Goddess of Strength and Speed (IV)

"Are you ready?" Na asked Zhenya as she stood up after tying their feet together.

Zhenya nodded, and Na smiled.

"Well then," Na beamed as she stared at Lai and the rest of her teammates, "Zhenya and I are off. Wish us luck."

"Good luck!" Jingyi nodded.

"Be careful you don't fall and get hurt," Lingxin added.

"Yeah," Lai agreed, "Take your time. We don't want anyone to be injured."

Na and Zhenya smiled and nodded.

"We'll keep that in mind," Zhenya reassured them.

They walked to the starting line, and Lai watched them. She saw Na tell Zhenya something, earning a nod from the woman. Na then wrapped her arm around Zhenya's waist, causing a blush to creep on her face.

"Personally," Lai heard Lingxin say as he stood beside her, "I don't like this game. It's quite dangerous when you think about it. A teammate can completely disregard the other teammate's safety and increase their speed just so that they can win."

(Authors Note: I personally hate this event because of a bad experience (~_~) I had on a school sports day)

"Which," Jingyi sighed, pinching his nose, "can result in the injury of their teammate."

Lingxin and Lai nodded in agreement. They watched as the departments got ready.

"Your goal," Chi-Chi explained, pointing at the orange cones at the end of the basketball court, "is to walk towards and around the orange cones and come back here with your teammate. You are automatically disqualified if you come back without your teammate or if your band gets untied. So make sure you tie it nicely, but not too tight. Is that understood?"

The departments nodded.

"Yes!" they answered in unison.

"Now then," Chi-Chi brought the whistle to her lips and blew, "Go!"

With that, the participants began to walk towards the orange cones, side by side with their teammates. One teammate from the HR Department fell, causing the other to fall too.

"Ow!" the one employee from the same department yelled, "I told you to saunter! Why were you rushing?"

Lai watched as another department, the Purchasing Department, had their orange band come off as they were about to walk around the cone.

"The Purchasing Department is disqualified!" Chi-Chi blurted, earning loud gasps and groans from the department.

"I told you we should have tied it tighter!" the one employee from the department bellowed at his teammate, "But you didn't want to!"

"How was I supposed to know it was gonna come off?" the other scoffed.

Lai watched as Zhenya and Na walked past the Purchasing and HR Department, arms wrapped around each other's waists.

'They have great teamwork,' she thought, a smile creeping across her face.

She watched as the Finance Department finished first again, with the General Management Department in second and the Sales Department in third.

The other departments finished the race, some looking grim. Na crouched down and untied the blue band wrapped around her and Zhenya's legs.

"You okay?" Na asked Zhenya, who nodded, "I hope it wasn't tied too tight for you."

"No, it was not," Zhenya smiled, "We did pretty well."

Na smiled, radiating happiness, and nodded.

"Yeah. We make a pretty great team."

"And that concludes the three-legged race, with the Finance, General, and Sales Department coming in first, second, and third, respectively!" Chi-Chi announced as the departments clapped and cheered loudly.

Zhenya and Na walked back to Lai and the other members of the Sales Department.

"Great job," Jingyi held his hand in the air, waiting for a high five.

The two women smiled and gave him a high five.

"You both were amazing," Lai beamed, earning a nod of agreement from Lingxin.

Meanwhile, the Finance Department's Mo Bi was furious as she turned to her teammates.

"You guys better perform better from now on," she commanded, slanting her brown eyes as she scanned each and every one of her team members with a cold gaze.

"We cannot have the Sales Department beating us this year. I refuse to allow it!"

She turned and stared at Na, who had her back turned. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she watched Na softly laughed at something Lingxin said.

"I will not give Na and her fucking department the satisfaction of beating me," she brushed a loose strand of black hair behind her ear.

She then turned her attention to Lai, who was nodding at something Jingyi expressed. Lai caught Mo Bi staring at her and raised an eyebrow upon seeing the woman give her death glares.

'Geez,' Lai thought, 'If looks could kill, I'd be dead by now.'

Mo Bi faced her teammates again.

"We have to make sure we win the next events from now on," Fan Qing told the rest of the members of the Finance Department calmly compared to Mo Bi.

The employees of the department immediately nodded.

"Next is the hundred-meter race," Chi-Chi announced as the cones were removed and placed on the side of the basketball court.

"Please, can the participants line up."

Lai breathed out, and the Sales Department members stared at her.

"You've got this," Na reassured her, patting her shoulder.

"Fighting!" Jingyi and Zhenya cheered in unison, fisting their hands in front of their chests.

"Do your best," Lingxin added.

Lai nodded and walked to the starting line. There she found Fan Qing stretching his legs. He smiled upon seeing her.

"You must be Xiulan Lai," he stated, holding out his hand for her to shake, "I'm Fan Qing from the Finance Department."

Lai stared at his hand and looked at him.

"Come on," he gave her an enigmatic smile, "Don't leave me hanging."

She blinked a few times and shook his hand. He leaned forward, pulling her to him, catching her by surprise as her eyes widened.

"I must say," she heard him whisper, "You're as beautiful as the rumors say."

She pulled her hand away and quickly pushed him back, earning a soft chuckle from him.

"I'm not a bad guy," he promised her, waving his hands dismissively, "So don't get the wrong impression of me. I'm just stating that you are beautiful."

She pressed her lips together and turned her attention away from him.

Looking up at the bleachers, she felt the aura of a menacing glare from Bai but shrugged, thinking she might have imagined it.

'I must be imagining things,' she softly slapped her cheeks, 'Forget it. I need to focus.'

Chi-Chi faced the crowd of employees.

"All right, everyone!" she loosely spun, "Looks like everyone is lined up. Get ready!"

Lai's body tensed up as her mind focused on reaching the finish line. Chi-Chi blew her pink whistle, and the hundred-meter race began.

Lai ran neck and neck with Fan Qing, who was surprised by her speed. As they almost reached the finish line, Lai increased her pace, earning a loud gasp from the employees.

"And we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, crinkling her eyes and nose, "The Sales Department takes first place!"

"Yes!" Na immediately blurted, jumping up and down in excitement, "She really is our saviour."

Mo Bi clenched her fists, an irritated expression plastered on her face.

"The second place goes to the Finance Department and third place to the Operations Department!"

Lai sighed in relief.

Turning to face her teammates, they smiled at her, giving her a thumbs up.