Chapter 52: I'm not trying to be number one, bro!
Chapter 52: I'm not trying to be number one, bro!
The qualification for the relay race is determined based on the individual results of each class. After the 100, 200 and 400-meter races were completed yesterday, Class 1 has already determined that they will only advance to the 4×200 relay. Therefore, Fang Yuenian does not need to struggle between cheering for his own class's athletes or for Cheng Bing. After watching the exciting 4×200, he stayed on the field and waited for Cheng Bing to take the field.
Cheng Bing changed back into his competition uniform.
He was just wearing ordinary athletic shorts and a T-shirt, not as professional and flashy as Li Peixiang, but it was enough. After he took his position on the track, Fang Yuenian struggled to squeeze out half a body length from the crowd inside the field.
Cheng Bing was the first runner, taking the lead and creating a little distance. He wasn't under much pressure, but the cheerleading squad from Class 18 gave him tremendous encouragement. When he heard the voices and looked over, Fang Yuenian wanted to shout "Go Cheng Bing!" but before he could open his mouth, the tidal wave of "Go Cheng Bing!" from the surroundings drowned him out.
Fang Yuenian even saw Fang Ying from Class 2, the one who asked him for Cheng Bing's phone number during military training, and the one who asked a classmate for Cheng Bing's phone number a second time at the long jump field yesterday. She was holding a bottle of water and shouting herself hoarse.
Fine, he could only raise his chin, and Cheng Bing nodded slightly in response.
Meng Xiaoyang handed a small flag to Fang Yuenian. Li Peixiang, dragging his tired body after finishing the relay, patted Fang Yuenian on the shoulder and said, "Hurry up and cheer him on! If you don't cheer now, when will you? He won't be able to hear you once he starts running."
Amid the noise, Fang Yuenian said, "Then I need to be able to get a word in edgewise."
The starting gun had already fired, and Fang Yuenian took advantage of the moment of silence to squeeze closer and whisper, "Cheng Bing, good luck!"
As soon as the starting gun fired, the athletes on the track shot off like arrows.
For a moment, it seemed like the whole world was cheering. Fang Yuenian was almost overwhelmed by the noise. He chased after that figure, hurriedly crossing the inner field, and rushed to the bend ahead of time, shouting "Go for it—" as Cheng Bing passed by.
"I think I can probably hear it," Li Peixiang said, panting as he ran. "Let's go, let's go, let's go to the baton exchange area."
Cheng Bing lived up to expectations. On the short 200-meter track, he managed to give his opponent a lead of almost two seconds. After successfully completing the baton exchange, he had to leave the field as soon as possible. Fang Yuenian had missed the 1,000-meter race, so he followed closely. When Cheng Bing retreated into the inner field to cross the ropes, Fang Yuenian was able to reach out and catch him.
However, before he could let go, three different brands of mineral water bottles were handed to him from the side.
"Cheng Bing, this is for you!"
Here, have some water!
"Here, take this bottle of water! You're awesome!"
Fang Yuenian: "..."
Hearing the excited and expectant voices of the three different girls, he took a step back and accidentally stepped on the foot of the person behind him.
Li Peixiang shouted, "Ah! What's wrong!"
"Sorry! I didn't see you!" Fang Yuenian turned around. "When did you start standing behind me?"
"Damn it," Li Peixiang's voice had changed as he quietly nuzzled Fang Yuenian's head, "Niannian, what did I say? I said that School Heartthrob Cheng would attract many suitors these days, and there's more than one."
Fang Yuenian: "Shut up."
"Thank you, but I'm not thirsty now, it would be a waste to take it," Cheng Bing's voice came through, "Fang Yuenian!"
Fang Yuenian was startled when she was suddenly called out, "Hey!"
"Give me your coat."
"Oh, okay," Fang Yuenian almost forgot the task she had volunteered for earlier, and quickly stepped forward to hand him his school uniform jacket, "Here, put it on."
He wasn't actually cold; he was just looking for an excuse to leave the encirclement.
Li Peixiang was amazed by Cheng Bing's quick thinking and said to Meng Xiaoyang, "Damn, Cheng Bing is awesome."
Meng Xiaoyang smiled but didn't reply.
The 3,000-meter race was in the afternoon and was the last official event. Tomorrow, there would be fun events, a mixed-student exhibition race, and a closing ceremony. When Fang Yuenian changed her clothes and was ready to check in, she realized that it seemed like everyone in the class had time to watch the race.
People cheered, clapped, and punched each other, surrounding him and Li Peixiang in all sorts of ways to encourage them, as if they were little heroes about to go into battle.
“Let’s just do our best, okay?” Li Peixiang was still worried about Fang Yuenian’s stamina. “Anyway, we can’t compete for the top three in the overall points, so let’s just run around casually and finish the race.”
Fang Yuenian: "Is that how you encourage people? Shouldn't you be saying, 'We must give it our all! We must bring glory to our class!'"
Li Peixiang waved his hand dismissively: "Why do you care so much? Oh right, where's School Heartthrob Cheng?"
"What's down there?"
Fang Yue Nian is so proud of this. But fortunes change, and now Brother Cheng is holding my school uniform.
"Let's go, let's rest after the race. Let's go have hot pot tonight, it's on me," Li Peixiang stretched his arms, already planning his post-race fun. "I'll take you to that super delicious place."
"Don't you have tug-of-war tomorrow?"
