Only in Youth, One Fails to Treasure a Rival's Worth

Hearing the person you like say they like you back is something truly worth celebrating.

Shen Nian tucked a lock of Xia Yanchun’s beautiful hair behind her ear and pinched her soft cheek. There wasn’t much else he could do in the classroom, so he settled for teasing her. Seeing Xia Yanchun’s face turn beet red was enough to make him happy.

He was very happy right now.

"Listened to your heart's content? Go to sleep now."

"Eugh, what a gross way to put it."

"How is it gross? I just meant I listened until I was satisfied."

"That’s even grosser."

Xia Yanchun adjusted her slightly messy collar, turned around, and meticulously arranged her small pillow, acting as if nothing had happened.

She didn’t want to talk to Shen Nian about this anymore. Even though the weather was freezing, she felt a thin layer of sweat forming around her collar.

This was really Shen Nian's fault.

Shen Nian sat beside her. Even though his hands would occasionally wander over to poke or pinch her, she couldn't be bothered to respond. It was nap time, after all.

As she calmed down, drowsiness took over her brain. Xia Yanchun slumped onto the desk, melting into a soft puddle, her fine eyebrows completely relaxing.

The more Shen Nian looked at her, the more satisfied he felt. As the saying goes, youth knows not the value of a nemesis; he had really mistaken his rival for a punching bag back then.

Despite the fists and kicks exchanged in childhood, they had still ended up together. Don't underestimate the bond between arch-rivals!

They had PE class in the afternoon. After Xia Yanchun woke up, she simply washed her face with a wet wipe and headed to the playground to assemble with Shen Nian.

At Cinan No. 2 High School, music, art, and computer classes were still held during the sophomore and junior years, and they even hosted events. But by senior year, those subjects vanished from the schedule. Only PE remained.

The playground was more crowded than usual. With the New Year's Gala approaching, classes with performances were working overtime to rehearse.

"It must be nice being a sophomore or junior," Shen Nian lamented.

"What's nice about it?" Chen Dong curled his lip.

"Don't you think it feels so youthful?"

"If I didn't know better, I’d think you were thirty. You’ve only been a senior for half a year, and you’re already nostalgic about the 'youthfulness' of the lower grades?"

"Damn, why didn't you say so sooner!"

"Line up, line up!" The PE teacher blew his whistle. "Everyone run two laps first. We're going to squeeze in an 800-meter and 1000-meter test right after."

High schools still had physical fitness tests, but they were mostly for show. Since PE wasn't part of the College Entrance Exam, many students didn't take the tests seriously.

It didn't matter if you did poorly; it wouldn't deduct points from your college score. It was just a bit embarrassing.

Especially for the boys who couldn't do three pull-ups or ran the kilometer in over five minutes—they were terrified of being secretly laughed at for their poor stamina.

The thought of panting like a dying dog at the end of the kilometer run, with so many girls watching at the finish line, was enough to make the thin-skinned boys want to die on the spot.

"Teacher, my mom told me last week to take the fish out of the freezer to thaw, but I forgot. Can I take a leave of absence?"

"The expired tamales I ate two years ago are suddenly acting up. Sorry, Teacher."

"You're going to run at the very back with me, right? You absolutely won't speed up, right? Answer me!"

The PE teacher waved his hand dismissively. "Run two warm-up laps first, then we'll talk."

Hearing that they had to run two laps to warm up *before* the 800 or 1000-meter run, some students with poor stamina were already scared to tears.

Chen Dong patted Shen Nian on the shoulder. "Holy crap, that's basically running two kilometers with a break in the middle. I'm gonna die of exhaustion."

"It's alright. Two kilometers is pretty easy, isn't it?"

"Stop acting cool. You'd better not run behind me later, or I'll secretly fart and poison you."

"Damn, biological warfare?"

Now *that* was something to be scared to tears about.

Ma Mingfan came over to join the fun. "Fam, do you guys think I can run a sub-four minute? If I don't, I'll watch that 'Eat a Peach' video twice a day as punishment."

"Isn't that a reward?"

"It's my advanced endurance training. Shen Nian, want to join?"

