Chapter 29: The Race

Inside the infirmary.

Lin Cheng held Li Xiaoran’s soft, warm hand, feeling that something was very off.

Although Li Xiaoran always looked gentle and a bit airheaded, her athletic ability was actually pretty good.

Every time in PE class, she could steadily keep to the front of the girls’ formation during laps, and she could even surpass quite a few boys with weaker stamina.

That was the confidence that let her sign up for the 3000 meters.

But today?

First, she suddenly tripped on a relatively smooth stretch of track.
Then, right before the finish line, she had another accident.

One fall could still be brushed off as an accident or distraction.
Two in a row—maybe bad condition, maybe terrible luck.

After all, he himself had days of pure misfortune: when nothing went right, when even drinking water could make him choke.
But of all days, why today?

And right when the system had clearly warned that Li Xiaoran had been targeted by Zhou Mingyuan.

It was impossible not to overthink.

“Xiaoran, what exactly happened to you just now? Did you feel anything unusual in your body? Anything different from normal?”
Lin Cheng asked seriously.

“Huh?”

Li Xiaoran had still been floating in her own happiness and excitement.
His sudden serious questioning left her blank.
She shook her head instinctively.

“N-no… no, nothing. I just… zoned out while running.”

“Zoned out?”

The school nurse, who had just finished cleaning the wounds and was now putting on dressings, lifted her head at those words and asked in her professional tone,

“What do you mean zoned out? Girl, besides these scrapes, do you feel anything else? Dizziness? Nausea? Numbness in your hands or feet?”

“Huh? N-no, nothing like that!”

Li Xiaoran panicked, afraid of being mistaken for having some serious illness.
“It was just… I was thinking too much while running and lost focus.”

Zoned out, huh?
Since she insisted on that, Lin Cheng could only let it drop for now.

The nurse swiftly finished bandaging and gave a few reminders.
“Don’t get the wounds wet. No strenuous activity for a couple of days. Come every day for a fresh dressing. Okay, young man, help your girlfriend back now.”

“Auntie…”

Li Xiaoran’s face instantly went crimson.
She wanted to explain, but didn’t know if she even should.

Lin Cheng didn’t care about the misunderstanding.
His mind was entirely occupied with Zhou Mingyuan.

He carefully helped Li Xiaoran to her feet, supporting her as they walked out of the infirmary.

Su Wanqing finally saw them emerge—Li Xiaoran shyly leaning against Lin Cheng’s arm—so furious she nearly blew bubbles.

She tried to squeeze between them like some invisible buffer, just to console her own wounded heart.

But before they even reached the class section of the stands, two girls from their class came sprinting toward them in a panic.

“Lin Cheng, Lin Cheng!”

A short-haired girl rushed ahead, grabbing his arm.
“Lin Cheng, you have to go up now!”

A ponytailed girl was right behind, equally frantic.
She noticed Li Xiaoran’s bandaged knee but only gave it a quick glance before seizing Lin Cheng’s other arm.

The two pulled at him from either side like a tug-of-war.

“Something weird just happened—all the boys in class suddenly yelled about stomachaches and ran to the bathroom!”

“Yeah yeah, Wang An and all of them are gone!”

“And the 100-meter sprint is about to start but we’ve got no one to run! Lin Cheng, you’re the only guy left in the whole class! We saw you just now carrying Xiaoran to the infirmary—you were running so fast, your hand must be fine, right? It’s just a short 100 meters. Even if you come last it doesn’t matter—just as long as someone shows up!”

Lin Cheng: “???”
Li Xiaoran: “Huh?”
Su Wanqing: “Pfft!”

Lin Cheng felt a pounding in his temples.
The whole class, mass diarrhea?
At this timing?
You’ve gotta be kidding.

He blurted out, “What about Zhou Mingyuan? Did he get diarrhea too?”

“Him? Oh no no, he’s fine. But for the 100 meters, we signed up two people. So it has to be you and Zhou Mingyuan running together.”
The short-haired girl hurried to explain.

Lin Cheng rubbed his forehead.
Of course.
That damned protagonist halo and plot-altering power were kicking in again.

[ Alert! Plot critical twist detected! (ΩДΩ) ]
[ Host! Be careful! Be careful—the plot is galloping off into the unknown! I-I’m panicking! ]

“I’ll panic you! How exactly am I supposed to be careful, huh? Every time you just yell that the plot changed, but never where it changed! And what’s with all these emojis? You think being cutesy will stop me from cursing you?”

[ I’m just a silly system… The current plot hasn’t stabilized at all. It’s shifting at every moment. If I told you the wrong version from a second ago, it would just waste your time. But! The main arcs of each chapter will never change. That’s why I can only warn you when something crucial deviates, so you’ll be prepared… ꒦ິ^꒦ິ ]

[ Also, emojis make me look cute. Based on my research, boys like cute females. Doesn’t matter if it’s a woman, a system, a pet spirit, a beast that turns into human form, or even a weapon’s soul—if it’s female, you like it. ]

[ So host, if you want, I can generate a female form for you to imagine. ]

Lin Cheng was speechless.

Meanwhile, the two girls tugging at him looked desperate.
“Lin Cheng, you’re the only one left besides him! Please, don’t let our class forfeit—it’d be so humiliating!”

“Yeah, yeah! You carried Xiaoran just now so strongly—you’ll be fine. And Xiaoran’s taken care of now, we’ll watch her. Right, Xiaoran?”

Li Xiaoran wanted to cling to Lin Cheng, but hearing it was for class honor, her little face turned serious and she nodded hard.
“Mm-hmm! Lin Cheng, go! I’ll be at the finish line cheering for you!”

She even tried to pump her fist in encouragement—only to tug her wound, making her wince.

“Alright, I’ll go.”

Lin Cheng nodded.
He wanted to see exactly what Zhou Mingyuan was planning.

Behind him, Su Wanqing floated, her translucent figure trembling with anxiety and fury.

Her heart was full of unease.
Why did something like this have to happen right now?
Was Zhou Mingyuan planning some new scheme?

And she still hadn’t told Lin Cheng about what happened with Li Xiaoran.
The pressure in her mind was overwhelming.

By the time she snapped back to herself, Lin Cheng was already far ahead, collecting his race number at the 100-meter starting line.

Zhou Mingyuan was walking toward the line as well.

Su Wanqing glared fiercely at Zhou Mingyuan, then turned back to see Li Xiaoran sitting at the edge of the stands, still gazing foolishly at Lin Cheng’s back.

As much as she despised that little green tea…
She didn’t want Li Xiaoran to end up killed by Zhou Mingyuan.

She had to do something.

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