Chapter 5: Zou Yameng’s Worries
The Chuanhai City Women’s Sports School was a nationally renowned sports school, known as the training ground for the national women’s team. Compared to the wealthy students of Chuanhai No. 1 High School, the athletes of Chuanhai Sports School were much more ordinary. They rarely talked about luxury goods and car brands, and were more concerned about the competition schedule for the second half of the year.
Today was September 1st, the start of the new semester at Chuanhai Sports School. Of course, the girls at Chuanhai Sports School didn’t care whether school started or not. After all, they spent two seasons of the year training in the gym and the other two seasons traveling all over the country for competitions.
Zou Yameng finished her training for the day. She brushed her sweat-drenched hair back, her face flushed, beads of perspiration clinging to her skin. Whenever there was a provincial competition coming up, she would double her training load. In another week, she would be representing Chuanhai Sports School in the Six Provinces Tournament.
This was her last year at Chuanhai Sports School. Sports students like her couldn’t apply to universities. If they weren’t recruited by a city-level or higher team before graduation, they could only apply to be PE teachers in county towns. If that happened, all her years of hard work and struggle would be for nothing. Zou Yameng had submitted applications to provincial teams in three neighboring provinces this year, but none of them had responded. Maybe it was because she was still a nobody? Because she hadn’t won any awards in provincial competitions yet?
Zou Yameng unscrewed the cap of her water bottle and gulped down the sweet mineral water. She wanted to continue training, but was stopped by her coach.
The coach was retired from the national team and had been working at Chuanhai Sports School for more than twenty years. She had a hardworking husband and an obedient daughter. Zou Yameng often envied her coach, thinking that her coach had a perfect life. She had won championships and had a happy family. Zou Yameng often used her coach’s life as a model for her own dreams.
“You need to rest.” The coach, who usually only urged the girls to train harder, now looked worried. “Your training intensity is too high. It’s a heavy burden on your body and can easily lead to hidden injuries. I heard you had a leg cramp during training yesterday?”
It was just a cramp, no big deal. Zou Yameng thought to herself, besides, if she didn’t push herself, how could she make it to the provincial team? This Six Provinces Tournament might be the last major competition of the year. If she missed this opportunity, there really wouldn’t be another one. She knew that Li wanted to go to college, but they didn’t have the money. If she joined the provincial team, she would have a monthly salary of eight thousand yuan and a competition bonus of fifty thousand yuan. As long as she won a few more competitions, wouldn’t Li’s college tuition be covered?
The coach patiently persuaded her, and Zou Yameng listened obediently, but her mind was made up. She felt that her body was still young and could withstand high-intensity training. At least for the next five years, there wouldn’t be any problems, right?
The gym closed, and Zou Yameng could only leave with her teammates, carrying her sports bag.
The girls from the women’s sports school were more enthusiastic and lively than ordinary high school girls. Their strong, tanned legs, exposed beneath their athletic shorts, glowed beautifully in the setting sun. Zou Yameng’s good friend wrapped her arms around her waist and wailed, “Ya I’m so tired~ Give me a hug, let me recharge, okay?”
The girls burst into laughter. Zou Yameng chided with a smile, “Why don’t you go find your boyfriend for a hug?”
“Wuwuwu~ We broke up, last month.” The girl pouted. “Men are trash. Remember that time we went to Jindong for the competition?”
Jindong was located in the far north, sparsely populated and extremely far from Chuanhai. Zou Yameng had a deep impression of that trip to Jindong. Not only was the journey long and tiring, but they were also brutally defeated by a girls’ school team from Jindong. On the way back, they were all exhausted and demoralized.
“Didn’t we spend two months in Jindong? Just two months apart, and that scumbag moved on!” The girl pulled a long face. “He also said that I couldn’t always be with him, that he couldn’t feel the warmth of a girlfriend. You tell me, I train my butt off every day and have to go to competitions, how can I have the energy to go on dates with a boyfriend?”
The girls always formed a united front on this kind of issue, chattering and criticizing the heartless men. However, a sense of unease that shouldn’t have been there arose in Zou Yameng’s heart. She was going to participate in the Six Provinces Tournament soon, which would last for more than a month. Would Li bring home a girlfriend by the time she came back?
She wouldn’t normally have such petty worries, but recently, when she was with Lu Li, she always had all sorts of insecure thoughts. Walking down the street and seeing fashionably dressed girls, she even felt a strange sense of inferiority. These delicate emotions had only emerged in the past few days. Heaven knew that she had always held a contemptuous attitude towards those love-struck, sentimental girls.
