Chapter 8
Thursday was a hot and humid day with rising temperatures. At noon, Song Qiuxuan and Sun Shan went outside the school to have lunch.
They went to a mala tang (spicy hot pot) restaurant near the school together. Sun Shan decided to take Song Qiuxuan to try it out on the strong recommendation of her deskmate.
Song Qiuxuan originally suggested eating it around the time school ended in the afternoon. On the one hand, the spicy hot pot has a strong flavor, and she didn't want to spend the whole afternoon savoring that taste. On the other hand, eating spicy hot pot takes a long time, which might shorten her already short lunch break.
However, Sun Shan was tempted by her classmate's repeated positive reviews of the spicy hot pot restaurant, and after pleading with Song Qiuxuan several times, Song Qiuxuan finally gave in.
At lunchtime, the mala tang restaurant was packed with people, most of whom were wearing school uniforms. Song Qiuxuan and Sun Shan waited for a while in the air-conditioned restaurant, during which time Sun Shan started gossiping.
When fewer people were carrying baskets to pick vegetables, Song Qiuxuan and Sun Shan went over to choose their own. Song Qiuxuan mainly chose vegetables, and finally added a golden fried egg and a flatbread.
Sun Shan, determined to eat her fill, piled her bowl high with various meatballs. "Boss, I want it extra spicy."
When Song Qiuxuan heard Sun Shan say she wanted extra spicy, her eyes widened in shock. She tugged at Sun Shan's sleeve and said, "Are you sure? It's better to try mild or medium spicy first. You don't know how spicy this restaurant is. What if it's too spicy for you?"
Sun Shan said confidently, "I can handle a lot of spicy food!" She patted her chest and said, "Trust me, Xuanxuan, I'm going to make it extra spicy."
However, the extra spicy version at this restaurant was so spicy that it was unbearable to even take one bite. Song Qiuxuan was glad that she had chosen the mild version, which was a little numbing and spicy, but within her acceptable range.
Song Qiuxuan looked up and stared wide-eyed at Sun Shan's bowl of bright red spicy hot pot, which was floating with chili oil: "Are you sure you can handle extra spicy?"
"I'll give it a try," Sun Shan said hesitantly.
Sun Shan seemed startled by the color as well. She tremblingly picked up a meatball with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and took a bite. Her face turned bright red from the spiciness. She dropped her chopsticks and waved her hands wildly.
Sun Shan hissed and gasped a few times: "It's so spicy! I really think I'm living too comfortably, I have to eat extra spicy food."
The store sells iced drinks. Seeing that her face was flushed, Song Qiuxuan stood up and said, "I'll go buy you a drink."
"As expected of my best friend, I love you, Xuanxuan. I want a can of Coke." Sun Shan took a tissue to wipe her burning lips, looking at Song Qiuxuan with almost touching eyes.
Song Qiuxuan bought a can of Coke and a bottle of ice water. Sun Shan pulled the tab and drank half a can of Coke to quench her thirst. In the end, she barely touched her bowl of spicy hot pot.
Song Qiuxuan couldn't handle spicy food very well. Even with mild spiciness, which she could tolerate, she needed to drink ice-cold mineral water to barely eat half of it. The sensation of her stomach being both hot and cold was unpleasant, so she put down her chopsticks.
Sun Shan sipped her cola slowly, staring longingly at Song Qiuxuan's spicy hot pot: "Xuanxuan, aren't you going to eat it? What a waste!"
"I can't eat anymore." Beads of sweat appeared on Song Qiuxuan's forehead. She wiped the sweat with a tissue, her lips were numb and burning, and her voice was a little weaker.
Sun Shan's eyes lit up, and she said with a slightly aggrieved look, "I'll help you. I haven't eaten much myself, and I'm still hungry."
Song Qiuxuan pushed the bowl over, and then she drank the remaining half of the iced mineral water.
Sun Shan had almost finished the bowl of mildly spicy mala tang. After finishing, she kept praising how good the taste was, saying it deserved the praise from her tablemate.
However, when they returned to school, there were only a dozen minutes left before class started.
Most of the students in the classroom were resting on their desks. Song Qiuxuan walked quietly and carefully sat back down in her seat. Taking advantage of the little time she still had, she leaned on her desk and quickly rested for a bit as well.
However, after a few minutes, Song Qiuxuan's stomach started to feel uncomfortable. She frowned and rubbed her stomach a few times in discomfort.
Fortunately, the discomfort subsided a few minutes before class started. At that moment, low voices and the scraping sound of chairs being dragged around filled the classroom, and the students who were lying down got up one after another.
The next class was physical education. They stood up, stretched a few times, and then went to the playground in twos and threes with their water bottles.
"Lu Chengzhou, let's go." A boy in the back row called out.
"Here you are." Lu Chengzhou propped himself up on the table and glanced at Song Qiuxuan, who was motionless and seemed to be sleeping soundly.
"Song Qiuxuan, still lying there? Get up and go to the playground for PE class." Lu Chengzhou, with a basketball in his arms, casually leaned down and shouted in her ear, then slammed his hand on Song Qiuxuan's desk.
Song Qiuxuan felt a jolt in her eardrums. She looked up and said dismissively, "I know."
"Oh my god, your lips are so pale, are you not feeling well?" Lu Chengzhou paused, looking at Song Qiuxuan's unwell face, then he suddenly realized something and, disregarding the classmates in the classroom, shouted, "Are you on your period?"
