MNL Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Running Away. Aren’t you scared? I’ll lend you this for a while.

Chapter 19: Running Away. Aren’t you scared? I’ll lend you this for a while.

At the beginning, the high jump area was surrounded by a dense crowd, but it dispersed quickly. Lasting for an hour and a half, only Shen Yan never left from beginning to end.

After the competition, Wu Songyue, the geography teacher, came over and patted Xu Jing’s shoulder, saying, “Not bad, Xu Jing. Practice hard in the future, and you might even surpass those sports students.”

Xu Jing didn’t say anything, but he knew in his heart that he won first place because the two sports students who originally did high jump happened to be sick and on leave at this time. It was just luck.

Cha Fei’ang, after hearing the high jump results announced by the broadcasting station, ran over without saying a word. Seeing Wu Songyue smiling and talking to Xu Jing and Shen Yan, he quickly joined in.

“Hello, Teacher Wu.”

Wu Songyue turned his head and said, “Cha Fei’ang, what did you sign up for?”

“The three thousand meters,” Cha Fei’ang’s tone suddenly heightened. “Seriously, teacher, wasn’t my running posture this morning so handsome, far surpassing second place? Didn’t you see it?”

Wu Songyue was amused and explained, “I was in the principal’s office this morning, so I didn’t come to the playground.”

Cha Fei’ang said “Oh,” and quickly gave two flattering smiles, saying, “Teacher, I’d like to discuss something with you if I may. The holiday isn’t easy, could you give us a little less homework?”

Wu Songyue has a kind face, and he usually gets along well with the students with a smile. Cha Fei’ang originally liked him the most, but he didn’t expect that such a kind and amiable teacher would assign more homework than anyone else, often making them burn the midnight oil.

“Sure,” Wu Songyue only said half a sentence, and Cha Fei’ang’s eyes were about to light up, but in the next second, he saw a standard smile on the round face in front of him. “If your geography scores are all like Shen Yan’s, then less homework is something we can consider.”

Cha Fei’ang: “…”

Who gets a near-perfect score in geography?

Shen Yan blankly met Cha Fei’ang’s resentful gaze.

“Oh right, you two,” Wu Songyue turned his attention back to Shen Yan and Xu Jing, briefly putting on a serious face. “The city-level geography knowledge competition I told you about last time has been moved up. It’s scheduled for the third day after the National Day holiday. Prepare well.”

They both gave a soft “Mm.”

Cha Fei’ang touched his nose and said regretfully, “Why haven’t I heard of any chemistry competitions recently, or even a marathon? Maybe they’d give priority consideration during college admissions.”

The sports meet even gave him a sense of superiority in running. Xu Jing’s eyebrows twitched. “You’re at it again?”

“Of course, I feel like I’m Kuafu chasing the sun right now. I don’t even pant after running three thousand meters. Looks like I’m the chosen one. Hey—I haven’t finished talking yet! Why are you leaving?!”

Although he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Zheng Tong said that when Cha Fei’ang finished running, his face was full of tears and sweat. If he hadn’t been quick to stop him, this guy would have almost collapsed into the pile of girls.

He was seriously talking nonsense. Perhaps the image was too eye-searing, and someone suddenly chuckled in their throat, and the corners of another person’s eyes gradually curved up as well.

During the sports meet, there were no classes during the evening self-study period. Liang Yin, combined with everyone’s opinions, finally chose a particularly old-fashioned suspense film. To ensure the atmosphere, the classroom needed to be darkened. Xu Jing had expected this and took the first step to leave.

The person in the corner noticed and soon stuffed the books on the desk into the drawer, silently following.

At this time, almost every class was watching a movie, and the whole school was quiet. Linhe No.1 High School was large, and Shen Yan searched for a long time before finding the person near the gymnasium.

Several streetlights were installed near the railing. Xu Jing was leaning against it, the teenager’s back slightly bent. The dim yellow light reflected the slender waist hidden under the shirt, and the narrow lines outlined a beautiful curve. Shen Yan watched for a while, inexplicably feeling a little hot.

His footsteps were slow and light. Xu Jing knew who was coming without turning his head. He was just wondering if someone would notice his absence from the classroom and follow him out.

“Want to get out of school?”

A low voice sounded in his ear, and Xu Jing turned around, raising an eyebrow. “Now?”

Shen Yan gave a soft “Mm,” his eyes unconsciously moving down again, eventually stopping on that narrow, resilient waist.

At this moment, he was inexplicably missing the feeling of applying medicine to Xu Jing that day.

However, such thoughts exploded in his mind like thunder. Shen Yan finally couldn’t help but move two steps to the side.

Seeing Shen Yan’s reaction, Xu Jing felt inexplicably puzzled. If he didn’t shower every day and change his clothes every day, he would have thought this person disliked the smell on him and was deliberately trying to keep his distance.

“How do we get out?”

Shen Yan touched his nose, trying to cover up his embarrassment, and said, “You’re sick.”

Xu Jing gave a questioning “Mm” and replied, “I’m not.”

“I know. I mean, you pretend to be sick.”

“?”

Asking for sick leave requires notifying parents, which is obviously more troublesome. However, looking at Shen Yan’s confident appearance, Xu Jing narrowed his eyes slightly and chose to believe him this time.

