410. Big Dog 【34/99】
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When Chen Yao tiptoed back into the crowd of students, a gaggle of classmates immediately surrounded him, their faces brimming with curiosity.
“What did you see?”
“Is the counselor in love?!”
He silently shook his head, not planning to spill the beans on the counselor’s business, even if it was just a love affair.
So he cut straight to the chase: “I didn’t see much before he changed the subject, so I ran back before he spotted me.”
“Then why are you smiling?” Tu Junhui rolled his eyes, clearly not buying Chen Yao’s lame excuse.
After some more banter, the group of students scampered off to handle the tasks Zheng Qian had assigned. Chen Yao passed his duty over to Big Dog, citing a stomachache, and promised to take Lilith out for another meal over the weekend.
Big Dog was over the moon, eagerly darting off to help move tables and chairs.
By the time their class “base” was set up, it was already nine o’clock. The light drizzle had completely stopped, the gloomy clouds began to disperse, and the sun peeked through, warming up the playground instantaneously.
Summer weather can be fickle; this wasn’t anything surprising.
Students suddenly moaned in discontent, scrambling for shade under trees to avoid the direct sunlight. Lin Nan found herself weirdly squeezed under the balcony, and looking up, she saw students from other classes crammed under the trees surrounding the playground, looking like a bunch of quails huddling together for warmth.
Perhaps it was the rain earlier or maybe the school leaders were still in bed, but there was no opening ceremony for the sports day. The school broadcast blared the announcement that the sports day had begun and promptly rolled into the morning events.
The morning events included the 100-meter dash, shot put, and long jump. Chen Yao and Tu Junhui were signed up for the 100-meter dash and shot put respectively, begrudgingly following the broadcast’s instructions to report.
Most students couldn’t care less about watching the competitions; after Zheng Qian called roll, about a third of the students had already snuck off from the playground.
Lin Nan had considered sneaking away too, but since Chen Yao had a race, she didn’t want to leave him alone in the rental apartment, so she trailed behind Chen Yao to the starting line of the 100-meter dash.
As Chen Yao went to report to the referee, Lin Nan lingered at the edge of the track, aimlessly glancing around.
“Lin Nan!”
Just as she steadied herself, a hefty thump landed on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Lilith, arms full of cola, beaming at her as if all was right in the universe.
At least that’s how it appeared in her eyes.
Otherwise, why would Lilith be so nice to her? They usually bicker like it’s a competitive sport.
“Be careful, Li Na might come back to beat you up,” Lin Nan smirked.
“Why would she hit me?” Lilith shoved the cola into Lin Nan’s arms. “Keep an eye on this for me; I want to watch the race!”
Out of nowhere, Lin Nan nearly toppled over, almost lost to the hefty cola. This cat must weigh at least a dozen pounds, possibly breaking twenty!
After a struggle, she managed to hold onto the cola and looked at Lilith with a puzzled expression. “How do you handle carrying this cat every day?”
Lilith was about to leave when she heard the question and turned back, a similar puzzled look on her face. “Aren’t you the one who can use magic?”
“But you can’t!”
With a sigh, Lilith raised her palm, revealing a tiny red dot. “Li Na set up this magic for me; when the dot touches a cat, it boosts my strength a bit. How dumb can you be?”
“???”
What kind of strange magic was that?
Lin Nan thought magic simply divided into passive and active spells, like in games. She hadn’t imagined there would be ones that trigger!
“Well, I’m off! I’ll bring you an ice cola when I come back!” After dropping that, Lilith dashed off to catch the race, leaving Lin Nan scratching her head, baffled about why Lilith was so hyped about the sports day.
But the cola was getting heavier by the minute.
She looked down at the cat in her arms; just months ago, the agile black cat had transformed into a plump furball, almost rivaling an orange cat in size. After just two minutes, her arms began to ache.
Cola squirmed about, plump cheeks resembling Tu Junhui’s face, intermittently wriggling in her arms, making Lin Nan’s face turn pale as she fought to keep it from tumbling to the ground.
“How about you walk around on the ground for a bit? Maybe even lose some weight?” With great effort, she squatted down and set Cola on the ground.
“Meow.”
The plump black cat rolled around on the ground then sprawled out, belly up, looking like a tiny pig.
“Chen Yao, go for it! You’re the best!”
A familiar voice suddenly rang out from across the track, and Lin Nan looked up to see Big Dog cupping his hands like a makeshift megaphone, cheering for Chen Yao, who was prepping on the track.
Chen Yao’s face turned green at the sound and shot a glare at Big Dog.
“Chen Yao’s mom loves you!”
“I’m going to give you a bunch of kids!”
But Big Dog paid no mind, jumping up and waving at Chen Yao while a few classmates nearby instinctively took a few steps back, suddenly pretending they didn’t know him.
This familiar scene reminded Lin Nan of their past LOL tournaments on campus.
Her amusement turned into a grin, but just as quickly, her smile froze.
She already had a race in the afternoon; although it was just a preliminary for the 400-meter dash, if she made it through, there would be a final tomorrow… Meaning she would have to endure Big Dog’s vocal assaults twice.
Listening to the whispering students around her discussing who Chen Yao was and dunking on Big Dog for being a fool, Lin Nan felt a sudden urge to bail out of the competition.
The 100-meter dash was underway, and Chen Yao took the lead. Big Dog excitedly began shouting, “Go, Chen Yao! You’re the best!”
Just as Chen Yao had a slight edge at the start, Big Dog’s shout startled him, and he almost lost his balance, allowing the other runners to pass him in a flash.
The race quickly ended, and because of that stumble, Chen Yao finished in last, his face darker than Cola’s fur.
Lin Nan suspected Big Dog could be a spy from another class.
“What the heck, that Big Dog is just here to mess around, d*mn it!” Chen Yao cursed as he walked over to Lin Nan, fuming. “I can’t believe this!”
“That’s just how he is; don’t let it get to you,” Lin Nan consoled.
That sounded just like pouring fuel on the fire. Chen Yao was ready to unleash another round of curses when suddenly, they heard Big Dog’s voice ringing out from a distance.
“Junhui oppa, you got this!”
“Ah!!!”
Following the exuberant cheer, a howl of despair echoed behind it.
Lin Nan and Chen Yao exchanged a glance and hightailed it over to the shot put area. They barely managed to squeeze into the crowd when they spotted Tu Junhui stumbling out with a hangdog expression.
He looked up at the duo, forcing a grim smile. “Got scared stiff by Big Dog, lost all my strength; might be a little dislocated or something…”
“I’m heading to the infirmary first; then I’ll go smash Big Dog’s shop! Dammit!”
As Tu Junhui complained, Chen Yao suddenly started laughing gleefully. “That’s just how he is; don’t let it bother you.”
