Love and heartbreak
Nine Cakes and Mint both went to middle school in the same small town.
From a young age, Nine Cakes was Mint’s follower. Whatever Mint didn’t like to eat, couldn’t eat, or didn’t want to eat, Nine Cakes would eat. Mint loved wearing skirts and refused to change even on rainy days, so Nine Cakes became her chauffeur, ensuring Mint’s feet stayed dry on the way to and from school.
Mint’s parents liked Nine Cakes very much, thinking he was honest and reliable. They often packed an extra egg for him in Mint’s lunch.
Their relationship changed during that age when boys and girls start developing feelings for each other, and early romances spread through the school like a trendy virus.
Mint started dating.
But her boyfriend wasn’t Nine Cakes; it was their classmate, Wheat.
Nine Cakes felt like his whole world was collapsing.
To vent his excess energy, Nine Cakes joined the school’s long-distance running team. Because of his stamina, he became the pacer.
A pacer leads the race, helping the main runner adjust their breathing and rhythm. The two run closely together until the final moment when the pacer must slow down, letting the main runner cross the finish line alone.
Nine Cakes channeled all his adolescent energy into running and wet dreams.
During the days when Nine Cakes was obsessively running, Mint and Wheat’s early romance ran its course. Wheat broke up with Mint, claiming he wanted to focus on his studies.
Mint hysterically demanded they get back together, using threats and bribes, but Wheat had already moved on.
Mint was in deep pain, listening to love songs and crying every day.
To cheer her up, Nine Cakes invited Mint to the track. She stood there, tears streaming down her face, lost in her own world like a melancholy young artist.
Nine Cakes took out a pair of running shoes from his backpack and insisted on putting them on Mint.
Mint stopped crying, staring blankly as Nine Cakes put the shoes on her and tied the laces.
Nine Cakes looked up and said, “Come on, let’s run a bit.”
Mint was still in a daze, but Nine Cakes had already started running.
After a moment’s hesitation, Mint followed.
On the track, they ran side by side. Nine Cakes kept encouraging Mint, “Keep running, swing your arms, keep your breathing steady.”
They were both sweating and panting heavily, but Mint started to smile, and Nine Cakes relaxed and smiled too.
After graduating from college, Nine Cakes and Mint coincidentally ended up in the same city.
Mint often joked, “We must be fated.”
But Nine Cakes knew it wasn’t fate; it was love.
Nine Cakes joined a long-distance running team again and continued as a pacer.
Mint worked as a planner at a private company until she quit, planning to take a month off. She then started attending various gatherings with friends. After these gatherings, she would call Nine Cakes to pick her up.
Faced with such great opportunities, Nine Cakes still hadn’t confessed, much to the confusion of all their friends.
Until Nine Cakes explained his thoughts.
“I’m not sure what Mint feels. I’m afraid that if I confess, we won’t even be friends anymore.”
We were all stunned.
Then Mint met An Yu at a friend’s gathering.
An Yu was a great talker, charismatic and engaging.
Mint always had endless things to say to An Yu, who could finish her sentences.
Nine Cakes started running crazily, covering every corner of the city with his spiked shoes, rain or shine, even running 5000 meters with a mask on smoggy days, like a giant mobile air purifier.
The day Nine Cakes finished a marathon, he got a call from Mint’s mom.
She was frantic, almost in tears, “Mint hasn’t answered her phone for days.”
Nine Cakes, still steaming from his run, jumped up, forgetting he’d just finished a marathon, and sprinted down the street. When he reached Mint’s place, he found her home in chaos, Mint in the bathroom hugging the toilet, laughing and crying.
When Mint saw Nine Cakes, she slapped him hard.
Nine Cakes was stunned as Mint cried, “All men are bastards! Get out!”
Nine Cakes put Mint to bed and pieced together her fragmented, tearful story.
Mint had found ten uniformly grouped girls on An Yu’s QQ. She messaged each one, “I’ve got the room ready, come over.”
Seven replied, “Tell me the room number.”
One replied, “Didn’t we just meet yesterday?”
Furious, Mint confronted An Yu, whose response shattered her: “If you can’t handle it, don’t play.”
Nine Cakes, who had a compulsive need for answers, resisted asking what the other two replies were.
Mint cried, raged, and threatened to jump, finally clinging to Nine Cakes.
Nine Cakes’ eyes were on fire.
A few days later, An Yu got a QQ message from Mint: “I’ve thought it over. I can’t live without you. I miss you. I’ll be waiting at home.”
An Yu, overjoyed, smiled broadly.
Half an hour later, An Yu, carrying a bouquet, knocked on Mint’s door.
The door opened, and An Yu, still smiling, was yanked inside.
The door slammed shut, and An Yu’s screams echoed.
Meanwhile, Mint was wandering around the mall, waiting for Nine Cakes.
An Yu ended up with two broken ribs and a fractured nose, bedridden for a month.
Nine Cakes was charged with assault, had to pay for medical expenses, lost wages, and damages, and was detained for fifteen days.
