Lu Ziqing’s face flushed red as she shot a glare at Liang Sheng. This had become her standard reaction whenever dealing with her. After all, Liang Sheng had a habit of blurting things out that always left Lu Ziqing in the most awkward situations.
“Hurry up and train!” Lu Ziqing shoved the encroaching Liang Sheng away. “Stay away from me—you’re distracting me!”
“Okay~” Liang Sheng reached out to pat Lu Ziqing’s head.
Lu Ziqing dodged aside with a haughty huff. “Don’t touch me!”
The two of them made their way to the sports field, where Lu Ziqing began stretching her limbs with impressive formality.
Liang Sheng watched, nervous as hell. She looked so professional—would Liang Sheng end up holding her back?
Lu Ziqing knelt down and bound their ankles together with a strap. Now they truly were in this together, like grasshoppers tied to the same string.
“Ready… and—”
Bang!
Right from the start, Lu Ziqing tripped and tumbled to the ground.
“Ow~” Miss Lu’s knee was scraped red from the fall.
Liang Sheng stumbled too but managed to stay on her feet, swaying unsteadily before steadying herself.
“Miss, are you okay?!” Liang Sheng dropped to a crouch to inspect Young Miss Lu Ziqing’s knee.
“It looks like it’s broken the skin…” As a delicate young miss raised like a pampered princess, Lu Ziqing had scarcely ever been hurt in her life. Naturally, the pain felt intense to her, and she assumed the fall must have been serious.
“It’s nothing,” Liang Sheng said. Her thumb gently rubbed over Young Miss Lu Ziqing’s knee a few times, and she smiled. “Just a bit red. How about we take a break and practice later?”
“Hmph!” Lu Ziqing pushed herself to her feet. “Who are you looking down on? I’m continuing the training. I just didn’t get the technique right earlier. One more try, and we’ll definitely take first place.”
“No.” Liang Sheng pressed down on Lu Ziqing’s shoulder, her expression grave. “First place doesn’t matter. All I care about is that you don’t get hurt again. It would break my heart.”
“Ahem!”
Ding~ Favorability increased.
“Lu Ziqing’s Favorability Toward Liang Sheng: 130”
“T-then… let’s rest a bit before practicing,” Lu Ziqing said. She gently took hold of Liang Sheng’s hand, looking a little uneasy, then added, “You look pretty tired, so… you get it.”
“Gotcha~ The young miss is worried about me~” Liang Sheng leaned her head against Lu Ziqing’s shoulder.
She understood completely—it was just another bout of tsundere behavior.
Ding~ Favorability increased.
“Lu Ziqing’s Favorability Toward Liang Sheng: 132”
“Your shoulder is so comfy, Miss~” Liang Sheng was starting to get cheeky again.
“You—you—you!!” Lu Ziqing began pushing at Liang Sheng’s head. “You’re teasing me again!”
“I’m not!” Liang Sheng clung tightly to Young Miss Lu Ziqing’s arm and wouldn’t let go. “I’m just telling the truth. I’m an honest person—I only say what’s real!”
In truth, Lu Ziqing wasn’t pushing very hard at all. She was afraid of actually shoving her away. Deep down, she really enjoyed these close, cuddly moments with Liang Sheng.
“You’re really heavy. If I can’t push you off, then… you can rest on my shoulder for a little while. Just a little while, okay? If you stay too long, my shoulder will hurt!” Lu Ziqing huffed, staying true to her tsundere nature.
“Mm-hmm!” Liang Sheng grinned, perfectly understanding.
After a short while, Lu Ziqing felt the pain in her leg fade. “All good now. What about you? Need more rest?”
Liang Sheng lifted her head from Lu Ziqing’s shoulder, and to her surprise, the young miss seemed a tad dissatisfied.
“I’m back to full strength too!” Liang Sheng bounced to her feet, spun around, and extended her hand to Lu Ziqing. “Come on, my dear Miss~ Let’s spend a romantic evening together on the sports field!”
“You’re taking advantage of me again!” Lu Ziqing grumbled, though her heart bubbled with delight. She reached out and clasped the offered hand.
They rebound their ankles tightly and started with walking this time.
“Aiya!” When two total klutzes teamed up, the result was pure comedy gold. Their already uncoordinated bodies were even more mismatched now.
