Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

Chapter 628 A Love Triangle Between New and Old Flames? (6000 words)
Writing down the conditions for "someone you like" on a slip of paper during a borrowing race is a recurring theme in this type of activity. The requirements on the slips vary in difficulty; borrowing common items like "water bottles" or "hats" is undoubtedly the easiest, while borrowing "someone you like" is undoubtedly the most difficult.

This overly random difficulty setting seems unfair. Players who draw easy conditions can often borrow the necessary items right from the sidelines, while those who draw difficult conditions may have to run all over the campus.

However, the essence of obstacle course races is not about competing for rankings, but rather about giving participating boys and girls a chance to express their feelings to someone they like, and incidentally uncover some hidden gossip in school.

"But this gossip is a bit too explosive..." Chen Jiajia thought blankly as she looked at the words on the note.

She could understand why Lu Mingfei was so popular. Everyone said Chu Zihang had a nickname at Shilan High School: "The Dream of Three Thousand Girls," and the other three thousand girls' dream was Lu Mingfei. Of course, this was an exaggeration, but it did reflect their popularity among the girls.

High school students are actually quite simple-minded. Whether they are boys or girls, they often only have one standard when it comes to the person they admire: whether they are good at modeling.

But Xia Mi likes Senior Brother Lu... Isn't Senior Brother Lu supposed to be Xia Mi's cousin? Cousin likes cousin?
What about Emperor Wu of Han and Empress Chen?

Just thinking about the uproar caused by the intimate photos of Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang at school, and the fact that Xia Mi, the school beauty in the junior high school, likes Lu Mingfei, if this news gets out, it will probably cause even more outrageous rumors, right?
Besides, who says liking someone has to be romantic love? Siblings can like each other! Even fathers and daughters can like each other! Who says familial love isn't affection?
Chen Jiajia forced herself to change her mindset, then silently folded the note and put it back in Xia Mi's hand, saying, "Um... you brought this, classmate..."

She didn't know how to describe the requirement of "someone she liked." Saying that Senior Brother Lu was a thing... didn't feel quite right. But saying that Senior Brother Lu wasn't a thing also seemed a bit off.

After stammering for a while, he finally said, "The items you brought meet the requirements," and handed the note and Xia Mi's ranking board in this "borrowing items race" to Xia Mi.

"Thank you."

Xia Mi smiled brightly, stuffed the note back into her shorts pocket, and then took Lu Mingfei's hand and walked away together. Their conversation drifted into the distance, their figures gradually disappearing from Chen Jiajia's sight.

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

"Hmm... Senior brother, why don't you take a guess first?"

……

The junior high school's obstacle course race was just a small episode in the school sports meet. Apart from Chen Jiajia, probably no one else knew what the conditions for Xia Mi's selection were.

After a two-hour lunch break, Su Xiaoqiang and her team began the afternoon's women's 4x800m relay final.

In the end, eight teams made it to the finals. Apart from one team composed entirely of students with athletic specialties, whose performance was particularly outstanding, the other seven classes, including Class 2 of Grade 11, had similar results in the finals. If they perform well, Su Xiaoqiang and her team have a good chance of winning a place.

However, Liu Miaomiao was still a little worried about Su Xiaoqiang's health. Before the competition, she asked with concern, "Qiangqiang, are you really okay? If you're not feeling well, it's okay if we apply to withdraw from the competition."

Su Xiaoqiang said, "Miaomiao, don't worry. I told you I'm really fine now. I feel much better."

She didn't know how to convince Miaomiao that what she said was true! After a midday rest, she had recovered to about 70-80% by the afternoon.

She wasn't sure if it was because she gradually adapted or for some other reason. In the first few times, she often couldn't even walk in the morning. No matter how much rest she got, it would take at least a day for the soreness in her lower back and abdomen to gradually disappear. But now, she can recover to normal after about half a day of rest.

However, in Liu Miaomiao's view, Su Xiaoqiang seemed to be putting on a brave face. How could someone who had a stomachache in the morning recover so quickly in the afternoon?
She's had her period before. Usually, the pain gets worse over the first few days, peaking around the third or fourth day, and then gradually gets better in the following days.

However, Liu Miaomiao knew how strong-willed her best friend was; once she made up her mind about something, it was very difficult to persuade her to change it. Since Qiangqiang said she was fine, as her best friend, she could only respect Qiangqiang's wishes.

"Alright then," Liu Miaomiao said. "But you have to promise me that you won't push yourself during the race. Just run normally. Wenwen and I will be chasing you from behind, so you don't have to worry too much."

Su Xiaoqiang had just nodded when she saw Liu Miaomiao look past her shoulder to behind her. Then, she turned her pretty face away, pursed her lips, gave a soft snort, and got up to walk away.

