Chapter 70 070. Spoilage
“The three-legged race, huh…” An Han muttered inwardly.
This was the kind of event that forced close physical contact with your partner—yet Su Peng had chosen *him*?
He sneaked a glance at Su Peng’s expression but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
*Could it be that he’s too shy to pair up with a girl, so he picked his good buddy instead?*
An Han still hadn’t figured out whether Su Peng’s affection for him was the romantic kind—like Long Xing’s—or just normal brotherly camaraderie. One thing was certain, though: it definitely wasn’t familial love.
He’d checked his family members’ affection ratings before—both his mom and little sister scored above 80—but of course, that wasn’t romantic.
Just like people’s physical constitutions differ, affection couldn’t be judged by a single standard.
It was already nighttime. Determined not to embarrass himself at the sports meet, An Han had come to the track to practice with Su Peng.
The scarf they’d use to tie their legs together was the same one An Han had once worn during his cross-dressing days to hide his Adam’s apple.
These days, it wasn’t really useful anymore—his Adam’s apple had faded into near-invisibility as his physique stats increased.
Well, it wasn’t *completely* useless—maybe it could be tied around a thigh for a little extra flair under a short skirt?
But An Han had no intention of ever dressing as a girl again.
“Done warming up?” Su Peng strolled over, hands in his pockets, smiling. “You look kinda down.”
An Han looked up and asked bluntly, “Why didn’t you pair up with An Kexin? Why insist on running with me?”
Su Peng hadn’t expected that question. He scratched his head and replied, “Well… I’m closer with you.”
“We game together all the time, so this should be similar. Plus, I’m scared a girl might not keep up with my pace.”
His reasoning sounded perfectly reasonable—except under the dim stadium lights, his cheeks were faintly flushed.
*You’re totally blushing! That’s why you’re too shy to run with a girl!*
An Han pulled the scarf from his pocket and jabbed Su Peng playfully in the side with his elbow. “Are you… a virgin? That shy?”
“What? Aren’t you?”
“Your Master? A virgin? Ridiculous! I’ve seen countless beauties!” He declared this with utter confidence, then tossed the scarf to Su Peng. “Tie our legs for your master!”
“Around the thighs?” Su Peng teased.
An Han blinked in genuine confusion—he hadn’t even registered it as flirting.
“Wait, you’re thinking the same thing? I was just thinking how hot it’d look if a girl in a short skirt tied something around her thigh!”
“Our master-apprentice duo actually share the same taste!”
Su Peng chuckled and crouched down, pressing his left leg tightly against An Han’s. He wrapped the scarf firmly around their lower calves.
“Let’s test if we can even move.”
“It’s not about speed—it’s about *not falling*!” An Han’s expression instantly turned serious. “If we trip during the meet, the whole school will know what a pair of dumbasses we are!”
Every year, someone inevitably made a fool of themselves at the sports meet—doing a standing long jump that barely left the ground, clearing a one-centimeter high jump, or creating a whole new art form of falling spectacularly.
Even though An Han usually stayed holed up in his dorm gaming, he’d still heard all the infamous stories. Worse yet, the school’s online forum immortalized these humiliations forever. Every time alumni gathered to reminisce about college days, those clips inevitably resurfaced like an inescapable curse.
An Han didn’t care about winning—he just didn’t want this to become part of his personal hall of shame.
“Alright, let’s take a few steps first,” Su Peng said, standing up after securing the knot.
With their legs bound together, An Han’s balance immediately shifted. The first few cautious steps went smoothly enough.
“Pick up the pace a bit.”
As they sped up, An Han began struggling to match Su Peng’s stride. He felt his leg being dragged along.
He tried his best to keep rhythm, but Su Peng was tall with long legs—one of his steps equaled one and a half of An Han’s.
“Slow down!”
Su Peng glanced back and stopped abruptly. But An Han didn’t react in time—his leg suddenly locked in place, and he pitched forward, face-planting onto the grass.
Panicked, Su Peng reached to help him up, but An Han whirled around, fuming. “Why’d you stop so suddenly?! And your steps! Make them smaller! My legs aren’t as long as yours, alright?!”
Thankfully, they’d been on the grassy infield—painful, but no real injury.
Furious, An Han plopped onto the ground and started untying the scarf around their legs, grumbling, “Seriously! When you’re running, can’t you just check if I’m keeping up?!”
“Uh…” An Han’s voice trailed off as he focused on the knot.
*Is this… a goddamn* ***knot that can’t be undone***?
He looked up, bewildered. Su Peng gave an awkward, sheepish grin. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
“It’s a *dead knot*!”
“I… didn’t know how to tie it so it wouldn’t come loose…”
“Then why didn’t you just *say* something?!” An Han was dumbfounded.
He’d gamed with Su Peng plenty, hung out with him over the National Day holiday—never once did he seem this clueless!
With a long sigh, An Han muttered, “You’re acting really off today.”
“......”
“Are you sick again?” He pressed the back of his hand to Su Peng’s forehead, tilted his head to check, then frowned in confusion. “Doesn’t feel like it…”
But Su Peng’s blush had only deepened—his cheeks had been tinged pink ever since they’d started.
An Han had assumed it was embarrassment over mentioning An Kexin, but now…
His big, dark eyes locked onto Su Peng, desperately trying to dissolve his growing suspicion into nothing.
But soon enough, Su Peng looked away, unable to meet his gaze.
*It’s fine—it’s just brotherly affection! Su Peng’s just not used to eye contact, that’s all!*
An Han’s lips twitched. Even he didn’t believe that excuse.
“Forget the three-legged race. Tomorrow I’ll ask An Kexin to cancel our registration,” An Han said with a defeated sigh. “I’ll just stick to the 100-meter sprint.”
Su Peng looked embarrassed. He didn’t know what was wrong with him lately—whenever he saw An Han, he couldn’t help but see him as a girl. His instincts kept pushing him to act his absolute best, yet he kept messing up.
An Han seemed even more alluring than before. Every casual movement during their close contact sent Su Peng’s heart racing like he was falling in love.
*But An Han’s a guy…*
“I… guess that’s fine,” Su Peng mumbled, feeling he should probably keep some distance.
Seeing Su Peng lost in lovesick daydreams, An Han forced a grin and playfully slapped his shoulder, slipping back into his “master” persona: “You’re clearly in need of a girlfriend! I’ll bump that up my priority list!”
*If Su Peng’s affection won’t go down, I’ve got to find him a girlfriend—stat!*
“A girlfriend, huh…”
“Yep! Like we agreed—you call me ‘Master,’ and I’ll get you a girlfriend!”
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