On a rainy day, Dubian Che wouldn’t go running, usually opting to do some simple exercises in his rental room, but today he woke up late and headed straight to school.
After the first class, Dubian Che started doing push-ups at the back of the classroom.
Kunii Shuichi saw and joined in, while Saito Keisuke was counting on the side, and, just like that last swimming class, it turned into a crowd-catching competition.
"Come on, Dubian!" yelled the Kendo Department girl with a bob haircut, who sat in front of Dubian Che.
"Don’t lose to him, Kunii!" The boys cheered for Kunii Shuichi in unison.
Dubian Che was not as physically strong as Kunii Shuichi, his speed was slower, and his overall count was far less than his.
"Dubian, what’s the matter with you!" Saito Keisuke shouted teasingly.
"Such a weakling, Dubian—"
"You guys!" Dubian Che took a few fierce gulps of water, "Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west, do not bully the young and poor!"
Unfortunately, these guys didn’t know the power of this saying, and they kept laughing uproariously, their tears would come later.
"Mr. Dubian, has your strength improved?" the Kendo Department girl asked, leaning her rear against the desk, speaking towards Dubian Che with her skirt.
"Kazumi, don’t just look at Mr. Dubian, he already has a girlfriend!" another girl said jokingly.
"That’s right! Look at me too!" Kunii Shuichi smoothed his buzz cut with both hands from front to back, striking a bodybuilding pose.
"I’m good too." Saito Keisuke stood back-to-back with Kunii Shuichi, flaunting his non-existent biceps.
"You guys talk too much!" Ikeda Kazumi waved her hand in embarrassment at the three of them.
Putting down his cup, Dubian Che said breathlessly, "I’ve been persistently working out since spring; my fitness has improved a lot, those push-ups were part of my morning routine."
"You lost, just admit it!" Kunii Shuichi hissed.
"That’s right! Just because you’re good at badminton and tennis, does it mean we can’t be good at push-ups?" Saito Keisuke said as if he had done the push-ups too.
Dubian Che wryly replied, "You two are clowns."
"Hey, Mr. Dubian, I know a workout that’s really helpful—" Ikeda Kazumi suddenly said excitedly.
Dubian Che, lacking energy, responded softly with an "Hmm?", and for some reason, Ikeda Kazumi blushed.
"Do you know the ’Sakura Momo’ theme song ’Everyone Dance Together’?"
"I know ’Sakura Momo’" Dubian Che shook his head.
"I’ll show you by dancing it," Ikeda Kazumi said and left her seat to the back of the classroom where they had been doing push-ups.
"Whoa—" The boys cheered and made a ruckus.
"." A bit shy, Ikeda Kazumi spread her feet apart, raised her hands high, and jumped twice in place.
Her school uniform skirt bounced as she jumped, and her breasts jiggled, drawing the boys’ eyes up and down.
"And then ." Ikeda Kazumi raised her right arm in front of her chest, with one foot in front of the other, then switched to raising her left arm, hopping to swap her feet.
"Is that it?" Dubian Che felt it was no better than calisthenics.
"There are a lot more moves to come," Ikeda Kazumi retracted her pose.
"Kazumi, dance it for us!" The boys egged her on, not so innocently.
"No! It’s too embarrassing alone!" Ikeda Kazumi’s refusal wasn’t very firm; she wanted to show off the cute dance in front of the boys.
One of the girls pointed at Dubian Che, "Then let Mr. Dubian dance with you!"
"Yes! It’s a perfect chance to learn! Come on, come on!"
"If Mr. Dubian joins, then I’ll dance it once," Ikeda Kazumi said, covering her mouth with the back of her hand, shy but somewhat expectant.
Before Dubian Che could respond, the boys rushed over and lifted him from his seat.
"I’ll dance, I’ll dance! Don’t tug on my pants!"
"You bunch of traitors, just seeing a pretty face forgets the friend," Dubian Che cursed while he adjusted his belt.
Once Ikeda Kazumi found her spot, her eyes kept darting towards Dubian Che’s slim waist under his shirt, she giggled and said, "Ready?"
At this point, all he could do was go forward; after confirming his belt was fine, Dubian Che stood beside her, "Let’s do this!"
"Right, remember to sing~"
"Sing? And provide my own background music?"
"Of course! Everyone Dance Together," even if you haven’t heard it, you know how to sing it!"
"I’ve never heard of such an amazing song before."
"No worries, you’ll catch on quickly, and singing while dancing helps with the rhythm."
Initially, Dubian Che knew the first two goofy moves, and simultaneously, Ikeda Kazumi started singing ’Even if you haven’t heard it, Everyone Dance Together.’
"No matter what, let’s all dance together," his hands sometimes raised, other times slapped on the seams of his pants, his feet taking two bizarre-paced jumps forward, then two back.
"Suddenly an uncle who likes to deceive appears from inside a pot," hands raised high, lifting legs up and down.
"Never forgetting, Edison was a great man," he flung his arms like a buffoon, taking big steps in place.
Dubian Che stopped, puzzled by her dance moves, he tilted his head uncomfortably.
"Mr. Dubian, don’t stop!" Ikeda Kazumi crossed her arms on her shoulders, swaying her body back and forth, "[This is common sense—ta ta ta lala la!]"
The boys burst into laughter, twisting along.
Chanting together: "Bickering, bickering, papa paparapa, ta ta ta lala la—"
"Twist your body like a little grass, hands together to the right upper side, left upper side, right lower side..."