Goddess of Strength and Speed (VIII)

Fan Qing and two other employees from the Finance Department were participating in this relay race. When Lai exchanged glances with Fan Qing, he winked at her.

She quickly looked away, and he smirked.

"Ready?" Chi-Chi asked the employees, who then nodded, "Go!"

She blew her pink whistle, and the race began. Currently in first place was the Finance Department which was neck and neck with the Purchasing Department.

Jingyi was currently in third. He passed the baton to Lingxin, who, as he mentioned earlier, was really not that great of a runner.

"I can see that Lingxin is struggling," Zhenya said worriedly.

"Yeah," Na nodded, clasping her hands together.

They both pressed their lips together. Na exchanged glances with Mo Bi, who was in the far corner of the court with her fellow Finance Department colleagues.

Mo Bi gave her a slight close-lipped smile as if to say, ''Huh! We're gonna win this and crush you guys again this year.''

"And it looks like the Finance Department is on its last round with Fan Qing holding the baton!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, "The Sales Department has finally passed the baton to their last player!"

Lai saw that Fan Qing was halfway through his lap, and the Purchasing Department followed close behind.

'Come on, Lai,' she told herself as she increased her pace, 'Let's catch up, shall we?'

With that, Lai sprinted, passing the Marketing and Operations Department. The employees gasped in shock.

She ran past the General Management and HR Department. She was now close behind the Purchasing Department.

'Let's go!' she used the last bout of stamina she had left and dashed past the Purchasing Department.

Now neck and neck with the Finance Department, she lunged forward and crossed the finish line, with Fan Qing crossing just a second later.

"And the Sales Department wins!" Chi-Chi blurted, "What a miracle we've just seen here, folks!"

Jingyi and Lingxin cheered triumphantly, clenching their hands above their heads. Na ran to Lai and jumped on her, causing them to fall.

Na quickly got up and helped Lai stand up.

"Sorry, sorry," Na gasped, "I got too excited!"

"Lai!" Zhenya roared, running towards Lai and hugging her, "You really are our savior."

Lai laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed and shy.

Chi-Chi smiled at their interaction.

"Okay, everyone," she said through the microphone, "The Sales Department takes first place, Finance in second, and Purchasing in third. Please prepare for our main event, the tug of war! I'll give everyone time to strategize."

Jingyi placed his hand on Lai's shoulder.

"We only need four people for this event, so you can sit this one out," he told her.

Na nodded.

"Yeah, Lai. You can be our cheerleader!"

Zhenya turned Lai and gently pushed her away.

"Now, go. Go!"

Lai nodded and walked away. She stood by the other side and stared at her teammates, discussing a strategy.

To her dismay, both Fan Qing and Mo Bi walked toward her.

'Argh! What now?'

Fan Qing and Mo Bi stood on either side of her.

"You are really something," Mo Bi began, her eyes staring at her teammates, who were also discussing a strategy.

"I get that a lot," Lai stated, clasping her hands together.

She stared at her teammates, who looked like they were ready.

"I'm sure you do," Mo Bi rolled her eyes, "Thanks to you, the Finance Department's first-place rank is at stake. But I'm not worried 'cause I know we'll beat you in the tug of war."

Lai rolled her eyes, causing Fan Qing to smile and Mo Bi to walk away.

"Why are you still here?" Lai asked Fan Qing, "Aren't you participating in this event?"

Fan Qing let out a chuckle.

"You want me to leave that badly?" he smiled at her.

She ignored him, and he sighed.

"Fine, fine," he told her, "I'll leave, but after this is over, let me buy you lunch."

She turned towards him.

"Lunch?"

He nodded.

"No strings attached," he waved his hands dismissively, "I promise."

She raised an eyebrow at him and sighed.

"Fine," she hesitantly said.

"Really?" his eyes widened in shock, surprised that she agreed.

"Yeah. Now go," she dismissively waved her hand in his direction, "before I change my mind."

He grinned and walked away. She rubbed the nape of her neck, squinting her eyes shut.

'Can't believe I agreed to have lunch with him. Well, I needed him to get off my back, so...'

"All right! We'll first have the Sales and Marketing departments compete with each other," Chi-Chi announced, pointing at the two departments.

Lai clenched her fists, feeling both anxious and full of anticipation about the results of this last event. She did not know that the Sales Department was neck.

And neck with the Finance Department in terms of points.

The Sales and Marketing Department employees took their positions, aligning themselves according to the strategy they came up with.

"Since we have seven departments," Chi-Chi announced, "The Operations Department automatically goes to the semi-finals and will go against whoever wins between the Sales and Marketing Departments."

Chi-Chi walked to the middle of the rope and held it.

"Now then, are both teams ready?" the woman asked, eyeing both departments.

They nodded, and she smiled.

"All right," she let go of the rope, "Begin!"

Both departments began to pull with all their might as if losing would result in instant death.

"Pull!" Na yelled, tightly holding the rope in both hands, pulling with every ounce of energy she had.

The Sales Department pulled as instructed, with Jingyi giving the rope a quick, strong jerk. He was the department's anchor - stronger than Lingxin.

The sudden jerk surprised the Marketing Department as they were dragged forward, leading to their immediate loss.

"Dammit!" one male employee exclaimed, clasping his hands over his head.

Na jumped with excitement as she looked at her teammates.

"And the Sales Department wins!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, smiling as she took a quick glance at Jingyi.

He looked at her, and she didn't avert her gaze this time, giving him a thumbs up. He smiled at her.

Lingxin wrapped his arm around Jingyi's shoulder and smiled at him sheepishly.

"We did it, man!" Lingxin beamed as he nodded.

The Sales Department walked back to Lai. She smiled sweetly at them.

"Whoa," Zhenya exchanged glances with Lingxin, "Lai looks like a proud mother who has just witnessed her children win an Olympic medal."

"That she does," Na grinned, nodding as she jumped on Lai, giving her a side hug.

"Mother, we did it!" Zhenya joked, hugging her other side.

Lai blinked in surprise, raising her eyebrow.

"M-mother?"

Zhenya nodded and smiled.

"They said you looked at us like a proud mother," Jingyi explained, crossing his arms.

Lingxin leaned his back against the wall and smiled.

"Well," Lai blushed, letting out a soft chuckle, "I am proud of you all, so I guess that's a good comparison."