After that day, Jiang Sixian witnessed the girl sneaking items onto Jiang Yi’s desk several times, either after school or when the classroom was empty.
Perhaps because she’d been caught too many times, the girl seemed to become embarrassed about giving Jiang Yi gifts. After her cast was removed, Jiang Yi, having not received any gifts for a while, breathed a sigh of relief. She figured the girl had probably moved on, her feelings fading.
The little monitor, however, was slightly resentful. “See? You were so cold to her, and now she doesn’t like you anymore.”
Jiang Yi was indifferent, even a little pleased. “Wonderful! She’s finally seen the light and stopped wasting her pocket money on me! I wish her all the best in finding a good partner. This humble servant will even abstain from meat for a day, praying for her wish to come true.”
The little monitor clicked her tongue. “That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
Chen Wanzhou sighed dramatically from the side. “So insincere. You’ll have trouble finding a partner like this.”
During lunch break, the group gathered around Jiang Yi’s desk, chatting. Just then, the PE committee member approached, holding a form and looking distressed.
Seeing her troubled expression, Jiang Yi asked, “Tiantian, what’s wrong? Why the long face?”
Before Zhang Tiantian could answer, the little monitor glanced at the form in her hand and said, “What else could it be? The sports festival is coming up, and our class still has a few events with no participants. We’re trying to find people.”
Zhang Tiantian nodded. “Yeah, there’s one particularly difficult event no one wants to do.”
Jiang Yi was curious. “Which event? Let me see.”
Zhang Tiantian handed the form to Jiang Yi. “The 1500-meter race. We still need one person.”
Jiang Yi looked at the form, then at her friends. “1500 meters… that’s quite a distance. Can’t you Alphas run it?”
The little monitor sighed. “We’re only allowed to sign up for two individual events and one group event. We’ve already filled our individual slots with track and field events. Besides, no one in our class except Tiantian can get a good time in the 1500 meters. We’re just looking for someone to fill the spot.”
Jiang Yi understood. To prevent Alphas from dominating too many events and creating unfair competition, the school had this rule.
Jiang Yi thought for a moment. “I can run it. Put my name down.”
Zhang Tiantian looked hesitantly at Jiang Yi’s hand. “But your hand was injured… is that okay?” Knowing Jiang Yi had been in a cast, Zhang Tiantian hadn’t even considered her as a potential participant.
Jiang Yi wiggled her recently cast-free hand. “It’s fine, the cast is off. Besides, I need to do some rehab. Running won’t hurt.”
Zhang Tiantian still felt uneasy. “But what if you get injured again?”
Jiang Yi smiled. “It’ll be fine. I’m not that unlucky.”
The little monitor looked skeptical. “Really? You sure you can run?”
Jiang Yi smiled. “Don’t worry, I can run. You just need someone to fill the spot, right? I don’t have to get a good time. If you don’t mind me embarrassing myself, I can just jog and finish the race.”
Chen Wanzhou agreed. “That works. If you help out, Tiantian’s problem is solved. Everyone wins.”
Jiang Yi nodded. “Exactly.”
After careful consideration, Zhang Tiantian, feeling Jiang Yi’s willingness to help was incredibly generous, decided to write Jiang Yi’s name on the form.
After school, Jiang Yi, thinking about the upcoming 1500-meter race in two weeks, decided to go to the gym for a run as part of her rehabilitation.
Just as she stepped onto the treadmill, Jiang Sixian, dressed in workout clothes and carrying a bottle of water, walked in.
Jiang Sixian paused at the door, looking at Jiang Yi with her headband. Then she said, “You go ahead. I won’t disturb you. I’ll come back later.”
Jiang Sixian hadn’t forgotten Jiang Yi’s words that day and had been keeping her distance, only approaching when she couldn’t help herself.
Jiang Yi, looking at the empty treadmill next to hers, said, “If you want to run, just run. There’s another one here.”
Jiang Sixian glanced at the empty treadmill, nodded, and walked over.
