After submitting to her situation, Lilian rested on a bench, as requested. Maine, who was on the side, came near her and brought her a water bottle. 

“You all right?” Maine asked. She was also worried upon hearing the trainer’s words. 

Lilian was utterly beaten. Why does nobody believe me?! she helplessly exclaimed.

But who could? 

She had no one to blame but herself. She took for granted her “soft” nature ah.

It might have been better if she went with the flow and affirmed that she was unwell. It would be more credible. 

In a last attempt to turn the tide in any way, she said, “Absolutely! I’m as strong as a horse.” 

“Yeah, you’re super strong. So go drink that water before you die of dehydration.” Maine, in disbelief, sat beside Lilian, pushing her to drink.

With heavy shoulders, Lilian groaned. She has done her best. 

It was tiring to convince people.

Lilian rested her chin on both of her hands while propping her elbows on her knees. Her mind was proactively churning out different versions of her scene with Irene earlier, hurling the previous affair out of her thoughts.   

She was so giddy that she had to slap both of her cheeks simultaneously to stop her grin from reaching her ears, lest others assume something else.

However, it was too late.

Maine jolted when her ears picked up the sound of a slap. She looked at Lilian as though witnessing a fool on a street. 

How was this alright?

“Tell me if you need help. Mental health is now heavily promoted, and as your devoted assistant, I’ll scour every corner of the earth to get you the best doctor out there, but of course under your financial means,” said Maine.

At this point, Lilian was getting used to the sharp tongue of her assistant. Though glossy, the end of the knife was dull. It gave her no wound.  

It actually tickled and made her laugh. Hahaha.

Lilian’s impassioned visions settled down. She uncapped the water bottle, thirsty.

Without warning, a light bulb went off in her head. That’s right! Inspiration hit her. I should confess.

Ah, what a peculiar choice of word. We have here, ladies and gentlemen, a fair maiden who was getting worked up to “confess” to her “crush”. Hehe.

Previously, she was too timid in the presence of Irene. Not to mention that stone cold facial expression, she was intimidated. 

But things have changed! Irene’s sweet smile practically encouraged her to get close.

Lilian kept looking at her watch, her head moving up and down, going back and forth. 

Someone was antsy.

“When will the timer set off?” Maine heard her say. 

“Perry turned it off. Why do you ask?”

“I wasn’t talking about mine,” she refuted.

“Huh?” Maine faced her. Then whose timer is she talking about? There, she saw where Lilian’s focus was on. 

Lilian was holding a second bottle of water, eyes locked on a certain figure, ready to strike once the trigger was pulled, and in this case it was the timer. 

On how she got a hold of a second bottle? Maine has no clue. She didn’t even notice how she got up and did that. 

Stealth power, maybe?

Lilian’s legs were restless.

Three minutes passed, and just as what she had been waiting for, the timer finally set off!

Lilian jumped off her feet. She hastened, her feet moving toward Irene. 

Don’t chicken out, don’t chicken out, she chanted.

In the middle of her speed walking, she got a full view of Irene’s alluring features. Her feet subconsciously slowed down until her footsteps were inaudible.

The nearer she went, the more her heart thumped in anticipation, nervousness, and fascination.

 

BADUMP BADUMP BADUMP

~~~

 

The game has just ended, and a handsome young man was seen reclining on the trunk of a tree, sitting under the shadows of its leaves. 

Separated five steps from him, a maiden in a school uniform stood. The spring breeze blew her hair away from her face, clearing her sight. 

Free of obstacles, she carefully examined him. How the sun kissed his skin, how the wind tousled his hair–she took it all in, enchanted.

Her fiery young love blazed like never before. 

From her cheeks, to her ears, down to her neck, she was a blooming rose.

This was her chance to confess to her long-time crush. 

She braced her heart and raised her foot.

The young man detected the footsteps closing in him.

4 steps

3 steps

2 steps

1…

0…

He squinted. The glaring sunlight obscured his vision. After adjusting for three seconds, he was met with a bottle of water. 

Wha…

~~~

 

As the audience, Maine furiously rubbed her eyes red. What the heck did I just see?!!

It began from chasing an idol, then evolved to campus romance, ah!

She repeatedly blinked a bunch of times, making sure this was reality. Gosh, it nearly gave her a heart attack. 

Now, with the absence of a screen, everything was conspicuous.

Irene was face to face with a bottle. Magic! But Irene pondered for a while, opting out of rushing to grab it. 

She leaned to the side to get a clear picture of who was in front of her.

Lo and behold, it was Lilian.

Lilian was tongue-tied and her face kept getting hot. In the end, she swerved out of her initial plan of initiating the talk.

She bowed her head and offered the bottle of water to Irene. 

To actually see a living tomato was an unforeseen phenomenon in Irene’s mind, but here was Lilian. The world’s bizarre. 

“For you,” the maiden quietly uttered. 

The handsome young man–Irene–responded, “Thank you.”

Irene left Lilian empty handed as she gratefully received this precious gift. She guzzled that bottle in no time.

Lilian stood there, clueless what to do next. Think brain, think! Her nerves got the better of her. 

Her heart could only cry in lament. 

Quenched, Irene looked back at her “pursuer”, who stood wooden and fidgety. “I- I- I-“ 

Irene’s conscience was becoming uncomfortable with her just sitting back while her creditor was discomfited. 

She patted the floor, gesturing to Lilian to sit. 

Irene’s kind and reassuring smile comforted Lilian. Like a toddler, she made her way to her right side sheepishly.

To break the ice, Irene started. “You’re fit. I kinda envy that.” With Lilian’s build, why wouldn’t she? It would be more odd if she didn’t feel that. Irene was beat. 