“Yeah, yeah, men are all like that. Sigh, it’s tough being a woman.”
“Hmph, let them have periods every month and see how they like it, the bunch of jerks.”
As they chattered on, Zou Yameng subconsciously wanted to avoid the topic and took out her phone, pretending to read messages. Someone exclaimed in exaggeration, “Yameng, you got a new phone? What a beautiful phone~ Heehee, who gave it to you?”
Zou Yameng felt a surge of pride. It was given to me by my lovely brother. But she was also worried that they would keep asking, so she pouted and said, “Can’t I buy it myself?” You guys don’t have such a sensible and caring brother, huh? Hmph, I’m not telling you.
“Tsk~ Yameng, you’re usually so stingy, how could you bear to spend money on such a beautiful phone?”
“It must have been given by a man.”
“No wonder you were acting so hesitant just now. Oh my, has spring finally arrived for Yameng?”
Zou Yameng blushed. They always spoke without thinking when they were together. If they continued, who knew what nonsense they would come up with? She quickly explained, “It was given to me by my brother. He earned the money from his summer job.” She was conflicted. She wanted to show off her brother, but she also didn’t want them to pay too much attention to him. She found an excuse for herself. These women were always heartless. She was just protecting Lu Li from the onslaught of these she-wolves.
“Yameng, you actually have a brother? Why haven’t you ever told us?”
“I think I’ve seen him before. Was it the boy who delivered clothes to you at the school gate last time?”
Zou Yameng didn’t expect them to remember Lu Li coming to deliver clothes. That day, she had been in such a hurry that she had forgotten her training clothes. When she got to school and realized, she was anxious. But Lu Li had already arrived with her clothes.
“That fair-skinned boy? Ah, I remember him.”
“Heehee, Yameng, you actually hid your brother from us, how could you? Quickly send us his picture and contact information, let me check if he’s developing properly~”
They burst into laughter again, making all sorts of dirty jokes. Zou Yameng’s face grew hotter and hotter. Fortunately, the afterglow of the setting sun masked her blush. Otherwise, she would have wanted to find a hole to hide in. She was usually immune to her teammates’ suggestive jokes. She knew that these girls were all talk and no action. When they actually met a good man, they would all shy away. But today, hearing them talk about Lu Li, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
“Oh, actually, a brother’s shelf life is only a few years.” The girl who had just broken up with her boyfriend said with a sad face. “Once he grows up a little, he’ll meet a girl he likes and slowly forget that he has a sister. My pen pal’s brother is like that. He was so well-behaved and sensible when he was young, so cute. But then he started skipping class and kissing girls, making his sister get called to the principal’s office all the time. She couldn’t talk to him, he wouldn’t listen, he would talk back when scolded, and he would run away from home if she hit him. Sigh, what a headache.”
“Is that so?” Zou Yameng didn’t really understand. She felt that Lu Li shouldn’t be that rebellious, right?
“Uh-huh, maybe by the time you come back from the tournament, Yameng, you’ll see your sister-in-law.” It was a heartless joke, but it hit Zou Yameng’s worries right on the mark. Her face darkened. She imagined the scene: Lu Li holding the hand of a strange woman, embracing in the room that belonged to her and Lu Li. Her heart ached as if it were being squeezed. She knew she was making herself unhappy, but once this thought popped up, she couldn’t stop it.
After returning to the low-rent apartment, Zou Yameng took a shower and went next door to Lu Li’s place. For some reason, she wore the same camisole and shorts as last time, revealing a large expanse of her fair, alluring skin after the shower. Usually, she felt relaxed and comfortable at Lu Li’s place, but today, she felt uneasy.
She stood in front of the full-length mirror in Lu Li’s room, cupping her breasts, feeling that they were fuller and heavier than last month. She had always felt that this was a burden as an athlete, but now, her hand unconsciously caressed her ample bosom as her mind raced with chaotic thoughts. Suddenly, the alarm on her phone went off, startling Zou Yameng from her reverie.
The alarm was set for six o’clock, the time she usually made dinner for Lu Li. But Lu Li hadn’t returned from school yet. Was he kept after class? Zou Yameng walked into the small, cramped kitchen and started cooking for Lu Li. Half an hour later, she set the dishes on the small folding table, but Lu Li still hadn’t returned.
After reheating the food, Zou Yameng finally couldn’t sit still. She was going to go back and change her clothes to look for Lu Li. But just then, she heard the sound of a key turning in the lock. Lu Li’s figure appeared at the door. He looked a little tired, but at least he was in one piece. Zou Yameng immediately hugged her brother, her heart finally at ease.
