Normal physical education classes were merely a facade; only those held near the end of the semester mattered. Even though they didn't count towards final grades, they still tormented students right before their major exams.
Yaxi, who typically took four and a half minutes for an 800-meter run, staggered away from the track feeling as if she'd lost half her life. While her classmates encouraged her, helped her, and passed around water bottles, Yaxi clutched her pounding heart and retreated toward a quieter corner.
Exhaustion clouded her senses, leaving her unaware that someone stood waiting beside the bleachers.
In a brief lapse of attention, she found herself pulled into the narrow crevice between the stands and the equipment shed.
"Lu Ziyang? Isn't your class… supposed to be running the 1,000-meter race too?"
Both had just endured grueling long-distance tests, yet while Yaxi struggled to catch her breath, Lu Ziyang appeared invigorated, not even winded. He trapped her within the cramped space.
Lu Ziyang had originally planned to confront her, but upon seeing her pale face, a strange pang of guilt twisted his insides. Without hesitation, he uncapped a nearly empty water bottle—the remnants of his post-race chugging—and offered it to her.
"You're clearly exhausted. Here, drink this."
Yaxi didn't hesitate. Her throat burned with thirst, and the need for hydration overrode all else. Grabbing the bottle, she tilted it straight to her lips and gulped greedily.
The cold wind had reddened her cheeks and neck after the run. Her soft lips pressed firmly against the bottle's rim as she drank deeply, some water spilling down her slender throat, mingling with sweat before disappearing beneath her collar.
Watching this, Lu Ziyang—who wore only a hoodie—felt a warmth rise through his body.
"How could you break your promise?" he finally blurted out, his tone tinged with frustration. "I did exactly what you told me—I spent two whole weeks having lunch with Xu Xiaoyi."
After draining the last drops, Yaxi screwed the cap back on and handed the empty bottle back to him, waiting silently for him to continue.
"You said she doesn't care about hollow words but values action; that she dislikes being coddled and instead admires strength and independence.
Before the lunch bell even rang, I snuck out to buy her food and ate with her at campus park.
I stopped complaining about failing grades or mentioning how my mom punished me.
I followed your advice and became a good listener. After school, I took her to arcades, cat cafes, and swimming pools—all to make her happy. I almost skipped class with her. But…"
Lu Ziyang shot Yaxi a resentful glance, hinting at his growing dissatisfaction.
"So, she wasn't moved enough to agree to your next 'date' plan?" Yaxi sighed, exasperated.
"No! She agreed," Lu Ziyang snapped. "It's you. You promised that if I kept this up for a week, you'd let me… see that." His eyes flickered toward her lower body.
But two weeks had passed. Every day, he'd accompanied Xu Xiaoyi without exchanging a single word with Yaxi.
She had no idea how torturous these past two weeks had been!
Each night, dreams of her kneeling before him, whimpering softly, haunted him. Each morning, thoughts of her delicate curves forced him to seek relief alone.
During last week's math exam, every "+" symbol blurred into a "×" in his mind. When "6 + 5" appeared repeatedly, he mechanically calculated it as 30 each time. Predictably, his usually passing score plummeted to 38, earning him a harsh beating from his mother, Jian Ningzhi—a woman known for her strict discipline inherited from her father, who served in the Soviet Union during World War II.
He wasn't stupid; Yaxi hadn't even bothered replying to his messages, which clearly meant she'd forgotten all about him.
Yaxi curved her lips into a satisfied smile, realizing he wasn't entirely useless after all. He'd managed to placate Xu Xiaoyi, at least for now.
"Hmm. Well done," Yaxi said, not stingy with her praise.
"Sit down," she ordered again.
"Huh?" Lu Ziyang's brain seemed hardwired to obey her commands instantly. He slid down the wall and sat on the floor, his knees bent, legs framing Yaxi's from the outside.
Suddenly, Yaxi lifted one leg and slammed it hard against the wall beside his left shoulder. She loomed over him like a little bully, peering down. "I forgot—what did I tell you to look at again? My waist or my legs?"
In this position, if Lu Ziyang tilted his head up, his eyes would land right on her crotch. Too bad she wasn't wearing a skirt.
Lu Ziyang's throat tightened with frustration. "You damn well know."
"I really don't remember. Tell me," Yaxi teased, her voice laced with temptation. "If you get it right, you can look—and I'll even let you touch my breasts."
Touch her breasts, look at her pussy.
Lu Ziyang couldn't resist the lure. He jerked his face to the side and shouted in a mix of anger and desperation, "Your cunt! You said I could look at your cunt!"