Chapter Eight: Is This the Rhythm of Getting Married?

"Master, well done!" For the first time, the system sincerely praised Geng Haoshi.

In fact, right after Geng Haoshi shouted those words, regret was already creeping into his heart. He thought, Sure, I can't back down in front of the goddess, but if I really end up facing that tall guy on the court, it’ll probably be a disaster. If I get thrashed, how will I face Goddess Mimi then?

His face was knotted with anxiety, all the momentum from before vanished.

"Fine! Let’s settle this on the court right now!" The tall guy glared at Geng Haoshi, cracking his knuckles ominously.

The girls standing by the tall guy all looked at Geng Haoshi with that disdainful, eager-to-watch-the-show gaze.

Yang Mimi seemed to recall something and said, "Isn’t next month the Intercollegiate Fall Sports Meet? There’ll be basketball games between different schools and different grades. Basketball is all about teamwork, after all. If you really want to compete, why not wait for the sports meet? There’s no rush."

The tall guy clearly wanted nothing more than to crush Geng Haoshi on the court immediately, but with a goddess in front of him—one whose beauty surpassed that of all the girls beside him put together—he reluctantly put on a gentlemanly air. "Alright, for this beautiful lady’s sake… let’s settle it at the Fall Sports Meet!" He turned to leave, but couldn't help glancing back at Yang Mimi, sighing and shaking his head, as if he simply couldn’t fathom why such a beautiful goddess would be standing next to someone who looked like a pig waiting for slaughter.

After the tall guy left, the annoying girls followed.

With a voice full of gratitude, awe, and delight, Geng Haoshi said, "You really are my angel in the storm!"

"...Master, have you been watching too many Victoria’s Secret shows?" The system sweat-dropped.

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Geng Haoshi awkwardly corrected himself, "Uh, I mean... Lady Luck, my goddess of fortune." He thought, Oh no, my mouth's gotten me in trouble again. Will Goddess Mimi think I’m some kind of lecher now?

Seeing the unease on Geng Haoshi’s face, Yang Mimi laughed. "An angel? I like that! They’re all beautiful, with amazing figures. I like the nickname!"

He hadn’t expected the goddess to be so easygoing! Emboldened, Geng Haoshi said, "Mimi, you’re even more beautiful than they are, and your figure is even better!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Geng Haoshi clapped his hands over his lips. Oh no, no, no! My damned mouth! Things were fine, and now I’ve ruined it! She’ll definitely think I’m a total creep!

"Really?" Yang Mimi looked at him with those impossibly adorable, innocent eyes.

"Mm-hmm..." Geng Haoshi nodded so vigorously he looked like a bobblehead.

"Thank you." Her sweet dimples appeared again, just as a breeze swept across her face, making her long, ebony hair flutter...

The scene looked like an ad for some shampoo brand. No, no, no—the goddess was far more beautiful than any model in those commercials. Geng Haoshi thought, I must be the male lead in this moment.

"By the way, sorry about pulling you into a basketball challenge you weren’t supposed to be a part of," Yang Mimi said playfully, sticking out her tongue to show her apology.

Goddess Mimi, you were the one who saved me! How considerate! How understanding! As Geng Haoshi thought this, tears welled up in his eyes.

"...Master… what are you crying for now…" The system sighed.

His tears startled Yang Mimi, who quickly tried to comfort him, "The match was my idea—you don’t have to play if you don’t want to..."

She thinks I’m crying because of the match… She’s so pure! So kind! That just made Geng Haoshi cry even harder.

"...Master... are you done yet? You still have plenty of tasks left…" The system sweated buckets.

Yang Mimi began gently patting Geng Haoshi’s back, and let his head rest on her shoulder!

Had he really become the male lead in this scene?

Witnessing this, one boy practicing on the horizontal bar fell off, another twisted his ankle while jogging by, yet another choked on his water, and the onlookers dropped their snacks in shock... The scene was just too incongruous.

Meanwhile, Geng Haoshi, his head still on Yang Mimi’s shoulder, had no intention of explaining himself. Opportunities like this didn’t come often. Let the goddess comfort my fragile heart, he thought gleefully.

Yang Mimi tidied her windblown hair and said softly, "Actually, I once had a boyfriend..."

