I really like your sand sculpture group friends

“I used to run in high school,” Mo Xiangwen explained. “Especially in the last period. Even after I went to college, I would still run occasionally.”

"Although I've been a bit lazy lately, as long as I train for a while, I can get back to my original level."

"Hmm~" Su Mengyao nodded thoughtfully, "I see~"

"Well, it's mainly because of the difference in physical strength between boys and girls," Mo Xiangwen comforted her. "Mengyao, you're a girl, so you're definitely at a disadvantage in terms of physical strength compared to me."

"It doesn't necessarily have that much to do with whether someone is a boy or a girl," Su Mengyao said softly, watching Su Mengli's figure on the track. "After all, look, isn't my sister still running on the track?"

“As for Mengli, she probably puts in a lot of effort in long-distance running.” Mo Xiangwen thought for a moment and said, “Besides, when we were joking around just now, Mengli wasn’t participating, and her breathing rhythm wasn’t disrupted.”

Mo Xiangwen explained a lot about the importance of stride and breathing rhythm in long-distance running, but Su Mengyao just watched Su Mengli running on the track.

"...Sprinting and long-distance running are different." Seeing her absent-minded look, Mo Xiangwen asked helplessly, "So, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand." Su Mengyao nodded seriously. "My sister is really amazing."

Mo Xiangwen was speechless.

P.S.: This chapter has been revised; please refresh the page before reading.

Chapter 153 I'll Take My Sister's Place (4K5 Combination)

The sun hung brightly overhead, its scorching rays falling on the synthetic track, and he could almost see the air above it swaying slightly and unstablely.

The student council president's impassioned speech, delivered through loudspeakers, was shattered by deafening shouts and the resounding starting gun fire.

The air was stuffy and hot; you could break out in a sweat even if you stood still.

Yan Nuoya is right.

Mo Xiangwen squeezed out of the stuffy and smelly bathroom, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and felt a strong sense of approval for Yan Nuoya.

In this awful weather, he should stay home with the air conditioning on. Even if he can't play games, he can only read and study, and he'll accept that.

As for Shishi, she simply cannot adapt to such crowded occasions.

Upon learning that the school sports meet was taking place in the next few days, she simply didn't come to school.

We should hurry and go find Su Mengli and the others.

Mo Xiangwen walked quickly toward the shady spot where he had watched the game yesterday.

It was at least cooler there, and Su Mengli and Su Mengyao had brought umbrellas, so it was even cooler—even though the wind felt hot.

As soon as I approached the familiar shady spot, I saw Su Mengyao squatting in front of Su Mengli, her face showing nervousness.

Su Mengli sat on a folding chair, her brows slightly furrowed, one hand tightly pressing the outside of her right ankle, her face paler than usual.

"What's wrong?" Mo Xiangwen's heart tightened, and he rushed to their side, squatting down to check on them as well.

"I just went to the check-in area to ask about the competition time, and on my way back I accidentally missed a step." Su Mengli's voice was relatively calm, but the fine beads of sweat on her forehead betrayed her pain.

Su Mengyao looked up, her pretty face full of worry: "It seems like my sister twisted her ankle, it hurts a lot."

She twisted her ankle? How come Yan Nuoya twisted her ankle just a few days ago, and now it's Su Mengli's turn?

No, Noah mainly bumped herself, and she was able to walk normally the next day.

Mo Xiangwen looked at the area Su Mengli was pressing, but he couldn't see any changes yet.

"Can you move? How do you feel?" he asked.

Su Mengli tried to gently rotate her ankle and shook her head slightly: "...It hurts a little, but it should be fine and won't have any impact."

"All participants in the men's 1500m final, please proceed to the check-in area immediately! Repeat, all participants in the men's 1500m final, please proceed to the check-in area immediately!" The shrill announcement rang out at that very moment.

Mo Xiangwen subconsciously looked in the direction of the check-in area, then looked worriedly at Su Mengli's ankle, and hesitated for a moment.

"Go quickly!" Su Mengli immediately looked up, her tone full of urging: "Don't delay the competition, I'm fine."

Su Mengyao also stood up and nudged him, "That's right, Xiang Wen, hurry up! I'll watch over things here!"

