Chapter 43: Seven Times a Night
That afternoon...
The sun became much stronger, making the already crowded sports field feel hot and stuffy.
On the track, the six runners for the 1,000-meter race got into position.
As soon as the starting gun fired, they charged forward like wild horses.
Sun Mao's large body swayed from side to side as he ran. After only a few steps, he had already fallen into last place. Before he had even finished half a lap, he was breathing through his mouth.
Seeing this, Zhang Dingding quickly shouted from the side of the track, "Breathe through your nose! Use your nose!"
Qiu Cheng was so anxious that it looked like he was the one running.
"Swing your arms!"
Lin Wan made a cheering gesture.
"Come on! As long as you finish the race, you've already won!"
As roommates, they joked with him when they could.
But when it was time to compete, they sincerely cheered him on.
Since Sun Mao knew almost nothing about running, he had no idea how to keep a steady pace.
Seeing everyone else ahead of him while he was in last place, he used all his strength to chase after them without holding anything back.
After just one lap, he was already exhausted.
His legs felt as heavy as lead, and his vision was starting to go dark. But he didn't dare give up.
After all, this was a competition. Quitting halfway would be too embarrassing. So he forced his heavy legs to keep moving.
"Come on! Only 200 meters left!"
After another lap, Qiu Cheng shouted at Sun Mao, who was now running even slower than walking.
Hearing that, Sun Mao somehow squeezed out the last bit of strength he had and slowly kept moving forward.
Finally, after crossing the finish line, all the strength left his body.
He collapsed straight onto the ground.
Two male student volunteers standing nearby quickly reached out to catch him.
Unfortunately, he was too heavy.
He slipped right out of their hands and hit the ground with a loud thud that seemed to shake the earth.
"Hey! Are you okay? Can you stand up?"
"Don't lie down! Get up and walk around!"
The two volunteers and the other three guys from Room 205 worked together to pull Sun Mao back onto his feet and helped him walk a few steps.
"Here, have some glucose."
A female student volunteer hurried over with a bottle of glucose drink and handed it to him.
Sun Mao took it and drank it all in one gulp. Then he stared without blinking at the girl's back as she walked away.
Seeing that he looked much better, the two male volunteers asked if he was alright.
After getting his answer, they also left.
Once the volunteers were far away, Sun Mao held the tiny glass bottle between his fingers and spoke dreamily to his roommates.
"My sons... I think I'm in love."
Qiu Cheng blinked. "Huh?"
Zhang Dingding looked speechless. "Come on, Brother Mao. We're only first-year students. It hasn't come to that yet."
Lin Wan blinked as well.
That girl with the chubby cheeks looked kind of familiar...
Sun Mao's eyes suddenly lit up. "No! I'm going to chase after that person!"
Qiu Cheng quickly said, "Why? Don't do anything crazy! He might not even like guys!"
Zhang Dingding nodded. "Yeah! He even helped you! You can't repay kindness with trouble. But if you really like him that much, we can ask Brother Wan to help you get the WeChat of those two volunteers first."
Qiu Cheng added, "Right. Which one do you like?"
Lin Wan: ???
Wasn't Sun Mao talking about that girl? What are you two talking about?
Hey, are we even having the same conversation? And what does any of this have to do with me?
Sun Mao didn't seem to hear them at all. He happily ran off to look for the girl from earlier.
As for his 1,000-meter result...
There was no need to think about it. He was definitely eliminated.
Watching him leave, Qiu Cheng and Zhang Dingding sighed deeply, saying their dorm had truly been cursed, then hurried after him to try to talk some sense into him.
Lin Wan was about to follow them and watch the drama unfold.
But just as he took one step, his phone rang.
At noon, Zhuo Feng had specially reminded him to bring his phone, so he had run back to the old campus to get it before returning.
"Hello, where are you?"
As soon as he answered, Zhuo Feng's voice came from the phone.
Lin Wan walked to a quiet corner with fewer people and replied, "I'm by the wall under the spectator stands."
"Go up to the spectator seats."
"I'll be there in a moment. What's wrong? Aren't you supposed to run the 5,000-meter race?”
