You Must Be Good 21p2

Chapter 21 p2

Although Qiao Xiaoxiao had refused Lu Chen, she was clearly much more serious in PE class than before.

Whenever Lu Chen explained the key points of a movement, she no longer absent-mindedly memorized words but listened attentively, her eyes shining.

Lu Chen, who was extremely sensitive to sports, naturally noticed the change in her. In just one week, her running form had become quite decent, with a certain smooth fluidity. Has she been practicing on her own? If so, why did she still refuse me?

Lu Chen shook her head. The kids these days were really hard to figure out.

Today, as usual, was the 800-meter run. The moment Lu Chen’s command was given, groans erupted, and several female students even collectively got their “periods.”

On the track, Qiao Xiaoxiao’s figure was particularly striking. She was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and sweatpants, which she had bought during a sale on Taobao for only ten yuan a set, and it even came with five pairs of socks. On an ordinary person, it would have been a disaster, but on Qiao Xiaoxiao, it inexplicably had the air of a professional athlete.

“Ready—” Lu Chen raised her stopwatch, her gaze unconsciously following her.

At the starting line, Qiao Xiaoxiao bent slightly, like a fully drawn bow.

Bang!

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s starting speed was a full two seconds faster than last time.

At the edge of the sports field, Chu Ge had her hands in her pockets, taking in the scene. She squinted, her gaze following the flying figure on the track, a playful curve on her lips.

From the regret in Lu Chen’s eyes, she immediately understood that this was the “cool girl” who had rejected the school team’s coach.

Even more interesting.

Chu Ge rolled her wrists and slowly sauntered over to Lu Chen’s side. She was completely focused on Qiao Xiaoxiao. It wasn’t until the final lap was timed at 2 minutes and 25 seconds, and she slapped her thigh in excitement, that she suddenly realized there was someone beside her.

“What are you doing here?” Lu Chen was startled.

Chu Ge raised an eyebrow and gestured towards the track with her chin. “She’s the one you’ve set your sights on?”

Lu Chen pouted. At school, Chu Ge was known as a quirky rich girl. She was from a wealthy family, spoke little, and had a tough temper. She wouldn’t even give a second glance to any teacher or student she didn’t like.

“What’s the use of me liking her?” Lu Chen sighed, her tone full of helplessness. “She’s not interested at all.”

To be honest, she liked Qiao Xiaoxiao from the bottom of her heart. This child was born to be an athlete. Those long limbs, that innate explosive power, and the stubbornness in her eyes all made her heart itch. In the world of sports, hard work alone was far from enough. Just like the few team members she was currently training, which one of them didn’t practice from dawn till dusk? But when they hit a certain bottleneck, they just couldn’t break through. But Qiao Xiaoxiao was different. She had an indescribable spiritual quality about her. Because of this, Lu Chen had been so anxious these past few days that her mouth was full of canker sores, and even eating was painful.

Chu Ge chuckled lightly, her gaze still locked on Qiao Xiaoxiao, a cunning glint in her eyes. “Since you’ve set your sights on her, you have to be proactive.”

Before Lu Chen could react to the meaning of these words, she saw Chu Ge raise her voice in Qiao Xiaoxiao’s direction. “Hey, Qiao Xiaoxiao, come here for a second!”

Qiao Xiaoxiao looked up at the sound. She remembered this girl. During the track and field team’s training that day, she was the first to cross the finish line, exuding a unique aura that made it hard to look away. Why would she call her?

She hesitated and looked around, and after confirming that she hadn’t misheard, she slowly walked over.

Lu Chen immediately became alert. “Chu Ge, what are you doing?”

Chu Ge had a playful smile on her lips. She pointed at Lu Chen and said to Qiao Xiaoxiao, “Coach Lu likes you so much she can’t eat or sleep. She just wants you to join the track and field team but is too embarrassed to tell you. She’s so anxious her mouth is full of canker sores, and she can’t even eat her favorite braised pork. Can you bear to see her suffer like this?”

Qiao Xiaoxiao: ???

Lu Chen: …

In this world, some people’s minds are full of twists and turns, while others are just straightforward and direct.

