CY – Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

“Suit yourself?” Zhang Xiaotian genuinely didn’t understand. He took his water cup from his bag and drank water to himself.

“Let’s go!” 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’m not going,” Lu Bai said immediately, leaning back in his chair and covering his face with the jacket Zhang Xiaotian had used to save 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 vaguely. He didn’t care if Lu Yibo saw it or not.

The broadcast played motivational speeches for athletes, lost and found announcements, and other miscellaneous notices. Zhang Xiaotian drank his water, watching Lu Bai lying motionless with his jacket over him, likely asleep. After the opening ceremony, the sun came out. Sunlight warmed his body, and soon he felt a comfortable warmth. Zhang Xiaotian sipped hot water from the lid of his thermos, finding a moment of leisure in the noisy venue.

Comfortable. Zhang Xiaotian squinted his eyes, watching the ongoing competition on the field, and took another sip of hot water.

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

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

“Are you just sleeping for a bit?”

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

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

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

“…No need.” Lu Bai glanced at the thermos handed to him but didn’t take it. Instead, he stood up and rummaged 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 then a 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 about your event?”

“In the afternoon.” Lu Bai finished the rest of the bread, directly lifted the paper bag from the floor onto his lap, and stuffed several bags of snacks into Zhang Xiaotian’s arms.

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

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

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

“Nothing,” Lu Bai sighed, then added, “When it’s your turn, call me, and I’ll go with you.”

“I can find the competition 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 sullen face and found it hard to eat. Just as he was thinking of finding a topic to ease the tension, Guan Yue called him from over there:

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

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

“What’s really wrong with you?”

“Nothing, really.” Lu Bai pushed him. “You hurry up, they’re waiting for you.”

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

Zhang Xiaotian had no choice but to quickly go. Standing at the starting line, Zhang Xiaotian was still wondering why Lu Bai was unhappy. It was probably about not being able to see clearly. It was understandable to want to show off, but was it worth being so bothered? Moreover, he had already told him he saw it 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 head to see what he was thinking.

After registering his score, Zhang Xiaotian immediately went to find Lu Bai but saw Guan Yue waiting there.

“They’re short a person for the 800 meters, Lu Bai went to fill in,” Guan Yue told 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 they arrived, Lu Bai was already on the track. Zhang Xiaotian, afraid he wouldn’t see him, had to squeeze into the crowd as much as possible, keeping his eyes on Lu Bai.

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

Lu Bai heard him, looked towards him, and waved.

“Go, Lu Bai!” People around were cheering. Zhang Xiaotian, afraid his voice would be too soft, shouted with all his might, “Lu Bai, go!”

The referee called “ready,” and the athletes took their positions. For a moment, a brief silence fell, with only the pounding of hearts deafening. With the crack of the gun, Zhang Xiaotian saw Lu Bai sprint off.

“Lu Bai isn’t running slowly,” Guan Yue said, appearing beside him at some point. “Our class should get a decent result.”

“As long as it’s not embarrassing,” Zhang Xiaotian agreed, his eyes fixed on the receding figure.

“That’s right,” Guan Yue chuckled. “You’ve adapted. Our class isn’t a sports specialty class, the sports meet is about participation.”

But Lu Bai wouldn’t settle for “decent.” Zhang Xiaotian thought this inexplicably.

The 800 meters wasn’t that long, but it was two laps. Lu Bai hovered between third and fourth. He was doing alright at the start, but in the second lap, he looked strained. Zhang Xiaotian, along with Guan Yue, went to the finish line to wait. No matter how much he tried not to care, his heart couldn’t help but be suspended. Guan Yue, seeing him tense up with the race, 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 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…”

It turned out he was talking 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, “Why is this kid Lu Bai running so wildly today?”

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

After overtaking the person in front to reach third place, Lu Bai began to work on closing the gap with second. He looked exhausted, but his pace didn’t decrease. The second-place runner, who had been accelerating normally, seemed to hear the approaching footsteps behind him and also picked up his pace. What had been a lukewarm race suddenly became white-hot. The students watching at the finish line erupted in cheers. Guan Yue finally dropped his indifferent pretense and began shouting Lu Bai’s name loudly to cheer him on. Zhang Xiaotian watched as Lu Bai gradually caught up to second place, until they were running side-by-side. He could almost hear Lu Bai’s ragged breaths, and he felt a sympathetic shortness of breath. The closer they got to the finish line, the stronger this feeling became. Finally, as Lu Bai crossed the line, oxygen surged towards him like a tide.

Lu Bai sprinted a few more steps before stopping. Guan Yue walked over to support him, and they walked towards Zhang Xiaotian. As Lu Bai approached, he leaned against Zhang Xiaotian as if he had no bones. Zhang Xiaotian quickly reached out to catch him, stumbling slightly. Lu Bai, still catching his breath, was anxious 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 breathe. “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, I saw it. 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 stands, their classmates were all applauding. Guan Yue, who had returned to the class earlier, must have reported the good news.

“Sit down for a while, you can have water later.” Zhang Xiaotian was about to do something else when Lu Bai grabbed his arm.

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

Indeed, it wasn’t a big deal. Zhang Xiaotian felt he was being a bit dramatic. He sat down beside Lu Bai, yielding to his pull. As soon as he sat down, he felt a weight on his shoulder. It was Lu Bai leaning on him.

“My body is 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 leaning on me so close,” Zhang Xiaotian looked down at him. “Get up, take off your jacket.”

“Tired, don’t want to move,” Lu Bai stubbornly refused to budge.

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

“We still need to write cheers, otherwise our class will lose the Spiritual Civilization Award,” Lu Bai got up from Zhang Xiaotian and rotated 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 with other classes in sports, are you unwilling to do something with your pens?”

“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 drafts just now, I secretly took a look. Our class has submitted the most so far, and we have quite a few effective drafts selected. We still have a lot of drafts in hand.”

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

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

Zhang Xiaotian nodded.

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

“Alright, you two rest,” Yin Li, eager to write more drafts, pulled Han Chengcheng away. “Cherish today. Tomorrow, you both have to help me write drafts!” 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 inquisitive gaze.

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

“Tian’er, I’m so tired!” Lu Bai, leaning on him, was restless, squirming on the stool. “You’re too thin, my shoulder is getting poked.”

“You’re leaning on me and you’re being 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, took out his tablet, connected his earphones, and handed one to Zhang Xiaotian. “Want to watch a movie, Tian’er? I downloaded a lot yesterday, you choose one for us to watch.”