Chapter 51: Squeeze This

Downstairs, the sounds of children playing could be heard.

Li Mu was only gently awakened by the sunlight shining into his eyes.

Last night, the curtains had not been drawn, leaving a gap for the sunlight to sneak in.

Habitually glancing at the time, it was already eleven in the morning.

He only just noticed the voice message sent by Lu Xiaoxi.

A soft, gentle “Good night.”

How strange, he listened to it again.

He listened to it once more.

Lu Xiaoxi sending him a voice message meant that their relationship had progressed further.

Li Mu lay in bed until noon, occasionally replaying the previous voice message.

Hehe, it sounded really nice.

He had no idea where his parents had gone again.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Li Mu continued planning his new book.

He had not been working for long when the doorbell rang.

Li Mu was glad he hadn’t been wearing headphones to listen to music; otherwise, he wouldn’t have known someone had come.

He leaned against the door, peering through the peephole, and saw a short-haired girl dressed in youthful attire, wearing a pink sports cap that covered her face, revealing only her fair chin.

Although he couldn’t see her face, Li Mu could still recognize who she was.

Behind the girl, Aunt Qin and Uncle Lu were laughing as they walked toward the elevator.

“Mom and Dad, you go ahead,” the girl called out behind her.

“Who are you…”

“I heard the noise; I know you’re watching!”

Interrupted while casting a spell, Li Mu was not annoyed; he chuckled and opened the door, only then noticing the badminton racket behind the girl. “Fully armed, are you going to play?”

Lu Xiaoxi’s parents loved sports; whenever they had free time, they would go downstairs to find a place to play badminton or table tennis, sometimes bringing Lu Xiaoxi along.

He learned badminton and table tennis from Lu Xiaoxi’s father, Lu Ming.

“Hmm, are you going to play?” the girl nodded obediently.

“Aren’t you the one who can’t play badminton?”

Li Mu pinched his chin, looking puzzled.

He remembered that Lu Xiaoxi couldn’t play; like him, she had learned from her parents, and after so many years, she could hardly even keep the shuttlecock in play under his guidance.

“Who told you I can’t?”

“I’m not talking about playing like a stick figure.”

“…I just don’t play well; it’s not that I can’t, okay?” Lu Xiaoxi pouted, her voice becoming softer.

“You’re just bad.”

“Are you going to play? If not, I’ll play with my parents.”

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

Lu Xiaoxi’s parents went down first, and this elevator ride was just the two of them.

“You’re so round,” Lu Xiaoxi covered her mouth, pointing at the reflection of the flattened Li Mu on the elevator door.

“Is it possible that you’re also round?”

Lu Xiaoxi hid behind Li Mu, peeking out with a little head, giggling, “Then it’s just you who’s round.”

The elevator arrived quickly.

It was still early, and many young people were playing basketball on the playground; the shouts of an uncle playing chess not far away could also be heard.

Li Mu saw his dad at the chess table and his mom at the card table not far away.

They had come down to play early in the morning; no wonder he hadn’t seen them.

Both families had come down.

“It’s not sunny again; why are you wearing a hat?” Li Mu flicked Lu Xiaoxi’s cap brim.

“Wait until the sun comes out and bakes you,” Lu Xiaoxi took off her hat and touched her forehead, which had a shallow imprint from the bun.

She should have adjusted it before wearing the hat.

She opened her badminton bag, and one of the racket handles had a torn grip, so she gave the unusable one to Li Mu and kept the good one for herself.

“You use this one.”

“Any racket can win against you.”

“…” Lu Xiaoxi huffed and went to the other side of the court.

Her little eyes were almost spitting fire; it was clear that Lu Xiaoxi really wanted to win.

Lu Xiaoxi tossed the shuttlecock high and hit a high ball.

This kind of ball was easy to hit; Li Mu gently tapped it back.

The shuttlecock accurately hit Lu Xiaoxi’s forehead.

“Wah—”

“Are you okay?”

Li Mu’s mouth twitched; he really just tapped it casually.

