Words I Was Afraid To Hear

"You knew that Shaoting will be competing in the 400-meter freestyle?!" Midori glared at Dan who was back from getting their drinks .

"Yeah . . . of course . " Dan had a smug face as he replied like it was obvious .

"Hmmp . And you didn"t tell me . . . " Midori was pouting .

"Here are your drinks . " He handed Mei hers, then opened the screw cap for Midori before handing it out to her . Then he patted her head gently . "Sorry . I thought you knew . " He faintly smiled .

Amidst Mei"s loud cheering, Midori calmly surveys the area with her eyes while enjoying her drink . As she was about to look back on the partic.i.p.ants in the pool, she noticed someone staring on the spot next to her . She couldn"t identify the person since the shadow of a cap blurred the face a little . She followed the stare and it landed on Dan .

"Hey . . . " she tugged on the side of his shirt .

He turned his head to look at her . "Yeah? What"s up?"

"There"s a . . . " When she was about to move her hand to point at the person staring at Dan, she stopped .

The person was gone .

Dan followed her view . Seeing nothing remarkable, he asked, "Was something there?"

"Just now . . . " Midori mumbled . She decided against telling Dan some trivial things . "It"s nothing . "

They turned back their attention on the compet.i.tion .

Mei was shouting her lungs out at the end of the event .

Shaoting went to their area after drying himself with a towel and wearing the varsity jacket . Before he did, girls from different schools, including theirs, were drooling on the sight of him . He has broad shoulders, toned pectoralis muscles and six-pack abs . However, he walked straight towards Mei"s group .

Mei stood from her seat and wrapped her arms on his neck . "Congratulations!"

Shaoting patted her head while smiling . "Thanks . I"ll make sure to say it back later . "

It was 30 minutes before the start of the cheerdance compet.i.tion . Squads from different schools gathered on their respective areas .

Captains were asked to draw lots for the order of presentation .

Midori got the last spot . She was not sure if getting to watch others before them will calm her group or will shatter their morale .

Just when she was returning to her group, a curvy girl approached her .

"Miss Xiu, we meet again . " She snickered while playing with her braided hair .

"Madeline Song . " Midori eyed the girl sternly .

Madeline Song is a half-Asian, half-European girl with light brown hair, angled brows, gray eyes, tall nose and full lips . Her mother was once mistress who eventually married her father after his divorce . Her father spoilt her since she is the only daughter he has after fathering 3 sons with the ex-wife . She and her mother have been living on his wealth for quite some time . Her team is the defending champion from last year"s compet.i.tion and she is determined to keep it that way .

"I see you still remember the team who beat you last year . " She tried to rub it on Midori"s face .

"Of course . . . and you know what? A tiger hurt is fiercer on its next attack . It will make sure its prey falls under its paws . " Midori sneered at her and walked away .

Meanwhile, in the corridors . . .

Dan was walking around, coming from the restrooms . As he arrived at a corner, suddenly, a girl carrying a big box tripped and almost fell onto him . He managed to support her arms as she held the box, so she could steady herself .

The girl looked up to him apologetically . "Sorry! So sor- . . . " she looked at him in bewildered eyes . "Oh, it"s you . " She shyly smiled . "Thank you . "

Dan looked at the girl closely . She is wearing a cheerdance uniform similar to Midori"s . Her innocent-looking eyes were staring back at him .

He furrowed his brows a little . Once she was back on her feet, she began to walk away . This time, Dan noticed that one of her shoelaces were untied . "Wait . " he says, stopping her tracks .

His mind was debating if he should do what he was thinking . He looked around to check if anyone could be watching . Seeing no one, he proceeded with the plan on his mind and went down to tie her laces . He was worried that this girl might trip again and hurt herself . After he was done, he got up and walked away .

Without turning back, he waved his hand . "Be careful on your way . " he casually said .

The girl shyly smiled at first . Then as she looked at his retreating figure, her smile became wider then turned to a malicious grin .