Chapter Sixty-Two: Tomorrow, Yesterday

It turned out that the middle-aged man was the manager of this Walmart Shopping Center, and also a basketball enthusiast. With New Year's Day arriving tomorrow, he expected the store to be crowded tonight, so he came by to inspect. To his surprise, he ran into Lin Nan here—this high schooler from Qingshui who had been dominating the courts of the National Basketball League.

Overcome with excitement, the man disregarded their age difference and exclaimed, “I’m your fan! I’ve watched every one of your games!” The sudden appearance of a “fan” left Lin Nan a little taken aback, but the man’s genuine excitement was clear. Lin Nan reached out and shook the man’s large hand.

He soon heard the man ask, “What brings you here? Buying snacks?” As he spoke, the man came closer and peeked into Lin Nan’s bag, seeing only cheap snacks. Only then did Lin Nan explain, “Our class is holding a New Year’s Eve party tonight, and I was sent to buy some food.”

Upon hearing this, the man immediately slung an arm around Lin Nan’s shoulders and said warmly, “Come on, let’s get some more. This supermarket’s mine—take whatever you like, it’s on me!”

Lin Nan hesitated, “Isn’t that a bit much? If I buy too much, I won’t be able to carry it all back!”

“No worries, I’ll drive you back to school myself,” the man replied at once.

And so, Lin Nan was swept along upstairs by the enthusiastic supermarket owner and fan, with Si Dong following behind, her eyes shining with admiration.

They ended up grabbing several large bags of every kind of snack and got into the man’s Mercedes. The little snacks Lin Nan had picked out earlier were all put back by the man, and the 300 yuan of class funds Lin Nan had brought remained in his pocket.

Had it been Jiu Wu, perhaps he wouldn’t have accepted the snacks. But Lin Nan’s family was fairly well-off, and he knew that for the man, these few bags of snacks were nothing—he would simply accept the generous gesture of a passionate fan.

Once they arrived at the school gate, Lin Nan politely declined the man’s offer to help carry the snacks inside. He suggested they leave everything at the security office, told Si Dong to wait there, and ran off to fetch some boys from the class to help carry the bags.

After bidding farewell and thanking the man, Lin Nan dashed toward the teaching building.

The security guard was puzzled to see so many bags of snacks delivered by a private car. He asked Si Dong about it, and after hearing the whole story, the man fell silent, unsure what to say.

In his experience, parents always talked about academics, about whose child had the best grades. Who’d have thought that playing basketball could lead to running into a fan who happened to be the supermarket owner, and ending up with bags of snacks?

Si Dong, seeing the guard’s confusion, felt the same way herself. She’d often heard classmates say Lin Nan was a basketball star, but she’d thought they were just teasing. Only now did she realize Lin Nan really was a celebrity—so much so that the Walmart owner was his fan!

She realized with amazement that her deskmate was truly extraordinary.

Soon, Lin Nan returned with a few boys from their class. When they saw the four or five large bags filled with all sorts of snacks—and even a big box of Ferrero Rocher—they were puzzled. Had this all been bought with class funds?

“Let’s hurry and get these back to the classroom,” Lin Nan said quickly. “School’s almost out, and it’ll be hard to get through the crowd if we wait.” He grabbed the heaviest bag, and the others each took one, following him back.

On the way, Lin Nan explained where the snacks had come from.

After hearing the story, one classmate shouted up at the sky, “Is being good at basketball a license to do whatever you want?” Everyone burst out laughing, Si Dong included.

Back in the classroom, the sight of the bags of snacks threw everyone into an uproar. Once they heard the story, they exclaimed, “A real star is different—he even runs into fans at Walmart, and it’s the owner!” Fortunately, Lin Nan was in their class, so they could also enjoy a bit of his star treatment.

Only Zhang Mengfan, the class monitor sitting in the front row, took note of Si Dong quietly following behind Lin Nan, lost in thought.

After setting the snacks at the back of the room, Lin Nan and Si Dong returned to their seats and waited for the bell.

Lin Nan sat there casually, but for the first time, noticed Si Dong wasn’t reading—she was simply staring off into space.

Lin Nan shifted a little closer and whispered so only the two of them could hear, “Tomorrow is my birthday. As my deskmate, will you give me a present?”

Si Dong’s cheeks immediately flushed red, though her long hair shielded her face from view. After a few seconds, Lin Nan heard a faint voice from behind that dark hair: “Yesterday… was my… birthday.”

