Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

Chapter 627 The one you like?

Holding a towel and a thermos, Liu Miaomiao hummed "Aida," the piano solo she would perform at the closing ceremony, as she walked through the narrow aisle of the stadium stands and sat down next to Su Xiaoqiang. The thermos contained brown sugar ginger tea, which she had just brewed.

"Are you feeling any better?" Liu Miaomiao turned her head and asked with concern, handing the thermos cup in her hand to Su Xiaoqiang.

Su Xiaoqiang took the thermos from Liu Miaomiao and nodded. Liu Miaomiao smiled and helped Su Xiaoqiang unscrew the lid of the thermos: "I just made brown sugar water. It will be more effective if you drink it while it's hot, but be careful not to burn yourself."

Su Xiaoqiang looked at the swaying brown sugar water in the thermos, the light red surface reflecting her face. She found it increasingly difficult to tell Liu Miaomiao that her period hadn't actually started yet... and that it would still be several days before it arrived.

The reason why this misunderstanding has developed can be traced back to the semi-finals of the women's 4x800m relay this morning. The Grade 11 (2) team, which performed well yesterday, suffered a setback at the start of today.

Yesterday's outstanding performance, where she left several PE students behind in the first lap, saw the first runner, Su Xiaoqiang, perform poorly today, ultimately finishing the first leg in third-to-last place.

If it weren't for Chen Wenwen's quick overtaking in the third leg, which brought back nearly half a lap of advantage, and Liu Miaomiao's stable performance in the last leg, which resulted in them finishing eighth by a single body length and securing the last qualifying spot, Class 2 of Grade 1 would probably have missed out on the afternoon's finals.

The culprit behind Su Xiaoqiang's poor performance today was naturally Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei truly lived up to his word; he said he'd teach Su Xiaoqiang a lesson, and sure enough, he didn't let her off the hook last night.

So much so that when I went running this morning, my legs were still weak. It was a miracle I could even run; forget about speed. Naturally, I fell behind the others.

Su Xiaoqiang's poor performance and the way she kept clutching her lower back were naturally interpreted by Liu Miaomiao as her period starting, so she went to make Su Xiaoqiang some brown sugar ginger tea. She always had the good habit of keeping two packets of instant brown sugar water in her bag, just in case.

Watching her best friend running around for her, Su Xiaoqiang couldn't bring herself to tell her that she was simply rubbing her lower back and abdomen because she had over-exercised and her muscles were sore...

Su Xiaoqiang took a small sip of the slightly hot brown sugar ginger tea in her cup, still feeling indignant as she recalled what happened last night.

That guy clearly said there was a relay race today, yet he kept her up so late last night! Luckily, Xiao Mi didn't really abandon her and leave her to die; she not only participated actively but also helped absorb a large portion of the firepower.

If she really was alone last night... then it's hard to say whether she can even participate in the relay race today, let alone come to school.

"Speaking of which, since Qiangqiang, you're not feeling well, how about we forfeit the relay final this afternoon..."

Seeing that Su Xiaoqiang was pouting and looked a little uncomfortable, Liu Miaomiao offered her advice.

However, Su Xiaoqiang immediately rejected the idea: "How can that be!"

Liu Miaomiao blinked. "It's okay. Our current ranking is already pretty good. I never thought we could make it to the finals. We should focus on our health. Qiangqiang, you don't need to blame yourself too much. This kind of situation is beyond our control. Anyway, it's not the last time we'll participate in the school sports meet. We can just try harder next year."

"It's okay, I feel much better now."

Su Xiaoqiang shook her head and answered with a smile, but in her heart she thought, "Actually, this is the last time we'll participate in Shilan Middle School's sports meet..."

Liu Miaomiao was unaware that they might transfer to a preparatory class in the capital city after this semester. Su Xiaoqiang, however, knew. Therefore, this year's school sports meet was essentially their last.

That's why she rejected Liu Miaomiao's suggestion to forfeit. Even if she didn't necessarily get a ranking in the end, she wanted to at least finish the competition seriously, and she would be content even if she lost.

It's all Mingfei's fault...

Thinking of this, Su Xiaoqiang bit her lip and rubbed her slightly sore lower abdomen.

"Look at you, still trying to be strong."

Liu Miaomiao scolded, her tone revealing concern: "Your stomach is still hurting, isn't it?"

"Ah, this isn't..."

