Chapter 48: All Right, Employee Bai Qingxia, It's Time to Start Work [Third Update]

"Bang!"

The shot put crashed heavily onto the turf of the sports field.

The teacher in charge of measuring hurried forward, but his expression was oddly perplexed. He stood up and called out loudly, "18.03 meters!"

Wang Ping was astonished. "What? One centimeter more than Jiao Jiao?!"

Given Jiao Jiao's physique, throwing 18 meters was understandable—after all, the global champion's record was only a bit over 20 meters.

But Lu Yuanqiu had actually surpassed Jiao Jiao?!

Even a centimeter was still surpassing.

Wang Ping glanced at Lu Yuanqiu in surprise again, not expecting this kid to have such talent in sports.

Long-distance running was impressive enough, but now shot put as well.

Upon hearing the result, Lu Yuanqiu excitedly clenched his fist and swung his right arm. "Yes!"

He quickly turned and looked into the distance toward Bai Qingxia, pointed at her, and gave her a thumbs-up, as if the achievement belonged to her.

The girl blushed and smiled shyly.

Lu Yuanqiu loved seeing her smile.

Bai Qingxia only smiled at him.

She held her school uniform, turned her head, and seeing others clapping, hurriedly joined in, though she seemed unfamiliar with the act. Her pale, delicate hands never quite matched the rhythm, clapping in a disorganized way.

Liu Wei was delighted. "Well done, Lu Yuanqiu!"

Gao Qiang exclaimed, "Awesome!"

Su Miaomiao chimed in, "Impressive!"

Zhong Jincheng, beside Su Miaomiao, nodded in resignation. "Alright, alright, alright... You're impressive, I'll give you that."

The students who weren't from Class 28 also joined in the applause. Lu Yuanqiu's result would surely win first place in shot put.

In the next long jump event, under Liu Wei's coercion and encouragement, Lu Yuanqiu once again took first place with ease.

Evening, after school.

During the sports meet, there was no evening self-study session. Bai Qingxia had to go home first, so Lu Yuanqiu went alone to Four Seasons Fresh Market.

"Sports meet. Accidentally took three first places."

Entering the supermarket, Lu Yuanqiu casually placed three gold medals on the counter before Lu Tian, then headed toward the refrigerator.

Lu Tian snorted, watching his son's back. "What's so great about winning first place at a sports meet? Can it add points to the college entrance exam? Don't forget the monthly test the day after tomorrow. Remember our agreement."

Though Lu Tian said this, he wouldn't drive Bai Qingxia away. From the first day he saw her kneeling between the shelves cleaning up that mess, he had no intention of ever sending this girl away.

He even considered making her his future daughter-in-law.

As for a daughter-in-law, Lu Tian didn't care about the girl's family background.

He didn't need her family's connections for his son's future. Although he was just a shabby supermarket owner, Lu Yuanqiu's three uncles were powerful enough.

Lu Yuanqiu, being the only boy of his generation, was spoiled by his uncles—his New Year's money always amounted to tens of thousands.

His eldest and second uncle were executives at a listed company, and the third uncle was involved in the X-Jacket business. Lu Tian, the youngest of four brothers, was a useless supermarket owner whose only role was to have a son.

Perhaps because of this, Lu Yuanqiu had always been lazy and unmotivated, like a delinquent.

But Lu Tian knew his son well; though he acted tough, he was kind and righteous at heart.

His three brothers' only request was for Lu Tian to ensure Lu Yuanqiu graduated from university—at least a bachelor's degree—with no shortcuts.

This would make his future easier.

Yet Lu Tian was so incompetent that even this simple task seemed impossible.

His brothers had lowered their expectations to a second-tier university, but seeing Lu Yuanqiu's current grades, they could only shake their heads and sigh, fearing even this goal was out of reach.

So now, Lu Tian viewed Bai Qingxia as a lifesaver—she inspired his son to study!

Look at that! Now Lu Tian no longer feared being scolded as a failure during family gatherings.

He knew his son cared deeply for this girl.

