Chapter 36: The 3000-Meter Challenge
Seeing that everyone looked completely confused, Gu Tang had no choice but to repeat himself, “I’m going to run the 3,000 meters!”
After saying that, he even narrowed his eyes and lifted his pale little chin.
He was clearly waiting for praise.
Xie Qian and Zhu Xu could not bear to crush his spirit, so they both looked toward young master Gu, hoping someone could step in and save this “wayward youth.”
The corner of Gu Qinian’s mouth twitched. He had to grit his teeth to keep from saying what was really on his mind.
Heaven knew how much self-control it had taken for him not to lose composure. Just now, he had almost shouted at this little brat in front of him—who had absolutely no understanding of his own limits—to wake up and immediately cancel his registration.
But Gu Tang’s eyes were bright, full of light, and they were looking at him with complete expectation.
That light was beautiful.
He truly could not bear to shatter it.
“…”
Gu Qinian took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and after struggling for quite a while, finally forced out one word: “Okay.”
“Okay what?!”
Xie Qian really could not hold back anymore. He had not expected Gu Qinian to start going crazy along with Gu Tang. He reached out and pinched Gu Tang’s thin little shoulder. “With that tiny body, will there even be anything left of you after three thousand meters—ow!!!”
The next second, his hand was slapped away hard.
Gu Qinian stared at him coldly. “If you’re talking, then just talk. Keep your hands to yourself.”
Xie Qian rubbed the back of his hand in grievance.
Young master Gu was the very definition of one rule for himself and another for everyone else. He could pull Gu Tang into his arms all he wanted, but nobody else was allowed to touch even a single strand of Gu Tang’s hair.
Zhu Xu looked full of worry. “Three thousand meters is exhausting. Can you really handle it?”
Gu Tang knew Xie Qian and Zhu Xu were worried about him, so he comforted them. “Don’t worry, I can run it.”
This was a wish he had made in his previous life. If he ever got a healthy body, he wanted to run a long-distance race at least once and really experience the sweat of youth.
Now that he had life points supporting him, he was not afraid at all.
Of course he could not miss a chance like this!
[Nice one, Host. Congratulations on completing the achievement “Make the Male Lead Collapse,” reward: 10 life points and 2 plot coins!]
Ah, well…
He was very happy to get more life points and what was basically twenty thousand yuan, but he had not meant to make young master Gu collapse.
Was the male lead really that fragile?!
Gu Tang sneaked a glance at young master Gu’s expression.
He looked pretty calm. He did not seem collapsed at all…
After the sports meet registration ended, it was the weekend.
On the ride home, Gu Tang sat in the car and kept peeking at young master Gu beside him.
Gu Qinian sat upright and proper, saying nothing.
Usually young master Gu was quiet too, but not to the point of turning into a stone statue.
So maybe this collapse really was kind of serious?
Gu Tang reached out and lightly tapped the back of the other boy’s hand with his finger.
Gu Qinian’s mind was full of Gu Tang’s upcoming 3,000-meter race. He still remembered that when they were very young, the family doctor had said Gu Tang was born physically weak and needed careful conditioning, more sunshine, and good nutrition. Intense exercise was not really suitable for him.
Although Gu Tang had looked healthy and free of illness these past years, that was only because the family had taken such good care of him. Normally, he did not even exercise that much. Three thousand meters… could he really endure that?
Thinking Gu Qinian was ignoring him, Gu Tang persistently slipped his fingertip into the other boy’s palm and scratched lightly at it.
Gu Qinian suddenly felt a tickle in his hand, and then heard a soft, sweet voice by his ear.
“Niannian, are you angry?”
There was a coaxing note in his tone.
And the mischievous little finger kept on tickling him.
Gu Qinian caught that naughty finger and held it in his palm. “No. You’d better start thinking about how you’re going to explain this to Grandma when we get home.”
Gu Tang: “?”
“No!”
The moment Su Mei heard about the sports meet, she frowned.