Perhaps because of her injured hand, Jiang Yi hadn’t exercised much lately. After a month’s break, running again felt slightly strenuous. She had to slow down to catch her breath.
With her pace slower, Jiang Yi had the energy to notice other things.
For example, Jiang Sixian was on the treadmill in front of her, wearing earbuds and running with her ponytail swaying. Just having another person there made the spacious gym feel incredibly cramped. So cramped that with every breath, Jiang Yi felt like she was inhaling Jiang Sixian’s scent.
Jiang Yi looked up, her gaze lingering on the pale skin revealed by Jiang Sixian’s swaying ponytail. As she ran, she felt like she couldn’t keep going.
She ended up only running three kilometers before stepping off the treadmill, her hair slightly damp, and walking out of the gym.
As she left, Jiang Sixian, still on the treadmill, glanced back at her. Seeing Jiang Yi leave, she pursed her lips and continued running.
In the following days, the two kept encountering each other in the gym, each occupying a treadmill, running with their earbuds in.
Jiang Yi’s rehabilitation progressed well. She gradually increased her distance from three kilometers back to five, her pace also picking up. She noticed Jiang Sixian’s training routine had changed slightly, now including sprints.
Jiang Yi guessed she might also be participating in track and field events, but since Jiang Sixian didn’t mention it, she didn’t ask. They continued running together in silence for half a month, until the sports and culture festival arrived.
The girls’ high school sports and culture festival lasted three days. The first two days were dedicated to track and field events. Each class set up a “base camp” around the perimeter of the track.
These base camps served as support stations for the athletes, providing massages, glucose water, and other services. They also included areas for flea markets, allowing students to organize and run small businesses.
Therefore, on this day, surrounding the track, one could see a variety of makeshift stalls selling milk tea, pancakes, takoyaki, sushi, fruit salad, and more.
Before the festival, the little monitor had visited each class to gather information about their planned stalls. After compiling the data, she returned to Class B and announced their class would be running a fruit salad stall.
This decision was met with unanimous approval. So, on the first day, Jiang Yi, having no events scheduled, was assigned to the fruit salad stall as part of the little monitor’s team—her task: cutting fruit.
Perhaps because their stall was incredibly popular, Jiang Yi spent the entire morning cutting fruit non-stop. Jin Duolai, in charge of collecting money, was so busy she didn’t even have time for a bathroom break.
While cutting watermelon, Jiang Yi teased, “Duolai, your name really suits you. Jin Duolai—’lots of gold coming your way.’ Look at how many servings you’ve sold this morning.”
Jin Duolai grimaced. “Don’t even mention it. You’re practically a fruit ninja yourself. When’s our shift over? I can’t hold it anymore.”
Seeing the afternoon events starting and the crowd thinning, Jiang Yi said, “I’m almost done with this watermelon. Go to the restroom if you need to. I’ll cover for you.”
Jin Duolai, unable to hold it any longer, gave a thumbs-up and dashed off.
With Jin Duolai gone, Jiang Yi clapped her hands, chuckled, and took over the cash register.
As fate would have it, Jiang Sixian, having just finished browsing the flea market with Tang Qing, returned to Class A’s stall. She subconsciously glanced towards Class B and, seeing Jiang Yi wearing a yellow duckbill cap and standing at their stall, couldn’t help but look again.
Just then, Jiang Sixian saw a girl with shoulder-length hair and glasses approach Jiang Yi.
Jiang Sixian immediately recognized her as the girl who had tried to kiss Jiang Yi under the tree. She bit her lip, hesitated, then, as if compelled by some unknown force, walked towards Class B’s stall.
As she approached, she overheard the girl say to Jiang Yi, “Your fruit salad looks delicious. How much is it?”
Jiang Yi replied, “Twenty-five yuan per pound. You choose the fruit, and we’ll top it with yogurt.”
