Chapter 33 Extra Chapter [IF Route] High School Days

During the second year of high school sports meet, no one in the class participated in the 800-meter and 1500-meter long-distance races.

Fang Qihang signed up for the boys' 3000-meter race. He kicked the chair of Xu Nianyi, who sat in front of him, and asked her half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Hey, Xu Nianyi, want to run a couple of laps on the track before PE class and evening self-study, to practice?"

Xu Nianyi's heart skipped a beat.

Perhaps, through this kind of hard-fought competition, I can attract Tan Chen's attention?

Even if you can't, running on the playground every day to vent your emotions can temporarily put aside that heavy obsession in your heart.

Since she was going to practice anyway, and once her physical fitness improved, running the 800m or 1500m was the same, and the competitions weren't on the same day, she made up her mind and simply signed up for both events, which could be considered as contributing to the class.

From that day on, every evening at dinner time, Xu Nianyi would not rush to the cafeteria to eat, but would instead go to the playground to exercise with Fang Qihang and several other classmates who had signed up for the sports meet.

Three days later, they met Tan Chen on the playground, who was there to prepare for the class basketball game.

Tan Chen glanced quickly at Xu Nianyi and Fang Qihang, who were running in unison and with great focus. At that moment, an indescribable bitterness and anger almost consumed him.

He wanted her to focus on her studies, so he said those things against his will and pushed her away, but he never expected that she would fall in love with someone else so quickly.

Driven by a masochistic mentality, he would appear on the playground every day at dinner time to watch them run side by side, and his jealousy grew wildly like weeds.

The first afternoon of the sports meet featured the women's 800-meter race.

Xu Nianyi gave it her all and finished in 6th place.

After crossing the finish line, her legs were so weak that she could barely stand. Her female classmate quickly came forward and hugged her tightly, helping her to breathe calmly in front of the tiered stands where the classroom was located.

At this moment, Fang Qihang, like a leader of the children, led all the boys in the class to stand up and cheer for Xu Nianyi, as if she had won a gold medal for the class.

Their class's flamboyant and enthusiastic atmosphere instantly attracted the attention of other classes in the stands, including Tan Chen's.

He looked at Fang Qihang, who was showering Xu Nianyi with compliments, his eyes dark and unreadable.

The next morning, in the men's 3000-meter race, Fang Qihang came in third place, while the top two were athletes with special athletic talents.

When he returned to class in glory, he struck a pose that he thought was very cool, which drew a burst of laughter.

He even said to Xu Nianyi, "See that? My strength! I'm waiting to see you in the 1500 meters this afternoon!"

Tan Chen sat in the stands not far away, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the energetic Fang Qihang, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

The next afternoon, the most challenging event, the women's 1500-meter race, began.

Xu Nian gritted her teeth and ran the first three difficult laps. With only 300 meters left, her steps were already unsteady. Two girls from her class and Fang Qihang started to shout and cheer for her on the grass inside the finish line.

In the final 100-meter sprint, Fang Qihang couldn't help but rush forward to run alongside her, constantly encouraging her, "Go for it! Xu Nianyi! Go for it!"

Finally, she crossed the finish line! Xu Nianyi almost instantly lost all strength, her body collapsing forward uncontrollably, her hands and knees slamming heavily onto the rough rubber track. The impact of that instant, even without breaking the skin, was enough to leave her palms and knees red and burning with pain.

"Xu Nianyi!" Fang Qihang anxiously grabbed her arm, trying to help her up. The other two girls also rushed forward to help, and the three of them together managed to lift the exhausted Xu Nianyi up.

Fang Qihang immediately bent down and anxiously checked the condition of her knee.

All of this was observed by Tan Chen in the stands.

He watched Fang Qihang's undisguised concern for Xu Nianyi, watched Xu Nianyi stand up with his help, and watched the natural and intimate interaction between them...

He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and he felt as if he was about to grind his teeth to pieces.

The sports meet ended, and school was dismissed early, around 4 p.m.

Tan Chen pushed her bicycle and watched as Xu Nianyi was surrounded by her classmates, while Fang Qihang, with his conspicuous bag, was gesturing wildly and talking beside her.

He pushed off with his foot, and the bicycle slid out.

But he didn't go home. After making several turns, he finally arrived at Xu Nian's residential area.

After a long time, Xu Nianyi slowly rode back on her pink bicycle.

