Mo Yidong and Mo Yaofei led the way, with Xia Yu following closely behind, walking slowly, unable to catch what they were saying.
The race was Mo Yidong’s idea, but the exact event was still up for discussion.
“What’s your relationship with Xia Yu?”
The event itself didn’t matter much; Mo Yaofei was more curious about why Mo Yidong was defending Xia Yu.
The last time they ran into each other was in the cafeteria, and now they were together again.
“We’re desk mates.”
“Of course I know that.”
Mo Yaofei saw that Mo Yidong’s expression was calm and showed no hint of anything unusual.
“You wouldn’t switch to the Ordinary Class just because of a guy, right?”
Mo Yaofei narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to read Mo Yidong’s mind.
No matter how many years passed, it was impossible to see through what Mo Yidong was thinking; he always wore an indifferent expression.
He never showed his preferences.
Every time he went home, he just took some clothes to change and then headed to school, rarely having a meal with his family.
If anyone else proposed a best-of-three match, Mo Yaofei would have laughed out loud and immediately rejected it.
But as his older brother, how could he refuse his younger brother’s request?
Besides, winning a match proposed by his brother made Mo Yaofei feel it was even more worthwhile.
“I just want to switch to a class where the studies aren’t so intense to catch a breather.”
To be honest, Mo Yaofei’s grades actually suited the Ordinary Class better.
He was only in Third Class because of the family’s connections and special arrangements.
Mo Yaofei had heard from the Housekeeper about some things at school.
With their parents’ work causing frequent moves, every time they switched schools, Mo Yaofei would compete for first place in some trivial contests.
Mo Yidong was worried that if Xia Yu fell into Mo Yaofei’s hands, the latter might ask him to do something unreasonable.
Until now, the two had only spoken one sentence to each other, and Mo Yidong wasn’t sure if suddenly getting involved would make Xia Yu even angrier.
Since this race was brought up at the last minute, Mo Yidong wanted to hear everyone’s opinion.
“What event do you want for the first match?”
No matter what race Mo Yidong proposed, Mo Yaofei was confident he could win easily.
“Since it’s P.E., just pick anything—running, swimming, shooting, long jump, ball games, whatever.”
Mo Yaofei looked out at the vast green Sports Field in front of them and decided on the first event.
“Then let’s race—3,000 meters. Whoever finishes first wins.”
“What do you think?”
When Xia Yu heard the event was settled, he reluctantly agreed:
“Fine. But I need to gear up first.”
Luckily, Xia Yu had anticipated the event and insisted on running 3,000 meters under the blazing sun.
He had specially asked Mu Yiqiu to buy some sunscreen items from the Convenience Store.
“Yu Ge! I got you sunscreen, a sun-protective jacket, and sun-protective gloves. What else do you need?”
“This should be enough.”
Mu Yiqiu came over carrying a bag full of sun-protection gear.
After applying sunscreen thoroughly, Xia Yu still underestimated the scorching sun.
The moment he stepped out of the shade, his skin stung as if pricked by needles.
Even with the sun-protective jacket, it couldn’t block the sun’s relentless heat.
“You’re here to race?”
“Are you worried I’ll get sunburned or what?”
The sudden appearance of the three on the Sports Field attracted many students’ attention.
Classmates from Third Class and Seventh Class, seeing two freshmen and Xia Yu together, grew especially curious and quickly filled the stands.
No one really knew what was going on.
“What’s happening?”
“Is it a race?”
“With Xia Yu here, is this a duel? Two against one?”
Mu Yiqiu looked at the three on the track, feeling more excited than anyone else.
Two good-looking freshmen were fighting over a school tyrant— not even the school beauty had such courage.
Yu Ge had actually done it!
If only Yu Ge were a girl…!
This made Mu Yiqiu’s posts on Tieba suddenly hot topics.
To protect Xia Yu’s good reputation, Mu Yiqiu had finally secured a spot as one of the Tieba Administrators.