At dinner time, Qiao Xiaoxiao animatedly described the day’s interesting events to Chu Xinrou. When she talked about how Chu Ge’s words had left Lu Chen speechless and blushing, she smiled so much her eyes curved into crescents, not even noticing the grain of rice stuck to the corner of her mouth.

Chu Xinrou gently wiped the rice from her lips with her fingertip, her eyes full of gentleness. “It’s going to be tough from now on.”

“I’m not afraid of hard work,” Qiao Xiaoxiao was a child after all. When she was happy, her eyes sparkled. “Jiejie, I feel like ever since I came to the city, many things have been going especially smoothly, like everything is falling into place.”

As she spoke, she stared intently at Chu Xinrou. In fact, Qiao Xiaoxiao was a little confused. Did Chu Ge really help her just because they had met once, as she had said?

Chu Xinrou said softly, “Perhaps it’s because you’ve suffered too much in the past, and even God couldn’t bear it anymore.”

She knew Xiaoxiao was sensitive, so she naturally concealed the things she had done behind the scenes.

Qiao Xiaoxiao held her rice bowl and ate in large mouthfuls. “Jiejie, I’ll work hard in the future too and strive to become someone like Chu Ge one day.”

To be able to say whatever you want and do whatever you want—that kind of life was just too satisfying.

To Qiao Xiaoxiao, Chu Ge was like a dazzling sun, brilliant and eye-catching.

Chu Xinrou ruffled her hair. “You have your own good qualities.”

At this, Qiao Xiaoxiao lowered her head, her voice a little down. “What good qualities do I have?”

Adolescents are always prone to low self-esteem. Chu Xinrou smiled. “How are you not good? You’re smart, you get things right away, you’re sensible, you can endure hardship, and—”

“Oh, Jiejie,” Qiao Xiaoxiao blushed and lowered her head, even her ears turning hot.

How could she be as good as her sister described? Although she was embarrassed, this feeling was really good. It felt as if her heart was being held in someone’s hands and carefully cherished. What had she done to deserve such a sister?

The current Qiao Xiaoxiao was no longer the person who would just bury her head in her own affairs like when she first arrived. She obediently followed the schedule Chu Xinrou had set, turning off the lights at 11 p.m. sharp every night, and even setting her phone alarm to “Jiejie said it’s time to sleep.” The notebook she carried with her was densely filled: on the left were math formulas and English words, on the right were the latest prices for recyclables, and in the middle were a few supermarket promotional flyers.

Yang Feitang was dumbfounded when she saw it once and said to Qiao Xiaoxiao sincerely, “Are you really, really not planning to come to my music store and be my second-in-command? I can give you shares.”

Qiao Xiaoxiao said with a smile, “I’m only interested in being the first-in-command.”

Chu Xinrou, who was beside them, also smiled. It wasn’t just Qiao Xiaoxiao who had changed. Since this child had moved in, her smiles had also visibly increased.

Chu Xinrou herself didn’t know the reason for this, but Yang Feitang hit the nail on the head. “In your past life, your heart had no anchor. But after Xiaoxiao came, don’t be fooled by how this little brat is sensitive and tends to overthink. Her energy is really immense. Every day, she’s collecting trash, selling small goods, staying up late to study, and now she’s even into sports. This energy, this stamina, she’s definitely a future successful person, full of presence. Just watching her is inspiring.”

Chu Xinrou thought of Qiao Xiaoxiao’s busy little figure and seriously considered, “Whether it’s sports, business, or academics, I just hope that child will be happy in the future.”

“Yes, yes, happy, happy.”

Yang Feitang looked at Chu Xinrou, cupped her face in her hands, and pretended to be a flower. “Mommy Chu, look at me. Can you sponsor this big baby?”

Chu Xinrou: …

Perhaps this was what was called concern.

Chu Xinrou’s browser history was unknowingly filled with such search records:

“Methods for counseling sensitive adolescents”

“Techniques for relieving adolescent growing pains”

“The best plan for starting track and field training in high school”

Even the weather forecast on her phone had an added reminder function for the “feels like” temperature.

