Volume 1 / Chapter 23: I Really Like Your Legs
The first afternoon class was P.E. Â
The teacher, surnamed Yè, full name Yè RĂĄn, lived up to his nameâ"RĂĄn" meaning burning. Though in his thirties, he radiated the energy of a man in his prime, a human torch perpetually aflame. Standing near him during lineup, Mò XuÄyĂĄo could feel heat rolling off his body like a walking furnace. Â
"Attention!"Â Â
With a whistle in one hand and a stopwatch in the other, Teacher Yè swung them around like a pair of nunchaku.
âAlrightâfive laps around the trackânow!"Â Â
"Ughhh, again? Five laps?!"Â Â
The class groaned in protest, especially the girls, who were quick to voice their objections.
The track at YĹkĂľng was 400 meters per lap. Five laps meant two kilometers. Even if it wasnât for a grade and they could jog at any pace, two kilometers was still exhausting.
XuÄyĂĄo hesitated.
Not because she hated exercise, but because it had only been a little over a month since her surgery. She could ride a bike just fine, but running two kilometers? That might risk tearing something inside.
She stood there awkwardly, unsure how to excuse herself from the warm-up without drawing too much attention.
âYouâre Mò XuÄyĂĄo, right?â
At that moment, teacher Yèâ looked directly at her.
âUh⌠yes,â she replied meekly.
âYour homeroom teacher told me youâve got a heart condition. Just had surgery, so you canât do intense exercise, right?â
âYes, thatâs right!â
Mò XuÄyĂĄo nodded gratefully, silently thanking her kind and playful homeroom teacher.
âAlright then, you can sit this one out.â
Teacher Yè twirled the whistle in his fingers before blowing it hard.
âBegin!â
The class split into four running groupsâgirls ran on the inner lanes, boys on the outer.
And thus, the torturous warm-up run began.
Just then, a girl with a round face raised her hand.
âTeacherââ!! I canât run either! Iâm on my period!â
âDidnât you already have it last month?â
âOf course I did! Itâs a monthly thing!â
âHmm⌠timing feels off though.â
Teacher Yè squinted and started counting on his fingers, looking like a Taoist priest prepping for a ritual.
To Mò XuÄyĂĄo, it was kind of funnyâhe even looked like he was about to cast a spell.
âIt came early this month, okay? Iâm not about to bleed through my pants just for this!â
âI m on my period too!â
More girls joined in quickly, following the lead.
âI donât believe it unless you take your pants off and show me,â Teacher Yèâ said deadpan.
âPervertâ!!â
The boys immediately burst out laughing and hooting.
âCreepy old man!â the girls shouted indignantly.
âAlright, enough noise. You few claiming to be on your period, come here. I studied traditional Chinese medicineâIâll check your pulse. If I find youâre lying, youâll run an extra lap!â
Despite the protest-worthy absurdity of the claim, his confidence made it hard to argue. The girls sheepishly slunk back to the line.
Only the original girl strutted boldly up to him and held out her hand.
âHmmm⌠irregular cycle,â Teacher Yè muttered like a sage, eyes closed as he felt her pulse. âA little heat rising tooâgo home and have more red dates, and drink honey with brown sugar.â
âWaitâteacher, you really know TCM?â
âJust a bit, just a bit,â he replied with a smug grin that made everyone want to roll their eyes.
With the rest of the students off running, only Mò XuÄyĂĄo and the round-faced girl sat on the edge of the flower bed.
The best part of P.E. class? Sitting out and watching everyone else suffer.
The two sat on opposite ends of the flowerbed, a little awkward, not really talking.
Until finally, the round-faced girl broke the silence.
âHey, youâre Mò XuÄyĂĄo, right?â
âYeah⌠and you are?â Mo Xueyao replied politely.
âIâm HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn,â the girl said, scooting significantly closer. Now, the space between them was barely a few inches. âTsk, tsk. Up close, you really are a beauty.â
âCough, cough!â
Mò XuÄyĂĄo flushed with embarrassment. Looking at HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤnâs otherwise average faceâaside from her round cheeksâshe wasnât sure how to return the compliment.
But HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn didnât seem to care. Her eyes were glued to Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs long legs in sheer black stockings.
âNice legs⌠So smooth-looking. Mind if I touch them?â
âTouch⌠them?â
Mò XuÄyĂĄo thought she mustâve misheard.
A girl asking to touch her legs? It was so surreal she didnât know how to respond.
âYeah, just a little! Come onâI'll even let you touch mine if it makes it fair.â
âW-what?!â
Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs face turned bright red.
But before she could react, HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤnâs hand was already boldly resting on her thigh.
