Chapter 52: Resuming Running
An Ning got up before dawn. After making her bed, she was about to go wake An Guoming up.
But when she stepped outside, she was surprised to see An Guoming already up and moving around in the courtyard.
She looked up at the sky. The sun definitely hadn’t risen yet.
"Second Brother, couldn’t you sleep?"
An Ning guessed as much. When An Guoming turned around, she knew she was right. He definitely hadn’t slept.
An Guoming’s dark circles were incredibly obvious—so much so that An Ning couldn’t resist stepping forward to take a closer look.
"Morning, Little Sis."
An Guoming managed to say through a yawn, which made An Ning frown. "Second Brother," she said disapprovingly, "I have you running to make you stronger. If you don’t sleep at night, all this exercise is a waste."
"I... but..."
An Guoming wanted to explain that he didn’t do it on purpose, but he couldn’t quite find the words.
"Little Sis, you’re up! I finished my homework."
An Ning glanced to the side and saw An Guoqing emerge from the side room. Not only did he have the same matching dark circles, but his mouth was also smudged with black.
Instantly, An Ning sensed something was off.
"Eldest Brother, what have you been eating?"
"Huh?"
An Guoqing looked completely baffled. He scratched his head and said, "I didn’t eat anything. I was up all night practicing my writing. Little Sis, take a look. Is it any good?"
’Practicing... writing... all night.’
’What a peculiar unit of measurement.’
An Ning took the notebook An Guoqing was insisting she look at and flipped through it. The pages were filled with the Chinese characters the three of them had learned together the previous night.
An Ning noticed that every single character in the notebook had been erased and rewritten multiple times. The pages at the front were nearly worn through from all the erasing.
’The black smudges from the pencil... the smudges on his face... a full night of writing.’
The pieces clicked together in An Ning’s mind. She turned back to An Guoming and asked, "Did Second Brother also write all night?"
"No! I did not!" An Guoming straightened his back and declared righteously, "I’m much smarter than that. I only wrote for a little more than half the night."
An Guoming made a "just a little" gesture with his fingers, determined to prove he was smarter than his eldest brother.
Holding the notebook, An Ning’s brow remained furrowed. ’Am I a bad teacher?’ she wondered.
But An Guoqing and An Guoming, standing nearby, had no idea. They both assumed An Ning was unhappy with their homework.
Instantly, the two of them stood side-by-side, fidgeting nervously, getting a taste of the dread a student feels when facing their teacher.
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, what are you two doing?"
An Guoping, heading out for school with his satchel on his back, broke the stalemate.
An Guoping didn’t get a response, but it was just a casual question anyway. As soon as he saw An Ning, he stepped forward and pulled a yuan from his pocket.
"Sis, here."
"Why are you giving me money?"
"This is from the other day. I don’t have anywhere to spend it."
It wasn’t that An Guoping didn’t know how to spend it; he just couldn’t bear to.
Even though his family was running a business now, he didn’t feel he could just spend money freely.
An Ning pushed his hand back. Then, she pulled another yuan from her pocket and firmly pressed it into An Guoping’s palm.
"Your mission for today is to spend all two yuan. You must spend every last bit."
An Guoping wanted to refuse, but when he met An Ning’s gaze and felt the unyielding pressure on his hand, he inexplicably lost his nerve.
"I know, Sis."
An Guoping went into the main house to eat. At the doorway, Lin Cuihua, who had been enjoying the show, quickly turned back to the stove, pretending to be busy with the cooking.
An Sancheng also pulled his head back in and went back to stoking the fire.
’Still, how is my little girl getting so formidable?’
After the triple whammy of An Ning getting stronger, earning money, and proving her intelligence, everyone in the family had subconsciously started to defer to her.
An Ning looked at her two brothers, who were still standing there. Her expression finally relaxed. "Second Brother, let’s go for our run. Eldest Brother, you can get to your chores."
"We won’t do so much writing tonight. Getting a good night’s rest is more important."
"Let’s go, Second Brother."
"Right, right, okay."
An Guoming hurried to catch up with An Ning. Watching them leave, An Guoqing breathed a sigh of relief. ’Good, no more writing.’
’Practicing writing is way more exhausting than physical labor.’
An Ning ran with An Guoming, helping him adjust his breathing and stride as he adapted to the super slow pace she set.
"WOOF WOOF WOOF!"
As soon as she heard the barking, An Ning knew Jiang Xia was out for a run with Da Huang.
The thought reminded her that she needed to prepare a thank-you gift for Jiang Xia.
"Morning."
"Morning."
An Ning nodded at Jiang Xia and thanked him.
"Thanks for your help yesterday."
"It was nothing!"
Jiang Xia said nonchalantly, "You handled that beautifully yesterday. With shameless people like that, you have to make them feel the pain."
"I’m telling you, you should go demand payment whenever you get the chance. Just keep at it. Otherwise, those two will drag it out for as long as they possibly can."
An Ning couldn’t agree more.
"I will."
"WOOF WOOF!"
Da Huang’s sudden bark made An Ning meet its gaze. She reached out with her spiritual power and soothed him.
All Jiang Xia saw was Da Huang putting on an incredibly fawning expression as it trotted over to An Ning’s side.
He blinked in disbelief. ’Yep, that’s definitely a fawning look.’
’Dogs can fawn?’
"Your Da Huang is quite a character."
"Heh... this is a first for me, too."
Jiang Xia felt like he didn’t even recognize his own dog anymore.
"Da Huang, let’s go!"
Jiang Xia picked up his pace. He could tell An Ning was training An Guoming, and he didn’t have time to dawdle behind them.
"WHIMPER... WHINE..."
Da Huang whimpered pitifully, refusing to leave An Ning’s leg, which earned it an angry glare from Jiang Xia.
"Come on! You need to stay home and watch over Grandpa."
Da Huang seemed to understand. It gave An Ning one last, reluctant nuzzle, then ran off after Jiang Xia.
It kept looking back as it ran, a sight that made An Ning want to laugh.
"Come on, Second Brother. Let’s get going."
Just as she called out, An Ning noticed there was no sound behind her. She turned to see An Guoming with his hands on his hips, huffing and puffing for air.
"L-Little Sis... could you maybe not call for me the same way you call for Da Huang?"
"Did I?"
"You did!"
An Ning pursed her lips, a glint of amusement in her eyes. "Then what was that about ’Da Huang’s Little Sis’?"
An Guoming, who had been feeling so righteous a moment ago, instantly recalled their fight on the mountain.
At that moment, only one thought filled his mind: ’Do not provoke Little Sis.’
’She’s too smart. She remembers everything, which means she holds a grudge.’
"Heh heh... Actually, Da Huang and I get along great."
An Guoming grinned, jogged past An Ning, and broke into a desperate sprint.
Behind him, An Ning secretly covered her mouth to hide a smile. She caught up to him, and after three laps, they headed home together.
After breakfast, An Ning headed out to the fields with An Sancheng and An Guoqing.
By now the sun had risen high in the sky, diligently radiating its heat.
"It’s getting too hot. The fields are a bit dry."
"You can say that again. This rotten weather doesn’t look like it’s going to rain anytime soon."
An Ning, of course, heard An Sancheng and An Guoqing’s exchange and took it to heart.
She would have to go find the team leader today to get a better sense of the situation. They needed to start preparing to irrigate the fields.