CY – Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

“Up to you?” Zhang Xiaotian didn’t understand at all. He took out his water cup from his bag and drank water by himself.

“Let’s go then!” Lu Bai asked, “To your class?”

Lu Bai ignored Lu Yibo and instead asked Zhang Xiaotian, “Are you going?”

“No,” Zhang Xiaotian shook his head. “I’ve already seen it once.”

“Then I won’t go,” Lu Bai said immediately. He leaned back on the chair and covered his face with the jacket Zhang Xiaotian had used to reserve his seat.

“Damn, wear it or don’t,” Lu Yibo said indifferently. He turned and said, “Let’s go, I’m going for a smoke.”

Lu Bai, with his face covered, waved his hand aimlessly. He didn’t know if Lu Yibo saw it or not.

The broadcast played congratulatory messages for the athletes, lost and found announcements, and other miscellaneous notifications. Zhang Xiaotian drank his water, watching Lu Bai motionless under his jacket. He must have fallen asleep. After the opening ceremony, the sun came out, and the sunlight warmed his body. Zhang Xiaotian used the lid of his thermos to hold hot water, sipping it slowly, and found a moment of leisure in the noisy venue.

Comfortable. Zhang Xiaotian narrowed his eyes, watched the ongoing competitions on the sports field, and took another sip of hot water.

“Just drinking water, doesn’t it taste bland?”

A voice spoke beside him. Zhang Xiaotian turned his head. The jacket was still covering Lu Bai’s body, with only his eyes peeking out, looking at Zhang Xiaotian.

“Just sleeping for a little while?”

Seeing that he was awake, Zhang Xiaotian put his water cup aside. He heard Lu Bai clear his throat and ask, “Want some water?”

Lu Bai looked at him, not moving. “I didn’t bring hot water.”

Didn’t bring hot water? Zhang Xiaotian thought for a moment and handed him his thermos.

“…No need.” Lu Bai glanced at the thermos offered to him, didn’t take it, and instead got up to rummage through the paper bag he had brought. “I brought a bottle of drink.”

Zhang Xiaotian put his water cup away again.

“Do you want some bread?” Lu Bai took out his drink and a loaf of bread. Seeing Zhang Xiaotian shake his head, he pouted and took a bite himself. He ate half of it in a few bites and then asked, “When is the long jump?”

“Soon,” Zhang Xiaotian replied, then asked, “What’s your event?”

“This afternoon.” Lu Bai finished the rest of the bread and directly placed the paper bag on his lap, pulling out several bags of snacks and stuffing them into Zhang Xiaotian’s arms.

“I don’t…” Before Zhang Xiaotian could finish speaking, Lu Bai interrupted him.

“I already brought your share, I definitely can’t eat it all myself.”

Zhang Xiaotian couldn’t possibly not notice Lu Bai’s unhappiness now. Holding the snacks, he swallowed and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Lu Bai sighed, then said, “Call me when your event is up, I’ll go with you.”

“I can find the venue,” Zhang Xiaotian said.

“I know,” Lu Bai nodded, but still insisted on going with Zhang Xiaotian.

The two ate snacks in silence. Zhang Xiaotian saw Lu Bai’s grim expression and felt like he couldn’t eat. Just as he was thinking of finding a topic to ease the tension, Guan Yue called him from the side:

“Zhang Xiaotian! They’re calling for the long jump, hurry up and go.”

Zhang Xiaotian grunted. Lu Bai also stood up and walked with Zhang Xiaotian towards the competition venue. They didn’t say a word along the way, and the atmosphere was incredibly awkward. Zhang Xiaotian endured it all the way, and just before he was about to compete, he finally asked:

“What’s really wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong, really,” Lu Bai pushed him. “You go quickly, they’re waiting for you.”

“Next!” the referee shouted at Zhang Xiaotian. “Hurry up!”

