University extra (5)
When Xu Jianing arrived at the Foreign Languages College teaching building, she saw Wen Sheng arguing with a boy.
"Who signed me up?!" she demanded loudly.
The boy, holding the registration form, explained with a troubled expression, "I really have no other choice. The school said that every class needs someone to sign up for long-distance running, but there are few people in our class, and they don't want to sign up... I saw that you are usually good at sports, so I registered your name."
Wen Sheng interrupted him coldly: "Who said I'm good at sports?"
The boy was taken aback, and stammered, "Didn't you run pretty fast during the last military training?"
"I just wanted to go back to sleep!" Wen Sheng laughed in exasperation at this reason. "Do you even know what 'voluntary participation' means?"
"I'm just trying to give you a chance... Running 1500 meters will even give you extra points." The boy's voice trailed off, his confidence clearly waning.
"Then why don't you sign up for the men's 3000 meters? I can give it to you, I'll give you a wig, and you can run it for me."
Several classmates passing by burst out laughing when they heard this. The boy's face turned bright red, and he tried to explain further.
Wen Sheng was too lazy to pay attention to him anymore and said coldly, "I'll run away this time, but if I find out you've secretly registered my name again, the wig will be sent straight to your dorm."
After saying that, she turned and left.
She looked up and saw Xu Jianing standing under the shade of a tree, holding his bicycle, waiting for her not far away.
As she approached, he raised a hand and naturally took hers. "Let's go."
Instead of riding bicycles, they pushed them and strolled slowly along the school path.
"What happened just now? Why were you so angry?" Xu Jianing asked.
Wen Sheng pursed her lips and snorted: "Today I saw my name on the list of 1,500 people. I asked the sports committee member, and he said he helped me register."
“After class, I confronted him, and he said that he saw me return to the dormitory quickly on the day of military training, so he thought I was a good runner.”
As Wen Sheng spoke, she grew angrier and angrier, throwing left and right hooks at the air, performing a set of "Wen-style continuous boxing moves" with impressive skill, as if she were the sports committee member of her class.
She stopped to catch her breath when she was panting heavily and her hair was disheveled, her hands still on her hips: "No, I need to work out properly! I can't stop halfway through my 1500-meter run."
Xu Jianing was pushing a bicycle on the side, laughing so hard that her shoulders were shaking. Her hand trembled and she accidentally touched the bell on the handlebars.
Wen Sheng glared at him fiercely: "What are you laughing at!"
“I know your stamina isn’t great. How about we go for a morning workout together tomorrow?” Xu Jianing coughed lightly to cover it up, then suggested with a serious expression.
How did you know I'm not physically fit? Did you just guess?
"Do I even need to guess? Every time she sits on my lap, she says she's tired halfway through a kiss and asks me to take over."
“How about starting tomorrow, you can run with me in the mornings? I’ll slow down and lead you around,” he asked tentatively.
Wen Sheng: "..."
She knows those words all too well!
Cangzhong said he had said the same thing, that he would run two laps around the track every morning at five o'clock, not requiring her to keep it up, just to "enjoy the scenery." And what happened?
She persisted for only one day that year.
Thinking of this, Wen Sheng snorted coldly, crossed her arms, turned her head away, and said, "I'm not going."
"Why?"
"Because I have my own clever tricks," she said smugly.
Xu Jianing was intrigued, but seeing that the other party didn't want to reveal anything, she gave up.
He just wanted an excuse to spend more time with her during his busy university life, to see her in the morning, and to have breakfast with her.
As a result, her simple statement, "I have a clever plan," extinguished his little scheme.
Xu Jianing sighed silently, comforting herself that there would be plenty of time in the future.
*
The next morning, just as dawn broke, Wen Sheng rubbed her sleepy eyes, struggled to get out of bed, tiptoed to change into her sportswear, and pushed open the door to go outside.
She hadn't gotten up this early in a long time since graduating from high school; it felt like getting up early to study was something from a past life.
To avoid running into Xu Jianing, who was jogging at that time, she deliberately took a longer route to the small playground behind the teaching building, where there were fewer people.
When they arrived at the playground, it was gradually getting light. Wen Sheng yawned, put the towel and water bottle aside, stretched, and then began to move her wrists and neck.
She stood still, heels together, head held high, chest out, and slowly raised her hands, beginning the first move of her amazing technique—
Supporting the sky with both hands regulates the three jiaos (upper, middle, and lower burners).
Slowly raise both hands from in front of your chest, palms facing up, and look slowly toward your hands. Steady your breathing and adjust your rhythm.
Just as she was about to begin the second move, "Shooting Eagles with Both Hands," a figure approached her.
The thin mist on the playground hadn't completely dissipated. Wen Sheng subconsciously thought the figure was Xu Jianing and was about to pick up her water bottle to go outside when she heard a sentence in English:
"Hey! Are you doing Chinese Kung Fu? Can you teach me?"
Wen Sheng looked up and saw a tall, handsome Western man in front of her. He had light blond curly hair, a high nose bridge, and deep blue eyes full of curiosity. He was wearing a sports vest, revealing his muscular arms, and looked like he had just finished a morning run.
“Are you making kung fu?!” he repeated.
Wen Sheng paused for a moment, pointed to herself, and asked in English to confirm, "Are you asking me?"
“Of course!” The blond boy nodded excitedly. “I’ve been watching you from behind for a long time. You look like a qigong master.”
