Section 18: The World of Adults

After dinner, the two strolled around the campus for a while. Lu Yuan led him to an ice cream shop, ordered two iced teas, and they sat in a corner to discuss serious matters. Sima, careful with his words, explained to Lu Youyou that they were conspiring to change the current structure of the school’s track and field team. For a long time to come, Lu Youyou would be going head-to-head with the sprint coach, Tu Jianguo, while he would “step up” to be the fulcrum of their rivalry. Watching him speak such cold, calculating words with the casual warmth of 37 degrees Celsius, Lu Yuan momentarily drifted off. So this was the adult world? Realistic, calm, full of scheming, weighing gains and losses! She felt like she had just received a lesson—one that was both enlightening and sobering. Reflecting on it, Sima had always been this rational; he and his cousin were cut from the same cloth...

“Of course, all of this depends on me successfully joining the track team and proving myself with results to provide strong support for Coach Lu. Otherwise, it would just be a joke. But then again, when faced with absolute strength, all these small schemes are mere ‘paper tigers.’ I won’t let you down.” Sima finally revealed a hint of youthful arrogance. Lu Yuan found it somewhat grating. He had already called her “Coach Lu” in advance, looking confident and fully assured.

Lu Yuan didn’t dampen his spirit; instead, she encouraged him, “I support you. Your cousin wouldn’t be wrong about you.”

Sima waited for that exact response, then pressed on, “Coach Lu has been secretly giving me special training sessions. The team captain, Xu Zegang, talked to her and agreed to keep it hidden from Tu Jianguo for the time being. But paper can’t cover fire forever—Tu Jianguo will find out sooner or later. Instead of waiting for him to make a move, we should take the initiative and reveal it ourselves. I plan to train openly under Coach Lu…”

Lu Yuan’s mind struggled to keep up. “Does your cousin know? Has she agreed?”

Sima smiled, “No, it’s my own immature idea that just popped into my head. I haven’t had the chance to discuss it with her yet.”

Lu Yuan bit her straw, frowned, and thought for a long time. “That… doesn’t sound quite right. There has to be a legitimate reason you can put forward. Otherwise, it will look like your cousin is poaching Coach Tu’s players…”

Sima nodded. “Right, it needs a proper, aboveboard excuse… Hmm, there’s an athlete under Coach Lu who trains in the 100-meter hurdles, named Li Xiazhi. I plan to pursue her, so I’ll shamelessly get close and train with her. How does that sound?”

“W-what? Y-you… Does Li Xiazhi know? Has she agreed?” Lu Yuan was shocked, eyes wide, her voice stumbling.

Sima’s answer shattered her worldview. He spoke deliberately, “First, pursuing her is my business; I don’t need her consent. Second, it’s not a real pursuit—it’s just a cover, nothing that harms her reputation. At worst, I’ll make it up to her later.”

Lu Yuan instinctively asked, “How would it not harm her reputation?”

Sima made a strange expression and countered, “Am I that bad? Would being pursued by me damage her reputation?”

Lu Yuan was left speechless and stammered, “T-then how do you plan to make it up to her?”

Sima found her a bit dim and knocked on the table, saying, “That’s not the point. The point is, what do you think? Is it workable?”

Lu Yuan snorted and muttered, “How should I know? I’m not Li Xiazhi…”

Sima said, “Put yourself in her shoes. If I shamelessly approached you, would you be furious and cut me off on the spot?”

Lu Yuan’s heart raced. She whispered, “I don’t think so…” her voice barely above a whisper.

Sima’s sharp ears caught it clearly. He smiled, “Then I’m relieved. And rest assured, Li Xiazhi is just a cover. There won’t be any real actions, not even the slightest chance of it becoming real.”

Lu Yuan was silent for a moment, then complained, “Why are you telling me all this? Honestly…”

They sat in the ice cream shop for a long time, finishing the iced teas before ordering ice cream, eating it with tiny spoons as it melted. Lu Yuan came back to herself. Sima did have his own plans, but he was also using “Li Xiazhi” to test her feelings. She realized this belatedly, her face slowly flushing, her ears burning, unable to meet his gaze. The scruffy shopkeeper leaned on the counter, occasionally glancing at the young couple in the corner—young, ambiguous, youth so beautiful. He couldn’t help but sigh.

Seeing the moment was right, Sima finished his ice cream, checked the time, stood to pay, and prepared to leave. Lu Yuan walked him to the school gate and couldn’t help but remind him before parting, “Don’t act on the Li Xiazhi thing without consulting your cousin.”

Sima assured her it was necessary and that he would definitely ask first. As he walked away, Lu Yuan suddenly felt discouraged. Beside Sima, she seemed like a child—both of them were freshmen, yet how was he so mature?

Sima reached the corner, didn’t stop or look back, just raised his hand and waved. From afar, Lu Yuan saw it like a lightning strike—her eyes lit up, her heart filled with joy, and a smile crept onto her lips.

Taking the bus back to his rented room, Sima locked the door behind him, took a quick shower, then, bare-chested in boxer shorts, brewed a cup of Pu’er tea. As he sipped, he tallied his expenses. Until now, he hadn’t realized how outrageous his spending was in less than a month in northern Beijing! Without a computer or Excel, he had to manually categorize and sum everything. Tuition and rent were one-off payments, but food expenses were the real burden—training was tough and nutrition had to keep pace, plus he needed to feed the “spiritual gu” inside him. The small allowance from Xia Ting was nearly depleted.

Even a penny can defeat a hero. Sima was troubled. Most of his funds were tied up in the stock market, which was currently losing value. After much thought, he had no choice but to shamelessly “mooch” from home again. Immediately, he acted, typing a long message on his phone, saying he was doing well in Beijing, studying smoothly, even had a girlfriend and often went on dates. He explained the high cost of living in northern Beijing and politely asked his mother for some financial support—three or five hundred wouldn’t be too little, three or five thousand wouldn’t be too much… At the end, he expressed concern for his parents’ health and urged them to take care of themselves, wishing them happiness and good health. After reviewing it carefully, he sent the message, which was so long it split into five parts.

Xia Ting quickly replied, terse but to the point: “Who is she?”

Sima scratched his head and typed, “Her name is Lu Yuan. She graduated from Changzhou High School the same year as me and is studying at Haidian University.”

Then Xia Ting called, interrogating him for half an hour until Sima was exhausted and bored. But effort brings reward. Xia Ting, knowing Lu Yuan was the top science student in his class—though not the absolute top—already considered her outstanding, more than good enough for her dear son. She promised to transfer some money soon to support him in securing a good future wife.