“Su Yao!”
Ji Yun shouted Su Yao’s name from a distance, just as Su Yao was sitting at a cafeteria table sipping on some milk. Being suddenly called startled her so much that she choked.
“……”
After coughing for a while, she turned around to look at the person coming over, squinting her eyes.
Not only did Ji Yun come herself, but she also brought a group along. Their stance looked as if they were coming to pick on her, making Su Yao really want to pretend she wasn’t Su Yao. But Ji Yun was already leading the group her way.
Fortunately, there were barely any people left in the cafeteria at this hour; otherwise, Su Yao wouldn’t have been able to handle such a loud greeting.
Including Ji Yun, there were five of them, all girls. When they came closer, Su Yao stood up immediately. All their eyes landed on Su Yao, sizing her up from head to toe, making her tense up, afraid that her legs would give out and she’d slump back onto the chair.
“Hello there, cute little underclassman~”
Ji Yun hadn’t even started introducing yet when a cheerful girl with a single ponytail took the initiative to greet Su Yao. Overwhelmed by her radiant energy, Su Yao didn’t dare speak loudly. She timidly returned the greeting and lowered her head.
“This is our new member. Let me introduce her—her name is Su Yao, my classmate.”
“Hello, Su Yao.”
“Hi.”
Some just exchanged greetings, some didn’t say a word, but one girl reached out to shake Su Yao’s hand.
Su Yao was a little startled by the gesture.
“Don’t do that, you just met her, you’re scaring her.”
Ji Yun separated the two, shooting the girl a glare, but the girl only smiled indifferently.
“Where are you from, underclassman?”
“Ah… I’m a local…”
Su Yao was still looking at Ji Yun and that girl when a voice suddenly spoke up next to her, asking a question. Su Yao hurriedly answered.
They were all Ji Yun’s friends, all second-year students, so only she and Ji Yun were underclassmen. But after spending some time with them, Su Yao felt these people weren’t hard to get along with. They didn’t bombard her with endless questions, except for a certain senior.
As Mu Nanqiu had said, sports Clubs were usually just groups of enthusiasts. None of them were really passionate, more like people who’d come and play whenever they had free time. Naturally, these girls weren’t the core members of the Club.
To become core members, one needed to be strong enough or socially adept. Ji Yun actually fit this type, but due to joining late, she hadn’t truly made it to the core yet. Su Yao believed that by their second year, Ji Yun would definitely make it.
But that’s for the future. Back to now—after Ji Yun’s introduction, everyone knew this new Fresh Blood in the Club, a very cute underclassman. Seeing such a harmless little girl, they felt no dislike, in fact, they were quite fond of this easily startled, shy girl, and naturally took good care of her.
They found a court, borrowed some rackets, and the six of them took turns playing or resting.
Su Yao wasn’t a fan of sports, but having company made all the difference, just like Luo Yu had said before.
After coming off the court, Su Yao was panting hard. They were all amateurs, so there weren’t huge skill gaps, but Su Yao felt particularly lacking in stamina. After a while, she would slow down from exhaustion, and once her movements slowed, she would fall behind on the score.
Off the court, she sat on the bench, wiping the fine sweat from her forehead. At that moment, Ji Yun handed her a bottle of water. Su Yao hesitated for a moment but took it, thanked her, and drank a sip.
The water was cold, which helped cool down the heat building up in her body.
“How do you feel?”
“Alright, I guess?”
Su Yao didn’t know how to describe how she felt, so she left it at that.
Ji Yun smiled and said, “Su Yao, you really need to work on your stamina. Oh right, I mentioned before, you should try Yoga.”
“Yoga?”
Su Yao frowned. She had watched a few videos of that sort before, but mostly just paid attention to the waist, chest, and legs. To think of herself practicing… Su Yao couldn’t even imagine it, her face blushing, and her ears, hidden by her hair, turning red as well.
Feeling her body temperature rising again, Su Yao quickly took another sip of water, barely pressing down the fire rising from within.
“Let me show you. Follow these people and you can learn from them.”
Ji Yun took out her phone, opened a certain pink app, and went to her favorites. All the videos were of women in tight outfits, making Su Yao’s eyelid twitch. Ji Yun brought the phone closer and said,
“Learning this not only helps with exercise, but also makes your figure more graceful and light, really improves your aura.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll give it a try when I have time.”
Su Yao spoke so softly it was more like a mumble, and her tone was more refusal than agreement. But Ji Yun didn’t mind her attitude. She’d said what she needed to say—whether Su Yao did it or not was her own business.
