An Ling’s whole body was trembling.
She was panting heavily, her eyes holding a watery light.
She pulled her tail back into her arms, curled her entire body into a ball, and wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Li Yang looked at her like this and suddenly felt a little regretful.
Had he gone too far?
But… An Ling’s tail really did feel great to touch.
“Um…” He cleared his throat.
“Are you okay?”
“Not okay.”
An Ling’s muffled voice came from behind her tail.
“I’m sorry.”
Li Yang quickly apologized. “I shouldn’t have…”
“It’s not your fault.”
An Ling interrupted him. “I was the one who agreed to let you touch it.”
She raised her head. Her face was red, her eyes wet, looking pitiful.
“But just this once.”
“Alright.” Li Yang agreed with his mouth, but it was only with his mouth.
“Then can I ask a question?”
“What question?”
“You…”
Li Yang carefully chose his words.
“Why were you so tense just now? It’s only touching a tail. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal, right?”
An Ling froze for a moment, then her face turned even redder.
“Because… because the tail is a very sensitive place. Only I can touch it… or…”
“Or what?”
An Ling stammered, not knowing how to explain.
“Think about it. Would you casually let someone touch your… your…”
She wanted to find an analogy but couldn’t think of a suitable one for a moment.
“My what?”
Li Yang pressed.
“Anyway, it’s very private!” An Ling gave up on explaining.
“Don’t ask anymore!”
“Alright, alright. I won’t ask.” Li Yang raised both hands in surrender.
The two fell silent for a while.
An Ling’s heartbeat slowly calmed down, and the heat on her face also faded a little.
She secretly glanced at Li Yang.
The other had sat back down and was lowering his head to eat the remaining curry rice in the lunch box.
He doesn’t know. It’s fine. It’s just that he touched my tail once.
An Ling comforted herself.
She touched it herself on ordinary days. It was fine.
But the feeling when Li Yang had touched her just now was indeed very different from when she touched it herself.
“By the way, the sports meet is tomorrow. We still have to practice a bit more this afternoon.”
An Ling froze for a moment. “When?”
“After school this afternoon.”
“Okay.”
An Ling nodded in agreement.
“Also, I have competitions tomorrow. Remember to cheer for me.”
“Mm. What events do you have?”
“In the morning is the 1000-meter preliminary, and in the afternoon is the relay preliminary.” Li Yang said.
“If I make it to the finals, there will be more the day after tomorrow.”
“Then…” An Ling thought for a moment. “I’ll cheer for you from the stands then.”
“That won’t do. You stand at the finish line. When I’m about to reach the finish, cheer for me with all your strength, and casually help me hold my phone and water.”
“But…”
An Ling said quietly.
“There will be so many people. I’ll be embarrassed.”
“What?” Li Yang stared into her eyes. “Is cheering for me that embarrassing?”
He of course knew An Ling didn’t have that kind of thought, but he just wanted to tease An Ling.
As expected, An Ling started explaining in a fluster. “No! No!”
“Then when the time comes, cheer for me loudly.”
“Fine…” An Ling still compromised.
I hope no one notices me when the time comes.
***
Morning sunlight filtered in through the gaps in the curtains. An Ling lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“My legs are so sore~”
Her calves felt as if they had been filled with lead, heavy and sinking.
Every movement ached terribly. Her thighs were the same.
The muscles on the inner sides were both sore and painful.
“Ah~” An Ling let out a wail and buried her face in her tail.
Yesterday afternoon’s training had been too harsh. That guy Li Yang was simply a devil coach.
Even though she had clearly said she couldn’t go on, he still dragged her to practice again and again.
Every time he said “just practice a bit more and then rest,” and every time he dragged her to practice for another half hour.
An Ling even suspected he had truly been angry that morning and was now taking revenge on her.
At the time An Ling had wanted to whip him with her tail, but she was still afraid of Li Yang getting angry, so she could only grit her teeth and endure it.
Fortunately, her period had ended yesterday afternoon.
Contact with Li Yang no longer made her feel that restless heat that was hard to bear.
An Ling laboriously sat up from the bed and glanced at her phone.
The time was still early, but she couldn’t keep lying there sleeping either.
She slowly shifted off the bed. With every step, a wave of soreness came from her calves.
When going downstairs, she had to hold onto the handrail and shift down step by step.
“If only I hadn’t agreed to practice that long with him…” An Ling muttered quietly and walked into the kitchen while holding onto the wall.
She still had to prepare the bento today, but in her current state, she probably couldn’t make anything too complicated.
An Ling opened the refrigerator and looked at the ingredients inside.
There was the chicken leg meat bought yesterday, a few cucumbers, and a few eggs.
“Mm… make some teriyaki chicken legs, and then cucumber scrambled eggs.” An Ling calculated in her heart and began to move.
The teriyaki chicken legs had already been marinated in advance. Now she only needed to pan-fry them until cooked.
She placed them skin-side down into the pan. A sizzling sound rose, oil slowly seeping out, and the aroma quickly drifted out.
While the chicken legs were frying in the pan, An Ling quickly cut the cucumbers, mixed the egg liquid, and skillfully put the ingredients into the pan.
Her calves were still aching unbearably.
An Ling got angry the moment she thought of Li Yang.
She was even preparing lunch for him! She should have viciously put something extra into her lunch!
Although she thought and complained like this, An Ling still did her best to make the food as good as possible.
An Ling cut the teriyaki chicken legs into pieces and arranged them in the lunch box.
Beside them she placed the cucumber scrambled eggs, and on the other layer she put the rice.
“This should be enough, right?”
She looked at Li Yang’s portion.
The rice was packed full, and there were several more pieces of teriyaki chicken leg than in her own portion.
That guy had a big appetite. If she didn’t pack extra, it probably wouldn’t be enough.
After tidying up the kitchen, An Ling went upstairs and changed into her school uniform.
Today she was wearing the sports uniform, because they had to participate in the sports meet and the school required everyone to wear sports uniforms.
An Ling stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself.
A white sports T-shirt, dark blue sports pants.
Her hair had already reached a length that could be tied up, but even though the school wasn’t strict, if she tied her hair up it would truly become hard to explain her gender.
If she changed her look a bit, would Li Yang like it?
“No!”
An Ling shook her head. Why was she thinking about him again?
She sighed, picked up her backpack, and pushed open the front door.
Outside, Li Yang was already standing there, holding two bags of breakfast in his hands.
Today he was wearing the sports uniform and looked broader in the shoulders and taller than before.
“Morning!” He saw An Ling come out and grinned.
“Why so slow today?”
“My legs are sore.”
An Ling said unhappily. “And it’s all your fault.”
“My fault?”
Li Yang looked completely innocent. “I was only being so strict so that we wouldn’t lose face at the sports meet.”
“Then you still shouldn’t… shouldn’t have made me practice that long.”
An Ling took the breakfast and lowered her head to look. It was meat buns and soy milk.