Chapter 279 - 276: Injured

Chapter 279: Chapter 276: Injured

"Okay, I’ll ask Qiuting in a bit if she’s willing."

After hanging up, Lin Yanwan walked in from the balcony. Her three roommates were all focused on their homework, so it didn’t seem like the right time to ask. ’I’ll have to find a chance to talk to her alone,’ she thought.

"Another call from Handsome Jiang?" Cui Jiaying glanced over, a teasing look in her eyes.

Seriously, those two were inseparable. If they had even a little free time, they were out on a date. If they were busy, they were on the phone for hours. Didn’t they ever get tired of each other?

"Are you jealous?" Si Si looked up at her. "I can call you for no reason, too."

Thinking about the stolen kiss after lights-out, Cui Jiaying’s face suddenly flushed red. ’Excluding Qiuting, who was too far away, and the oblivious Yanwan, that leaves Si Si as the prime suspect.’

’Damn it, my first kiss was taken by a girl!’

"Oh, get outta here. Who wants a call from you, anyway?"

Si Si gave a noncommittal shrug and went back to her homework.

Lin Yanwan watched them with a curious expression. ’Their dynamic feels weird lately,’ she thought, ’but I can’t quite put my finger on why.’

’Hmm... It seems like Si Si has been paying a lot of attention to Jiaying lately.’

Then again, it had always been sort of like that. The girls were always teasing and roughhousing with each other, so she didn’t dwell on it.

They only had one class in the afternoon: P.E. As everyone knew, physical education had always been one of Tsinghua’s most important and distinctive traditions.

From the "compulsory exercise" of its early days to its famous slogan, "Work healthily for the motherland for fifty years," it was clear how much importance Tsinghua placed on physical fitness.

The class was held at the East University Playground, not far from Bauhinia Apartment. It was only about a ten-minute walk, so there was no need to take their bikes.

The girls changed into loose, comfortable athletic wear and walked to the playground, chatting and laughing along the way. Lin Yanwan found a moment to call Jiang Xia, but was disappointed to learn he had a double-period practical class that afternoon. So much for taking P.E. together.

When they got to the playground, a number of students had already arrived and were scattered about, chatting and laughing in their dorm groups.

Shortly after, the bell rang. The P.E. teacher blew his whistle, and the class gathered, led by the sports representative. After a brief warm-up, they started their routine run.

After all, Tsinghua had strict physical fitness exams every semester. The most difficult events were the men’s 3000-meter run and the women’s 1500-meter run. Failing P.E. would directly impact one’s ability to graduate.

Therefore, no one dared to slack off in P.E. It was directly tied to their diplomas and degrees.

Luckily, it hadn’t been long since the end of military training, so the freshmen were still in decent shape. They could just about keep up with the 3000-meter training run if they gritted their teeth and pushed through.

Among the girls, Qiuting was easily the fittest. Despite her small frame, she was both fast and steady, and many of the boys couldn’t keep up with her.

The other three friends stayed dutifully in the middle of the pack. They didn’t have Qiuting’s stamina; their only goal was to make sure they passed the final P.E. exam.

"Qiuting is so fast," Cui Jiaying said, panting slightly. She glanced toward the front of the pack, where Qiuting was already nearly half a lap ahead of them.

Lin Yanwan smiled. "Qiuting grew up in a different environment than we did. Don’t compare yourself to her."

"That’s true."

Cui Jiaying completely agreed. ’Kids who grew up in poor, mountainous regions were always way ahead of their peers when it came to physical fitness and life skills.’

"Just focus on your running. We’re not even five hundred meters into this three-thousand-meter run. Don’t think it’s going to be easy; you’ll be feeling it later."

Si Si warned from behind her.

"My breathing rhythm is fine!" Cui Jiaying retorted. "Watch. HUFF, PUFF, HUFF..."

She deliberately demonstrated her two-steps-inhale, two-steps-exhale rhythm, triumphantly proving she was in great shape.

But she had spoken too soon.

Right after she spoke, Cui Jiaying carelessly clipped the heel of her right foot with her left. She immediately lost her balance and tumbled forward.

It happened so fast that neither Lin Yanwan nor Si Si had time to react. By the time they registered what was happening, Cui Jiaying was already on the ground.

"Ngh, it hurts so much..."

She clutched her ankle, her face scrunched up in pain. Her knee was clearly scraped, and even though her pants had offered some protection, she was likely still injured.

Si Si rushed to her side. Seeing the pained look on her face, a flicker of exasperation crossed Si Si’s eyes.

’I just warned her a second ago. I can’t believe she proved me right so fast. Can’t she just stay out of trouble for once?’

"How are you feeling?" Si Si asked.

"It hurts... I can’t get up," Cui Jiaying said, tears welling in her eyes. ’I should have listened to her. Why did I have to be so stubborn?’

"Don’t move. Let me see."

Si Si gently lifted her calf and pulled up the pant leg to reveal her ankle. The once fair, slender ankle was now completely swollen. As Si Si slowly rolled the pant leg higher, she could see that the skin on Jiaying’s knee was scraped raw, with flecks of blood seeping through.

"You’ve probably sprained it. And this knee needs to be disinfected right away."

Si Si looked up at Lin Yanwan. "Yanwan, go tell the P.E. teacher what happened. I’m taking her to the infirmary."

"Okay, you go on ahead. I’ll be right there," Lin Yanwan nodded.

Watching her hurry away, Si Si took a deep breath. After helping Cui Jiaying to her feet, she slowly crouched down in front of her.

"Get on. I’ll carry you."

Cui Jiaying’s first instinct was to refuse, but she couldn’t put any weight on her ankle, and her knee was throbbing with a burning pain.

"Maybe... you could just help me walk to the infirmary?" she asked, embarrassed.

"Stop being so difficult. I said get on, so get on. If I just help you walk and you twist it again, you can plan on being bedridden for a month!"

That shut Cui Jiaying up immediately.

She could barely even stand; she wasn’t about to gamble on something that seemed so likely to happen.

"Si Si... thank you..."

Blushing, Cui Jiaying slowly leaned against Si Si’s back. Si Si bent over, slipped her hands under Jiaying’s thighs, and lifted her up in one smooth motion.

Feeling the soft weight on her back, the corners of Si Si’s mouth curved up slightly. She unconsciously hitched her up a bit higher. "Wrap your arms around my neck. I don’t want you to fall."

"Mmm..."

Fortunately, the athletic center, which housed the infirmary, was right next to the East University Playground, less than fifty meters away.

"See? This is what happens when you don’t listen. Maybe you’ll behave next time," Si Si said.

"I won’t, I won’t," Cui Jiaying said, sticking out her tongue.

...

(Feeling much better today. The only symptoms left are a cough and a fever. I’ll probably be fully recovered in another couple of days, but this cough is really awful.)