Chapter 30
After several days of busy studying, Jian Sheng was a little overwhelmed, but with the physical fitness test and daily exercise, she could fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow at night.
She felt that if she persisted in this way, she might be able to cure her chronic insomnia.
On Thursday afternoon, during the second period of PE class, Xu Shu finally didn't ask for leave. He stood at the door of Class 13, blew a whistle, and called out, "Come on, come on, stop studying! Today we're doing the 800 and 1000 test. No one is allowed to ask for leave. Girls, if you have any special circumstances, come and tell me. Everyone else, go downstairs, hurry up!"
"Cheer up, everyone! Don't let us get picked for the senior year physical fitness test and then say I didn't train you properly! Hurry up!" He blew his whistle again.
"Holy crap, how did this happen so suddenly? Why is the reading 800 today? We're doomed."
"I even forgot how many points I passed, and I felt like I was going to die."
At the classroom door, Xu Shu was urging people to go downstairs. Inside, there was a chorus of groans. Jian Sheng, gripping his pen, also looked uneasy: "We're doomed."
She whispered something that Qi Jing overheard, and Qi Jing also showed a pained expression: "Oh, I really don't want to get tested at 800."
The weather in early November was neither too hot nor too cold. The playground was half in the shade and half in the sun. Class 13 stood in the shade, lined up in four rows, not very neatly, and the students were talking quietly to each other.
Jian Sheng stood next to Lin You, listening to their complaints, and felt a little nervous about the test that was about to begin.
A short while later, Xu Shu led another class over. The line was sparse, but much better than the previous times; this time it was fairly full.
Just as the two lines were set up, the bell rang.
Xu Shu, holding a megaphone, announced: "Wait a minute, both classes will be tested together. Boys will be tested first, and girls can rest first."
"I'm at the finish line. Sports committee members, listen to my instructions. Those who finish first, come and record my score. All the boys, follow me." He waved, and most of the people left.
After everyone left, Lin You plopped down on the ground: "I give up. My aunt isn't coming until the day after tomorrow."
Jian Sheng squatted down and asked, "What score is needed to pass this?"
"The middle school physical education exam is 3 minutes and 25 seconds, and the high school exam is 3 minutes and 30 seconds." He Man leaned over and said, "It's annoying, my period is coming in a few days too."
She sat on the ground, propping her face up as she looked at the group of figures in the center of the lawn.
Jian Sheng felt a little dizzy and cautiously asked, "What happens if I don't pass?"
Lin You sighed: "Those who fail will have to retake the test, along with those who took leave."
"That's it," Jian murmured.
"Don't be nervous. Although my heart rate is 180 right now..." Lin You said slowly, "Xu Shu finds retesting troublesome, and he usually lets me pass if it's not over 40."
Jian Sheng nodded silently. She always ran very hard during the long breaks between classes, but she didn't know if she could pass.
The boys started the test, and soon, several people ran over. She watched the figures rushing across the playground and felt a chill run down her spine.
"Holy crap, what are those two doing?" someone suddenly asked.
It attracted a lot of attention.
Jian Sheng squinted at the figure at the bend in the road; it looked somewhat familiar.
"It seems like Yu Chao is being compared to Chen Zhoujing again," someone chimed in.
"I didn't see Yu Chao just now."
"I don't know when he arrived; he appears and disappears like a ghost."
"These two are fighting again." Xu Xiaxia walked over and sat down.
She looked at the boys in the opposite circle: "Didn't Xu Shu always test the boys from one class first? Why are the two classes mixed together?"
"Because Class 7 is more focused on humanities and has fewer boys, we decided to take the test together," He Man said.
"Oh my god, I can't take it anymore, they're making me so nervous." She clutched her chest and added.
“I’m nervous too,” Jian Sheng suddenly said.
The group looked at her, and she blinked: "That's terrifying."
"Pfft." Qi Jing, sitting next to her, couldn't help but chuckle, "Your serious demeanor is always quite funny."
Jian Sheng shook his head, not understanding what the others were laughing at, but felt his chest pounding: "They're testing so fast, it seems like someone has already finished."
As soon as she finished speaking, several people were already sitting on the lawn.
"Oh no, I need to go to the bathroom now," Lin You said.
"How about we go to the restroom?" Qi Jing suggested.
"Didn't you say that if we don't need to use the restroom, there's hope at the finish line?" Xu Xiaxia said.
"Really?" Qi Jing frowned. "I believe you."
"That's what everyone says online," Xu Xiaxia said innocently.
After waiting for a while, the girls were called out. The girls from Class 7 were tested first. Jian Sheng sat at the finish line, said "Go He Man!" to He Man, and then squatted down to check her shoelaces.
"Damn, I've never been this nervous before, not even during an exam." Xu Shu said, and Xu Xiaxia sat down on the lawn.
