Chapter 18 - Here You Go

It can't be less than 1.2 meters tall.

Ashley picked out the keywords.

Less than 1.2 meters.

Ashley was completely attracted by the words and did not notice what Liam said to the person next to him, let alone what the man lying on his stomach looked like.

At this time, the sun was shining, it was shady but not cool under the tent. Her face was slightly flushed by the sunshine and she felt so irritable that she could not stand her brother’s sarcasm.

"I’m more than 1.2 meters."

Although Ashley felt that she didn't need to prove this, she couldn't help arguing, "I'm 1.55 meters tall, ok?"

"Wow, this classmate is 1.55 meters tall, but you look…" Liam casually turned over the list. "Quite short."

"…”

"Well, you'll have to say it in advance. Otherwise, it is easy to misunderstand. "

"…”

‘Does she have to say "I'm 1.55 meters tall" when she sees everyone?

It's like showing off.’

"See for yourself whether the number on your clothes matches the list."

Then Liam pushed the person next to him, "Don't sleep, come and help me, bro."

The man, who had been sleeping, moved before he lifted his face out of his arms.

Ashley looked in his direction.

The man looked sleepy and his eyes were half-squinted. He didn't seem to be able to adapt to the brightness.

Not seen for a few months, his hair grew a little longer, covered his eyebrows, which was a little messy. The complexion was cold white, but the lip color was as bright as rouge.

He was like a charming demon, attracting everyone’s eyes.

Jacob sat up slowly, leaned back, looked like he couldn't wake up, and answered lazily, "Hmm."

Ashley stared at him for two seconds, her heart beating heavily. She suddenly withdrew her sight and pretended not to see him.

She found herself something to do and found her name and number on the list according to Liam's words.

0155.

Ashley looked down at the number on her shirt, and then said to Liam, "It's right."

"That's an interesting number."

Liam said leisurely, "As if afraid that the whole world will not know that you are 1.55 meters tall."

Ashley was unhappy. "It's not my choice."

Hearing the conversation between the two, Jacob raised his drooping eyelids.

Noticing Ashley and the clothes she was wearing, his eyebrows lifted and most of his drowsiness dissipated in an instant.

Then, he burst out laughing.

Hearing the laughing, Ashley looked at him.

She saw him staring at her clothes, smiling with his chin down, making no secret of his smile.

The meaning was particularly obvious, which was blatantly laughing at what she was wearing.

This reaction immediately reminded Ashley of the class uniform that her grandma probably didn't want to wear. Her ears were getting hot. She took a deep breath and walked away in exasperation.

She could still hear Jacob saying with a low smile, "Your sister's aesthetic is pretty cool."

"…”

‘It is now popular to form a team to bully the young.

Two old men.’

Ashley simply pretended not to know them.

She stayed with the girl in the class who also took part in the long jump, waiting for them to match the contestants' names and numbers.

The girl's name was Mia, and she was relatively quiet. At this time, she seemed a little bored, so she took the initiative to say, "Ashley, do you know those two brothers?"

Ashley nodded reluctantly. "But not familiar with them."

"How do you know them?" Mia was curious, " They seem to be much older than us."

"My mother's friend." Ashley came up with a random reason.

"Well."

"My mother likes square dancing. They often dance together." Ashley said, "My mother would invite them to my house for dinner once in a while, so I know them."

The words "square dance" and "often dance together" were like a huge lightning strike on Mia's head.

"Square dance?" she asked unbelievably.

Ashley said with a straight face, "Yes."

"Wow, that’s…" Mia was totally shocked and said, "awesome."

"It's all right." Her reaction made Ashley feel relieved for a moment. "It seems that everyone at their age likes square dance."

"…”

Soon, Liam called them to draw lots and arranged the order of the match.

Ashley picked one at random and was arranged to be the second to last.

There were three examiners, in addition to Liam and Jacob, there was another woman. They all wore black short sleeves and white hats.

After the check-in was completed, they took the contestants to the competition venue.

Ashley was actually quite unbelievable.

Although she knew that there would be volunteers from South Star University, it was impossible for Liam and Jacob to sign up.

She didn't want to be laughed at by them and walked with Mia at the end.

After taking them to the field of the competition, the job of the examiners was done.

Ashley gradually relaxed and prayed that they would leave quickly.

It was just after 11:00, the sun was getting stronger, so she squatted down and hid under the shadow of the people next to her.

Before long, someone put a hat on her head.

Ashley was so blinded by the sun that she subconsciously raised the brim of her hat and looked up.

Her expression froze when she noticed the person in front of her.

As soon as she looked away, she saw a man standing on the side.

None of the things she prayed for just now were realized, neither of them left, and now they have come to her door.

Jacob squatted in front of her, her hair color being light in the sun. He tilted his head slightly and put his arm on his knee. "Little Ashley is a little beautifully dressed today," he said with a smile.

Ashley didn’t want to talk to him.

Liam stood by and got a camera out of nowhere.

The next second, he aimed at Ashley and added, "You can go to compete in the beauty contest."

"Brother," Ashley stared wide-eyed, "Why are you taking pictures?"

"Dad and Mom asked me."

Liam stooped slightly and leaned the camera closer. "Kid, you look nice today, like Snow White’s stepmother, really charming."

"You dressed like Popeye!" Ashley immediately jumped up to grab his camera. "Why don’t you shoot me when I look good?"

"Is that so?" Liam raised his hand and asked humbly. "When will you look good? Will you tell brother, or I won't know?"

"…”

Ashley still wanted to jump up and was immediately pinned down by him.

She couldn’t move.

She felt that she was going to explode, but she was so suppressed by him that she could do nothing about it. Ashley put up with her temper and said, "Brother, don’t."

Liam's hand still didn't let go.