They stumbled and staggered, heading who-knew-where.
“Aiya! Liang Sheng, you tripped me!” Lu Ziqing’s cry echoed across the entire sports field for everyone to hear.
Liang Sheng slapped a hand over her face. “Miss! Keep it down—that’s so embarrassing! Everyone’s watching us! Come on, stop!”
“Uh… uh… ahem.” Only then did Lu Ziqing realize what was happening. She looked up, noticed the odd stares from the people around them, and flushed with embarrassment. She ducked her head and began muttering under her breath in a tiny voice.
They practiced until they were gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. Finally… they could walk without tripping over each other.
“Alright, next up—we run.” Lu Ziqing grabbed Liang Sheng’s hand and pulled her up.
“Ready… go—hey, wait!”
“Shoot!” Liang Sheng took a massive tumble, and Lu Ziqing lost her balance once more, crashing to the ground again.
“I want to quit…” Liang Sheng sat on the sports field, tears streaming down her face like cartoon noodles, her gaze blank as she stared up at the sky.
Truth be told, Lu Ziqing felt like giving up too. But then she pictured the Sports Meet—all those eyes focused on her and Liang Sheng. On their bound legs pressed together. On their hands clasped tightly. Her heart fluttered anew.
“I’m not giving up! Let’s keep going!” Lu Ziqing planted her hands on her hips and loomed over Liang Sheng. “Get up! You can’t quit just like that! That’s no way to live life!”
Oh god, this cheesy motivational talk was going to kill her. Liang Sheng desperately wanted to turn into a total slacker right there on the field and stay that way forever.
“I’m so tired…” But then Lu Ziqing delivered a solid smack to her head.
It was like a splash of cold water snapping her awake. Enlightenment dawned. She got it.
“Alright, let’s keep going!”
Drenched in sweat, the two of them persisted. Two hours later, they had finally mastered running with their legs tied.
“Okay! That’s enough for today!” Liang Sheng remembered she still had new comics to read. “Miss~ I’m really wiped out~ School’s over anyway—let’s head home.”
Lu Ziqing stood rooted to the spot, reluctant to leave.
“Or…” Exhausted and not thinking straight, Liang Sheng blurted out, “How about my place?”
Lu Ziqing froze for a second, her eyes lighting up. Then she turned her head away. “N-no, I want to go home for dinner!”
“Then let me walk you home?” Liang Sheng slung an arm around Young Miss Lu Ziqing’s shoulders.
“No, no need.” Lu Ziqing’s words said one thing, but her body was honest—she followed Liang Sheng all the way out of the school gates.
Unfortunately, Lu Ziqing’s family driver was already waiting right there at the entrance.
“Ah… well, since…” Liang Sheng started to say.
Lu Ziqing pushed her away. “My driver’s here, so no need for you to walk me. Go on home. See you tomorrow.”
“Eh? Oh… okay?” Liang Sheng blinked in confusion. Why did Miss Lu look mad again—and pretty pissed off, at that? Had she done something wrong?
Lu Ziqing stomped her foot hard as she marched over to her family driver and bodyguards. She shot the three of them a fierce glare, huffed loudly, and climbed into the car.
The bodyguards and driver were utterly baffled. Who had pissed off their little ancestor this time?
They glanced toward the distance. Through their sunglasses, they caught sight of Liang Sheng’s bewildered expression meeting theirs—both sides filled with sympathy and total confusion.
“Why’d you come so early?!” Young Miss Lu Ziqing demanded the moment she got in the car, her tone grumpy. “Seriously…”
“It was the master who told us to pick you up early,” the bodyguards explained, sounding aggrieved. “He was worried we’d be late and something might happen to you.” The tough guys somehow managed to look adorably pitiful.
“Couldn’t you come late tomorrow, then?”
The bodyguards shook their heads vigorously. “No, no, no! Absolutely not! If the master found out, it’d be a scolding at best—or docked pay at worst!”
Lu Ziqing pouted. “Pfft. No matter how much he docks, I’ll cover it with my pocket money.”
“It’s not about the money!” One bodyguard looked on the verge of tears. “If anything happened to you, we’d be lucky to just get fired!”
“Hmph.” Lu Ziqing let out a little grunt and said nothing more. She closed her eyes and settled back to rest in silence.
