Chapter 0009 Winning the Championship

After more than twenty days of intensive preparations, the 23rd Spring Sports Meet of Lancheng No.1 Middle School officially kicked off on April 14th under bright sunshine.

Ruyi joined the school's work-study program and was responsible for recording the results of some events at this sports meet, including the boys' 3000-meter race in the first year of high school.

At 1:30 PM, the senior boys' 3000-meter race was held. It was the time of day with the strongest sunlight, and students were also feeling sleepy after lunch. The teachers also saw the sports meet as a rare moment of relaxation for the students, so they weren't too strict. If any girls sneaked back to their dorms to sleep or went to the convenience store to recharge their batteries, no one would say anything.

But no girls did that.

Because Chen Yan participated in the competition.

The men's 3000-meter race is too strenuous for ordinary students. The sports representatives of 16 classes talked themselves hoarse but could only gather 12 people. Two people withdrew at the last minute, leaving only ten people standing on the starting line, so the final was held directly.

Chen Yan stood on the outermost track, wearing a white sleeveless sports shirt and a pair of light and cool black quick-drying shorts. His limbs were long and slender, and his muscles and bones were perfectly aligned. Just standing there, he looked like a work of art. Even from a distance, you could see that his profile was tall and smooth, and his facial features were clear. He was handsome to another level.

When he jumped around doing his warm-up exercises, the girls couldn't help but hold their breath.

After the "Everyone in position" prompt, Chen Yan adjusted his posture, looked straight ahead with a determined gaze. The girl closest to him could see his prominent Adam's apple as his head tilted forward, and it slid slightly as he swallowed, almost making her scream.

A gunshot rang out, and Chen Yan calmly started running.

Those girls who had left their classes to support Chen Yan crowded around the perimeter of the arena, their eyes like searchlights, closely following the most dazzling protagonist on this stage.

He moved forward slowly and rhythmically, his limbs stretching out alternately. With each step forward, the long muscles on his hind legs would become more prominent as he exerted force.

Wearing a blue work vest, Ruyi stood guard at the finish line. The 3,000-meter race involved circling the standard synthetic track seven and a half times. As the recorder, it was hard for her not to look at Chen Yan, lap after lap.

Perhaps this is the charm of competitive sports. You may not like that athlete, but you can feel the healthy and vigorous power he exudes because of sports. When he shows signs of weakness and is overtaken one after another, but still maintains his rhythm and perseveres, when his bangs and clothes are soaked with sweat, you can't help but feel nervous for him.

With one and a half laps left to go, all the girls who had left their classes rushed to the finish line, ignoring the boos from their classmates, and shouted encouragement for Chen Yan.

Ruyi overheard Chen Yaqian being asked by her friend who she hoped would win. She answered, "Of course, it's our Class 5." She was laughed at for being dishonest. Chen Yaqian smiled and followed the person on the track without arguing.

At this moment, there are three people ahead of Chen Yan. A minute and a half ago, they took the opportunity to overtake him when he slowed down. Now, he is ready to accelerate and sprint!

The bustling stands, the green lawn, and the moving staff left flowing afterimages as he sped up, while the announcer excitedly provided commentary.

He surpassed the third-place finisher, and then went on to finish second.

With only a third of a lap left, Ruyi seemed to see his sweat dripping down his chin, sparkling for a moment in the sunlight, before disappearing into the brick-red rubber track. His hair was soaked with sweat, yet he still stood there, fierce and unruly.

He remained in second place, less than thirty meters behind the leader.

He couldn't see anyone or the scenery, couldn't hear their cheers, and seemed to have even stopped breathing. His gaze was fixed straight on the finish line, closing the distance between him and the first-place winner, getting closer and closer...

Ruyi held her breath. At this moment, she forgot his identity and his actions. She only remembered that he was an athlete from Class 11, fighting for himself and for the honor of Class 11!

When the first-place finisher was five meters from the finish line, a nimble figure swept past him, the short whistling of the wind whistling past his ears.

He mechanically swung his legs, watching the figure's back as he raised his arms and crossed the finish line.

Chen Yan won!

Almost simultaneously, excited cheers erupted from the audience where Class 11 was located! Everyone, as long as they were a member of Class 11, whether they knew Chen Yan or not, whether they liked him or not, sincerely cheered for him at this moment.

