Chapter 235: Birthday

“Did you just finish your run?”

“Oh, right, right. Did you just finish too?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Liu Xie and Ye Qingchang walked together along the road, heading toward the dormitory building.

This was likely the most polite the two had ever been to each other. Both sides showed the other enough respect to avoid raising any suspicion that they had played their own little tricks.

Liu Xie had indeed played a little trick.

Halfway through her bike ride, she realized she had lost track of Ye Qingchang. At that point, the situation became quite precarious.

If she continued all the way to the finish line, it would be difficult to determine Ye Qingchang’s position or ensure that Ye Qingchang wouldn’t spot her on the bicycle.

So, she chose to turn back immediately and wait for Ye Qingchang at the dormitory.

However, she suddenly remembered that arriving too early might be hard to explain. After all, her exercise record was off-course, and Ye Qingchang, who often slacked off with her, would definitely be able to tell she had used a bicycle.

Thus, she thought about buying a bottle of water first and then strolling back leisurely so she wouldn’t be caught.

It would be best to wait until Ye Qingchang returned before her. That way, she could use the drink in her hand to prove that her late arrival wasn’t intentional.

Then, after a bit of back-and-forth, they could settle on a draw to end this competition.

That was how it was supposed to go.

But she never expected that Ye Qingchang would appear right here at this moment, carrying water she had already bought.

‘Is this a joke? I turned back halfway on a bike; how could she possibly be faster than me?’

‘Could it be that this girl really is an 800-meter gold medalist?’

Liu Xie’s expression turned serious, even revealing a hint of faint horror.

‘Is this girl’s strength actually that formidable?’

Naturally, Ye Qingchang was thinking the same thing.

Especially when she saw how Liu Xie wasn’t even flushed or out of breath, the dread in her heart increased tenfold.

‘Has this girl become so terrifying that she can finish a full two kilometers with such ease?’

‘Has she traded her brain capacity for the weight on her chest, and then strengthened her body in the process of being “all chest and no brains”?’

‘She doesn’t even seem human anymore.’

However, Ye Qingchang had no intention of showing weakness. Being timid at a time like this would only make the other person suspect she had a guilty conscience.

So she spoke up: “Why didn’t I see you when I finished running just now?”

A preemptive strike.

In the dark forest, an opening attack is always the most effective method.

“Probably because I went to buy water as soon as I finished. I was really thirsty,” Liu Xie said, lifting the drink in her hand. “But I had a bout of indecision while buying it. I spent ages picking and couldn’t decide what I wanted to drink.”

Perfect. This completely explained why she wasn’t at the finish line and why she had come out of the convenience store later than Ye Qingchang.

It was such a perfect excuse that Liu Xie felt like her brain was evolving.

But Ye Qingchang knew full well that she was the one who had been picking and choosing in the convenience store.

Clearly, Liu Xie was slower than her, but she must have completed the entire distance.

In that case, all she could do was avoid denying the other’s claims while trying not to lead herself into a dangerous situation.

“I was about the same. I spent a long time debating between the large bottle or the small one. In the end, I just bought both. It turned out Xiao Yi’an had already bought his own water, so I had to bring these two bottles back.”

Ye Qingchang lifted the plastic bag in her hand, and the two bottles of iced black tea inside clinked against each other.

The hardest lies to see through are those that are half-true, much like Ye Qingchang’s current explanation.

Even if Liu Xie went to confront Xiao Yi’an on the spot, the result would only match Ye Qingchang’s words.

She had brought out Xiao Yi’an as her witness.

“Xiao Yi’an?” Liu Xie’s expression tightened.

“Yeah, I ran into him while I was running, so I just finished the rest of the way with him.”

What Liu Xie cared about now wasn’t why Ye Qingchang was buying water for Xiao Yi’an, but rather the fact that Ye Qingchang had genuinely finished the entire distance and had Xiao Yi’an as proof.

‘This girl, this skeleton, has she broken her physical limits?’

‘Is it really necessary to go this far just for a petty competition?’

Liu Xie glanced at the composed Ye Qingchang and felt more and more that her roommate was a real dark horse.

Now, she felt like her own bike-riding stunt was a bit sneaky.

‘I absolutely cannot be found out.’

‘I must not mention the exercise records.’

The two seemed to reach a subtle consensus.

They talked and laughed all the way back to the dormitory building, and continued their cheerful facade as they entered their room.

On the surface, they were all smiles, but in reality, both were hiding their own thoughts.

“Your daddy’s home!”

Just as Ye Qingchang was about to put on her headphones and continue reading her book, and Liu Xie was about to put on her headphones to curse at her teammates, the dormitory door was kicked open.

Outside the door, a grinning Yang Shuli walked in, carrying a box of soufflés.

She had clearly just returned from eating out with Xu Nian and had even brought back some spoils of war.

It was only then that the two remembered their Dorm Leader had gone out to forage for food because she had nothing to eat.

“Didn’t you say Xu Nian was busy today?” Without needing to think, it was obvious that Yang Shuli could only be this happy because she had met up with Xu Nian.

“He was busy. Apparently, an old acquaintance came over to confess to Lao Xu, but Lao Xu rejected them very rudely,” Yang Shuli said as she placed the sickeningly sweet soufflés on her desk.

“I think if you really dislike someone from the start, being willing to meet them is already a very polite act,” Liu Xie commented briefly.

Yang Shuli scratched her head, seemingly unable to think of a reason why.

She turned to ask her roommates, “Have you two just been in the dorm all afternoon?”

“Oh, wait, you even bought me water. I see you two are quite filial,” Yang Shuli said as she picked up the small, business-style bottle of iced black tea.

“No, we just went out for the campus run,” Ye Qingchang spoke up first.

Only fearless words like these would keep others from becoming suspicious.

“Really? The campus run? You two?” A hint of doubt appeared on Yang Shuli’s face. “Then which of you ran faster?”

The topic the two had been avoiding until now had finally surfaced.

“Ah, Dorm Leader, aren’t you going to eat the dessert you bought back? It’ll go bad if you don’t eat it soon.” Liu Xie’s eyes were full of smiles.

“This stuff should be fine for one night, right?”

“Dorm Leader, it’s almost your birthday, isn’t it? Happy birthday!” Ye Qingchang also said with a smile.

“Isn’t that still a long way off? It should be during the winter break, right?”