Let's run together
The athletes had already entered the stadium one after another. Nan Qi became increasingly anxious as Song Zhao had not yet arrived, pacing back and forth with her hands on her hips.
Last night, Nanqi was going to take her to the hospital to get checked out, but she insisted that she was all better and even made a solemn promise to herself that she could come to participate in the competition. But it's already this late and she still hasn't come. Nanqi is getting more and more worried that her head injury might have worsened.
Nanqi was standing close to Class 6, so she gestured to Duan Peng and said, "Little brother, go to the school gate and see if Song Zhao has arrived yet."
"Damn it, didn't she have a competition with you? It's already this late and she still hasn't arrived at school?!"
"Stop asking, just go!"
"Okay, okay," Duan Peng said.
"Next up are the female 1000-meter athletes..." The host had already started calling out names.
"Zhang Nanqi from Class 2, Grade 3," Nanqi stood up and waved in the direction of the host.
"Song Zhao."
Seeing that no one stood up to wave, the host raised his voice, "Student Song Zhao!"
Is Song Zhao from Class 2, Grade 3 here?
"exist!"
Nanqi turned her head and saw Song Zhao running towards her with great strides, followed by Duan Peng.
Song Zhao ran over, put one hand on Nan Qi's shoulder, and waved the other hand toward the stage.
"Why are you running so fast? If you get a side stitch, how will you compete?"
"It's okay, I can adjust."
"How's your head?" Nanqi asked with concern, looking at the large bump on her head.
"It won't hurt if you don't touch it," Song Zhao joked.
Nanqi glanced at her sideways, "I won't touch it. I'm not a three-year-old child who's curious about everything."
"Here, take this."
chocolate! !
Nanqi looked at the packaging and asked curiously, "What brand is this? It's all in English, I can't understand it."
"Nobody expects you to understand this. This is for you to eat, not for you to look at."
Nanqi tore open the packaging and popped a piece into her mouth. Soon, the rich, smooth chocolate and the fragrant, crunchy nuts filled her entire mouth. "Delicious, so delicious! Class monitor, you didn't come so late just to bring chocolate, did you?"
“My mom didn’t recommend that I come, and I had to talk to her a bit before I left.”
Song Zhao took out the bag of chocolates and shared some with the other athletes in the class.
Song Zhao whispered, "I saved a separate bag for you."
Nanqi grinned and said, "That's great! Next time you buy some, call me too, and I'll treat everyone."
"Come on, let's all give a shout of encouragement!" Class teacher Zhao Rui gathered the athletes from Class Two together, and everyone put their hands together and shouted loudly, "Go! Go! Go!"
Song Zhao and Nan Qi were assigned to lanes 2 and 6 respectively. During the first lap, the two maintained a pace of third and fourth. When the second lap began, the pace of the people running ahead of them slowed down, so the two took the opportunity to accelerate. Meanwhile, some of the people behind them had already given up because they could no longer keep up.
With only 400 meters left, Song Zhao shouted, "Nanqi, let's go!"
Nanqi glanced at Song Zhao out of the corner of her eye, then stared ahead with eyes like a hawk. She sprinted forward and overtook her opponent in an instant, like chasing the wind and shadows. She ran wildly, and her speed not only did not decrease, but it also increased. The people on the sidelines were excited and cheered her on wildly. When she crossed the finish line, the cheers and jubilation of Class Two holding up red lucky flags followed.
After finishing her run, Nanqi took a few breaths to catch her breath and then ran back along the inside of the track. She didn't have time to pay attention to the cheers and applause; at that moment, all she wanted was to get to Song Zhao's side as quickly as possible.
Zhao Rui had prepared water and towels and was about to welcome her when she suddenly became confused by her actions.
With only two hundred meters left, Song Zhao couldn't muster any strength when he needed to rely on explosive power, and his mind was also foggy.
"Class monitor! Let's run together!!" Nanqi ran and jumped alongside her, shouting with a grin.
Song Zhao glanced at her with difficulty, then continued running, just like they usually practiced. Nan Qi controlled the speed and accompanied Song Zhao to the finish line. The people on the sidelines shouted Song Zhao's name and cheered her on at the top of their lungs!
As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Song Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, and her fatigue became apparent. Nan Qi then wrapped her arm around the back of her neck, causing Song Zhao to lean her weight onto herself.
Nanqi was also almost exhausted, but she still looked at Song Zhao with a smile. Both of them were too tired to speak.