The girl exclaimed, “Wow, that’s cheap!” She looked up at Jiang Yi, her eyes shining. “Our class is selling takoyaki. I don’t know if you like it, but if you do, come check out our stall. By the way, what’s your name? I’m Chu Ningning.”
Hearing this, Jiang Sixian paused. She subconsciously looked at Jiang Yi and, as expected, saw her smiling and saying, “I’m Jiang Yi. I’ll come over if I have time.”
After replying, Jiang Yi’s gaze shifted, landing on Jiang Sixian walking towards her. Slightly surprised, Jiang Yi looked past Chu Ningning, tilted her chin towards Jiang Sixian, and said casually, “Hey, want some fruit salad?”
She hadn’t called her name, but Jiang Sixian knew Jiang Yi was talking to her.
Jiang Sixian lowered her gaze and walked over, smiling slightly. “Sure, I’ll take one.”
Jiang Sixian walked to Chu Ningning’s side. Chu Ningning looked up at her, her lips pressed together, her expression slightly unpleasant. Having been caught by Jiang Sixian several times before, she felt awkward seeing her again.
Jiang Yi, however, seemed to have forgotten Chu Ningning’s presence the moment she saw Jiang Sixian. Pointing at the array of fruit, she said, “Choose whatever you want.”
Jiang Yi’s tone was slightly cold, even a bit curt. Yet, Chu Ningning felt that compared to Jiang Yi’s earlier enthusiastic response, this Jiang Yi, facing Jiang Sixian, had a strange sense of familiarity and closeness.
Chu Ningning, recalling the rumors about Jiang Yi and Jiang Sixian, wondered if Jiang Yi truly liked Jiang Sixian. She pursed her lips and carefully glanced at Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi herself didn’t seem to notice her, but Jiang Sixian, always observant, noticed Chu Ningning’s gaze. She smiled and, pointing at the trays of fruit, said to Jiang Yi, “I’ll take a little bit of everything.”
Jiang Yi gave a thumbs-up, piled a large portion onto a plate, drenched it in yogurt, packed it up, and handed it to Jiang Sixian.
Only after Jiang Sixian left did Jiang Yi seem to remember Chu Ningning. Putting on a customer service smile, she asked, “This… Chu… classmate? What would you like?”
Chu Ningning, whose name hadn’t even been remembered, bit her lip and looked at Jiang Yi, saying somewhat resentfully, “My name is Chu Ningning. Chu like the Chu in Western Chu Overlord, Ning like the Ning in peace and tranquility. Did you get that?”
Jiang Yi tilted her head, not understanding her persistence. But the customer was always right, so she nodded and said, “Okay, Chu Ningning, what would you like?”
Chu Ningning’s expression softened slightly. Looking at Jiang Yi, she asked persistently, “Jiang Yi, are you close with Jiang Sixian? Why were you so enthusiastic towards her?”
Jiang Yi felt this Chu classmate was truly baffling. At first, she thought she was a new customer, then she thought she might be trying to attract customers to their takoyaki stall. Now… she just seemed nosy and gossipy.
What kind of relationship could she possibly have with Jiang Sixian? They were just classmates.
Thinking this, the smile on Jiang Yi’s face became a purely professional one. Pointing at the fruit, she said to Chu Ningning, “I have no relationship with her. It’s just that she looks like a big spender, so I gave her some extra attention.”
Jiang Yi’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “After all, as someone running a business, who would turn away money?”
Chu Ningning, standing before her, was stunned, finding Jiang Yi’s words incredibly logical and irrefutable.
She looked up at Jiang Yi, her eyes shining. “Then if I bought out your entire fruit salad stall, would you be that enthusiastic towards me too?”
Jiang Yi thought for a moment, then blinked. “Well, I’m sorry… I’m just a part-time cashier. My main job is fruit ninja. I don’t sell smiles.”
Author’s Note:
Chu Ningning: Why are you so enthusiastic towards Jiang Sixian?
Jiang Yi: Because I know she’s rich!