"Forget it, forget it," Shen Nian said, sweating nervously. Who had the free time to watch that? He’d rather watch a fifty-year-old bald teacher give an online lecture.

Compared to watching cringe-worthy weirdness, Shen Nian felt that staying awake through math and physics lectures was a better test of willpower.

Just a simple 800-meter warm-up exercise.

The clever Li Shiyan was already squatting in the back, watching others run.

The clever Xia Yanchun was on her period, so she didn't have to run either.

However, she still planned to participate in the test. Firstly, her cramps weren't severe. Secondly, she had taken a few sips of the water Shen Nian had boiled before coming down; she didn't feel too cold or weak. It was best to get it over with early.

The fitness test required registration. Unless there was a medical issue, if she skipped today because of her period, she'd just have to run it alone during the next PE class.

"Are you going to test later?" Xia Yanchun asked in a whisper, standing next to Li Shiyan because the ground was too dirty to sit on.

"Yup, running," Li Shiyan replied in a soft, sticky voice, bundled up looking like a little dumpling.

After speaking, Li Shiyan pulled two chocolates from her pocket, gave one to Xia Yanchun, and ate one herself.

She had slight hypoglycemia, which many girls in the class knew. No one said anything when she skipped the warm-up runs every PE class.

In reality, it wasn't that she couldn't run; she just wanted to be lazy.

"Will you be okay? I'm afraid you'll faint halfway through."

"I'll definitely be fine. You're the one on your period, Xiao Chun, you're the one who should worry!"

"I don't have any issues at all," Xia Yanchun said, her small hand rubbing her belly inside her pocket.

She felt better than she ever had during previous cycles. What on earth did Shen Nian put in that magical sweet water to make it so effective?

Could there really be an aphrodisiac in it?

Two kilometers was no different from drinking water for the current Shen Nian, but inhaling big gulps of freezing air in the dead of winter wasn't pleasant.

Shen Nian could breathe solely through his nose, but others couldn't quite manage that.

Many people started gasping for air after just two laps, their throats and lungs burning.

There was some time to recover between the warm-up and the actual test.

"Phew... I'm exhausted," Shen Nian said, standing next to Xia Yanchun with a grin, arms crossed over his chest.

Xia Yanchun felt like his brain hemispheres must be fighting each other—he didn't look tired at all!

Someone who could do over a hundred push-ups and countless pull-ups didn't have stamina this poor. It was obviously fake.

"Looks like you girls are running first. Good luck, sisters."

Shen Nian was surprisingly serious, cheering them on.

Xia Yanchun covered her lower face and stood on her tiptoes. "You don't need to tell me."

"Want me to go to the convenience store and buy you a warm drink?"

"No need."

"And you?"

Li Shiyan shrank her neck back. "No need, no need..."

Shen Nian rubbed his chin, realizing it had been a while since he called Li Shiyan "Loli Chick." Why was this girl still so timid?

*Am I really such a bad guy? (Insert meme face here).*

"Here, for you." Shen Nian pulled a fruit candy out of his pocket.

"Thank you."

"You're running with low blood sugar?"

"Mhm."

"Then you'd better run toward the back. If you run in the front and suddenly faint, the people behind might accidentally step on you. Hurry up and get some sugar in your system now. I brought this down specifically for you—don't get flattened." Shen Nian, being a great guy, quickly warned the Loli Chick.

Li Shiyan pouted, knowing she was being looked down upon.

Last time, she couldn't solve the final math problem and Shen Nian called her "trash." Now, before the test even started, Shen Nian was underestimating her again. It was infuriating!

But she didn't dare talk back, afraid Shen Nian would call her "Loli Chick" again.

Who said nicknames couldn't be wrong? Hers certainly was. How was she a loli? She was just a tiny bit shorter than Xiao Chun.

But the moment she remembered that she was the one who had chosen this screen name in the first place, she didn't even know where to begin her complaints.

It just felt awful.

That hateful Shen Nian actually dared to look down on her. Did he really think she was a pushover?

The flames of vengeance burned increasingly fierce. Li Shiyan decided that later on, she would try to goad Bestie into slapping Shen Nian across the face.

After all... after all, those two were always bickering when they were out anyway... She had seen it with her own eyes, and even they admitted it themselves.