CH 13

Fortunately, the group next to them was far away, so when they fell, nobody was hit, and it wasn’t too embarrassing.

The whole process had taken only a few seconds, and nobody had seen what had happened clearly. They had just seen the two of them falling together onto the lawn.

The grass beneath them had been relatively soft, so when Xi Ning had fallen on her back, she hadn’t felt any pain. Their entangled hands had separated in mid-air, and when she had come to her senses, Kong Nianxi had already been lying on top of her, with her hands propping up beside her ears.

Her breath had been cold and sweet when it had come over, brushing her cheek and then becoming hot. Xi Ning had instinctively clenched her palms, trying to get up but not knowing where to exert force.

This “awkward” posture had been hard to ignore in the crowd, and amidst the uproar, Kong Nianxi had calmly got off her and sat half up on the lawn next to her. Xi Ning had quickly stood up after she had left and straightened up on the side.

“Could you help me up?” Kong Nianxi had sat on the ground and had reached out her hand to Xi Ning with a smile.

Xi Ning’s ears had tinged pink, and she had quickly bent down to pull her up. “I’m sorry.”

It had just been a game, and it had only been because of her sudden extreme reaction that someone had fallen.

Kong Nianxi had let her hair down, shaken it slightly, and then retied it with her slender fingers. She had smiled a little and had said, “Why are you apologizing to me? If anyone should apologize, it should be me. But…”

She had finished tying her hair and had walked up to Xi Ning’s side, whispering, “Don’t be so nervous next time. I might get the wrong idea~”

“…”

Misunderstanding?

What kind of misunderstanding?

The sweet and cold fragrance had disappeared in an instant, and Kong Nianxi had left behind a sentence that had made Xi Ning ponder. She had walked away, leaving Xi Ning frowning in thought.

“Alright, it’s over now, right? The losers, come over here and run a lap!”

With the command of the PE teacher, the losers of the game had slowly gathered on the other side of the track. According to the rules, Xi Ning had been considered the loser, so she had followed the crowd.

When the whistle had blown on the rubber track, the crowd had started to run with great enthusiasm. Since it hadn’t been a test, everyone had run freely. After the people in front of her had dispersed, Xi Ning had picked up her pace and had run at her own rhythm. By the second lap, she had still not been panting, her posture light and graceful, leaving everyone else far behind.

On the side of the track, Kong Nianxi had been waiting for someone with a girl in the shade in front of the podium. When she had seen Xi Ning approaching from this side, the girl couldn’t help but take a few more glances, and finally, her gaze had stuck on her. She had sighed, “Xi Ning runs so beautifully.”

Kong Nianxi had noticed Xi Ning from afar without her having to point her out.

The afternoon sun had been scorching, and the temperature had been high. Xi Ning had tied up her long hair and had exposed her long and fair neck, which had been covered in a thin layer of sweat. The area around her collarbone that had been revealed had been pink in the sunlight, and the white cheeks had also been slightly red from the steamy heat, adding a touch of tempting beauty to her cold face.

The figure on the track had passed by without looking sideways, and Kong Nianxi had licked her lips, not saying anything.

“Let me tell you, I was in the same class as her in my sophomore year. During the sports meet, not only did she win the long-distance race, she also broke the school record for high jump! I remember at the end of the race, when everyone was exhausted, she calmly twisted the cap off her water bottle and drank, looking so cool that I yelled out ‘husband!’ on the spot!”

Kong Nianxi had raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

The girl had corrected herself, covering her mouth. “Oh no, I meant to say ‘hey, wife.’”

“…”

Without noticing the slight change in Kong Nianxi’s expression, the girl had continued to talk with her chin resting on her hands. “If I could, I would like to bend over for Xi Ning.”

“No, you don’t want to.”

“Huh?”

The girl hadn’t understood, and then she inexplicably heard Kong Nianxi say something without any emotion in her voice before turning and walking away.

Scratching her head, the girl had caught up with her and joked, “What’s up with that? You’re using such an old joke…”

Xi Ning had run to the finish line where Tu Xiaoyuan and the others had already been waiting with water on the side.

The three of them had gone to sit under a tree in a cool spot.

Su Yuqi had kept staring at her phone, tapping away at the keys non-stop. Xi Ning had finished her run feeling thirsty, holding a bottle of mineral water and drinking it. Tu Xiaoyuan’s gaze had been fixed on her face, looking like she had something to say.

After a while, Xi Ning hadn’t been able to help but sigh and had said, “Spill it.”

Tu Xiaoyuan had finally broken the seal and was speaking rapidly without pause, as if afraid of being interrupted. “When did you guys become so close? The development was too fast, already at the stage of falling for each other?”

Xi Ning paused with the mineral water bottle in her hand, and Tu Xiaoyuan quickly pulled out a wet wipe to put under it. “Hey hey, don’t spray again.”

