Chapter 33 "Brother, save me"

Ji Tong's headphones were a bit loud, and she had just been scanning questions on her phone, so she didn't hear the specific content very clearly, but she vaguely heard Ge Guang shouting something about her major and her boyfriend.

"What person?" Ji Tong took off his headphones.

The phone's Bluetooth detected that the headphones were not in the ear and automatically stopped playing.

Ge Guang made an "uh" sound, and the others also looked around nervously.

They knew perfectly well that the two weren't in that kind of relationship, but... they just glanced over instinctively.

It wasn't until Ji Tong asked him a question that Ge Guang became embarrassed.

After a brief brain shutdown, a rapid storm ensues.

"It's nothing, it's just that Lao Zhang and the others said they're physically weak and worried they won't be able to run, which would be too embarrassing and make it hard to find a partner. But Tongtong, you're different. Even if you fall on the track, it won't affect your chances of finding a partner."

Old Zhang, who was falsely accused: "..."

Ji Tong knew they were joking around, smiled, and glanced at the registration form in Ge Guang's hand: "Are there any other projects that no one has signed up for?"

Ge Guang: "Quite a lot."

Ji Tong wasn't particularly interested in the sports meet, but he wasn't against it either. Seeing Ge Guang's predicament, he asked for a registration form.

He scanned the list from top to bottom, checked the last men's section, and wrote his name on it.

Ge Guang was still trying to persuade them, but seeing that they wouldn't budge, he had no choice but to take out his phone and say with a pained expression, "It's not that I, Ge, want to make things difficult for everyone, but there's really no other way. Since that's the case, we can only use our last resort."

"Let's draw student ID numbers!"

"Come on, first one, let's draw the 3,000 men's prizes first—"

Before I could finish saying the word "rice," a registration form was handed to me.

Ge Guang took a look and stared wide-eyed at Ji Tong.

A few seconds later, he raised his hand and drew a triangle on his forehead: "Tongmen (eyes).

"Tongtong, you are my god."

Old Zhang and the others went over to take a look and also drew a triangle: "Tongmen".

Ji Tong signed up for the men's 3,000 meters, the most dreaded event of the entire competition.

Perhaps because Ji Tong took the lead and the most grueling 3,000-meter race was contracted out, Ge Guang ultimately didn't need to use his last weapon and successfully completed his task. Even Li Yuan and Cui Mingying each reported on one of the tasks, not to mention Zhou Tian.

Fearing that his grandparents might change their minds, Ge Guang grabbed the registration form and rushed to the counselor's office.

After registering, Ji Tong sat down and sent a WeChat message to Gu Lin.

This morning it was Zhang Lun's turn to be on duty, also known as "Old Zhang" by the sports committee. When Old Zhang scanned Ji Tong's row, Ji Tong had just posted his latest two messages.

[JT: I signed up for the men's 3000 meters.]

JT: Don't report this.

Zhang Lun witnessed it all.

He thought about Gu Lin's height and build, as well as his reaction speed during the last basketball game.

"Tongtong, are you worried about competing with Gu Lin for the medal, haha?"

I won't let him report it.

“No,” Ji Tong said.

Zhang Lun: "?"

Ji Tong: "Tell him to wait for me at the finish line."

Zhang Lun: "..."

Fine.

This floor is real flooring.

He asked unnecessary questions.

-

Time flew by, and it was time for the opening ceremony.

Anhui University held its grandest opening ceremony in recent years just last month. More than a month later, the university sports meet was not too grand, but there were still many surprises. For example, the most outstanding formation this year, which was also the last formation, was the 1970 alumni formation. The first person in the formation was the president.

Before the host had even finished explaining the previous formation's explanation, the alumni formation appeared at the starting line of the 100-meter track, and the entire audience erupted in the loudest applause.

Ji Tong had not officially joined the student council yet, but Tu Jing had recruited her early on. It wasn't until the final formation appeared and the opening ceremony was about to come to a successful close that she finally had some free time and headed towards the audience seats.

"You're back?"

"Um."

"You've been running around all morning, hurry up and sit down for a while."

"It's 3,000 meters this afternoon, can you handle it? If not, let me do it."

Ji Tong walked and talked as he went, but stopped when he reached the location of Class 1.

"What are you doing here?" Ji Tong quickly sat down.

