The entrance formation of Class 1, Grade 2 arrived not too late. When Zhou Sheng stood on the rostrum and watched the class team approach, he couldn't help but stand up straight and clear his throat.
"Walking towards us below are the athletes from Class 1, Grade 2. They display the passion and energy unique to the flower season with their full grace. They..." Zhou Sheng's unique clear and gentle baritone echoed over the playground along with the loudspeaker. Those old-fashioned clichés became much more pleasant to the ears in his mouth, making people feel like they were bathed in spring breeze.
The square formation of Class 1, Grade 2, stood in front of the rostrum. As the prelude sounded, the boys and girls quickly changed their formations. In the center of the formation were twelve distinct and different girls. When the music that many people were familiar with played, the whole audience was excited.
Zhou Sheng stood in front of the microphone, ignoring the noise, his eyes always fixed on one person——
The girl was dazzling, even more so in the sunlight, like a cat leaping and catching butterflies in the light, radiating fresh vitality.
And she was looking at him too.
Even though they were dozens of meters apart, Zhou Sheng knew that she was looking at him.
…
…
Lin Sitian’s task this year is 800 meters.
Unfortunately, the class teacher asked the girls with good physical education scores to sign up for one event. Lin Sitian thought it was not her turn so she didn't pay attention to it. However, she didn't expect that the class one of grade two was in dire straits. Among the twenty-one girls, she could still rank high in physical education. When the physical education committee member asked her, only the 800-meter event was left.
Moreover, in the last 800-meter test, Lin Sitian's result was above average, and the physical education committee member smiled and told her: If you don't have proof of heart disease or asthma, you have to go on the test.
To be honest, before today, Lin Sitian had trained for a few days in long-distance running to get used to it, for fear of embarrassing herself in the competition. Her requirements were not high, as long as she was not in the last or second place. However, when the starting gun sounded, her mentality was completely different——
She will want to win.
Even if she didn't have the ability, even if she was far behind, as long as she was on the track, Lin Sitian would want to overtake one more person and run faster. Before she knew it, she had already run half the way.
After the halfway point, they were about to reach the peak. Lin Sitian was already out of breath and could hardly move. The people around her passed her one by one and left her behind. She felt like her chest and lungs were about to explode, and her head was filled with the sound of her heartbeat and buzzing.
"Lin Sitian——"
Amidst the many cheers, she heard a familiar voice.
"Come on - adjust your breathing -"
Lin Sitian looked over with extremely tired eyes and saw Zhou Sheng just outside the track, running diagonally in front of her.
There were a lot of people cheering on both sides of the track. If Zhou Sheng wanted to run with the others, he couldn't get close to the edge, so his figure appeared and disappeared in the gaps between people.
But he didn't seem to care whether she saw him or not, nor did he care how many eyes he attracted by shouting out loud, which was unusual for him. He was just telling her stubbornly and enthusiastically: Come on, I'm here too.
It was like a ray of light weaving through the shade of the trees. Lin Sitian followed that light, moving a little further each time.
Hearing Zhou Sheng's shouts of "Come on" would give her more strength, and the strength given to her by her classmates was also shared with her. By the end of the run, Lin Sitian could hardly feel her legs. She persisted to the last fifty meters with her obsession with chasing the light and her unwillingness to give in.
She was in third place, and even Lin Sitian herself couldn't believe that she actually came in third place.
The finish line was right in front of her. She couldn't help but look at Zhou Sheng who was still running with her on the side of the track with joy. Maybe if she worked harder, she could get second place.
But the next second, someone passed her.
Lin Sitian watched the other party overtake her and the distance between them became farther and farther. She couldn't help but speed up her pace.
But she was really too tired. She felt the ground sinking with every step, as if she would sink in at any moment. Forcing herself to increase her stride made her stumble and she almost fell to the ground. She finally managed to steady herself.
She quickly readjusted her pace to catch up, but the three people in front of the team were already far away from her, and the first one had even reached the finish line.
The top three are gone.
It was just the last few dozen meters. If she had tried harder before... Lin Sitian felt exhausted and her throat was burning. She ran slower and slower, and the person behind her was gradually approaching.
"Don't give up! We're almost there—"
"——Sweetie!"
Lin Sitian looked up in surprise, because Zhou Sheng actually called her like that in the crowd near the finish line.
