Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

The boss looked up and glanced at him.

"Young man, are you buying two portions? Do you not want the one for your girlfriend spicy?"

Li Chen did not answer.

The boss smiled.

"It's obvious."

The pancakes were wrapped. Two paper bags. Just as Li Chen took them, his phone rang.

News about Yan Xi.

[Yan Xi: Are you up?]

[Li Chen: Buying jianbing guozi.]

[Yan Xi: Give the two eggs to Wang Qiang, and how about one egg without chili?]

Li Chen typed three words.

[Li Chen: Here you go.]

Send it out.

Ten seconds later, Yan Xi replied with a single word.

Yan Xi: Mm.

Then one follows immediately.

[Yan Xi: See you on the playground. 7:15.]

Li Chen put his phone back in his pocket.

He carried two paper bags through the campus in the early morning.

The branches of the sycamore tree stood still under the gray sky; there was no wind.

It may have rained lightly last night; there are shallow water stains on the ground, and the sound of stepping on them is softer than usual.

Yan Xi was already standing at the entrance to the playground.

Today I'm wearing black sweatpants, a dark gray sweatshirt, and a white scarf around my neck.

Her own scarf.

I said yesterday that I'd bring my own today.

Li Chen walked up to her.

"morning."

"Good morning." Yan Xi glanced at the paper bag in his hand. "Which one is mine?"

"This one." He handed her the non-spicy version.

Yan Xi took it and pinched it.

"It's hot."

"Just out of the pot."

She tore open a corner of the paper bag, bent down, and took a bite.

The crispy crust broke, and steam from the pancake escaped through the crack.

"Is it tasty?"

Yan Xi chewed twice.

"good."

"Just okay?"

"Yours tastes better."

Li Chen's fingers moved slightly along the seam of his trousers.

When did you first eat the pancakes I made?

"I've never had one before." Yan Xi took another bite. "So you owe me one."

He couldn't suppress the urge to smile.

"Okay. I'll make it for you this weekend."

"Um."

The two stood at the entrance to the playground, one eating a pancake and the other watching her eat.

7:20.

Yan Xi swallowed the last bite, folded the paper bag neatly, and threw it into the trash can next to her.

"running?"

"Um."

How many laps will you run today?

"You decide."

"Six laps."

Li Chen did the math. Six laps, 2400 meters. She usually runs four laps.

"Two more laps."

"We had hot pot last night." Yan Xi tugged at her sleeve. "To burn off some calories."

"You ate half a serving of shrimp paste and three slices of tripe. The calories are less than 400."

Yan Xi glanced at him.

"You even remember how much I ate?"

"Not a record."

"Did you see it?"

Li Chen nodded.

Yan Xi pursed her lips slightly.

She started walking towards the track. After taking two steps, she turned back.

"What are you standing there for?"

"They're here."

The two people are running side by side on the track.

Morning light shone through the outline of the teaching building, illuminating the red plastic surface of the running track.

Yan Xi's stride frequency is stable, and the landing point of each step is almost equidistant.

She doesn't swing her arms much when she runs, and she keeps her center of gravity low, like a cat moving quickly on flat ground.

Li Chen ran on her right, deliberately keeping his speed the same as hers.

By the third lap, her breathing rate had increased.

It wasn't obvious, but Li Chen heard it.

"Slow down?"

"Need not."

Fourth lap.

Her original limit number of laps.

Li Chen noticed that her stride had shortened by about five centimeters.

He didn't speak.

But he slowed himself down another level.

Yan Xi glanced at him.

"You're accommodating me."

"I'm warming up."

"Your warm-up wouldn't be this slow; your cruising pace is twenty seconds faster than mine."

Li Chen raised an eyebrow.

"Have you measured my pace?"

"The first time we ran together," Yan Xi's breathing evened out a bit. "Your natural cadence is 178 steps per minute, with a stride of about 1.1 meters. You deliberately shortened it to 162 steps per minute, reducing your stride to 95 centimeters."

"What did you use to measure it?"

"Numbers."

Li Chen remained silent for a while.

He spoke on the fifth lap.

"How many things did you count for me?"

Yan Xi did not answer.

Her breaths formed short, white wisps in the cold air.

The sixth lap has ended.

The two people stopped at the edge of the track.

Yan Xi bent over, supporting herself on her knees, her breathing heavier than usual.

Li Chen took out a thermos from his backpack, unscrewed the lid, and handed it to her.

"Have a drink of water."

Yan Xi took it and drank a sip.

Warm water.

Her Adam's apple bobbed.

"Is the temperature correct?"

"Um."

"Sixty degrees. The cup you said was scalding hot last time was seventy-five degrees. I lowered it by fifteen degrees."

Yan Xi returned the thermos to him.

She straightened up and looked into his eyes.

"Li Chen".

"Um."

Have you noticed something?

"What?"

"We're all counting."

His fingers twirled on the lid of the thermos.

"Um."

"You count my shrimp paste, my cadence, my water temperature."

"Count my pace, my stride, my heartbeat."

"What's this?"

Li Chen screwed the cup lid back on and put it back in his backpack.

He looked at her.

The morning light shone from the side, and the stray hairs on her forehead were stuck to her temples by the light sweat from her run.

She wasn't wearing a phoenix hairpin; her hair was tied into a low ponytail with a black rubber band.

"It can be anything."

He stretched out his hand.

Yan Xi placed her hand on it.

Their fingers intertwined.

Across the playground, a figure in a red windbreaker was walking from the direction of the stands.

Wang Qiang.

Holding a mobile phone in my hand.

The camera is pointed this way.

Li Chen caught that angle out of the corner of his eye.

"Your roommate is taking pictures secretly." Yan Xi's voice was calm.

"I know."

"You're not going to do anything about it?"

Li Chen looked down at their clasped hands.

"Let him take the picture."

Yan Xi pressed her thumb into his palm.

"OK."

In the distance, Wang Qiang took three photos with his phone.

Then he turned and ran.

Thirty seconds later, group 302.

[Wang Qiang: [Images][Images][Images]]

[Wang Qiang: We finished running six laps in the morning and held hands. Pictures don't lie. Where's my jianbing guozi???]

Li Chen types with one hand.

[Li Chen: It's in my bag. Two eggs. I'll go back to the dorm to get them.]

[Wang Qiang: !!!]

[Wang Qiang: Did Li Shen really buy them? Two eggs?]

[Zhao Zixuan: Didn't you say you'd only give him one egg?]

Li Chen glanced at Yan Xi.

Yan Xi's lips curved slightly.

He typed.

[Li Chen: She asked me to add it.]

Group 302 was silent for five seconds.

[Chen Mo: Information chain confirmed: Yan Xi → Li Chen → Wang Qiang. Resource allocation decision-making power has been transferred. The material supply system of 302 has officially entered a new era.]

[Wang Qiang: Where's the translator?]

[Zhao Zixuan: Translation—Your jianbing guozi was approved by your sister-in-law.]

The last message in the group.

[Wang Qiang: Long live sister-in-law!]