Siheyuan: Big City, Small Love

"I want to go! I can finish the run!" Yu Shui said firmly.

"That Yu Shui, must run away?" He Lai said while looking at Yu Shui.

"Ok!"

"Okay, it's still early today, why don't we try it today? If you can finish the run, I'll go with you. If you can't finish the run, we won't go. How do you think?"

He Lai suggested.

"Okay!" Yu Shui nodded in agreement.

"Brother Zhuzi, Brother Damao, you two have to go too." He Lai said to Sha Zhu and Xu Damao.

"Okay!" Sha Zhu agreed immediately.

"No problem! Xiao Laizi, your brother Damao is in good physical condition!"

Because Xu Damao had been riding a bicycle for a long time, he was somewhat confident in endurance running.

"Come on, brother. I want to go for a run too." Hu Zi said.

"And me." Liu Guangtian also raised his hand.

Liu Guangtian and Hu Zi have been studying hard recently because of He Lai's various test papers, and they also want to relax.

"Come on, brother. I want to go too." Chun'er said in a low voice.

He Lai looked up to the sky and sighed, saying, "What's wrong with you all? You're all so enthusiastic about running! Okay, okay, let's all go, let's all go. When the time comes, walk back by yourselves!"

Everyone immediately became happy.

"Okay, everyone, remember to bring a change of clothes. After running and getting all sweaty, go to the bathhouse and take a shower!"

Soon everyone gathered at the gate of the courtyard.

"Let's go to the state-owned store first." He Lai said.

"Why go to the state-owned store?" asked Sha Zhu.

"Nonsense, if you don't buy a pair of Warrior shoes, your feet will get blisters after running with the cotton shoes on! You guys don't know anything! You deserve to be exhausted!"

After He Lai finished cursing, he rode off with the rain in his eyes. Everyone behind him followed him.

When a group of people came out of the state-owned store, He Lai said again: "If you can't finish the race, you have to give me double the shoe tickets and money!"

It's a pity that no one cares. Just run slowly. If that doesn't work, just walk a few steps. You will definitely be able to finish it!

When He Lai and others arrived at Tiananmen Square, there were already many people warming up. He Lai knew at a glance that they were long-distance runners. After all, who would wear so little in the middle of winter to go out for a run?

He Lai looked at the people on his side and saw that they were all dressed very warmly.

"Well, you guys warm up first. Did you see what others are doing? Do the same!"

He Lai began to give orders.

Sha Zhu and his companions also noticed the group of people and had no objection, so they all started warming up.

He Lai came to Yu Shui and taught her how to do warm-up exercises step by step!

He Lai used all kinds of things, such as lunge stretches, knee joint exercises, ankle exercises, head and neck exercises, etc.

After warming up for more than ten minutes, He Lai continued: "Okay, now go and take off some clothes. How can you run with so many clothes on?"

"Uh... you don't need to take off your clothes for a run!" Sha Zhu said, as he was a little afraid of the cold.

"It's up to you whether you want to take off your clothes or not, but no one is allowed to fall behind. I will supervise you! I will follow you with a stick, and I will beat anyone who falls behind! Boys have one hour to finish the run, and girls have eighty minutes! Anyone who wants to take off their clothes now, hurry up and do it."

After He finished speaking, he picked up a small wooden stick from the side and came to the starting point.

When everyone heard that He Lai was going to beat someone, they quickly took off their clothes, especially Liu Guangtian and Hu Zi, who knew that He Lai was really going to beat someone.

Soon everyone was ready.

"Do you know where to run?" He Lai asked.

In the end, no one knew.

"You just want to run away, right? Okay, okay, okay! I'll ask you now."

He Lai was too tired to complain, so he had to go to a person who was still warming up and asked for the route of the city run.

"We'll start from here, pass through Xidan, Xisi, Ping'anli, Di'anmen, Tieshishi Hutong, Mishi Street, Dongdan, and finally come back here. Do you understand?"

