Yue Bai sat on the sofa, lost in thought. Why had she said they needed to exercise before…? Was it really because she was afraid Yue Bai would gain weight and wanted her to slim back down to her original figure?
“Tsk.” Yue Bai seemed to have figured something out. She strode into the kitchen in a few quick steps and called out to Sang Wan, who had her back turned while scrubbing the dishes. “Senior Sister, if I gain weight, will you really dislike me?”
If that was the case, then she would have to eat less.
“Hm?” Sang Wan sounded puzzled.
“Didn’t you say we needed to exercise before…? Isn’t that just because you’re afraid I’ll get fat and you want me to lose weight?” Yue Bai laid out her reasoning confidently.
“Is that how you interpreted it?” Sang Wan couldn’t help but laugh. She finished organizing the clean dishes and bowls, then turned to look at Yue Bai. Her exploratory gaze traveled up and down her body. “How are you so… adorable.”
So innocent.
Sang Wan’s sudden compliment left Yue Bai flustered. She averted her flickering gaze, looking everywhere but at Sang Wan, though she refused to back down verbally. “I’ve always been adorable, haven’t I?”
“Mm.” Sang Wan stepped closer. Her hands were still damp as she hooked a finger under Yue Bai’s chin, tilting her face up slightly. She stared at those flushed lips for several seconds. “I’ve realized something.”
Yue Bai’s expression grew even more panicked. Sang Wan’s hand was cool and wet, and she could feel droplets of water trickling from it onto her skin. A shiver ran through her, raising tiny goosebumps along her neck. She forced herself to stay calm. “What is it?”
Sang Wan watched her flustered state for a long moment. She noticed how the other girl’s skin was gradually turning pink. Deciding the timing was right, she spoke slowly and deliberately. “That night on the sports field when you confessed to me, I agreed right away. Don’t you think we skipped some steps?”
“What steps?” Yue Bai wanted to step back, to escape Sang Wan’s grasp, but her body felt rooted in place. She had nowhere to hide.
“You haven’t even chased me yet.” Sang Wan sighed. “You confessed, and I agreed immediately, but you never showed any pursuit beforehand.”
Yue Bai blinked, realizing upon reflection that it was true. So many people had chased after Sang Wan, undoubtedly putting in tons of effort, while she had simply cried in her arms for a bit and said a few words.
“Then let me make it up to you?” Yue Bai asked.
“How?” Sang Wan tilted her head. Her palm slid downward along smooth lines of skin, gently cupping Yue Bai’s neck.
“I’ll chase you again?” Yue Bai ventured tentatively, then quickly added, “But just to be clear, this is under the premise that we’re already dating.”
Sang Wan burst out laughing. “Sure. So, how do you plan to chase me? As your girlfriend, I’ll give you a friendly tip—I’ve seen all kinds of pursuit methods.”
Yue Bai’s mouth twitched. Her long lashes fluttered. “Even if it’s the same methods everyone else uses, since I’m your girlfriend, you should feel differently about them no matter what, right?”
“…” Sang Wan laughed helplessly. “You’re right.”
She released her hold on Yue Bai’s neck and lowered her gaze to the patch of skin that was slightly cooler and different from the rest because of the dampness. Her throat bobbed. “Is it cold?”
“Not cold.” Yue Bai was lost in thought about the first step in pursuing someone and missed the restrained glint in Sang Wan’s eyes.
During afternoon class, Yue Bai sketched away while her mind wandered to the matter.
What should she do to pursue her girlfriend? Attend classes together? She’d checked Sang Wan’s schedule—the lectures overlapped with hers, but she couldn’t just sit in on the practical sessions.
Gifts like snacks or milk tea? That seemed too cliché.
“This is so hard,” Yue Bai muttered aloud.
The teacher was walking around the classroom, checking on the students’ progress. Passing by Yue Bai, she caught the mutter and assumed it was about the drawing.
“You’re handling the shading really well. Is there something else you don’t understand?” The teacher leaned down to examine her work.
“No, no!” Yue Bai was startled for a second but quickly composed herself and kept drawing.
The teacher nodded and moved on, saying to call if she needed help.
Yue Bai felt a bead of sweat form. She shook her head and focused enough to finish the piece.
“Little Bai, you’ve been so quiet the whole way. What are you thinking about?” Zhao Yu noticed Yue Bai hadn’t said a word. She nudged Xu Nuo’s arm and pointed.
Xu Nuo glanced over and teased, “Lost in lovesick daydreams?”
“How’d you know?” Instead of denying it, Yue Bai admitted freely. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“…” The three roommates gaped in surprise. “You have someone you like? Who is it?”
Yue Bai shook her head. “Not telling yet.” She wasn’t sure how accepting they’d be of two girls dating.
“I’m thinking about how to pursue someone,” Yue Bai said, hoping to get their input.
“Whoa, Little Bai’s falling in love, and the three of us are still single?” Xu Nuo wailed dramatically. “Wah, I want that too.”
“I don’t,” Chen Han said, shoving Xu Nuo away in disgust. She turned to Yue Bai. “Pursue them? Sending flowers works. Lots of people do that.”
Yue Bai nodded slowly. “Yeah, that could work.”
“Then buy a bouquet first,” Zhao Yu chimed in, leaning closer. “Isn’t that how romance starts—with a single rose?”
Amid her roommates’ barrage of gossip questions, Yue Bai answered what she could.
And so, the moment Sang Wan opened the door, she was greeted by a bouquet of roses.
She stood there in the doorway, surprised.
A face peeked out from behind the flowers, Yue Bai beaming with a bright smile. “Senior Sister, flowers for you!”