Ji Tong hasn't stopped since six in the morning. Although it's already autumn, the temperature isn't low in mid-October. And with the sun shining so brightly today, Ji Tong's face is all pink.

Ji Tong sat down, and just as he leaned back in his chair, a baseball cap pressed down on him.

"Take off your coat," Gu Lin said.

"It's alright, not hot," Ji Tong replied. "How did you get here?"

Almost no freshmen in each class were idle during this sports meet. Although the athletes did not participate in the formation performance, they had to act as spectators at the opening ceremony, and each class had its own designated area.

Class 9 was located in Section C, with a platform separating the two classes.

Choi Myung-young chimed in, "Don't you think the audience is a little too quiet? Is someone missing?"

Ji Tong looked up and asked, "Where's A Yuan?"

Ge Guang laughed from the side: "He said, 'Since Brother Lin is willing to marry into our class, I am also willing to marry into Class 9 to make the marriage bond even stronger,' and that was it."

Ji Tong paused for a moment, then laughed so hard her shoulders were shaking. She leaned against Gu Lin, took out her phone, and sent greetings to the person who had married far away.

[JT: How does your husband's family treat you?]

Li Yuan sent me a picture of some snacks.

[Ah Yuan: It's great. They stuffed three lollipops into my hand as soon as I walked in, saying it was a betrothal gift. I can't even imagine how wonderful the future will be.]

[A-Yuan: Maybe it's because they know my surname is "Ji," my family background gives me confidence.]

[A-Yuan: I'm just a little homesick [wiping tears]]

Before Ji Tong could reply to Li Yuan, the student council called again, asking about the materials.

"It should be on the shelf in the equipment room. Can't find it? Okay, I'll be right there."

Ji Tong pointed to the stage at Gu Lin, indicating that he was leaving. After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped, turned back, took a strip of throat lozenges from his coat pocket, and stuffed it into Gu Lin's hand.

Gu Lin raised an eyebrow.

Ji Tong covered the phone receiver and said to Gu Lin, "One pack contains six pills, three more than A Yuan's."

After saying that, Ji Tong waved goodbye to him and quickly left the audience.

Gu Lin chuckled, carefully put the "betrothal gifts" into his coat pocket.

-

Gu Lin's 100-meter race and Li Yuan's three events were all on the second day. On the first afternoon, the track and field events only included the men's and women's 1500-meter, 3000-meter, hurdles, and 8x100 relay, which had longer preparation periods.

Three kilometers is at 3 pm, which is a fairly comfortable time.

When the check-in announcement started, Ji Tong didn't feel anything, but Li Yuan and the others were so nervous that their hands and feet were shaking.

"Damn, weren't they saying no one would watch the sports meet? Why does it seem like there are more and more people?"

"Someone posted the list of athletes in the school's freshman group this afternoon, and they screenshotted Tongtong's page."

Perhaps knowing that the 3,000-meter race is too grueling, the school has made it mandatory for every class to participate this time. The school has expanded the "prize pool" and divided the 3,000-meter athletes into three groups by drawing lots. There are no preliminary rounds; it's straight to the finals. The top three from each group will be awarded medals, which is a total of 9 medals.

Ji Tong was in the first group, and she was quite lucky. There were five students from the physical education department in the long-distance race, and the first group only had one.

There was also a familiar face.

After checking in, Chen Yongjie was stretching on the track.

Ji Tong was about to say a few words to him when a force pulled him back.

"Stand still." Gu Lin took the athlete's number tag from Li Yuan and pinned it on for him.

Distracted by Gu Lin, Ji Tong gave up the idea of ​​going to find Chen Yongjie.

"Wait for me at the finish line, don't run with me," Ji Tong suddenly remembered.

Gu left with a second safety pin: "Run two laps with me."

"No," Ji Tong refused.

Gu Lin didn't even look at him: "Reason."

Ji Tong rotated her wrist, loosening her joints as she said, "I get distracted."

Gu Lin paused for a few seconds, then fastened the third pin: "What are you dividing it into?"

Ji Tong: "I'll want to see you."

Gu Lin didn't speak, and Ji Tong didn't notice Gu Lin's suddenly lowered eyes. She asked again, "Is the bib number ready?"

"Um."

Ji Tong turned around and stood facing Gu Lin, then glanced around at the first group of candidates.

"What place do you want me to get?" Ji Tong asked, his voice surprisingly excited. "A medal for you."

He wasn't very confident about getting into the top three, except for the sports department.

