192 preliminary rounds

The busy week quickly brought Friday to the school sports meet.

Li Wei took a hot bath on Thursday night and went to bed early to rest. She wanted to conserve her energy so she could show off her prowess on the sports field tomorrow and let Ding Anni and Zhou Xiaoyan see who said Li Wei was inferior to Yan!

Even the night before, they prepared the clothes they would wear, the water they would bring, and even glucose to replenish their nutrition.

After a good night's sleep, I woke up feeling incredibly energetic. I had just finished eating half of my nutritious breakfast when Luo Da came to freeload.

Today, Li Wei wore a soft and comfortable apple-green tracksuit with white lace-up sneakers. Combined with her fair skin and shiny black hair, she looked as fresh and youthful as a tender bud on a willow branch in spring.

Luo Da was also dressed in a full tracksuit, but because he was hot, he left his tracksuit shirt open, revealing a military green cotton vest underneath. The jade unicorn pendant around his neck was also lying below his neck, which looked to blend in with his temperament and did not seem out of place at all.

Li Lin and Li Lianhui, who had been seated at the table, also began to eat. Li Lin had regular classes at school today and didn't have any activities, so she was noticeably less energetic than Li Wei and Li Lianhui.

Li Lianhui was also a great guy in the class, with several events, but unlike Li Wei who was so naive and excited, he quietly ate his breakfast. Li Lianhui had already calmed down about the sports meet.

After Li Wei finished eating, she left home with Luo Da. Luo Da's car was parked right downstairs. Because of the sports meet, although it was only a small-scale event within the school and not very grand, it still had a different atmosphere than usual. Colorful flags were planted everywhere, and students who weren't participating in any events were wearing their school uniforms, especially around the sports field. Classes were organized into small sections using desks and chairs, each section also surrounded by colorful flags, making the entire sports field very lively.

Li Wei returned to the classroom first and joined her classmates who were still moving chairs. She carried her small bag on her back and, holding a chair in each hand, slowly left the classroom.

Just then, Luo Daye came out of the classroom carrying two desks stacked together. Seeing Li Wei's penguin-like expression, he said, "Give them to me and put them on my desk."

I don't know how Luo Da arranged them, but the two tables and two chairs fit together quite well, without increasing the overall size at all. He easily carried the two tables downstairs and first took Li Wei's chair to her class's area. Their Class 1 of Grade 11 was right next to Li Wei's classroom. Quite convenient.

Luo Da's class vice-monitor, a girl who was quite active in organizing activities, noticed Luo Da getting chairs for the class next door first. She teased Luo Da, who was arranging the desks, with a hint of sourness, "Hey, Luo Jianhua, did you go to the wrong class just now? Why did you give our class's chairs to their class?"

Luo Da glanced at her but didn't say anything, continuing with what he was doing. The girl, feeling rebuffed and embarrassed, didn't dare provoke Luo Da and instead approached Li Wei, who had just sat down nearby. Li Wei, who had taken her bag off her back and stuffed it into her desk, shouted, "Hey—Class Two students, you're being a bit unreasonable! Using my classmates for manual labor without permission is a bit like taking advantage of them!"

Li Wei was completely focused on the sports field today, surrounded by the noise and commotion, so she didn't hear what the girl was saying at all, and even if she had, she wouldn't have bothered to pay attention to her.

Luo Da, who was not far away, heard it, frowned, glanced at the female classmate, and said without any politeness, "What are you dawdling about? What's it to you!"

The girl was immediately embarrassed, and some people next to her were even covering their mouths and snickering, making her even more awkward. But looking at Luo Da's face, she wouldn't dare to talk back even if she had the guts.

There weren't many complicated ceremonies; once the time came, the matches in each arena simply began.

Li Wei's 200-meter track and field preliminaries were scheduled first, and after the 50-meter and 100-meter races were completed, Lin Xiao, as she wished, was not admitted.

Upon hearing the check-in notice, Li Wei took off her gym uniform top, revealing a cream-colored short-sleeved T-shirt underneath, with a number tag pinned to the back. She handed the shirt and her small backpack from under her desk to Cai Lianhua for safekeeping. She then slipped out from under the desk to the designated check-in area. The preliminary round was about to begin, and Li Wei felt her heart pounding wildly.

Two girls from each class were divided into two groups, and the top four from each group advanced to the finals.

There's a familiar face in Li Wei's group: Song Xuejiao from Zhou Xiaoyan's class.

Li Wei felt less nervous as soon as she saw her. It seemed that Song Xuejiao always liked to be at the bottom, so she should be safer.

Despite Song Xuejiao's potentially lack of skill, her sportswear was quite fashionable. Li Wei herself didn't realize that the two of them stood out among the group of girls, since their sportswear, apart from the color, was rather unremarkable in style.

You get what you pay for. Li Wei's simple outfit is anything but cheap. All the sportswear worn by the girls present combined doesn't even cost as much as her top.

Good things naturally deserve their price in terms of appearance. With Song Xuejiao and Li Wei's figures, they don't look like they're there to run; they look like they're there to compete in a beauty pageant. This makes other girls automatically keep their distance from them, lest they accidentally become supporting characters.

Li Wei didn't have the energy to pay attention to so much; she was actively moving her hands, feet, and joints, just waiting for the competition.

Soon, the athletes were all lined up on the track. At the sound of the starting gun, the girls ran off.

Li Wei's skill level, despite receiving professional guidance and undergoing intensive training, was still weak. She was initially startled by the starting pistol, causing her to be a half-beat slow at the start, and unsurprisingly, she ended up in last place.

Li Wei felt a chill in her heart. "It's over. I'm going to be last in the last 200 meters. How embarrassing!" she thought. "I'll go all out and give it my all!"

Li Wei gritted her teeth, mustered all her strength, and ran desperately ahead. Heaven rewards the persistent; she finally caught up with Song Xuejiao at the 60-70 meter mark, then two more at 100 meters, and yet another at 150-160 meters. Li Wei's confidence soared, and she felt even stronger. At the final moment, as she crossed the finish line, she actually caught up with yet another one!

Thus, Li Wei ultimately advanced to the finals with a third-place finish in her group.

Li Weile was so happy that she couldn't find her way around.