In her view, children were sent to school to study. Things like military training and sports meets were not really necessary. The second she heard Gu Tang wanted to run the 3,000 meters, her first reaction was that he had been bullied at school.
Maybe no one else wanted to sign up, so they had pushed obedient little good child into it.
Gu Quan had the same worry. “Was the good little child forced into it? I’ll go talk to the teacher on Monday.”
Gu Tang blinked. “No…”
He genuinely wanted to run the 3,000 meters.
Why did no one believe him?
Gu Tang immediately cast a pleading look toward young master Gu, and under the dinner table, he secretly tugged at the other boy’s finger: Help me.
Gu Qinian sighed.
He did not want to help with this at all, but he could never refuse Gu Tang.
“Enough. Respect Gu Tang’s decision.”
Young master Gu’s voice was low and steady, strangely calming. “There’s no need to worry too much. I’ll stay with him.”
Gu Tang was delighted to get support.
At the time, though, he had no idea what young master Gu actually meant by “stay with him.”
Not until the next morning.
Gu Tang had been sleeping sweetly, having a beautiful dream, when he suddenly felt cold.
On that lovely Saturday, he should have slept until he woke naturally. Instead, before the sky was even bright, young master Gu yanked the blanket off him.
“Get up. I’m taking you to train.”
Still lying in bed, Gu Tang looked up and saw young master Gu standing in front of him in a dark gray workout outfit.
He was willing to run the 3,000 meters.
But waking up early was absolutely not okay!
Gu Tang rolled over, wanting to go back to sleep, only to be flipped back over with one hand.
“If you go straight into the race without training, you won’t finish it.”
Young master Gu’s tone was flat, without much emotion.
But although Gu Tang’s eyes were closed, he could clearly feel the other boy putting socks on him.
Cool hands wrapped around his ankle, then dry, soft cotton socks were pulled onto his feet.
Both socks were put on.
And then the other boy actually tried to take his pants off.
Gu Tang jolted upright and grabbed the waistband of his pajama pants. “I’ll change by myself!”
Gu Qinian’s eyes darkened slightly, but he said nothing. He simply handed him the full set of sports clothes.
It was late autumn in November. The heating was not on yet, but the weather had already turned chilly.
Gu Tang did not want to climb out of bed, so he just sat there and pulled off his pajama top, reaching for the sports shirt. The sudden chill on his skin raised goosebumps all over him. He shivered, but at least that woke him up a little more.
Then he vaguely felt a gaze fixed on him.
Sleepily, he raised his head and met the deep, black-pool-like eyes of young master Gu.
Those eyes were not as calm as usual. Right now, something unreadable was swirling in them.
Gu Tang blinked, wanting to take a better look, but young master Gu had already turned his head away.
Still in that same flat tone, Gu Qinian said, “Hurry up and change.”
Gu Tang: “…”
It was a good thing young master Gu had not been born in ancient times.
Otherwise he would definitely have become some cool-and-handsome version of a ruthless taskmaster.
The little system was not even on shift yet, and Gu Tang was already being hauled out by the back of his neck for morning training.
The sky was still dim, and the moon still hung in the branches of the osmanthus tree.
The lights inside the Gu estate had not yet gone out. There was not a single person on the path, only the occasional little bird flying down from the hills to steal food.
The air felt fresher than usual.
Gu Tang had almost never gotten up this early before, so everything felt new to him. He reached out to touch the dew on the leaves, then sniffed the scent of late-blooming osmanthus, and even tore off a little piece of bread to feed the birds.
“Did I bring you out here to play?”
Behind him came young master Gu’s stern voice.
Gu Tang stuck out his tongue, tossed down the bread, and kept running, muttering very softly, “Taskmaster Nian.”
Gu Qinian: “…”
The first day of run training ended with Gu Tang collapsing from exhaustion.
Literally collapsing.
Gu Tang did not usually exercise much, so challenging three thousand meters right away was honestly unrealistic. If he had gone straight into the race with no training, he probably really would have run himself into total collapse, just as young master Gu said.
