After finishing classes in the afternoon, Amy and I arrange to meet at the sports field. It's September now, and the afternoon temperature at the field is still quite pleasant. Under the evening glow, girls are strolling around the field.
This is a scene Amy has never really seen before. She's barely ever come to the sports field. Compared to strolling around the field, she much prefers curling up in her dorm or classroom, snacking and reading novels.
The two of us stand at a corner of the sports field, not far from some pull-up bars and other exercise equipment. Seeing Amy's slightly dazed expression, I let out a light laugh and say, "I hurt my hands the other day from a fall, so I can't play badminton with you. Let's just do some simple exercises today. How does that sound?"
She nods. I continue. "Go ahead and roll your shoulders, warm up a bit, then you'll do seventy sit-ups."
Hearing this, Amy inexplicably feels relieved. And at the same time, she thinks to herself, thank goodness. Thank goodness, seventy sit-ups isn't too bad. I can just barely manage that. At least I won't embarrass myself in front of him.
After stretching out a bit, she diligently starts doing her sit-ups. I find a spot on a low wall to sit down, quietly watching her exercise.
After a while, she claps her hands and stands up. Looking at Amy's face, drenched in sweat, I nod in satisfaction. "Done already. Not bad."
She doesn't reply, breathing heavily, just fanning herself with her hand to cool down.
I give a gentle smile and say, "Amy, let's rest for a bit, then we'll do seventy squats. Sound good?"
Hearing this, she instantly lets out a shocked cry, then asks, a bit resentful, "You're kidding, right? More on top of that?"
I nod, looking at her with amusement.
She steels herself and says, "Fine, give me three minutes to catch my breath."
After resting, Amy starts a new round of exercise. By the time she reaches the fiftieth squat, she can barely hold on anymore. Her legs feel sore and swollen, and her whole body starts feeling heavy.
No, I'm really too exhausted. I can't keep going any longer. What should I do? I really wanted to just give up.
She glances over at me carefully, presses her lips together, and keeps thinking, I can't give up like this. I don't want him to see me as a joke. I'm pushing through.
Fueled by the stubborn refusal to lose, she struggles through squat after squat. Watching her determined, stubborn expression, I raise an eyebrow, but don't stop her. I just ask mid-exercise, "Amy, how many squats have you done so far?"
She answers, breathless, "Fifty-nine so far."
Then, in a slightly husky voice, I say, "Oh. Ten more to go, then. Is this really your limit?"
She doesn't say a word, just furrows her brow and picks up the pace. She finally finishes.
"All right, it's about time. Let's go get something to eat."
So the two of us head to the cafeteria to eat together. Amy is completely worn out, eager to comfort her exhausted body with some good food. She rushes to the food counter and buys a whole bunch of things, going back and forth several times.
Once she's gotten everything she wants, she sits down. The moment she sits, she sees me quietly playing on my phone at the table. She asks, a bit puzzled, "You — why haven't you gone to buy food? Aren't you hungry?"
She thinks to herself, don't tell me he's on a diet too? Are guys really this committed to this stuff nowadays?
Hearing what she says, I put down my phone, give her a gentle smile, and say, "Not at all. I actually want to eat a lot more so I can grow taller."
She blinks a couple of times, as if suddenly hit by a thought, and her face suddenly turns red. She thinks to herself, wait, shouldn't I be the one buying him food? After all, he's basically my mentor right now. Ugh, my brain is really slow sometimes.
She feels a bit embarrassed and frustrated and immediately stands up and says, "What do you want to eat? I'll go get it for you."
I have no idea what she's imagining in her head. I glance at her, point at her spicy hot pot dish, and ask, "Amy, how much did this bowl of spicy hot pot cost?"
Amy assumes I want the spicy hot pot too, and answers obediently, "Forty-two yuan. Looks pretty good, right? I figured it should taste great."
I nod and, without hesitation, pull the bowl of hot pot over to my side, saying, "If you eat spicy hot pot tonight, all that exercise would have been for nothing. I'll be taking this one for myself."
Amy feels a bit down, but doesn't dare argue back, so she quickly finishes off her pan-fried dumplings instead and then starts eating her fried rice.
"Amy, next time don't order the hot pot this spicy."
She suddenly hears my voice come out a bit hoarse. Amy glances at me. Fine beads of sweat are forming on my forehead, and I keep letting out light coughs every so often.
Amy starts feeling guilty. She thinks, oh no, what do I do? If I'd known, I wouldn't have ordered something this spicy. I really feel like I owe him an apology.
Then she hesitantly hands me her untouched watermelon juice. To her surprise, after taking a sip of the watermelon juice, I go right back to my usual habit of critiquing things.
"Also, don't order so many meatballs next time. And you put in some noodles too. That's a bit much. I couldn't even finish it all."
Hearing this, all of Amy's guilt instantly evaporates, replaced by a bit of gloating amusement instead. She reaches her hand out toward me and says, "If you're so tough, then don't drink it. Give my watermelon juice back."
The two of them bicker their way through the rest of the meal.
Once Amy returns after dropping off the dishes, she notices a payment notification on WeChat. She looks a bit confused and asks, "Why did you send me money?"
I put my phone away. As the two of us walk outside together, I say, "I'm not giving back the snacks I confiscated this morning, and also, I just went ahead and covered tonight's meal money for you too."
Hearing this, Amy quickly waves her hand and says, "You don't need to send money. I understand what you're doing. It's all for my own good."
Seeing her innocent, clueless expression, I can't help but want to tease her a bit. "From now on, anytime I catch you buying snacks, I'll be confiscating them. Also, I'd suggest you show some self-discipline. Next time I see you buying too much, I'll intercept it just the same."
She sighs helplessly and says, "But this is already the result of me holding back over and over again. Why are you still being this strict?" Amy looks a bit wronged.
We reach the fork where the staircase splits, and I remind her, "Go back and rest up a bit. I'll wait for you downstairs in an hour. We'll run four laps around the field, then you can go rest. I'm heading off now. Bye."
Hearing this, Amy just feels her vision go dark over and over again.