At the final awards ceremony, Nanqi won first place, the only first place in Class 2's sports events. Song Zhao won fourth place, which was the best result Class 2 had achieved except for Nanqi. The two hugged and took a photo together, their faces beaming with smiles, radiating a strong sense of youth.
Afterwards, Nanqi took Song Zhao, Li Jia, and Duan Peng out to a restaurant. After starting high school, whenever something happy happened, Nanqi would bring Li Jia and Duan Peng to this restaurant for a get-together. Since she was the one who usually organized the gatherings, she always paid for them.
Song Zhao gave all the remaining chocolates to Duan Peng and Li Jia. There was still more than half left in the big bag, and the two of them stuffed handfuls of them into their bags, afraid that the other would grab more than they did. However, Song Zhao only left the nut-flavored chocolates for Nan Qi.
"Daqi, congratulations on winning first place again! And congratulations to Song Zhao on your great achievement! Let's celebrate this double celebration!" Li Jia said happily.
"Let me tell you, if our class monitor hadn't taken the hit for me yesterday, she would have been in first place today."
Song Zhao smiled with narrowed eyes, "It's not that exaggerated. During practice, Nanqi is always faster than me."
"Hey, you two, don't forget me! I deserve the credit today. If I hadn't run in with Sister Mei, you two wouldn't have had the chance to run together," Duan Peng said, patting his chest.
"Little brother, did you bring him? I remember you running behind the others."
"Then, you've misremembered."
"Come on, let's have a drink," Li Jia said, raising her glass.
"Let's celebrate!" The group raised their glasses together.
Nanqi put her arm around Song Zhao's shoulder and said, "Do you know why Duan Peng is my little brother?"
"Is he younger than you?"
“That’s just one aspect. The three of us have been playing together since elementary school. Don’t let Duan Peng’s current tall and strong appearance fool you; he was a slow-developing, short and thin when he was young, and he was always bullied. I told him, ‘Call me ’sister,’ and I’ll protect you from now on!’ And he’s been calling me that ever since,” Nan Qi said proudly.
Li Jia also said, "I can testify, that's exactly what happened. Actually, Da Peng is a complete weakling; even now, he's only good at fighting..."
"Hey, hey, hey, why are you two digging up my secrets together? Can't you give me some face?" Duan Peng rolled his eyes at both of them.
The private room was soon filled with their laughter and chatter.
"Do you really enjoy being someone's older sister?" Song Zhao joked.
"It's alright, how about this, you call me 'sister' too, and I'll call you 'class monitor.' We'll each call each other by our own names, and from now on you'll be like family. I promise I'll treat you the same way I treat Da Peng, and I'll look after you too..."
Nanqi continued talking to herself, unaware that the smile on Song Zhao's face had vanished, replaced by a gloomy expression. She forcefully pushed Nanqi's arm away, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and ran out with a serious look on her face. Nanqi was stunned for a moment, then called out, "Hey! I was just kidding, you didn't take it seriously, did you?"
"What's going on?" Li Jia asked, puzzled.
"I just told her to call me 'sister,' that's no reason for her to get so angry."
"How could it be? Why would someone suddenly have an extra sister? Hurry up and go after her!" Li Jia said anxiously.
Nanqi put down her chopsticks and hurriedly chased after him. As soon as she ran out of the restaurant, she saw Song Zhao walking sullenly. Fortunately, he hadn't gone far. She ran a few steps and caught up with him. "Don't be angry. I said something wrong, okay?"
Seeing that Song Zhao remained silent, she continued, "It's fine if you ignore me, but I'll ride my bike to take you back, okay? You're still injured, you can't possibly walk back."
Song Zhao kept her head down and instead of stopping, she quickened her pace. Seeing that arguing was useless, Nan Qi stepped forward, opened her arms, and blocked her way with her body.
"If I said something wrong, you can scold me or hit me, just don't ignore me."
Suddenly, a tear in Song Zhao's eye slid down her cheek with a "plop." The tear was heavy, like a leaden stone, and it hit Nan Qi's chest hard, causing her pain and making her panic.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was wrong, I was wrong, please don't cry." Nanqi kept apologizing. She never expected that a thoughtless remark would make Song Zhao cry.
"Why are you so good to me?" Song Zhao wiped away her tears and asked.
Nanqi replied matter-of-factly, "Because you're my class monitor, and you're a nice person."
"Just because of this?"
Nanqi thought for a moment, then said apologetically, "And also, I hit you before..."
Song Zhao gave a bitter laugh, raised her eyelids, and saw Nan Qi's bewildered expression reflected in her glistening tears. "Is it because of guilt?"
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