Unexpected (GL) - Chapter 9

Qin Ning and Xie Jing returned to the dorm together. Zhou Yan looked at them in surprise as they walked in side by side. She couldn’t help noticing—whenever Xie Jing wasn’t in the dorm, Qin Ning was gone too, and whenever Xie Jing came back, Qin Ning also returned. It was like they had agreed on it.

“The school sports day is next week. What events are you guys signing up for?” Chen Yuan asked once everyone had arrived.

“Of course, I’m not joining! No way! Absolutely not!” Zhou Yan raised her hand in rejection without even thinking.

“You can earn credits,” Chen Yuan added calmly.

“I think modern college students should exercise more. Staying in the dorm all day on your phone is bad for your eyes, your back, and even your phone. Besides, for the honor of our class, I must
join.” Zhou Yan said seriously. “So I’m signing up for the 3,000 meters.”

Chen Yuan: “.”

“What about you, Xie Jing?” she asked.

Xie Jing hesitated for two seconds. “Long jump, I guess.”

The 3,000 meters was too hard for her, so she didn’t push herself and just picked something easier.

Chen Yuan then turned to Qin Ning.

Qin Ning said, “High jump.”

Hearing this, Xie Jing suddenly realized that Qin Ning was actually quite tall. But wasn’t she from the south? How could she be so much taller than her? Was that even possible? What did she eat to
grow that tall? Rice with milk?

Noticing Xie Jing staring at her, Qin Ning looked back. She had double eyelids and long eyelashes. When she looked down, her lashes almost completely hid her emotions. But when she looked up at Xie
Jing, her eyes were fully revealed, giving off a serious and focused feeling.

Xie Jing’s face turned red when she met her gaze. She quickly looked away.

“I’m going to wash up,” she mumbled and hurried off.

University life always went by quickly. In a blink, it was sports day.

It was November, and the cool, clear weather in the north was perfect—not too cold or too hot.

Xie Jing wore a blue tracksuit and had tied all her hair up into a fluffy bun at the back of her head, revealing two pale ears and a slender neck. Her skin, not used to the sun, was very sensitive.
Qin Ning only glanced at her lightly, and Xie Jing’s neck turned pink.

“Let’s go,” Qin Ning said as she stepped out of the dorm.

Xie Jing clenched her fists and followed.

Zhou Yan had gone ahead to warm up. She had signed up for the 3,000 meters, which was the first event on the third morning. When Xie Jing and the others got there, Zhou Yan was already running. She
had trained a bit in high school and, with Jinghai University’s rule of running 40 km every semester, she handled the 3,000 meters with ease.

“Too bad the 3,000 meters doesn’t count toward the happy run,” Xie Jing sighed.

“You haven’t finished your campus run yet?” Qin Ning asked.

“No,” Xie Jing looked shocked. “Don’t tell me… you’ve already run your 40 km this semester?”

Qin Ning didn’t say anything. She just looked at her.

Ugh! She showed off again!

Xie Jing hadn’t had time to run at all. She swore she hadn’t been wasting time playing games. At the start of the semester, she had trouble adjusting to the new environment. Coming from the south,
she got nosebleeds for a week and had stomach issues from the cafeteria food. She had to get IV drips for a week because of acute gastroenteritis. Every time she traveled far, she got a fever.

During her first month at school, she was practically useless. Forget running—just walking to class made her legs shake.

When she finally started adjusting, the National Day break came, and she went home to the south. After returning, she had to readjust again. Before she knew it, it was November. The change in season
hit her again—she got a cold and a fever. After recovering, she spent another week working as a model. She felt like she had done more in the past few months than in her entire life.

“We can run together from now on,” Qin Ning said, placing a hand on Xie Jing’s shoulder and pulling her away from the edge of the track to avoid the runners.

“But didn’t you already finish running?” Xie Jing didn’t realize how close she was to Qin Ning. She was practically leaning into her arms.

“Even if I finished, I can still run with you. I’ll keep an eye on you,” Qin Ning said.
Then she let go of her shoulder and grabbed her wrist instead, guiding her through the cheerleaders and crowd.

The long jump and high jump areas were on the far side of the field. They had to cross the whole track to get there. Qin Ning walked ahead, holding onto Xie Jing’s wrist the whole time.

Xie Jing stared at her hand and spaced out, her eyes filled with admiration. Not only did Qin Ning have a pretty face, but her hands were also slender and fair. The way she gripped made her knuckles
stand out. Her nails were neat and pink—so meticulous, just like her personality.

Xie Jing had a thing for hands. She loved watching beautiful hands type on a keyboard. Her own hands were nice, but she never expected Qin Ning’s to be even better.

As Qin Ning pulled her through the crowd, Xie Jing could barely hear anything. The noise around her faded, and all she could hear was her own pounding heartbeat. She pressed her free hand against
her chest, staring at Qin Ning’s back in confusion. Why did her heart always beat faster around her?

“Qin Ning,” Xie Jing called.