"come on--"
“Come to me—!!”
Apart from doing exercises and taking exams, he had never been so passionate about anything or anyone.
Lin Sitian really wanted to cry at that moment.
After meeting Zhou Sheng, she seemed to always cry easily. She cried when she had a crush on him, cried when her efforts failed, cried when she was heartbroken, cried when he confessed to her, cried when she was worried about breaking up, and she still wanted to cry at this moment when she felt how much he liked her.
There are both bitter and sweet feelings in it, but she just feels very happy.
Lin Sitian regained her spirits and ran towards Zhou Sheng and the finish line. At this moment, it didn't matter whether she came in third or fourth. She just wanted to try her best to finish the race and persevere to the end.
No matter what you do, you should try your best, whether it is something you like or a competition.
In this way, you will have a clear conscience about your youth.
This year's sports meet also added a class basketball friendly match. Both freshmen and sophomores participated. The winner was decided in a 10-minute quarter, but the prize was just a certificate, which had nothing to do with the score of the sports meet itself, so it was more of an entertainment match.
Before the game, they had to draw lots to decide their opponents, and coincidentally, their class 1 drew class 8.
"Wow, isn't this asking for trouble? Both members of Class 8's basketball team, including Meng Qiaoyu, are here." In the class base camp on the stands, Lin Sitian, with Zhou Sheng's sweatshirt on her knees, complained while looking at Meng Qiaoyu, who was drinking water with his hands on his hips at the lottery table.
At that time, Zhou Sheng was half-kneeling in front of her and paused when he heard that.
"Okay, I'm going." After treating her, Zhou Sheng put the medicine spray in his hand next to her and stood up suddenly.
"Where are you going?" Lin Sitian looked confused.
Zhou Sheng didn't know what he was angry about. He curled his lips, didn't answer her, and hurried down the stands.
"Huh?" Confused, Lin Sitian turned around and saw Wang Yue not far behind her, so she stopped him and asked, "Doesn't Zhou Sheng have a competition today?" He had to help the school organize activities today and didn't have to participate in any sports events.
Wang Yue was stunned for a moment, "Yes, he is not on the list of the class competition."
"Then he..."
"Oh, Lao Zhao said he didn't participate in any of the games, and the other students were tired after a day of competition, so he said he would at least go on the court to help out in the basketball game."
Lin Sitian was shocked: "Zhou, can Zhou Sheng play basketball?"
Wang Yue smiled happily: "See for yourself."
…
…
—Okay, he won’t.
There is no such thing as a hidden dragon playing the pig to eat the tiger in reality. Zhou Sheng's basketball skills are probably only at the level of being able to dribble and stand-up jump shots. As Lin Sitian complained at the beginning, the first class of the second grade was in a passive position in the friendly basketball match, and the eighth class was in a variety of fancy layup fakes, while their class...
I can't bear to watch it.
Let’s put it this way, Lin Sitian reasonably suspected that they were playing something very new, which she called the “call daddy style”.
Except for Zhou Sheng who was still holding on, the others had already knelt down.
Li Hailiang was also on the court, but his role on the court was probably not as great as his role in providing entertainment for Wang Yue, who had a foot injury. The other brainpower masters in Class 1 of Senior 2 would not tolerate any derailment in the field of sports, as it was a betrayal of knowledge. They were indeed the class with the best average scores in each subject.
However, despite the fierce battle, Lin Sitian still watched the game intently. Many classmates crowded to the front line to cheer them on. Seeing that the game was about to end, Lin Sitian didn't care about the pain in her feet and dragged her legs to the sidelines.
As the whistle blew, the final result of the game was single digits versus tens digits, with Class 1 scoring only two goals in total.
The temperature rose rapidly after the beginning of summer. Zhou Sheng supported himself on his knees and gasped for breath. His forehead was covered with sweat. He wiped his philtrum, which was also sweaty, with the back of his hand.
Looking at the scoreboard on the sidelines, he lowered his eyes, his disappointment hard to hide, then he stood up and looked at Meng Qiaoyu from a distance.
Meng Qiaoyu raised the corner of his mouth provocatively at him.
Zhou Sheng did not respond, but a rare hint of unwillingness appeared in his eyes.
