“Xiao Yi’an?”
Ye Qingchang, whose legs felt heavy enough to stop moving altogether, forced herself to perk up slightly and looked at Xiao Yi’an to her right.
Xiao Yi’an must have started running from the male dormitory side, which was probably 500 or 600 meters further than Ye Qingchang’s starting point.
Ye Qingchang felt like she was about to reach the first checkpoint after the start.
In other words, by the time Xiao Yi’an caught up to her, he had already run nearly 1 kilometer, yet he wasn’t even flushing or out of breath.
‘Wait, wasn’t this guy the same kind of melancholy literary youth as me just a while ago? Why is there such a gap between us literary types?’
‘Is it really just because he plays basketball?’
‘I guess playing basketball is actually pretty impressive.’
“Did you actually come out for the campus run?” Xiao Yi’an slowed his pace slightly.
Originally, he intended to just say hello and keep going, but Ye Qingchang’s current state—looking like a walking corpse—made it hard for him not to worry. He feared that the moment he left, she would collapse and pass away right there on the spot.
This question clearly stumped Ye Qingchang as well.
‘Was I really the type to come out for a campus run?’
Obviously not. She wasn’t that cheerful of a person, nor was she an active exerciser, and her body didn’t allow her to do so.
The only thing she wanted right now was to avoid being mocked by Liu Xie with an electric shake dance during their competition.
But looking at things now, that mockery seemed unavoidable.
“Occasional exercise is necessary,” Ye Qingchang said, unwilling to offer any further explanation. She felt as if her throat were two pieces of rusted iron rubbing together, occasionally flaking off shards of rust. The saliva she swallowed felt like a dry sponge being squeezed into a set of gears.
“Has anyone ever told you that exercise only counts as exercise if it’s done in moderation and within your limits?” Xiao Yi’an frowned, a hint of terror even appearing in his eyes.
Looking at Ye Qingchang now was like watching a skeleton holding a bow from a cube world suddenly start sprinting. He was constantly worried this person might fall apart at any second.
“Let’s not talk about that,” Ye Qingchang said, lacking the strength even to wave her hand. “Did you see a blonde girl with a large chest on your way here?”
“You mean your roommate?” Xiao Yi’an’s pace slowed even more.
He discovered to his surprise that he could keep up with her stumbling pace just by walking.
However, he didn’t dare say this out loud, fearing that if he did, the already fragile skeleton monster would shatter into a heap on the ground.
He might even be able to pick up two bones and a few experience points.
“I don’t think I saw her on my way. Why? Was she running with you?” Xiao Yi’an replied.
Ye Qingchang’s expression soured.
First, it was a known fact that Liu Xie couldn’t possibly be slower than her. Second, in her half-dead state, she had been completely unable to observe the road.
In other words, among the waves of students running the campus route, Liu Xie had likely slipped past her not long ago, and she hadn’t noticed at all.
Of course, there was one bit of good news.
Since it was impossible for Liu Xie to pass her without mocking her, it meant Liu Xie hadn’t noticed her when she passed by either.
That was the only good news, but it wasn’t exactly a total win.
Even if Liu Xie didn’t know where she was right now, once the run was over and she didn’t see her, or if she checked her exercise records, she would be found out anyway.
The mockery and “corpse-whipping” would be inevitable. She might even earn a third shameful title to go along with being an emotional guru and an 800-meter gold medalist.
What should she do now?
How could she win this contest without burning herself out into white ash?
‘I think I overestimated myself. Even if I burn out into white ash, I still won’t win.’
Ye Qingchang was almost driven to laughter by her own frustration.
Then, she looked at Xiao Yi’an beside her.
If nothing unexpected happened, she was going to give up in one or two minutes.
“You go on ahead. I can’t run anymore,” she told him.
She wasn’t stopping on purpose to catch her breath or adjust her rhythm; this was simply her absolute limit.
As for the campus run, she would just have to rely on a proxy runner later.
As the saying goes, “dying before the battle is won”…
Hearing this, Xiao Yi’an was still a bit worried that she would fall apart piece by piece, but he was prepared to leave at his original speed.
Ye Qingchang, who was on the verge of collapsing, looked up at Xiao Yi’an’s back.
Proxy running…
‘Wait, that’s it. A proxy runner.’
“Wait, wait!” This was almost the last of Ye Qingchang’s strength. “Don’t run off yet. I have something to tell you.”
Fortunately, Xiao Yi’an hadn’t put back the half of his headphones he had taken off.
“What is it?” He walked back.
Before him, Ye Qingchang held up her phone, which still showed the GPS and exercise records.
“Are you interested in being a proxy runner?”
“A proxy runner?” Xiao Yi’an had heard of the term, of course, but he had never dealt with such a thing.
“Yes. You take my phone and run my portion along with your own,” Ye Qingchang said, leaning on her knees and gasping for a long while before she could breathe clearly.
“You’re not running anymore?”
“If I keep running, not only will it kill me, but I won’t even meet the pace requirements.”
Xiao Yi’an looked Ye Qingchang up and down, staring at the skeleton monster before him. “You should probably just apply for a medical exemption. You’re looking pretty scary right now.”
“No, I can’t admit defeat in front of them.”
Her will was certainly firm in that regard.
Of course, she also knew she couldn’t get an exemption because there was nothing physically wrong with her; she was just purely weak.
“What’s the market price for a proxy run? A few yuan per trip?” Seeing that he couldn’t talk her out of it, Xiao Yi’an stopped trying.
“4 yuan, I think.”
“Then I’ll just charge you 2 yuan,” Xiao Yi’an said as he took her phone. “How many more times do you need me to run?”
Ye Qingchang suddenly realized that even if she had Xiao Yi’an proxy for her this time, she would still have to solve the problem for future runs.
She couldn’t keep bothering him.
“This isn’t quite right.”
Xiao Yi’an didn’t actually mind. It was just one extra phone on him while he ran; the impact was negligible.
“If you feel bad about it…” Xiao Yi’an said, “you can come and help out during club activities. There are always people with nothing to do who come to the club, and I’ve never organized activities before, so I don’t have much experience.”
But wasn’t the Literature Club’s activity just everyone sitting around reading books or playing on their phones?
He was clearly just saying it to make her feel a little better.
“Fine. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be there for the club activities.”
Pretty sure basketball involves athlectisism