fifteen
The sweltering air carried not a single refreshing breeze.
A somber atmosphere enveloped the entire playground.
Ning Yi'en stood listlessly at the end of the line.
— Many students in the next row, Class 1 and 2, had their Chinese or English study materials hidden in the sleeves of their school uniform jackets, working hard every minute.
Clearly, Ning Yi'en is not a particularly hardworking person.
He had actually brought a novel with him to read at this time, but the teacher on patrol saw it and said it would have a bad influence, so he shouldn't take it out anymore.
The impassioned speeches by student and referee representatives on the podium turned into a long lullaby for Ning Yi'en. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
"Brother, are you bored?" Lu Yunian was originally at the front of the line—according to the sports committee member who was lining up the class, this would improve the overall image and temperament of the class. Moreover, Lu Yunian was easy to talk to and cooperated by standing at the front.
He asked someone to switch his seat and slipped to the back.
Ning Yi'en struggled to open her eyelids, which felt as if they had been plastered with cement. "Sleepy."
"Well... goodnight."
“My sleep quality isn’t that good either.” Ning Yi’en’s expression was always indifferent, and you could only see a smile when you looked into his eyes.
"Then let's play this." Lu Yunian stuffed two pieces of paper into his hand.
"Star?"
“No,” a patrolling teacher walked over, and Lu Yunian quickly turned back and stood properly.
Then he whispered cautiously, "I managed to 'snatch' these two Sudoku puzzles from the sports committee member. You can play with them first, and I'll get you a few more if you need more."
"Okay, thank you, Star."
Ning Yi'en's voice floated into Lu Yunian's ears, and he suddenly realized that Ning Yi'en's mention of stars was not asking him if he wanted to fold stars, and perhaps she hadn't been talking about stars many times yesterday, but something else.
"I'm leaving now. If I wait too long, the sports committee will give me trouble."
"Now I hereby declare the 77th Autumn Sports Meet of Jiannan High School officially open."
The words were followed by a commotion on the playground, with murmurs and discussions filling the air.
Of course, it's normal to be excited, after all, the school sports meet is one of the largest events in Jian'an, and it is held in a very grand manner.
Moreover, the three-day sports meet ends right before the National Day holiday, meaning that first- and second-year high school students will have nearly ten consecutive days of rest.
Although senior high school students won't have such a long break, this is likely the last major event before the 100-day countdown rally. Everyone is quite excited and cherishes the few remaining leisure times at school when they can openly use their phones without taking exams.
However, Ning Yi'en wasn't enthusiastic about sports, nor did she like being outdoors in this kind of weather. Fortunately, the school didn't force the senior students to stay in the stands to watch the game; they could go back to their classrooms to study after the opening ceremony.
"Why didn't you wait for me?" Lu Yunian asked breathlessly as he ran upstairs. Ning Yi'en had just finished writing two pages of Sudoku puzzles.
“I saw you were chatting with your friends, so I didn’t want to bother you.” Ning Yi’en slipped the Sudoku puzzle into her diary.
"Call me next time, my ears are really sharp." Lu Yunian took a bottle of iced milk from behind him and placed it on Ning Yi'en's table. "Let me tell you, the convenience store is absolutely packed..."
Lu Yunian's talkativeness in front of Ning Yi'en was a bit excessive; once he started talking, he couldn't stop. Fortunately, Ning Yi'en never found him annoying; she just listened quietly each time, occasionally offering her own opinions or feelings.
Lu Yunian particularly liked and enjoyed this atmosphere, but perhaps he got too involved sometimes. For example, just now, Ning Yi'en mouthed something, but he couldn't tell whether it was "thank you" or "star".
"Yanyan, you'll be keeping me company later, right?" Ning Yi'en had just opened her eyes from her afternoon nap when Lu Yunian leaned over.
According to incomplete statistics, this is at least the seventh time Lu Yunian has asked this question since he was unlucky enough to be drawn in the 3,000-meter race.
"Lu Yunian, are you a child?" It was said in a joking tone.
"Can Brother Yanyan stay with the child?" Lu Yunian didn't mind. Seeing that Ning Yi'en was still lying down, he propped his left head up and looked at him.