Su Xiaoqiang realized that her action seemed to have caused Liu Miaomiao to misunderstand again. She was about to say that she was fine, but before she could speak, Liu Miaomiao had already raised her head, looked around, and then stood up and waved to someone not far away.

"Wenwen, you've come at the right time. Qiangqiang isn't feeling well, so please keep an eye on her. I remember there should be a hot water bottle in the infirmary; I'll go get some hot water to put on Qiangqiang's tummy."

After Liu Miaomiao walked away, Chen Wenwen sat down in the seat next to Su Xiaoqiang and asked softly:

What time did you go to sleep last night?

"...It's alright, it's twelve o'clock." Su Xiaoqiang pouted and took another small sip of brown sugar water.

It's actually quite alright; the fact that she could sleep at midnight is probably a sign that Lu Mingfei was being lenient. After all, he often keeps them up until one or two in the morning when he has nothing else to do.

Come to think of it, staying up this late every night, isn't Mingfei tired at all? It seems I've never actually seen him catching up on sleep at school during the day…

"Well, thank you for your hard work, Qiangqiang."

"It's midnight... If it were her, she'd be lucky to even walk normally, let alone run," Chen Wenwen said softly.

Su Xiaoqiang gathered her scattered thoughts: "Well... let's not talk about that. We have to thank Wenwen for helping us catch up when you were in the third leg, otherwise we wouldn't have made it to the finals."

"What's there to say? We're a team, after all."

"But speaking of which, Wenwen, you really run fast! I just saw you take the baton, and in the blink of an eye, you've already run half a lap. Even that sprinter on the next track can't catch up with you."

"Hmm... I couldn't actually run this fast before. I don't know why, but I feel like my body is definitely better than before. I wonder if it's because I've been training with the track and field team lately."

Su Xiaoqiang nodded in agreement: "Wenwen, do you feel the same way? I also feel that I'm much more energetic than before. I used to love to stay in bed, but now I wake up as soon as it's light."

When exactly did this change begin...?

Su Xiaoqiang pondered to herself, "It should be around the time when Mingfei moves into my house."
However, she didn't delve any deeper into whether this change was related to Lu Mingfei. Mainly, the thought of Lu Mingfei just made her angry! Although the whole thing stemmed from her habit of bickering with him…

The brown sugar water in the thermos gradually cooled down. Su Xiaoqiang took another big gulp.

Hmm, it seems to be working a little? My lower back doesn't seem to be so sore anymore.

"By the way, where's that guy?" Su Xiaoqiang turned to look at Chen Wenwen and asked in a somewhat annoyed tone.

Chen Wenwen replied, "It seems that Xiao Mi borrowed it. I heard that the junior high school is holding a race to borrow items."

Su Xiaoqiang paused for a moment: "Racing with borrowed objects?"

Of course she knew what obstacle course walking was. It was actually a recreational and competitive activity that originated in Europe but became popular in Japan, and it was also a common event in sports meets in many Japanese anime works. Unlike ordinary races, the participants would draw slips of paper during the race. The slips of paper had randomly written requirements, and the participants who drew the slips of paper had to borrow something that met the requirements from the audience or friends, and then carry it to the finish line.

Are they having a race to walk with borrowed objects at the junior high school? It sounds like it would be a lot of fun... Why doesn't the senior high school have this event?
Su Xiaoqiang was a little puzzled as to why she had borrowed Lu Mingfei's belongings in the "Borrowing Things to Win" game. What exactly were the requirements written on the slip of paper that Xiao Mi had drawn?

Could it be my senior brother?
……

Chen Jiajia yawned lazily, her arm still wrapped with a red armband that symbolized her status as a staff member at the school sports meet.

She was now sitting at a makeshift judging panel made of desks on the edge of the playground, serving as a judge for this "borrowed item race." Her main task was to take the slips of paper from the contestants and check whether the items they borrowed or the people they brought met the requirements on the slips.

There's a saying that artistic youths are always quiet, which translates to the idea that most artists are rather lazy, since painting, music, and novels are all things that can be done sitting down. And like most art students, Chen Jiajia isn't particularly interested in events like "school sports meets."

It wasn't because she was lazy; rather, during the previous two junior high school sports meets, she received invitations from some boys in her class to participate in mixed-gender events for various reasons. From mixed-gender table tennis to mixed-gender badminton to mixed-gender running, one boy even invited her to participate in mixed-gender swimming.

