Morning Run

Lo Ye's mood instantly improved after receiving a reply from the fairy-like senior. He quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, Lo Ye woke up early. His class started at 8:30, but Lo Ye had been awake since 7:00, woken up by the noise. Li Haoyang had changed into his running shoes and seemed ready for a morning jog.

Lo Ye glanced at Wang Dazui, who was still fast asleep, and at Shen Qiao, who had also been disturbed. He couldn't help but comment, "Coach, you're really disciplined."

Li Haoyang grinned, "Of course! Are you guys joining me?"

His physique was impressive—muscular and tanned like a former soldier, standing tall and straight. Recently, everyone had started calling him "Coach" because of his fitness regimen.

Shen Qiao turned over and muttered, "We're in college now, I'm not doing morning exercises."

Lo Ye, however, remembered his profession—he was a web novel author. He'd heard that if you didn't exercise regularly, you'd get a lot of health problems later. Thinking about it, Lo Ye immediately sat up.

"Wait for me, Coach!"

They went downstairs and headed to the sports field. There, another figure caught Lo Ye's attention—it was the long-legged loli, Liu Bingxin.

She was wearing shorts and a tank top, her long, fair legs catching everyone's eye. Her tight-fitting top also showcased her well-toned body.

Other students on the track couldn't help but stare. With a beautiful girl like her and Li Haoyang's muscular frame, they actually made a pretty good pair.

Lo Ye, however, was jogging alone behind them. Li Haoyang seemed to have planned to jog with Liu Bingxin, so Lo Ye ended up as the third wheel.

"Coach, you should've told me earlier," Lo Ye thought.

They jogged side by side, while Lo Ye was left trailing behind. Another figure appeared on the field—someone dressed in black, with a baseball cap and a ponytail swaying as she ran.

This figure seemed familiar...

As Lo Ye watched, he zoned out, distracted by the person ahead. He tripped and fell flat on his face.

His late-night studying had left him exhausted, and his lack of exercise made him prone to such accidents.

The fall caught the attention of several people. Lo Ye, embarrassed, remained on the ground for a moment.

Just as he was about to get up, a hand appeared in front of him.

Lo Ye froze for a second. How to describe this hand? It was delicate, with skin like porcelain—her fingers slender and graceful. It was so beautiful.

Looking up, he was stunned to see it was the girl in black, the fairy-like senior, Su Bai Zhou.

Without changing her expression, she looked down at him and said, "Aren't you going to get up?"

Lo Ye's face turned even redder. How embarrassing—he had just made a fool of himself in front of her.

He grabbed her hand to help himself up but quickly withdrew his hand once he stood up. His face was flushed with shyness.

Even though her hand felt so soft, he didn't want to appear rude by lingering too long. Still, the simple contact made his heart race.

Su Bai Zhou blinked in surprise, then lowered her cap. She didn't want anyone to find out that the campus goddess, Su Bai Zhou, had a habit of jogging in the morning. Otherwise, she'd attract too much attention.

"Want to join me?" Su Bai Zhou asked.

Lo Ye noticed the faint dark circles under her eyes, just like his.

"Sure…" Lo Ye answered softly.

Though some students noticed Su Bai Zhou's presence, they were quick to dismiss it—after all, she couldn't possibly be seen with a guy.

As Lo Ye jogged beside her, he kept his face neutral. But deep inside, he was struggling.

It was his first time jogging, and he was exhausted after just one lap. But since Su Bai Zhou wasn't tired, he didn't want to embarrass himself by stopping.

No matter how much he tried to pretend, his body couldn't lie.

Su Bai Zhou, noticing his heavy breathing, only ran three laps instead of the usual six.

She took out a towel from her bag and wiped the sweat from her face.

Lo Ye, still out of breath, accidentally glanced at her. Sweat clung to her hair, tiny droplets of water ran down her delicate collarbone.

Su Bai Zhou wiped her face, tilting her head slightly. The sunlight caught her side profile, and a gentle breeze stirred her hair.

Lo Ye froze, his heart racing.

So… so beautiful.

He quickly turned his head, his face turning red, not daring to look any longer.

Su Bai Zhou, noticing his reaction, asked, "Do you think I'm pretty?"

"Y-yeah… pretty," Lo Ye stammered.

"Then why don't you look?" Su Bai Zhou pressed.

Lo Ye, flustered, responded, "It... it's rude."

At this, Su Bai Zhou's lips curled into a small smile.

Suddenly, she noticed a small cut on Lo Ye's wrist, bleeding from the fall earlier.

She took out a pink bear band-aid from her bag and said, "Give me your hand."

"Huh?" Lo Ye was confused.

"Give me your hand," Su Bai Zhou repeated, her tone a bit cold, as if trying to hide something.

"Oh... okay," Lo Ye replied, still not sure what was going on.

He held out his hand, and she carefully placed the band-aid on his wrist.

Lo Ye didn't realize he was injured until she pointed it out. A small wound like this didn't really need a band-aid, but… since it was Su Bai Zhou applying it...

Lo Ye couldn't help but feel a surge of happiness. He didn't think it was embarrassing at all and wanted to tell the whole world that the goddess had just put a pink bear band-aid on him.

After finishing, Su Bai Zhou turned and walked toward the cafeteria.

Lo Ye stood there, torn between three options:

1. Wait for Li Haoyang to have breakfast together.

2. Go to breakfast alone.

3. Chase after Su Bai Zhou and awkwardly join her for breakfast.

He glanced at the field and saw that Li Haoyang was still jogging with Liu Bingxin, so option one was out.

Option three felt too bold...

Looks like it was option two—he would go to breakfast alone.

Su Bai Zhou walked toward the third cafeteria, but Lo Ye headed in the opposite direction toward the first.

However, Su Bai Zhou turned around and noticed Lo Ye walking in the other direction.

She paused for a moment, and suddenly, an urge to go to the first cafeteria surged within her.

It had been a while since she ate there, and occasionally going there wouldn't hurt. Besides, the food was better, the ladies at the counter were kinder, and the prices were cheaper.

With all these thoughts, she found herself walking toward the first cafeteria.

Meanwhile, back at the track, Liu Bingxin asked, "Why was there a girl with Lo Ye just now?"

Li Haoyang was puzzled. "Really? I didn't notice."

His focus had been entirely on running and Liu Bingxin. He was a guy, after all, and Liu Bingxin's allure was undeniable.