“Okay, little one.” Ning Yi’en stood up and gently patted Lu Yunian’s head before leaving. “When do we check in?”
"Three o'clock, no rush."
It rained at noon, which washed away the stuffiness and dampness, but left a lot of water on the rubber track, making the whole playground very slippery.
"Watch your step, don't fall." Ning Yi'en took Lu Yunian's coat and water bottle.
“Hmm,” Lu Yunian’s expression was a little numb. “Brother, I’m nervous.”
“It’s okay,” Ning Yi’en said. Actually, she didn’t know many comforting words, and they were somewhat cliché. “It doesn’t matter what position you are in, it’s great to be on the track.”
"Is it great to be forced to stand on the track because of bad luck in the draw for the 3,000 meters?" Lu Yunian was indeed uneasy and nervously stomped his feet.
"Yeah, if I won 3,000, I definitely would have taken the day off from school."
"Then pat me on the head to encourage me."
Lu Yunian slightly bent his knees. He saw Ning Yi'en's expression pause for a moment, and he thought he was going to ask, "Lu Yunian, are you a dog?" or "Lu Yunian, are you a masochist?"
But Ning Yi'en didn't say that. She just patted Lu Yunian's head as he had said and said, "Keep going, believe in yourself." Then she asked him to help her put the number on.
Lu Yunian's physical fitness was quite good. During his free time in his first and second years of high school, he would often play badminton and basketball to exercise. However, the increasing busyness of his senior year made him less and less willing to move.
While running 3,000 meters isn't exactly a breeze, it's not a problem either. It's just that today I feel inexplicably nervous.
The meaning of "accompanying" as described by Lu Yunian and Ning Yien is probably somewhat different.
Lu Yunian just wanted to go downstairs with him and have him wait for him on the playground—after all, Ning Yien was the kind of person who would rather sit than walk an extra step.
But perhaps Ning Yi'en misunderstood, because after the starting gun fired, she accompanied Lu Yunian for half a lap on the inner track (which is roughly the area on the grass inside the track).
“Don’t come with me, brother,” Lu Yunian said, turning to look at Ning Yi’en as he ran. “If you come with me, I’ll get even more nervous, and my breathing will get all messed up.”
"Okay, the finish line is waiting for you. Don't feel pressured."
For the next six laps, Ning Yi'en smiled at him from the finish line. Although she didn't cheer him on as enthusiastically as the others, it was enough for Lu Yunian.
The track is 400 meters long and 300 meters long, so you have to run seven and a half laps. When he got to the sixth lap, everything was still going smoothly and Lu Yunian was not so tired that he cried out for his parents.
When he heard the impassioned announcement over the playground that read, "Lu Yunian, a student from Class 3 of Senior Three...", a bad feeling arose within him.
"...Although you didn't win a top-three prize in the Jiannan Campus Heartthrob Contest, in our hearts, you'll always be the most handsome guy. Believe in yourself, you can do it in the 3000 meters!...We wish you a stylish run and great results. In our hearts, you are the best!"
While running, I listened to the entire awkward cheering speech, which involved my toes digging into the ground, but the submitter was rude and didn't leave a signature, only writing at the end—"Your most supportive classmate from Class 3."
However, there are probably only two people who would write like this. Lu Yunian thought to himself that he would go and "cause trouble" later, and then silently increased his speed.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry." After finishing the run, he didn't even check his results and went straight to Ning Yi'en.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
“No,” he leaned on Ning Yi’en’s shoulder, “Sanqian is too tired, let me lean on him and recharge.”
"After a long run, you should walk slowly for a while." Ning Yi'en turned on the water bottle and handed it to him.
“Can’t we? Look at the guy who just finished running with me,” Lu Yunian pointed to the side, “he’s practically sprawled on his friend.”
Ning Yi'en has probably figured out Lu Yunian's "tricks" by now.
Whenever she encounters something she wants to do but is unsure if he will agree, she will blink at Ning Yi'en, purse her lips slightly, and make a gesture that Lu Yunian doesn't realize is actually a form of coquetry.
