409. Sports Day
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Drizzling rain fell as nearly all the students and teachers at the school gathered toward the Grand Playground.
Lin Nan actually loved this kind of weather in summer. The misty rain barely soaked her clothes, and the cool droplets on her skin took away the excess heat.
But Chen Yao insisted on standing next to her with an umbrella, blocking almost all the raindrops, claiming he was worried she’d catch a cold or something worse.
Well, he had a point there.
The two arrived early, and Lin Nan was dragged under a tree to avoid the rain. She watched as students arrived in small groups for the event, gathering together by class. Some classes had even mobilized their class committee members to haul “supplies” like tables, chairs, bottled water, and snacks, piling them up like they were preparing for a picnic.
Lin Nan had long had her eye on the free snacks at the sports day, but since she had never participated, all she could do was drool.
However, this time she had signed up for the women’s 400 meters. With snacks in sight, she felt no shame in grabbing as much as she wanted, though sadly, there were no colas being offered.
“If the rain doesn’t pick up, the first heats for the 400 meters should be this afternoon, with the finals tomorrow morning,” Chen Yao educated her. “If your stomach starts hurting, I’ll help you get a leave. If Aunt Flow arrives, it’s better not to exert yourself.”
“Let’s see; I shouldn’t be in too much pain this afternoon,” Lin Nan, who cared a lot about her image, replied. If she signed up but then withdrew last minute, it felt too embarrassing.
They chatted a bit more, and then Tu Junhui showed up with about ten male classmates, hustling over when they spotted the two hiding from the rain under the tree.
As soon as he met them, he complained, “Seriously? It’s raining and they still want to hold a sports day? Is there something wrong with the school leaders’ brains?”
“It’s not exactly a new problem,” Big Dog chimed in from the side.
Lin Nan glanced at the group and took two steps back to hide behind Chen Yao. She had never liked noisy environments, especially since she only knew a handful of people from this crowd.
“Nan Nan signed up for the 400 meters, right?” Tu Junhui noticed Lin Nan’s retreat and smiled as he swaggered over, teasing, “Just don’t come in last and embarrass our dorm, okay?”
Lin Nan crossed her arms and glanced at his pudgy face, scoffing, “If you come in first, are you going to dress as a girl?”
Hearing that, Tu Junhui frowned. He felt Lin Nan had been acting strangely lately, seemingly keen on tricking people into dressing up as girls every other day.
But after having shared a dorm with Lin Nan for a year and a half, and having jogged together, he knew she had zero athletic skills. He straightened up and pounded his chest, “You come in first, I’ll dress up as a girl! If you don’t make it, you owe me a meal!”
“Don’t back out!” Lin Nan narrowed her eyes, smiling slyly.
Finally, she had some motivation to participate in the sports day.
“My buddy Junhui is not the type to back out, right?” Big Dog joined in, clapping Tu Junhui on the shoulder. “Right, brother Junhui?”
Tu Junhui nodded vigorously, “A man’s word is his bond! I won’t back down! I’m more worried you won’t want to treat me to a meal, you’re always so stingy.”
Lin Nan couldn’t help but retort, “Stingy? What are you talking about! Did I not buy you cola when we started freshman year? Didn’t I treat you to lunch in the cafeteria back in October? I even bought you body wash in November! Where’s my money? You’ve never paid me back a cent!”
She began counting on her fingers, “And in late November, I bought you two bottles of yogurt for twelve bucks…”
Chen Yao glanced at Lin Nan. This girl really had a knack for money matters. She could forget her keys when going out, but when it came to counting money, she was spot on. It was a shame that the accounting department lost such talent.
Tu Junhui was usually good at wrangling free stuff, and no one bothered to chase him for small amounts of money. But now, with Lin Nan dragging it all out in front of their classmates, he felt the heat and was desperate to make her stop. However, Xiong Da chimed in too.
“Now that you mention it, I still haven’t been paid back for the shampoo I bought you a couple of days ago! And last night’s milk tea, too.” He typically kept quiet, being a frequent victim of Tu Junhui’s exploitation.
Chen Yao joined the gang up against Tu Junhui, and suddenly Tu Junhui found himself surrounded and feeling quite wronged, “I thought with you two gone, I’d finally get a break! d*mn!”
“You’ve done too many bad deeds, it’s hard to keep count,” Lin Nan exclaimed, running out of fingers to count. She decided to abandon the numerical assault and pouted, “Anyway, if I get first place in the 400 meters, you’re dressing as a girl for sure.”
By now, more students had gathered around to listen to their banter. Before 8:30, the entire class was huddled under that tree, and at that moment, the counselor Zheng Qian strolled in, absently typing and chatting on his phone.
Zheng Qian had been pretty rare to see lately, and when he did, he was usually glued to his phone, busy with who-knows-what.
As he approached the students, he instinctively looked toward Lin Nan.
Today, Lin Nan wore a simple white t-shirt, with pants that just grazed her knees. Her long, fair legs peeked out, practically calling for attention. With her ponytail, she looked much livelier than her usual goody-two-shoes self. What a pity she was a real girl!
After quickly glancing, Zheng Qian felt a bit melancholic. He immediately started lecturing the whole class, “Look at the other classes! They’ve got everything set up while you guys are just standing around gossiping!”
“Get a move on! Chen Yao, Junhui! Take three boys to the teaching building and grab five sets of tables and chairs from any open classroom you find!”
“Lin Kexin, take the class funds and grab a few boys to go to the supermarket for a few cases of bottled water and some small bread to keep the athletes energized.”
“Why do I have to do everything myself? Didn’t any of you participate in last year’s sports day? You’re the worst class I’ve ever had!”
To be fair, she hadn’t participated last year either. Back then, Lin Nan just wandered around the ground during the opening ceremony, signed in, and then snuck off with Tu Junhui back to the dorm. She had never set foot outside her dorm during the three days of the sports event.
Under Zheng Qian’s command, the previously lazy students suddenly sprang into action, but Chen Yao had an unwilling look on his face. He honestly thought Zheng Qian was his rival, and following the orders of a rival always left a bitter taste in his mouth.
What if Zheng Qian tried to swoop in and charm his girlfriend while he was busy chasing tables?
So, without hesitation, he shouted, “Counselor! My stomach hurts today! Get someone else to move the tables and chairs!”
“Then find someone to take your place,” Zheng Qian nonchalantly sat down on the grass without a care for the rain and went back to chatting on his phone.
Chen Yao was a bit shocked; he expected Zheng Qian to make things difficult.
After hesitating a bit, he cautiously leaned closer to sneak a peek at Zheng Qian’s phone.
On the screen was a chat interface, and at the very top read “Yao Yao.” The chat content was so cheesy it made him want to faceplant.
So, he was dating someone now and had officially taken his eyes off Lin Nan!
