Chapter Thirty-Two: It Is Quite Heavy

The message came so abruptly that Bai Xu was left momentarily stunned: “??? Are you losing your mind over tutoring?”

Wen Yichen replied, “No, I just simply wanted to ask you.”

Bai Xu shot back, “Well, I simply don’t want to answer.”

Wen Yichen sent a [smile].

Bai Xu exclaimed, “Wow, this is hard! I can’t guess it.”

Wen Yichen said, “Thank you for wasting those few seconds just to humor me. Go to sleep.”

Although Bai Xu hadn’t been particularly curious at first, Wen Yichen’s words piqued her interest: “So what’s the answer?”

Wen Yichen replied, “Because if you keep a white cat, there’ll always be white cat hair clinging to your clothes.”

Bai Xu was speechless. “...Go to sleep. Good night.”

Bai Xu truly hadn’t expected Wen Yichen to be bored to such an extent.

Perhaps even Wen Yichen himself hadn’t realized that, after spending so much time with Jiang Muwen, he’d slowly begun to grow childish as well.

...

Two weeks later, the sports meet was held as scheduled. Seeing that everyone was signing up for events, Jiang Muwen decided to register for a competition as well.

But she kept it all mysterious, not intending to tell Wen Yichen which event she’d chosen.

Since Jiang Muwen wouldn’t tell Wen Yichen her event, he didn’t tell her his, either.

It wasn’t until the day of the sports meet, when Jiang Muwen appeared among the waiting relay runners with a baton in hand, that Wen Yichen finally realized she was competing in the 100-meter relay.

He looked at her, an incredulous expression on his face.

Naturally, Jiang Muwen noticed his reaction: “What’s that look for?”

“You’re running the relay?” Wen Yichen asked, as if trying to confirm it.

“Is that not allowed?”

“You…” Wen Yichen began, but then stopped himself. “As long as you’re happy.”

To Wen Yichen, it was truly hard to imagine that a girl who usually couldn’t even keep up with him walking was now running a relay race.

Jiang Muwen seemed to read his thoughts and immediately defended herself, “I run really fast! Wait for me at the finish line!”

Seeing her so full of confidence, Wen Yichen couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll be waiting.”

...

At the sports meet, many events seemed to take place simultaneously—like the 100-meter relay and the men’s 1000-meter run, which were scheduled at nearly the same time, just in different locations.

Jiang Muwen was the anchor for her relay team—the final runner, closest to the finish line.

Shortly after the 1000-meter started, the relay began as well.

Yet, as the relay progressed and the baton was handed off from one runner to the next, Jiang Muwen never spotted Wen Yichen among the crowd.

Finally, the baton was passed into her hands.

Her heart tightened, and clutching the stick, she dashed toward the finish with all her might.

“Come on, big sis! You got this!” Yin Lizhe’s voice rang out from the finish line. He stood there, waving enthusiastically.

Hadn’t Yin Lizhe just run the 1000 meters? Did he finish that quickly?

The question flashed through her mind, but she had no time to dwell on it—she was already sprinting with everything she had.

Perhaps she had pushed herself too hard at the start; after crossing the finish line, her legs gave way, her left ankle twisted, and she lost her balance, tumbling forward as if gravity had yanked her down.

“Aah—”

The baton slipped from her grasp and rolled a short distance ahead.

She didn’t even have time to react before her body made painful, close contact with the track.

When she finally managed to process what had happened, Yin Lizhe and Gu Nianxi had already run over to her, their voices filled with concern at her side. All the while, waves of pain radiated from her scraped skin and twisted ankle, sharp and searing, burrowing into her flesh.

Classmates began to gather around, but as Jiang Muwen glanced about, she didn’t see Wen Yichen anywhere.

He'd promised to wait for her at the finish line, but even now, he hadn’t appeared…

Disappointment weighed on her as she struggled to her feet, the pain in her injuries growing more intense, forcing a sharp intake of breath.

She had fallen hard—her pants had torn where she’d scraped against the track, and she could feel warm blood slowly trickling down her leg.

“Jiang Muwen, are you alright?”

A familiar voice came from behind, and her heart trembled.

She turned instinctively and saw the boy standing before her—it was Wen Yichen.

He looked overheated, his breathing a little uneven.

The moment she saw him, all her grievances surged to the surface. If it had been anyone else asking, she would have managed a smile and said she was fine. But the person standing in front of her wasn’t just anyone—it was Wen Yichen.

She parted her lips, and after a long pause, spoke in a trembling voice, “It hurts…”

Seeing her like this, Wen Yichen’s heart ached as well. His eyes fell to her knee, and then he stepped forward, crouching down.

With gentle hands, he carefully rolled up the leg of her pants. The moment he saw her wound, his gaze sharpened. “Come on, I’ll take you to the nurse’s office.”

He stood and supported her arm.

So, with Wen Yichen on one side and Gu Nianxi on the other, and a deeply worried Yin Lizhe trailing behind, they began making their way to the infirmary.

Still, despite all this help, she hobbled along, gritting her teeth against the pain.

“Gu Nianxi, you can let go now,” Wen Yichen’s voice suddenly sounded beside her. Before she could react, Gu Nianxi released her arm, and a moment later, a strong pair of arms scooped her up.

Caught off guard by being lifted, Jiang Muwen almost cried out in shock.

Only after a moment did she realize Wen Yichen was carrying her.

She stared at him, utterly astonished, unable to recover her composure for a long while.

“Why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?” Wen Yichen asked suddenly.

Flustered by his question, she hurriedly looked away and muttered, “You’re the only one here—who else would I look at?”

“What did you say?”

His question sent her heart fluttering. Thankfully, he hadn’t caught her words. “N-nothing. I won’t look at you anymore.”

Yet even as she said this, she couldn’t help but glance back at him. His body was warm, and she could see the faint beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. “Did you… just finish the 1000 meters?”

He responded with a quiet “mm.”

“And you’re still carrying me like this—aren’t you tired?” she asked, testing the waters.

But Wen Yichen didn’t answer.

“Am I… heavy?” she ventured, hesitantly.

She truly worried that the boy she liked would find her too heavy to carry…

After a moment, Wen Yichen glanced down at her, cleared his throat, and said, “You’re pretty heavy.”