-- The Xu Family residence.
When Xu Yuan returned home after her evening self-study session, her grandparents had already gone to bed, and only her uncle was downstairs. She found it a bit strange, as her uncle was usually very busy, so why would he be sitting downstairs doing nothing so late at night?
"Uncle, I'm back. Were you waiting for me?"
"Yes, I have something to ask you. Do you want a late-night snack?"
Xu Yuan shook her head, "I'm not hungry. What is it you wanted to say?"
"Your school is having a sports meet soon?"
Xu Yuan was taken aback by Xu Licheng's words, seemingly not expecting this question. She took off her backpack and sat down on the sofa.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I saw a post on your school's official WeChat account. It said those three days are open to both the school and parents, inviting parents to watch the competitions. Why didn't you tell me? Did you sign up for any events?"
Hearing Xu Licheng's words, Xu Yuan stuck out her tongue playfully, "Uncle, do you want to come watch me compete? You're not just using this as an excuse, are you?"
"You ungrateful child, who else would I go to watch if not you? Haven't I always been the one who loves you most since you were little?"
"Then promise me you won't go bother Teacher Cen at school, otherwise I won't let you come."
Although Cen Xi had never treated Xu Yuan differently because of Xu Licheng, Xu Yuan still found out about this matter. As the Chinese class monitor, she once overheard Teacher Cen on the phone when she went to the teacher's office to submit homework. Cen Xi's tone was very impatient, saying: "Xu Licheng, please stop bothering me."
Thinking back to what her grandparents had said about her uncle having a girl he really liked before, who was a teacher, everything became clear.
"Yuan Yuan, this is between me and Cen Xi, it has nothing to do with you. You don't need to feel burdened by it." Xu Licheng hadn't expected that meeting his ex-girlfriend after years of separation, she would turn out to be his niece's homeroom teacher. Of course, he didn't want this to affect his niece, so he said to Xu Yuan: "I promise you, I won't bother her. I'll just quietly watch you compete. I'll sit wherever you tell me to, okay?"
Seeing Xu Yuan nod slightly, he then asked, "So now can you tell me what events you've signed up for?"
"I signed up for the three-legged race and the 400-meter sprint, but I'm not very good at running. That one was assigned by random draw."
"Three-legged race?" Xu Licheng asked, "How come there's such a strange event in a sports meet?"
"Yeah, our school has always had it. I've been practicing with my classmate on the track after dinner recently." At this point, Xu Yuan furrowed her brow, saying with some concern, "But Chu Mingyan is much taller than me, I don't know if we'll be able to coordinate well."
"How tall is she?" Xu Licheng looked at his niece, who was already considered tall among her peers, wondering how there could be a girl much taller than her.
Xu Yuan tried to recall Chu Mingyan's appearance and said uncertainly, "Probably a bit over 180 cm, slightly shorter than you."
"That tall? Why didn't they pair you with a girl closer to your height?"
Xu Yuan exclaimed in surprise, "Chu Mingyan is a boy! And our pairing was also determined by random draw." Of course, Xu Yuan didn't know that Chu Mingyan had traded five limited edition skins to get this spot.
"What? It's a boy?! How can it be a boy?"
"A boy... what's wrong with that..." Xu Yuan didn't understand why her uncle's face suddenly changed expression, looking quite scary.
"This kind of game involves physical contact, how can you be paired with a boy!" Xu Licheng looked at his niece, feeling as if he could already see a big ugly pig eyeing his precious cabbage.
"What era are we living in, Uncle? You're too old-fashioned."
"You don't understand! No boys are any good! Tell your teacher to change partners."
Xu Yuan couldn't help but roll her eyes at Xu Licheng, "Aren't you a man yourself?"
Xu Licheng nodded, "I'm indeed not a good person, that's why I'm telling you to stay away from those boys."
"I'm not talking about this anymore. I'm going to wash up." Xu Yuan didn't think participating in a competition was a big deal, so she ignored Xu Licheng and went upstairs with her backpack.
...
To prepare for the upcoming 3000-meter race and to avoid losing too badly, Gu Zhijing also came to the third-floor gym, a place he rarely set foot in before. In the past, if he had energy, he would go play ball with friends. Who would come to the gym to exercise?
But today...
"Dad? Why are you here too?"
Gu Junxing heard his son's voice and stopped the treadmill.
"I'm here every day."
Gu Zhijing chuckled, "Alright, alright. At your age, you do need to exercise every day."
Gu Junxing felt he was becoming immune to being called "old" now. He asked his son, "Did you come up here looking for me?"
Gu Zhijing shook his head, "No, I came up to run."
Hearing this, Gu Junxing gestured for Gu Zhijing to get on the treadmill, "Go ahead and run, I'll keep an eye on you."
As Gu Zhijing passed by his dad, he boldly touched his chest muscles, "Dad, you're in great shape. Has little mom-sis seen it yet?"
Gu Junxing closed his eyes briefly, suppressing some words, then said, "Get on. Don't start too fast at first, warm up a bit."
"What's wrong?" Seeing Gu Zhijing not moving for a while, Gu Junxing asked.
"I don't know how to use it." Gu Zhijing stared at the treadmill's panel, covered in dense buttons... he wasn't sure if this was a treadmill or a DJ console.
"..."
Gu Junxing walked over, turned it on for him, and adjusted the speed, "Try to get used to this speed first."
"Dad."
"Don't talk while exercising."
"Dad, I want to say something."
"..."
"Dad, are you thinking I'm stupid?"
"A little bit."
"Oh."
To prepare for Gu Zhijing's sports meet, Nian Suian also made some small preparations.
"Madam, what did you buy?" Seeing Nian Suian sitting in the hall unpacking deliveries, Butler Su couldn't help but ask.
"Cheering supplies."
As she spoke, Nian Suian unfolded a small banner that read:
Gu Zhijing, Victory!
Not only were there banners, but also megaphones, whistles, and even a small drum.
"Oh, and Butler Su, you should come to Zhijing's sports meet that day. Nanny Zhang should come too."
"I bought several of these banners," Nian Suian took out the items and handed them to Butler Su to see.
"Certainly!"
When Gu Junxing returned home from work, he also saw the results of Nian Suian's online "battle" these past few days, and after careful selection, he chose the cheering weapon he would use that day — hand clappers.
In the evening, Gu Zhijing, who originally wanted to be lazy and skip going to the gym to run, silently went upstairs and ran for forty minutes after learning about Nian Suian's actions during the day.