When Mint came to pick him up, Nine Cakes was a bit embarrassed, but Mint hugged him tightly.
An Yu, still bitter after a month in the hospital, brought friends to confront Nine Cakes, throwing a stack of photos at him.
Nine Cakes was stunned.
They were nude photos of Mint.
Nine Cakes lunged at An Yu, ready to die together, but was held back by An Yu’s friends. An Yu made an offer: “Want these photos back? Sure. You’re a runner, right? Let’s race.”
On the mountain road, An Yu and his friends drove ahead.
Nine Cakes ran behind, chasing the car.
An Yu’s car sped up and slowed down, with An Yu cruelly smiling at the drenched, panting Nine Cakes.
An Yu’s rule was simple: however far the car ran, Nine Cakes had to follow. If he made it to the end, he’d win and get the photos. If he lost, the photos would spread all over the internet, ensuring Mint’s friends would see them.
Nine Cakes didn’t hesitate to agree.
On the mountain road, going uphill, An Yu’s car blared rock music.
Behind the car, Nine Cakes ran with all his might, one lap, two laps, three laps…
During long-distance running, the body has a physiological limit. It’s said that once you break through this limit, you can unleash your potential and enjoy the joy of exercise. But no one ever said what happens when the body reaches its endurance limit.
Nine Cakes didn’t know, and he didn’t care.
Running, he could only hear the wind in his ears, his heartbeat, and Mint’s innocent laughter.
These sounds spurred Nine Cakes on. He told himself, “I can’t lose. I’m a pacer. How could I lose?”
One lap, another lap, and another…
Nine Cakes’ entire body seemed to turn red, his face flushed, sweat dripping from his hair, his running shoes worn out.
Eventually, there was no more sweat, only sweat crystals forming like ice flakes in his hair.
His feet pushed through his shoes, scraping the ground, bleeding.
Nine Cakes’ vision blurred. He couldn’t see how far An Yu’s car was. He forgot everything except the thought of running.
Until An Yu’s car suddenly stopped, and Nine Cakes crashed into it and fell.
Nine Cakes struggled to get up and run again, but An Yu grabbed him: “Enough!”
Nine Cakes barely heard An Yu’s words: “You’re going to kill yourself!”
Weakly, Nine Cakes said, “Photos.”
An Yu sighed, “The photos were all photoshopped. I lied to you.”
Nine Cakes smiled weakly, “I’ll hit you with a load of crap.” Then he collapsed, everything going black.
Nine Cakes lay in the hospital with IVs in both arms, his feet wrapped in bandages.
Slowly opening his eyes, he saw Mint anxiously watching him.
When she saw him awake, she burst into tears, crying on his chest, her shoulders shaking.
Nine Cakes smiled, “Why are you crying? I’m fine.”
Mint clung to him, sobbing, “Nine Cakes, let’s be together.”
Nine Cakes was stunned, silent.
Mint continued, “I want to be with you. Can we be together?”
Nine Cakes smiled again, “But you don’t love me.”
Mint was speechless.
Nine Cakes touched her hair, “I don’t want you to be with me out of gratitude or guilt. That’s not what I want. I’ve loved you since we were kids. I know exactly what it feels like to love someone. It’s fulfilling, happy, like flowers blooming along the path you run. I want you to feel the same way about someone, but I can’t give you that feeling.”
Mint stared at Nine Cakes, unable to speak, her tears flowing uncontrollably.
“Do you want to be a backup for life?!”
Nine Cakes finished, and I almost jumped up, pounding the table.
Nine Cakes was calm, “You’ll be a backup for life. I’m not a backup; I’m a pacer. My job is to be with her, whether she’s happy or sad.
I run with her, for a long time, far away. But I’m just a pacer. I can’t run to the finish line with her. When she meets someone who loves her and whom she loves, I’ll slow down and watch them run to the finish line together, so she can experience the happiness of loving and being loved. That’s what I want.”
We were all stunned.
Nine Cakes proudly said, “How about that? Isn’t my pacer role very professional?”
“What do you get out of it?”
Nine Cakes thought for a moment, “I don’t want anything. I love her.”
“You’re crazy!”
“You’re brain-dead!”
This year, Mint got married.
The groom wasn’t Nine Cakes. Nine Cakes was the best man.
We felt sorry for Nine Cakes but couldn’t help but admire him.
I joked, “Congratulations, Nine Cakes. You’ve redefined what it means to be a backup.”
Nine Cakes spat, “I’m not a backup; I’m a pacer.” Then he turned and ran alone with a shadow along the night-lit road.
In love, is there ever fairness?
It’s just about who loves and who doesn’t. Who dares and who doesn’t.
Not everyone can be the protagonist of the story.
In your story, I’m just a supporting role, but I still give it my all because I’m more eager than you for a happy ending.
That’s my love for you. Others may mock or pity it, but I don’t care. This is how I love you.
My dear, whom I love but doesn’t love me, in your long journey of life, I have never been a backup. I’m your pacer.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