“I’m fine.” Lu Xiaoxi covered her forehead, picked up the shuttlecock, and sent another high ball.

There was no helping it; this was the only thing she could do.

Li Mu simply played high balls with her.

If someone who knew how to play badminton passed by, they would definitely be driven to high blood pressure…

There was a gap in physical ability between the two of them.

After only about ten minutes, Lu Xiaoxi was already panting heavily, her forehead covered in fine sweat.

“I’m not playing anymore…”

Lu Xiaoxi caught the last ball, waved her hand, and walked to the side, her tone weak and powerless.

Li Mu held the shuttlecock in his hand and walked to the opposite side.

Lu Xiaoxi could no longer straighten up, only able to lean on her knees and gasp for breath.

“Let’s sit over there for a bit.”

“Okay…”

Lu Xiaoxi took out her water bottle from her bag and was about to drink.

“Drinking water after intense exercise will make you throw up.”

“It’s fine… this isn’t intense exercise…” Lu Xiaoxi didn’t listen to him and sucked on the straw vigorously.

“With your stamina, running a few steps counts as intense exercise, and aren’t you supposed to have a herniated disc? Why are you still out playing?”

“It’s fine; I’ve been okay lately.”

Li Mu sat next to her, took her water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and drank.

“You said you can’t drink water, but you’re drinking it yourself.”

“I’m not tired.”

Even so, Li Mu was sweating just as much as Lu Xiaoxi; his collar, armpits, and back were all wet, and his hair was damp, sticking together in clumps.

Li Mu gulped down the water, his Adam’s apple rolling up and down, water dripping down his face and pooling at his chin.

Lu Xiaoxi only glanced at him.

“You smell so bad…”

“Just get used to it after smelling it a lot.” Li Mu grinned, pulled open his collar to fan himself, dispersing the smell of sweat, then watched Lu Xiaoxi frown and cover her nose.

“I’m going to throw up from your smell.”

“See, I told you not to drink water.”

“It’s because of your smell!”

“Sweat doesn’t have a smell; it’s the bacteria that stink, not me.”

“You stink too!”

Li Mu sniffed his armpit; there was indeed a bit of a smell, which was unavoidable after exercising.

He still shifted his butt and sat a little farther away.

“Are you going back?”

“Let’s rest a bit longer.” Lu Xiaoxi hunched over, still feeling uncomfortable.

During middle school, even during breaks, she would sit in her seat to review, rarely moving around. Once, her legs hurt, and after going to the hospital for an X-ray, she found out she had a herniated disc.

For a long time after the diagnosis, she underwent conservative treatment, completely avoiding exercise; her stamina was already mediocre, and now it was even weaker.

Since she hadn’t had leg pain for a long time, Lu Xiaoxi thought she was almost better and wanted to exercise a bit.

Her legs didn’t hurt, but Li Mu was right; the feeling of nausea was getting stronger, and she even showed signs of dry heaving.

“Your lips are pale.” Li Mu supported his face; he had already reminded her earlier, but Lu Xiaoxi didn’t listen, and now it was too late.

Even if he cared, what could he do? He wasn’t a doctor; he could only watch Lu Xiaoxi suffer, and he felt bad too.

Hearing this, Lu Xiaoxi bit her lip, and her pale lips turned a bit redder, but it was only for a moment before they quickly turned pale again.

“I think you should stop playing badminton; don’t underestimate badminton; the amount of exercise is no less than basketball. I’m just gently playing high balls with you; if it were someone else, they would definitely smash the ball, and you wouldn’t be able to return a single one.”

“Are you trying to belittle my stamina while also praising yourself?” Lu Xiaoxi said unhappily, her slender fingers pinching Li Mu’s arm hard.

The girl was still in a weak state; how much strength could she have? Li Mu felt no pain, and he even enjoyed it a bit.

He turned slightly, facing away from Lu Xiaoxi, and pointed to his back with his other hand: “Squeeze this.”

“…” Lu Xiaoxi’s little fist hardened.

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