She was still wondering what had happened when she turned around and saw Lu Mingfei looking helpless.

Su Xiaoqiang immediately understood what had happened, and smiled slightly as she looked at Lu Mingfei, who had sat down next to her: "You haven't coaxed Miaomiao yet?"

Lu Mingfei could only nod, his tone somewhat dejected: "No."

"It's been over a day, hasn't it? When was the last time Miaomiao was angry with you? Was it when she saw you kissing another girl at the entrance of your neighborhood?"

"Right? Also, I clearly didn't kiss you back then."

To be precise, they didn't actually kiss... Lu Mingfei added in his mind.

"Okay, okay, we didn't kiss..."

Su Xiaoqiang pursed her lips and continued, "But I remember even that time, Miaomiao only fumed for half a day, right? She came to see you the next afternoon. This time it's been more than a day. It seems the price for someone's mischief is a bit high."

"Well... Little Fairy, you saw it too. As soon as I arrived, Miaomiao left without giving me a chance to coax her at all."

Su Xiaoqiang thought to herself that it was because Miaomiao knew that as long as she gave you a chance to get close to her, she would have to forgive you even if she didn't want to... Your kissing skills, which made people breathless, were just too unfair!

Su Xiaoqiang asked, "What if Miaomiao never gives you a chance to coax her? Will you never make up?"

Lu Mingfei thought for a moment and said, "It shouldn't be that bad, right? If all else fails, I have one last trick up my sleeve."

"What trick?"

"Go and climb through her window tonight."

"..."

Su Xiaoqiang fell silent, thinking to herself, "That really is your family's secret technique."

……

After a brief pre-race preparation and warm-up period, the first runner from each class walked onto the designated track.

In Lu Mingfei's class, Deng Zhuoyi was the first runner, Xiao Tiannv was the second, and Chen Wenwen and Liu Miaomiao were the third and fourth runners, respectively.

Although Deng Zhuoyi is rather petite, about the same height as Lin Huihui, around 158cm, she is surprisingly fast on the run. Her speed and stamina are definitely above average for a girl.

With her petite stature and cute appearance, plus the fact that the Deng and Liu families were in the same business, she should have been more popular among the boys.

It's just that because she often hangs out with Liu Miaomiao and Su Xiaoqiang, many people habitually focus their attention on Liu Miaomiao and her friends, ignoring the hidden rich and beautiful girl beside her.

However, although Deng Zhuoyi's speed is not slow, it seems that she is not keeping up with the contestants in the finals.

As the first runners took their positions on their respective tracks, the referee struck the starting gun at the side of the track, and with a "bang," all the runners shot off like a gust of wind.

Lu Mingfei could see that Deng Zhuoyi was trying her best to keep up with the others, but unfortunately there was a gap in strength, and the first runner from the sports class was too fast, which disrupted the running rhythm of the other runners.

With a lead of almost a quarter of a lap, Deng Zhuoyi crossed the finish line, while she barely managed to catch up with the peloton and handed the baton to Su Xiaoqiang in second to last place.

"Sorry, Qiangqiang, they just ran way too fast," Deng Zhuoyi said, panting, as she handed over the baton.

Su Xiaoqiang said, "It's okay, I'm here."

Almost the instant she received the baton, Su Xiaoqiang darted out like a fawn in the forest! Without a moment's hesitation, the power accumulated in her long legs exploded instantly, forcefully breaking through the air resistance in front of her. The wind howled, blowing her ponytail, tied behind her head, straight back in a whirlwind.

"So fast!" People in the stands who recognized Su Xiaoqiang began to stir.

The little fairy cut into the corner with a near-perfect tangent, maximizing her advantage on the inside. Third to last, fourth to last… she was slowly closing the gap with the runners ahead. Or rather, she wasn't running, she was practically stealing distance!

"They've surpassed them! They've surpassed them by one!"

"My God, they're still chasing!"

Gasps of amazement rose and fell from the sidelines. In just one lap, she had climbed from second to last back to the middle of the track, and what was even more astonishing was that her speed hadn't diminished at all; she was still sprinting forward!
Even Lu Mingfei was secretly surprised. He thought to himself, "Didn't Little Fairy have a backache this morning? How come she's even faster than yesterday... Could it be because of the effects of the bloodline enhancement last night? Can the effects be so quick?"

Liu Miaomiao, unaware of the situation, was both surprised by Su Xiaoqiang's sudden burst of speed and somewhat worried.

"Running so fast... can Qiangqiang's body really keep up?"

100 meters left!
The athletes who had initially been left far behind were now visible, their backs to the camera; she had surged into third place. In the final 100 meters, she continued to try to close the gap with those ahead.