"Chen Yan is awesome!"

"Chen Yan, you are my idol!"

"Wow~ Class 11 of Grade 11 is the best!!!"

Damn it, his heart was about to explode. Chen Yan stood with his legs apart, bent over and supporting himself on his knees, panting heavily and covered in sweat. Chen Yaqian handed him a bottle of water, but he ignored it and ordered Ruyi, who was two meters away, in a hoarse voice: "Hey, I did such a great service for the class, and you won't even give me a bottle of water?"

His tone was somewhat roguish.

After copying the third-place score, Ruyi saw that the fourth-place finisher still had more than half a lap left, so she took two steps forward and threw the water that Chen Yaqian was left hanging in mid-air into his arms.

"Isn't there water here?" The tone was gentle, but the unspoken message was, "Are you blind?"

Chen Yan unscrewed the bottle cap, and gulping, more than half of the 550ml bottle of water was gone in just over ten seconds—okay, round it up and consider it a gift from her.

After calming down, he moved closer to Ruyi and deliberately tried to get her to talk by pretending to look at his grades.

"9 minutes and 26 seconds? Xu, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"I only trained for a little over 20 days and I was able to come in first place. Isn't that amazing?"

"Xu, you seem to have written my name rather poorly. Are you deliberately targeting me?"

...

The boy's deliberate provocations and flirting, every word of which reached Chen Yaqian's ears, were all heard. Although he kept calling Xu "classmate" and pretending not to know Xu Ruyi, his body language was more intimate than anyone else's.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness in her heart.

She had loved Chen Yan for just as many years as she had known him. In their circle of friends, most were young men and women from similarly privileged backgrounds. Some, like Chen Yan, had top-tier connections and didn't need to study hard; they lived to enjoy life. Others, like her, bore the expectations of their parents, following their plans step by step to become role models in the eyes of others… Every winter and summer vacation, with their parents' support, they would travel the world together. Countless times, wherever he was, she was sure to be there too. His handsome, spirited face, his carefree laughter amidst snow-capped mountains and azure seas, was deeply etched into her heart.

She had never seen him act like that towards any other girl. So many outstanding girls admired him. When he was twelve, during a trip to Broadway in New York, a blonde American girl two years his senior asked for his contact information. But he, in his still-childish voice, bluntly replied, "Sorry, you are not my type, and I hate your body odor."

This is Chen Yan. His family background gives him the freedom to express his likes and dislikes frankly, without caring whether it hurts others.

His indifference and ruthlessness scared away wave after wave of girls who were just beginning to develop feelings for him.

Even she had to desperately suppress her emotions and act nonchalantly in order to get a little closer to him.

What makes Xu Ruyi so special? She admits she's beautiful, undeniably so, the kind of pure, alluring beauty that would make many guys fall for her at first sight. But which girl in the industry who likes Chen Yan doesn't have a higher overall score than her?

For example, Zhao Nanyue, the daughter of a high-ranking official in Beijing's elite circle, is a renowned beauty and a prospective member of the national figure skating team, yet she too was ruthlessly rejected by Chen Yan. She had secretly and shamefully fantasized that perhaps Chen Yan's standards were too high, and he might never meet a girl he truly liked. The two families were practically family friends, and Chen Yan was an only child; no matter how much his family indulged him, they wouldn't tolerate him remaining single forever. She was the most likely candidate to become a suitable marriage partner in the eyes of the elders…

In reality, Chen Yan's judgment was nothing special. She looked at Ruyi, a girl with only a beautiful appearance, a poor family background, and no talent whatsoever. Perhaps she had a little kindness, which could easily evoke a man's pity.

That's utterly vulgar.

She was somewhat disappointed in Chen Yan.

At the same time, he also harbored some resentment towards Ruyi.

But she refused to let this disappointment and resentment show on her face. Jealousy was shameful, and jealousy of a girl who was far inferior to her was even more shameful.

Chen Yaqian interrupted Chen Yan with a forced smile, "Hey, people are meticulous in their work, there's no need to slander others like this."

Little did they know that this was nothing compared to what Chen Yan had done to Ruyi a thousand times worse. A few words of innocence were, in his view, the kind of charm that outsiders like Chen Yaqian would never understand.

He unscrewed a new bottle of water, took a sip, raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and remained noncommittal.