"Just think that the destination is your favorite idol," Lin You said.
"You're right, I'll give it a try."
As soon as Xu Shu blew his whistle, five or six girls rushed out, some continued forward at a steady pace, and a few lingered at the back, waiting for an opportunity to overtake.
Jian Sheng was running at a steady pace in the middle. She looked at the few people running ahead of her who were running very fast. They had just said they wouldn't run fast and that they would jog slowly together, but they ended up in the lead.
She wasn't in a hurry and ran forward with the large group in the middle. People would occasionally overtake her from behind, and people would sometimes walk ahead.
As she approached the second bend, she quickened her pace, heading towards the figure ahead.
After overtaking two or three people, she slowed down and sped up to cross the last bend.
At that moment, a few people walked over from under the shade of the trees below the dormitory building.
Chen Zhoujing had taken off his coat, and a few drops of sweat seeped from his forehead, wetting the stray hairs in front of his forehead.
He unscrewed the bottle of water he had just bought, gulped it down, and walked toward the playground. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in his field of vision.
On the red and white plastic track, she was passing several classmates walking at a steady pace, her thin body looking somewhat frail as she passed in front of him.
Soon, the figure was blocked by the shade of the trees in front of him, and Chen Zhoujing quickly took a few steps forward.
He Shang saw his actions and asked, "What are you doing? Did you see Yu Chao again?"
"He wasn't satisfied until he ran himself to death?" Zhao Chengyang added.
The two of them almost broke the school's historical record just now. The entire field was almost filled with only the two of them chasing each other, which scared many students into making way for them.
Chen Zhou turned around in surprise, a smirk playing on his lips: "He couldn't outrun me even if he ran himself ragged."
One sentence provoked a group of boys behind him to object, and He Shang was speechless: "Damn it, showing off!"
Chen Zhou had already walked towards the playground.
Zhao Chengyang suddenly caught sight of a figure and understood what was going on. He told the others to slow down and follow Chen Zhoujing.
Chen Zhoujing stood by a tree under the flagpole, watching Jian Sheng cross the finish line, leaving many people nearing the finish line behind.
She supported her waist and walked slowly forward. In Chen Zhoujing's eyes, her figure resembled an unyielding tree.
Like her hidden, upward-striving vitality, it is very vigorous.
When Jian Sheng ran out, she gradually calmed down after walking several meters. Her throat felt like it was choking on blood, and she tasted a metallic rust. She felt so uncomfortable that she wanted to vomit.
"Don't lie down after you've finished running, walk around!" Xu Shu shouted to the girls who immediately sat down. "Get up, help each other and walk forward. Raise your hand if you've reported your ranking, and come over here to say your name."
"What place did you get?" Lin You caught up with him. "You're really amazing. You could still sprint even when you were already at the finish line."
"Yeah, wow, that's amazing!" Xu Xiaxia said, bending over.
Jian Sheng, panting, said, "I think I'm in sixth place. I don't know how many minutes it's been. I was afraid I wouldn't make it, so I rushed."
"Wow, that's awesome." Xu Xiaxia straightened up and brushed her bangs aside. "I imagined my idol at the finish line... but it was useless."
"What awaits me is not a handsome oppa, but only a middle-aged, overweight Xu Shu, sob sob..." She raised her hand, pretending to wipe away tears.
This action made everyone laugh.
"What are you talking about? Who's sixth?" Xu Shu, a middle-aged man who had gained weight, suddenly blew his whistle.
Jian Sheng was startled, her smile vanished, and she raised her hand, quickly walking to Xu Shu's side: "Teacher, it's me."
“Jian Sheng,” she said carefully, pronouncing her name.
Xu Shu narrowed her eyes: "I remember now, it's you. You got a haircut."
Jian Sheng nodded and pointed to the last person on the list.
Xu Shu wrote something on the paper and exclaimed, "Little girls don't keep their hair long, their parents won't allow it."
Jian Sheng smiled and said, "My hair was too long before, so it wasn't convenient."
"Oh, go ahead, go ahead. I'm sorry about last time, teacher was too forward." Xu Shu gestured with his chin towards her.
"It's alright, teacher." Jian Sheng waved his hands, and then walked away when he saw that Xu Shu didn't want to say anything.
After they finished writing their grades, they walked across the playground and headed out. Xu Xiaxia said, "That's hilarious! So many people apologized to you after you got your haircut."
“After she got her hair cut, she doesn’t need me to accompany her to the bathroom as much anymore.” Qi Jing laughed. “Before, she went to the bathroom and scared a girl to tears. I happened to see her, and I comforted her for a long time. In the end, the girl walked out cursing.”
“I ran into that girl again a few days ago. When she saw Jian Sheng, Jian Sheng apologized to her first, and then the girl apologized too.”
