Ying Qian stood in front of Meng Beiyan with an imposing presence, quite relaxed on the contrary. Seeing his dark face, she shifted her feet slightly.

Meng Beiyan had been deliberately keeping his distance from her, but she kept approaching. He had already prepared his criticisms in his mind, but in the end he only sighed softly and said, "What you're doing is so unskilled..."

"It's my first time..." she said weakly.

She regretted it as soon as she said it, afraid that her brother would think she was shirking responsibility.

However, that didn't happen.

Meng Beiyan didn't even frown, and his face no longer had the seriousness he had when he stood on the podium. Instead, it was gentle, a tenderness that belonged only to Ying Qian. His heart firmly told everyone that he liked Ying Qian, his younger sister.

"It's good this way. It's nice to be able to play with them." He moved closer to Ying Qian and tugged at her cheek. "I understand treating yourself occasionally. I did that in high school too."

His smile was faint, but the amusement in his eyes kept churning.

His deep brown eyes were fixed on the girl in front of him, the girl he had spent many years with.

Ying Qian smiled sheepishly, "I really didn't expect you to have such an experience."

"Hmm." His breathing was heavy as he gently embraced Ying Qian. "A lot has happened since we came back from Qincheng, some sad and some happy. If you're interested, I can tell you everything when I have some time."

She shook her head, accepting the familiar embrace naturally, her breath carrying a hint of tobacco.

“I don’t want to hear it. You’ve said before that you had a very hard time during that period.”

Meng Beiyan didn't speak, just held him quietly.

She smiled and asked, "Are you leaving this afternoon?"

“I’m not leaving, I’ll go home with you.” Meng Beiyan let go of her, straightened her wrinkled school uniform, and said in a fatherly tone, “If there are any competitions, be careful. Your health is more important than your ranking.”

She cooperated by saying, "Okay, okay."

The siblings' actions were clearly seen by the gossipy classmates by the window, though they couldn't hear the sounds. The fire of gossip was burning secretly: what kind of relationship allows them to hug?

Even if someone is very gentlemanly and reserved, it certainly doesn't mean they've only met once.

This can be seen from the fact that Meng Beiyan calls Ying Qian by her name.

So, is Ying Qian a case of nepotism?

Ying Qian tiptoed back to her seat, trying not to disturb everyone's lunch break.

But Chen Wenzhi wasn't asleep at all. The moment her bottom touched the stool, Chen Wenzhi asked, "Did your brother scold you?"

The tone was very unfriendly.

Ying Qian looked radiant, not at all like someone who had been scolded...

He then changed his tune: "What did I say to you?"

Ying Qian cleared her throat, trying her best to keep her voice down so as not to disturb others, "He said that going out for lunch is not a sophisticated thing, and also, he will stay at school in the afternoon and take me home in the evening."

"That's good." He closed his eyes in relief.

Ying Qian suppressed a laugh and found a spot to lie down and rest.

On a sweltering afternoon, with only the electric fan whirring overhead, the classroom, filled with warm air, was like a living hell; being able to fall asleep there was a true test of endurance.

There were no teachers patrolling at noon, and some classes even skipped the movie.

In the past, Wang Mengyao would usually go back to the classroom to see if anyone was disturbing other people's lunch break.

But unusually, he didn't come today.

Most of the students were still awake, chatting and laughing quietly. The class monitor turned a blind eye and even helped keep watch.

Chen Wenzhi sat up and started working on the afternoon's exam.

"So curly?" Ren Yi turned around and mouthed.

He placed his index finger in the center of his lips, signaling Ren Yi to be quiet, and glanced at the sleeping girl.

Ren Yi nodded vigorously and went back to writing his test paper.

As I wrote, I admired Ying Qian's amazing ability to fall asleep; her sleep quality is truly remarkable.

After lunch break, the two people who were writing the test papers had finished.

Ren Yi stretched, and the class erupted in laughter.

Chen Wenzhi raised his hand and patted Ying Qian, "Get up, it's time to go to the playground."

"Hmm..." She groggily looked up, smiled, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you going for a run this afternoon?"

“Yes, I’ll take it. Three thousand.” He said casually.

Everyone was packing up their things, except for this group at the back, who had finished their exams.

Ying Qian put her hand on his shoulder, patted him a few times, and comforted him with a smile: "Chen Wenzhi, I don't have any expectations for you. Finishing the race is a victory! I'll cheer you on!"

His eyes squinted slightly.

Before the teacher could even give any instructions, everyone spontaneously grabbed their bags and headed to the playground.

The second-year high school students' lunch break ended the earliest. When they went to the empty playground, the family area was already full. Some were looking at their phones, some were getting up to help their children, and some were sleeping.

As soon as Ying Qian stepped outside, she saw Meng Beiyan chatting and laughing with Wang Mengyao.

She stopped and looked at it for a while. Chen Wenzhi also looked at it with her, and her lips curved into a slight smile.

The well-matched couple gradually walked away.

Chen Wenzhi's voice was gentle: "Let's go, I need to go to the check-in area soon, do you want to come with me?"

"..." She snapped out of her reverie, a smile returning to her eyes. "Okay!"

There were many people at the 3000-meter check-in area. Ying Qian exclaimed in surprise, "So many people are running the 3000 meters? That must be exhausting! 3000!"

She repeatedly emphasized the word "three thousand".

“Oh dear, I’ve been running 3,000 kilometers every year since junior high,” he said.

His casual remark nearly shattered Ying Qian's faith: "Chu...Chu Yi?"

"I failed the 800-meter run in the first year of junior high... but I barely passed and got a perfect score on the high school entrance exam..."

Indeed, the world is full of such diversity.

"Running 3,000 kilometers is so tiring, why insist on choosing 3,000? Can't you do 1,500?"

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