Sang Wan snapped out of it, her eyes lighting up with delight. She reached out with the hand that had been on the doorknob and took the bouquet. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”
Yue Bai grinned sheepishly, her face full of anticipation. “Senior Sister, does this count as a successful pursuit?”
Sang Wan slipped off her shoes and stepped inside. She freed up one hand to take Yue Bai’s, her fingertip tracing her palm. “Little Bai, you know what? I accepted them because you gave them to me. If it were anyone else, I might not even glance at them.”
In the living room, she turned around. “I accepted them as your girlfriend.”
“Or do you think I’m that easy to chase? One bouquet and you’re done?” Sang Wan reached out helplessly to stroke Yue Bai’s forehead. “Actually, I was hoping that while you’re pursuing me, you’d be a bit more assertive.”
“More assertive?” Yue Bai blinked curiously. “Do I need to make my intentions super clear when chasing you, Senior Sister?”
Sang Wan set the bouquet on the coffee table and adjusted her glasses. “I meant when you’re acting as my girlfriend—be more assertive then. I’d like that.”
“Oh.” Yue Bai nodded thoughtfully, then declared assertively, “Tonight, I want to sleep on the inside.”
“…Ahem.” Sang Wan coughed. “Okay.”
She realized Yue Bai always managed to twist her words in unexpected ways.
As Yue Bai pondered how to advance her “pursuit” of Senior Sister, she faced her first college physical fitness test.
Standing at the edge of the rubber track, staring at the red surface, Yue Bai hadn’t even started yet, but her legs were already going weak with panic and fear.
“This is terrifying,” Yue Bai swallowed hard.
She glanced around. People were already lining up ahead for the 800-meter run. Eager to avoid it, Yue Bai dragged her three roommates to test other events first, saving the 800 meters for last.
Standing long jump and sit-and-reach were no problem, but when it came to sit-ups, she hung back. She watched as people ahead lay on mats, struggling to sit up while someone held their ankles.
“This doesn’t look easy either,” Yue Bai muttered, stepping back a few paces.
“No more backing up—we’re down to this and the 800 meters,” Chen Han said grimly, pressing down on Yue Bai’s shoulder.
“I feel like after these two, I’ll be done for,” Yue Bai said with a grimace.
“Don’t worry, we’re all in the same boat,” Chen Han replied solemnly.
Lying on the mat, Yue Bai’s heart raced.
At the teacher’s command, she sat up and lay back with all her might. The first few were fine, but around the tenth, her abs started to burn with every rise and fall.
Her hands behind her head nearly slipped, but the girl holding her feet encouraged her. “You’ve got this!”
When the whistle blew, Yue Bai pushed herself up off the mat.
The teacher asked the girl who’d held her feet how many she’d done. The girl said straight-faced, “Thirty-five.”
Yue Bai blinked gratefully at her—good sister, padding the count by ten. Her spot was luckily out of the teacher’s direct view.
“Passing is all I need,” Yue Bai said, satisfied.
Heading to the track with her roommates, Yue Bai learned what true despair felt like.
“Why can anyone even finish 800 meters?” She trudged toward the starting line, head hanging low.
“I don’t know. My last 800 was during middle school PE makeup,” Xu Nuo said, equally dejected.
They fastened on the special electronic timing belts. Yue Bai rubbed her face nervously, bent to thump her knees a couple times, then stood and hopped in place.
As her gaze shifted back to the teacher holding the starting pistol, a striking figure caught her eye.
Sang Wan stood beside the teacher in a light blue coat, hands in her pockets, chatting with her. Yue Bai saw the teacher smile and nod in response.
Afterward, Sang Wan’s eyes landed on her.
“Go for it,” she mouthed.
Yue Bai’s heart pounded in an instant. Had Senior Sister come specifically to watch her?
Bang. No time to overthink—the gun fired.
Yue Bai dashed off with the group.
She regulated her breathing, staying in the middle of the pack, neither rushing nor lagging.
Just as she settled into maintaining that pace, footsteps quickened beside her. She glanced in surprise at the person who’d suddenly sped up.
That speed was like a desperate sprint in the 100-meter dash.
“Holy crap, this person’s running so fast,” someone said faintly in the distance.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the other runners and the spectators, the girl who’d been sprinting ahead tumbled to the ground at the fifty-meter mark. The school medic and volunteers stationed along the track rushed over to check on her.
“What the heck?” The girl ahead burst out laughing.
Yue Bai pursed her lips.
By the time she finished the first lap, Yue Bai’s steps had grown noticeably heavier. A metallic tang filled her mouth, and something seemed to be creeping up her throat. Her entire face was flushed red from labored breathing.
She pushed through the second lap on sheer willpower alone, then handed her electronic timing belt to the volunteer waiting at the finish line. With her last ounce of strength drained, she swayed, about to collapse to the ground.
But in the next instant, she fell into a soft embrace. Sang Wan gripped Yue Bai’s arms and pulled her upright. “Good girl, don’t sit yet. Let me walk you around for a bit.”
Sang Wan gently guided her toward the outer edge of the track, her heart aching for the exhausted girl in her arms. Yue Bai was too spent to even speak.
They walked more than half a lap along the outermost path before Yue Bai started feeling a little better. Leaning on Sang Wan’s arm, she buried her face in the crook of her neck. “Senior Sister, I feel awful.”
Sang Wan patted her back tenderly. “I know, I know. Don’t talk yet. Have some warm water first.”
Somehow, Sang Wan produced a thermos from her bag. She took a sip first to test the temperature, then nodded and held it out to Yue Bai. “Here, drink a little.”
Yue Bai let out a couple of whimpers, lifting her head just enough to sip from the cup in Sang Wan’s hand. “Wahhh, from now on, I’m definitely going to start exercising. Running feels so awful.”
“I’ll run with you next time,” Sang Wan said, going along with her.