When he had reached a little over 2,800 meters, Gu Tang’s lower leg gave out, and he twisted awkwardly.
He was not really injured, but it was like the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
He slumped down onto the ground and could not move another step.
“Do you know what this is called?”
Gu Tang lay draped across young master Gu’s back. Hearing the question, he puffed out his lips in irritation. “What’s it called?”
Gu Qinian let out a laugh, and the vibration of it even shook through his chest.
“It’s called being weak but brave.”
Even while carrying him, young master Gu seemed to be in a great mood. His voice lifted at the end of the sentence, almost with a teasing hook in it.
The system, freshly on shift, immediately took the chance to stir trouble.
[Host, he’s mocking you! Can you really let that slide?!]
Of course not!
Gu Tang looked at the back of young master Gu’s neck, slightly damp with sweat from carrying him, and very much wanted to open his mouth and bite it.
Then suddenly he stopped himself. His eyes shifted, and his gaze landed on young master Gu’s thin ear instead.
Gu Tang licked the point of his little canine tooth and revealed an “evil” smile.
A few seconds later, one of young master Gu’s ears was bright red, while the other had gone pale.
“Hmph, now you know how scary I am, right? Let’s see you call me weak again!”
Gu Tang reached out and pinched the pale ear, considering whether, for the sake of fairness, he should bite that side too.
Normally, whenever he bit someone, young master Gu would shove him away nine times out of ten.
But this time, young master Gu only stopped talking.
With one ear red and one ear pale, he kept carrying him in silence.
If you looked closely, even his neck had begun to redden.
Who knew whether it was because he was angry.
Gu Tang felt absolutely no remorse. With both arms looped over the other’s shoulders, he happily swung his legs while thinking about how to properly argue back.
Little Gu Qinian had actually dared call him weak!
Just biting him once was nowhere near enough to vent his anger!
After thinking a moment, Gu Tang’s eyes turned again. “Niannian, don’t you look like Zhu Bajie carrying his wife? Piggy Nian!”
Come on! Get mad already!
“…”
Faced with the boy’s childish behavior, Gu Qinian had absolutely no way to deal with him. He only held Gu Tang’s legs more securely and lifted him slightly higher.
Making him sit even more steadily on his back.
Gu Tang was full of question marks and muttered in his heart: He’s not angry even now?
The system watched the whole thing and sighed helplessly.
[Host, this is one of those cases where you injure the enemy by a thousand but hurt yourself by eight hundred…]
Gu Tang did not understand. “What do you mean?”
[If Gu Qinian is Zhu Bajie, then the one being carried is the little wife—you.]
Gu Tang: “…”
Best to forget this embarrassing topic entirely.
He forcibly erased that whole memory from his mind.
The moment he got back to his room, he sank himself into the bathtub.
Young master Gu had carefully checked his foot. It was not sprained, but soaking in hot water would help relax him, improve circulation, and ease the fatigue.
The butler had even specially called a massage therapist to the house, so after the hot bath, he could get a massage and relax even more.
Half an hour later, Gu Tang climbed out of the bath, wrapped himself in a bathrobe, and climbed onto the massage bed the butler had already prepared, waiting for the professional therapist.
After a little while, someone pushed the door open and came in.
Lazily lifting his eyelids, Gu Tang greeted politely, “Hello, sir—”
But the words stuck in his throat halfway through.
The one who came in was not the massage therapist.
It was young master Gu.
The long-legged boy with broad shoulders and a narrow waist wore only a thin shirt and was carrying a whole tray of bottles and jars.
Gu Tang froze. “Niannian, are you getting a massage with me?”
But young master Gu hated other people touching him the most.
When Gu Qinian had still been a baby, the family doctor had tickled him once and ended up getting his forehead cracked open in retaliation.
Normally, after exercise, young master Gu handled all his own recovery stretching and muscle care. So why had he suddenly learned how to enjoy life today?
“I’m not doing it with you.”
