Apologize
The other party sent a text message soon.
"Are you sure?"
Xu Zhiyi quickly replied.
"Sure."
Xu Wangping was silent along the way. If it were normal, he would definitely have taught Xu Zhiyi a lesson.
But today he was particularly strange.
Xu Wangping never mentioned this matter until Xu Zhiyi had packed up everything and lay in bed.
—
The next day.
Xu Zhiyi stared at the ticking numbers on the stopwatch, his lungs burning as if they were on fire.
She can already run 1500 meters in 15 minutes, although it is still far from the competition standard.
"Zhiyi, not bad, not bad. You managed to finish the whole run. You are simply my god!"
Zhang Ningxia held the stopwatch and kept praising her.
Xu Zhiyi was breathing heavily, with his hands on his hips, staring blankly into the distance.
"Tell me, with my grades, do I still have a chance of making it into the top three?"
"Of course!" Zhang Ningxia tried her best to cheer Xu Zhiyi on. "Besides, the most important thing is participation. As long as you participate, that's all that matters."
Song Chengrui came from a distance, holding a bottle of mineral water and some food in his hands, his eyes full of smiles, "Don't worry, at your current pace, you will have no problem running under 8 minutes before the sports meet."
Xu Zhiyi bent over and supported her knees, and a large area of the back of her school uniform was wet.
When she looked up, she saw the bottle of mineral water handed to her by Song Chengrui.
"Thank you." She took the water bottle, and the moment her fingertips touched, she felt like she was hit by static electricity.
"Teacher Xu is making rapid progress." Song Chengrui smiled and unscrewed his own bottle, his Adam's apple rolling up and down as he swallowed.
Ever since that day of training in the rain, the nickname had become a secret between them.
Xu Zhiyi felt a little embarrassed when he called her that, so he lowered his head and said nothing.
Zhang Ningxia seemed to notice something was wrong and stared at the two of them.
"Hey, Zhiyi, you'll definitely be fine. Don't worry, it's still early. Let's practice slowly and we'll definitely be able to do it."
Xu Zhiyi finished drinking the water, wiped the sweat off his face, and nodded, "Yeah."
Suddenly, a sharp whistle came from the direction of the teaching building.
Gao Xingxing and a few girls were standing in the corridor, some of them holding their cell phones facing the playground.
Before Xu Zhiyi could speak, Zhang Ningxia took the lead and walked towards the teaching building with a bottle of water.
"Hey, Ningxia!"
Xu Zhiyi hurriedly went to pull him, "Where are you going?"
Zhang Ningxia broke free from Xu Zhiyi's hand and told her not to move. "Zhiyi, you practice. I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back soon."
"Really?"
"Um."
After saying that, Zhang Ningxia left without looking back.
Her tone was relaxed, and she even smiled at Xu Zhiyi, but the smile disappeared the moment she turned around.
—
Upstairs in the teaching building.
Zhang Ningxia narrowed her eyes and walked straight to the bathroom, but did not go in. Instead, she leaned against the wall in the corner and waited quietly.
Sure enough, within two minutes, a familiar voice rang out from the corridor: "Hey, look at Xu Zhiyi, he's running like he's almost out of breath, why are you pretending to be working so hard?"
"That's right. I heard that she pesters Song Chengrui to teach her how to run every day. She's so shameless." Another girl echoed.
Zhang Ningxia sneered, took out his cell phone from his pocket, clicked on the recording, and then strode out.
"Hey, what are you talking about? It's so lively." She stood in front of Gao Xingxing with a smile on her face, her tone so sweet that it was sickening.
Gao Xingxing was stunned for a moment, then rolled his eyes: "What's it got to do with you?"
Zhang Ningxia tilted her head, feigning innocence: "It's none of my business? Then you took a picture of Xu Zhiyi with your phone and posted it in the group to make fun of her, so that's my business."
Gao Xingxing's expression changed, but he quickly raised his chin again: "Why, she ran so ugly and you won't let me say anything?"
Zhang Ningxia didn't respond, but simply waved her phone. "I recorded everything you just said. Oh, and what do you think would happen if I put your faces like that on the classroom screen?"
Gao Xingxing's expression froze, and the girls next to her began to exchange uneasily glances.
Zhang Ningxia took a step forward and said in a light, yet clear voice, "You now have two choices."
"One, go to Xu Zhiyi and publicly apologize today."
"Second, I'll put this video on the TV in the school cafeteria so the whole school can know how you gossip about each other behind our backs. And let those boys who hang around you every day see how pure and innocent you are!"