"If I'm going to do a tug-of-war, I should eat even more, okay? Besides, I might not even participate. I might be exhausted after running the 3,000 meters."
Fang Yuenian was amused, "I hope you don't become useless."
Li Peixiang's gaze fell on his neck, and he suddenly asked, "Hey, I've noticed you've been wearing that thing of yours all the time."
Fang Yuenian reached out and touched it: "This? This is a peace charm. People in our area are Buddhists. There's a temple in the village, and this was obtained from the temple."
Li Peixiang rolled his eyes: "I think I saw the same thing on Cheng Xiaocao's neck yesterday... Oh, I remember now, you two are from the same village."
Fang Yuenian hummed in agreement, then carefully tucked the small amulet into her collar. "Let's go."
Cheng Bing took Fang Yuenian's school uniform jacket and entered the sports field early.
The grass on the inner field had been trampled so badly these past few days that patches of it were bare. He was standing about 200 meters away from the starting line, where there were hardly any people at first, but after he arrived, a group of cheerleading girls gradually gathered around him, waving flags and shouting.
Fang Yuenian stepped onto the track and took a deep breath.
Everyone started together, and there were a long eight and a half laps, so there was no need to fight for the starting position. However, Li Peixiang said he would just run casually, but as soon as the starting gun fired, he darted faster than anyone else, while Fang Yuenian leisurely disappeared into the crowd—he clearly heard many people calling his name, which made his scalp tingle.
Cheng Bing is the kind of person who can accept other people's attention very easily, but he can't, and after entering high school, especially after the monthly exams, he didn't adapt very well.
If someone were to ask Fang Yuenian what it felt like to run 3,000 meters, his answer would likely be: extremely disjointed.
Specifically, after passing 100 meters, everyone basically lined up and started moving forward at a constant speed. Li Peixiang was still in first place, so Fang Yuenian let himself stay in position number ten or so, and even felt that he could go further back. However, before he could slow down, he saw Cheng Bing at 200 meters.
Cheng Bing was much more sensible than him; she wasn't overwhelmed by the crowd. When he ran over, she even ran alongside him for a short distance, her voice carrying clearly, though not loudly: "Fang Yuenian! Don't stay too far behind!"
Since he said that, Fang Yuenian subconsciously pursed her lips and sped up a bit, breaking into the top ten.
After another two or three hundred meters, he was comfortably in seventh or eighth place, which felt just right. However, Cheng Bing reappeared after circling around for most of the way. This time, he said, "Fang Yuenian, keep it up!"
I'm not trying to be number one, bro!
Fang Yuenian shouted in her heart, then buried her head and overtook two or three more people, securing herself in the first group.
Then he got tired. He had only run less than two laps. He realized that running 3,000 meters was really that painful.
But Cheng Bing opened Fang Yuenian's eyes today. It was as if he carried a magic door with him, or he was wandering around the inner area in circles, constantly moving in different directions. In short, Fang Yuenian could see him every now and then, and each time he would call out to him:
"Fang Yuenian! Keep it up!"
Yes, shouting, not the kind of quiet tactical instructions given while running alongside like in the first two sentences, but the kind of serious cheering and encouragement.
Fang Yuenian couldn't help but think: Holy crap, is this Cheng Bing? He's actually shouting encouragement loudly?
He was filled with anxiety: Maybe you shouldn't shout anymore. I feel like I'd be letting you down if I didn't come in first, and aren't you afraid of being scolded by your classmates?
However, Cheng Bing persisted and followed along round and round—Fang Yue Nian's fear quickly disappeared, and she was so beautiful that she wished she could ride on a whirlwind.
See? My brother Cheng is still my brother Cheng.
He charged forward recklessly, and Meng Xiaoyang chased after him, panting, and brought him a paper cup of water. He half-drank it and half-splashed it on his face, looking both disheveled and incredibly hot-blooded.
On the last lap, the referee rang the bell, and those with energy began to gradually increase their speed. In the last hundred meters, the whole stadium erupted. The athletes sprinted with all their might, and the cheers were deafening. Fang Yuenian ran until his face was ashen. When he sprinted, his legs were numb and he felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat. The surrounding cheers were like tinnitus, and he couldn't hear anything clearly. Cheng Bing had already left the track and gone to the finish line to wait for him. That figure was right in front of him.
He crossed the finish line, and several people reached out to help him. He grabbed one of them and held him up, leaning over and panting heavily.
That was Cheng Bing.
Cheng Bing supported him with her arms, guiding him slowly forward, not letting him stop immediately, while the water bottle in her hand was uncapped and waiting.
Fang Yuenian reached out and took the drink, gulping it down. "I'm so tired, I feel like throwing up. From now on, let's leave these kinds of events to Li Peixiang," he said, head down, his words incoherent. "What place did I get?"
"fourth."
"Okay, friendship first... competition fourth, right? What about Li Peixiang?"
"He's number one!" Meng Xiaoyang's excited voice rang out from the side. "Fang Yuenian! You guys are amazing!"
Someone nearby shouted, "Awesome! Fang Yuenian, I never would have guessed!"
"Yeah, I remember you two agreed before the run that you'd just run around casually, right?"
"Haha, that's how champions are, just like top students saying they didn't study before the exam..."
Li Peixiang enjoyed the champion's treatment, being supported by several people a few steps away, but he didn't forget to shout to Fang Yuenian: "Brother Nian is awesome!"
Fang Yuenian gave a half-dead laugh, raised her hand in a salute, and said, "You flatter me!"
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