She had changed out of her competition uniform and was wearing loose-fitting casual trousers that covered her knees, so the injury was not visible from the outside.

Watching her park her car under the awning downstairs, lock it, and turn to go into the building, Tan Chen could no longer contain himself.

Just as she was about to step into the stairwell, he grabbed her wrist.

Xu Nianyi was startled and turned around abruptly, bumping into Tan Chen's eyes, which were filled with complex emotions.

"Tan Chen? What are you doing here?"

Tan Chen didn't say anything, but just pursed his lips and pulled her wrist, walking deeper into the residential area.

The buildings in the old residential area are very close together, and the crisscrossing alleys are like a maze.

Tan Chen, however, was very familiar with the area. He led her through a maze of turns, avoiding paths that might be seen by acquaintances, until they finally arrived at the entrance of an apartment building far from her home.

He pulled her into the dimly lit stairwell, gently pinning her against the cold wall, creating an ambiguous yet oppressive "wall slam" position.

"What's your relationship with the new transfer student in your class?" he asked, barely able to contain his accusation.

Xu Nian was stunned for a moment, then a surge of grievance and anger welled up in her heart. She tried to break free from his hand, but he held on even tighter.

"What's it to you!" she retorted defiantly, her voice laced with resentment. "You can date other girls, laugh and chat with them, and even help them with their homework! What's wrong with me getting close to other boys? Is it a case of 'the magistrate is allowed to set fires, but the common people are forbidden even to light lamps'?"

"I'm not dating her!" Tan Chen almost roared. He suddenly tightened his arms and pulled Xu Nianyi into a tight embrace, so tight that she felt a little suffocated.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice muffled, hoarse with an almost painful tone, "I'm going crazy with jealousy! Xu Nianyi, can't you tell I'm going crazy?"

Xu Nianyi froze, her eyes widening in disbelief at what she was hearing.

Jealousy? He's jealous? Jealous of her and Fang Qihang?

"But...but you clearly..." she stammered, her mind a jumbled mess, "You said before that I would interfere with your studies...and you were very close to that class representative for Chinese..."

"That's fake! It was all made up to make you give up and focus on your studies!" Tan Chen raised her head, her eyes filled with pain, struggle, and intense emotions she had never seen before.

"Niannian," his voice softened, carrying a deep sense of helplessness, "Do you remember that time during the winter break of our third year of junior high, when we lingered downstairs at Teacher Zhu's house and didn't leave?"

Xu Nian nodded, her memories of every tutoring class with Tan Chen were particularly vivid.

“Teacher Zhu saw it. He called your parents, my dad and your dad.” Tan Chen’s voice lowered. “Your dad was afraid you’d be shy as a girl, so he didn’t ask you to come along.”

Xu Nian was stunned; she had no idea about this.

"Teacher Zhu said that our top priority right now is studying, and we shouldn't be dating. Your father also said he would talk to you about it. I was worried that your father would scold you and that it would affect your mood and studies, so I promised him that I would control myself, wouldn't interfere with your studies anymore, and wouldn't contact you privately again. I hoped he wouldn't say anything to you."

Xu Nianyi was completely stunned. It turned out that behind the scenes, he had taken on all of this alone and made such a "deal" without her knowledge.

“I thought that by pushing you away and making you disappointed in me, you could focus on your studies and get into a good high school and university,” his eyes were full of regret. “But I was wrong. I saw you laughing so happily with Fang Qihang, saw him running with you, saw how much he cared for you at the sports meet… and here…” He took her hand and pressed it to his left chest, “It hurts so much it feels like it’s going to split open. I regret it, Niannian, I regret pushing you away.”

The overwhelming amount of information and the surge of emotions overwhelmed Xu Nianyi, and her eyes instantly reddened.

It turns out that behind all that indifference and estrangement, those hurtful words and actions, lies such clumsy yet profound affection and protectiveness.

She suddenly stretched out her arms and hugged Tan Chen's waist tightly, her voice choked with sobs as she asked, "So Tan Chen, you like me, right?"

Tan Chen hugged her back even tighter. He lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head, his voice firm, "Yes. I like it. I've liked it for a very, very long time."

He paused, his tone hesitant, "But Niannian will be a senior in high school soon."

"I understand!" Xu Nian raised her head. "I'm more sensible now. I'll focus on my studies! I promise! I won't be as playful as before. I just need you to talk to me occasionally, to let me know you care about me, that's enough. We can study together and improve together, okay?"