Song Qiuxuan frowned slightly, wanting to explain that she had eaten too many different things for lunch, which caused her stomach pain and made her look pale.
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Chengzhou said, "Now you have another excuse not to run." He twirled the basketball in his hand, his tone unconsciously revealing a hint of contempt: "I've noticed that you girls really like to use this excuse to avoid running. How pretentious."
The air in the classroom froze for a few seconds.
Upon hearing this, Song Qiuxuan's anger flared up. Forgetting to refute his claim that she was menstruating, she raised her head, staring stubbornly at Lu Chengzhou, her tone unusually sharp: "You've never experienced pain, never felt that unbearable discomfort, of course you can say things like 'girls are being dramatic'."
Lu Chengzhou still had a playful smile on his face: "I was just saying it casually, why did you take it seriously?"
"Lu Chengzhou, stop arguing. Don't you know that if you're even a minute late, the PE teacher will make you run an extra lap as punishment?" The boy waiting for Lu Chengzhou at the back door urged him impatiently.
Lu Chengzhou glanced at Song Qiuxuan, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. The boy urged him again, and he rushed to the back door in a hurry: "Hurry up and go. Running laps will waste my time playing basketball."
With only two minutes left before class starts, it would take at least five or six minutes to walk from here to the playground, and two or three minutes to run. Song Qiuxuan picked up her water bottle and was about to run out of the classroom.
A tall, slender figure blocked the back door. Song Qiuxuan saw a pair of familiar white and gray sneakers. She ran a few steps and then suddenly stopped. Looking up, she saw Cheng Xun standing at the door against the light.
Song Qiuxuan thought he had already gone to the playground, and asked in surprise, "Cheng Xun, why aren't you leaving yet? Do you want to run a few more laps?"
Cheng Xun's gaze fell on Song Qiuxuan's lips, which were almost bloodless and pale, making her look somewhat listless. Cheng Xun did not answer Song Qiuxuan's question, but said in a low voice, "Are you feeling unwell? I'll ask the PE teacher for leave for you."
Now Song Qiuxuan knew that he had heard Lu Chengzhou's words. She pursed her lips and shook her head: "I'm not feeling unwell."
Song Qiuxuan considered herself to be in good physical condition. She thought that her stomach would hurt for a while after eating spicy food and drinking cold drinks. It was just a short while, and she had completely recovered now, although her complexion was a little pale.
They've gotten to know each other better these past few days, and they even tease each other sometimes. Song Qiuxuan naturally nudged Cheng Xun's arm, making him turn around.
Cheng Xun froze, as if his arm were entangled by a vine. The vine was soft, and he abruptly dodged Song Qiuxuan's hand, his usually sharp face now showing a rare look of bewilderment.
His resistance made Song Qiuxuan awkwardly lower her hand, and she seemed a little disappointed. She quickly composed herself and raised her voice a little: "You're not in a hurry, but I am. Don't block my way."
Seeing her like this, Cheng Xun stepped aside, so that no shadow fell on her. Song Qiuxuan's eyes were stung by the sunlight, so she lowered her head and slipped away from him.
Cheng Xun watched her running figure, her long black hair tied up trembling. She was running so fast, and there was no sign of physical discomfort. Cheng Xun's tense nerves relaxed.
No matter how fast Song Qiuxuan ran, she was still late in the end.
Five or six people were late for class. The PE teacher angrily whistled a few times: "Hurry up! You guys stand in a line by yourselves. Hey, who's that?! Don't try to squeeze into the line. Stand in the last row."
Lu Chengzhou had hoped to slip into the line during the chaos to escape, but he was spotted by the PE teacher. He shrugged and had no choice but to stand in the last row.
The sports committee member stood in front of the line, adjusting the students' formation to ensure they stood neatly. Song Qiuxuan stood in the last row for the first time, next to Cheng Xun, who was also late. There was an advantage to standing next to him: the shadow cast by his figure fell squarely on Song Qiuxuan, preventing her from being exposed to the scorching sun to some extent.
The PE teacher glanced at the sports representative with satisfaction, no longer so angry, and said with his hands on his hips, "This PE class is very easy. First, run three laps around the playground, and then you can have free time to play basketball, badminton, or soccer."
The PE teacher blew his whistle: "The first three rows, start running."
One boy, not wanting to miss out on the fun, thought he was being helpful and reminded the teacher, "Teacher, I remember you said that people who are late will be punished by running."
The people in the last row all turned their resentful gazes toward that person.
"Oh right, I almost forgot. The students in the last row, remember to run three extra laps. Sports committee member, remember to supervise."
After running six laps around the track, Song Qiuxuan suddenly felt a heavy burden on her shoulders, and she couldn't help but sigh.
"Can you run?" Song Qiuxuan heard Cheng Xun beside her ask in a low voice, as if she were very concerned.
"I can still run six laps, but I'll probably be exhausted by the end." Song Qiuxuan's lips curved into a half-smile, her expression looking somewhat bitter.
Cheng Xun saw her expression as feigning strength and frowned as he thought for a moment: "How about I talk to the sports committee member later and ask him to go easy on you, so you can run three laps as normal?"
Song Qiuxuan immediately refused: "No need. I was already late, there's no need to make an exception for me. It's unfair to the other students."
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