Chapter 86: Drink
First year joining ultra-distance running.
From school leaders to teachers, and even to bored students on the sidelines, everyone originally thought that the most important thing about these events was participation, and that as long as they could display the spirit of sports and run to the finish line, they would win.
No one expected that someone could achieve such a result.
Three thousand meters followed by five thousand meters.
The boys in the same game changed a lot. Even if they were not athletes, the spiked shoes they wore were more expensive than the other.
Xu Jiqing, however, remains the same.
A pair of old sneakers with the letters falling off and no one could tell which brand they were from, and a school uniform that was slightly pale from being washed.
The boy had a thin layer of muscle, but his endurance was amazing. His steps were never hurried, but very rhythmic, and even had a sense of life.
It seemed like he had run this 8,000-meter race countless times, and it was just an ordinary slice of his past growing-up years.
In the final sprint on the straight, the screams on both sides of the track almost shook the sky. Even the school leaders in the stands were moved to stand up and look over here with binoculars.
Xu Jiqing's jaw muscles tightened, his eyes became sharper, veins on his neck became visible, and he rushed towards the finish line like a sharp blade drawn from its sheath, with an unstoppable gust of wind.
Then, he ran forward a few more meters due to inertia, bent down and supported his knees, his chest heaving violently, and sweat splashed on the track.
"Class 4 wins--!!!"
"God Xu is awesome!!!"
Everyone in the class cheered and rushed forward, so excited that it seemed like they were watching the Olympic Games. They just needed to drape the national flag over him.
"Brother, do you want some water?"
Zhang Ran, with Xu Jiqing's school uniform jacket draped over his arm, passed him a towel through the crowd. "Do you want to find a place to lie down for a while?"
"Come on," someone beside him immediately hit him, "You are the most unreliable sports committee member in the world. You can't even sit down after a long run, let alone lie down."
There were many small events in the afternoon and the podium was packed.
There is still some time before the award ceremony for the long-distance running events.
Xu Jiqing didn't say a word. He calmed his breathing, wiped his hair twice, and glanced at the crowd.
She is not here.
It was too noisy around here and he was not used to the lively atmosphere. He took the clothes and put them on. Ignoring the cameras raised by people in the stands, he walked along the edge of the runway towards the empty ventilation vent under the stands.
"I'll take my time."
The phone screen in the school uniform pocket was lit up, with a string of unread messages.
It was sent intermittently for half an hour.
Lin Lang: […We have five minutes to go and you told me you had something urgent to do. What could be more urgent than this old man’s training? Did you have a stomachache? Which floor’s restroom are you in? I’ll come get you.]
[Gather behind the administration building. Roll call! We've saved a seat for you. Come quickly!]
[…Team Xu has set off.]
[Holy crap, you're really skipping class? You're the one who's being rebellious. This is your first time skipping class, so make it a big one. Professor Zhang, Professor Hu, and the external teachers from the Jiangnan University Mathematics Department will be here soon. Let me tell you in advance, I can't protect you.]
[You have to kneel down and kowtow to me, brother. I just gave you my guarantee. I said you got a heat stroke during the sports meeting and were sent home to lie down.]
The last one was ten minutes ago:
[It was so moving that Lao Hu paused in the middle of his number theory lecture and asked me if I was awake.]
Xu Jiqing typed casually, [Just running. ]
Lin Lang replied immediately, full of resentment, "I saw someone send a thank you."
"Five kilometers in fifteen and a half minutes! You're a legend! I'm dead! I'll have to make up a medical miracle for Professor Zhang later."
Xu Jiqing replied, "Sorry."
Lin Lang is addicted to slacking off.
Two seconds later, another line was added: […You came all the way here to be a foreign aid, who are you running to?]
The messages on the other end were still coming in, but Xu Jiqing no longer replied.
Seeing the two-character name pop up, he frowned slightly and locked the screen in his palm.
He has a natural sensitivity to numbers.
Su Xia’s birthday was celebrated once by Xiaomao Suo and she never forgot it.
He recently received a new bonus and has some money to spend, so giving him a gift is not that difficult.
But when he thought about giving this gift to Su Xia, he felt that nothing was worthy of it.
Even if it was thrown anonymously into a crowd, she would pick it up and take a look at it, but she would not give it away.
For the entire afternoon, Su Xia was busy running back and forth like a bee, sending people to the registration office below the stage. Her big eyes were full of hope, and she patiently begged all the boys who had signed up for the event to try long-distance running.
Does she want that Lego prize?
Xu Jiqing looked down on himself more and more.
As soon as I met her, all those high-sounding reasons, those harsh words I had said, and the vows I had made in my heart seemed to melt into spring water, disappearing without leaving any trace.
We agreed to stay away from him and it would be best if we could forget about him.
But when Su Xiazhen found someone else, he felt jealous and his throat became dry.
For a moment I wondered why they refused.
I was thinking about it again after a while.
Everyone has asked, why not ask him?
Xu Jiqing had never played with fine toys like Lego when he was a child, so he didn't understand the fun in them.
He was cold-hearted and pushed her away so cruelly that she couldn't even say happy birthday to him.
But as long as it was something she wanted, as long as he could get it.
He will try his best to give.
The hero disappeared in a few seconds, and the students who had gathered near the finish line finally dispersed.
Su Xia, carrying a bulging small bag and holding a bottle of electrolyte water, searched for a long time along the edge of the track. Finally, at the end of the aisle of the stands, she caught a glimpse of the figure leaning against the wall in the distance.
She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a bittersweet joy in her heart.
In his memory of his previous life, when Xu Jiqing returned to Class 4, he would only attend evening self-study classes and would not attend the general department exams. Only when there was a new schedule for the mathematics league would he reveal some amazing legends.
For the rest of the time, his presence was close to zero.
I've never heard of participating in group activities, let alone standing out at a sports meet and becoming the long-distance running champion that everyone is watching.
Maybe it's because of her.
She vaguely felt that Xu Jiqing had changed a lot in this life.
No matter whether his world is sunny, rainy or snowy, or how his fate moves forward, he is getting better.
It was an April afternoon, and outside was a bustling green field, but no one was in the hallway.
The spring breeze, carrying the warmth of the sun, blew her long hair off her shoulders.
Su Xia pursed her lips and raised her hand to stroke it.
"Xu Jiqing." She shouted, her voice a little hoarse because she had shouted "Come on" too loudly just now.
The boy turned around and stood up straight.
Su Xia ran over and put the water bottle in his hand, "Drink some water."
The cool bottle touched the boy's sweaty palm.
There was a clear sign of a twist on the bottle cap. Xu Jiqing paused, "Your water?"
“…No, no!”
Su Xia was stunned, her face flushed. "I brought some new water from class and added a packet of electrolytes to it. It's not something I've ever drunk."
Xu Jiqing nodded.
She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that his expression, although cold, seemed to have some other meaning.
It's like...
Hearing her answer, I seemed a little disappointed.
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