The Elite Group of Nan City No. 1 High School
Lu Chi: "We still haven't received notice of race cancellation, so it looks like we'll have to run in the rain."
Lu Chi: "Luckily the rain isn't too heavy."
Lu Chi: "@Lin ChuSui, is the runner-up here yet?"
Wearing a light mint-colored raincoat, Lin ChuSui appeared in the pre-race waiting area near the starting line.
Seeing her, Lu Chi waved and called out, "You're by yourself?"
"Who else would I be with?"
Lu Chi asked nosily, "I heard from my sister that you stayed over at the genius's house again last night?"
While tying her hair in a ponytail with a rubber band, Lin ChuSui said, "It's 150 a night for lodging, he gave me a discount rate of 98, not including breakfast. If I'm lucky I can even copy his homework. If you want to stay too I can give you an intro."
Lu Chi laughed. "If you can get high-quality leaked photos of his homework every night like yesterday, I'd be happy to generously sponsor you to stay at the genius's place every day!"
Lin ChuSui: "Young Master Lu is being so generous, I suggest you just buy out his intellectual property rights to the homework."
Lu Tianbai came over holding a transparent umbrella, and hurriedly pulled Lin ChuSui aside, asking worriedly, "Are you okay, bestie?"
"Of course I'm fine, bestie."
"But you...aren't you on your period?"
"Young Miss Lu gets her period every month, lasting thirty days each time, but she still hops around lively. Why can't I?" Lin ChuSui quipped back teasingly.
Seeing that she still had the energy to banter with her, Lu Tianbai relaxed, knowing things were probably fine: "Is your stomach really not hurting?"
"Don't worry, I took ibuprofen in advance."
"That just relieves pain, but running all-out in the rain right now, during high physical exertion...maybe we should sit this one out, your health comes first. And even if you do run, you probably won't get first place anyway, so what's the point?" Lu Tianbai said with a frown.
Lin ChuSui knew Lu Tianbai was right. In her normal condition, even getting first place would be hopeful at best, let alone during her period...
But she didn't want to give up.
"I just want to cross the finish line, winning doesn't matter to me."
She vaguely remembered three years ago after the marathon had ended, when her dad, Old Lin, had ruffled her hair affectionately and comforted her:
"Crossing the finish line is just a fleeting moment, it's not important at all. What's important is that during your run, your dad will be riding a bike chasing after you the whole way! When your old dad isn't around anymore, let moments like this keep you company."
"Ptooey, why wouldn't dad be around?!"
"Your mom and dad can't be with you your whole life, the one who can truly accompany you your whole life is the person you'll be spending the rest of your days with - that person is important, so make sure to choose wisely."
Lin ChuSui had clung to Old Lin petulantly: "Dad will run with me forever!"
Tears pricked Lin ChuSui's eyes as raindrops clung to her eyelashes. The memory felt so vivid, as if it were yesterday.
Winning first place didn't matter at all, the result didn't matter.
Lin ChuSui just wanted to run, to blindly charge forward.
If she stagnated like she had the past two years, she'd really be stuck in place forever.
Maybe if she kept running...her dad would catch up to her on his bike.
Live TV crews were broadcasting the marathon race:
"It's 1pm, and the gap has slowly widened. The top hundred runners have entered the Olympic Park segment - after completing the 10 km Olympic Park loop, victory will be right ahead!"
At his hot pot shop, Xiao Yan was busily working, occasionally glancing outside at the drizzling rain.
He was scheming that if she caught cold, got sick, or...was injured, he'd have a good opportunity to express concern for her.
Based on past experience, that could boost their relationship progress bar by at least 5%.
If he stopped her or made her angry, the progress bar might decrease instead of increasing, undoing all his efforts so far.
If things went smoothly, he could complete the progress bar in half a semester, and expel the extra soul from his body.
He could focus on studying for the rest of the semester, aim for the best university, become successful, and escape this wretched fate.
No matter how dirty it was, he didn't care - he only looked at results, not the process.