“Come play, underclassman~”
After a short rest, she was pulled back onto the court. Su Yao was helpless but still took the racket from one of the seniors.
Looking at the dim sky, Su Yao could hardly believe that she’d spent an entire afternoon playing with girls she had only just met today. In the past, she wouldn’t have even dared imagine such a thing, though it was truly exhausting.
Tired as she was, she was happy.
“Come play often, underclassman.”
“Bye, Senior.”
“See you tomorrow~”
Su Yao smiled awkwardly, waved her hand to say goodbye to the seniors, and then only she and Ji Yun were left.
“Not going back yet?”
“No, I’ll shower later.”
Ji Yun looked Su Yao up and down and gave a word of advice.
“Careful you don’t catch a cold.”
“Don’t worry, I’m healthy as can be.”
Su Yao lifted her chin, patting her chest with confidence. Ji Yun just smiled at her and didn’t say anything more. After standing for a bit, she finally spoke.
“Su Yao, want to play a little more?”
“Okay!”
As it happened, she was still full of energy, so she readily agreed to Ji Yun’s invitation.
She had agreed with Mu Nanqiu to meet after evening self-study. It was around five-thirty now, and the cafeteria would be crowded. Luo Yu had helped her line up for lunch before; Su Yao still didn’t dare to squeeze into the crowd herself.
Not that she was worried about anyone doing anything to her, she just wasn’t used to crowding with her peers.
The two of them stood on either side. In terms of skill and stamina, Ji Yun completely overwhelmed Su Yao, so she was mostly just keeping Su Yao company.
Late at night, Su Yao was finally driven home by a special car. As soon as she entered, she headed straight for the sofa, collapsing onto it with a whimper and immediately starting to regret her decisions that day.
She was completely exhausted and uncomfortable all over. She had thought that six to twelve wasn’t a long time, but it was still six hours. Plus, her underwear was soaked with sweat, making her feel stifled and miserable. If she’d known, she would’ve gone home to shower during dinner.
After resting for a while, Su Yao dragged her tired body to her bedroom, grabbed a change of clothes, and took a shower. When she came out fragrant and clean, she felt completely refreshed.
But the soreness in her thighs and calves, and the stabbing pain in her arches, all told her to get to bed right away.
Sitting on the bed, Su Yao massaged herself a bit to prevent being sore and weak all over tomorrow.
She had definitely over-exercised today.
Snuggling into the blanket, Su Yao glanced at her messages, then opened the little pink app to watch some adrenaline-pumping Yoga videos. She found herself getting a little too into it, imagining herself in those same tight outfits, doing those same things…
Ugh, how embarrassing!
She buried her head deep under the blanket, and only after a long while did she peek out again. It was like she was possessed as she opened the shopping app and immediately bought some tight tops and pants, plus a mat and all the essentials.
“Anyway, doing anything at home is my own business. It’s not like I’m going to get caught doing weird stuff by my mom, like that fool Luo Yu. So I can give it a try, right?”
She asked herself, her cheeks flushing red as she burrowed back under the covers.
At the start of the new semester, Su Yao had felt a little out of place, but after these days, she’d gradually figured out her own Routine Life: waking early to run, going to class, playing ball with others, and learning piano from Mu Nanqiu in the evenings.
Perhaps, was this what people call love?
Stamina didn’t just grow in a day, only through persistence.
Studying piano and chatting with Mu Nanqiu didn’t progress very fast. Su Yao had no talent for music and was just memorizing by rote, so her playing sounded stiff and unnatural. But she herself couldn’t tell; when she played, she was just focusing all her attention on remembering which key to press.
Mu Nanqiu, however, said she was actually doing pretty well. Compared to some naturally talented people, she was already great, able to play without mistakes—very impressive.
Su Yao didn’t know if she was being praised or teased, but since Mu Nanqiu said it, she just let herself be happy.
“Alright, that’s all for today.”
“Okay, Teacher.”
Su Yao got up and bowed earnestly to Mu Nanqiu, but as soon as she stood straight, Mu Nanqiu hugged her.
“Uh, Teacher, isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”
“I’m not your teacher now.”
“Umm… Teacher, you’re so strict, Senior~ Could you praise me, please~”
“Mm-hmm, my Yao Yao is the best.”
Su Yao was overjoyed, smiling even after her shower as she lay in bed. But the next day, she couldn’t smile at all. She didn’t wake up early, didn’t go for her “persistent” run. She just sat in her seat, looking like a listless girl.
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