Su Xiaoqiang took a deep breath, bent down, and handed the baton, which was dripping with sweat, to Chen Wenwen.

"I've done my best, Wenwen, it's up to you now." Su Xiaoqiang's full chest heaved violently.

Chen Wenwen nodded firmly: "Leave it to me."

Another gasp of surprise erupted from the stands. Chen Wenwen, the third runner, was actually sprinting at a pace no slower than Su Xiaoqiang!

During the third leg exchange, Class 2 of Grade 11 and the first-place sports class were still about 100 meters apart, but in an instant, that gap was shortened. In less than half a lap, Chen Wenwen overtook the class in second place, gradually eroding the distance between herself and the female athlete from the sports class.

Not everyone present had seen the previous preliminary and semi-final rounds. Many people had only heard that the three school beauties from Class 2 of Grade 1 participated in the 4x800m women's relay race and made it all the way to the finals, so they were able to join in the fun and watch.

Contrary to expectations, Su Xiaoqiang's team was not just a bunch of pretty faces; they seemed to have real talent to make it to the finals!
Chen Wenwen crouched low, leaning forward, her legs taking astonishingly large strides at a rapid pace that drew soft gasps from the spectators. The thumping of her white running shoes on the track echoed behind her as the first-place athlete from the sports class raced after her, making her feel flustered. Hearing the approaching footsteps, her carefully maintained breathing and rhythm momentarily distorted.

It's now!

Chen Wenwen pursed her lips tightly, and her well-proportioned legs suddenly pushed off the ground, followed by a roar of cheers from the sidelines.

"They actually overtook them!"

The school beauty team has overtaken the sports class? Is it true?
They'd heard that all the athletes in the sports class were long-distance runners, and that Chen Wenwen's runner in the third leg was a first-class athlete. Yet Chen Wenwen actually caught up by 100 meters in just over one lap? Does that mean Chen Wenwen is at least a master-level athlete?

The moment Chen Wenwen overtook him, the third runner from the sports class showed a look of panic in his eyes. His mind went blank, and his steps became even more erratic.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chen Wenwen quickly widened the gap with her opponent, leading by more than 50 meters, and handed the baton to Liu Miaomiao.

"Keep it up," Chen Wenwen said only one sentence.

"I will."

After receiving the baton, Liu Miaomiao wasted no time and immediately turned around to sprint. All eyes in the stands were immediately fixed on her.

After all, Su Xiaoqiang and Chen Wenwen's performances were so amazing that everyone naturally looked forward to Liu Miaomiao's performance, wondering if this little piano beauty would also have a brilliant performance.

However, the people in the stands were somewhat disappointed the next moment.

Liu Miaomiao's speed wasn't slow, but it was about the same as the third and fourth runners from other regular classes. Compared to the fourth runner from the sports class who was responsible for the sprint, she was visibly slower.

Although Liu Miaomiao, who was in first place, didn't know how far behind her classmates were, she knew in her heart that the 50-meter advantage that Su Xiaoqiang had regained and that Chen Wenwen had created was definitely being overtaken little by little.

She knew she wasn't as fast as Su Xiaoqiang and Chen Wenwen, but every evening she trained on the track after school, her efforts and sweat were not in vain.

"What's more, Qiangqiang was already feeling so unwell, yet she still insisted on participating in the competition..."

A thought flashed through Liu Miaomiao's mind, and her beautiful eyes became even more determined. She couldn't think too much right now; the only thing she needed to do was maintain her rhythm and try her best to hold onto that 50-meter advantage.

First lap finished... I wasn't overtaken!

However, Liu Miaomiao did not let her guard down, because the rhythmic footsteps were still closely following behind. After one lap, her stamina and speed had obviously decreased, but her opponent had not caught up yet, indicating that the opponent's speed was also gradually decreasing.

She's a very good-tempered girl, but also a very competitive one. What pianist doesn't have a competitive spirit? And how can one play music that moves them if they're not a perfectionist?

Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang, who were standing outside the arena, were also very surprised by Liu Miaomiao's performance.

During the first lap, the fourth runner from the sports class had already reduced the distance from over 50 meters to less than 10 meters. However, now that the second lap is more than halfway through, Liu Miaomiao is still maintaining a 5-meter gap with the fourth runner from the sports class.

No matter how fast the other person sped up, it seemed impossible to close the 5-meter gap between her and Liu Miaomiao.

The last straight!
The straight section of a standard stadium is 84.39 meters long. The moment a player turns from the curve into the straight section, it means that the two players are less than 100 meters away from the finish line.

However, in the brief 36-meter curve, the opponent also managed to catch up by a body length thanks to their rich experience in cornering, maintaining a distance of only about 3 meters from Liu Miaomiao.

