The sports meet started quickly. Regardless of the school or grade, there was always a long and tedious opening speech before the main event could begin.
The same competition has a multi-round mechanism. Fortunately, the school is big enough that grades one to three are on the east playground and grades four to six are on the west playground. This prevents them from crowding together, avoids wasting too much time, and allows as many students as possible to participate.
Normally, those who are not playing sit in their designated seats in their class, while the participants representing the school go to the field to prepare. After the competition, they must return to their class and cannot move around freely.
The event kicked off with a relay race showcasing teamwork, effectively opening the curtain on the joint sports meet. Surprisingly, Meng Zhiyao was one of the relay runners.
Even Meng Wan was somewhat surprised by this.
A person's personality doesn't change so easily. Meng Zhiyao also has a maverick style. He would never bother others with things he can do by himself. As a team event, relay races would never have been something he would have participated in before.
Participating in a relay race means he has to set aside time every day to work with the team and develop chemistry. He's a man of few words and not good at socializing, so participating in this kind of team competition would be nothing short of torture for him.
Zhao Tianqi put his arm around Meng Zhiyao's neck, smiling brightly, and said something that made Meng Zhiyao laugh as well.
Tang Li gave Zhao Tianqi a push, not very hard, but Zhao Tianqi, probably a restless person, deliberately bumped back with his shoulder. The two of them were squeezed together like that, neither willing to give way.
Meng Zhiyao seemed quite used to it and quietly squeezed between the two.
The two stopped their playful antics, though their lips were still moving, suggesting they were still arguing about something. Meng Zhiyao had a smile on her lips, appearing to be in a good mood; her initial tension and unease had unconsciously dissipated.
Meng Wan noticed the three's subtle actions and understood what was going on. With a smile on her lips, she took the camera that Yan Nian had been carrying and started snapping photos of the three of them.
She had investigated Zhao Tianqi's family background and found nothing wrong with it. His parents were also easygoing and straightforward people. Recently, they had been cooperating with the Meng couple in the food processing industry. They were an honest and law-abiding family who also paid great attention to food safety. They even mentioned that they had children of their own.
Based on this point alone, there's a reason why the Zhao family was able to raise such an optimistic child as Zhao Tianqi.
Meng Zhiyao is sensitive and thoughtful, and having two carefree and easygoing kids like Zhao Tianqi and Tang Li around is actually a good thing.
The three people have perfectly complementary personalities: one is taciturn and calm, one is optimistic and simple, and one is clever and alert. They not only influence each other and bring positive feedback, but they are also a perfect trio.
The three followed the other competitors to the edge of the playground to stretch and prepare for the race. There was an extra little boy in the group; he seemed to be the last member of the relay. After exchanging familiar greetings, they were guided by their teacher to their designated spot.
Gunshots rang out, and the boy who started first quickly pulled far ahead of the people around him.
His posture is very professional. It is said that his parents are both athletes, and he was trained to be a track and field athlete from a young age. He is a very talented child.
The second runner was Zhao Tianqi. Although he was a bit stronger and there was a slight mishap during the handover, thanks to the first runner having pulled ahead by more than half a lap, Zhao Tianqi was able to maintain his lead and successfully pass the baton to Tang Li.
Things went smoothly with Tang Li. Although the two bickered, they still had a good understanding. In addition, Tang Li was learning Taekwondo and Muay Thai, so his physical strength and explosiveness were quite good, which gradually widened the gap between them.
In the final round, it was Meng Zhiyao's turn.
Surprisingly, Meng Zhiyao was very fast, not at all like a typical homebody who spends all his time drawing and never leaves the house.
Meng Wan thought that this might also be related to Tang Li dragging Meng Zhiyao to run and exercise every day.
Meng Zhiyao caught a cold during the change of seasons. Because she hadn't exercised for years and always stayed at home without getting any sun, she fell ill very quickly and it took a full week for her fever to completely subside.
After that, Tang Li took it upon himself to take on Meng Zhiyao's training duties, making sure to run two laps with him every day before school ended before taking him home. Perhaps this was part of the reason he was selected to participate in the relay race.
Of course, these are all things that Meng Zhiyao herself and Meng Wan said.
Meng Wan was quite pleased that Meng Zhiyao was willing to share her daily life with others. Everyone would love such a well-behaved, adorable, and obedient little dumpling. Therefore, she always listened patiently to Meng Zhiyao and would try to bring up topics to encourage her to continue talking.
However, it is clear that Meng Wan's approach to guiding the conversation was not wrong.
Now, Meng Zhiyao can speak fluently and is no longer timid in front of strangers. She can even greet them in a generous manner.
The relay race ended, and the four of them undoubtedly won the championship. They were now hugging each other and spinning around, their faces beaming with undisguised smiles.
Meng Wan took the opportunity to snap a few photos. The group sensed the camera and waved at Meng Wan, sharing their joy of victory with her from afar.
Meng Wan put down her camera and gave them a thumbs-up. This open and straightforward praise clearly boosted the children's happiness even further.
The following matches were all with other people, so the three children couldn't wander around. They could only sit in their classroom seats and playfully fight with their classmates.
While it was noisy and chaotic over there, the atmosphere over here was much more awkward. Whenever one of the two men spoke to Meng Wan, before she could even reply, the other would quickly retort in a sarcastic tone.
Meng Wan resisted the urge to roll her eyes and listened as the two of them, each using her as an intermediary, mocked and ridiculed the other.
"Do you need me to make room for the two of you? Or is the space too cramped, and you need them to give up the playground for you to fight?"
As soon as Meng Wan spoke, the two immediately shut up.
"How old are they? They're not as mature as Tang Li and Zhi Yao."
"That little brat Tang Li?" Tang Qi scoffed, his face full of undisguised disdain, as if being compared to Tang Li was something that lowered his own status.
Just then, they saw Tang Li walk out of the classroom alone.
The 100-meter run didn't drain Tang Li's energy too much; instead, it served as a good warm-up. Standing on the playground, he already exuded a certain handsomeness at such a young age, seemingly setting him apart from others in terms of looks.
He waved at Meng Zhiyao, who huddled up in a ball with her knees drawn up to her chest. Although the wave wasn't as wide as Tang Li's, it was still a clear response.
As soon as Zhao Tianqi waved his hand, Tang Li immediately stopped smiling and looked to the other side.
Zhao Tianqi looked at Meng Zhiyao with some grievance, and the latter smiled and patted his shoulder as a form of comfort.
Soon, the 400m race began. Coincidentally, one of Tang Li's opponents was Qin Yang.
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