Jian Sheng raised his hand and scratched his face: "I'm actually quite embarrassed."
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, just be natural and open!" Xu Xiaxia said.
"Oh..." Lin You exclaimed in surprise.
Jian Sheng looked up and met the gazes of several boys under the shade of the tree.
"Why did you come back?" Lin You asked.
He Shang took a sip of water from his hand: "Xu Shu said we need to assemble, we can't run away."
“I’ve never seen you listen to him before.” Lin You narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling on Chen Zhoujing.
Chen Zhoujing took his hand out of his pocket, swiped the water bottle in his hand, took a sip, and then his gaze inadvertently shifted away.
After reporting, Jian Sheng followed Lin You slowly towards the teaching building.
Behind him was a group of boys from Class 13. Chen Zhoujing walked at the front. The two groups got closer and closer, eventually forming two sparse rows. Taking advantage of the chaos, Chen Zhoujing slowly walked to Jian Sheng's side.
Jian Sheng saw the white shoes that had entered her line of sight, looked up at him, her cheeks still slightly flushed: "First place is amazing."
"Sixth place, you're really impressive too." Chen Zhou raised his chin in surprise.
"No need to praise sixth place." Jian Sheng turned his gaze away.
"Why doesn't sixth place need praise? Six is a lucky number, six is a good number, such a good number means everything will go smoothly from now on." Chen Zhou hurriedly said a bunch of things.
He simply said "oh".
“Really, believe me,” he said, leaning closer.
“Oh, I believe you.” Jian Shengzhen nodded.
Unbeknownst to them, the two gradually drifted apart from the two rows of boys and girls in front of them, falling quite a distance behind.
Chen Zhoujing chattered on and on around Jian Sheng, but Jian Sheng didn't hear a word he said. She just thought he was being noisy. She moved to the side, but he kept following her.
"Hey." He suddenly thought of something.
Jian looked at him; a smile played on his lips, his eyebrows were raised, and his eyes held a deep amusement. He said to her, "You said I was in first place. Did you just watch me run?"
"Isn't that amazing?" he said again.
Jian Sheng looked into his burning eyes and looked away: "No."
“Of course I am! You said I’m number one!” he persisted.
Jian Sheng quickened her pace: "That's what they said."
"Who said that? I ran so cool, you didn't see it, but you definitely saw how far ahead I was near the finish line, leaving him several meters behind..."
No sooner had the boastful words fallen than a burst of anger shattered the atmosphere between the two.
"You son of a bitch, Chen Zhoujing, you're playing dirty tricks on me!" said the dormitory resident on the other side. Near the cafeteria area, a group of people walked up, and someone shouted that.
The two stopped and turned around together. Jian Sheng saw that boy in the corridor that day...
When Chen Zhou saw Yu Chao, his face darkened, the smile on his face disappeared, he straightened his slightly bent body, and his gaze turned cold.
"I'm leaving now?" Jian Sheng looked up at him, startled by his expression, and moved to the side.
Chen Zhou's expression froze for a moment: "You can leave now."
"Mmm." Jian Sheng quickly lifted her foot.
He had only taken one step when the figure behind him called out: "Jian Sheng?"
A slightly deep, yet youthful and pleasant voice rang in her ears, and she turned to look at him.
Yu Chao's lips curled down: "I've long admired your name."
He teased, "Is this the person you've been longing for?"
Chen Zhoujing ignored him, trying his best to appear gentle. He raised his lips and said to Jian Sheng, "Shall we go back first?"
Jian Sheng nodded and walked towards the group of people who had stopped in front of him.
Lin You took a few steps in her direction: "Has Yu Chao gone crazy these past two days?"
"I don't know, I've been looking for Chen Zhoujing these past two days," He Shang said. "You guys go back first, class is about to start, I have to go break up the fight, otherwise the teacher will scold Chen Zhoujing again."
Jian frowned: "Will they fight?"
"No, it won't happen." Lin You comforted him. "Whether a fight breaks out depends on whether Chen Zhoujing is willing to fight. Generally, he is not willing. Otherwise, Yu Chao would just be joking. The two of them used to be brothers."
Xu Xiaxia clicked her tongue: "As far as I know, it seems to be related to Chen Zhoujing's white moonlight. Hmm~ It's super complicated."
"They both liked the same girl, and then Yu Chao lost to Chen Zhoujing. After that, Yu Chao started to hold a grudge against Chen Zhoujing?" Qi Jing guessed.
“It’s not that complicated. They’ve known each other since they were little. Chen Zhoujing is the ‘other people’s child’ that Yu Chao’s mother always talks about, and he just can’t stand it.” Zhao Chengyang, who was listening nearby, suddenly spoke up.
"I almost forgot that the three of you went to the same junior high school." Lin You smiled.
A strange emotion welled up in Jian Sheng's heart.
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