Looking at the pencil mark on the wall that recorded her height—from the initial 155cm all the way up to 160cm—a gentle smile appeared in Chu Xinrou’s eyes. It hadn’t been that long. A good seedling really does grow fast.

On the first day of Qiao Xiaoxiao’s team training, Chu Xinrou dragged Yang Feitang to hide behind a parasol tree by the sports field. Yang Feitang had picked up a lotus leaf from somewhere and was mysteriously holding it in front of her face. “0101, this is 07. Target has entered the training ground, over.”

Chu Xinrou rolled her eyes at her. Yang Feitang pouted. “I say, Xinrou, why are you always so cautious?”

Chu Xinrou’s mind was all on Qiao Xiaoxiao. Her eyes were fixed on her, and she answered Yang Feitang with great impatience, “The child is young, has a lot of pride, and cares about her image. An old auntie wouldn’t understand.”

Yang Feitang: …

Although Qiao Xiaoxiao was nervous, her heart beating so fast it felt like it would jump out of her chest, she still maintained a calm and mature appearance on the surface. After all, she had been navigating the “business world” for a semester, so she had some ability to hide and pretend.

Yang Feitang squinted. “Oh, she’s walking over. Our Xiaoxiao is walking over. I think her steps are quite confident!”

Chu Xinrou was speechless. “Her arms and legs are moving in sync on the same side. How is that confident?”

Yang Feitang looked closely and saw that Qiao Xiaoxiao’s arms and legs were indeed out of sync. She was about to praise Chu Xinrou for her sharp eyes when she was attracted by a touch of red on her wrist. It was a delicately woven red string. A closer look revealed that it was a safety knot style woven from three strands of silk thread, with two small sandalwood beads at the knot. The red string was particularly striking against Chu Xinrou’s porcelain-white skin, like a branch of red plum in the snow, making her wrist look even more exquisite.

/:.

“This bracelet…” Yang Feitang grabbed Chu Xinrou’s wrist without another word and looked closely. The moment her fingertips touched the knot, she could feel the fine woven texture. “Such exquisite workmanship? Where did you buy it?”

Chu Xinrou looked down at the red string on her wrist, her lips unconsciously lifting. “Xiaoxiao wove it.” She gently turned her wrist, revealing the exquisite concentric knot on the inside, showing it off in all its glory.

A wrist as white as jade, a red string as red as cinnabar—it was so beautiful it was hard to look away.

My god, Yang Feitang really wanted to give her a thumbs up. She has this skill too?

“Take it off and let me see.”

She reached out to take it but was slapped away by Chu Xinrou with a smack. “This is from Xiaoxiao. She has more. It’s perfect, don’t you like it? Take a few and put them in your music store.”

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s exclusive spokesperson was online again.

Yang Feitang gasped. “I say, Chu Xinrou, how did you become like this?”

Chu Xinrou said, “Ten yuan each.”

Yang Feitang was furious. “So expensive, is this a robbery?”

Chu Xinrou said, “Xiaoxiao specifically instructed that if it’s her Sister Yang getting them, it’s five yuan.”

Yang Feitang was very pleased and grinned happily. “Ah*, it has to be my Xiaoxiao. Then I’ll take a hundred first.”

Chu Xinrou smiled. She naturally wouldn’t tell her that Qiao Xiaoxiao’s price was three yuan. It wasn’t wrong to help the child raise the price a little and trick the foolish and rich Sister Yang.

“Ah, they’re going, they’re going.”

The two of them held their breath in unison, their gazes tightly following the figures on the field.

Qiao Xiaoxiao had done her homework beforehand. Because Wang Ying was in charge of cleaning the school team’s area, she had specifically asked, “Auntie, are they easy to get along with?”

Wang Ying looked around and leaned in mysteriously. “Don’t worry. Based on my forty years of experience in judging people, they’re all simple-minded and well-developed. They just look a little arrogant when you first meet them. After a while, you’ll understand. You’ll definitely be the Qiao Einstein among them. Don’t worry.”

Qiao Xiaoxiao: …