The players on the field left the field one after another. Meng Qiaoyu, the scoring leader, saw Lin Sitian and waved to her: "Lin Sitian——"
The boy who won the game would more or less want to show off his achievements, even if it was by defeating the opponent.
But Lin Sitian on the sidelines didn't notice him at all, and just walked towards someone with a staggering gait.
Zhou Sheng was still raising his hand to wipe the sweat from his chin when he bumped into the overly excited Lin Sitian.
“That three-pointer was so cool!”
Class 1, Grade 2, scored a total of 5 points in one quarter, including a three-pointer by Zhou Sheng.
Zhou Sheng was stunned, he knew he didn't play well and played ugly. Compared with the boys in Class Eight who were skilled at intercepting and making layups, they were not even qualified to be supporting roles. He originally wanted to impress Lin Sitian, but ended up humiliating himself.
"It only went in once." Zhou Sheng turned his head away, taking her praise as a consolation.
Lin Sitian stuffed a bottle of mineral water into his hand and said, "You scored one of the two goals, and it accounted for more than half of the total score."
Zhou Sheng held his forehead weakly, "You sound very sarcastic."
"But you've never mocked me."
With his eyes still closed, Zhou Sheng heard her voice say this.
"Why do you think I would ridicule you?"
Zhou Sheng opened his eyes, and Lin Sitian wiped the sweat from his forehead with the tissue in her hand.
"I really think that shot was amazing. Everyone in Class 8 is strong and healthy, but you still made a three-pointer despite being blocked by a member of the basketball team. That's so cool! The moment you jumped up and scored the goal, I also jumped up excitedly, but my legs were numb from the shock... My feet are still hurting now."
"Pfft", Zhou Sheng couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The two walked back to the class base camp side by side.
Although Lin Sitian flattered him, Zhou Sheng still felt defeated. "I lost too much." He had never lost so badly before. After thinking for a while, he said, "Meng Qiaoyu is much stronger than me."
"Because he is on the school team and has participated in inter-school competitions before." Lin Sitian answered casually.
"oh."
"But why do you have to compete with him in basketball?" Lin Sitian thought of what she said to Yuan Xiao that day, and suddenly felt that lack of confidence in oneself when in love seemed to be not exclusive to one person.
“…”
"Meng Qiaoyu doesn't even have the qualifications to participate in the Olympic Games. He has never wanted to compete with you in doing a test paper, right?"
——To be honest, I have already compared it, when I last made a video call.
Zhou Sheng pursed his lips and said nothing.
He also knew that he was indeed being too picky about this matter.
"Anyway, I don't remember how many points Meng Qiaoyu scored, I just remember that Zhou Sheng's three-pointer was really cool." Lin Sitian interrupted his wandering thoughts.
"...Thank you." He pinched his ears shyly.
"Do you also think that I dance the best at the entrance ceremony?"
Zhou Sheng looked at her, unable to suppress the smile on his lips, and nodded.
"Look, I didn't think you were mocking me. I believed you. I dance the best anyway."
"Yuan Xiao and the others just walked past you."
"Ah!" Lin Sitian panicked, "Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
"Hahahaha——" Zhou Sheng laughed heartily, which was rare.
Lin Sitian didn’t know that not far behind them were the basketball players from Class 8 who were also returning to the base camp.
Meng Qiaoyu looked at the two playful figures from afar for a long time, and suddenly put his arm around the shoulders of his teammate next to him, and shouted desperately: "Let's go for a barbecue tonight, it's my treat!"
"What's wrong, Qiao Yu, are you upset?"
"Ha, I'm not really upset..." Meng Qiaoyu took a deep breath and looked up at the May sky.
The weather is so nice.
"——I just completely fell out of love."
The sports meet ended successfully and the students were dismissed to go home. Two or three students on duty were left in each class to clean up the mess on campus.
Lin Sitian ran 800 meters today, so naturally she didn't need to stay and clean up, but she still didn't move.
"Tiantian, are you leaving?" Yang Xuelin asked as she picked up her bag.
Lin Sitian shook her head and said, "You go first. Zhou Sheng will take me home."
"Oh, stop it. You two are in love and I am fed dog food every day. I really underestimated the squad leader. He is a man who is good at talking than anyone else." Yang Xuelin pretended to kick her. "I'm leaving now. You should go back as well."
Lin Sitian made an "OK" gesture to her.