Zhang Xiaotian had no choice but to hurry over. Standing at the starting line, Zhang Xiaotian was still wondering why Lu Bai was unhappy. It was nothing more than whether he had seen clearly or not. It was understandable to want to show off, but was it worth caring about to this extent? Moreover, he had already told him that he saw clearly, and Lu Bai didn’t believe him. Thinking that the reason might be related to him, Zhang Xiaotian couldn’t help but care. As soon as the command was given, Zhang Xiaotian leaped, wishing he could fly directly to Lu Bai and pry open his brain to see what he was thinking.

After registering his results, Zhang Xiaotian rushed to find Lu Bai, only to see Guan Yue waiting on the side.

“They’re short one person for the 800 meters, Lu Bai went to fill in.” Guan Yue asked Zhang Xiaotian, “He asked me to tell you.”

“He’s already gone?” Zhang Xiaotian asked.

“Yes,” Guan Yue nodded. “I’m going over, do you want to come with me?”

Zhang Xiaotian quickly followed.

By the time the two arrived, Lu Bai was already on the track. Zhang Xiaotian, afraid he wouldn’t be able to see him, squeezed into the crowd as much as possible, his eyes fixed on Lu Bai.

Lu Bai stood there, his expression unclear. He seemed to be lost in thought. Zhang Xiaotian was a little anxious and called out to him directly, “Lu Bai!”

Lu Bai heard him, looked in his direction, and waved at him.

“Come on!” There were many people cheering nearby. Zhang Xiaotian, afraid his voice was too quiet, shouted forcefully, “Lu Bai, come on!”

The referee called for readiness, and the athletes took their positions. A brief silence fell over the surroundings, only the sound of heartbeats was deafening. With the gunshot, Zhang Xiaotian saw Lu Bai sprint out.

“Lu Bai isn’t running slowly,” Guan Yue walked over at some point. “Our class should get a decent result.”

“As long as we don’t embarrass ourselves,” Zhang Xiaotian agreed, his eyes fixed on the figure receding into the distance.

“That’s right,” Guan Yue chuckled. “You’re adapting to the local customs. Our class isn’t a sports specialty class; the sports meet is about participation.”

But Lu Bai wouldn’t just be “decent.” Zhang Xiaotian thought this inexplicably.

The 800 meters wasn’t long, nor was it short; it was two laps. Lu Bai hovered in third or fourth place. He was doing well at the beginning, but in the second lap, he started to look strained. Zhang Xiaotian followed Guan Yue to the finish line to wait. Even though he tried not to care, his heart couldn’t help but feel anxious. Guan Yue next to him saw him tense up and couldn’t help but pat him, “Why are you so nervous?”

“I’m not,” Zhang Xiaotian said, his eyes glued to Lu Bai. “Why would I be nervous? It’s not me running.”

“You’re a really good person,” Guan Yue smiled and then said, “Last time, I’m sorry.”

Zhang Xiaotian looked at him.

“Actually, I just thought you wouldn’t refuse me, so I asked,” Guan Yue explained. “I didn’t expect Li An to say that…”

So it was about the day they registered for events. Zhang Xiaotian said, “It’s okay, it’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, I was just afraid you’d misunderstand…” Guan Yue nodded and then looked at Lu Bai with surprise in his tone, “Why is this kid Lu Bai running so crazy today?”

Zhang Xiaotian was also surprised. He knew Lu Bai would try his best, but there was still some distance to the final sprint. Why was he accelerating now?

Lu Bai overtook the person in front of him to reach third place and began to try to close the gap with the second-place runner. He looked exhausted, but his pace didn’t slow. The second-place runner was accelerating normally. It seemed that upon hearing the approaching footsteps behind him, he also picked up his pace. The race, which had been lukewarm until this point, suddenly became a heated contest. The classmates gathered at the finish line erupted in cheers. Guan Yue finally dropped his indifferent pretense and began to loudly shout Lu Bai’s name to cheer him on. Zhang Xiaotian watched as Lu Bai gradually caught up to second place, until he was running parallel to him. He could almost hear Lu Bai’s heavy breathing, and he felt breathless as if it were his own. The closer they got to the finish line, the stronger this feeling became. Finally, when Lu Bai crossed the finish line, oxygen surged towards him like a tide.