There were only two people in the office. Liang Yin was quietly standing by the window reading a book. In addition, there was a curly-haired woman wearing a pure black retro trench coat sleeping on her desk.

Although they couldn’t see her face, they recognized her figure at a glance. It was Ruan Rong from the school infirmary.

Shen Yan said to look distressed, biting his lip and frowning, placing one hand on his abdomen, and walking with a slight limp. This was the standard sick posture. Xu Jing thought the action was too stupid and had never had such an experience. After entering, he could only stammer out a few words, “Teacher, I, I don’t feel well.”

Liang Yin quickly put down the book in her hand and stepped forward, concerned. “What’s wrong? Where do you feel unwell?”

Shen Yan: “Stomachache.”

Xu Jing: “Abdominal pain.”

“…What?”

Xu Jing bit his back teeth, moving his hand on his abdomen, closing his eyes, and weakly said, “It all hurts.”

Shen Yan, who was on the side, had pain in the cheeks from holding back his laugh.

Liang Yin didn’t notice anything wrong, but became a little nervous. “Then what should I do? If it’s really serious, I’ll call you… Oh right, Doctor Ruan is here!”

Ruan Rong’s body moved.

Liang Yin was just about to call someone when Shen Yan immediately spoke up, “Teacher, Xu Jing’s illness is a little special. He needs to see a doctor at an outside hospital.”

Liang Yin’s expression was a little hesitant, but then she heard Shen Yan say, “Doctor Ruan probably isn’t very convenient.”

Ruan Rong was still sleepy-eyed, and after hearing someone call her, she raised her head in a daze. “Hmm? What noodles?”

Liang Yin: “…”

Thinking that Shen Yan and Xu Jing usually behaved very well and shouldn’t do anything out of line, Liang Yin wrote a leave note, signing it while saying, “Be careful.”

The two said in unison, “Okay.”

The sound of footsteps outside gradually faded away. Ruan Rong bent her long legs, squinting her eyes as if drunk, and reached out to the person in front of her, her red lips slightly parted, “Yinyin.”

Liang Yin looked away, smilingly touched Ruan Rong’s hair, took her hand, and replied, “I’m here.”

The two who got the leave note smoothly left the school gate. When Xu Jing was in a good mood, his pace was always a little faster than usual. Shen Yan, whose knee joints were aching, almost couldn’t keep up with him, so he could only ask, “Where do you want to go?”

Xu Jing said without thinking, “Go home and sleep.”

“Now?”

“Otherwise?”

Seeing that the other party seemed to have something to say, Xu Jing, not being the type to kick the ladder after crossing the river, asked, “Where do you want to go?”

After thinking for a while, Shen Yan said softly, “Come with me.”

So, Xu Jing, who was closely following behind, realized that the road Shen Yan was taking was becoming more and more familiar, until that hidden alleyway appeared in front of him, and he stopped instantly.

Sensing the abnormality, Shen Yan turned around, only to find that Xu Jing had subconsciously taken a step back.

It seemed that the last experience had indeed left a considerable shadow on Xu Jing. Shen Yan suddenly felt a little guilty and explained, “Don’t be afraid, it was just a power outage last time.”

Xu Jing was still very resistant, frowning and saying, “Why did you bring me here? What’s inside?”

“It’s nothing really, but…” Shen Yan paused, and said, “I haven’t brought anyone else here before.”

Xu Jing: “…”

Why did this sound a little strange?

And the tone, it sounded like he was acting spoiled.

If he really left at this time, this person would probably be quite disappointed.

After a long while, Xu Jing gradually loosened the fingers that had been curled up due to nervousness, as if he had admitted defeat.

“Don’t walk too fast.”

Hearing this, Shen Yan seemed to laugh softly. “Okay.”

The last time he came, due to the sudden situation, his entire memory of this alley was blurred. The only impression he had was that it was gloomy, dark, and he would never step foot in it again.

However, in the presence of light, Xu Jing found that it was not as unacceptable as he had imagined. Although the air was still filled with a damp smell due to the geographical environment, the road became wider as he went deeper, greatly reducing the discomfort caused by the confined space.

Walking, Shen Yan suddenly stopped. Xu Jing was puzzled and was about to ask what was wrong when he noticed that the other party had extended his hand to him.

“What?”

The hand was placed sideways, the wrist was thin and white, the knuckles were distinct, and the slightly raised blue veins and scars inexplicably had a kind of reassuring power.

Shen Yan looked at him and said, “Aren’t you scared? I’ll lend you this for a while.”

Although he said that, it was always awkward for two boys to hold hands. Xu Jing was about to refuse when his hand was already held in the next second. The palm was large and warm, with a thin layer of calluses on it, carrying a certain undeniable force, which made his heart itch.

All the way down, he felt that something was very strange. Xu Jing thought it was because his body was too stiff and even his sense of smell had a problem. At the end of the alley was an iron gate. After walking to it, Shen Yan touched his pocket and took out a silver key from it.

After the door was opened, the wind with the fragrance of flowers hit his face. Xu Jing cleared saw the scene in front of him in a daze, and couldn’t help but froze in place.