In student days, when a boy starts striving and working hard, eighty percent of the time it's because a girl is leading the way.

Boys are such simple and pure creatures.

Like amoebas.

Though he was a failure, Lu Tian understood this deeply.

Back then, if not for his wife Su Xiaoya's encouragement, he wouldn’t have scored even 37 out of 100 on his exams—at most, he'd be like Lu Yuanqiu, getting only 20.

Taking the three gold medals from the counter, Lu Tian stowed them in his wallet and casually asked, "Where's Xia? Why didn't you come back together?"

Lu Yuanqiu grabbed a drink from the fridge, leaned on the door, and took a sip. "She went home first. She'll be here soon."

Lu Tian nodded, then asked curiously, "Do you know anything about her family? Any siblings?"

He feared nothing except Bai Qingxia being someone who supported her brothers at her own expense.

Lu Yuanqiu shook his head. "I don't know."

"You care about her so much, why not ask?"

Lu Yuanqiu screwed the cap back on, gazed out at the street, and said, "Dad, during our student years, everyone has an invisible protective shell. It can be thick or thin, strong or fragile, guarding our sensitive spots. If you get too close and the shell breaks, the person breaks too."

Seeing his dad looking utterly confused, Lu Yuanqiu smiled and shrugged. "Of course, rich kids like you don't have such shells. You can go through your school days carefree, and every memory is filled with happiness."

Lu Tian was stunned.

He couldn't help but ask, "Did you copy that from some book?"

Lu Yuanqiu pointed his thumb at himself, dead serious. "Authentic Lu Yuanqiu quote!"

Seeing Lu Tian slowly reach for the clothesline, Lu Yuanqiu quickly grinned sheepishly. "Hehe, I'll get to work now."

After dinner, Bai Qingxia arrived at the supermarket.

After greeting Lu Tian, she walked straight to where Lu Yuanqiu was standing by the shelves, gently tugging at his shirt from behind.

He turned and smiled. "You're here?"

"I want to ask you something," Bai Qingxia said.

"What is it?"

They returned to the same corner as before.

By the counter, Lu Tian suddenly sat up from his rocking chair, grabbed some sunflower seeds, and watched the surveillance footage with curiosity.

Bai Qingxia stared at the boy, asking earnestly, "What are you planning to do?"

Lu Yuanqiu replied, "Oh, I'll have a late-night snack later, maybe go to the bathroom. I usually read a reincarnation novel after that—who knows, maybe one day I'll get reborn and become a guide..."

Bai Qingxia frowned, her tone urgent. "I mean, what are you planning to do about those girls?"

Lu Yuanqiu was momentarily taken aback, then laughed. "Nothing much, just scare them a bit so they won't cause trouble again. If they're the type of kids who mix things up in Seventh High, they've definitely heard of me. They'll know I'm not to be messed with."

Of course, he would do something. Lu Yuanqiu would make sure those girls knew whom they'd provoked.

But it would have to wait until after the monthly exam; his new identity now was that of a good student.

"Really?"

Bai Qingxia raised her head, her beautiful eyes scrutinizing the boy.

Lu Yuanqiu replied, "Really."

Seeing her expression soften a little, Lu Yuanqiu smiled and said, "After the exam, it'll be almost National Day. What are you planning?"

Bai Qingxia looked down. "Work."

Lu Yuanqiu glanced up at the surveillance camera; his father at the counter shrank his neck, rubbing his eyes guiltily.

Lu Yuanqiu casually quoted a line from King of Comedy to the girl, "How about not working?"

He wondered if she'd seen the movie.

Almost instantly, Bai Qingxia silently finished the line in her heart:

If I don't work, you'll support me?

But she knew that this line would never come from her lips.

She looked down, feeling disappointed. "I can't."

Maybe she hadn't seen the movie—or even if she had, she wouldn’t respond... Lu Yuanqiu mused inwardly, then turned. "We'll talk later. Maybe I can take you out somewhere."

"Alright, employee Bai Qingxia, time to start your shift."

ps.

What? None of you have youth? (Dog head emoji)

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