The Classmate Who Is Adored by Everyone Smiles Teasingly Only at Me-Chapter 3Volume 2 .7 - Ponytail and Protein Bars

Ponytail and Protein Bars 7

“A few kilos is nothing. She’s young, so she’ll bounce back in no time with a little exercise and attention to her diet. Besides, it’s not bad to exercise, and she seemed to be looking forward to it, so make sure you have a good run.”

“Looking forward to it? Um, she just gave me a really reluctant look.”

As he glanced upstairs, Chika’s mother chuckled again.

“That’s just for show. She’s actually been really excited about it.”

“Her… really?”

It was hard to believe.

“It’s true. In fact, she pestered me to buy her new running gear and shoes.”

Chika’s mother opened the shoe cabinet door and pointed at a pair of brand-new pink running shoes.

“These are quite rare, you know? It’s rare that she asks to buy something. My husband had a complicated look on his face when she said it was to exercise with Sōma-kun, but in the end, he bought her a good pair.”

“Is that so…”

“Well, that’s why there’s no need for you to apologize. It’s the season for sports after all, so go ahead and run to your heart’s content. Oh, and of course, be careful to avoid injuries and traffic accidents.”

“Yes, of course.”

While nodding, Sōma’s gaze was fixed on the new shoes. They looked quite expensive.

“Sorry to keep you waitingー”

Ten minutes later, Chika came downstairs dressed in a cute running outfit with black and bright pink lines.

“Don’t worry about it. I haven’t been waiting long.”

“Really? That’s good then――What are you doing!?”

“Shoe stepping.”

To Chika’s astonishment, Sōma was busily stepping on the new running shoes as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Please stop, please stop! What grudge do you have against my shoes!?”

“There’s no grudge against the shoes. I heard they were new, so I’m doing this. Stepping on them like this softens the leather, making it less likely to get injured. It’s a good thing.”

“What is that? Some old school myth that used to be popular?”

“Is that so? Senpai always did this as a matter of course.”

While tilting his head, he continued to step on the shoes like a craftsman kneading Sanuki udon dough.

“Please stop! They’re brand new!”

“I’m not wearing shoes, so they won’t get dirty.”

“That’s not the point!”

Angry, Chika stepped forcefully on the top of Sōma’s foot.

“Now it’s my turn for revenge. I’ll step on Sōma-san.”

“Hey, stop it. I’m not a shoe.”

“I know that. But somehow, I’ve come to want to step on you, Sōma-san. Could you get down on all fours to make it easier?”

“Alright, I get it. I’ll stop. Just stop opening the door to strange fetishes.”

“Don’t say rude things. I’ve always wanted to step on Sōma-san, and now’s a good chance to do it.”

“So it’s already been opened!”

Sōma and Chika continued their noisy squabble of stepping on shoes and on each other’s feet in the narrow entrance hall.

“You two, just go running already.”

Chika’s mother, who had been watching the whole time, said this with a troubled look on her face.

Half pushed out of the Satomi household, the two of them did some light warm-up exercises in front of the house.

“How far are we running?”

Chika asked while doing squats. The brand-new running gear made even simple exercises look stylish on her.

In contrast, Sōma was wearing an old, unfashionable tracksuit, which was a bit embarrassing.

“Let’s aim for the park ten kilometers away today. It seems there’s a well-paved walkway that goes all the way there, so I think it will be easy to run on.”

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When running, the road you choose is very important. If it’s next to a road where cars are spewing exhaust or if it’s uneven, it’s not conducive to running.

“I see. You’ve given it some thought.”

The girl in running gear seemed to be on the verge of accepting the idea, but then she froze mid-stretch.

“Wait a minute. Ten kilometers away? Does that mean we’re going to run twenty kilometers round trip?”

“That’s right.”

Sōma nodded nonchalantly, causing her face to contort in dismay.

“Twenty kilometers is almost a half marathon! That’s impossible! There’s no way I can run that far!”

She clutched the hem of Sōma’s tracksuit and shook her head vigorously from side to side.

“Don’t worry. You can do it.”

“But you just said it’s only a little harder than running two or three laps around the track!”

“Yeah, it’s just twenty times that.”

“Don’t put modifiers like ‘just’ before ‘twenty times’!”

It was quite rare to see Chika so clearly refuse something. It was a bit amusing.

“Besides, the recent trend in weight loss emphasizes anaerobic exercise over aerobic exercise! I’ve done my research by watching diet videos on video sites!”

“That seems to be the thinking these days.”

It’s said that too much aerobic exercise, like long-distance running, can burn fat but also reduce muscle mass, leading to a body that’s harder to slim down. The modern approach seems to prefer increasing muscle mass through anaerobic exercises like squats and push-ups, thereby raising basal metabolism and aiding weight loss.

However, Sōma looked straight into the eyes of Chika, who was clinging to his tracksuit, and said,

“Listen. We’re high school students. Teenagers. Young.”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

Intimidated by his assertive tone, Chika involuntarily nodded.

“Instead of fussing over muscle mass and basal metabolism, it’s quicker to just run and burn calories. We’re young enough to lose weight that way!”

“So why does it end up being some half-baked theory?!”

“It’s not half-baked. You’ll lose weight if you burn more calories than you take in. And running is the quickest way to do that.”

Adults who have started aging may find it difficult to increase their calorie expenditure and may need to be creative, but for high school students with active metabolisms, just moving will burn calories.

It’s more efficient to exercise right away rather than overthink it.