. Sometimes, when I asked Fang Xuan to go out and play, I would also ask Yan Meng to take her with me, so that she could slowly relax and feel at ease. We are all students at the same level. The effect was immediate, and she no longer had such a heavy face. In the end, she only needed to do well in the exam once to regain her confidence. In the final exam, she successfully scored in the top 100. It was not until the midterm exam of the second semester that her name appeared on our class report card and was not ranked last."

"Is this all right?" Yukinoshita found it hard to believe.

"Actually, the reason her grades dropped the first time was because she felt she was admitted as a disgrace, and she put too much pressure on herself. She thought if she did poorly on the test, people would find out why she was admitted. As expected, she did poorly, which led to a chain reaction. It's funny, the homeroom teacher didn't put her name up because they were afraid she would feel inferior, but it led to the same result. The homeroom teacher put her up on the second exam. Li Shu saw that although she had always been the last in the class, her steadily improving grades gave her more confidence."

"Will this happen if it's put up?"

"No, Li Shu's psychological problems have always existed. As long as they are not triggered, Li Shu will continue to be entangled. Her overly high self-esteem will eventually make her explode."

Chapter 6: Feelings are always complicated

Xuexia listened to Li Shu's story and thought about it carefully. Li Shu's personality almost collapsed because of the dual pressure of family and studies, and then Zuo Yu came to save her. What is mixed in Li Shu's feelings for Zuo Yu? She fell in love with Zuo Yu because he saved her, so this kind of feeling is reasonable. If a boy has been with her when she is most desperate, will she fall in love with him? The answer is yes, so why doesn't Li Shu admit that he likes her? Puzzled, she asked, "You two have been through so much, why hasn't anyone confessed?"

"To be honest, her hardworking and strong appearance really touched me, but she didn't understand me well enough, and she was still a little short of something that could make my heart flutter. I was more of an old father at the time. But I think her words were probably because she had too high self-esteem and felt that she was not good enough. I was perfect in her eyes, and she felt that she was not worthy of me, so she didn't dare to speak. Yan Meng was afraid of repeating the previous incident and wanted to explode directly. But Li Shu kept avoiding it. I don't know what she is thinking. I can't do anything about her. So let me ask you, do you think Li Shu has grown up? Is she strong now? Is our friendship cheap?"

Yukinoshita thought carefully for a moment, then glanced at Li Shu, who was diligently writing the test paper below. She would occasionally look up at herself, then return to her work, and gave her own answer: "Based on my feeling this afternoon, the current Li Shu is much more mature than the Li Shu you described. Whether she is strong or not, I can't say. However, I don't quite agree with your friendship. It's mixed with too many things, it's not pure."

She's quite stubborn, a real problem girl. If we can fix her personality issues, will we be able to put an end to this body swap?

"You're such a troublemaker. Forget it. If there's no way to resolve this situation, treat Li Shu nicer and don't look at her like that. After all, she's still my apprentice, and she's not a bad person."

"Can't you take the initiative to keep your distance? If you take the initiative to stay away from her, it would be better than enjoying her kindness now?" Yukinoshita still insisted on her opinion.

"There's no reason to distance ourselves. First, she's actively admitted to feeling grateful towards me. Second, I think we're currently maintaining a suitable friendship, just like classmates helping each other. She's never crossed that line. Human emotions are complex; there's no such thing as pure love. Just like how Li Shu's parents feel about her, what kind of feelings do you think Li Shu has for them? What kind of parents are they?"

"They're not a good pair of parents. Li Shu will probably be very angry with them, after all, they don't understand her inner thoughts at all."

"Li Shu told me about her feelings towards her parents. She wanted to hate them but couldn't. This is what she said to me, 'I want to hate them because they don't understand my heart and can't know my pain, but I can't vent this hatred. When I think of how they tried their best to provide a better environment for me, I can't hate them. In the final analysis, it was because I couldn't meet their expectations. So, I turned the spearhead towards myself and drove myself even crazier. In fact, during that incident, I also said a lot of bad things about my parents in my heart. But when it was over, I was relieved. I can more or less understand the feelings of being a parent. My parents don't actually understand my own studies. They just think that as long as I sit at the table, I am working hard, and as long as my grades are good, it means I am not playing around. It's pretty simple. I think I overlooked the fact that they had specially built their new home in the neighborhood closest to the school for me, and that they had to leave their hometown to work hard in other places. Thinking carefully, I was almost autistic at the time and cared too much about my own face. They must have bent over backwards to help me with connections more than I did, but I only cared about my own self-esteem and ignored them, wanting to blame everything on them, and thinking that they were doing unnecessary things. I subconsciously ignored too many things I had already gained. I am not a good child either. In fact, when I first came here, I was a little conceited and thought, what's so great about you, I can do better than you in the same environment, but reality slapped me in the face. Thank you, Master, for telling me to acknowledge differences and imperfections. They are not qualified parents, and I am not a qualified daughter. We are still a pretty good family.'"

