Qiao Huaiyao saw the alert line outside.
Bai Jinyan: [Location.]
Qiao Huaiyao felt that his brother might be afraid that something would happen to him during the run, so he sent his real-time location.
The people in front walked out of the school gate and started running.
Qiao Huaiyao followed them and typed: [Don’t wait for me, Brother. I’m going for a run.]
He glanced at Bai Jinyan’s message, didn’t read it carefully, and then locked the screen. He ran forward with the crowd.
At the beginning, his energy was abundant, and those who ran faster in front quickly pulled away from the classmates who ran at a steady pace behind.
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t want to squeeze with too many people, so he stayed in the less crowded middle area.
The instructor ran on the inner side and occasionally shouted, “No walking! Start running! If you can’t keep up, step aside!”
Qiu Shufeng finally managed to catch up with Qiao Huaiyao, panting, “My goodness, how can I run so fast at the beginning? Can I still keep up later?”
Qiao Huaiyao sensed his irregular breath, so he said, “Don’t talk.”
Talking while running could disrupt the breathing rhythm, making it easier to get tired.
Qiu Shufeng had been alternating between running fast and slowing down, and now he had to stop and walk to catch his breath, which had become uneven.
Wang Zhan caught up and said, “You look like you’re out of breath. Do you need to take a break?”
“No need, I have good stamina,” Qiu Shufeng said as he caught his breath, almost getting startled when Bai Jinyan suddenly approached him.
“Cough, cough.” Bai Jinyan glanced at him, cleared his throat, and said, “I’m… panting, just… catching my breath.”
They didn’t try to catch up with the people in front, and those behind them couldn’t catch up either.
Consequently, there were fewer people in this area.
Apart from their dormitory, there were only a few sporadic runners scattered across the large area.
However, the sound coming from the instructor’s loudspeaker and the background noise grew increasingly chaotic.
Qiao Huaiyao contemplated whether to wear headphones and listen to music.
Hearing Wang Zhan’s exclamation, he raised an eyebrow, “Hephaestus E-Class Coupe? Let me see!”
Not only did he see it, but other runners also turned their heads to look.
“What kind of car is that? It’s… impressive!”
“Look at that car, I remember seeing it at the school gate before.”
A male student adjusted his heavy breathing while stumbling over his words, “I… I checked it, I remember the number ends with a zero, uh… and it’s a brand exclusive.”
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t pay much attention to cars, he was only interested in their appearance and didn’t bother to learn about brands.
After all, their family had many cars in their private garage.
However, he still subconsciously glanced at it and memorized the license plate.
Bai Jinyan had driven him in this car before.
Why is it parked here?
Before Qiao Huaiyao could figure it out, he took out his phone to call Bai Jinyan and ask, but he saw a person getting out of the driver’s seat.
The person was wearing sportswear and a cap that partially covered the upper half of their face.
Despite that, Qiao Huaiyao recognized them instantly.
His eyes widened in astonishment, and he stiffly continued to swing his arms as he ran.
Brother…?
Bai Jinyan got out of the car and looked at the red dot on his phone that was gradually getting closer to him.
He stood up and walked toward the edge of the alert line.
Seeing this, Qiao Huaiyao told his roommate, “I’ll be back in a moment.”
Qiu Shufeng, who had also recognized Bai Jinyan, panted, “Go ahead.”
Yu Luofan and Wang Zhan exchanged puzzled glances, both showing confusion.
“Brother,” Qiao Huaiyao ran over, “Why are you here?”
Bai Jinyan and Qiao Huaiyao were separated by the alert line as they both ran toward each other.
“Just chatting, came over for some exercise,” Bai Jinyan said.
Qiao Huaiyao raised an eyebrow, knowing that Bai Jinyan’s reason for being there wasn’t as simple as just chatting.
He had a feeling about what Bai Jinyan was up to, but he wanted to hear it from him directly.
Qiao Huaiyao’s lips curved into a faint smile as he playfully said, “I’m not satisfied with that reason.”
