Goddess of Strength and Speed (VII)

Lingxin smiled triumphantly as he walked back to his Sales Department team.

"What the fuck just happened?" Zhenya whispered to Na, who chuckled.

"Lingxin," Lai smiled, fisting her hands in front of her body, "You were amazing."

"Yeah," Jingyi quickly added, shaking his head, "You surprised all of us."

Lingxin smiled sheepishly.

"I even surprised myself," he calmly said, "I think I was desperate to win."

He softly laughed, causing the others to laugh too.

"Great job!" Na exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement.

"At this rate, we have a chance at being in the top three," Jingyi clapped his hands.

"Yeah," Lai nodded, exchanging smiles with Zhenya.

Chi-Chi walked to a box on one side of the court, where the cones were. She pulled out a bottle of water and placed the microphone on the table.

She was thirsty and slowly losing her voice.

'Damn,' she thought as she opened her bottled water, 'When the head of the General Department, Shiyeong Lee, told me that I should take over as MC this year instead of her, I didn't know it was gonna be this exhausting.'

She cleared her throat and drank some water.

'Wow, I'm even losing my voice, as expected. Luckily, only two more races and tug of war are left.'

She brushed her brown hair back with her fingers and grabbed the microphone, putting the water bottle on the table.

She walked to the middle of the court and brought the microphone to her lips.

"All right, everyone!" she smiled, "We have three more exciting events left."

The crowd of employees cheered excitedly as they realized they were closer to finding out who would win the prize of spending the weekend at the Cerulean Luxury Resort and Spa.

It was evident to everyone that there was potential for a different department to win this year - not the Finance Department as usual.

"The next event is the relay race, followed by a five hundred meter race," Chi-Chi explained, "and lastly, everyone's favorite, tug of war."

Jingyi looked at Lai.

"Will you be able to manage doing the five hundred meters and the relay race?" he asked her, a worried expression on his face.

She smiled at him and nodded.

"Don't worry about it," she said, "I may not look like it, but I have great endurance and stamina."

She started jogging on the spot as a warm-up.

"See?"

Jingyi exchanged glances with Na, who smiled.

"She'll be all right," Lingxin declared, "Besides, we'll make her run last in the relay race. That way, she can gather her energy while waiting for us to pass her the baton."

Zhenya nodded and placed her hands on Lai's slender shoulders.

"Good luck, Lai," she fisted her one hand in the air.

Lai smiled and nodded, walking to the starting line where the other participating employees were walking to, and some were waiting.

This time, she saw a new face from the Finance Department. It was Mo Bi.

"You must be Lai," Mo Bi said, "I'm Mo Bi Zexian. The head of the Finance Department."

Lai watched as Mo Bi held out her hand. She shook Mo Bi's hand.

"I'm Lai," she told the woman, "Mr. Ying's PA."

Mo Bi let go of her hand and gave her a half-smile.

"I must say," the woman told her, "I was shocked when I heard that the boss hired a new PA, let alone a woman."

Lai stared at her and shrugged.

"I see," she mumbled, "that many people are shocked."

"Which university did you attend that made Mr. Ying hire you?" Mo Bi asked, crossing her arms and leaning forward, towards Lai.

"Oh," Lai pressed her lips together, "I didn't attend any-"

"You didn't attend any university?!" Mo Bi exclaimed, her voice echoing loudly on the basketball court.

Lai's eyes widened as the employees in the court fell silent. They then began whispering to each other. Mo Bi loudly asked this on purpose.

She wanted all the employees to hear this, wishing to crush Lai's existence since she saw her as her enemy and rival.

"Why did Mr. Ying hire her then if she doesn't have any qualifications?" one female employee asked in a whisper.

Another male employee nudged his fellow colleague.

"You think she did something to get the job?" he suggestively asked his colleague, wiggling his eyebrows at him.

His colleague laughed. Lai internally screamed. She then heard Mo Bi scoff, causing her to take a quick glance at her.

It wasn't like Lai was embarrassed about not going to college. No, she had nothing to be ashamed about. It was more about how she hated rumors being spread about her.

Mo Bi smiled triumphantly as if what she had planned to do was accomplished. Lai grit her teeth in irritation. In her head, she had already cursed this woman.

She told herself to remain calm and not get agitated.

"Okay, everyone!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, holding her pink whistle in front of her lips.

The employees stopped whispering.

"The five hundred meters is about to start. You are to run around the designated course. The one who reaches me first will be the winner!"

The participating employees nodded.

"Mo Bi is a bitch for talking shit like that," Zhenya criticized, fisting her hands.

Na nodded and sighed. She knew Mo Bi was now jealous of Lai.

"She's just jealous," Na said, "It's quite obvious."

Jingyi and Lingxin nodded.

"We all know she has a huge crush on the boss," Lingxin added, "So the fact that Lai gets to be by his side more than she does pisses her off."

Jingyi crossed his arms.

"Not to mention the fact that everyone is talking about how fast Lai is in the racing events," he nodded, a proud smile on his face, "She is competing with the male employees, after all."

"And beating them!" Zhenya proudly added, "That's enough to cause Mo Bi to act. That's why the bitch is participating in this race."

Na crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"What a sore loser," she sighed.

Chi-Chi blew the whistle, and the race began. Lai controlled her breathing and ran.

As if she was running away from a horde of zombies in the apocalypse.

The race ended in a minute and a half for her - again, amazing everyone on the court. Na and Zhenya ran to her, giving her a huge hug.

"Our savior is so amazing!" Na exclaimed, jumping in excitement.

"What are you?" Zhenya asked, "Wonder Woman?"

Lai smiled sheepishly, a blush creeping across her beautiful face.

"I get asked that a lot."

The other participating employees finished the race.

"The Sales Department finishes in first place!" Chi-Chi roared, "The Purchasing Department in second, and the Marketing Department in third. The Finance Department was close to being third but was beaten by a mere second. That's too bad."

Na and Zhenya smiled at Lai.

"It seems the Sales Department is a dark horse this year as they have been proving themselves as a remarkable force in every event!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, a smile on her face.

The other departments whispered amongst themselves, astonished and impressed again by Lai's speed.

"We have the relay race next, so can all participants please step forward," Chi-Chi announced, staring at every department, "Since we have an uneven number of employees in each department, only three employees are needed from each department."

"Jingyi and Lingxin will be participating with you," Na told Lai, who nodded.

"We'll be on the other side," Zhenya quipped, "cheering for you. Fighting!"

Lai nodded and watched as the two women walked away. Lingxin and Jingyi exchanged glances with them as they approached Lai.

"Man, I'm not much of a runner," Lingxin confessed, running his fingers through his messy hair.

Lai stared at them both, and Jingyi hit his fist on his hand, startling Lai and Lingxin.

"I'll go first," he told them, "Lingxin will be second, and Lai will be last. Is that okay with the both of you ?"

Lai and Lingxin exchanged glances.

"I'm okay with it," Lingxin shrugged nonchalantly.

"Same here," Lai approved with a nod.

Jingyi smiled, and they lined up according to their agreed order.