Chapter 14 Part 2

Gu Ningzi’s voice sounded from right above Chi Nuan’s head.

Huh? Chi Nuan’s face filled with confusion.

“She stepped on my foot last week, and now it’s her again.” Gu Ningzi’s expression was icy. “For Cao Pinhui?”

Chen Wan curled her lip disdainfully and scoffed. “Who do you think you are? Sherlock Holmes?”

Gu Ningzi: “Weren’t you the one peeking in the corridor at SEVEN that night?”

Chen Wan knew she was in the wrong and shot Gu Ningzi a glare before dragging the tall girl toward the other side of the track.

Chi Nuan pieced it together. “She saw everything back then?”

“She was in the corridor when I came out of the elevator.” Gu Ningzi bent down to untie her spiked shoes. Chi Nuan asked, “You’re not training anymore?”

Gu Ningzi swiftly packed up. “Your back is wet… you can see your bra.”

!! Chi Nuan’s face instantly flushed red.

They crossed the track, and Chi Nuan quietly pleaded, “Gu Ningzi, help block for me.”

Gu Ningzi walked behind Chi Nuan, her fingers resting on her shoulder, lips curving as she hummed in agreement.

…

On Thursday, the sports meet officially kicked off. Gu Ningzi breezed through the preliminaries for several events. By Friday’s finals, the Grade 11 Class 6 students were more hyped than if they’d been injected with chicken blood. Even before the races started, the cheers led by Zhou Damao and his cheer squad nearly flipped the spectator stands.

Chi Nuan stood at the front of their class formation, gripping the railing and cheering Gu Ningzi on with her head down. “Don’t be nervous. The ranking doesn’t matter.”

Gu Ningzi, at the edge of the track, noticed her knuckles turning white and said, “You look more nervous than me.”

Xu Dan overheard Gu Ningzi teasing Chi Nuan and burst out laughing. She immediately piled on. “Exactly! Our class monitor was up all night! Look at those dark circles.”

Gu Ningzi actually looked, and Chi Nuan covered her eyes. “Don’t exaggerate. I just didn’t sleep well.”

As they chatted, Little Fatty pushed through the crowd to find Chi Nuan. “Awen’s looking for you. Says to go over.”

Chi Nuan asked, “Where’s Teacher He?”

Little Fatty said, “In the office.”

Xu Dan urged her. “Hurry back quick. You might still catch Gu Ningzi taking first.”

Chi Nuan left the stands and walked to the edge of the track. She instinctively turned back to search for Gu Ningzi in the crowd.

She spotted her immediately.

Gu Ningzi had returned to the starting point amid the bustling crowd. She stood under the blazing sun, hands in her pockets, waiting for the race with calm, dazzling poise.

Chi Nuan smiled faintly and headed to the academic building. She climbed to the second floor and went left toward the Chinese Language Group Office. The whole building was eerily quiet, the roar of the crowd distant from the track.

Hope I can make it back in time for the race, Chi Nuan thought as she knocked on the door a few times.

No response. She peeked inside. He Liwen wasn’t there.

Where had the teacher gone?

Chi Nuan stepped in to wait. But as soon as she did, the office door slammed shut behind her.

Startled, Chi Nuan rushed over and yanked at it, hearing rustling sounds outside.

“Who’s out there?”

She was met with a few muffled snickers.

Chi Nuan couldn’t open the door. She realized someone had locked it from outside. She glanced at the window. Last semester, the Chinese Language Group Office had been burglarized—thieves pried open the window lock and stole thousands in cash from a Class 1 Chinese teacher’s desk. After that, all corridor-facing windows had security bars installed, and the doors got extra locks.

Chi Nuan broke into a sweat. She reached for her pocket to contact He Liwen, only to remember her mobile phone was dead and left charging in the dorm.

She panicked for a bit, then gradually calmed down.

It wasn’t a big deal—just a prank locking her in the office. Any teacher coming back would let her out.

…But she wouldn’t get to see Gu Ningzi’s races. The thought made Chi Nuan sigh in frustration.

Soon, the broadcast announced the women’s 100m final.

Chi Nuan pushed the window open and listened intently.

The starting gun cracked, followed by thunderous cheers. A dozen seconds later, the results were in.

Chi Nuan’s palms sweated with tension.

The scores reached the temporary broadcast booth on the rostrum, and the male announcer declared dramatically, “Women’s 100m final—first place, Grade 11 Class 6, Gu Ningzi! Second place…”

Chi Nuan breathed a sigh of relief, lips curving into a smile. She returned to He Liwen’s desk, pulled her practice booklet from a stack, dragged over a stool, and sat down to work on problems.

Next were the women’s 400m and 800m—the 200m was too close to the 100m, so Chi Nuan had crossed it off, and Gu Ningzi hadn’t entered.

Chi Nuan remained locked in the Chinese Language Group Office for the entire afternoon until a teacher from the next class returned and opened the door. By then, all the track events had ended.

“This is outrageous! Did you see who locked the door?” The neighboring teacher had notified He Liwen, who slapped the desk and demanded of Chi Nuan.

Chi Nuan shook her head.

Little Fatty was summoned too, scratching his round head in bewilderment. “I don’t know. Some girl said Teacher He was looking for Chi Nuan, so I just passed the message.”

He Liwen: “Which girl? Do you remember?”

Little Fatty racked his brain. “Average-looking face, can’t remember! If I’d known she had bad intentions, I wouldn’t have passed it on no matter what.”

He Liwen frowned. “Alright, head back to class first. Labor Day break starts tomorrow. We’ll deal with it after the holiday.”

Chi Nuan returned to the classroom, where it was already a riot of excitement. Gu Ningzi was surrounded at her seat, everyone chattering praises. Xu Dan crowed loudly, “Zhou Damao, look at the new student, then look at yourself. Acting all high and mighty like you’re hot stuff, making our class monitor do your homework—and what did you get? A ‘participation award.’ Hilarious!”

Zhou Damao shot back indignantly, “So what? My desk mate’s gold medals today are half thanks to me. I was Cheerleader Captain—my throat’s hoarse, didn’t you see?”

The onlookers all burst into laughter.

Gu Ningzi, amid the crowd, casually turned her head. Her gaze unexpectedly met Chi Nuan’s at the back door of the classroom.

Chi Nuan stood against the light, bathed perfectly in the sunset glow.

Both couldn’t help but smile.