…

At noon, Lin Nan and the basketball team were eating at their usual table by the team’s window. But Lin Nan was quieter than usual, lost in thought as he ate, pondering what birthday present he might give Si Dong to make up for missing hers.

Wang Jinsong, noticing his distraction, teased, “Lin Nan, what are you thinking about? Love on your mind? I’ve never seen you look so serious, not even during basketball.”

At that, the rest of the team glanced over at Lin Nan, whose face turned red on the spot.

Everyone understood: Lin Nan was probably thinking about a girl. A star on the court, but clueless in matters of love—he was easy to read.

But Lin Nan, unaware that his blush had given him away, pretended nothing was amiss. “Nothing, really.”

Wang Jinsong, adopting a world-weary tone, sighed, “A man! Not even in love yet, but already learning to hide his feelings!”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Lin Nan didn’t argue further, just shouted, “Wang Jinsong, come play one-on-one after lunch.”

“Bring it on—who’s afraid of whom?” Wang Jinsong replied loudly, though his voice lacked a little confidence.

The teasing stopped, and Lin Nan, eating in silence, wondered: Had he really fallen for Si Dong? Would she prepare a birthday gift for him tomorrow?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Lin Nan ate heartily.

How could a straightforward guy like him be so distracted by thoughts of romance?

After lunch, he returned to his dorm, changed clothes, and climbed into bed for a nap to calm himself. When he woke, he felt clear-headed and refreshed.

He washed his face and headed for the classroom. Most students napped in the classroom at noon; some chose to do homework or read, but everyone kept quiet. Only basketball team members had the privilege of being elsewhere.

Quietly opening the classroom door, Lin Nan saw most of his classmates asleep; a few were sneaking in a bit of phone time or doing homework.

He tiptoed in, closed the door gently, and made his way to his seat. Si Dong had left him plenty of room, so with a quick lift of his foot, his slender frame slid right in.

Sitting down, he saw Si Dong fast asleep at her desk, her head turned toward him. Looking closer, he realized she was drooling.

Lin Nan almost laughed out loud, quickly covering his mouth. Usually, he was on the basketball court during lunch, only running back when the bell rang—he’d never seen such a sight before.

Once he’d calmed down, Lin Nan rested his left hand on the desk, propped it against the wall as a pillow, and leaned his head on his bicep, quietly watching Si Dong.

Her eyelashes were just the right length, her cheeks rosy and fair, dotted with a few tiny pimples.

He also realized why Si Dong was drooling—her mouth was pressed against the desk, slightly open. Lin Nan remembered doing the same himself, and after researching online, learned that when your face presses against the desk or your arm, your cheeks get squished, making your mouth open naturally, and the accumulated saliva sneaks out.

Since then, whenever Lin Nan napped at his desk, he’d keep his mouth suspended in the air so it wouldn’t touch anything—and he’d never drooled again.

And so, Lin Nan simply watched Si Dong sleep in silence.

Without realizing it, his eyes drifted shut, his mouth pressed against his arm, and he drifted into sleep.

A few minutes later, a little pool of drool began to form at the corner of Lin Nan’s mouth.

Another few minutes passed, and the bell rang, waking the students.

At the back of Class Eight’s room, Lin Nan and Si Dong woke almost simultaneously—only to see each other drooling in their sleep.

They both burst out laughing, and in the next instant, realized their own embarrassment.

But while Si Dong immediately grabbed a tissue from her desk, wiped her mouth, and sat up with her head down, cheeks flushed and busy fixing her hair, Lin Nan simply wiped his mouth on his sleeve—luckily, he was wearing an absorbent shirt today.

Afterward, Lin Nan looked openly at the bashful Si Dong.

Soon the teacher arrived, and Lin Nan glanced at the class schedule on the blackboard—no English class today. He pulled out his book and listened attentively.

Unlike Lin Nan, many of his classmates—even the top students—seemed distracted. With the New Year’s Eve party that night, nobody could settle down, and whatever the teacher said just went in one ear and out the other.

A restless mind cannot focus on study.

But Lin Nan never had this problem. Except for English and Chinese, he listened attentively to every class. Lin Lang had told him that listening in class was the most efficient way to learn. The teacher would never skip any key points, but if you let your mind wander and missed something, you’d spend twice the effort catching up later on your own.

So Lin Nan always listened carefully, staying wholly focused. That was why, aside from English, his grades in every subject were among the best.

Though he didn’t spend any extra time studying, he never wasted a single second of the time that mattered.

It was a simple principle, but few truly followed it.