Her straight forward approach flattered Lilian. 

She had long realized that Irene had just begun her work out journey. Lilian couldn’t let her idol feel down. “You’re just starting out. Once your body gets accustomed, you’ll be lifting weights in no time. Really!” She stressed out the last word, fully committed to motivate Irene. 

Those dewy but adamant eyes tickled Irene. She cracked up. “Really?”

“Yes! Really!”

“Are you sure?” Irene further teased. 

“I’m a hundred percent sure!” The innocent Lilian had no idea what she was going into. 

“But I’m disheartened. I don’t think I can go on.”

“But you can! You absolutely can.”

“Is... that so?” Irene's tone was painted with hesitancy.

Lilian vigorously bobbed her head. “I’ll accompany you every day!” Gotcha. And there it was. The bunny voluntarily hopped into the pit custom made for her. Please pray for her well-being, it would be murky after the storm.

“For real?”

“Of course! You can count on me.”

“I’m at ease hearing you say that. Thanks Lily.” Irene’s tender voice successfully placated Lilian’s thumping heart. “I can call you that, right?”

“Absolutely.” Subconsciously, Lilian’s body language had softened. During their conversation, the color of her face subsided. The more she cheered up the “disheartened” Irene, the more she felt close to her. She could do something for her idol, and that was what mattered. 

Maine remained as an onlooker as the harmony of those two became flawless. She also yearned to be that close to Irene, but she felt unworthy. 

She was only an assistant and being brazen like Lilian, to straight up advance like that, it seemed that she would be crossing the line. For this reason, she decided to just go with the flow. What would come, would come, and she would embrace it wholeheartedly. 

Bitter to a certain extent, but she could live with it. 

Away from the bubble of the three women, Alex was conversing with Perry. 

He was supposed to check on Irene but chose against it since Lilian was already there. On second thought, he proceeded toward Perry. He had a lot to say. 

At present, the ignorant Perry had no escape route and had to deal with the unreasonable Alex. Well, as unreasonable as Alex's brain’s tolerance of illogical thinking, which was pretty low in normal times. But this wasn’t normal. His heart and mind put an incredible weight on Irene to the point that it was becoming irrational. 

Was Alex perceptive of this abnormality? Maybe. 

For him, it was the standard care someone would have toward his or her friends. But would he act like this if Carl was in Irene’s shoes? He didn’t think about it, and there was no point thinking about it. He just wished for the best for his friend.

Perry gave it his all to elucidate his thought process when creating Irene’s training regimen. From her height to her weight, he modified it in relation to the baseline data he collected and the goal of the program. 

Alas, it was synonymous with talking to a deaf person. 

Alex didn’t come off as intimidating. Yet, he was like that know-it-all straight-A student visiting the teacher’s office after class, wanting to understand the question he got wrong on the test. He was happy for his passion, but it was frustrating to be constantly questioned. Just who between them was the professional?

Eventually, his defense crumbled. He lacked the ability to keep this pestering husky away. Yup, husky. He had no better means to describe this guy. 

“Would you lessen the load of the exercises, then?” Alex asked.

Perry was broken by this point. “Like I said, we can’t do that, Alex. We won’t be able to get Irene ready if we follow your suggestion.”

Over ten minutes have passed since Alex came up to him, and to the delight of the trainer, Alex’s brain now surmised that no substantial change would be enacted in Irene’s program. 

But he still wanted something. “What about now? Could you finish this early?”

Perry looked at the table which listed strength training and martial arts, he next discerned Irene’s state.

In a reluctant tone he responded, “.... Alright. We can end it here.”

“Fantastic! You’re awesome, Perry.”

“I know.” If it wasn’t for you… Perry grumbled as the brightly lit Alex left for Irene. 

The two girls—Irene and Lilian—got to know each other while Perry and Alex had their conversation. 

Lilian was surprised to discover that Irene wasn't standoffish as she thought. She got to confess her adoration, and the latter was thrilled to hear it. 

As a self-proclaimed number one fan, her heart jumped with joy, especially after Irene divulged to her that she watched her show.  

They spoke on and on regarding the highs and lows of the series. Lilian too wasn’t polite when mentioning the parts she hated, including those behind the camera. 

She chatted with no filter that it alarmed Irene. “Lily, stop.”

“Huh?” 

God, that ingenuous look again. “You’re lucky I’m the one you’re talking to,” Irene started. “You have to watch your words. It’ll become a huge problem once those land into the wrong ears.”  

Lilian, once more, forgot to put on a stopper. Aware of her wrongs, she faintly said, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s enough that you know,” Irene ended. Reminding her was sufficient.

Right then, Alex came to bring good news. “We can now leave.” Lilian and Irene were pulled away from their discussion. 

His entrance was perfect. 

The second Irene heard his words, her spirit shot up. But before it could reach its peak, the vertical line plateaued, and she cast him a distrustful stare. Why the f*ck should I believe you?

She shifted her attention to Perry, inquiring him of the authenticity of Alex’s news. 

Perry saw her peering over and acknowledged.

!!!

Without delay, she motioned to Alex. “Help me up.”

She acted like someone injected with chicken blood and quickly leveraged herself to Alex’s hand. 

Irene turned to Lilian. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”

Pointing to herself, Lilian asked, “Me?” I don’t think I’m included, though. She gazed at Alex for an answer. 

Alex found nothing wrong with it and nodded. 

Irene also called Maine and signaled her to pack their things. 

Only Irene knew how exuberant she was to leave. All I wanna do is soak in a rose scented bath ah, she yearned.

Four people did their own things. In no time, as the hour hand struck eleven, they left free as a bird.

At the same time, in Perry’s mind, When did I ever say that Lilian may leave? I only permitted Irene!