Want to Have a Relationship with You | Chapter 25 | A Promise for Next Time | Novela.app

Su Jingming couldn’t quite put into words the feeling he had when Wen Yan came sprinting toward him. His heart felt tart and heavy, yet laced with a faint, lingering sweetness. Even though it was already November, the emotions surging in his chest burned hotter than the June sun. The two of them held each other for a brief moment before a girl with a high ponytail approached. She wore a red volunteer armband and held out a vial of glucose, asking in a soft, gentle voice, "Wen Yan, do you want some glucose?" Wen Yan let go and stood up straight, putting a natural distance between himself and Su Jingming. "No, thank you." The girl seemed a bit disappointed. Her eyes shimmered with a persistent light as she pressed on, "You should have one. Otherwise, your body might not be able to handle it in a bit." Wen Yan hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take the glucose, offering a low word of thanks. Su Jingming watched in silence for a beat, then handed Wen Yan’s school jacket back to him. Without a word, he turned and left the track, heading toward the spectator stands. After only a few steps, he remembered Ren Wei. He turned back to scan the area but couldn't find him. Reaching into his pocket for his phone to give Ren Wei a call, he remembered the task his friend had entrusted to him. His finger hovered over the screen for a few seconds before he decided against making the call. Su Jingming and Wen Yan entered the stands one after the other. As the number of people coming to watch the events increased, the crowd noticed the somewhat awkward atmosphere between the two top students and silently made way, leaving the center seats empty. "Wen Yan, sit here!" Wen Yan looked up to see his seatmate, Li Yang, patting the empty spot beside him. Su Jingming found a quiet corner with fewer people and sat down. Wen Yan shook his head at Li Yang and pointed toward Su Jingming. "I’m going over there." Li Yang watched them with a look of utter confusion. Since when had Wen Yan and Su Jingming become so close? Why hadn't he noticed before? It wasn't just Li Yang; the other students were equally astonished. The boy sitting next to Li Yang tugged on his sleeve. "Doesn't Su Jingming usually only hang out with Ren Wei? How did he get so close to Wen Yan?" Li Yang rubbed his nose. "No idea." Wen Yan sat down naturally in the seat next to Su Jingming, indifferent to the stares of others. Ever since a moment ago, Su Jingming had looked rather displeased. Wen Yan hadn't quite figured out what he had done to upset him yet. Just as he was about to speak, Song Yifei clapped both of them on the shoulders from behind. "Hey!" Song Yifei hadn't held back his strength. Wen Yan turned his head, wincing slightly. "Did you eat too much for lunch?" Song Yifei retorted, "Such a handsome guy, shame about the mouth." Sitting down next to Wen Yan, Song Yifei noticed the vial of glucose still in his hand. "Are you losing your touch? You need glucose just for one long-distance run now?" Wen Yan glanced down at it and stuffed the vial into his pocket. "A volunteer gave it to me." "I remember last year when you did the sprints and the long-distance back-to-back. So many girls were scrambling to give you water and glucose, and you didn't accept a single one." Song Yifei recalled the memory quite seriously. "Back then, I thought you were terrifying. Is your body made of iron or something?" Wen Yan chuckled, not noticing that Su Jingming’s lips had pressed into a thin, straight line. Song Yifei’s words felt like stones blocking Su Jingming's chest—heavy, airtight, and suffocating. He buried his head lower and lower until half his face was hidden in the collar of his jacket. He had no interest in listening to Wen Yan and Song Yifei talk about other girls. This was the scene Ren Wei stumbled upon when he finally found Su Jingming. Wen Yan was chatting happily with some guy—one Ren Wei recognized as Song Yifei. Meanwhile, his Brother Ming looked like a mistreated little bride, sitting with his head bowed, looking quite aggrieved. Ren Wei stepped forward. "Brother Ming, what’s wrong?" At his voice, Wen Yan and Song Yifei both turned to look. Su Jingming replied, "Nothing. I just forgot to record your race, and I didn't know how to tell you." "!!!" Ren Wei was shocked. "You actually forgot to record it?" Su Jingming’s hand, hidden inside his sleeve, tightened slightly. He gave a distracted "mm" of affirmation. "Sorry. Next time, for sure." Ren Wei couldn't accept it. Su Jingming, who never made mistakes, had actually forgotten to record the race! He crouched down, his eyes full of pleading. Su Jingming’s hand twitched. He was debating whether to tell Ren Wei the truth. But it felt too cruel; he had promised to record the race, and he *had* recorded it—it just wasn't Ren Wei who was the protagonist of the video... Gritting his teeth, Su Jingming opened his mouth. "Actually..." Mid-sentence, Su Jingming’s entire body went stiff, and he didn't dare move. Wen Yan’s hand had come to rest naturally on the back of Su Jingming’s chair. His fingertips brushed against the back of Su Jingming’s neck, seemingly by accident. It felt like an electric current, numbing him from his neck down to every corner of his body. "Actually what?" Ren Wei asked. Su Jingming’s first thought was that it was a good thing they were sitting in the very last row. "He means he was so engrossed in watching your race that he forgot to hit record," Wen Yan interjected, his explanation holding a grain of truth. Ren Wei was the type to fall for that, especially when the words came from the top student in the grade. He stood up and brushed off his pants. "Fair enough. Being able to keep up right behind Wen Yan... I guess that counts as a highlight of my high school career." "But speaking of which, Wen Yan, I couldn't tell—your stamina is pretty good." Wen Yan nodded slightly and leaned a bit closer to Su Jingming. He smiled and said, "Yours isn't bad either." It was unclear who that comment was actually directed toward. After a bit more small talk, Ren Wei hurried off to his next event. Song Yifei couldn't help but click his tongue. "He just finished a three-thousand-meter run and now he’s off to do the shot put. Impressive." "He is quite impressive." Wen Yan glanced out of the corner of his eye at the still-silent Su Jingming. His hand remained draped over the back of the chair. Song Yifei said something else, and Wen Yan gave a few distracted responses. Before long, Song Yifei was called back by his class sports representative. Without a second thought, Wen Yan turned his face toward Su Jingming and asked, "What have you been angry about this whole time?" "...I'm not." Su Jingming pursed his lips. He had answered too quickly, before his brain could even process the question. "Is that so?" Wen Yan’s voice suddenly dropped an octave. "You clearly recorded it. Why didn't you show Ren Wei?" Su Jingming froze. How did he know? He felt like he'd been caught red-handed doing something bad. Wen Yan let out a soft "tsk," but before he could speak again— Su Jingming asked in a quick, low whisper, "Why did you take the glucose?" "What?" On the track ahead, one event ended after another, and the stands were a cacophony of noise. In this inconspicuous corner, two boys sat side-by-side, shoulders touching. For a moment, Wen Yan thought he had misheard. But thinking back, Su Jingming had seemed unhappy from that exact moment onward. Realization dawned on Wen Yan. He tilted his head slightly, his voice low and deep as he spoke slowly into Su Jingming’s ear. "Then next time, if you're the one who brings it to me, I won't take theirs, okay?"