Chapter 10
No. 3 Middle School follows the principle of playing when you should play and studying when you should study. When the school holds large-scale activities, teachers will not assign homework. Movies will be shown in class or class meetings will be held. In the afternoon, school will be dismissed after the day's projects are completed, without any delay.
Jiang Xu accompanied Ji Jing to finish the competition and was a little later than the others. She casually sorted out her schoolbag and originally wanted to go and see if He Jin and the others had left, but when she thought that it was almost time for Jiang You to get out of school, she didn't go around to Class 7.
She walked slowly towards the school gate with her bag on one shoulder and her cell phone in the other hand. Xu Zhixin just happened to call and she picked up the phone.
"Jiang Xiaoxu, do you want to go karaoke tonight? Those people from No. 1 Middle School said they just skipped self-study today to hang out. They said they haven't seen you in a while."
Jiang Xu thought for a moment and replied, "Okay, I'll take Jiang You home first..." Halfway through her words, she was stunned. She looked in the direction she was going to find. It was the person she was looking for. He was sitting next to the flower bed beside the school gate, with a cat squatting at his feet. He was touching the kitten's head with one hand.
After a long pause, the person on the other end asked, "What then? What time do you come?"
Jiang Xu recovered and said casually, "Send me the address."
He hung up the phone, then immediately turned on the camera and started taking a lot of candid photos.
When he opened the album, he saw that the entire screen was filled with almost identical pictures. Only then did Jiang Xu feel satisfied.
She glanced at the time. There were still ten minutes left. It would take four minutes to walk there, two minutes to run there, and one minute to buy ice cream. Oh, forget it. Just wait a few minutes. At most, she could buy an extra string of candied haws.
He Jin supported his knee with one hand and looked down at the kitten for a while. It seemed that the kitten had gained a lot of weight after being fed by him. The canned food must be quite nutritious. Suddenly, a pair of white high-end sneakers appeared in his sight.
A familiar voice rang in my ears: "Brother Jin, is this the kitten you raised?"
He Jin looked up and looked into the girl's smiling eyes. At the same time, the kitten at his feet also looked in the direction of the sound.
He said, "No."
Jiang Xu looked at the orange kitten. Ah, it was the one that wanted to eat the meat buns she bought last time.
I looked at the can of food in front of the kitten again, it seemed to be quite high-end.
Asked: "Do you keep feeding it?"
He Jin: “Yeah.”
Jiang Xu couldn't help but squat down and touch the kitten's head. The kitten seemed to still remember her and took the initiative to rub against her palm. "No wonder it's not afraid of people."
He Jin shifted his gaze to the kitten inconspicuously and whispered, "She's scared. Sometimes I have to stand here for a long time before she comes out."
Kitten denies: "Meow"
Man, canned food is delicious, but you can't talk nonsense, that was a long time ago.
Jiang Xu tilted his head, a little puzzled, "Is that so?" But they were obviously very close.
"Yeah." A man and a cat squatted in front of him, feeling the same thing in their hearts, and said, "Jiang Xu, do you like it?"
Jiang Xu immediately replied, "I like it. It's very cute, super cute! But my mom is allergic to these small animals, especially kittens, so we can't keep them at home."
He Jin nodded, hiding what he was about to say, and only said: "He likes you very much, too."
The kitten affirmed: "Meow meow meow" Yes, I like it.
Seeing the kitten agree, Jiang Xu looked at him with wide eyes, as if he had seen something extraordinary: "Brother Jin, you can even see this."
The looks of the man and the cat were quite similar. He Jin's heart softened and he said slowly, "Yeah, the look of love is obvious."
Jiang Xu's eyes lit up immediately, and she praised her own quick thinking. She moved closer to him, blinking furiously, "Really? Brother Jin, look at me now. Did you see that?"
He Jin chuckled but didn't answer her question.
Jiang Xu was not discouraged at all. She just thought that he looked very handsome when he smiled. She liked him and it was good enough that she could see it.
"Oh, by the way, although we can't keep a cat at home, my dad owns a pet shop. If possible, I will bring the kitten there. It's very close to the school, so I can go see it anytime and I don't have to worry about it wandering outside." Jiang Xu suddenly thought of it. In order to satisfy her regret that her family couldn't keep a cat, Jiang Yuanshan specially found someone to open a shop. Usually, stray animals were sent there. The shop was getting bigger and bigger, and more and more people were hired. The food and supplies were all the best. Her father had no intention of making a profit from this.
He Jin said, "I thought about it before, but it didn't want to. Maybe there's something important here. But you can ask it again."