Gu Qinian set down the bottles and jars, then slowly rolled up his sleeves, revealing a section of strong forearm with smooth lines. “I’m doing it for you.”
“???”
Gu Tang did not understand. “Why not just call the massage therapist?”
Young master Gu gave a very brief answer. “To save money.”
Gu Tang: “Oh…”
[Host, why are you saying ‘oh’?! Does that sound reasonable to you? Would the Gu family really be short on money for one massage therapist?!]
Saving a little where you can was still good, right?
Gu Tang did not think much of it. He obediently lay back down on the bed.
He even started reflecting on whether he had been too indulgent and extravagant lately.
[…]
[Host, have you been PUA’d by the male lead?!]
The system was shouting in Gu Tang’s head.
And honestly, it wasn’t wrong. The butler really had called the massage therapist over, but young master Gu had sent the person right back out.
Gu Qinian disliked anyone touching him.
And now he had developed another problem too.
He disliked anyone touching Gu Tang even more.
The moment he imagined a massage therapist’s hands directly touching Gu Tang’s skin, he wanted to twist the therapist’s arms right off.
To prevent workplace injury, young master Gu decided he’d do it himself.
Gu Tang, meanwhile, felt there was no issue at all.
He had seen young master Gu do his own post-workout stretching and recovery many times. The movements and routine had looked completely professional. It was just a massage, after all. That probably couldn’t be too hard for him…
Still, it was strange.
If it had really been a massage therapist, Gu Tang felt like he would have been completely fine. But the moment he thought about young master Gu giving him a massage, he inexplicably felt nervous.
The heir of the Gu family, the future Boss Gu, giving him a massage.
Did that count as the peak of a cannon fodder’s life?
A little guilty, Gu Tang asked awkwardly, “…Do I need to take off the bathrobe?”
“No.”
For some reason, Gu Qinian’s voice sounded a little hoarse.
Gu Tang lifted his face and secretly glanced at him, only to notice the tips of young master Gu’s ears were red.
Ah…
Now the atmosphere was even stranger!
Gu Tang instantly sat up. “How about we just let the massage therapist come? I…”
He wanted to say, I have money.
He had already saved up a whole pile of plot coins!
But in the next second, young master Gu crouched down in front of him and reached out to hold his ankle.
Gu Tang felt his brain buzz for no reason at all.
“We don’t need a full-body massage. Just relax the legs. You only need to lift the bathrobe a little.”
Young master Gu spoke in a calm, professional tone.
That serious attitude made Gu Tang feel like he was overreacting. He took a deep breath, tried to relax, and did his best to suppress the strange awkwardness inside him.
Obediently, he lifted the bathrobe a little without the slightest bit of guard.
From Gu Tang’s angle, he could only see the top of young master Gu’s head, so he had no idea that the moment the other lowered his head, his eyes had darkened several shades.
The boy had just bathed, and the slender lower legs still held a sheen of water. His creamy pale skin looked soft, delicate, and smooth, and his ankle was so slim that one hand could completely encircle it.
Gu Qinian held Gu Tang’s ankle in one hand while using the other to massage the muscles of his calf with practiced technique.
His fingers were strong, his rhythm precise.
With just one push, the sudden rush of soreness and numbness made Gu Tang arch his neck and let out a strange sound from his throat.
Gu Tang instantly covered his mouth. “Mmph…”
His whole face went red.
On instinct, he kicked his leg.
“Don’t move. Stay still.”
Young master Gu tightened his hold. His strength was astonishing, and Gu Tang discovered he couldn’t break free at all.
Gu Qinian lifted his gaze to him. “Does it hurt a lot?”
Gu Tang shook his head.
It wasn’t pain.
It was just… weird. And also a little embarrassing.
Honestly, he didn’t even know what exactly he was embarrassed about.
“Then bear with it,” young master Gu said in that same low, unruffled voice. “If the soreness from exercise isn’t worked out, recovery will be slow. It’ll also affect tomorrow’s training…”
“What?!”
