Chapter 22

During the afternoon they had gym class. Zhou Zhi became a little concerned about Tao Yi Xi.

“You should take a leave of absence from the teacher.”

Tao Yi Xi smiled and shook her head, “It’s alright. Thanks to your ginger brown sugar tea, I’m feeling much better now.”

Zhou Zhi was a little puzzled, “Huh? I didn’t make the tea.”

Tao Yi Xi was also stunned, “You didn’t brew it?”

Was she that discombobulated that she mistaken? Did she manage to brew the drink before her nap? 

The bell signaling the start of class temporarily interrupted her train of thoughts.

“Let’s head to class first.”

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The gym teacher was a female herself, so how could she not know what her female students were thinking?  

She pointed at a few familiar faces and chided, “Are you girls going to tell me that your periods come two to three times every month?” 

One of the girls weakly uttered, “Coach, I’m really not feeling well today.”

The gym teacher could not afford to bear the responsibility if her student was speaking the truth. But displeasure burnt strongly in her chest.

“No one else is allowed to ask for leave for this lesson!” 

“Understood…”

The students quickly started their warm-up run. Gu Jing Yuan and Qi Yue only walked briskly and were breathing evenly. It was a stark contrast to the tired and panting classmates beside them.

“Hey, the two tall students at the back, which class do you belong to?” 

The rest of the class laughed, “Coach, they’re from our class! That’s Gu Jing Yuan and Qi Yue.” 

The teacher stared at the two unfamiliar faces and suddenly said, “So it’s you two who have always skipped my classes. Gu Jing Yuan and Qi Yue, is it? Since it’s so rare to see you in my class, give me another five more laps!”

Qi Yue’s expression stiffened, “Huh?”

“What huh? Who gave you the guts to skip classes every time?” The gym teacher’s temper was just as volatile.

Seeing the two of them suffering from defeat, Tao Yi Xi lowered her head and giggled.

Gu Jing Yuan glanced at her, and the irritability of being punished suddenly reduced significantly, “Let’s move.”

The two tall figures made their way towards the field.

The wind blew through his hair and his handsome face shone in the sunlight. He was very handsome, attracting people’s attention wherever he ran. There were even a few that jogged after him. 

Tao Yi Xi retracted her gaze and start the rest of her warm-up according to the teacher’s instructions.

“Okay, now organize yourselves in four rows, we’ll be practicing frog jumps today. Start from here, and jump all the way to the third white line over there before turning and jumping back. Once you reached back to the start line, head to the back of the queue so as to not block other students’ paths. Let’s start! First three students to the start line.”

Tao Yi Xi stood beside a couple of girls that managed to skip the warm-up run. They were whispering among themselves. 

“I hate this exercise the most. My legs always ache the next day.”

“Me too! Let’s take a leave of absence.”

“Shall we give it a try then?”

One of the girls timidly raised her hand, “Coach, I’m not feeling too well.”

The teacher and the rest of the class turned in their direction and the teacher refused without a second thought.

“This exercise is not that taxing, don’t use that as an excuse. Get ready, we’ll begin.”

“Start.”

Tao Yi Xi shook her nearly raised hand and removed the thought of asking for leave. She should be able to do this.

Soon, the first two rows returned and it was now her row’s turn.

They got into a squat position in preparation for the exercise.

“Okay, one, two, three, jump.”

Everyone started jumping forward with light steps. Tao Yi Xi, on the other hand, felt her head swelling after jumping twice and started feeling a little dizzy.

She soon became the last one, creating a wide gap between herself and the rest.

“Classmate at the back, pick up your pace! Don’t drag your feet!”  

Tao Yi Xi gritted her teeth, placing her hands behind her back, she bent her knees and pushed herself to jump forward harder.

It was at that moment when she straightened up, her vision blackened and her mind blanked. It felt like her whole body lost its strength to remain upright.

Her eyes shut voluntarily and she collapsed onto the ground.

“Yi Xi!”

Zhou Zhi, who had been paying close attention to Tao Yi Xi, was the first to rush forward but was promptly stopped by the teacher.

The students all flocked over to see what was going on.

The gym teacher saw Tao Yi Xi’s pale face and bloodless lips and realized the seriousness of the situation.

“Don’t crowd around her! Everyone, stand back!”

However, there was someone who ignored the teacher’s commands and pushed her hand away while rushing forward.

Qi Yue and Gu Jing Yuan had just finished their run when they heard Tao Yi Xi’s name being shouted. Perspiration covered their bodies and they had barely caught their breaths.

Qi Yue quickly volunteered, “Coach, I’ll take her to the infirmary!”

Remembering the last time when Gu Jing Yuan just coldly watched on. Qi Yue believed that Brother Yuan would definitely not take the initiative to touch her. But then again, there did not seem to be a girl that would cause Brother Yuan to proactively touch her on his own accord.

However, before he could get close to Ta Yi Xi, the person was already carried away. 

“Ah?”

Qi Yue was dumbstruck as he watched Brother Yuan gently lift Tao Yi Xi into a princess carry; the petite person was completely embraced in his arms.

“I’ll take her there.”

After tossing out that sentence, the person in question took big strides as he carried her away in a hurry. 

Everyone stared at his back and someone could not help but sigh, “So handsome. I wish he would carry me too!”

“Who doesn’t? But he wouldn’t even give a second glance to other people.”

There might be many rumors about Gu Jing Yuan being the school delinquent, but there were never any romantic scandals. It had always been about so-and-so pursuing Gu Jing Yuan and being unsuccessful.

“Indeed, then it seems that being his cousin is quite good after all.”

“I beg to differ, I still prefer to be his girlfriend.”

“Stop dreaming, just look at the attractiveness index of that family, do you think you stand a chance?”

“Tch!” But the person did not deny it.

The teacher blew her whistle, “Stop chatting, get back in line, and let’s continue with the rest of the lesson.”

Qi Yue joined the rest of his classmates, but his mind was a mess.

Brother Yuan was acting too abnormally!

After Tao Yi Xi blacked out, she managed to regain consciousness soon after. But due to the dizziness, she was experiencing, it prevented her from opening her eyes. She could feel her body being lifted into the air, surrounded by a warm embrace. Strong arms easily supported her body weight as if she was just a rag doll.

He was walking very quickly, yet his upper body movement was minimal. She did not feel any bumping, in fact, she even felt quite comfortable.

When a breeze blew by, she caught a whiff of the perspiration that covered his body. It was not unpleasant like other males. It might be due to the fact that his clothes held the fragrance of laundry detergent mixed with a faint grassy scent, giving people a sense of comfort.

She managed to slightly open her eyes and was greeted by his well-defined jawbone and tightly closed thin lips.

Sensing her movements, his dark pupils glanced downwards. Noticing her pale face, his brows furrowed even more. Yet, his tone was ever so soft, “We’ll be there soon.”

She could still recall not too long ago when she fell heavily to the ground and could not stand due to the pain, he had coldly ignored her pitiful display.

Evidently, he had changed.

She clearly dissected the information before her; amongst everything, she was highly likely the sole factor resulting in his apparent change.

Could liking someone change a person?

She suddenly became curious and wanted to explore deeper; her targeted experimental subject was locked.

Lowering her eyes, she came up with a plan. If it succeeded, it meant that she would have much to gain and it would make her life easier from then on.