Mo Xiangwen couldn't glean anything from Su Mengli's calm expression, so he frowned and thought for a moment.

That's right, Su Mengyao is still here. He'll come over and check on her as soon as he finishes his run.

He nodded: "Okay, then wait for me to come back." Then he stood up and ran quickly toward the check-in area.

When he actually stood at the starting line, he realized that the track was much hotter than the way he had gone to the toilet.

There was some shade along the way, but now the scorching sun poured down without any obstruction, baking the rubber track to a boiling point. He could feel the heat even through the thin soles of his sneakers.

Mo Xiangwen did the final stretches and adjusted his breathing.

"preparation--"

The starting gun fires!

Several figures rushed out like arrows released from a bow.

Mo Xiangwen was not impatient. He steadied his breathing and pace, moving forward at a steady speed according to the rhythm he had developed during his morning training.

In long-distance running, besides physical strength and lung capacity, the key is the stability of breathing rhythm and stride; you can't let others lead you astray.

However, the sun overhead was simply too scorching.

He felt his skin burning from the sun, and his throat was so dry it felt like it was going to crack.

The weather forecast said it would be cloudy, but there wasn't a single cloud in sight; it was a clear, sunny day.

And even though it's already autumn, the sunlight isn't any weaker than it was in the height of summer.

After running just over one lap, Mo Xiangwen felt his breathing become unsteady, and his steps felt like they were made of lead, each step becoming increasingly heavy.

The combination of high temperatures and competitive pressure caused my physical strength to deplete far faster than expected.

"Go for it, Xiang Wen!" Su Mengyao's clear voice pierced through the noisy waves.

"Go for it!" came Su Mengli's voice immediately afterward.

Mo Xiangwen turned his head and saw them among the crowd of people gathered by the track.

Su Mengyao was standing on tiptoe, waving her arms vigorously at him. Su Mengli stood behind her, holding a sports drink, her eyes fixed on him.

Mengyao and Mengli? Didn't Mengli injure her foot? Why isn't she resting in the shade? What is she doing here?

He nodded almost imperceptibly in their direction, gritted his teeth, and drew his attention back to the track beneath his feet.

Finally, we made it to the last few dozen meters of the straightaway sprint.

Mo Xiangwen took a deep breath and mustered the last bit of strength in his body to accelerate. He could almost hear the muscles in his legs protesting, but he still forcefully pushed them forward with all his might.

The finish line was in sight, and Su Mengli and Su Mengyao were already waving to him from the finish line.

Finally, he crossed the finish line.

He immediately slowed down, walking slowly in the buffer zone, panting heavily, his chest heaving violently, and sweat dripping continuously from his body.

"You've worked hard." Su Mengli's voice rang out beside him, and a bottle of sports drink that had already been opened was handed to him.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't Mengli be resting?" Mo Xiangwen took the water and greedily gulped down several mouthfuls. The icy liquid slid down his burning throat, relieving the pain considerably.

Su Mengli smiled but didn't say anything more.

"Not bad, you made it into the top three!" Su Mengyao leaned closer with an excited smile, her cheeks flushed.

He joked between breaths, "It's a pity I'm still a bit behind Mengyao, who came in second place in the sprint yesterday."

"That's right!" Su Mengyao blinked and said with a grin, "If the person in front of me hadn't been a sports student, I might have gotten first place."

At this moment, several classmates came over. Li Xiaoxiao and the others were holding water and seemed to want to hand it to Mo Xiangwen, but when their eyes swept over the Su sisters next to him, they just smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Xiangwen," and then turned and left.

The three of them walked back together to the spectator area under the shade of the trees.

Mo Xiangwen sat down, trying to calm his rapid breathing, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Su Mengli.

She sat down with obvious caution, her brows furrowing unconsciously, and her hand on her knee gently pressing her right ankle.

"Mengli, your foot..." Mo Xiangwen asked with some concern, "If it really doesn't work, just tell your class officers to find someone else."

“It’s alright.” Su Mengli shook her head, but her tone was unusually firm: “You know, it’s already hard to find people for long-distance running events, and it’s impossible to find someone willing to fill in at the last minute.”

