364. But I Still Like It!
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The stir surrounding Chen Jiang quickly faded.
However, Chen Yao knew that the truth about the lipstick would be hard to keep hidden forever, so he hurriedly started planning a surprise for Lin Nan.
Otherwise, if the lies were discovered, even Chen Jiang, with his grand gestures of gifting a thousand-yuan present, would make Chen Yao look like the worst boyfriend ever for only having given chocolate and that worthless necklace. He was bound to get a beating for sure.
Well, that necklace really wasn’t worth much – it was a dime-a-dozen online that cost only a few dozen or a hundred bucks. But seeing Lin Nan wear it every day and tenderly wipe it with a tissue, one might think it was a precious jewel.
He really should get her a decent necklace worth a thousand or so, but sadly, he was broke.
With a heavy heart, Chen Yao followed the crowd out of the classroom, and Lin Nan trailed behind him, stepping lightly and holding their textbooks, looking like his little sidekick.
As they passed the playground, Lin Nan was shocked to see so many students actually exercising in the bright midday sun! Some were borrowing shot puts and high jump mats, training under the watchful eye of their P.E. teacher.
Not only the students were working hard; those teachers were seriously committed too!
Lin Nan looked at the bustling atmosphere on the playground, completely taken aback at how an athletic meet could motivate so many to start exercising voluntarily.
At her old middle and high school, there were only simple training sessions for the athletic meets, generally held during P.E. class. As for those who ran after school, they were usually in training for external competitions.
“Should we call Xiong Da and Tu Junhui down? We can all train together in the dorm!” Chen Yao suggested, thinking it was a good opportunity for Lin Nan to get some exercise, otherwise with her physique, she’d truly become a Lin Daiyu in a few years.
Lin Nan hesitated; she didn’t want to work out under the scorching sun. Although she couldn’t feel the heat thanks to magic, UV rays could still burn her skin.
Before Lin Nan could give her approval, Chen Yao had already called Tu Junhui and the others to come down to the playground.
“They said they’d be here after lunch, so let’s start without them,” Chen Yao said, turning around with a big grin at Lin Nan.
But she wasn’t stupid; seeing Chen Yao’s grin, she muttered, “I doubt they’re actually coming down.”
But Chen Yao ignored her, and just like that, he took off running. Lin Nan paused for a second, then tossed her textbooks aside and bolted after him.
The stamina-boosting magic kicked in right away, making her feel light as a feather, as if her legs were suddenly powerful, making her running much easier.
She tried hard to speed up, but those long legs of hers were laughably short when compared to Chen Yao’s tall stature—two of her steps barely matched one of his.
She would have been breathless after just one lap, but this time, after one lap, she only felt a little soreness in her calves, and her breathing was still calm—obviously, she had plenty of energy left.
She had enough endurance to run four hundred meters, but since her calves had no muscle, she couldn’t increase her speed. The soreness only grew after one and a half laps, and soon enough, she had to stop, gritting her teeth.
She could run, but her legs hurt; she didn’t want to anymore.
“I never saw you practice, how come your stamina has improved so much?” Chen Yao paused too and, noticing Lin Nan was only slightly out of breath, asked in surprise, “Have you been training secretly?”
He vaguely recalled Lin Nan barely making it through a lap in the past.
Lin Nan was pleased with his astonished expression, puffed out her chest, and shook her head: “Nope!”
“Tsk, then if you train a bit more, you might make it for a thousand-meter run!”
“Let’s not get crazy,” Lin Nan plopped down on the ground, “At that speed, I’d probably just barely make it to an average level in the athletic meet, right?”
She hadn’t even participated in the first-year athletic meet, spending all that time gaming in the dorm, so she had no clue about the competition level.
Thinking for a moment, Chen Yao confidently replied, “You’d probably rank bottom three.”
“…”
“Last year there was this girl who ran like the wind; her four-hundred-meter time would’ve put her in the top three for the boys.”
Lin Nan didn’t expect to grab any ranking, given it was a whole school event; those who could win would likely do well even at district or city-level competitions.
But ranking last? That would be too embarrassing, right?
She rubbed her sore calves, finding hardly any muscle, and looked back at Chen Yao, pinching his calf.
She couldn’t even squeeze it…
“What are you doing? My legs are muscle from playing basketball since middle school,” Chen Yao rolled his eyes at her, “The only exercise you get is moving your fingers while gaming. You think you’re going to have muscle too?”
Lin Nan sighed dramatically; although she had half a month to train, she figured since she had magic, surely that would be easier than boring traditional workouts. Besides, she had run with Tu Junhui before, and there was no noticeable improvement.
Under the blazing sun, Chen Yao’s back was drenched in sweat. Noticing Lin Nan didn’t seem keen on running anymore, he helplessly walked back to where they had dropped their textbooks.
“Let’s just head back then; as long as you can finish your run at the meet, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Is that so?” Lin Nan quickly got to her feet, her breath after running finallyregularizing, although her legs were still a bit wobbly.
She had no clue why she had suddenly decided to participate in the athletic meet—this kind of activity was clearly not her strong suit. She was way better at competitive gaming.
However, most girls in the class were weaker than she was, physically comparable to Lin Nan herself. It turned out that very few girls wanted to sign up for the athletic meet, and it seemed they would end up drawing straws for participants. Since she was already signed up for the four-hundred meters, no need for the selection lottery.
Which would be unfortunate if she got assigned the three-thousand-meter race…
Lagging behind Chen Yao, Lin Nan started thinking about how to unlock new magic.
There were many speed-boosting spells; if her magical energy was sufficient, and she was willing to push her limits to transform into Lilith, her speed could be on par with light.
But what use would such speed be? It’s not like she was trying to show off!
“How about lunch? What do you think about some rice with sauce?” Chen Yao pondered on the surprise he was preparing for Lin Nan.
“Sounds good.”
Lin Nan replied absentmindedly.
“I remember that you liked flowers, right?” Chen Yao suddenly asked.
That question snapped Lin Nan out of her magical musings, and she looked up in confusion, pondering for a moment: “Do I? I don’t think so?”
Chen Yao’s expression darkened immediately: “No?”
“I like those shiny, glimmering diamonds!” Lin Nan proudly put her hands on her hips, “Why not get me a diamond ring!”
“That’s just market hype.”
“But I still like it!”
“Not worth anything, they’re produced in bulk.”
“I know, but I still like it!”
