Li Yang tied one end of the rope around An Ling’s right ankle and the other end around his own left ankle.
“Too tight?” he asked, looking up.
“It’s fine.” An Ling moved her ankle. The rope was neither too loose nor too tight. Just right.
But the only problem was that they seemed to be standing way too close. Just holding hands earlier had already been like this. If they were pressed together like this, something would definitely go wrong.
She hadn’t thought about this problem earlier. Now it was too late to refuse. Refusing would only make her seem strange.
An Ling took a deep breath and tried hard to calm her racing heart.
It’s just practice. It’s just walking. It’s no big deal.
She repeated this silently to herself several times, but her body still tensed up uncontrollably. Her tail also hung stiffly behind her like a frozen brush.
“Relax.” Li Yang noticed her nervousness. “It’s just practice. It’s not the actual competition.”
“I… I’m not nervous because of this. No… I mean, I’m not nervous.”
Li Yang glanced at her but didn’t expose her. Instead, he extended his hand. “Come on, put your arm around my waist. It’ll be easier to keep balance.”
An Ling’s eyes widened. Her ears shot straight up with a whoosh.
“Hug… hug your waist?!”
“Otherwise?” Li Yang said matter-of-factly. “That’s how three-legged races work, right? One person puts an arm around the other’s waist, then you shout ‘one two, one two’ and walk together.”
An Ling knew he was right, but… but…
Her gaze fell on Li Yang’s waist before she quickly looked away. Her face grew even redder.
“I… we don’t have to hug the waist. Holding hands is fine, right?” she said softly.
“You’ll easily fall if you just hold hands in a three-legged race. Do you want to trip me to death on flat ground and then inherit my property?”
An Ling had nothing to say. Because Li Yang was right. There was already a height difference between them. Without hugging the waist, holding hands really would make it easy to fall.
“Then… then fine.” She gritted her teeth and slowly reached out, placing her hand on Li Yang’s waist.
The moment her fingers touched his clothes, An Ling felt like she was hugging a huge warm stove. Her entire body froze.
So close.
Way too close.
She could clearly feel the warmth of Li Yang’s body transmitting through the thin fabric. She could also smell that unique scent on him — faint, with a hint of laundry detergent, and something like the smell of sunlight.
An Ling’s brain started fogging up again.
“Hold on tighter.” Li Yang said. “If you just rest your hand there like that, you won’t be able to keep up when I walk.”
An Ling took a deep breath. Her fingers tightened, gripping the fabric at Li Yang’s waist.
“Is this okay?” she asked. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
“Good enough. Let’s walk a couple of rounds first and see how it feels.”
“I’ll count one two three. When I reach three, we step together.”
“Okay.”
“One… two… three!”
The two stepped at the same time.
The first two steps were fine, but An Ling really couldn’t focus her attention on their tied legs.
Starting from the third step, she began to wobble. By the fourth step, she completely missed the rhythm. Her right foot stepped too fast while her left didn’t keep up. Her whole body lurched forward.
“Careful!”
Li Yang’s eyes were quick and his hands were fast. He tightened the arm around her waist and pulled her back, steadying her body.
An Ling crashed straight into his embrace. Her face pressed against his chest. She could clearly hear his heartbeat.
Thump… thump… thump…
Steady and powerful. And then there was another heartbeat racing wildly.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
It was An Ling’s own heartbeat.
With her ear pressed against his chest, the two heartbeats mixed together. Her entire body felt dizzy.
“You okay?” Li Yang looked down at her.
“I-I’m fine.” An Ling quickly pushed him away and took a step back, forgetting that their feet were still tied together.
“Whoa!”
Her foot caught on something and she started falling backward.
Li Yang helplessly pulled her back again. “Can you stop moving around so much?”
“I… I didn’t do it on purpose.” An Ling’s face was red as she lowered her head, not daring to look at him.
Li Yang looked at her like this and couldn’t help but sigh. “This won’t work. You’re too nervous. Your body is so stiff. You’ll fall after just a few steps.”
“I don’t want to be nervous either…” An Ling said softly.
Li Yang looked at her and thought for a moment. Suddenly he said, “How about we change positions?”
“What position?”
“You stand in front of me.” Li Yang said. “I’ll hug you while we walk. We’ll get used to each other’s pace first.”
An Ling’s ears shot up again.
Stand in front? Him hugging her?
Wouldn’t that be the same as him hugging her from behind?
“N-No need…” An Ling stammered. “This is fine.”
“What’s fine about it? You fall after just a few steps.” Li Yang didn’t give her a chance to refuse. He untied the rope and walked directly behind her, placing both hands on her waist.
An Ling’s entire body stiffened.
Her back was almost completely pressed against Li Yang.
So hot.
An Ling felt like she was being roasted over a fire. Her whole body was about to burn up.
“Don’t be nervous.” Li Yang’s voice came from above her head. “Relax. Follow my rhythm.”
“I… I’m not nervous.” An Ling’s voice was trembling.
“Your tail is stiff like a stick and you’re still saying you’re not nervous?” Li Yang couldn’t help but laugh. “Relax. I’m not going to eat you.”
An Ling took a deep breath and tried hard to relax her body.
Her tail slowly softened, but her ears remained standing straight up.
“Alright, let’s go.” Li Yang said. “I’ll count one two three. We’ll step together.”
“One… two… three!”
The two stepped at the same time.
This time An Ling stood in front. She could clearly feel Li Yang’s rhythm. His steps were large, but he deliberately slowed down to match her.
One step, two steps, three steps…
It was much smoother than before.
“That’s it.” Li Yang’s voice sounded above her head. “Keep it up.”
An Ling bit her lip and tried hard to keep her attention on her footsteps instead of the warmth behind her.
They walked more than ten steps. An Ling gradually found the feeling. Her steps were no longer so stiff and her body was no longer so tense.
“See? This works, right?” Li Yang joked. “If we practice a bit more, we’ll be able to run so fast we’ll fly.”
“Mm.” An Ling responded softly.
The two continued walking forward along the small path in front of their homes, moving ahead step by step.
“One… two… one… two. Take it slow. No rush.”
Li Yang softly called the cadence. An Ling followed his rhythm with her steps. Their pacing grew more coordinated and their speed increased slightly.
“Want to try going a bit faster?” Li Yang asked.
“Okay.” An Ling nodded.
“Then let’s speed up. One… two… one… two!”
The two accelerated at the same time. From a slow walk, they changed to a slightly faster normal walking pace.
……..