Chapter 21
"Whatever you want?" Zhang Xiaotian really didn't understand. He took out a water cup from his bag and drank the water by himself.
"Let's go!" Lu Yibo asked Lu Bai, "Are we going to your class?"
Lu Bai ignored Lu Yibo and asked Zhang Xiaotian, "Are you going?"
"No." Zhang Xiaotian shook his head, "I've already seen it once."
"Then I won't wear it." Upon hearing this, Lu Bai immediately leaned back in the chair and covered his face with the coat that Zhang Xiaotian had reserved for him.
"Fuck, wear it or not." Lu Yibo didn't care. He turned around and said, "Let's go and have a cigarette."
Lu Bai covered his face and waved his hands around, not caring whether Lu Yibo saw it or not.
The radio played cheering messages for the athletes, along with miscellaneous announcements like lost and found and game times. Zhang Xiaotian drank water and watched Lu Bai, motionless under his clothes, probably asleep. After the opening ceremony, the sun came out, and the warmth soon washed over him. Zhang Xiaotian used the lid of his thermos to hold the hot water, gulping it down intermittently. He unexpectedly found a sense of leisure in the bustling arena.
Comfortable. Zhang Xiaotian squinted his eyes, watched the game going on in the stadium, and drank another sip of hot water.
"Just drink water, don't you think it's tasteless?"
There was a voice beside him. Zhang Xiaotian turned around and saw that the coat was still covering Lu Bai, with only his eyes exposed, looking at Zhang Xiaotian.
"Just sleep for a while?"
Seeing that he was awake, Zhang Xiaotian put the cup aside. Hearing him clear his throat, he asked, "Would you like some water?"
Lu Bai looked at him without moving: "I didn't bring hot water."
No hot water? Zhang Xiaotian thought for a moment and handed over his thermos cup.
"...No need." Lu Bai glanced at the thermos cup that was handed to him, but didn't take it. Instead, he stood up and rummaged through the paper bag he brought with him. "I brought a bottle of drink."
Zhang Xiaotian put the cup away again.
"Would you like some bread?" Lu Bai took out a drink and a piece of bread. Seeing Zhang Xiaotian shake his head, he pursed his lips and took a bite. He ate half of it in a few bites and asked, "When is the long jump competition?"
"A little while." Zhang Xiaotian answered him, then asked, "What about your project?"
"Afternoon." Lu Bai ate the remaining bread, picked up the paper bag on the ground and put it on his legs. He flipped through a few bags of snacks and stuffed them directly into Zhang Xiaotian's arms.
"I don't..." Zhang Xiaotian was interrupted by Lu Bai before he could finish his words.
"I brought your portion anyway. I definitely can't finish it myself."
It was impossible for Zhang Xiaotian not to notice that Lu Bai was unhappy. He swallowed his saliva while holding the snack and asked him, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Lu Bai sighed and said, "Call me when you have a match. I'll go with you."
"I can find the competition venue," said Zhang Xiaotian.
"I know." Lu Bai nodded, but still said that he wanted to go with Zhang Xiaotian.
The two of them ate snacks in silence. Zhang Xiaotian saw Lu Bai's sullen face and felt a little lost in his food. He was just thinking about finding some topics to lighten the mood when Guan Yue called him:
"Zhang Xiaotian! My name's been called for the long jump, hurry over there."
Zhang Xiaotian said "hmm", and Lu Bai also stood up and walked towards the competition venue with Zhang Xiaotian. The two of them didn't say a word along the way, and the atmosphere was very strange. Zhang Xiaotian endured it all the way, and finally asked before he was about to go on stage:
"What's wrong with you?"
"It's really nothing." Lu Bai reached out and pushed him, "Go quickly, I'm waiting for you."
"Next!" the referee shouted at Zhang Xiaotian, "Hurry up!"
