The sun dipped lower in the west, and the lingering glow of the sunset pierced through the clouds. The sports field gradually emptied out until only a sparse handful of joggers remained.
Ji Zhaoxi bent over, resting her hands on her knees as she panted heavily from exhaustion.
This run was absolutely inhuman.
Cutting yourself some slack was a virtue in its own right. Pride didn't matter anymore; as long as she managed to finish the race on the actual day, it would be fine.
Suddenly, a bottle of water appeared in her line of sight.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue, her face looking pale. "Thank you."
Xie Sili had run several laps alongside her, but he appeared to be in far better shape than she was.
Ji Zhaoxi's legs felt like jelly from the run. She was just about to pick up her backpack from the grass when a pair of hands grabbed it first.
Ji Zhaoxi glanced at him. Xie Sili didn't say a word, simply following quietly behind her.
They both walked at a slow pace. From a distance, Ji Zhaoxi could see her mother waiting for her at the school gate.
"The sports meet hasn't started yet. You can still cancel your registration," Xie Sili said, his voice slightly hoarse. "Do you need me to help you with that?"
Ji Zhaoxi lowered her eyes and shook her head. "I've already signed up."
Xie Sili looked at her in confusion. "You can still cancel it. Or, if you really want to run, you could switch to the eight-hundred-meter dash."
Ji Zhaoxi gritted her teeth but still refused.
"It's fine. I just like long-distance running."
Her homeroom teacher had already announced it in front of the entire class. It would be way too embarrassing to back out now.
Xie Sili looked at her flushed face and sighed. "If you change your mind and don't want to run, let me know. I'll go talk to the teacher for you."
Ji Zhaoxi nodded. "Thank you."
As they drew closer to the school gate, Ji Zhaoxi's mother frowned, watching the two of them from a distance. Her gaze was practically burning a hole through Ji Zhaoxi.
Ji Zhaoxi obviously noticed it. She cleared her throat awkwardly and whispered.
"Um... Xie Sili, you can give me my bag now. My mom is here to pick me up."
Xie Sili paused for a second before handing the backpack over to her.
"Goodbye."
The moment Ji Zhaoxi grabbed her bag, she scurried away.
Her mother's eyes were still fixed on Xie Sili behind her. Ji Zhaoxi hurriedly pushed her mother toward the exit. "Mom, let's go home quickly, I'm starving to death."
She blocked her mother's line of sight, preventing her from looking back.
Her mother furrowed her brows deeply and lowered her voice. "Ji Zhaoxi, look at you now. Staying out so late playing at school instead of coming home."
Sitting on the back of the electric scooter, Ji Zhaoxi complained, "I wasn't playing around at all. I was running, okay? I signed up for the sports meet."
The evening breeze was cool and refreshing. Ji Zhaoxi wrapped her arms around her mother and leaned against her back. "I'm so exhausted..."
Her mother was utterly shocked. "You signed up for the sports meet? The sun really must be rising in the west. Tell me, what event did you sign up for?"
"The fifteen-hundred-meter race..."
Her mother fell silent for a moment.
"Well, that's fine. Your dad and I aren't expecting you to bring home a medal anyway. It's the taking part that counts."
Ji Zhaoxi sighed. Breathing in the delicious aromas wafting from the food stalls along the street, she closed her eyes.
She had done something bad and was now facing the karma for it. She didn't even know who she could complain to.
After finding out that Ji Zhaoxi was participating in the sports meet, and in a long-distance race no less...
Her mother went out of her way to feed her all kinds of nourishing foods leading up to the event. Anything that was considered nutritious was served to Ji Zhaoxi.
Her father, meanwhile, took charge of encouraging her. He fed her a daily dose of motivational speeches, terrified that she would be devastated if she didn't place in the race.
On the day of the sports meet, a lot of people came out to cheer Ji Zhaoxi on.
Ji Zhaoxi pushed herself hard and managed to come in second to last. The girl who came in dead last had taken a tumble halfway through the race but still limped her way to the finish line.