Gao Xingxing's face turned pale, and her lips couldn't help but tremble: "Zhang Ningxia, you...you dare!"
Zhang Ningxia smiled, but her eyes were as cold as ice: "Try?"
She didn't say anything else and turned to leave. Before leaving, she shook her phone to make sure Gao Xingxing could see the red sign indicating that it was recording on the screen.
—
Xu Zhiyi was tired and planned to sit on the steps to rest.
Song Chengrui sat next to her and the two chatted casually.
"Song Chengrui, didn't you grow up with Xie Lin? Why do you sometimes seem to be so close to her yet so distant?"
Song Chengrui was silent, and Xu Zhiyi quickly added, "Well, if you don't want to answer this question, you don't have to say anything. I've been talking too much."
"No." Song Chengrui said slowly.
"We've known each other since we were little. My mom and her mom were close, so our families often visited and saw each other. But maybe we were born with different magnetic fields. When we were little, we would fight whenever we met. Xie Lin was a crybaby, and I was quiet, so she would often go and complain, and I ended up getting beaten. So, gradually, I stopped playing with her."
"Were you quiet when you were little?"
Xu Zhiyi looked skeptical, "Really? I feel like you're... quite lively."
Song Chengrui sighed lightly.
"It's true. Before I was in junior high school, I wasn't even as tall as Xie Lin, and I felt quite inferior to her at school."
Xu Zhiyi didn't expect that someone as outstanding as Song Chengrui would also have moments of inferiority.
"Well... I think Xie Lin treats you very well..."
"I don't know. Before junior high, she looked down on me. But when we were in the same class in high school, she suddenly told me she wanted to study with me. She even promised my mom that we would go to the same university."
Xu Zhiyi came back to her senses and suddenly remembered that Song Chengrui didn't do his homework at that time. No wonder Xie Lin was so anxious. It seemed that she was afraid that Song Chengrui's grades would drop.
"Then...she's not wrong...right?"
Song Chengrui glanced at Xu Zhiyi and said, "It is wrong to impose your will on others."
Xu Zhiyi nodded in agreement and remembered these words deeply in his heart.
She suddenly thought of herself. Her own thoughts should only be known by herself. If she had to say them out loud, would it cause trouble to the other person?
She tilted her head and secretly looked at the refreshing profile, and the depression in her heart deepened.
Song Chengrui was afraid that she would misunderstand what he meant.
"I mean, if the other person doesn't like it and you insist on doing it, then that's wrong. Do you understand?"
Xu Zhiyi suddenly felt nervous.
Could it be that he saw through my thoughts, and Song Chengrui was warning me?
What is he taking this opportunity to say?
Keep yourself away from him? Or...know your place?
"clear……"
Xu Zhiyi gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Do you really understand?"
"I understand. I understand."
Xu Zhiyi ignored the soreness in his legs and stood up from the stairs.
"Okay, training is over for today."
"Back to the classroom."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
Song Chengrui stood there, watching the departing figure, and did not chase after him.
As soon as she went downstairs, she ran into Xu Zhiyi.
She smiled and put her arm around Xu Zhiyi's shoulders: "How is your practice going?"
Xu Zhiyi nodded, a little puzzled: "Why did you take so long?"
Zhang Ningxia shrugged and smiled brightly: "There's a queue for the toilet."
She didn't plan to tell Xu Zhiyi what had just happened.
Some battles are enough for her to fight for her friends.
Zhang Ningxia looked back and didn't see anyone.
"Hey, where's Song Chengrui? Why isn't he with you?"
Xu Zhiyi paused, his tone deliberately calm: "He, he must have something else to do."
Zhang Ningxia keenly noticed something unusual, but just raised an eyebrow: "Oh~"
When the two of them reached the classroom door, Gao Xingxing suddenly blocked their way.
She lowered her head, her voice as thin as a mosquito: "Xu Zhiyi, I'm sorry."
Xu Zhiyi stood there in a daze.
The girls behind Gao Xingxing also bowed and apologized, their attitudes completely different from before.
"You guys..." Xu Zhiyi turned to look at Zhang Ningxia, who was playing with her nails as if nothing had happened.
Gao Xingxing bit her lip and said, "We shouldn't talk about you behind your back, nor should we secretly take videos."
She handed over an exquisite notebook, "This is for you, as an apology."
Xu Zhiyi didn't answer.
She looked straight into Gao Xingxing's eyes. Gao Xingxing's expression changed and he stole a glance at Zhang Ningxia.