Mo Xiangwen fell silent.

Although Su Mengli's words made a lot of sense, it was just a school sports meet competition; no one's health was more important.

"I think, no matter what, your body..."

Before he could finish speaking, the shrill announcement tore through the air again: "All students participating in the women's 1500m final, please assemble at the check-in area immediately! All students participating in the women's 1500m final, please assemble at the check-in area immediately!"

Su Mengli almost instinctively stood up.

Mo Xiangwen reacted even faster, grabbing her wrist: "No way! How can you run with your legs like that? Is the school sports meet more important than your health?"

Su Mengli paused slightly, hesitated briefly, and said, "But there's no other way right now."

“That won’t work either.” Mo Xiangwen shook his head: “Abstaining is better than forcing yourself to participate.”

Su Mengli looked at her wrist, which was being held, and felt somewhat helpless.

"Well, at the very least, I should talk to the class officers about it..."

Mo Xiangwen glanced at her. He said that, but if he really let her go, he was worried that she would go straight to the competition.

"Then I'll go with you."

"No need," Su Mengyao suddenly spoke, her voice soft but exceptionally clear: "I'll go!"

Su Mengli and Mo Xiangwen both looked at her in astonishment.

"I'll run errands for my sister," Su Mengyao said softly, her voice filled with determination, as if she were stating something perfectly natural.

Su Mengli shook her head: "No, Mengyao, you're not used to long-distance running, and it will be a bit strenuous for you to suddenly participate. I'll go and discuss it with the class monitor."

“I’m exactly like my sister.” Su Mengyao bit her lip, raising her voice slightly as if to encourage herself: “I can run long distances too! No problem, don’t worry!”

After saying that, as if afraid of Su Mengli's objection, he ran directly towards the class's headquarters.

"Mengyao!" Su Mengli called out anxiously, but Su Mengyao's figure had already quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Su Mengli gently slapped his hand away and tried to catch up with Su Mengyao, but as soon as she took her first step, a piercing pain shot through her ankle.

Su Mengli's pursuit faltered, and she stopped in her tracks.

No, we still have to take it slow. Su Mengli gritted her teeth secretly.

But Su Mengyao had already run quite a distance. At her speed, by the time she caught up, the race would probably be over.

Following behind, Mo Xiangwen couldn't help but worry about Su Mengli's obviously strange expression.

"Mengli, how about we go to the school clinic? We can put some medicine on it."

"I'm fine." Su Mengli sighed softly. "Going to the school clinic won't make a difference, let's go see Mengyao first."

“She hasn’t practiced long-distance running much, and I’m worried that she’s pushing herself too hard.”

...Aren't you pushing yourself too? You didn't rest properly just now, and you even ran to the finish line to greet him.

But this was Su Mengli's good intention, and he couldn't possibly blame her at this time.

However, it is absolutely crucial that we don't let her force herself any further.

"I'll go." Mo Xiangwen sighed heavily. "You just sit here and don't move. I'll go keep an eye on Mengyao for you."

Su Mengli was about to say something, but when she saw his serious expression, she immediately understood that he would not back down.

Mo Xiangwen is not her sister, so she can't persuade him the same way she forced Su Mengyao to do just now.

Su Mengli hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded firmly and said softly, "Okay, Mengyao is in your care."

As she spoke, as if afraid he might be worried, Su Mengli carefully sat down.

Seeing this, Mo Xiangwen no longer hesitated and ran towards the preparation area near the check-in area.

He found Su Mengyao at the edge of the preparation area.

She was pinning the bib number that originally belonged to Su Mengli onto her sports uniform, while a class monitor was helping her register the information.

Her little face was tense, devoid of its usual playfulness, and she was absentmindedly doing a few simple warm-up exercises.

"Xiang Wen? What brings you here?" Su Mengyao looked surprised when she saw him, and paused in her work.

Mo Xiangwen walked to her side and looked at her tense profile and slightly rapid breathing, his unease intensified.

"Of course I'm here to cheer you on!" Mo Xiangwen was silent for a moment, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Don't rush during the competition later, believe in yourself."