"This isn't kung fu, it's Baduanjin, a kind of health exercise," Wen Sheng corrected helplessly.
“I know, I know, the Eight Pieces of Brocade, one of the secret arts of the East.” The blond, blue-eyed handsome guy introduced himself, “My name is George, I’m an exchange student from Burkina Faso, Y country.”
As he spoke, he made a strange gesture: he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then put his left palm and right fist together, pushing them slightly forward—a standard Chinese martial arts "clasped fist salute."
"Please grant me the power of the East, Master!" The last two words were spoken in Chinese, clearly and distinctly.
Wen Sheng froze, pinching her cheek hard. She wondered if she was still half asleep, having been "taken as a disciple" by a handsome foreign guy on the playground in the early morning.
She tried to maintain a polite smile, her lips twitching slightly: "...I'm just an ordinary college student, I don't take on apprentices."
“Then I can be your first,” George persisted.
“Really, there’s no need…” Wen Sheng tried to change the subject. “Baduanjin is not a martial art, it’s just a health exercise, the kind that you do to improve your health.”
George simply didn't believe it. "Impossible! That move you just made was clearly gathering energy; that's how it's done in the movies."
"I understand, a true master is always so humble!" He bowed deeply. "Please, Master!"
Wen Sheng looked at the person bowing in front of her and reluctantly helped them up. "I will try my best to explain the movements to you in English. Just follow along with me."
"That's great! Thank you, Master!"
"Don't call me master, just call me Wen Sheng."
"Okay, Master Wen!"
Wen Sheng: "......"
Oh well, let it be.
She stood back in her original position and made a "start" gesture to George: "Relax, feet shoulder-width apart."
"Very good. Now, slowly raise your hands from your chest, palms up... Yes, like this." Wen Sheng demonstrated while observing the movements, making it easy to correct any mistakes.
George imitated it quite well, but his movements were stiff, and his arms would start to sway halfway up.
“No, no,” Wen Sheng quickly went over to help him adjust. “You’re going too fast. You need to slow down. And don’t be so stiff with your arms. Stretch them out naturally.”
"Master, I can feel the energy flowing through my body!"
That's because you're taking a deep breath!
"Master, I feel my hands getting hot!"
That's because blood circulation has increased.
"Master, I feel my stomach shaking!"
"That's because you're hungry." She had completely given up on correcting his way of addressing her.
George suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! Chinese Kung Fu is indeed closely related to the body."
“Yes, yes, yes,” Wen Sheng nodded perfunctorily, really not wanting to explain any further, “It’s very closely related.”
George diligently followed her through the entire set of movements, his forehead covered in sweat, his face flushed, and he said breathlessly, "Thank you, Master. I can already feel the mysterious power of the East."
"Then go to the fourth canteen and buy a basket of xiaolongbao. It will enhance this mysterious power," Wen Sheng said, making up a lie with a straight face.
"Really?" George's eyes widened in surprise. "Then the xiaolongbao is a source of power?"
Wen Sheng's shoulders trembled as she suppressed a laugh, but she nodded without changing her expression: "Yes, when you eat it, remember to bite into the soup and feel the flow of internal energy."
"Understood!" He bowed again. "Thank you for your guidance, Master!"
Seeing him run excitedly towards the cafeteria, Wen Sheng finally couldn't help but laugh so hard she couldn't stand up straight. Just as she was laughing so hard that tears were about to come out, she suddenly felt someone blocking the light.
She thought to herself: How did these foreigners finish buying everything so quickly? Long legs are definitely a good thing...
She looked up and froze, her laughter abruptly ceasing.
It wasn't George.
It's Xu Jianing.
Xu Jianing stood there, wearing a black tracksuit, with beads of sweat on his forehead, clearly having just finished running.
"That's early, Master Wen. Is this the brilliant trick you were talking about?"
Wen Sheng was still half-bent over, her smile frozen on her face.
It's over.
She never expected that even though she got up early to avoid him and went to the furthest playground, she would still be caught red-handed.
"I...I'm doing this to improve my health." Wen Sheng straightened her back, her brain quickly searching for an excuse, "Practicing Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade) helps improve lung capacity and is beneficial for running 1,500 meters."
"Eight Pieces of Brocade?" Xu Jianing slowly approached her and repeated it in a low voice.
"Mmm-hmm." Wen Sheng nodded vigorously.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.
“Because…” she said guiltily, looking away, “I felt you would laugh at me.”
Xu Jianing was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and ruffled her hair: "When have I ever laughed at you?"
"It's quite clever of you to think of using Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade) to improve your physical strength. It's definitely more suitable for you than forcing yourself to run," he said.
"Really? Don't you think that's silly?"
"I don't think so. Baduanjin is a traditional health-preserving exercise, and it's very scientific."
He paused, looking at her: "But why practice secretly? And why go so far?"
Wen Sheng could hear the grievance in his tone, and her heart softened: "I was wrong... I'll ask you to come with me tomorrow."
Xu Jianing lowered her head, her voice muffled: "Really?"
She nodded: "Really."
Xu Jianing hummed in agreement, subtly curving her lips into a smile. When she looked up, her expression returned to normal. "Alright, I'll wait for you downstairs at your dorm tomorrow morning."
"All right......"
Wen Sheng sighed. Wen Sheng had it tough; she couldn't slack off anymore.
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