You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

Su Qinghe straightened up, took the water bottle from Jiang Che, and took a few small sips.

She didn't respond to Lu Ziang's comment.

It's not that I'm being impolite, it's just that I really don't have the energy to speak.

She sprinted with all her might in the last 200 meters, and now her lungs feel like they've been filled with chili water and are burning hot.

Seeing her like that, Jiang Che reached out and gently patted her back a few times.

"Let's rest for a while before we go."

Su Qinghe nodded, covered her face with a towel, revealing only her eyes, which were glistening with tears from the strenuous exercise.

"Hey Lao Lu, you can go ahead now. I'll walk around with her a couple more times to cool off," Jiang Che said, turning to Lu Zi'ang.

"Okay, I'll go back to my dorm and take a shower first," Lu Ziang waved goodbye to the two of them, "You guys keep practicing."

"Bye-Bye."

As he walked out of the track and field, Lu Ziang couldn't help but look back.

Jiang Che was bending over to massage Su Qinghe's calves, his movements practiced and patient.

Su Qinghe sat on a bench, one hand on Jiang Che's shoulder, the other holding a water bottle, muttering something under her breath.

Jiang Che looked up and replied with a smile, and Su Qinghe immediately reached out to pinch his ear.

The two of them just kept playfully fighting and sticking together.

Lu Ziang withdrew his gaze and quickened his pace toward the dormitory.

He decided to observe for two more days.

If Jiang Che maintains this attitude, he will have no choice but to confront him directly.

After all, being mistaken for an enemy spy is a very unfair thing to do.

……

Jiang Che and Su Qinghe walked two more laps around the playground, and Su Qinghe's breathing finally calmed down.

The two packed their things and headed towards the teaching building.

The fallen leaves on Ginkgo Avenue are even thicker than yesterday, rustling softly underfoot.

Su Qinghe linked arms with Jiang Che and walked for a while before suddenly turning her head to look at him.

"Ah Che, when do you plan to tell Lu Ziang the truth?"

Jiang Che raised an eyebrow: "You figured it out?"

"I'm not stupid," Su Qinghe snorted softly, "You two have been doing Tai Chi for so long, it's tiring just listening to you."

Jiang Che chuckled and countered, "Then do you think I should be honest with him?"

"I definitely have to be honest," Su Qinghe tilted her head and thought for a moment, "but not now."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Because he himself is unsure of his own identity, and he's not sure if you actually know who he is," Su Qinghe analyzed. "In this state, he'll definitely continue to test you."

"The more you pretend nothing's wrong, the more anxious he becomes."

"When he gets so anxious that he comes to you to confront you, the initiative will be completely in your hands."

Jiang Che tilted his head and placed a light kiss on the top of her head.

"How can you be so smart?"

"One who stays near ink gets stained black." Su Qinghe rubbed her face against his arm, her tone carrying a hint of smugness.

"No, it should be said that one is influenced by one's surroundings."

"You are not Zhu, you are Mo, because your heart is too black."

Jiang Che helplessly raised his hand and pinched her little cheek.

"But then again, since he's Liu Zhenguo's man, why is he doing it so secretly? Why doesn't he just tell you directly?"

Su Qinghe was a little confused. In her impression, Old Master Liu Zhenguo didn't seem like the kind of person who would do things in a roundabout way.

Jiang Che was also unsure of Liu Zhenguo's specific motives, and could only guess: "Old Master Liu is a cautious person, so he was probably unsure whether I was willing or needed to be protected."

"So I'll plant a chess piece next to me first, just in case."

Su Qinghe nodded thoughtfully.

"Won't his presence affect our plans?"

"No," Jiang Che shook his head, "it might actually be helpful."

"How can I help?"

"If Lu Ziang really came to protect me, it means that the old man knew about what Liu Wei was doing, or at least suspected it."

"He sent Lu Ziang here, partly to protect me, and partly to gather evidence against Liu Wei."

"Liu Zhenguo is a man who clearly distinguishes between public and private matters. He will not protect Liu Wei just because he is his son. This can be seen from when we were still in Lincheng."

Su Qinghe nodded. Back in Lincheng, Liu Zhenguo had helped them a lot with Liu Wei's affairs.

"So when do you plan to confront Lu Ziang?"

"Just do as you said, wait until he can't help himself and comes to me on his own."

Jiang Che smiled wickedly, "Judging from how much he was suffering while running just now, he probably won't last more than a few days."

Su Qinghe imagined Lu Ziang scratching his head, trying to guess Jiang Che's thoughts, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're so mean."

"How did I mess up? I didn't lie to him," Jiang Che said innocently. "Isn't it just that he's overthinking things?"

"You did it on purpose. You could have just told him you already knew, but you insisted on playing dumb and making him anxious."

"That's called psychological warfare, okay?"

Jiang Che said confidently, "Besides, he secretly cracked my password-protected USB drive, and I haven't even settled accounts with him yet."

Su Qinghe rolled her eyes at him.

That USB drive was a decoy he deliberately set, and the password was intentionally set to be difficult to crack.

Now the guilty party is the one filing the first complaint.

However, Su Qinghe didn't think Jiang Che had done anything wrong.

After all, Lu Ziang did touch Jiang Che's things. Although the result was good, the process itself was an offense.

It's only right that Jiang Che give him a talking-to.

……

For the next two days, Jiang Che accompanied Su Qinghe to the training ground every morning without fail.

Lu Ziang was always punctual, appearing on time every time, and each time he would say a few words that were subtle and probing.

Jiang Che remained unmoved, responding with a smile to every question, but his responses were all meaningless nonsense.

Later, Lu Ziang stopped testing the waters and simply ran alongside them in silence.

Jiang Che observed his expression from the side and could clearly sense that he was holding back a lot of energy, which could explode at any moment.

Time flew by and the day of the physical fitness test arrived.

The weather in Beijing has been very cold lately, but today it suddenly warmed up and even became a little warm.

The sunlight slanted down from the east, making the deep red plastic track on the playground gleam with a thin layer of light.

The air was filled with the smell of grass and soil, along with a faint odor of plastic baked by the sun.

Jiang Che's class's physical fitness test was scheduled for 10:00 AM.

He arrived at the playground ten minutes early. As soon as he stepped through the iron gate of the track and field, he saw Xu Wenbin, Song Mingxuan, and Lu Ziang sitting on the grass.

The three people sat side by side, their postures remarkably identical.

With hands behind their backs, legs straight, and heads all turned to the right.

Jiang Che glanced in the direction of their gaze.

Over there, girls in rhythmic gymnastics class are warming up. They're all wearing tight-fitting sportswear and stretching on the lawn.