Xiao Yan took a deep breath, calming the churning emotions inside him, and asked some customers at the door, "What can I get you?"
"Two orders of hot pot to go, mix and match 20 yuan worth, no dietary restrictions."
As Xiao Yan focused on the task at hand, he overheard the customers also discussing the marathon: "The medics are following the whole way, I heard two people have already collapsed."
"They really are going all out."
"Everyone wants to win first place, after all it's a big event held in Nan City every three years."
"The 50,000 yuan prize money is pretty tempting too."
After handing the packaged hot pot to the customers, Xiao Yan asked casually, "Did someone get injured during the marathon?"
"I heard it was low blood sugar making them faint."
"Inevitable. I heard someone even died during the marathon in B City last year."
...
After the customers left, Xiao Yan gazed at the wet streets, puddles reflecting the streetscape across the way, ripples left by passing cars churning the reflections into fragmented shapes.
The rain grew heavier, with an autumn chill seeping in.
He took out his phone - the group chat showed Lu Tianbai's live updates: "ChuSui's already made it into the Olympic Forest segment, in the top 100!"
Lu Chi: "I can't run anymore, go ChuSui!"
Xu JiaNing: "At the pace she's going, forget about getting first place."
Lu Chi: "Our ChuSui is explosive, just you wait, she can still go all out."
Xu JiaNing: "I caught a glimpse of her back near LongSen Road, she looked ready to keel over, I'd say she's on her last legs."
Lu Tianbai: "Don't say nonsense! How could a fairy roll her eyes!"
Lu Chi: "I noticed ever since the fake foreign devil brought the genius into this chat, he's been dedicated to trash talking ChuSui."
Xu JiaNing: "@Xiao Yan, your fairy deskmate not only rolls her eyes and snores, she's even spat at me before."
Lu Chi: "See, the genius doesn't even care what you say."
...
Entering the Olympic Forest segment, there were fewer and fewer runners, and no spectators around the perimeter of the forest - just aid stations and portable toilets spaced every kilometer.
Just as Lu Chi said, she really was about to keel over.
Luckily her period flow wasn't too heavy today, and the ibuprofen was strong, so she didn't feel unbearable pain, just a nagging soreness.
With her luck today, getting first place was definitely out of the question.
The rain poured down harder, raindrops pattering rhythmically on her running jacket, trickling down her cheeks.
Her mind went completely blank, everything silent except for the sound of her heartbeat and breathing...
She didn't even know what she was persisting for anymore.
She had wanted to get first place earlier, but now that getting first place was impossible, she told herself the result didn't matter, just focus on the process.
Over the years, whenever she couldn't accomplish something, she'd give up, bit by bit losing courage, sliding step by step toward the abyss.
No matter how she ran, her dad wouldn't see it anymore - he wasn't coming back.
When someone died, they were dead. Dead completely.
...
Lin ChuSui could no longer see the path ahead.
The way forward was pitch black, torrential rain pouring down, she couldn't see which direction to go, let alone the finish line.
Might as well give up, just quit.
Dad wasn't coming back, he couldn't run the long road of life together with her anymore.
Just as Lin ChuSui was about to stagger and fall over in a daze, the crisp ring of a bicycle bell suddenly sounded behind her.
She whipped around to see, through the hazy rain, a faint silhouette riding a bike.
His silhouette seemed to overlap with her dad's from that year, as if fused together.
It overlapped because the man on the bike, wearing that bright orange firefighter uniform, was clumsily riding a bike to catch up with her.
Just like three years ago when her dad Lin XiuZe hadn't had time to change after work before rushing over to accompany her.
Standing bedraggled in the rain, tears poured from Lin ChuSui's eyes.
"Dad...Dad!"
I miss you so much!
As the man approached, Lin ChuSui realized it wasn't her dad in the firefighter uniform at all.
It was Xiao Yan.
Raindrops rolled down his handsome face as he raced over, panting and looking at her -
"Stop running, fool."