Gu Lin simply draped Ji Tong's coat over his arm and said calmly, "First."

Ji Tong: "???"

"Safety first," Gu Lin continued. "Don't worry about the medals, and don't bump into or hit the finish line."

"I want this one."

The playground was being cleared, and the referee, holding a microphone, called out to the 3000-meter runners to get ready.

Ji Tong walked towards the starting line, and almost the instant he stood still, screams erupted from both sides of the audience.

At first, there was no sound; only Class 1 shouted a few times. After someone took the lead, the noise became somewhat uncontrollable.

Amidst the deafening roar of music, Ji Tong looked up at Gu Lin, who was standing not far away.

A gunshot rang out.

Even for someone with a strong training foundation, running 3000 meters is no easy feat. During the last two laps, Ji Tong felt a tightness in his chest, making each breath difficult and carrying a slight fishy smell, but his pace and speed remained steady.

Leading the pack was the guy from the Physical Education Department, Ji Tong was second, and there was a gap of almost half a field between him and the third place.

The final 100 meters.

The moment Ji Tong began his sprint, almost everyone on both sides of the podium stood up.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

The screams were deafening.

Even though he had already pulled ahead of the third-place finisher by more than half the track, and even though he could easily secure second place without sprinting or even slowing down, he still sprinted forward.

The young man was unrestrained and spirited.

"Damn it, who said running the 3000 meters would make your face ripped apart, with tears, snot, and saliva streaming down your face? Who said running the 3000 meters would be a disgrace? Look at Tongtong's condition!"

"I can't go on, my throat is going to crack, I need to rest for a bit."

"Tongtong, have you reached the finish line yet? I can't see you because you're blocked by this side!"

The answer wasn't given by "humans," but by a sharp whistle that seemed to pierce the clouds.

One sentry, one officer.

The runners reached the finish line.

Just when they thought they could finally rest their voices, a sound even more penetrating than the whistle came from the finish line of the 100-meter race.

"???"

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Oh my god, where's the news agency? Quick, take a picture of the finish line! Quick, take a picture of the finish line! They're hugging each other!"

"What do you mean, 'hug each other'?!"

A group of people rushed down from the stands, clinging to the railings eagerly to see the finish line.

Ji Tong fell headfirst into Gu Lin's arms.

He didn't want to move at all, burying his face in Gu Lin's shoulder and neck.

Until the third and fourth whistles sounded behind them.

Ji Tong's chest heaved dramatically. Remembering that Chen Yongjie was also on the track, she casually asked, "Has Chen Yongjie arrived yet?"

Ji Tong wanted to turn around to look, but before he could even twist his neck, Gu Lin pressed down on the back of his head and pushed it back onto his neck.

"Mind your own business."

Ji Tong was too lazy to move, so she relaxed and continued to lean on Gu Lin.

The wind that blew up when she ran made Ji Tong feel no heat, but as soon as she stopped, it felt like all the blood in her body was churning.

"My legs are swollen and my ears hurt," he said.

Gu Lin raised his hand and used the pad of his thumb to massage his tragus.

Ji Tong closed his eyes comfortably, like a cat being stroked. After his left ear was massaged, he switched to his other shoulder, revealing his right ear, signaling Gu Lin to continue.

The two stood quietly for five or six minutes until Ji Tong's breathing became even. Then, Gu Lin half-supported and half-carried him to a bench. This time, unlike the time he knelt down to massage him on the court, he placed Ji Tong on the bench, turned to the side, sat at the end of the bench, and placed Ji Tong's lower leg on his knee, pressing the acupoints on his lower leg little by little.

Both their posture and the atmosphere of their conversation were exceptionally "perfectly matched".

The strictness was so great that not only were others not allowed to come forward, but even his own family members, such as Li Yuan, were not allowed to.

After Gu Lin finished the second group of 3,000 meters, he took the ice packs prepared by the class and applied them to the patient's calves before leading the person back to the stands.

The audience was still lively.

After the 3,000-meter race, we move on to the final event of the day – the 8x100 relay preliminary round.

The final highlight of the day.

Except for sports-related majors, which did not participate, each class sent one person. For departments with many classes, such as the Computer Science Department, the class was organized by department, while for departments with fewer classes, the class was merged or organized by college.

Ji Yi was represented by Ge Guang, and Ji Jiu was represented by Duan Qiwei from the Sports Commission.