“We still have training tomorrow?!!”
Gu Tang instantly forgot whatever embarrassment had been.
He flopped down flat on the massage bed in a wide-open surrender, completely at the other’s mercy.
A faint smile curved young master Gu’s lips as he continued diligently acting as the massage therapist.
Ever since Gu Lin started Xinglin Media, on one hand he had been busy with work, and on the other hand, he had his own place outside now, so he rarely came back to the Gu family mansion.
But recently, he had run into a lunatic.
To avoid that madman, Gu Lin did not dare go back to his own place. At dawn, while the sky was still barely light, he hurriedly drove back home.
He only wanted to collapse in his own room and get some proper sleep.
But the moment he came upstairs, he heard a muffled moan.
Gu Lin: “!!!”
As someone with experience—cough, no!
As someone who had soaked in the big dye vat of the entertainment industry for years, Gu Lin knew very well what that kind of sound meant.
He immediately reacted on instinct, rushed over, and shoved the door open—
“What are you two doing?!!!”
Inside the room, the two boys turned to look at him at the same time.
Gu Tang’s gaze was blurred and his expression dazed, but he still remembered to greet him. “…Hello, Uncle.”
Gu Qinian, on the other hand, looked completely on guard. He immediately pulled the lower hem of Gu Tang’s bathrobe down over his legs and said in a distinctly unfriendly tone, “Do you not know how to knock before coming in?”
Gu Lin was stunned too. “So… what exactly are you doing?”
“Relaxing the muscles after exercise.”
Gu Tang rubbed his eyes, and the mist in them cleared a lot, though his cheeks were still flushed red. “It’s so sore.”
“Ah, I see…”
Gu Lin awkwardly scratched his leg.
Gu Qinian narrowed his long eyes slightly. “What did you think we were doing?”
“N-nothing.”
Gu Lin gave a few dry, awkward laughs, stepped out of the room, and did not forget to shut the door properly behind him.
Tilting his head, Gu Tang said, “Uncle was really weird today.”
“When is he not weird?”
Gu Qinian did not have a very high opinion of Gu Lin. Ever since childhood, that uncle of his had been extremely good at attracting Gu Tang’s attention.
Gu Lin had been quite unfortunate in being placed on young master Gu’s list of “people I dislike.”
“No, not his usual kind of weird…”
Gu Tang had very sharp eyes, like some kind of human camera. He only needed one or two glances to notice when something was off about a person.
“Niannian, did you notice Uncle was limping a little just now?”
“Do you think someone beat him up?”
Gu Tang sounded genuinely worried.
At that, Gu Qinian frowned briefly, then relaxed again. “Probably not.”
Who would dare beat up the second young master of the Gu family?
More importantly, someone capable of beating Gu Lin up and making him not dare say anything about it probably didn’t exist.
Gu Tang and Gu Qinian exchanged another look, but neither found an answer in the other’s eyes.
First there was the mysterious force that had reported and deleted posts, and now there was a new mystery in the house—
Gu Lin seemed to have been beaten up, for unknown reasons, pending investigation.
The two boys had too many things to do, so anything they couldn’t figure out for now had to be set aside.
Very soon, Jiang City No. 1 Middle School’s sports meet finally began.
On the day of the event, all the teachers and students gathered on the outdoor field. The final event of the morning was the 3,000-meter long-distance race.
Gu Tang changed into the official race shorts and tank top and was carefully warming up in the staging area.
The noon sunlight fell across his slender yet flexible body. As he bounced lightly through his warm-up motions, even his floating hair strands seemed brushed with gold, making him look warm, bright, and full of youthful vitality.
Gu Tang was so focused on warming up that he didn’t notice what was around him. Suddenly, something tightened around his shoulders—
someone hugged him from behind.
At the same time, a thick outer jacket was wrapped around him.
“Keep your clothes on first. Only take them off once your body has warmed up.”
Young master Gu’s voice sounded right by his ear.
