Chapter 196
Nola clutched her chest, breathing heavily. "Blair, I don't think you should try this challenge. Running is exhausting, but being carried is even more exhausting."
"Yeah, and besides, prizes like that are nothing new to you anyway." John was so tired he could barely straighten his back.
In my opinion, lively people like John had great stamina, but Levi, on the other hand, was immersed in the business world with too little time for exercise.
I turned to look at Levi. He said to me seriously, "It's our turn."
It seemed he had no intention of giving up. I ran through the precautions he'd mentioned earlier in my mind and prepared to see this through with him.
"Next group, get ready."
Levi opened his arms. I walked toward him voluntarily, wrapping my arms around his neck. With a gentle effort, he lifted me up.
Since we'd decided to do this, we had to give it our all. That's always been the kind of person I am.
"Hold on tight."
As the whistle blew, Levi started running with me in his arms. The venue wasn't large, so three laps would be easy—if I weren't pregnant, he could accelerate without any worries.
I looked at him. His eyes were determined, each step solid and steady. His hands were strong, holding me tight.
The corners of my mouth lifted. At this moment, it formed a closed loop with that young man in my memory. I seemed to be falling in love with Levi in his early twenties.
"Go for it."
Hearing my encouragement, I felt Levi's arms tighten around me as he entered the final sprint stage.
John heckled from the side, "Levi, that's enough, man. If you run this fast and make the headlines, your relationship will be public knowledge."
I didn't know if Levi heard him, but I certainly did.
Once our relationship was exposed...
I closed my eyes and thought about it. It seemed this matter couldn't be kept under wraps much longer anyway.
"Blair, if that's the case, allow yourself to let loose just this once." I gave myself a mental pep talk.
If I didn't have the burden of a secret marriage, I should be able to fly even higher.
Our relationship would have almost zero negative impact on me, standing alone as I was.
Even if I didn't become his wife at my best, that didn't matter anymore. Rather than being timid and hesitant, I might as well let go and enjoy life.
By the time my chaotic thoughts stopped, Levi had already set me down on a chair to rest.
"Blair, you two really went all out. Is it really worth it for just a prize?" Nola came over and handed me a bottle of water.
I gripped the water bottle and took deep breaths, letting my heartbeat calm down.
"Nola, you know it's not about the prize for me."
Nola's eyes reddened. Probably only she could deeply understand why I would so actively cooperate with Levi in this somewhat childish competition.
In the few interactions I had with Levi, I wanted to fully enjoy this wonderful process. As long as I was with Levi, everything felt meaningful to me.
And today, Levi had actively wanted to participate in this competition. In a way, this meant our relationship had crossed into a new dimension, so I cherished it especially.
"You need to be careful with the pregnancy. Who knows what the next round will be, but your score should get you into the finals."
Nola still gently reminded me. After getting pregnant, she'd become even more gentle and thoughtful.
John stood next to Levi. "Bro, was it really necessary to try that hard? You have truckloads of those prizes at home."
"Is it about the prize for you?" Levi asked back.
"Well, not really."
Levi took a sip of water, his eyes looking into the distance.
John shook his head. "We're done for. We've met a tough opponent today. Don't let that slim build fool you—you're pretty impressive when you run."
"You're not bad yourself."
"Thanks for the compliment."
John made a peace sign at us. "I'm so honored to receive his praise."
"You really have no shame at all. Don't you know what you're like?"
Nola scolded him as usual. No matter what he did, she never had anything nice to say to him. This was their funny way of getting along.
I saw beads of sweat covering Levi's forehead. He'd already wiped it two or three times, but the sweat kept seeping out. He'd really put his heart into this.
I slowly stood up. Being held by him just now had made me nervous and tired, too.
I took a tissue from my bag and held it out to him. "Wipe your sweat."
I'd wanted to wipe it for him myself, but such an intimate gesture—I couldn't do it in front of our friends. I was really strange.
"The groups advancing to the finals are Group One, Group Three, and Group Five."
The host announced on stage. All I could see was Levi's raised hand and the disappearing beads of sweat on his forehead.
John jumped up excitedly. "Haha, we made it to the finals! Honey, you deserve half the credit for this medal of honor."
"Only half?"
"Hey, it's all your credit."
Watching them playfully banter always made me envious. Between Levi and me, there was only proper, well-behaved concern—we never seemed to cross any lines.
"For the final round, a couple's kissing contest. Longest duration wins."
When the host finished announcing, I nearly turned to stone.
Levi and I had kissed so few times. We were both rational people who rarely got carried away, and losing control only happened after drinking.
John grinned mischievously. "Haha, this round is where I shine."
"Don't get cocky!"
Nola punched him.
Levi turned to look at me. I lowered my head, not daring to meet his eyes.
This round was really too difficult for us. I wanted to give up, and Levi probably wanted to participate even less.
"Levi, just drop out. It's the same if I win the prize—I'll give it to you later."
John deliberately "provoked" him. The competitive spirit between men could really be quite subtle sometimes.
"We'll see about that."
Levi tossed out that line and took a sip of water to hide his embarrassment.
"What, you're still not giving up?" John nodded slowly. "Interesting."
Nola whispered to me, "Why don't we just quit? If you run out of oxygen while pregnant, that would be really uncomfortable. And we had to run into this cheesy game."
"Cheesy?"
"Haven't you seen similar news stories? Valentine's Day kissing contests and stuff."
I instinctively checked the date. "Valentine's Day is coming up soon."
"That's not what I meant. Oh, forget it, let's just play along."
Nola laughed at me. My focus might have been a bit off. If this trip were long enough, we could spend Valentine's Day during our travels.
Levi and I had never properly celebrated this holiday together.
"Groups continuing in the competition, please get ready. We'll officially begin in one minute!"
Levi walked over and pulled a candy from his pocket, handing it to me. "You didn't eat much for breakfast. Get some energy."
"Isn't everyone supposed to eat chocolate?"
I took the candy and blinked.
"Indigo said chocolate makes you nauseous."
So he even knew about this. Just how much had he asked Indigo about me?