Because of their childhood experiences, she and Lu Li were both insecure people. Whenever Lu Li came home even a little late, she couldn’t help but worry. Had he been in a car accident? Had he been robbed? Had he… Lu Li was her only family left, even though they weren’t blood-related. She didn’t want to lose the brother she had depended on for more than ten years.
Feeling Sister Yameng’s concern, Lu Li’s heart warmed. He also wrapped his arms around her waist, only to realize that the fabric of her clothes was thinner than he had imagined. The soft, warm body of the girl pressed against his arm. Even though their skin wasn’t touching, it felt even more intimate than direct contact. His adult mind couldn’t control his teenage body. He awkwardly pushed his sister away, afraid that she would notice his predicament.
“It’s the first day of school, and I had some things to discuss with the class officers, so I came back a little late.” He had gone to explain his game production plan to Chu Jingyi. To his surprise, Chu Jingyi, who had always been a goody-two-shoes, was actually very enthusiastic about horror games. She kept asking questions, and if An Baili hadn’t deliberately interrupted, he probably would have had to answer a million more questions from the curious girl.
Meeting Lu Li’s gaze, Zou Yameng felt her whole body burning. She must be crazy to wear such revealing clothes. But that wasn’t right. She used to wear this at home too, so why didn’t she feel embarrassed before? Afraid that Lu Li would ask, she quickly pulled him to sit down, “Let’s eat, the food is getting cold.”
Suddenly, Zou Yameng sniffed the air, the shyness on her face replaced by suspicion, “Why do you smell like perfume?”
It wasn’t perfume, it was the faint milky scent from Chu Jingyi. Lu Li didn’t expect his sister’s nose to be so sensitive. Chu Jingyi must have been too excited and forgotten about boundaries, constantly asking about the horror plot like an avid fan. No wonder she also wanted to buy that Handing Jin horror novel at the bookstore that day. Lu Li didn’t want to get too involved with An Baili, Chu Jingyi, or any of these people. He just wanted to finish this game. Because this was the first nail he was driving in to pursue his dream.
With the experience and vision from twenty years of working in his previous life, he believed that his first game would definitely be a hit.
But whether it would be a hit or not was a matter for the future. The problem now was how to explain it to Sister Yameng.
“Was that class officer a boy or a girl?” Lu Li felt that Sister Yameng was acting strange today, not like a sister but like a thirty-year-old wife catching her husband cheating.
He scratched his head awkwardly and told her the truth. He didn’t want to lie to Sister Yameng. From his game production plan, to the class monitor Chu Jingyi’s musical talent, to their long talk after school, he told Sister Yameng everything. He watched as her expression became more and more strange. He couldn’t tell what kind of expression it was, it seemed to be a mixture of entanglement and anger.
Finally, Zou Yameng just sighed, “Let’s eat.” She suddenly felt like she was nothing. She couldn’t draw, she couldn’t sing, she couldn’t even plan, she was of no help to Lu Li’s dream. A wave of frustration surged in her heart. This feeling of helplessness as an outsider made her want to cry. Her brother had grown up and didn’t need her anymore.
Lu Li picked up a piece of beef and put it in his sister’s bowl, “Sister, I also have something to ask of you. If my game has a demo version, can you be a playtester and give me some suggestions? The gaming experience of non-professionals is very, very, very important to me. Besides you, Sister, I can’t find anyone else to help.”
Seeing Lu Li’s gentle smile, a thought popped into Zou Yameng’s mind: Did Lu Li see her sadness and deliberately say that? She couldn’t help but smile and softly agreed. Then she heard Lu Li mutter to himself, “After this game sells well, I’ll definitely buy a big house for Sister and me, so we can eat beef every meal. That’s what I’m working towards.”
Zou Yameng’s eyes reddened. She finally understood that Lu Li was comforting her. Her brother was so thoughtful, how could he not see that she was sad? These words were not so much words of comfort from Lu Li as they were his confession. Lu Li was working hard for her, and wasn’t she also fighting for Lu Li? This sense of mutual dedication filled her heart with warmth. She secretly glanced at Lu Li, seeing her brother obediently eating with his head down. Her gaze unconsciously fell on his lips, which were shiny with oil, and a taboo thought flashed through her mind.
Zou Yameng quickly averted her gaze, struggling to suppress that strange thought, but her heart was pounding. She felt like she was constantly testing the boundaries of wrongdoing. It was like a seed that had been planted for more than ten years, struggling to sprout from the cracks in the rock, and then growing uncontrollably.
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