âMmm~ not bad, not bad. Smooth and flawlessâboth your thighs and calves!â
âW-why are you even touching them?â
Mò XuÄyĂĄo asked awkwardly, brushing her bangs to hide her flustered expression.
âBecause someone elseâs legs feel better than your own, obviously! I love pretty girl legs,â HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn said with utter conviction. âTheyâre divine gifts from the heavens!â
So blunt. She just said it like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Mò XuÄyĂĄo found her incredibly weird.
There was just something⌠off about her whole vibe.
âOh, by the way, whatâs your shoe size?â
âUh⌠34âŚâ
âSo tiny!â HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn cried in envy. âWeâre the same height! Why are your feet so much smaller?!â
âI⌠I really donât knowâŚâ
Mò XuÄyĂĄo suddenly thought maybe she shouldâve gone jogging like everyone else. At least then she could escape this oddball.
âSeriously, youâre adorable,â HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. âJust too cute.â
âR-right⌠haâŚhaâŚâ
Mò XuÄyĂĄo could only offer a strained laugh.
âHey, wanna be my model?â
âHuh? Model?â
âYeah! I draw manga. I need a girl to model for my main character.â
âOh? You can draw? Then why didnât you sign up to be the class art rep?â
âBecause drawing posters and blackboard stuff is boring! Plus, Iâm already the Chinese class repâif I take on more jobs, Iâll die from the workload!â
Then she veered right back. âSo? Interested in modeling? I seriously love your legs!â
âUmâŚâ
Mò XuÄyĂĄo was starting to understand HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn a little. Maybe all artists had a few eccentric quirks?
And manga was technically art, right?
âDonât worry, when you come over to model, there wonât be anyone else at my place. I live on the 11th floor. Itâs quiet and private! And thereâs an elevatorâyou wonât have to climb!â
âUhhhâŚâ
Mo Xueyao was still unsure.
âDo you like milk? My family runs a milk distribution business, so weâve got tons at home. Drink all you want!â
Now that was tempting.
She didnât get to drink milk very oftenâusually it was sugary drinks instead.
After all, milk was more expensive and came in smaller quantities.
And she didnât mean those yogurt-style drinks or calcium-added kidâs milk. She meant real, fresh milkâthe kind with that naturally sweet, creamy taste.
âReal milkâŚ?â
âAll kinds! Pure milk, Yili, Mengniu, or even the new one everyoneâs advertising latelyâBright Milk! Take your pick.â
HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn puffed out her chest with pride. âDrink more, and itâll help these grow~â
Even through her school uniform, there was a visible bounce as she thumped her chest.
Not huge, but not flat either.
Not that that was something Mò XuÄyĂĄo particularly cared about.
Still⌠milk was a strong bargaining chip.
And truth be told, she didnât really know how to refuse HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn anyway.
So she hedged with a vague:
âWell⌠maybe if I have timeâŚâ
âGreat! Itâs settled then!â
HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn beamed and suddenly hugged Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs thigh, rubbing her cheek against it through the skirt and stockings.
It made Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs skin crawl in a strange way, like ants were biting her all over.
Tingly and uncomfortable.
Even her scalp tingled.
By the time everyone finished their five lapsâtwo whole kilometersâthey were about ready to collapse.
âAlright, free time!â
Teacher Ye checked his stopwatch and trotted off to chat with the P.E. teacher of another class.
Technically, they had free time now⌠but only about 25 minutes left.
Some students walked the last few laps, having completely burned out.
Two kilometers was no jokeâit took more than just speed, it took stamina.
WĂĄng JiÄlè, for one, ran the entire thing properly. By the end, she was dragging her feet like a dying robot. She shuffled over to Mo Xueyao and flopped down on the flowerbed beside her.
âUghhh⌠Iâm dyingâŚXuÄyĂĄo, youâre so luckyâŚâ
âAhemâŚâ
Sweat streamed down her face, and her hair was a wet, frizzy mess.
She leaned against Mò XuÄyĂĄoâs shoulder and let out a long sigh.
Though the sweaty contact felt a bit gross, Mò XuÄyĂĄo didnât push her away.
Being leaned on like this⌠actually felt kind of nice.
âMove, HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn, move!â Mo XiÄoxiĂŁo walked over at that moment too. Slumping weakly, she nudged HuÄ YÄŤnyÄŤn aside from where she sat next to Mò XuÄyĂĄo and also rested her head on Mò XuÄyĂĄo's shoulder.
Mò XuÄyĂĄo didnât know whether to laugh or cry.
Back when she was a guy, no girl ever threw herself at her like this.
Now that she was a real girlâŚ
Why am I suddenly so popular with girls?
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