He Lai reported each place name one by one.

"understood."

"Well, don't fall behind. It's 10:10 now. You'd better be there by 11:10. Get set, go!"

He Lai adjusted the time and gave the order to run.

Soon Xu Damao ran out first, and Sha Zhu, not to be outdone, also followed him.

Next came Liu Guangtian and Hu Zi, and finally Yu Shui and Chun Er.

He Lai followed slowly at the back, letting them show off for a while.

Five minutes later, Xu Damao and Sha Zhu disappeared in front, Liu Guangtian and Hu Zi were about to disappear, and He Lai was still following Yu Shui and Chun Er.

"That rain, Chun'er, how about running faster? This seems a bit slow."

He said something.

Yu Shui and Chun Er looked forward and realized that they were slow, so they quickened their pace a little.

He Lai was a little happy in his heart. He just wanted the rain to disrupt his rhythm. Otherwise, if he ran so slowly, she might really finish the run. This was not what He Lai wanted to see.

After twenty minutes, Liu Guangtian and Hu Zi were almost caught up by Yu Shui and Chun Er!

He Lai immediately ran up and hit both of them on the buttocks with a stick. The two men ran forward a few steps in pain.

"You guys, don't you want to lose face? Can't you see Yu Shui and the others are right behind you? Run!"

He Lai yelled.

Liu Guangtian and Hu Zi looked back and saw that Yu Shui and Chun Er were not far behind them. They could only grit their teeth and speed up.

Thirty minutes later, Sha Zhu appeared! It seemed that our Sha Zhu was also in bad shape, and was walking breathlessly in front!

He Lai chuckled and said, "Let you run so fast in front!"

But I don’t seem to see Xu Damao, who seems to be quite capable.

When Sha Zhu was overtaken by Liu Guangtian and his friends, he became alert and started running again.

After forty minutes, the men were almost together. Of course, Sha Zhu and the other men were beaten many times by He Lai, but they could not speed up even if they were beaten any more.

"Brother Zhuzi, are you okay? Brother Damao hasn't even shown up yet, and you're almost done?"

He Lai provoked.

Sha Zhu didn't say anything, he just kept running. He was just following Xu Damao and he ran himself to exhaustion. He didn't expect Xu Damao to be such a fast runner! He was so tired that he was out of breath and couldn't speak at all.

He Lai saw that Sha Zhu and the others were already dying, so he decided to go to the front to see Xu Damao and see what was going on.

So He Lai quickened his pace and rushed forward.

This speed shocked Sha Zhu and the others. They didn't expect He Lai to have such good physical strength. Yu Shui gritted his teeth and quickened his pace. Chun'er had to quicken his pace as well because he had been following Yu Shui.

Now Sha Zhu, Liu Guangtian and Hu Zi were in an awkward situation, as even Yu Shui and the others had surpassed them.

He Lai ran for about a thousand meters and finally spotted Xu Damao in front of him. Seeing that this guy was also running with more exhalation than inhalation, He Lai thought that Xu Damao could be trained, so he chased after him.

"Brother Damao, I will now teach you how to breathe. First, close your mouth and try to breathe through your nose. Breathe slowly and control your breathing rate. Yes, coordinate with the arm swinging movements and take your time."

He Lai explained while running, and after seeing Xu Damao doing as he was told, he started the next step and taught by hands-on teaching.

"Brother Damao, relax your hands and clench them naturally into fists. Raise your forearms to 90 degrees, lower your shoulders, and relax your shoulder straps. When swinging forward, move your hands slightly inward, and when swinging backward, move your hands slightly outward."

He Lai adjusted Xu Damao's posture as he spoke, trying to make him comfortable.

"Very good, just keep your breathing and arm swinging rhythm and run slowly!"

He Lai stood beside Xu Damao, cheering for him and running with him for a long distance.

"Okay, Brother Damao, run slowly. I'll go check on the people behind you. They're much worse than you!"

After He finished speaking, he slowed down.