“…”

Xi Ning put down the water bottle, took a deep breath, and prepared to speak. But then Tu Xiaoyuan interrupted, “However, although you’re a poker face, it was still very obvious when you weren’t being natural.”

“So?” Xi Ning responded.

“Didn’t you notice how unnatural you became when the name Kong Nianxi was mentioned?” Tu Xiaoyuan asked with a smile.

“…”

Tu Xiaoyuan suddenly found it amusing, repeatedly saying those three words and observing Xi Ning’s reaction. Finally, Xi Ning couldn’t take it anymore and glared at her before she stopped.

Xi Ning couldn’t answer. The reason why she had suddenly become close with Kong Nianxi was because of her cowardly brother Xi Mu secretly admiring him. It had developed into what it was now entirely beyond her expectations. Moreover, she had established some kind of “private deal” with Xi Mu. Although they hadn’t done anything, she had already decided not to care about this kid’s affairs anymore. But to be honest, if she dug deeper, she felt a little guilty.

After answering Tu Xiaoyuan’s curious questions perfunctorily, they both lost interest and stopped discussing this topic.

“Oh, it seems lively over there. Let’s go take a look!” Tu Xiaoyuan pointed to the basketball court in front of them.

Xi Ning took a look and saw that there were many people on the basketball court during every physical education class, but today there were many people standing in front of a certain area.

She didn’t like to join in the crowd, but after thinking about distracting Tu Xiaoyuan’s attention, she reluctantly got up.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“I’ll pass. It’s not interesting. I’m better than them anyway. You guys go ahead.” Su Yuqi pinched her phone and lazily lifted her sleepy eyelids, her eyes hanging heavy with dark circles.

Xi Ning frowned. “You didn’t sleep well again?”

Su Yuqi had been talking less recently, almost late for several days in a row. It seemed like something was bothering her, but when they asked her, she wouldn’t say anything.

Tu Xiaoyuan also approached and asked, but Su Yuqi just smiled and waved her hand. “It’s nothing. I’m just tired. That side is too noisy. I’ll rest here for a bit. You guys call me when you’re done.”

Seeing that she really wasn’t interested, Xi Ning and Tu Xiaoyuan went to the basketball court first.

“Yi Zhe, I love you! Ahhh!”

“Yi Zhe, come on! Yi Zhe is the most handsome!”

“Mu Mu, come on, beat the other side!”

It was only when they got closer that they realized that it wasn’t just a simple crowd. There were even cheerleaders on both sides, and some were holding up support signs.

Tu Xiaoyuan excitedly pushed her way to the front of the venue with Xi Ning. “Sisters, can you help me hold this?” The girl next to her handed Tu Xiaoyuan a cardboard sign, which she happily took and, in turn, stuffed into Xi Ning’s arms.

Xi Ning was forced to catch it and, looking down, saw a colorful and familiar-looking cursive character “Mu” made from paint on the sign. Just then, a stranger standing on her other side also held up a sign with the character “Xi.”

In an instant, Xi Ning remembered something- the text message that Xi Mu had sent her a few days ago, mentioning something about a basketball game on Wednesday… which was today?

“Wow, he’s so cool!” Tu Xiaoyuan’s scream made Xi Ning’s eardrums ache. She looked up and saw a tall and handsome guy showing off by making a basket and then shaking his hair as he came down, causing a burst of screams.

The noise wrinkled Xi Ning’s brow, and when she looked around, she saw Xi Mu under the basket with a dejected face, dressed in a different colored jersey from the guy who had just played.

In the next second, Xi Mu saw her, and his face lit up. He quickly scanned the area, as if looking for someone. When he couldn’t find his target, he turned back to her and made some suggestive gestures.

Of course, Xi Ning knew what he meant. The other party might as well have written “Kong Nianxi, right?” on his face.

“Sister, are you in the wrong place?” Tu Xiaoyuan’s loud voice drew the attention of the cheerleading squad. The girl who had handed out the signs probably regretted it and looked at her with a “go cheer for the other team” expression.

Tu Xiaoyuan could only pat Xi Ning’s shoulder, looking helpless as she said in a low voice, “I can’t let my brother eat grass on my turf. I’ll go to the other side first.” She then abandoned Xi Ning without mercy and left.

Xi Ning was taken aback and thought about leaving too, but someone stopped her.

The girl holding the “Xi” sign patted Xi Ning’s “Mu” sign and said seriously, “Sister, since we have these support signs, we should cheer for Mu Mu properly. How can we be so indecisive? Do you not like him anymore?”

Xi Ning suddenly had many things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t find the words. Just when she was holding her breath, the sign in her hand was suddenly taken away.

“Who don’t you like?” Kong Nianxi appeared in the crowd, with beautiful crescent-shaped eyes.