Chapter 130

The next morning, Li Luo woke up precisely at six, knocked on Ying Chanxi's bedroom door, then began washing up.

Not long after, Ying Chanxi, still in her pajamas, walked into Li Luo's bedroom and entered his bathroom, extending her toothbrush.

"What are you doing?"

"I ran out of toothpaste. Give me some."

"Here." Li Luo squeezed a bit of toothpaste onto her brush, then said, "When you get back tonight, buy a new one at the supermarket."

"Got it." Ying Chanxi shoved the toothbrush into her mouth and made no move to leave, brushing her teeth while watching Li Luo wash his face.

"You wash your face like this every day?" Ying Chanxi stared blankly as Li Luo cupped water directly in his hands, rubbed it over his face a few times, then dried off with a Mao Jin.

"What else?"

"Don't you use facial cleanser?" Ying Chanxi glanced at the sink counter—besides a bottle of hand soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, and tooth cup, there seemed to be nothing else.

"I hardly ever use it."

"Then I'll buy you one. My dad's facial cleanser is always bought by me."

"So I'm your…"

"Go die!"

After washing up, Li Luo went to the balcony to fetch a clean uniform and changed into it.

Although all three of their uniforms were the same style, telling them apart was simple.

The largest size was definitely Li Luo's.

Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu's sizes were similar, but Xu Youyu's clothes, especially the short-sleeved ones, had obvious creases on the chest from prolonged wear.

Ying Chanxi's didn't.

"Let's go." Ying Chanxi slipped on her shoes at the door, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and called out to Li Luo.

Li Luo replied and followed Ying Chanxi out the door.

The two walked together toward the school gate.

When they reached the gate, they saw Yan Zhusheng waiting quietly by the roadside.

Yan Zhusheng was wearing the Bluetooth earphones Ying Chanxi had given her. Seeing Li Luo and Ying Chanxi approach together, she paused slightly, then waved at them.

"Zhusheng, why are you here?" Ying Chanxi ran up, curious. "Waiting for someone?"

"Waiting for you two." Yan Zhusheng blinked. "Let's go jogging together."

"Huh?" Ying Chanxi froze, then slowly caught on, narrowing her eyes at Li Luo. "Why didn't you tell me yesterday that Zhusheng would join us for morning run?"

"Didn't I say? Maybe I forgot to mention it." Li Luo became a master of feigning ignorance, waved his hand, and stepped ahead into the school gate. "Come on, let's finish running early and get breakfast."

"Here, Xi Xi." Yan Zhusheng removed one earphone, glanced at Li Luo, then at Ying Chanxi, and handed the earphone to her. "I really like the earphones you gave me. They work great."

"Oh, thank you." Ying Chanxi happily took the earphone, slipped it into her ear. "I'm glad you like it—I was worried these Bluetooth earphones wouldn't work well."

The two walked together behind Li Luo, listening to music as they headed toward the track.

Li Luo turned and saw this scene—especially the earphone in Ying Chanxi's ear—and felt strangely like the excluded third wheel.

The three reached the track quickly.

According to the school's 400-meter track, Ying Chanxi's 1500 meters meant running less than four laps.

Li Luo's 3000 meters required exactly seven and a half laps.

Previously, when jogging with Yan Zhusheng at night, they'd only done two or three laps as a token effort.

He'd never run seven and a half laps before.

"Today's goal is just five slow laps," Li Luo said. "No speed—just finish slowly, get used to the intensity."

The track was empty in the morning.

Aside from the usual morning drills by the sports students, only students walking to school kept moving along the nearby Houte Road.

The three ran quietly in circles. Compared to the others, Ying Chanxi had the weakest stamina and was already exhausted by the third lap.

But seeing Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng maintain steady pace, she gritted her teeth and pushed herself to keep up, eventually finishing all five laps.

"Wait… let me rest… I'm dead…" After finishing, Ying Chanxi felt her legs go weak; she instinctively gripped Li Luo's shoulder, leaning half her weight against him.

Li Luo turned to look at her.

Her lips were slightly parted, breathing hard, cheeks flushed red, strands of hair damp with sweat clinging to her forehead—she looked unexpectedly alluring.

Yan Zhusheng watched silently, then walked over and removed the earphone from Ying Chanxi's ear: "You can't wear it in the cafeteria."

"Feeling better?" Li Luo helped her toward the cafeteria. "With this state, when you run your 1500, you'll have to sprint the whole way—you'll collapse right after."

"You… worry about yourself first…" Ying Chanxi gripped her waist with one hand, kept the other on Li Luo's shoulder, caught her breath, and finally recovered slightly. "I only have 1500 meters. You've got 3000."

"I only signed up for the 3000." Li Luo grinned. "But you signed up for the 100-meter sprint too—you'll be competing with Zhusheng."

"Zhusheng runs the 100 meters?" Ying Chanxi stared at Yan Zhusheng in surprise, then nodded. "Yeah, makes sense—you looked fine after five laps. You must be really good at running."

"She broke the school record in middle school," Li Luo said. "As for you, just pray you make it past the preliminaries."

There were sixteen classes per grade, two contestants per class.

Thirty-two people total—only the top eight advance to finals.

That means you need at least second in your group to have a decent shot.

"Don't underestimate me," Ying Chanxi huffed. "Don't forget, I placed in the 100 meters back in middle school."

"Yes, yes, yes—I underestimated you."

The three reached the cafeteria, ate breakfast, then went to their respective classrooms to prepare for morning self-study.

But before morning self-study began, Li Luo stepped out to use the restroom—and when he came out, a familiar figure blocked his path.

"Li Luo, I asked people in your class," Lu Wei blocked him, grinning. "You only signed up for the 3000 meters, right? I signed up too. Let's see who finishes higher."

"…" Li Luo stared blankly at Lu Wei, utterly baffled how someone this bizarre could exist at Fu Yi High. "Bro, can you stop being so childish?"

"Are you even a man? Don't dodge my challenge. If you lose this time, will you stop talking to Gao Yuqin?"

"I never went to talk to her."

"Then why did she say you specifically told her you're still single?"

Li Luo: "…?"

How so manipulative is Gao Yuqin?

Keeping fish in school is one thing, but why keep treating him like a catfish and forcibly shoving him into this group of sardines?

At such a young age, you already have such strong fish-school management instincts?

With a look of utter disbelief, Li Luo returned to the classroom and sighed.

Yan Zhusheng, beside him, noticed his expression and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just suddenly realized that girls with your personality are better."

"Do you like me?"

"…How did your logic lead you to that conclusion?"