Goddess of Strength and Speed (V)

"Not bad," she heard Fan Qing say as he stood beside her, "You are the first person to ever beat me in this race. I've been unbeatable for the last four years."

Lai turned to face him.

"Ah," she said, placing her hands behind her back, "I see."

She was not the least bit interested in what he was saying - her focus was on trying to wipe the sweat dripping down her forehead.

"You're quite amazing," he complimented.

She was not good at handling compliments either.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," she shook her head.

"No need to be so modest," he told her, "Usually, only the men take part in the racing events."

This made sense since she had noticed that only male employees participated in this race and the previous racing event she did.

She wondered why that was so.

"You see," Fan Qing continued, "the reason is that the female employees don't like to look sweaty in front of us. It ruins their make-up and takes too much stamina were their two main reasons for their lack of participation in such races."

Lai softly chuckled. She knew how that felt as she had a few members in her high school athletic club who were like that.

They would say they didn't want to look 'ugly' or 'disheveled' in front of their seniors and juniors.

'I see that that kind of reason also exists in the adult world,' she smiled.

She looked up at Fan Qing, whose eye's were glued to her face.

"We are now going to take a ten-minute break," Chi-Chi announced, "So you are free to unwind until then."

With that, Chi-Chi switched off her microphone and walked to the General Management Department, to which she belonged.

"Well, I better get going," Lai quickly told Fan Qing with a bow, "Excuse me."

She walked to Na and the gang, who were giving her curious looks.

"What?" she asked them, widening her hazelnut-colored eyes.

Na stood by her side, nudging her shoulder.

"What did you guys talk about for so long?" the woman asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Lai raised her eyebrow.

"He was just complimenting me about my performance in the race," she told them.

"It looked more than that to me," Zhenya eyed her with narrowed eyes.

"W-what?!" Lai blinked several times, shrinking under the woman's gaze, "It was just that, I swear."

Jingyi sighed and crossed his arms.

"Fan Qing is known as a huge flirt," he told Lai, "And judging by how he is still looking at you right now..."

Jingyi paused, using his head to point at Fan Qing.

"Turn around, but don't make it obvious," Zhenya said, "The guy is staring at you, Lai."

Lai slowly turned her head, and her eyes met Fan Qing's across the room from them. In the bleachers, Bai watched as Lai and Fan Qing looked at each other for a short while.

It was as if they were lost in their own little world. Min followed his friend's gaze and sighed.

'Would you look at that? The man is jealous,' Min thought, pinching his nose, 'I can feel jealousy oozing off him. I never thought I'd see the day he would behave like this because of a woman.'

Meanwhile, some employees were distributing water bottles to the other employees.

"Thank you," Lai said as she grabbed one, earning a smile from the employee.

Zhenya struggled to open her bottled water.

"Let me," Na suggested, taking her bottle and opening it for the employee. "Here you go."

Zhenya smiled, blushing slightly.

"Thanks."

Lingxin and Jingyi drank their water. As Lai was about to open hers and drink some water, she saw Zhenya pointing to the right.

"Oh no! Fan Qing is coming here," she whispered-yelled, causing Lai to turn in the direction the woman was pointing.

Truth and behold, Fan Qing was heading their way.

'What is it now?' she internally groaned.

He stood in front of her and the Sales Department, a broad smile plastered on his face. He held his bottled water to her.

She stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I figured you might still be thirsty," Fan Qing told Lai, shaking his bottle side to side.

"Um, no. I'm fine, thanks," she told him.

"Please," he shook his head, "I'm just trying to be friendly, that's all."

"We all know how oh-so-friendly you are," Na mumbled in annoyance, causing Fan Qing to glare at her.

Lingxin stood in front of Lai with his arms crossed. Fan Qing's eyes were locked on Lingxin's.

"She said she's fine, buddy," he narrowed his eyes at Fan Qing, who twisted his lips in irritation.

Jingyi stood next to Lingxin, also crossing his arms. To Lai, they looked like her bodyguards with their tall, muscular figures shielding her from Fan Qing.

"It's pretty obvious what you're trying to do," Jingyi frowned, "But you know..."

He walked toward Fan Qing, standing a few meters from him.

"... there's a limit to everything. Leave her alone and focus on your teammates if you're that nice."

Employees from other departments whispered amongst themselves as they watched the scene unfold.

"What's happening over there?" one employee whispered to another.

"I don't know," the other replied, "But there seems to be some conflict."

"I can sense the tension from here," another employee stated.

Fan Qing tensed as he heard other employees whisper. He glared at Jingyi, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and turned around, walking back to his teammates.

Zhenya sighed and shook her head.

"Such a dickhead," she said to Lai, "Although he does his job well, he sometimes has poor manners and is overly self-centered. His personality is fucking warped."

"He's also known as the biggest flirt of the company and merely uses women to meet his sexual desires," the woman added.

Lingxin and Jingyi turned and faced Lai.

"We don't want you to be his next target or be blinded by his half-assed affection," Jingyi smiled at her.

"After all," Lingxin nodded, "We're family now. Even though you're not part of the Sales Department, it's safe to say we are now friends, right?"

Lai's eyes widened, and she smiled, nodding enthusiastically.

"Yes!" she beamed, "We are friends."

She internally jumped for joy.

'Mission: Make Friends Accomplished!' she thought, 'I better steer clear of Fan Qing from now on or at least be careful around him.'

Fan Qing sat next to another employee from his department. A scowl was on his face as he slammed his bottled water on the floor, causing the employees next to him to flinch in surprise.

"Why are you so angry?" one male employee asked him.

"Let me guess," Mo Bi crossed her arms and leaned forward, staring down at Fan Qing, "The new girl is not the least bit interested in you? I'm surprised your charms don't work on her."

Fan Qing rolled his eyes and looked away, his face flushed with rage, embarrassment, and irritation. Mo Bi scoffed and stared at Lai.

She was drinking her water as she listened to something Lingxin and Na were saying.

"Interesting," Mo Bi mumbled to herself, a twisted smile on her face, "Xiulan Lai. It seems like I have to watch you closely from now on."

Mo Bi looked back at Fan Qing and sighed.

"We are about to start soon," she told her teammates and then turned to Fan Qing, "And you, get yourself ready and stop moping. It's pathetic."