Lu Bai ran a few more steps before stopping. Guan Yue went to support him, and the two walked towards Zhang Xiaotian. As Lu Bai approached, he leaned against Zhang Xiaotian as if he had lost all strength. Zhang Xiaotian quickly reached out to support him, stumbling slightly. Lu Bai, still catching his breath, was eager to say something, his face turning red. He looked nothing like his usual flippant self.

“Slow down,” Zhang Xiaotian gently rubbed his back to help him catch his breath. “We can talk later.”

“This time…” Lu Bai panted, took a few more breaths, and then continued, “You saw it this time, right?”

“Saw what?” Zhang Xiaotian realized. “Yes, everyone saw it.”

“You were very cool, we all saw it this time.”

Zhang Xiaotian supported him and slowly walked back. When they returned to the spectator stands, the classmates applauded. Guan Yue, who had returned to the class earlier, must have reported the good news.

“Sit for a while, you can drink water later.” Zhang Xiaotian was about to do something else after returning to his seat when Lu Bai grabbed him.

“You sit too,” Lu Bai looked much better now. “It’s not a big deal.”

That’s right, it wasn’t a big deal. Zhang Xiaotian also felt he had been a bit dramatic and sat down next to him, following his pull. As soon as he sat down, he felt a weight on his shoulder. It was Lu Bai leaning on him.

“I’m so hot after running,” Lu Bai’s voice sounded a little weak. “I feel like I can’t even wear my school uniform jacket.”

“Then why are you so close to me?” Zhang Xiaotian looked down at him. “Get up, take off your jacket.”

“Tired, don’t want to move,” Lu Bai lay there stubbornly.

“Old Lu!” Yin Li and Han Chengcheng moved their seats to be in front of them. “You were amazing just now. If we had known you were going to compete, why would Chengcheng and I have bothered writing those cheering essays?”

“We still need to write the cheering essays, otherwise our class will lose the Spiritual Civilization Award,” Lu Bai got up from Zhang Xiaotian and turned his neck.

“Our class has so many idle people, if everyone writes a little, we’ll have more than other classes,” Yin Li said. “If we can’t compete in sports, are we still unwilling to do some writing?”

“That’s true,” Lu Bai nodded, then asked, “How much have you written? I’ll write some too.”

Han Chengcheng flipped through the notebook in her hand. “When I went to the podium to submit the manuscripts, I secretly took a look. Our class has submitted the most so far, and we have quite a few effective manuscripts selected. We still have a lot of drafts on hand.”

“Then you two can rest for now, we don’t need you yet,” Yin Li said with a smile. “Now you two are our class’s great contributors, two second places, our class’s points have gone up a lot.”

“Two?” Lu Bai looked at Zhang Xiaotian. “You also got second place?”

Zhang Xiaotian nodded.

“My Tian’er is still the best,” Lu Bai smiled and patted Zhang Xiaotian’s leg. Then he leaned back on Zhang Xiaotian’s shoulder.

“Alright, you two rest,” Yin Li, wanting to write more essays, pulled Han Chengcheng away. “Cherish today, tomorrow you both have to help me write!” With that, she left with Han Chengcheng.

Zhang Xiaotian found it amusing watching Yin Li come and go so energetically. Just as he was about to say something to Lu Bai, he met Han Chengcheng’s inquiring gaze.

Han Chengcheng didn’t hide when she was discovered, just smiled at him, and then turned and left.

“Tian’er, I’m so tired!” Lu Bai, leaning, was restless, squirming on the stool. “You’re too thin, your shoulder is so bony and uncomfortable.”

“You want to lean on me and you’re still picky!” Zhang Xiaotian stopped paying attention to Han Chengcheng and pushed Lu Bai’s head down. “Sit properly.”

“Hehe,” Lu Bai looked like he wasn’t sulking anymore. He turned and took out his tablet, connected the earphones, and handed one to Zhang Xiaotian. “Want to watch a movie, Tian’er? I downloaded a lot yesterday, you pick one for us to watch.”