“The 5,000 meters starts after the 3,000-meter race, so there's still some time.”
“Oh.”
Lin Wan walked up to the spectator seats. There were quite a lot of people, so he found a quiet corner to sit down and looked at the field below.
The view was actually pretty good. It would be even better if I had a pair of binoculars.
After waiting for a while, Zhuo Feng came up carrying a bag. He looked around and quickly spotted Lin Wan, then walked straight over.
“Here, some water.”
He took out a bottle from the bag and handed it to Lin Wan.
“Thanks.”
Lin Wan unscrewed the cap and took a sip.
Then his eyes lit up, and he asked, “Good brother, is your phone's camera any good?”
Zhuo Feng nodded. “It's pretty good.”
Lin Wan's eyes immediately sparkled. “Give it to me.”
He held out his slender, fair hand.
Without asking why, Zhuo Feng simply took out his phone and handed it over.
After getting the phone, Lin Wan opened the camera app, pointed it toward the sports field, focused the image, adjusted the zoom, and enlarged it.
Then he nudged Zhuo Feng with his elbow.
“Hey, look at that girl! Her legs are so long!”
Zhuo Feng: “...”
Seriously? He's using my phone as a pair of binoculars.
Still, he didn't stop him.
“Yeah, they are pretty long.”
“Wow! Look at this one. She has such a great figure!”
Lin Wan moved the camera toward another girl.
Zhuo Feng wasn't interested and answered casually.
“Mm.”
After looking at a few more girls, Lin Wan noticed a boy who was running shirtless.
“Wow, look at that guy! He actually has an eight-pack!”
Zhuo Feng: ???
Do muscular guys just not have money to buy shirts or what?
Without showing any emotion, he took his phone back from Lin Wan.
“It's not good to take pictures of other people like that.”
“I wasn't taking pictures...”
“Secretly watching them isn't very polite either.”
“But weren't you enjoying it just now too?”
“I wasn't. Besides, my phone will run out of battery soon.”
“Oh.”
Lin Wan hadn't paid attention to how much battery was left.
Since Zhuo Feng said it was running out, he simply stopped using it.
“The weather is getting hotter and hotter. Are you really going to keep wearing a hat and a face mask all day?” Zhuo Feng changed the subject.
Lin Wan thought for a moment.
His good brother definitely didn't know the real reason he wore them.
“Don't you think it looks cool?”
“It's too hot in summer. Covering yourself up like that will give you heat rash.”
“I'm not afraid! I get cold easily!”
“That just sounds like weak kidneys.”
The moment he heard that, Lin Wan reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“Who's weak? I'm super strong! Haven't you heard of 'Mr. Seven Times a Night'?”
Zhuo Feng looked him up and down and gave him a look that clearly said he didn't believe a word.
“You?”
Lin Wan puffed out his chest proudly. “Of course!”
“Then I'm looking forward to seeing it.”
Lin Wan: ???
Looking forward to what?
What, are you planning to watch or something?
After sitting there a little longer, an announcement came over the loudspeaker telling all participants in the 5,000-meter race to get ready.
Hearing the announcement, Zhuo Feng started taking off his pants right there in the spectator seats.
People nearby immediately turned to look.
Lin Wan was completely stunned.
What is my good brother doing? Is he giving up on having any reputation at school? He's really going this far?
He instantly moved several meters away, wearing a face that clearly said, ‘I don't know this person.’
Zhuo Feng took off his long pants and tossed them to Lin Wan, revealing the running shorts he was wearing underneath.
“Good brother, help me watch my stuff.”
Oh... so he was wearing shorts underneath.
Lin Wan pulled Zhuo Feng's pants off his head, they had landed there when thrown, and stuffed them into the bag.
“Doesn't every class have a resting area? You could just leave them there.”
“There are too many people coming and going. I don't trust it.”
After saying that, Zhuo Feng walked down from the stands.
Lin Wan took his good brother's phone out of the bag.
The battery was clearly still at 80%.
He opened the camera again and happily went back to watching the events on the field.