After they finished speaking, both of them looked at the kitten, but unlike what they expected, the kitten ran away very fast.
Jiang Xu couldn't help but be surprised. Such a human-like kitten could understand what he was saying.
Jiang Xu finally gave up. It was only after He Jin had fed it for so long and it still didn't want to go with him that she fed it once. "Brother Jin, I'm going to pick up my brother from school. See you tomorrow."
He Jin also stood up and picked up the bag beside him, "See you tomorrow."
The two walked in different directions. Jiang Xu had only taken a few steps when he heard a "meow" from behind him.
He Jin also heard it. They both turned around at the same time and saw a black doll of unknown shape at the feet of the little orange cat. It then picked it up and ran quickly towards Jiang Xu.
Jiang Xu squatted down in surprise and held up its raised face with both hands: "Yeah, are you willing to come with me?"
He Jin also walked over and chuckled, "You little heartless guy."
The kitten complained: "Meow meow meow meow!" It was you who said before that you couldn't take me home. If you send me to the pet store, I won't be able to eat such delicious canned food.
The kitten was held by Jiang Xu without any struggle, and he even held the black doll in his hands without any disgust. "Brother Jin, I'll take it away. I'll give you the address of the pet shop later!"
He Jin nodded and patted the kitten's head: "Okay."
Jiang Xu smiled and said, "Brother Jin, give it a name."
Hearing this, He Jin raised his eyes and met the girl's gaze. He thought for a moment and said, "Baozi."
Jiang Xu didn't react: "Huh?"
He Jin didn't look away and repeated, "She loves buns."
Kitten: "Meow"
Jiang Xu smiled without giving it any thought, "Okay, Baozi, come back with me. I'll give you the best canned food every day from now on."
Kitten: "Meow meow meow" That's great, I can have a full meal every time.
——
Considering the painful lesson of being caught playing cards yesterday, Jiang Xu sat obediently in the stands, holding the physics competition tutorial book in his hand, cushioning it on his knees, staring blankly at the ground below.
There were many throwing competitions this morning, and the girls from Class 3 all participated with a try-it attitude, and Ji Jing and her classmates were no exception.
Although He Jin is a student referee, he has not been seen leading anyone in the past two days. He just sits on a chair in the middle of the playground, sleeping with a book covering his face.
After an unknown amount of time, Ji Jing and the others returned from the competition. Seeing Jiang Xu sitting in a daze, she said cheerfully, "Ahhh, it's almost time for the 3,000-meter run. Let's give you a full-body relaxation."
Jiang Xu turned around and saw Wu Yunyun holding a back massager, knee pads, elbow pads, and even a helmet.
...I really want to escape from this situation.
Wu Yunyun immediately went over to him. "Hurry up, hurry up, let me give you a shoulder massage. And here's something else. Do you think you can use it? I forgot last time. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter. Watch for them at the finish line while I try to slip in."
Seeing Wu Yunyun talking so much in one breath, sweating, Jiang Xu smiled helplessly: "Baby, don't be so nervous, relax."
As soon as Jiang Xu sat down, Qiu Tian came over and said, "Jiang Xu, don't worry, our cheers will definitely be the loudest in the whole venue! We absolutely cannot lose in terms of momentum!"
Ji Jing was relatively calm. She smiled and handed over a glass of water, smiling mysteriously, "Jiang Xu, keep going, there's a surprise."
"Surprise?!! What surprise?" Wu Yunyun and Qiu Tian reacted almost at the same time, as if they were connected by Bluetooth.
"It's said to be a surprise, but we won't know until the end." Ji Jing smiled playfully, revealing her hidden little fangs.
The other two said at the same time: "Tsk..."
Jiang Xu propped up her head and watched, letting them fiddle with the tools. The others were busy with their own things. The glare from the sun blinded them, but it didn't hinder their movements at all.
"Sophomore runners participating in the women's 3000m, please report to the registration office as soon as possible."
A deep male voice came from the radio. The voice seemed a little familiar. Jiang Xu was thinking about it, but before she could figure it out, the three of them suddenly stood up and hugged her, "Come on, baby Jiang Xu, we will cheer for you!!"
The other students also sat in their seats, looking ready to go. Wang Yuguang also stood by and nodded at her encouragingly.
Why does this scene look so much like an old mother sending her daughter off to get married, and it’s a group of old mothers at that.
Jiang Xu said "hmm" to them and told them not to follow him to the registration office.