Such high-level games naturally attract a large audience. To ensure the safety of the athletes, the podium announced the clearing of the inner field and began setting up a cordon around the field.

With half an hour to go before the match started, the stands were quiet before the storm, with some chatting, some scrolling through their phones, and some snacking.

There are also those who lose two games in a row—

"Brother Lin, help me, I lost..." Li Yuan turned his head and only saw Ji Tong.

"Tongtong, where's Brother Lin?" Li Yuan asked.

"I made a phone call," Ji Tong had regained her strength, and apart from her slightly damp hair, she didn't look like she had run three thousand meters at all. "What happened?"

"I wanted to ask Brother Lin for a 'time-traveling favor'... Never mind, it's okay, I think I can do it again."

Ten minutes later, Li Yuan looked at himself, who had been shot and knocked to the ground: "..."

They held on until the very end, damn it.

Li Yuan's face was contorted with rage. He turned his head and saw the squad leader walking over. A thought flashed through his mind—

"Class monitor, help me! Help me! Please send me a voice message. I'll compile the student information summary table for next week!"

The squad leader knew what was going on as soon as he looked at Li Yuan's phone screen, and fearing that he might change his mind, he said, "You said it."

Li Yuan: "Yes, yes, I said it."

Squad leader: "Right, this number one?"

Li Yuan: "Yes!"

The squad leader cleared his throat and immediately raised his voice: "Brother Number One, please save him, love you."

The voice of the eldest brother came through the speaker.

"It's no use, little sister, I'm gay!"

Class monitor: "?"

Li Yuan: "?"

After a brief moment of surprise, Li Yuan immediately took the phone: "Brother~ Brother~, look at this mess! My girlfriends just called for me, can you help me out?"

Class monitor: "??"

First brother: "That's awful, little brother. Don't even mention calling me 'brother,' calling me 'husband' won't work."

Li Yuan: "???"

Did we run into a tough opponent?

I'm not Li if I don't take you down today!

Your voice is awful, isn't it? I'll change it to a nicer one for you!

Li Yuan was blinded by the virtual world. Once he started playing, he became ruthless, lost in the moment, and reckless. Like a spark, his pupils flickered. He suddenly turned around, pressed down on Ji Tong's shoulder, and turned him around completely. "Tong Tong, he said my voice is ugly. Help me seduce him!"

Ji Tong: "?"

Li Yuan didn't give Ji Tong a chance to react at all. He poked at the phone screen and said to Ji Tong, "I'm still hiding behind the tree. I'll move out in a bit. Press the voice bar and you can repeat what I said."

"Shout out 'Brother! Help!' Like that, in a slightly lower voice, understand?"

Ji Tong: "?"

"It's okay, you don't have to use it if you can't pick it up. Your voice is beautiful, don't be afraid."

Ji Tong: "??"

No, wait a minute—

Li Yuan's eyes flashed with a fierce light: "Alright, I'm going to climb out now."

Ji Tong raised her hand: "Wait a minute—"

Li Yuan couldn't wait any longer.

With the life bar already counting down, Li Yuan gripped his phone tightly and manipulated his character to climb out from behind the tree in a strange and swift motion. The moment his head appeared, he shoved the phone to Ji Tong's mouth: "Quick, quick, call him 'brother'!"

Li Yuan abruptly pressed the voice message bar.

Before Ji Tong could speak, Cui Mingying's voice came from beside him.

"Lin... Brother Lin!"

With his adrenaline surging, Li Yuan didn't even recognize whose voice it was. He was in a hurry to revive, "It's not Brother Lin, it's Brother Tong, Tong Tong, call him quickly!"

Ji Tong felt like he was back on the 3,000-meter race track, with Li Yuan's voice constantly ringing in his ears, making his forehead throb with urgency: "Wait, Gosh—"

Before Ji Tong could finish speaking, a shadow suddenly fell over the steps in front of him.

The shadow was folded into an irregular shape by the steps, landing precisely between Ji Tong and Li Yuan.

Suddenly blocked from the light, Ji Tong and Li Yuan instinctively turned their heads at the same time.

The moment Ji Tong saw the person approaching, his pupils contracted as the light stung him.

Li Yuan let go, and the phone slipped from his hand.

"...Lin...Brother Lin?"

Ji Tong's mind and mouth went numb.

What are you shouting?

Brother, older brother?