Xu Zhiyi suddenly understood something and pulled Zhang Ningxia over: "What did you do?"
Zhang Ningxia spread her hands: "It's just to let them know that bullying others will have a price to pay."
Xu Zhiyi's chest heaved. She turned to Gao Xingxing and said in a clear and firm voice, "This time, I am willing to forgive you, and I don't need your gift."
She pushed the notebook back. "But remember, I'm not ignoring you out of fear. It's because I think you'll really change. I hope I made the right choice."
She pulled Zhang Ningxia into the classroom, leaving the crowd standing there in a daze.
"Zhi Yi..." Zhang Ningxia was a little nervous.
Xu Zhiyi let go of his hand, his eyes gentle.
"I won't blame you. I'm just afraid that you'll get into trouble because of me."
Zhang Ningxia finally breathed a sigh of relief and shrugged complacently: "I'm not afraid of them!"
Song Chengrui came in from the back door and his eyes met Xu Zhiyi's.
She quickly turned her face away, picked up the cup and went to the water dispenser.
In the following training sessions, Xu Zhiyi always arrived on time and left immediately after the training was over.
She no longer spent time alone with Song Chengrui, and their conversation was limited to running techniques.
Everyone seemed to have a tacit understanding and deliberately forgot what happened that day.
But the way the two of them get along is becoming more and more strange.
In the following days, Xu Zhiyi focused all his energy on organizing the sports meeting and running training.
She arrived at school half an hour early every day, ran around the playground alone, and hurried back to the classroom only when the morning reading bell rang.
Song Chengrui tried to talk to her several times, but she avoided him on the grounds that she was "in a hurry".
It wasn't until Friday during physical education class that Xu Zhiyi accidentally fell while running and scraped a large area on his knee.
She gritted her teeth and tried to stand up and continue running, but was stopped by a pair of strong hands.
Song Chengrui squatted in front of her, frowning: "You're already injured, don't be so stubborn."
"I can do it." Xu Zhiyi pushed his hand away, her voice trembling but firm.
"no."
After saying that, Song Chengrui called Zhang Ningxia and the sports committee member without saying anything else.
"Xu Zhiyi is injured. Zhang Ningxia and I will take her to the infirmary. Please tell the teacher."
Zhang Ningxia was extremely anxious at the moment. "Does it hurt a lot, Zhiyi? Just bear with it. I'll take you to the infirmary right away."
Song Chengrui squatted down directly, "Come up, hurry up like this."
Xu Zhiyi endured the pain, glanced at the people around him, and felt a little hesitant.
"Come on, do you want a scar on your leg?"
Song Chengrui's voice could not be rejected.
Xu Zhiyi bit her lip and finally lay on his back carefully.
"Hold on tight," he whispered, his hands firmly supporting her knees, the school uniform fabric making a slight rubbing sound as he stood up.
Zhang Ningxia followed quickly.
As the three of them crossed the playground, Xu Zhiyi could feel countless eyes on her back, so she buried her face lower.
"Put me down, we're almost at the infirmary." She pleaded softly as they turned the corner of the teaching building.
Song Chengrui didn't stop walking: "The wound is contaminated with sand. If it is not treated in time, it will become infected and leave scars."
The door of the infirmary was ajar, and the air conditioner was on inside, so a slight coolness could be felt from outside.
Song Chengrui leaned sideways and pushed the door open with his shoulder, and the smell of disinfectant hit him in the face.
The school doctor was tidying up the medicine cabinet and turned to see them.
Zhang Ningxia quickly explained: "Teacher, her knee was severely scratched."
"Sit on the bed and let me take a look." The school doctor put on gloves and the moment the cotton swab dipped in hydrogen peroxide touched the wound, Xu Zhiyi gasped and his fingers unconsciously clenched the bed sheet.
The school doctor bandaged the wound neatly: "Don't touch water for the next two days. It will scab over by next week."
She turned to Song Chengrui and said, "Remember to report her situation to the teacher."
Zhang Ningxia looked at Xu Zhiyi with pity and nodded.
"Thank you, teacher."
On the way back to the classroom, the three of them remained silent tacitly.
When they reached the corner of the stairs, Song Chengrui suddenly stopped and said, "Xu Zhiyi."
"Um?"
He lowered his voice, but Xu Zhiyi still heard it:
"Have you been avoiding me lately?"
Zhang Ningxia's eyes lit up, and she quietly took two steps to the side, pretending that she heard nothing.
Xu Zhiyi stared at her bandaged knee, her voice trembling. She froze and turned her face away.
“No…no…”
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