Fang Yuan also knew that Xia Siqiao and He Pei currently maintained a strict state of mutual noninterference.
Fang Yuan nodded, then looked at He Pei. "Our sports-meet ranking affects whether we qualify as an Outstanding Class at the municipal level. We're in an emergency. Put up with it."
He Pei pulled on his jacket, gave Fang Yuan a cold, sharp glance, then looked away without offering any clear opinion.
Xia Siqiao slowly dragged his heavy steps over to them.
His small face was stern, his eyes serious as he stared darkly at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan had now been subjected to visual execution by both of them, yet his mental fortitude remained excellent and he could still smile. "Let's test the four of our individual speeds first, then we'll try working together."
Since he had failed to escape, Xia Siqiao stopped making a fuss about it.
He simply remained on the opposite diagonal from the ice-cold He Pei at all times.
Lu Yan noticed too. With malicious amusement, he quietly bumped He Pei's arm. "He said he doesn't like you anymore. Looking at how hard he's avoiding you, could it actually be true? Hahaha, this is hilarious."
He Pei glanced at him. "You talk too much."
Lu Yan had long grown used to being mocked by this childhood friend and shamelessly answered with complete calm, "Of course I do."
They tested the hundred-meter sprint first. Xia Siqiao watched He Pei, who normally carried himself with noble composure, suddenly shoot far ahead like an arrow. Alarm bells instantly rang in his mind. He had already lost the academic battle of the monthly exam by four points. He absolutely had to erase that humiliation on the track today.
Zhou Yan often played basketball with Fang Yuan, so the two were on decent terms. Familiar with everyone by nature, he ran over to join the Class 1 crowd, and Fang Yuan did not chase him away.
When it was Xia Siqiao's turn, Zhou Yan suddenly cupped his hands and roared at the top of his lungs, "XIA SIQIAO, RUN HARD!"
Xia Siqiao, who had been sprinting at full speed with fighting spirit blazing, nearly stumbled from the shout.
Why the fuck did Zhou Yan always manage to jinx him this badly?
Lu Yan draped an arm over Fang Yuan's shoulder as they looked at the stopwatch together and sighed, "He's seriously strong."
Fang Yuan also sighed with complicated emotion. "Exactly. He hasn't even presented yet, but he's actually faster than the two of us alphas."
Xia Siqiao ran back and took the stopwatch from Fang Yuan. 11.27 seconds.
He glanced left and right, then held his breath. His pale, elegant fingers moved slightly as he secretly pressed the button three times and adjusted the display to He Pei's result: 11.23 seconds.
Damn it.
The four of them spent a long time rotating positions and practicing before finally deciding the order for the four-by-one-hundred-meter relay: Xia Siqiao would run first, followed by Lu Yan, then Fang Yuan, with He Pei anchoring the final leg.
Seventeen- and eighteen-year-old boys had energy to spare. They trained for half an hour before beginning to feel tired.
Fang Yuan patted Xia Siqiao's shoulder and pointed at the four bottles of sports drink placed near the roots of the ginkgo tree. "Take a break and get some water. It's paid for with class funds, so don't be shy."
Xia Siqiao really was a little thirsty. He did not bother pretending otherwise and walked over. All four bottles were still sealed, so he naturally picked up the only lemon-flavored one and began opening it.
Halfway through unscrewing the cap, he noticed the others were all staring at the drink in his hand. Lu Yan's gaze in particular carried a trace of scrutiny.
Confused, he stopped and looked at Fang Yuan. "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this bottle?"
Lu Yan silently glanced at He Pei.
He Pei's thin lips were pressed tightly together. His eyes were lowered, long lashes trembling faintly and concealing the coolness beneath them.
The light was beginning to fade. Plenty of boys with nowhere else to spend their excess energy were still running wild on the athletic field and sweating freely. Cheers, laughter, and shouted insults drifted over from the basketball courts from time to time.
Their little group was unusually quiet.
Lu Yan asked with an air of casual curiosity, "Nothing. I'm just surprised. Why would you drink that flavor? It's sour and bitter. Your taste is pretty strange."
He was not making that part up. This brand of sports drink sold extremely well, but the lemon flavor in Xia Siqiao's hand had very few buyers. A shop owner could bring in a whole case and still fail to sell it after half a month.
Xia Siqiao lifted his eyelids. Light shifted in his amber eyes, which were filled with disbelief. "You think this flavor tastes bad? It's really refreshing."
He Pei lowered his eyes and walked toward them. Xia Siqiao instinctively stepped aside to avoid him. They passed without their gazes meeting. He Pei paused when he reached the tree roots, then picked up the last remaining drink.
Xia Siqiao looked disdainfully at the bottle in Lu Yan's hand. "The other two flavors are the ones that violate basic human decency."
Lu Yan seemed quite interested in the topic and drew out his words. "How exactly do they violate human decency? Explain."
Xia Siqiao calmly began his critique. "The peach one is too cloying. It coats your throat. As for the apple one…"
He frowned at the bottle in Fang Yuan's hand. "It tastes like drinking gasoline."
The cool breeze carried the boy's clear voice and faintly disgusted tone into everyone's ears.
Fang Yuan had no idea how he had ended up caught in the crossfire, but he also froze and stared at Xia Siqiao before casually shifting his gaze toward He Pei.
Lu Yan instinctively glanced at He Pei as well. His face still wore a smile, but his expression had cooled, and his tone carried faint mockery. "Really? Where did you hear that from? What a coincidence that your tastes line up so perfectly."
He Pei leaned against the tree trunk, looking at the bustling crowd on the athletic field with impatience in his eyes.
Xia Siqiao frowned. He could hear the sarcasm in Lu Yan's words. Violence flashed at the beautiful ends of his eyes. "If you have something to say, say it directly. What the fuck do you mean by where I heard it?"
His voice was impatient and irritable. Hearing that, Lu Yan actually calmed down. He brushed the matter aside lightly, but continued staring at Xia Siqiao without blinking as though evaluating him. "Nothing. Maybe I'm remembering wrong. I just feel like I've heard someone say the same thing before."
Xia Siqiao lowered his eyes and thought, What is wrong with these people?
It was already quite late by the time they finished training, and the cafeteria had stopped serving food. Fang Yuan looked around at everyone present, hesitated for a moment, then suggested, "How about we go out and get something to eat together?"
Xia Siqiao refused immediately. "I'm not hungry. I'm heading back first."
Zhou Yan, who had been standing nearby watching the show, innocently exposed him. "Didn't you say you were hungry right after school and wanted to go eat at the cafeteria?"
"…"