...Damn, it was just a school sports meet that didn't seem that important.

But for some reason, Lu Mingfei's mood was unconsciously stirred by Liu Miaomiao's determined look and clenched teeth on the field.

It felt like he was back many years ago, participating in the school sports meet, all alone on the track, when Chen Wenwen ran across the entire track to him, running alongside him, saying things like, "Come on, come on, none of us from the literature club can fall behind!" It stirred his heart.

Although I don't know exactly what's burning, but...

"Go Miaomiao!"

The sudden sound beside him startled Lu Mingfei; it was Su Xiaoqiang waving and cheering.

While shouting, she anxiously pulled Lu Mingfei, "Mingfei, shout quickly, your voice is louder than mine!"

"..."

Lu Mingfei originally wanted to say that if he rashly cheered from the sidelines, it might disrupt Miao Miao's sprint rhythm.

With the atmosphere already built up to this point, Lu Mingfei could only clear his throat, suppress his embarrassment and childishness, and forcefully join Su Xiaoqiang and Chen Wenwen in shouting, "Um... Miaomiao, keep going!"

It has to be said that for Lu Mingfei's real age, doing something like this feels a bit awkward and a bit childish.

But this feeling of excitement and anticipation... I have to say it's pretty good, isn't it?

Is this what youth feels like? It does seem... a bit like something I haven't felt in a long time.

Liu Miaomiao, of course, heard the sounds from the stands. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the athletes from the sports class right next to her, clearly still trying to close the distance.

But it's okay...

Liu Miaomiao thought to herself, "Although it's very faint... I'm still in the lead!"
The finish line was in sight. She adjusted her breathing and sprinted with the last bit of lung capacity.

The first to cross the finish line was—

"Wow..."

Another uproar erupted from the stands.

But it wasn't because the fourth runner from the sports class crossed the finish line first. It was because Liu Miaomiao actually fell down just one or two meters before the finish line!

Seeing the beautiful young pianist's fair and smooth knees worn raw on the rubber track, the spectators felt a pang of heartache, as if witnessing a precious piece of porcelain shatter before their eyes—a truly wasteful act.

The second runner, who was not far behind the two, also crossed the finish line.

Liu Miaomiao pursed her lips, and without any hesitation, she forced herself to stand up. Limping, she rushed ahead of the people behind her and crossed the finish line in third place.

Knowing that Liu Miaomiao had already broken up with Lu Mingfei, some quick-thinking boys immediately realized that now was the perfect opportunity to curry favor with the piano prodigy. They quickly pulled out towels, bottled water, band-aids, and iodine, ready to rush onto the track.

They had barely stepped off the stands when they discovered that someone had already gotten ahead of them and reached the track, and had... picked up Liu Miaomiao in a princess carry?
Wait a minute, that person is...

When people realized that it was Lu Mingfei who was the first to rush onto the track and pick up Liu Miaomiao in a princess carry, everyone's faces showed a shocked expression.

Liu Miaomiao was equally surprised. When she realized she had fallen, she didn't care about anything else and forced herself to get up and cross the finish line.

After the pain spread throughout her body, she looked down and realized that her knees seemed to have been scraped when she fell on the track, and her ankles seemed to have been twisted as well.

Just as she was thinking about how to deal with the emergency, she felt her body lighten, and the scenery in her vision suddenly spun around. When she came to her senses, she found herself in someone's arms, and her arms were reflexively wrapped around the other person's neck.

“Ming, Mingfei…” Liu Miaomiao stared blankly at the boy in front of her.

"Does it hurt?" Lu Mingfei asked, frowning. The wound on Liu Miaomiao's knee was larger than he had imagined.

"It doesn't hurt that much..." Liu Miaomiao murmured in reply, then, as if realizing something, she slightly turned her head and carefully glanced around, noticing that everyone's eyes were on her and Lu Mingfei. So she hurriedly looked away.

Just as she was about to ask Lu Mingfei to put her down, Lu Mingfei said in an irrefutable tone, "Don't move around. I'll take you to the infirmary for emergency treatment."

Liu Miaomiao's lips moved, but in the end she could only obediently hide in Lu Mingfei's arms and whisper two words: "Okay, okay."

Everyone watched as Lu Mingfei carried Liu Miaomiao toward the teaching building. It seemed perfectly natural for Lu Mingfei to be carrying Liu Miaomiao.

The problem is—didn't these two break up?

The bigger problem is—

As Lu Mingfei and Liu Miaomiao's figures disappeared into the distance, everyone turned their gazes and focused on a certain person still standing by the stands.

"...?"

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her, Su Xiaoqiang belatedly realized:
Oh... I seem to be Mingfei's official girlfriend right now.

So what should I do now... should I act even angrier?
……

(End of this chapter)