Zhang Xiaotian could only hurry over. Standing at the starting point, Zhang Xiaotian was still wondering why Lu Bai was upset. It was simply a matter of whether he saw it clearly or not. He could understand wanting to show off, but was he really that concerned? Besides, he'd already told him he saw it clearly, but he just didn't believe it. The thought that the reason might be related to him made Zhang Xiaotian unable to ignore it. Giving the order, Zhang Xiaotian leaped forward, eager to get right in front of Lu Bai and pry open his mind to see what he was thinking.
After registering his grades, Zhang Xiaotian went straight to look for Lu Bai, but saw Guan Yue waiting on the side.
"The 800m race was temporarily short of runners, so Lu Bai took over," Guan Yue asked Zhang Xiaotian. "He asked me to tell you."
"Is he gone already?" Zhang Xiaotian asked.
"Yeah." Guan Yue nodded. "I want to go over there. Will you come with me?"
Zhang Xiaotian hurried to catch up.
When they arrived, Lu Bai was already standing on the runway. Zhang Xiaotian was afraid of missing him, so he squeezed into the crowd as much as possible, keeping his eyes on Lu Bai.
Lu Bai stood there, his expression unclear, seemingly distracted. Zhang Xiaotian became anxious and called out to him, "Lu Bai!"
Lu Bai heard it, looked towards him and waved to him.
“Come on!” There were people cheering nearby. Zhang Xiaotian was afraid his voice was too soft, so he shouted loudly, “Lu Bai, come on!”
The referee called out "ready" and the athletes took their positions. There was a brief silence all around, with only the deafening sound of heartbeats. A gunshot was heard and Zhang Xiaotian saw Lu Bai rushing out.
"Lu Bai runs pretty fast." Guan Yue walked over to the side without him noticing. "Our class should be able to get a similar score."
"As long as it's not embarrassing." Zhang Xiaotian agreed, but his eyes were fixed on the figure that was getting farther and farther away.
"That's right." Guan Yue was delighted. "You've adapted to the local customs. Our class isn't a sports class, so the most important thing about the sports meet is participation."
But Lu Bai wouldn't just be "almost." Zhang Xiaotian thought inexplicably.
800 meters isn't long, but it's still two laps. Lu Bai has been hovering around third or fourth. It was fine at first, but by the second lap, it was becoming increasingly difficult. Zhang Xiaotian followed Guan Yue to the finish line early, waiting. Even if he tried not to pay attention, he couldn't help but feel nervous. Guan Yue, who was standing next to him, saw that he was exerting all his strength and couldn't help but pat him on the shoulder: "Why are you so nervous?"
"No." Zhang Xiaotian looked at Lu Bai without blinking, "Why should I be nervous? It's not me who ran away."
"You're a really nice person." Guan Yue smiled and said, "I'm sorry for last time."
Zhang Xiaotian looked at him when he heard that.
"Actually, I asked you because I thought you wouldn't refuse me." Guan Yue explained, "I didn't expect Li An to say that..."
It turned out to be the day of project registration. Zhang Xiaotian said: "It's okay, it's none of your business."
"Well, I'm just afraid you'll misunderstand..." Guan Yue nodded, and when he looked at Lu Bai again, his tone was a little surprised, "Lu Bai, this kid, why is he running around like crazy today?"
Zhang Xiaotian was also surprised. He knew Lu Bai would definitely try his best, but there was still some distance to go before the final sprint. Why was he speeding up now?
After Lu Bai pulled away from the person in front of him and moved into third place, he began to work hard to close the gap with the second place. He looked exhausted, but his pace didn't slow down. The second place runner had been accelerating normally, but as if he heard the footsteps approaching from behind, he also began to pick up the pace. The race had been lukewarm up to this point, but now it suddenly entered a fierce stage, and the students watching at the finish line were swept up in a wave of enthusiasm. Guan Yue finally gave up his nonchalant attitude and began to shout Lu Bai's name to cheer him on. Zhang Xiaotian watched Lu Bai gradually close in on the second place until he was parallel to him. He could hear his heavy breathing and felt a sense of shortness of breath. The closer he got to the finish line, the stronger the feeling became. Finally, when Lu Bai crossed the finish line, oxygen rushed to him like a tide.