He had already blocked the old post about Xia Yu fighting freshmen a few days ago with one click.
Xia Yu’s reputation used to be impossible to maintain, but now Mu Yiqiu was determined to uphold his big brother’s honorable image and not let anyone sully it.
The race began.
Girls from Seventh Class and Third Class cheered for the two handsome new students, while Xia Yu was considered just a tag-along.
“What’s Xia Yu doing messing around?”
“Could it be that he’s bullying the two new students in the race? He usually skips P.E.”
“Hey, Mo Yidong is falling behind them.”
By the last lap, Mo Yidong had already started lagging behind.
His face turned pale, sweat beaded on his forehead, and he struggled to steady his breathing.
Running wasn’t his strength, and Mo Yaofei had purposely chosen this event knowing that.
Xia Yu caught a glimpse of Mo Yidong slowing down and shook his head.
Really… what a waste of Mo Yidong’s impressive muscles.
Mo Yidong proposed the race but was running last—just as Xia Yu said, he probably wanted to drop out.
No, Xia Yu remembered Mo Yidong had said he wouldn’t quit; he would win this race.
Maybe the first match was just conserving strength, deliberately letting Mo Yaofei win.
Xia Yu immediately dismissed the thought and kept close to Mo Yaofei, refusing to fall behind.
He had never lost in running before.
Only, Mo Yaofei was genuinely fast.
Xia Yu hadn’t seen anyone outrun him in a long time.
“Yo, didn’t expect you, the short guy, to run so fast. No matter how fast I run, you can catch up.”
Xia Yu caught Mo Yaofei’s casual words out of the corner of his eye.
The 3,000 meters was nothing for Mo Yaofei.
Throughout the race, Xia Yu didn’t say a word.
To prevent Xia Yu from taking first place, Mo Yaofei tried some sneaky moves around the curves, but Xia Yu saw through them all.
“You’re not cheating, are you?”
Xia Yu still didn’t answer Mo Yaofei and kept his breathing steady as he pushed forward until the race ended.
After the 3,000 meters, Mo Yaofei and Xia Yu tied for first, while Mo Yidong barely managed to finish.
Xia Yu’s body felt heavy, gasping for air, closing his eyes to calm his breath.
“Yu Ge, are you okay?”
Mu Yiqiu saw Xia Yu’s body emitting white steam and hurriedly covered his head with a wet towel and his school jacket.
Visible to the naked eye, Xia Yu’s skin was steaming like smoke.
Mu Yiqiu feared Xia Yu would turn into a pile of white bones on the spot.
“I’m fine…”
He was definitely not fine.
Xia Yu could even smell his own smoky scent—he was almost like cured meat.
He needed to find shade fast; staying under the sun was impossible.
But Mo Yaofei stubbornly blocked his path and started spouting nonsense.
“Tying like this and you’re already exhausted. Can you handle the next matches?”
“The next matches aren’t about sports but overall grades.”
Seeing Xia Yu’s worsening condition, Mo Yidong decided to call a break and give both sides time to rest.
“No way, just finish all the matches already.”
Mo Yaofei saw they were both in bad shape and wanted to seize this opportunity to take first place directly.
“If you don’t agree with the rules or events I set, we can settle it with a fight.”
Mo Yidong, panting lightly, looked steadily at Mo Yaofei’s tense yet excited expression and said seriously:
“If we’re fighting, then fight for real. Remove your limiter. I’ll go head-to-head with you.”
Mo Yaofei’s eyes widened, thrilled to see these two.
Especially hearing how much Mo Yidong was protecting Xia Yu, the more he wanted to have him under his control.
“According to little brother, the next match continues.”
Mo Yaofei narrowed his eyes slightly, grinning slyly in his heart.
He was determined to win so Mo Yidong could witness Xia Yu, whom he treated like a treasure, with a chain around his neck, crawling on all fours like a dog in the hallway!
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