“Do you need me to help you?”
Leaning forward with her hands on her knees, Liang Manjun was breathing heavily. Only after hearing Li Bai’s question did she lift her sweat-drenched face.
Li Bai’s eyes were clear, and his concern was genuine.
But Liang Manjun still shook her head stubbornly.
She wasn’t that fragile.
After getting through the worst of it, she slowly straightened up, still a little unsteady.
“Let’s go. Time to head back.”
She continued to breathe heavily as she walked forward step by step.
“Teacher Liang, how about I treat you to a massage? And after that, we can find a place nearby to eat.”
Li Bai’s clumsy invitation almost made Liang Manjun lose her breath again.
Wasn’t this just copying her?
Inviting a girl out like this—was he really that unoriginal?
She couldn’t help but wonder if he had ever been in a relationship before.
Too clueless.
Yet, clueless as he was, the effect was surprisingly good.
Li Bai’s invitation didn’t make Liang Manjun feel annoyed. After a brief moment of thought, she nodded.
“Alright. Get in my car.”
“Huh? Really? Okay…”
Li Bai hadn’t expected her to agree so directly.
He had even prepared a few lines for after she rejected him.
Seeing his surprised expression, Liang Manjun’s delicate brows lifted slightly.
A faint trace of pride flickered in her beautiful eyes.
…
At noon, in a hotpot restaurant at Quansheng Plaza, Liang Manjun slowly ate slices of beef while chatting with Li Bai.
“Your improvement is too fast. I can’t even estimate what your full marathon time will be…”
This guy was truly a straight man.
Here they were, a man and a woman eating hotpot together, yet the topic he wanted to talk about was still marathons.
“However, the longest distance you’ve run is only 36 kilometers. You still need a race to adapt to the true intensity of a full marathon.”
“So, train steadily. Don’t think about breaking three hours in your first marathon. Even sub-3:30 would already be very impressive.”
“For you, your performance will keep improving. Breaking three hours shouldn’t be a problem.”
When Liang Manjun slipped into her teaching mode, she became much more talkative.
Not at all like the cold impression she had given when they first met.
Li Bai listened attentively, even pausing his chopsticks.
“Oh right, follow this public account.”
Liang Manjun handed over her phone.
On the screen was a public account called “Running Life.”
“It posts a weekly summary of upcoming marathons. When you have time, just sign up for all of them.”
Li Bai nodded and took out his own phone to search for it.
Only after he finished did Liang Manjun take her phone back and continue.
“Jinhai is close to us, so I can help you get an entry. But for other races, I won’t be able to help.”
“I understand. The more I register, the higher my chances of getting selected.”
“At worst, the probability of being selected or not is fixed for each race.”
True to her role as a university teacher, Liang Manjun directly corrected him.
“It doesn’t work that way. Not getting selected for one doesn’t affect another. But as long as you get into races, go run them. What you need now is race experience.”
“Got it. I’ll register for as many as I can. There are still so many races in June. I thought there would be fewer in the middle of the year.”
Li Bai was no longer a complete novice.
He knew that marathon seasons were usually concentrated in spring and autumn.
After all, summer was too hot, and winter too cold.
But in the latest race summary from “Running Life,” he saw that there were still more than 20 races across the country in June alone, including half and full marathons.
“Most of them are held in smaller cities.”
“Are they all certified A-level races?”
Hearing this, Liang Manjun gave him a slightly strange look.
A beginner runner, already caring about certification?
“Of course not. Many aren’t even officially certified.”
“There are even fewer A-level races. Jinhai is one of them.”
“Even the marathon in Jiang City at the end of last year was only a B-level race.”
“Right now, what you need is experience. As long as there’s a race, go run it. Later, you can gradually narrow your choices.”
Li Bai nodded absentmindedly.
What Teacher Liang said made sense.
But he only wanted to run A-level races.
Because the system only recognized those.
“When your performance improves enough, you can even run the Magic Capital Marathon or the Ludao Marathon.”
“Those are World Athletics Gold Label races—top-tier events in the country!”
“Take it a step further, and you can even run abroad—Boston, New York, the World Marathon Majors!”
As she spoke, Liang Manjun suddenly seemed to think of something. Her eyes lit up.
“Right! You can sign up for next year’s Paris Olympics!”
“Paris Olympics?”
Li Bai had been listening intently, but the sudden mention of the Olympics left him stunned.
The Olympics… wasn’t that something only top national athletes could participate in?
“Do you think only national team athletes can enter the Olympics?”
“Isn’t that the case?”
“The Paris Olympics is different. The marathon has a mass participation category!”
“A mass category?”
“Yes. Although it’s separate from the official race, the course is the same, and the standards are the same!”
Li Bai’s expression shifted—from surprise, to confusion, to disbelief—until it gradually turned into excitement, passion, and longing.
“There will be 40,000 ordinary runners from all over the world standing on the Olympic course together!”
“This is the closest chance people like us will ever have to the Olympics!”
That’s right.
If he could stand on the Olympic stage like those athletes on TV—even just once—his life would be worth it.
The light in Li Bai’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
“Wait… something’s not right…”
Liang Manjun suddenly frowned.
“Sorry, Li Bai. I remembered incorrectly. It might be very difficult for you to register for this marathon.”
“Is it because the lottery is hard to win?”
Li Bai immediately thought of the [Future Luck Stacking Card].
He had never known what to use it for.
But now, what could be more worthwhile than securing a spot in the Olympic marathon?
He was willing to sacrifice 100 failed attempts just to guarantee this one chance!
“The lottery will definitely be extremely difficult. I heard there are already nearly 2 million applicants!”
“In the end, only a little over 40,000 will be selected. The odds are even lower than the Capital Marathon or the Magic Capital Marathon!”
“But the issue isn’t the lottery. The problem is that you’re registering too late.”
Liang Manjun sighed regretfully.
“Too late? Has registration closed?”
“Registration is still open. But you need to accumulate 100,000 points before March next year.”
She shook her head slowly.
“That’s practically impossible.”