Even though claiming second-to-last place felt like a hollow victory, Ji Zhaoxi still breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as she wasn't the very last person crossing the line with all eyes on her, she was more than happy.
Jiang Shiyi and Xie Sili, on the other hand, were absolutely ridiculous. They took first place in every event they entered, completely outshining even the students from the athletics track.
It was enough to make you mad just comparing yourself to them.
With the sports meet over, the heavy weight in Ji Zhaoxi's heart finally lifted.
Over the weekend, she slept straight through to the afternoon. Knowing how exhausted she was, her mother didn't wake her up.
By the time she woke up, Ji Dadan was doing parkour all over her room.
She was just about to stretch when a little furry firecracker stomped right on her stomach, leaving behind nothing but a blurry black-and-white silhouette as he bolted away.
"Ji Dadan, are you out of your mind?!"
That stomp had nearly sent her to the afterlife to meet her ancestors.
Ji Zhaoxi took a shower and then went to the kitchen to heat up some leftovers.
She was the only one home at this hour. Opening her phone, she noticed that her homeroom teacher had posted photos of the participating students in the class group chat.
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Ji Zhaoxi choked the moment she saw the photo of herself.
She hurriedly backed out of the chat. Nope, she was not going to look at that.
She looked way too pathetic.
But when she opened WeChat Moments, she discovered that her mom had made a post.
[Our little athlete worked so hard! She did amazing! Thumbs up]
Attached were nine photos of her running the race.
Everything she had been too afraid to look at in the group chat was now fully on display in her mom's post.
There was already a long string of comments underneath it.
Uncle: [The look of youth is the most beautiful of all!]
Auntie: [Sporty girl! Thumbs up]
Homeroom Teacher: [Ji Zhaoxi worked so hard representing our class! Grin Grin]
Second Uncle: [Good job! You can't just focus on your studies; you have to keep up your physical stamina too!]
Reading through these comments, Ji Zhaoxi felt a mix of embarrassment and happiness.
The weather was beautiful today, not as sweltering as usual. Ji Zhaoxi decided to take Ji Dadan out for a walk; it had been a while since he had seen his feline friends anyway.
The moment Ji Zhaoxi grabbed the harness, Ji Dadan excitedly tried to shove his head into it.
"Calm down, calm down. I haven't got it ready yet."
Watching him spin around in circles, Ji Zhaoxi couldn't resist planting a kiss on him.
"Meow! Meow!"
After finally managing to get the harness on him, he bolted toward the door like a maniac.
There was a large pet park near Ji Zhaoxi's house. Every weekend, plenty of owners would bring their pets there to play.
Ji Zhaoxi had been there a few times before, but none of the animals had ever paid her any attention. Since getting Ji Dadan, however, her luck with animals seemed to have slightly improved, at the very least, dogs no longer ran away when she approached them.
As soon as they arrived at the park, Ji Dadan started sniffing everywhere. One minute he was trying to climb a tree, and the next he was stepping right over a resting dog. He was incredibly bossy.
Watching him, Ji Zhaoxi thought he was just adorable. There were plenty of purebred cats at the pet park, but she still felt that none of them were as cute as Ji Dadan.
It didn't take long for Ji Dadan to tire himself out. He perched all four paws on Ji Zhaoxi's shoulders and tilted his head up, observing the other pets in the park.
His face was so round, and his eyes were perfectly round too. Ji Zhaoxi couldn't resist giving him two more kisses, which immediately sparked a frantic protest from Ji Dadan. He completely refused to stand on her shoulders after that.
"I won't kiss you anymore. Can you just stand on my shoulders, please?"
Ji Zhaoxi sat on the grass, trying to negotiate with Ji Dadan.
Ji Dadan just licked his fur and ignored her. Ji Zhaoxi carefully reached out to scoop him into her arms, only to get slapped by him. He didn't use his claws, though, his pink little toe beans just smacked against her hand, making him look even cuter.
How did she get so lucky to have found such an adorable little cat?