Tan Chen's heart softened completely, and she nodded gently, "Okay."

After that day, Xu Nianyi became more careful about her interactions with Fang Qihang, maintaining an appropriate distance as classmates.

On their day off, she and Tan Chen chose the city library as their date location.

The two sat side by side, each working on their own math problems. Occasionally, when Xu Nianyi encountered a math problem he couldn't solve, he would ask Tan Chen to explain it to him.

One day during a break between classes, Fang Qihang poked Xu Nianyi, who sat in front of him, with his pen, lowered his voice, and asked with a gossipy look, "Hey, Xu Nianyi, are you dating someone?"

Xu Nian was startled, but tried to remain calm, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

"Tch, stop pretending!" Fang Qihang raised an eyebrow smugly. "My little brother saw you last Saturday, going to the library with a boy from the next class! Wasn't that boy Tan Chen? The one from the top class who's pretty handsome but always has a cold face?"

Xu Nianyi looked at him in surprise, "You've only been here a short time, where did you get these underlings?"

Fang Qihang proudly tossed his bangs and began to boast, "My personal charm is irresistible! People I met on the basketball court were convinced after just a few words and insisted on recognizing me as their big brother! How about that, impressive, right?"

Xu Nianyi was both amused and exasperated.

Fang Qihang continued gossiping, "Tell me, what's going on? A secret relationship?"

Perhaps because she had kept it to herself for too long, or perhaps because she felt that Fang Qihang, though a troublemaker, was reliable, Xu Nian hesitated for a moment before quietly telling him the general details of the matter, including her promise to Tan Chen that they would be together once they got into a 211 university.

After listening, Fang Qihang curled his lip dismissively, "What the hell? You still have to get into a 211 university? If you like each other, just be together! Why make it so complicated! Want me to help you out? Let's tease him a bit more, and I guarantee he'll be with you right away!"

Xu Nian quickly waved her hands, "No, no, no! Don't cause trouble!"

She thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, on the weekend, not long after she and Tan Chen sat down in the library, Fang Qihang came over with a bag slung across his shoulder, grinning, and sat down opposite them as if they were old friends.

"What a coincidence, Xu Nianyi, you're here to study too?"

Tan Chen's face instantly turned cold.

When Tan Chen explained a math problem to Xu Nianyi, Xu Nianyi only half understood it and didn't understand why there was this line of thought.

Fang Qihang leaned over to look at the question, and then explained it to Xu Nianyi using a different approach.

Xu Nian's eyes lit up, and she immediately realized, "Oh! I understand! So that's how it is!"

Tan Chen felt a tightness in his chest as he watched this scene, and his face darkened further.

Fang Qihang seemed oblivious, and instead patted Tan Chen on the shoulder like a good buddy, "Tan, your problem-solving approach is very unique, I didn't even think of it! It's simpler than mine, but most people can't react to it!" After praising Tan Chen's thinking, Fang Qihang began to praise Tan Chen's heroic performance on the basketball court and invited him to play basketball together when he had time.

After a while, the somewhat tense atmosphere was actually enlivened by Fang Qihang's lively antics.

As Xu Nianyi watched the two boys with such different styles chatting away, she suddenly felt like the unwanted third wheel.

However, with Fang Qihang acting as a third wheel, Xu Nianyi and Tan Chen's library date became less conspicuous.

After that, weekends often turned into a three-person outing. The two boys would take turns explaining problems to Xu Nianyi, exchanging solutions, and occasionally chatting about topics typical of boys.

With the help of two top students, Xu Nianyi's math scores improved by leaps and bounds.

On the day the college entrance examination results were released, Xu Nianyi was pleasantly surprised to find that her score even exceeded her original goal of getting into a 211 university. She was lucky enough to be admitted to a good 985 university in Shanghai!

The longest summer vacation in history has arrived, and three young people are planning a graduation trip, but looking at their empty wallets, they are too embarrassed to ask their families for too much money.

Just as they were considering where to go on a budget trip, Xu Nianyi excitedly showed them her phone.

"Look at this! Volunteer travel! We go to guesthouses in Yunnan to volunteer. They provide food and lodging, and we are responsible for making beds, cleaning, and other chores. We can explore all of Yunnan during our free time and rest days!"

This novel concept immediately attracted Tan Chen and Fang Qihang. The three hit it off immediately, carefully selected a reputable backpacker hostel in Lijiang online, made the arrangements, and boarded a plane to Yunnan.