NH chapter 017

Chapter 17: Sports Meeting

It was as if it were just a tiny interlude, forgotten once the sun set that day. Whether it was coincidental or not, for a long time afterwards, the incident in the equipment room was glossed over.

Time flew by as if driven by an impatient donkey, and after more than half a month of training, the sports meeting in early November finally commenced.

November in Guangdong isn’t too cold; in fact, it can get quite warm when the sun comes out at two in the afternoon. This drastic temperature difference between day and night made people accustomed to dressing in a “steamed cake on top, selling cold jelly below” manner—meaning wearing short sleeves under a thick sweatshirt or thin fleece jacket while the lower half remained cool.

Boys generally have higher body temperatures and aren’t bothered by the cold, usually opting for shorts and short-sleeves, maybe a school uniform jacket if necessary.

But to say it’s completely warm would be a lie; the gust of wind that greeted people in the morning could turn them into solid ice. Exposed calves would shiver, while light-hearted banter exchanged from one to another.

On the way to school, Huo Ye was driving. Before leaving, he called Shen Tingyu, asking what he wanted for breakfast.

Shen Tingyu sounded a bit grouchy, his voice on the phone cold and tired, crisp and with a low temperature, saying he never eats breakfast.

“You must have started your day with ice water?” Huo Ye parked in front of the Sanjin Soup Bun shop, looking at the price list, already having made up his mind.

Shen Tingyu paused slightly, glancing at the mug in his hand still emitting a bit of cold mist, and only said, “Like it, don’t mind.” Then he hung up, as if being guessed made him feel uncomfortable.

Huo Ye brought him soy milk and soup dumplings, and Shen Tingyu didn’t say a word after getting in the car but ended up eating anyway.

Shen Tingyu was particularly refined while eating soup dumplings, paying much attention to his image—one could even say he had quite the idol burden. Huo Ye had known him for over two months, and there hadn’t been a single day when he wasn’t meticulously polished.

Huo Ye pondered that every day he picked up Shen Tingyu; although the school uniform was still the same two sets, the shoes and watch he wore were usually unique, with a keen eye for style.

In the few minutes while waiting for Shen Tingyu to come out, Huo Ye would idly guess what he would wear that day. Yet he had never gotten it right, each day was like the peacock spreading its tail.

Sometimes when Huo Ye praised a watch, Shen Tingyu would nonchalantly wear it for a few more days, deliberately showing off in front of him.

Unbeknownst to them, that distance reserved for so-called desk mates had grown ever closer, while the feelings stepping beyond desk mate intimacy had also increased.

Until both were completely entwined in each other’s lives.

During the opening ceremony, everyone was in high spirits. After all, the sports meeting was one of the few fresh occurrences amidst the monotonous school life, and students could openly take out their phones to play, without fear of being scolded by teachers, simply stating, “Teacher, we’re just taking photos. What’s wrong?” Even the homeroom teacher wouldn’t know how to retort.

On the first afternoon, Huo Ye participated in the 100-meter race, with many classmates cheering from behind the lines, almost crowding around.

Zhao Jiayan squeezed his shoulder, flattering him, “Ye Ge, I signed you up for this, so you don’t have to push too hard—just do your best. Our class is a bunch of athletic novices, with developed brains but clumsy limbs; if we trip over our feet and fall flat on our faces in front of the whole school, that’s a win in itself. Just do your best.”

Huo Ye laughed and nodded, saying, “Alright, I’ll just run casually.” Zhao Jiayan chirped an encouragement and hurriedly left as they began clearing the area.

Zhao Jiayan had signed up for the 100 meters too, but in the heat following Huo Ye’s group. Once Huo Ye’s group finished, it would be his turn.

Huo Ye hadn’t participated in the sports meeting in his first year of high school as he had taken sick leave those days, so when he announced he would “run casually,” and then the gun went off, shooting him out like an arrow, everyone was left speechless and astonished, their jaws nearly dropping.

Preliminary rounds, heats, semi-finals, finals. It was obvious, regardless of whether his opponents were professional athletes or ordinary, he was ahead without a doubt.

A lone racer furiously ahead.

Zhao Jiayan, who got eliminated in the preliminary round, watched him cross the finish line, nearly tearing up.

——This is what you call “just running casually”??

At the noisy finish line, Shen Tingyu leaned against the platform with two bottles of mineral water. The sun was blazing, giving his skin an almost white porcelain quality, but his face was as cold as ice, with a hint of impatience in his brows and eyes.

Many girls around him were hoping to take photos with him or get his contact information, yet seeing his cold demeanor, they all hesitated.

Shen Tingyu initially intended to catch up on sleep in the classroom, but Huo Ye insisted he stand at the finish line to wait. With the sun so bright, one would have to be insane to come out just to deliver water, especially when he had to stand with those little schoolgirls delivering water, looking even more foolish.

He assumed those girls liked Huo Ye, specially coming to watch him compete, and even though his reasoning wasn’t far off, Shen Tingyu felt his status was different from theirs.

In what way was it different? As Huo Ye crossed the finish line, he didn’t look at anyone else but headed straight for Shen Tingyu, and that was what made him different.

Huo Ye casually grabbed a bottle of mineral water, twisted off the cap, and drank half of it, then noticed Shen Tingyu looking at someone else, stopping to follow his gaze and finding him seemingly looking at a girl.

Or maybe it wasn’t necessarily a specific girl; it just so happened that the direction he was looking at… was full of girls.

Huo Ye tightened his fingers around the water bottle unconsciously, casually asking, “Who are you looking at, someone you know?”

Shen Tingyu returned his gaze and put on an unbothered expression, “No, don’t know them.”

His throat inexplicably felt dry. Shen Tingyu picked up the water bottle, about to take a sip, but abruptly paused halfway.

Upon closer inspection, the bottle was clearly unopened. Shen Tingyu shook his fingers and looked up to say, “Why did you drink mine?”

Huo Ye blinked, “Is it not allowed?”

“Of course it’s not allowed! That’s mine; how can you just casually drink someone else’s used water?” Shen Tingyu frowned and chided him.

Huo Ye said, “Oh, so you consider yourself someone else?”

Shen Tingyu was momentarily at a loss for words.

“Not being able to drink someone else’s water is because cross-contamination might be unsanitary, but Young Master, would you have hygiene issues if you brush your teeth eight hundred times a day? If you admit it, then I can just reach in and vomit the water back out right now.” Huo Ye leisurely said to him.

Shen Tingyu: “…”

Huo Ye stared at him for a few seconds without receiving a reply, then raised two fingers as if to probe into his mouth to induce vomiting; just at that moment, Shen Tingyu could no longer hold back and snapped, suddenly pushing him into the wall, grabbing both his hands firmly. The mineral water bottle slipped from his grip and fell to the ground, spilling out the remaining water.

Huo Ye’s shirt was splashed on one side, clearly revealing the muscular contours of his waist and abdomen. He raised an eyebrow, saying, “Were you doing that on purpose?”