When I arrived at the designated location, I saw He Jin holding a list and calling out names with a baseball cap on his head.
My eyes suddenly brightened up. This is such a surprise.
He Jin raised his eyes and saw her standing there in a daze, "Jiang Xu."
"Here!" Jiang Xu subconsciously straightened her back and spoke in a powerful voice. Others turned their heads to look at her.
He Jin chuckled and said, "Come here."
The final was for a round of 3,000. Twenty or so girls signed up, and a few gave up. In the end, more than a dozen people stood at the starting line together.
Jiang Xu was standing at the outermost position, wearing a black sports shirt and shorts that she had found at home, with a fluorescent vest on the outside. The side straps were just at her waist, and from the side you could see that her slender waist was less than the size of a hand, and her straight, white legs looked even longer.
As the starting gun sounded, many contestants rushed out like arrows. Jiang Xu was an exception. She followed at the end of the team from the beginning, walking at a leisurely pace. A protracted battle like 3,000 meters required not only physical strength and endurance, but also mentality. She liked to be a superman one by one, and the best time was when she was at a bend.
What they said was indeed right. Class 3 had a firm grasp of the momentum. Many boys even took a few loudspeakers and shouted loudly. The cheers were deafening and the whole audience was in awe.
When running past Class 3, it happened to be the first bend. Jiang Xu took a step outward and passed the three people in front of him, leaving them a distance behind. The cheers were even louder than before.
Maybe it’s because I haven’t exercised for a long time. Even though I ran a few times in the past two days, I still couldn’t recover so quickly.
By the fifth lap, Jiang Xu's physical strength began to fail her. Many girls had started walking or even dropped out of the race. There were still four people in front, all of them athletes, but the gap between them was still quite large. The one in first place had lagged behind by at least a hundred meters.
Jiang Xu kept breathing in rhythm and followed them, as if gathering strength.
Every time she ran to the straight track, she could vaguely feel someone following her from behind, keeping a certain distance, as if driving her forward.
The cheers from Class 3 were boiling, floating in the wind, and were already a little vague by the time they reached her ears. On the last straight, she had already left a sports student behind. Jiang Xu closed her eyes, changed lanes again, accelerated, and rushed straight out from the last straight. The sports student in front did not expect that she could still accumulate energy to sprint to the end. When she reacted, she had already rushed ahead of her.
The first two athletes accelerated almost at the same time and reached the finish line.
Jiang Xu closed his eyes as he crossed the finish line. He slowed down and was about to fall down. He thought he would be welcomed by the embrace of Mother Earth, but unexpectedly he fell into a broad chest full of security. Jiang Xu was completely exhausted and couldn't even stand. He wanted to lie on the ground, but someone hugged his waist to support him. "Don't lie down, stand for a while."
Jiang Xu was panting, sweating all over, and his throat was almost smoking. A thermos cup filled with warm water was handed to his lips, and a straw was carefully inserted into it.
"Does the referee still provide this kind of service?" Jiang Xu took a sip of water to calm down, tugged at the clothes of the person in front of him, and spoke.
He Jin put the hat loosely on her head, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and tucked the loose hair behind her ears. "Huh? No."
Jiang Xu supported himself on his arm and stood up a little straighter. Before he could say anything, he heard Wang Yuguang's voice praising him: "Xiao Jiang, you are really great. Third place, I didn't expect it."
Jiang Xu wanted to let go, "Alright, just continue to rest. Our class three finally has a female athlete. I have to brag about it to the other teachers."
Wang Yuguang actually saw through the two people's trick at a glance, but he didn't expose it. He walked away with a smile. The first and second in the grade are together, which must be big news.
Seeing this, Jiang Xu simply gave up on herself and threw herself into He Jin's arms again. She felt so comfortable, warm, stylish, and safe.
This service is so good, I feel like I can run another 3,000.
He Jin lowered his head and saw his head pressed against his chest. He didn't care much about the sweat on his clothes and asked, "Isn't it hot?"
"Brother Jin, the rankings are coming up, and the forms have been submitted."
Jiang Xu jumped up again, and only now felt a little embarrassed.
"Yes, I'm here." He Jin released her hand and handed her the water cup: "Walk for a while, and I'll give you the award later, athlete."
Jiang Xu sat on a stool nearby, biting his straw, and looked at the boy who was keeping score not far away, a little dazed.
Even if there was a group of people around him, she could still see him at a glance. Even if he did nothing, he was the most dazzling one in the crowd.
Thinking of this, she suddenly sighed. When could they be together? She seemed to be unable to help herself.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
