Watching Xiao Yi’an disappear from her field of vision with her phone in hand, Ye Qingchang breathed a long sigh of relief.
This way, at least she wouldn’t have to finish this entire run herself.
Thinking back, if it had been two months ago, she would never have dared to let Xiao Yi’an take her phone for a campus run. Back then, she was still terrified that he would discover her true identity.
But now that they had both come completely clean, it was much more comfortable than the awkwardness at the start.
However, Xiao Yi’an had also made it very clear: he was currently making up for the mistakes he had made. Once he finished making amends, it would be time to settle the score for her deceiving him.
In other words, she still couldn’t escape the consequences she had feared when she first worried about her identity being exposed.
Now, she just had to figure out how to fool everyone since she hadn’t actually finished the run.
Fortunately, this didn’t require physical exercise—only using her brain. After everything she had been through, using her brain was exactly what she preferred.
After some thought, she realized that as long as she ran into Liu Xie, regardless of whether it was before or after, Liu Xie would definitely notice something was off.
Therefore, her current plan was to simply not go to the finish line at all. Xiao Yi’an had to return to the boys’ dormitory after his run anyway, so she would just stroll back there and wait to get her phone—with its prestigious exercise record—back.
Then, she could leisurely return to her own dorm.
If Liu Xie had already arrived by the time she got back, she would just say she had grabbed a bite to eat after finishing her run.
If Liu Xie hadn’t arrived yet, she would wait for Liu Xie to return and then immediately start mocking him with an emote dance.
This was the cruel Dark Forest; only the one who struck first could enjoy the advantage.
Ye Qingchang rested for a moment to catch her breath, leaning against a tree by the track for a while before she began to walk back.
She headed toward the boys’ dormitory. Just as she had instructed Xiao Yi’an earlier, the two of them would meet at the entrance.
Of course, this was also to make things a little easier for Xiao Yi’an. She couldn’t very well ask him to help her run and then wait like some high-and-mighty master for him to deliver the phone all the way back to the girls’ dorm.
Xiao Yi’an was helping her for the sake of their friendship and because she looked half-dead. If she pushed it, she would be overstepping her bounds.
She decided to buy a bottle of water for Xiao Yi’an on the way.
The condition Xiao Yi’an had set for the trade was a trivial matter like attending club activities, but she couldn’t just brush it off. She couldn’t truly be indifferent to him helping her run.
Otherwise, wouldn’t that make her seem a bit wicked?
She stood before the beverage cooler in the convenience store, hesitating slightly. She looked at the 4.5-yuan large bottle of iced black tea, then at the 3-yuan small deluxe bottle.
She thought it over again and again.
No matter how difficult the situation, she rarely felt powerless, yet this tiny choice suddenly made her break into a cold sweat.
If she chose the large bottle, it would inevitably look a bit too tacky. If she were giving it to Liu Xie or Zhu Niao, they would probably call her “Foster Father,” but if she gave it to Xiao Yi’an, she wasn’t sure.
The small bottle of iced black tea looked a bit more professional. Would that seem too distant? After all, Xiao Yi’an was helping her for the sake of their friendship.
It really was the dilemma of the century.
After thinking it over, Ye Qingchang finally made a choice.
She bought two bottles, one large and one small. When the time came, she would put them in front of Xiao Yi’an and see which one he chose.
‘I’m a genius.’
Clutching the two bottles, the soreness in her legs from the run had mostly faded. At this moment, Ye Qingchang even felt a mysterious surge of confidence, as if she could run another lap.
Fortunately, she still had her sanity to restrain her, preventing her from doing something so physically damaging on a whim.
When she reached the entrance of the boys’ dormitory and looked at the familiar building, she suddenly felt a wave of sentimentality.
Back when she was still a boy, she had lived in this very building.
‘Sigh, the me back then…’
Although things were slightly better then than they were now, he had also looked half-dead after finishing a full run.
Suddenly, there didn’t seem to be much to be nostalgic about.
Ye Qingchang waited at the dormitory entrance with the large bottle in her left hand and the small bottle in her right.
Then, she keenly sensed that the ponytail she had casually tied before leaving was starting to come loose.
She managed to squeeze both bottles into one hand, gripping them tightly so they wouldn’t drop to the ground.
She reached behind her with her other hand and caught the hair tie as it was slipping off.
Once she pulled it off, her thick black hair cascaded down.
She had already taken off her glasses and left them in her dorm so they wouldn’t be a burden.
However, it seemed that Ye Qingchang couldn’t manage to tie her hair with one hand while the other hand was precariously holding two bottles.
Just then, a familiar figure appeared in her sight.
“Quick, quick, come here and help me hold these,” Ye Qingchang said, thrusting the two bottles she could no longer hold in her right hand toward Xiao Yi’an, who had just finished his run.
Clearly, holding two bottles in one hand for that long had been her limit.
Shaking out the soreness in her right hand, Ye Qingchang held the hair tie in her mouth. Her hands reached back to gather her loose black hair, revealing her fair, slender neck.
She held the hair in place with her left hand, took the hair tie from her mouth with her right, and skillfully tied it back into a ponytail.
“What is it?”
Ye Qingchang looked up to see Xiao Yi’an with a somewhat dazed expression.
“Nothing. It’s just the first time I’ve seen you tie your hair. You’re quite skilled at it.”
“I have to be.”
Ye Qingchang’s tone was somewhat helpless.
Liu Xie didn’t like tying her hair when she went out; she believed her blonde hair should be left loose to bloom.
Zhu Niao didn’t like tying her hair either, as she always found it troublesome and generally ignored it, yet her hair quality was the best among the group.
As for Yang Shuli, she didn’t know how to tie her hair at all. However, she had been getting help from Xu Nian lately; two days ago, she had even been seen with twin tails.
That left only her to tie her own hair, which meant she had to keep practicing.
“Your phone. Here.”
Ye Qingchang took it and saw the display settled at a little over 2 kilometers.
“Holy crap, this is great!”
This was probably the happiest Ye Qingchang had been. “Um, pick one of these two bottles.”
Then, a situation occurred that was outside of Ye Qingchang’s expectations.
“I bought water on the way back.” Xiao Yi’an lifted a bag in his hand, which held a drink.
The two bottles of iced black tea were returned to Ye Qingchang.
“Take this too, it’s easier to carry.” Xiao Yi’an gave Ye Qingchang the plastic bag he had used for his drink. “You don’t need to struggle in times like this. You should just ask the shopkeeper for a bag.”
He had ended up lecturing her instead.
After that, Xiao Yi’an left and returned to the boys’ dorm.
Ye Qingchang walked back, looking at the drinks in the plastic bag.
On her way, a flash of gold appeared in her peripheral vision.
She snapped her head around and locked eyes with Liu Xie, who was coming out of the convenience store with a drink.
Liu Xie was tilted her head back to drink and clearly hadn’t expected Ye Qingchang to appear. She nearly choked on the water she had just swallowed.
Look at them—the two of them had supposedly just finished a 2-kilometer run, yet neither of them was even sweating.