For example, he might rub the hem of his clothes while talking, or directly shake Ning Yi'en's coat.
“No, that won’t do,” Ning Yi’en said, taking two candies out of her pocket and putting them into Lu Yunian’s hand. “Are you going to check your grades later?”
"Let's see the overall score after the next group finishes." Lu Yunian struggled to unwrap the candy with one hand, put the candy in his mouth, and then said somewhat indistinctly, "I'm too tired right now, I'll rest first."
"Would you like to sit over there? Doesn't it hurt you to bend over like that?"
"Are you tired?" Lu Yunian moved his head away.
"Not tired."
"Let me lean on it a little longer, I'm so tired, Yan Yan, three thousand is not a place for people to run."
And so, Lu Yunian leaned on Ning Yi'en's shoulder for two minutes, muttering how tired he was.
Finally, it was probably because Ning Yi'en laughed at him and said, "Lu Yunian, you really are a little kid."
Then, to prove he wasn't a child, Lu Yunian went to check the group stage results on his own.
The final result was second in the group, but it failed to rank in the top three of the grade, and thus missed the podium.
"It's already pretty good."
"Really?"
"real."
Is it really true?
“It really is true,” Ning Yi’en said, taking out another lollipop from her pocket and giving it to him. “That was already great, Lu Xiaoxing.”
"What did you just call me? Say it again, okay?" Lu Yunian took the lollipop and suddenly realized this.
"not good."
"Why?"
"No reason."
"I'll give you this because I worked so hard today, running 3,000 kilometers."
"Once this opportunity is gone, it's gone forever," Ning Yi'en quickened her pace. "You agree, right, Lu Xiaoxing?"
"Hey!" Lu Yunian quickened his pace. "Are you embarrassed?"
But Ning Yi'en did not answer him.
"Don't be shy, Yan Yan, we're best friends."
"You're overthinking it, Lu Yunian. It's too hot, I'm going back to the classroom."
"Oh right," Lu Yunian asked as they went up the stairs, "did you take a picture of me just now? Did you capture my handsome figure?"
Some people let loose, or rather, returned to their true selves—after the "most handsome" cheering slogans resounded across the playground.
That's how Lu Yunian felt.
Moreover, he was certain that Ning Yi'en heard it clearly—when Lu Yunian passed by him, Ning Yi'en almost burst out laughing.
"No, I was probably captivated by the most handsome guy at the time."
"No, Yan Yan. You can't let Yan Ting and the others corrupt you."
"How about we go to the playground and film some more footage to record this?"
“No, the playground is too hot,” Lu Yunian said, pretending to be sullen. “You’re not allowed to go back to that topic.”
"What?"
"Don't pretend you're stupid." Lu Yunian put his hands on Ning Yi'en's shoulders and shook her.
"Not stupid." The boy swayed to the rhythm in a cooperative manner, but still gave an irrelevant answer.
"Not stupid?"
“Okay,” Ning Yi’en held up her phone. “You said cheese.”
Lu Yunian was surprised that Ning Yi'en would suddenly raise her phone to take a picture with him, and blankly made a peace sign.
"I'm so stupid." Lu Yunian leaned over to look at the photo.
"uh-huh."
"You're not allowed to hum or moan."
"Then what should we say?"
“You have to say, ‘Wow! This Lu Yunian is incredibly handsome!’”
"Okay, Lu Yunian is exceptionally handsome."
“Let’s take another one,” Lu Yunian said before Ning Yi’en put her phone back in her pocket.
"What kind of gesture is this?" In the photo, Lu Yunian is standing a little further back, his hands cupped together and placed on Ning Yi'en's head.
“Cat ears,” Lu Yunian demonstrated the gesture on his head to Ning Yi’en, “They were all the rage a while ago.”
"Wasn't the thing that was popular a while ago called 'puppy ears'?"
“It varies from person to person. For you…” Lu Yunian smiled, his voice gradually fading away.
"What?"
"It's nothing, let's hurry back to the classroom, it's so hot." Then she rushed up the stairs, taking three steps at a time, running as fast as she could.
—Maybe it's because I prefer kittens.
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