Lu Bai rushed forward a few more steps before stopping. Guan Yue walked over to support him, and the two of them walked towards Zhang Xiaotian. As Lu Bai approached, he fell on Zhang Xiaotian like a boneless person. Zhang Xiaotian quickly reached out to take it, even stumbling a little. Lu Bai was so anxious that he wanted to say something before he could even catch his breath, and his face flushed red. He was no longer his usual nonchalant look.
"Slow down." Zhang Xiaotian gently stroked his back to help him breathe. "We'll talk later."
"This time..." Lu Bai panted, took a few more breaths, and then said, "You can see it now."
"What did you see?" Zhang Xiaotian reacted. "Yes, everyone saw it."
Lu Bai was breathing heavily and stared at him without blinking.
"Very handsome, we all saw it this time."
Zhang Xiaotian supported him and walked back slowly. When they returned to the stands, the classmates applauded and welcomed them. It must be Guan Yue who had returned to the class earlier and reported the good news.
"Sit for a while and drink some water later." Zhang Xiaotian returned to his seat and was busy with something else, but Lu Bai grabbed him.
"You sit down too." Lu Bai looked much better now. "It's not a big deal."
That's right, it's not a big deal. Zhang Xiaotian also felt that he was exaggerating a bit, so he followed his strength and sat down next to him. As soon as he sat down, he felt his shoulders sink. It was Lu Bai leaning on him.
"I'm so hot after running." Lu Bai's voice still sounded a little weak, "I feel like I can't even wear my school uniform jacket anymore."
"Then why are you still so close to me?" Zhang Xiaotian looked down at him. "Get up and take off your coat."
"I'm tired and don't want to move." Lu Bai refused to move.
"Old Lu!" Yin Li and Han Chengcheng moved their seats in front of them. "Gang, you're so awesome! If we had known you were going to be on stage, Chengcheng and I wouldn't have bothered writing any cheering scripts."
"We still have to write the encouragement article, otherwise our class will lose the spiritual civilization award." Lu Bai got up from Zhang Xiaotian and turned his neck.
"Our class has so many idle people, so if everyone writes a little, we'll have more than other classes," Yin Li said. "We can't compete with other classes in sports, so why aren't we willing to do something with a pen?"
"That's true." Lu Bai nodded and asked, "How much have you written? I'll write some too."
Han Chengcheng flipped through the notebook in her hand: "I took a peek when I went to the podium to submit the manuscripts just now. Our class has submitted the most manuscripts so far, and there are also more valid manuscripts that can be selected. We still have quite a few manuscripts in stock."
"Then you two should rest for now. We don't need you right now." Yin Li said with a smile, "You two are our class's biggest contributors right now. With two second places, our class's points have gone up quite a bit."
"Two?" Lu Bai looked at Zhang Xiaotian, "You're also second?"
Zhang Xiaotian nodded.
"My Tian'er is still the best." Lu Bai smiled and patted Zhang Xiaotian's leg, then fell on Zhang Xiaotian's shoulder again.
"Okay, you two take a rest." Yin Li was thinking about writing some more manuscripts, so she pulled Han Chengcheng to leave, "Cherish today, you have to come and help me write the manuscript tomorrow!" After that, she took Han Chengcheng away.
Zhang Xiaotian found it interesting to see Yin Li coming and going in a hurry. Just as he was about to tell Lu Bai about it, he met Han Chengcheng's inquiring gaze.
Han Chengcheng didn't hide after being discovered, but just smiled at him and turned away.
"Tian'er, I'm so tired!" Lu Bai leaned on the stool but didn't sit still. He twisted and turned on it. "You're too thin. Your shoulders are so uncomfortable."
"I gave you something to lean on, and you picked it!" Zhang Xiaotian ignored Han Chengcheng and directly pushed Lu Bai's head down. "Sit still."
"Hey, hey," Lu Bai no longer looked upset. He turned around, took out his tablet, connected it to headphones, and handed it to Zhang Xiaotian. "Want to watch a movie, Tian'er? I downloaded a lot yesterday. Pick one for us to watch."
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