Ashley said again, "Take the pictures, it doesn't matter."

She really thought it was too painful.

‘It was a matter of gratitude for Liam to go to college. Unexpectedly, she had to endure Liam's torture when she was at school.’

As if he didn't hear what she said, Liam raised the corner of his eyes slightly, still keeping the original action. "I'm taking a good picture, aren't I?"

"Ashley couldn't stand it any longer and threatened," I'll tell Dad if you don’t let me go. "

"All right, go ahead."

Liam said indifferently, " It will be a long time before I get home."

Stalemate for a while.

Jacob also squatted aside, watching them.

Before long, he stood up and pulled Liam's hand away from Ashley's head, saying with mockery, "Will you stop bullying my sister?"

Liam, "…"

Although she knew that this man was no better than Liam, she hid behind him very shamelessly. "Do you hear that? My brother told you not to bully me."

Liam stared at the two for a long time and thought it was ridiculous, "Who is your brother?"

Ashley pointed to Jacob

"All right, dude." Liam put down the camera and seemed to think the deal was a bargain, and his expression became cheerful. "Here you go."

Unconsciously, it was Ashley's turn.

In terms of sports, Ashley was actually good at none of them, but on balance, she still felt that the long jump was easier.

This was the first time that Ashley had participated in the school sports meeting.

Originally, she didn't feel nervous and wanted to jump and leave. Ashley has not considered the question of whether she can get the ranking or not.

But now, two more people were looking at her.

Ashley exhaled slowly.

She stood on the runway and looked forward at the jumper, predicting in her mind how many steps she would have to run. Soon, Ashley listened to the referee's order and began to run forward.

When she reached one meter from the take-off line, Ashley stopped for a moment and went on running again.

As if she was afraid of hitting the line, she glanced at it, stood accurately in front of the take-off line, and jumped forward with all her strength.

The world quieted down, and only the wind was left around.

After a few seconds, the referee measured the distance with a ruler and looked careful and serious. "0155, 0.5 meters for the first time."

"…”

Ashley could vaguely hear the people next to her laughing.

As if she didn't hear it, she scratched her head. "Do I have to jump again?"

The referee, "Two more times."

Ashley didn’t really want to jump, but she couldn't break the rules of the game. "Ok."

Jacob, who stood by and watched, was amused, his shoulders trembling slightly. "What's the matter with your sister? Run so fast to the take-off line, then stop and stand up for the long jump."

"The kid is vigilant and timid." Liam recorded the scene in the camera and twitched his lips, "Probably afraid of falling."

For the second time, Ashley still followed suit.

But she did make some progress. She jumped 0.8 meters this time.

As she passed Liam, she heard him applaud and kindly encourage her, "This jump is so far, not as far as I take a step."

"…”

Mr. Smith just came to watch the game.

Seeing Ashley's inactive appearance, he taught her a lesson in the face and asked her to jump well for the last time.

“Even if you can't do the long jump, you have to jump well. Attitude is everything.”

Under the dual stimulation of Mr. Smith and Liam.

Ashley clenched her lips and decided that she must jump out of a good result this time and make them impressed. She adjusted her breath and ran slowly forward.

She started to accelerate in the middle.

She jumped five centimeters away from the jumper and landed on the bunker.

Then, like the picture she had made up for thousands of times, she did not stand firm, and sprained her ankle and leaned forward.

Ashley subconsciously stretched out her hands to support her body. But the sand rubbed her hands, causing a lot of pain. Then she fell into the bunker.

A volunteer immediately came over and tried to help her up. "Are you all right?"

Ashley's tears were uncontrollable because of the pain, but she didn't cry and said reluctantly, "I’m good."

The pain in her ankle made Ashley unable to stand up.

This situation took everyone by surprise.

Liam and Jacob hurriedly ran over, and even Mr. Smith, who was watching not far away, ran over.

Jacob was closer. He ran to Ashley's side, half squatted down, grabbed her arm, but did not try hard, "Can you stand up?"

Ashley began to regret her seriousness. What made her feel more ashamed than the pain was that she fell in full view of the public.

She bowed her head and shook it.

Liam grabbed her other arm, frowned, and said, "Why don't you continue the standing long jump?"

It was only then that Ashley burst into tears and was aggrieved to death. "Because you laughed at me."

The two men pulled her up together.

Liam squatted down. "Come on up."

Mr. Smith looked on, feeling guilty. "Ashley, are you all right? I shouldn't have said that to you."

Ashley climbed onto Liam's back, with tears in her eyes, holding back a cry and saying, "It's all right."

The way she looked like this made Mr. Smith feel even more guilty.

He turned his head and wanted to say something when he suddenly noticed Jacob, "You are Ashley’s brother, right? What are you doing here?"

"Ah, I remember." Mr. Smith began to babble, "You seem to have told me last time that you were studying at South Star University. I'm really sorry I didn't take good care of your sister."

After that, he noticed Liam, who was carrying Ashley on his back and was stupefied for a moment. "Who is this?"

Ashley's scalp tightened.

Thoughts instantly floated to the event half a year ago, the pain seemed insignificant at this moment, and a great sense of emptiness and fear enveloped her.

‘What's the answer?

Telling him that he is Liam, her biological brother, then all the lies will be seen through, she is screwed.

Or he's a friend of her brother's.

Then why did he carry her? It's strange.’

Seeing that Ashley was so nervous, Jacob also thought of something and just wanted to speak.

The next moment, Ashley tightened her arms around Liam's neck, as if to strangle him, and as if to block his next words.

Her head was blank, her words were completely out of her head, and she uttered the word.

"Dad."

Liam immediately turned his head.

Pain and tension catalyzed Ashley's tears. She sniffed and sobbed, "Mr. Smith, this is my father."

"…”