The breath of the person speaking behind her brushed against Jiang Li’s neck. Thinking someone was trying to strike up a conversation, she turned her head and instantly, her eyes lit up as if filled with starlight.
She quickly walked closer to the man, her voice tinged with a hint of complaint. “Why didn’t you reply to my message after class again?”
Shen Muran was covered in sweat and, afraid the smell would bother the girl, took a few steps back, his tone indifferent. “Is there something?”
Is there something?
“Didn’t we agree on Saturday? You were supposed to take me for physical training after your practice.” Jiang Li pouted slightly, a little annoyed.
How could he forget the agreement? Could it be that he’s backing out?
The girl stood there with her hands on her hips, her cheeks puffed out, her bright and beautiful eyes still carrying a trace of lingering temper. “I even specially bought you a little cake as a training fee, but it was ruined by a dung beetle.”
“But since you agreed to be my assistant coach, don’t even think about backing out.”
It was the young lady’s first time visiting the sports college, and the strong scent of male hormones wafted all around.
Although no one disturbed their conversation, everyone’s ears were perked up like antennas.
Shen Muran lowered his gaze and said softly, “I didn’t receive your application notification in my backend.”
I thought you didn’t need it anymore.
Jiang Li caught the underlying meaning in his words and narrowed her eyes.
Oh, so the big dog thought she had broken the agreement first?
“I just couldn’t find where to apply. I really need you.”
Then, right in front of Shen Muran, she entered her phone password, logged into the campus app, and handed it to him.
The man showed no emotion on his face. He took the phone, tapped a few times, opened his own backend, and quickly clicked ‘Agree.’
Her temper came and went just as quickly.
Before he could say anything else, Jiang Li stuffed several bags into Shen Muran’s arms and flashed a bright smile. “Go, go, go, take me to change.”
For convenience, she had worn a simple white shirt and a figure-hugging denim skirt, with slender-heeled sandals rhythmically tapping the ground.
There weren’t many girls in the sports college, so the women’s locker room was mostly empty. Jiang Li changed into a light yellow tracksuit, tied her hair into a high bun, and put on matching sneakers.
She stood in front of the full-length mirror, admiring her refreshed self.
Help, she was so beautiful～
Another day of falling in love with herself.
Shen Muran first took Jiang Li through a pre-training assessment to evaluate her physical fitness level and plan the next steps accordingly.
The man had quickly freshened up.
He changed into a black tracksuit, with a tank top revealing his sturdy and powerful arms, their lines smooth and full of energy.
Jiang Li was mesmerized.
In the past, Shen Muran used to hold her and place her on his shoulder, and she had sat on that very arm…
A large hand waved in front of her eyes.
The man cleared his throat. “Let’s start with sit-ups.”
Jiang Li snapped back to reality and answered with a loud “Okay!” She lay down on the mat as instructed, like a tiger ready to pounce.
This time, she was determined to prove herself.
Shen Muran pressed the stopwatch. “Begin.”
First one: up, perfect form, full marks.
Second one: not bad, steady performance.
Third one: Oops, her waist seemed to ache a little.
Jiang Li felt the mat was too hard, affecting her performance.
Gradually, sweat beaded on the girl’s forehead. Instead of relying on her core strength, she powered through with sheer will.
When the count reached ten, she finally broke into double digits—truly moving.
Jiang Li gave it her all, her features straining as she focused every ounce of effort, relying entirely on her neck strength toward the end. The neatly pressed pant legs were now crumpled and wrinkled.
……
Shen Muran: “Stop.”
The timer ended. Jiang Li flopped flat onto the mat, her bun half undone.
“How… how many?”
She had given two hundred percent effort—surely a new record.
Shen Muran pressed his lips together and remained silent for three seconds.
“Thirteen.”
The air froze for a moment.
“That’s amazing!”
“A bit disappointing.”
The two voices spoke simultaneously.
Jiang Li’s face flushed red. Her eyes darted sharply to the right, glaring at him.
She got up, pulled out the notification slip, and slapped it into Shen Muran’s hand. “Where’s the disappointment? I improved.”
The man looked at the score of ten in one minute, watching her quietly for a few seconds. “It’s fine. Plenty of room for improvement.”
Jiang Li: “…”
Thank you very much. Your icy, sarcastic remarks are quite unpleasant.
There were still three weeks left before the makeup exam.
But Jiang Li’s endurance was limited, and she struggled with acceleration. Every time she finished running two hundred meters, she’d start feeling chest tightness and shortness of breath, as if being strangled.
Shen Muran led her through three sets of interval runs. Jiang Li was exhausted, lying on the track like a stranded fish, not caring how dirty the ground was.
“Don’t lie down after exercising. It’s easy to cramp,” the man said flatly, squatting beside her.
Jiang Li reached out a hand, making a request. “Then pull me up.”
The man stood up directly, pursing his lips as he gazed into the distance, like an unfeeling statue.
He refused silently.
Shen Muran had a cold personality. When it came to the opposite sex getting close, he always managed to drive them away in the most straightforward, blunt way.
But Jiang Li actually liked this about him.
Having clear boundaries was one of her criteria for choosing a partner.
By the time they had packed up and were ready to leave, it was already past four o’clock.
“I’m so hungry after exercising. Let’s grab something to eat,” Jiang Li said, grabbing his wrist.
The sudden closeness was too intense, burning him and making his whole body go numb. Almost instinctively, he immediately pulled his hand back. The force wasn’t strong, but it carried an undeniable sense of distance.
He pressed his lips together, his voice slightly dry. “Sorry, I have a part-time job. I can’t eat.”
A flicker of surprise flashed in Jiang Li’s eyes as she stumbled half a step back.
She hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from him.
She thought after spending an hour together, their relationship had eased a bit.
Looking at his distant, aloof expression, the girl spoke again. “What kind of part-time job? I’ll take you—”
“No need.”
Shen Muran frowned and quickly walked away.
Jincheng University was located in the city center.
The bus stop was right at the school gate, making it convenient to go anywhere.
As usual, Shen Muran boarded Bus 58, heading to the barbecue restaurant where he worked part-time.
He gazed out the window at the skyscrapers flashing by.
Suddenly, he remembered the phone call in the changing room.
“Xiao Ran, how’s your studies lately?”
“Uncle doesn’t have anything else to say, but your aunt keeps mentioning that the house back home is leaking and we don’t have the money to fix it.”
“That money… if you have some to spare, could you arrange to send it over?”
“Uncle isn’t rushing you. If you’re under pressure, you can send it later.”
Uncle Guan was his father’s good friend.
After both of his parents passed away, Uncle Guan had stepped forward and paid off all the high-interest loans they owed.
Since then, Uncle Guan had become Shen Muran’s only creditor.
The man expressionlessly transferred thirty thousand yuan to Uncle Guan.
He understood perfectly well.
Uncle Guan must have been pressured by his wife to come asking for the money.
Shen Muran curled his fingers slightly. For some reason, his wandering thoughts drifted to that pink supercar.
The door that would never open.
It repeatedly reminded him of the distance between him and Jiang Li.
His rude attitude earlier had probably disgusted the young lady.
He had seen her take that half-step back.
The sudden goodwill she had shown over the past few days would eventually be scared off by the thorns on him. Then, Jiang Li would undoubtedly pull herself out of his world without hesitation.
Clean and decisive.
Shen Muran leaned against the car window, his gaze vacant, a sense of suffocation tightening in his chest.
Behind the bus, a lemon-yellow Wuling Hongguang Mini closely followed.