Qin Ning turned back and looked at her.

Xie Jing opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything. She moved the hand Qin Ning was holding. Qin Ning noticed and turned her head again. After making sure Xie Jing hadn’t gotten lost, she let go.

“Keep up,” Qin Ning said.

“Oh.” Xie Jing didn’t know why, but her heartbeat suddenly calmed down. She stared at Qin Ning’s back, looking a little conflicted.

“We’re here,” Qin Ning said.

She brought Xie Jing to the long jump sandpit, told her “Good luck,” and left.

Xie Jing was a bit early. There were still over ten people before her, so she warmed up on the side. When it was finally her turn, she stepped up.

She had three tries, and only the best score counted. She gave it her all and managed to jump 1.8 meters.

As a short girl from the south with short legs, she didn’t expect to win anything—she was just here for the experience.

After finishing, Xie Jing walked to the high jump area. Qin Ning hadn’t gone up yet and was still warming up. Xie Jing cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Go for it!”

Qin Ning seemed to smile. While doing high knees, she gave Xie Jing an “OK” sign.

When Qin Ning’s turn came, Xie Jing felt more nervous than when it was her own. She clenched her fingers and stared without blinking.

Qin Ning jumped lightly, her back arched tightly, and her slim body floated cleanly over the bar.

Xie Jing held her breath the whole time. Only when Qin Ning landed steadily on the mat did she exhale.

She’s amazing! That bar looked taller than her, and Qin Ning cleared it so easily!

After recording her score, Qin Ning walked straight toward Xie Jing. There were small beads of sweat on her forehead, but her face was still pale as usual—no sign of the red, flushed face that
usually comes after exercise.

“I’m done. Want to head back to the dorm?” Qin Ning asked.

“Zhou Yan’s still running. Let’s wait for her,” Xie Jing said as she plopped down on the soft grass nearby.

Qin Ning looked up at the sun peeking through the clouds and nodded calmly. “Okay. I’ll go get water.”

After she left, Xie Jing pulled out her phone and took a few pictures of the track. One of them happened to capture Qin Ning’s figure walking away.

She moved that photo into her college life album. Then she searched around and found Zhou Yan running on the track, snapping several pictures of her in action.

Click—send!

In their dorm group chat, “One Big Loving Family,” Xie Jing suddenly appeared.

Third Sis: [Image] [Image] [Image]

Third Sis: A woman like the wind @Big Sis (Zhou Yan)

Second Sis (Chen Yuan): Xiao Jing, you’re the Fourth now.

Xie Jing looked at her phone and checked Qin Ning’s profile. Oh—Taurus, a few months older than her.

No wonder she’s so quiet, Xie Jing thought to herself. She changed her nickname in the group to “Fourth.”

Their dorm ranked by age. Even with Qin Ning joining, she was still the youngest.

But she’d be an adult soon. Her birthday was in two weeks.

Xie Jing lifted her phone and snapped a few more pictures. When she looked down to check them, she suddenly saw a familiar face on the screen.

Sure enough, when she looked up, she saw Qin Ning had returned, carrying a big red plastic bag filled with snacks.

“Water, chips… and candy,” Qin Ning said a bit awkwardly. She handed the snacks to Xie Jing and turned her gaze toward the track.

“Wow! My favorites—cucumber and lemon-flavored chips! And Milky candy lollipops from Fujiya!” Xie Jing was thrilled. “Qin Ning, you’re amazing. I thought you were just getting water. I didn’t expect
you to bring back so much.”

“Just picked them up along the way,” Qin Ning said, avoiding eye contact.

“Oh… then thank you, hand!” Xie Jing joked.

She washed her hands with bottled water, opened a bag of chips, and started eating.

The sun was gentle, warm but not hot. Xie Jing felt so comfortable she wanted to lie back on the grass. But since Qin Ning was right next to her, she tried to keep up appearances and didn’t do it.

Qin Ning sat next to her. Xie Jing offered the chips, but Qin Ning didn’t take them.

“I didn’t wash my hands,” Qin Ning said.

“I’ll feed you then,” Xie Jing said and picked out a perfect chip, holding it up to Qin Ning’s mouth.

Qin Ning took a bite. Xie Jing then fed herself one too.

One for her, one for me—they quickly finished the whole bag. Xie Jing licked her fingers without thinking and offered the last chip to Qin Ning.

Qin Ning: “……”

“What’s wrong? Eat it. My arm’s getting tired,” Xie Jing said, eager to open the next bag.

Qin Ning took the final chip with her mouth. Xie Jing instinctively went to lick her fingers again—but then remembered what she’d just done.

Xie Jing: “!!!”

She didn’t mean to!

Feeling guilty, she stared at Qin Ning, her face slowly turning red.

“Hot?” Qin Ning turned and saw Xie Jing’s face as red as a tomato. She paused, then took off her light jacket and placed it over Xie Jing’s head.

The scent of soap from Qin Ning’s clothes filled Xie Jing’s nose—and her face turned even redder.