"When I heard her say these words, I knew she had grown a lot. She is no longer the person who has walked into the dead end of her own thinking. She is now able to face many things. What do you think, Yukinoshita?" Zuo Yu hopes that through Li Shu's words, Yukinoshita can realize the complexity of human emotions and realize that there is no perfect thing in the world.

Yukinoshita suddenly showed very strong emotions and was speechless.

It seemed that Li Shu's words had stimulated her to some extent. Let's stop here for today. Haste makes waste. Zuo Yu did not continue to pester Yukinoshita Yukino on this issue.

The evening study session for the senior year at No. 2 Middle School was scheduled like this: It began at 7:00 AM, with the first two classes lasting 50 minutes, followed by a 10-minute break. The final class was a 1.5-hour lecture, ending at 10:30 PM. However, since there was only a small class in the school, the homeroom teacher, fearing any potential problems after returning home that evening, privately decided to hold only the first two classes, resuming the usual classes once everyone else arrived. Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the second period was over, and everyone was packing up to go home.

Xuexia walked down from the podium and watched Li Shu packing a few books and stuffing them into his schoolbag. She asked Zuo Yu, "What do you usually bring back home?"

"Just bring one person."

Yukinoshita was a little speechless, "How can you be a student council member like this, and how can you help others study?"

"Sorry, I don't really need extra encouragement after class. I'm already number one in the city."

Just as the two were bickering in their minds, Fang Xuan walked up behind Zuo Yu with ease and shouted happily, "Let's go home."

"Fang Xuan, come here and help me with my bag." Yan Meng called Fang Xuan over and asked him to carry the bag.

"Why is it so heavy?" Fang Xuan complained.

"Because I took yours as well. You have to study hard at night. I'm going to catch up with your grades soon."

So, Fang Xuan walked in the middle with his schoolbag on his back. Zuo Yu asked Xue Shita to walk on Fang Xuan's right, Yan Meng to walk on Fang Xuan's left, and Li Shu to walk next to Yan Meng. Zuo Yu and Yan Meng were on opposite sides of the team. The group chatted on the road, as if nothing had happened in the afternoon. They all lived in the same residential complex. Fang Xuan and Yan Meng lived in the same building, opposite-door neighbors. Li Shu lived in a building very close to the villa area, where Zuo Yu's family lived. Fang Xuan and Yan Meng left first. Zuo Yu and Li Shu walked one after the other, without saying a word. Li Shu looked down at Zuo Yu's shadow on the ground. Because of the street lights, there were two shadows, one in front and one behind. Li Shu carefully intersected his forward shadow with Zuo Yu's backward shadow, and followed his footsteps, walking slowly. Time seemed to have stopped, and also seemed to have accelerated. When they arrived downstairs in a flash, Li Shu said to Zuo Yu, "See you tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow." Li Shu turned around and walked into the building after hearing this. Her home was on the eleventh floor. She walked into a house without her family. Turning on the light, she sat at her desk and looked out the window. Her eyes were focused on Zuo Yu's villa. Seeing that his house was lit up, she began to write something on a piece of paper. Then she folded the paper into a small star shape, with the written side facing inwards so that no one could see it, and then put it in a bottle. She murmured to herself, "Am I getting closer to you?"

Chapter 7 The exchange continues

Yukinoshita walked into Zuo Yu's home, which was elegantly decorated. As soon as she opened the door, a cat walked right up to her feet. It was a black cat with blue eyes, all black except for its paws and the tip of its tail, which were white. Yes, its name was Morgana, named after the cat in Persona 5, but it was a female.

Yukinoshita picked up Morgana, and her originally serious expression began to soften. She carried it to the sofa and sat down, and began to stroke it with enjoyment.

What a cat lover, Zuo Yu sighed. He had suspected it when he saw so many cat-related things in her house, but he didn't expect it to be so serious.

"Don't forget the business." Zuo Yu reminded Xueshita to stop petting the cat.

Yukinoshita put the cat down, and her IQ took the upper hand again. At this time, she found that there seemed to be only one cat in his house. Where were his parents, Yukinoshita thought to herself.

"My parents died in a car accident when I was in the third year of junior high school."

Can you read minds?

"No, I can feel your emotional fluctuations in my current state. Just like just now, I felt your doubtful emotions, so it's not difficult to guess what you are thinking."

"So that's how it is," Yukinoshita sighed softly, "So, should we start testing our hypothesis?" She hoped this ridiculous experience would be over. After all, this was unacceptable.

"Don't rush, we still have plenty of time." Zuo Yu felt his words were a bit strange and added, "Although I've mentioned a possible solution, it may not be the solution. If the body swap situation continues tomorrow, how should we deal with it? In order to avoid disrupting each other's lives, we should explain to each other what we should do on a daily basis and establish some rules." Although Zuo Yu proposed a solution, he didn't think the body swap would end so easily. Moreover, he had a feeling that this abnormality would last for a long time.