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Chapter 42
Xiao Qi finished tidying everything up. When she lay on the bed, her aunt got her period and came downstairs. Seeing the room become like this also gave her a shock.
However, she was very happy, smiling with a face full of teeth.
She reached out and touched the wall, then touched the table.
"This is good, it doesn't collect dust."
She then turned her head and saw the jar used to store pickles. Seeing the branches plugged in it, she laughed and said: "You young people are really amazing. Just messing around a bit makes it look nice. There are still lots of flowers that patients above give me. Next time I'll bring them here to put in this jar."
Su Simei didn't ask how much the wallpaper cost. She thought that after Xiao Qi started school, she would give her a sum of money. She heard from her neighbor Xiaolin that Xiao Qi's college tuition was not cheap, and she could help a little.
"I'll come and cook tonight. I'll make the stewed pork rice you made last time, it was tasty too. You go and take a bath."
Xiao Qi was sweaty from being busy. But before taking a bath, she thought she still hadn't walked enough steps today and needed to walk another ten thousand plus steps, making her sweaty again. So she decided to take a bath later.
"Auntie, I'll go out and exercise for a bit, then come back to eat."
Making stewed pork rice was simple, so Su Simei didn't mind.
Xiao Qi changed into shorts and short sleeves, put on her phone, and tied it to her arm. She had downloaded the content of New Concept English Book 4. She had almost finished Book 3 and planned to start tackling Book 4. She could listen to the English recordings while running.
It was nearly 6 pm. The dishes were all served in the fast food restaurant at the hospital entrance, visible through the glass cover, with a dazzling variety.
Those who ate fast food the most were the families of hospital patients, as well as the migrant workers doing odd jobs at the hospital and No. 1 Middle School.
The hospital was always constructing buildings. An additional building was added behind the inpatient department. After all, there were never enough beds for patients, who often had to lie in the corridors.
At No. 1 Middle School, during the summer vacation, there would be hammering and repairs done.
The small eatery next to the fast food restaurant also had people streaming in one after another. The boss set up a big pot and started a fire right under the window sill at the entrance.
When Xiao Qi came out, she still smelled the greasy aroma, but also had another indescribable feeling, very lively.
She went to the school every day to study. She was young with a delicate complexion. The security guard at the school gate saw her and let her in without saying anything.
No. 1 Middle School had several basketball courts. But being located downtown, that was all the land available. There was no soccer field, nor a standard 400-meter running track.
But after all it was a school campus. Although there was no standard running track, they still managed to create a makeshift rubber track, which turned out to be even longer than 800 meters, winding around the campus like intestines, over 1,000 meters long.
It wasn't very standard, but sufficient for running.
Xiao Qi first did some warm-up exercises, still the swimming drills taught by her coach Teacher Wu.
She stretched her arms, waist and legs until her body felt relaxed and limber before starting to run.
Although she was a country girl, her PE grades were quite mediocre.
She didn't really work or exercise at home either, just stayed in reading every day. If not for being young with a good metabolism, she would have become a fat nerd.
After warming up, she began running.
She had learned equestrian coach Diana's long distance running skill, with her current long distance running level at Entry.
Previously she hadn't really run seriously.
She originally thought she could find a coach after getting a gym membership. But it turned out she was too presumptuous. After starting swimming, she was already exhausted to death, let alone finding a fitness coach.
As expected, those gym salesmen who persuaded you to sign up were invincible.
Her goal was to run 10,000 meters, so she paid close attention to her breathing from the start.
She didn't dare pant heavily. Also, it had been a while since lunch, so her stomach wouldn't feel uncomfortable either. After running a few steps, Xiao Qi felt quite comfortable. Running felt different from walking.
When running, the surrounding scenery retreated at another speed.
Her hair flew back beside her ears.
Specks of sunlight also rapidly retreated.
Although it was still the same world, it also seemed different.
Her field of vision seemed wider.
She gradually felt like she was flying.
Inhale with each step, exhale with each step. The motions of her arms, legs, and breath were in harmony, giving her a very comfortable sensation. It felt as if she could take flight if only she went a little faster.
Also, when running, keeping her head high with shoulders open, she would no longer subconsciously hunch like when walking. Gazing ahead, even her chest seemed to open up.
Her body gradually entered a very harmonious state. Running felt very effortless.
Of course she also gradually felt some fatigue, but it was still a pleasant sensation.
She didn't stop, instead maintaining this speed and running steadily, not too fast or slow.
Once she got used to the posture, movements and breathing of running, her attention was focused more on the English lesson in her earphones.
The texts in Book 4 felt somewhat unfamiliar to Xiao Qi, but not to the point of incomprehension. Just the difficulty of reciting was higher.
As she ran, she listened to the English texts. Sweat gradually crawled onto her forehead, then dripped down her cheeks.
Her waist remained relaxed and upright without arching too straight.
The running felt smooth and free, especially being able to watch her step count and money count rise.
Every step earned 0.5 yuan. Her daily step count alone earned enough to cover her tuition.
Recently Xiao Qi had been busy yet confused.
Actually, she was still at a loss about how to spend money after earning it.
Xiao Qi didn't really have many opportunities to spend money.
It felt like going around drumming up business.
But while running, she completely let go of all that, freed herself of various strange burdens.
She only needed to simply run.
She even found it easier and more focused to listen to English at this time.
She discovered that she liked running.
Liked the feeling of sprinting.
Freedom, flying.
This sensation was somewhat addictive and intoxicating.
It was like the rebooting process of a computer or phone. After running over 10,000 steps, Xiao Qi gradually slowed to a walk, breathing heavily. Her whole being felt like it had rebooted, exceptionally clear-headed like never before.
She decided she could run more often from now on.
Not only could it solve the problem of step count, more importantly, running was like a spiritual cleanse. The "splash splash" of sweat on her body seemed to not only cleanse her spiritually, but even bodily.
After finishing running, she slowly walked half a lap more.
On the playground, her shadow with back consistently straight stretched long.
As she gradually walked back, queues were forming at the fast food stands at the hospital entrance, with people coming and going.
She went back to her aunt's dorm to fetch a bucket and showered in the ward, washing off the stench of sweat. Her entire being felt refreshed.
Of course she was still tired, so she ate quite a lot for dinner.
The stewed pork rice her aunt made had unevenly chopped vegetables, both large and small pieces, and slightly too much water.
But Xiao Qi was very hungry now, so she wolfed it all down.
After drinking the last spoonful of egg drop soup, she let out a loud burp of satisfaction.
She felt today was perfect.