Although she is not as good as Xia Mi from Class 3 of the third year of junior high school, her looks are still quite good, and she is quite famous in the junior high school.

Therefore, as soon as the school sports meet began, she immediately signed up to be a volunteer and participate in the "organization and coordination of the sports meet." This way, whenever a boy invited her, she could politely decline them by saying that she was "busy with volunteer duties."

However, things have their pros and cons. She had an excuse to refuse, but the price was that she would have to serve as a laborer for a few days after the sports meet started.

Fortunately, her job is relatively easy, and since it's springtime, the weather isn't too hot. She only needs to sit on the judging panel, wait for the students who are participating in the obstacle course to come and show her their slips of paper, and then judge whether they have successfully completed the challenge. She doesn't need to run around much.

She picked up a mineral water bottle from the side, and as soon as she unscrewed the cap, she realized that she had already drunk all the water.

"I remember the water should be placed in..."

She turned around to look for the mineral water tank, when she heard a "thump" of footsteps and two figures stood in front of her.

"Hello, I'm here to submit my request for the 'Borrowed Object Race'!"

Upon hearing the voice, Chen Jiajia immediately turned around. Just as she was about to say "okay," she looked up and saw the faces of the two people standing in front of her.

"..."

Chen Jiajia's heart suddenly tightened.

Standing straight before the judges, Xia Mi smiled gently at her. Her exquisite features, flawless and without a single fault, truly lived up to her title as the junior high school's most beautiful girl.

However, the reason she was nervous was not because of Xia Mi, but because of the boy standing behind Xia Mi.

Lu Mingfei.

Chen Jiajia's eyes flickered slightly as she cautiously glanced at Lu Mingfei behind Xia Mi. Lu Mingfei seemed a little confused about the situation as he was talking to Xia Mi.

"So, junior sister, what exactly are the conditions written on the slip of paper you drew?"

"Hmph, I won't tell my senior brother."

"If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to know if bringing me here was the right thing to do?"

"Don't worry about that. Bringing you here was definitely the right thing to do. You have something that meets the requirements!"

She already knew that Xia Mi and Lu Mingfei from Class 3 of the third year of junior high school were close friends, and that they were even cousins. Seeing Xia Mi and Lu Mingfei chatting so familiarly today confirmed the rumors.

She wondered why her cousins ​​would address each other as "senior brother" and "junior sister." Besides, the two didn't look alike, although they were both quite good-looking.

Chen Jiajia has actually felt a little guilty towards Lu Mingfei all this time.

Because it was at the international flower show that she bumped into Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang on their date.

Although she was equally surprised that Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang would skip class and sneak off to the botanical garden for a date, she originally intended to pretend she hadn't seen them and quickly leave the rose garden, not wanting to disturb others, especially her admired senior.

However, the boys who were with her later discovered Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang. Although she tried her best to stop them from interfering in other people's private lives, those boys still took photos of Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang being intimate and posted them on the school forum.

This incident caused a huge uproar, and accusations against Lu Mingfei such as "scumbag" and "two-timing" followed one after another.

It wasn't until Liu Miaomiao officially announced that Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang were now in a normal romantic relationship, implying that she had broken up with Lu Mingfei, that the uproar caused by this incident finally subsided.

Although the misunderstanding was later cleared up, Chen Jiajia was still somewhat troubled by the trouble she had caused Lu Mingfei.

After all, if she had been more assertive and refused the boys' request to go with her, or if she hadn't wanted to go to the Rose Garden, none of what happened later would have occurred.

Chen Jiajia secretly took a deep breath to calm herself down, and then softly asked the two people who were talking, "Excuse me, can I see the slip of paper you drew?"

"Oh oh."

Xia Mi, who was bickering with Lu Mingfei, finally realized what was happening, reached out to Chen Jiajia, unfolded the note lying in her palm, and said with a smile, "It's here, thank you so much, classmate."

"Don't mention it, let me see."

"Uh-huh!"

As Xia Mi answered, she turned to Lu Mingfei and made a face: "Senior brother, you'll soon find out whether it was the right decision for me to bring you here."

Lu Mingfei looked slightly helpless. Chen Jiajia slowly unfolded the note in front of her, and the moment she saw the conditions on it, her heart skipped a beat.

The note said...

"Someone you like?"

……

(End of this chapter)