Lin ChuSui's heart thumped wildly and she yelled while pointing at him, "Why are you wearing that?!"
Xiao Yan lifted the loose bright orange garment he wore and said, "This is the only raincoat I have."
Only then did Lin ChuSui see that he was indeed just wearing a raincoat that resembled a firefighter uniform.
Maybe she hadn't seen clearly from far away earlier, or maybe...she just missed her dad too much.
"Why did you come in this heavy rain?"
Xiao Yan deliberately parked his bike on the track, blocking Lin ChuSui's way. Reluctantly, he said, "How would I know?"
He had clearly made up his mind to let her suffer for a while before turning around to comfort her, smoothly completing his mission progress.
But...
Xiao Yan's health was poor to begin with. Who knows what got into him to rush out in the rain and stop her.
Seeing his sulky, reluctant look, Lin ChuSui said, "Who's bothering you anyway?"
Xiao Yan looked at her and enunciated word for word, "You're bothering me."
"Don't spit blood at me. I paid your room fee last night. It's on the table. You can't just come asking me for money during my competition..."
"I'm not here to ask for money."
"Then what are you here for?"
"To stop you."
Lin ChuSui was puzzled. "Stop me from what?"
"From being stupid."
"..."
Xiao Yan stood by the bike and said, "If you still want to run, then run over my corpse first."
"You think I don't dare? I'll just crush you into a corpse."
"A corpse can't do your homework for you."
"..."
Lin ChuSui took off her rain hat and wiped the raindrops off her face. "Xiao Yan, don't joke around here. You're affecting my grades."
"When have you ever cared about your grades?"
"Well I want to care now, okay?!"
In the past two years, she had never succeeded at anything. Now she just wanted to persevere to prove she wasn't beyond saving.
"Don't get in my way."
As she brushed past him, Xiao Yan grabbed her hand and pulled her back to his side. "The championship isn't important. What's important is having someone accompany you during the race. Isn't that right?"
Lin ChuSui was deeply struck by his words. She stared at him in a daze. "How do you...know that?"
How do you know what my dad said?
"Get on the bike. I'll go with you to finish the rest of the route."
"But..."
Xiao Yan had already gotten on the bike. His bright gaze looked to her. "I can change my mind anytime. If you don't get on, I'm leaving."
He had rushed over foolishly in the pouring rain, and Xiao Yan didn't know if his brain was waterlogged.
Lin ChuSui lowered her eyes to look at the wet track, hesitating for a moment before finally walking over.
Xiao Yan helped her onto the bike, then handed her a bottle of warm mineral water. "It's not scalding hot anymore. Warm your stomach."
Lin ChuSui obediently accepted the bottle and unzipped her raincoat to warm it against her stomach.
Xiao Yan rode off, zipping along the small path beside the marathon route.
The bike splashed up water all the way.
Clutching his bright yellow raincoat, Lin ChuSui asked, "Why did you come over?"
"Afraid my goddess would die on the road."
"Xiao Yan, am I really your goddess?"
"Hm?"
Lin ChuSui lowered her eyes, her throat feeling sour. "My grades are bad, I have a bad temper, I'm depressed and useless. The only thing I was proud of was marathon running, but that crashed too..."
Xiao Yan glanced at her. The girl was gripping his raincoat tightly, her forehead pressed against his back. She mumbled, "Tell me, what kind of goddess is like this?"
The heavy rain had stripped away all her armor and confidence.
She presented her truest self to him with a sincere heart.
The corner of Xiao Yan's mouth quirked up. "You're right, you're useless and depressed. Nothing goddess-like about you at all."
At least, it shouldn't be the type he likes.
As teenage boys with the highest hormone levels, he had imagined what kind of girl he would like in the future.
The girl of his dreams should stand in the sunshine, optimistic, cheerful and laughter-loving. At least she could bring a ray of light into his gloomy life.
In his difficult journey so far, Xiao Yan had not met the girl of his dreams.
But on this pouring rainy day, he had rushed through three red lights to come pick up Lin ChuSui.
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