"Boyfriend?" Geng Haoshi shot upright, realizing he’d overreacted. She said 'once,' so why am I so worked up? Well, now I probably won’t get to rest on her shoulder again. He stared longingly at her shoulder, feeling deeply regretful.

"My ex-boyfriend," Yang Mimi clarified, seeing how agitated he was. She continued, "Did you know? Before he met me, he weighed over four hundred pounds!"

"Over four hundred!" That’s even heavier than my own three hundred!

"He told me it took him a whole year to get down to one hundred and fifty." Yang Mimi turned to Geng Haoshi with a gentle smile. "That night, you must have been exercising by the lake… That’s how you ended up saving me while I was sleepwalking."

That night? By the lake? Sleepwalking? Saved her? Geng Haoshi thought, No, there must be a deeper meaning here. Is she hinting that I should exercise every day, so I can protect her every day, so she won’t be in danger while sleepwalking… Yes, yes, yes… If so, then naturally we’ll end up together! That must be it… And then when we graduate, we can get married! Yes, yes, yes… But I can’t let my goddess live with me in a rundown old house… No, no, no… I should study hard, get a good job, get promoted, become a CEO, and then we’ll buy a car and a house in the city and live happily ever after…

"Haoshi? Are you listening?" Yang Mimi asked, noticing his soul had wandered off somewhere.

"Oh, yes. I’m listening." Geng Haoshi wiped the corner of his mouth, realizing he was drooling.

Yang Mimi could tell he’d been daydreaming, but continued, "I was saying, keep exercising. If you stick with it, you won’t have to worry about losing to that tall guy."

Hearing this, and connecting it with his daydreams, Geng Haoshi was sure this must be a hint from the goddess: she wanted him to train hard, protect her, and be with her…

With these thoughts, he jumped up, clenched his fists, and declared, "Don’t worry, Mimi! I, Geng Haoshi, always see things through. I’ll show you fireworks of a different color!"

"Alright," Yang Mimi replied, smiling with pressed lips.

"I’ll go back to training then." With that, Geng Haoshi turned coolly and walked towards the horizontal bars.

He stopped under the highest bar—only to realize it was the same one the tall guy had just used for pull-ups. Geng Haoshi lowered his head, pretended to fix his hair, and casually wandered over to the lowest bar instead.

He took a deep breath. Geng Haoshi, the goddess is watching! Pull yourself together!

Psyching himself up, he stared at the bar, leapt, grabbed hold, and with a shout, strained every muscle to pull his neck above the bar… then slowly lowered himself… but could manage no more.

Just as he was about to give up, he saw Yang Mimi standing beside the bar, watching him with those enchanting, innocent eyes. And from his vantage point, he could just make out the faint hint of a line beneath her white tracksuit top.

Instantly, Geng Haoshi felt as if he’d been injected with adrenaline. He pumped up and down, back and forth, almost as powerfully as that tall guy before.

"Haoshi, you’re amazing!" Yang Mimi cheered him on with her sweet smile.

Amazing? That phrase sounded so familiar. Geng Haoshi remembered—it was often used by actresses in certain adult videos. He never imagined a goddess would actually say it to him in real life! Even if, of course, not in that context...

With encouragement from the goddess, Geng Haoshi quickly knocked out his five hundred pull-ups. By the end, he was completely spent.

Seeing him drenched in sweat, Yang Mimi took a small packet of tissues from her pocket, pulled one out, and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Am I dreaming? Geng Haoshi thought. If the goddess would wipe my sweat every day, I’d do five thousand pull-ups!

Yang Mimi was about to throw the used tissue into the nearby bin when Geng Haoshi grabbed her hand.

Yang Mimi’s cheeks flushed, and she whispered, "What is it?"

Realizing his boldness, Geng Haoshi quickly let go, explaining, "Uh… I just wanted to use that tissue to wipe a little more…" He took the sweat-soaked tissue from her hand and wiped his neck with it.

"I have fresh ones here, you know."

"No need, I’m almost done." In truth, Geng Haoshi just wanted to keep the tissue the goddess had used on him.

At this moment, the tactless 9527 chimed in, "...Master, I think I should remind you… Ever since you started those crazy pull-ups just now, you’ve been, ahem, standing at attention in your groin…"