The warmth of his breath brushed against Gu Tang’s neck as he spoke.
Ticklish, Gu Tang shrank slightly and turned around, smiling at him. “Niannian, how do you have time to come over?”
The student council was incredibly busy on sports day.
Aside from coordinating the different departments, they also had to manage photography and the writing of sports-meet news reports. On top of that, young master Gu still had to prepare for the basketball exhibition match that afternoon.
Gu Qinian curved his lips with effortless ease. “The photography and reporting were handed over to Xinglin Media’s people. They’re professionals, so I’m not too busy on that side. And as for the basketball match, there are other team members too.”
While the two of them were talking, they remained in the position of Gu Qinian wrapping the jacket around Gu Tang.
From a distance, it looked like they were hugging.
Click—
Gu Tang suddenly felt as though something had flashed very quickly in the distance.
Like a camera flash.
He immediately raised his eyes to look over.
Across from them was the audience stand, full of students sitting there.
“What’s wrong?” Gu Qinian felt the body in his arms stiffen slightly and lowered his head to ask.
Gu Tang wasn’t sure whether he had imagined it, so he could only shake his head.
Leaning near his ear, Gu Qinian continued instructing him, “Don’t sprint too hard right from the start. If you can’t hold on, then stop. Don’t force yourself just for a ranking.”
“That’s impossible!”
Gu Tang’s eyes widened. “Who enters a race without wanting to win?”
Besides, he had trained for this for so long!
Ever since young master Gu found out he was going to compete, he hadn’t let a single day pass without putting him through training.
Now he could already run two laps around the Gu estate without even breathing heavily!
Gu Tang felt that his chances of winning were pretty good.
Gu Qinian sighed a little helplessly and rubbed the boy’s golden-sunlit hair. “Even if you win, it’s just one lousy medal. There’s no real reward. Is it really necessary to be this competitive?”
“Oh, right…”
Gu Tang ruffled his own hair where it had just been messed up, then lifted his face. “You reminded me. I still need a reward.”
Gu Qinian raised a brow. “What kind?”
Gu Tang sounded as if he had already prepared this in advance and answered without a moment’s hesitation. “If I place in the top three, you have to call me brother three times.”
Gu Qinian: “……”
“In your dreams.”
Young master Gu was always awkward like this, so saying that basically meant he had agreed.
Gu Tang smiled brightly. “Will you watch my race the whole time?”
Young master Gu’s gaze drifted slightly away.
“That depends.”
Hmph. There really wasn’t a single one who could just straightforwardly agree to anything.
But Gu Tang didn’t argue with him. “Fine then. It doesn’t matter if you don’t watch. You still have the basketball exhibition match this afternoon, so it’s good if you go prepare early. Good luck.”
“I’m about to go on too.”
After saying that, Gu Tang turned and ran toward the competition area.
But the moment he took a step, his waist suddenly tightened.
Young master Gu hugged him from behind once more and bent down to murmur one low sentence by his ear—
“Good luck.”
Then he ruffled his hair and personally helped him take off the outer jacket.
And gently gave him a little push.
“Go on. I’m with you.”
Gu Tang didn’t quite understand what young master Gu meant. Long-distance events didn’t allow pacing, so how exactly was he planning to stay with him?
But the whistle calling athletes to line up had already blown on the field, so he could only run toward the assembly area first.
In his thin athletic tank and shorts, the boy’s pale slender arms and legs were especially eye-catching under the sunlight, so lovely that people couldn’t look away.
His running posture was light and graceful, moving toward the morning sun in quick, joyful steps.
His shoulder blades shifted subtly with each stride.
He looked like a little butterfly that had just emerged from its cocoon.
Gu Qinian stared at that receding figure for a very long time. Intentionally or not, he drew the jacket that Gu Tang had just taken off into his arms.
It still carried the butterfly’s warmth.
And a faint, sweet scent.
***
Author’s Note:
Tangtang: Fly, fly~~~
Gu Niannian: Catch him back!