Bai Jinyan glanced at him, catching the mischievous glint in Qiao Huaiyao’s eyes.
He responded with a smile, “Then let me rephrase it.”
Bai Jinyan said seriously, “I was worried you wouldn’t be able to handle running such a long distance, so I came over.”
Qiao Huaiyao quirked an eyebrow, “Did you come over to watch me?”
Bai Jinyan chuckled, reaching out to ruffle Qiao Huaiyao’s hair. He went along with the playful tone, adding, “I came over to run with you.”
Qiao Huaiyao’s smile deepened, and he asked, “Are you going back to the set later?”
Bai Jinyan replied, “No, I don’t have any scenes today. Tomorrow, I have a scene to film in the morning, so I’m planning to visit the school for a bit.”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded and asked, “Is that the lab session?”
Bai Jinyan confirmed, “Yes.” He explained, “I’ll be back soon after taking care of things.”
Qiao Huaiyao was about to respond, but Bai Jinyan’s gaze suddenly became more penetrating.
Caught off guard, Qiao Huaiyao cleared his throat, “I didn’t ask.”
Bai Jinyan’s eyes held a knowing glint as he continued, “That’s right, you didn’t ask. I just wanted to tell you.”
Qiao Huaiyao pursed his lips, trying to suppress the smile that was threatening to break free.
However, when you’re in high spirits, a smile is hard to conceal.
Bai Jinyan had seen this route before. There was still a long stretch ahead before the alert line circled back to the starting point.
He said, “Don’t talk for now; if you run out of breath, you won’t be able to keep going.”
Qiao Huaiyao teased, “If I can’t run later, will you carry me?”
Bai Jinyan didn’t explicitly say yes or no; instead, he said, “If you’re willing.”
Qiao Huaiyao was just joking, considering the presence of their classmates and the instructor.
How could he actually expect Bai Jinyan to carry him?
However, Bai Jinyan’s response gave him an unexpected urge to wrap his arms around Bai Jinyan beyond the alert line.
Bai Jinyan instructed, “Run a bit faster; the instructor is catching up.”
“Got it,” Qiao Huaiyao responded and picked up his pace to keep up with Bai Jinyan.
The alert line was just separating the sidewalk, so if anything happened, they could be held accountable.
However, both sides of the alert line were open for running, and there weren’t many people nearby besides the students.
Qiu Shufeng and the others were lagging behind, struggling to catch up with the two of them.
Wang Zhan couldn’t help but ask, “Who’s the person running with Qiao Huaiyao? Why does he look so familiar?”
“It’s Qiao… Huaiyao’s brother,” Qiu Shufeng managed between breaths, clearly exhausted.
“Have I met him before?” Wang Zhan doubted his memory, recognizing the face but not recalling whether he had seen Qiao Huaiyao’s brother before.
Qiu Shufeng gave him a glance, “Maybe, you’ve seen him?”
As far as he knew, Wang Zhan had a strong interest in the entertainment industry.
He wasn’t a fanatic fan of any particular celebrity, but he did keep an eye on entertainment news.
The instructor saw the situation and raised the megaphone, “No stopping!!! What are you doing over there?”
Yu Luofan hurried ahead, turning back to say, “Run faster; if they catch up later, we’ll be at the back.”
Wang Zhan agreed, “Coming, coming.”
As they spoke, the two of them ran together. Bai Jinyan matched Qiao Huaiyao’s pace as they continued their run.
When they returned to the starting point, Qiao Huaiyao noticed that there weren’t many people left on the school field.
They had unknowingly overtaken the frontmost group.
Bai Jinyan led him forward, saying, “Let’s do two more laps.”
After intense exercise, abruptly stopping or lying down was dangerous.
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t feel as tired as he thought.
He didn’t notice it during the run, but now, as he slowed down to catch his breath, he realized his breathing was uneven.
Bai Jinyan asked, “Feeling tired?”
Qiao Huaiyao shook his head.
Running at a steady pace with Bai Jinyan’s help to regulate the speed had kept him from getting overly exhausted.