Chapter 27: Run, Boy!
Chapter 27: Run, Boy!
Since the new middle school entrance examination system converted the physical education test into 50 points and included it in the overall score, No. 2 Middle School has provided examination venues for junior high schools within the city every year. The reason is simple: their synthetic track is the best in the city.
When Cheng Junjun arrived at the sports field, Cheng Bing and Fang Yuenian had already completed the registration and were waiting in the waiting area for candidates with the help of their teachers.
Their school was the second batch of students taking exams all day, divided into four groups. Fang Yuenian and Cheng Bing were in the first group, in order of their surnames. The previous batch of students taking exams was from the affiliated high school of No. 1 Middle School, and it wasn't completely over yet, so there was no rush. The parents in the waiting area hadn't completely left yet; they were still surrounding their children and the teachers in charge, chatting amongst themselves.
While waiting to take their turn, the students curiously looked towards the sports field to see how others were doing during the exam. Fang Yuenian rushed to the front and saw several examinees walking breathlessly on the track. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Why are they walking?"
My classmate next to me said, "Hey, he can't run anymore."
Fang Yuenian was astonished: "This is possible?"
During their training, they all give it their all. Even the smallest and thinnest student would never say they're tired and want to walk halfway through a run, or even ask if they still want to score points.
The classmate said, "They are from the affiliated high school of No. 1 Middle School. They don't care about this score at all. Instead of wasting time on training, which is tough and tiring, they might as well prepare for the high school entrance exam. Getting a passing grade in physical education is enough."
Fang Yuenian was a little stunned.
This is the difference between middle schools in the city and middle schools in rural towns.
No matter what, the gap in education level is a real issue. It may only be reflected in a few dozen points in the high school entrance exam, but it is also reflected in many other areas. For example, in this sports field in front of us, Cheng Bing and Fang Yuenian have never actually run on a synthetic track. They have always practiced on the school's 200-meter dirt track. Although the school has specially added a layer of new sand, black and gray dust still flies up when they run, making it difficult to breathe. The teachers all say that their performance will improve after they start running on a synthetic track, which is probably not a lie.
He suddenly remembered Cheng Bing and looked in his direction.
Cheng Bing was always first in school, but what about high school? Could he compete with those outstanding students who grew up and studied in the city? If he couldn't, would he feel disappointed or unhappy?
As he was lost in thought, Wang Jing suddenly came over and patted his arm, "Niannian, look!"
"Huh? What?"
He followed Wang Jing's gaze and saw Cheng Junjun's figure.
The place was crowded and chaotic. Cheng Junjun, holding two cans of Red Bull, struggled to squeeze into the waiting area for examinees. Fang Yuenian hurried over and stood next to Cheng Bing, quietly asking, "Why didn't you tell me that Sister Jun was coming?"
Cheng Bing said, "I didn't originally say I was coming."
"Mom," Cheng Junjun asked Cheng Qiuyan, "Are you coming out?"
"Yeah, almost there. The teacher already told us to leave," Cheng Qiuyan said. "You came here again. Don't you have self-study time? Why are you so sweaty?"
Cheng Junjun wiped her face: "It's rare to get out and relax. It's okay. The small supermarket was so crowded when I was shopping earlier, it was suffocating."
As he spoke, he handed a can of Red Bull to Cheng Bing and Fang Yuenian, saying, "Don't drink too much, just drink half."
"Thank you, Sister Jun!" Fang Yuenian was very happy. Other classmates had also drunk this before, and the spiritual encouragement was more important than the physical energy boost.
Cheng Junjun said, "Several of my classmates and I have joined the cheerleading squad. We'll be there to cheer you both on and wish you good luck on your exams."
Fang Yuenian said with great enthusiasm: "Of course, I guarantee first place."
Cheng Junjun said, "A perfect score is fine."
Cheng Bing quietly drank his Red Bull. He had never tried it before and found it both sweet and strange. Fang Yuenian, on the other hand, fell in love with it at first sip. If Wang Jing hadn't stopped him, he would have drunk most of the can.
Shortly after, staff members came out with a loudspeaker and announced: "Students of Shuibiwei Central Junior High School, please prepare to line up according to your numbers to collect your numbered shirts—parents and other unrelated personnel, please stay behind the red line and do not crowd the queuing or exit areas—please maintain order—"
Cheng Junjun pulled Cheng Qiuyan: "Mom, let's go—you two hurry up and go line up."
"Alright, alright, Bingbing, Xiaoyuenian, you two run well, no rush, good luck!"
Cheng Bing: "Understood."
Fang Yuenian waved her hand: "We're off!"
The parents lingered outside, still trying to find their children's teams and shout encouragement. Cheng Junjun told Cheng Qiuyan and went to the cheerleading squad to cheer on her two younger brothers. Surrounded by girls from her classmates' dormitories, someone asked her, "Cheng Junjun, where are your brothers? Have they gone in yet?"
"Not yet, they've already lined up."
My roommate said, "I love watching the junior high students take their exams. They run so fast! Yesterday, there was a test from Yangliu Middle School. Those girls were really cool during the 800-meter race. They were even wearing those super short athletic shorts that athletes wear. We were as excited as if we were watching the Olympics. This No. 1 Middle School Affiliated High School is so boring. You girls are all walking behind them."
"Oh, I understand. The competition between No. 1 Middle School Affiliated High School and No. 6 Middle School is so fierce that the schools will definitely focus on the written test. Training in physical education for a few months won't necessarily increase your score by more points, so it's not worth it."
"Don't talk about them. If we were to run it now, I wouldn't get a perfect score either. Last time, I only ran the 800 meters in 4 minutes and 20 seconds in the physical fitness test. Back in the day, I could easily finish in 3 minutes and 20 seconds."
"A hero doesn't dwell on past glories. I'd be grateful if I could run under five minutes now..."
Cheng Bing and Fang Yuenian have successfully received their exam vests.
After waiting for a while, the previous work in the venue was completed, and the staff finally let them in.
There were about fifty candidates in a group, divided into male and female teams. After warming up, they had to compete in the smaller events first: women's shot put, men's shot put, plus a choice between rope skipping and long jump. The tests were conducted simultaneously at several test sites in the center of the sports field. Cheng Bing was somehow pulled into becoming a supervisor and had to sign the final score sheet. She was quite busy, but she could also see everyone's scores.
The smaller events progressed quickly, finishing in less than two hours. After the scores were tallied, the women's 800-meter race followed, then the men's 1000-meter race. During a break between races, Fang Yuenian took advantage of the chaos to sidle up to Cheng Bing and exclaimed, "My goodness, I just heard that our women's team got full marks in the shot put! This sports field really has magic."
Cheng Bing said, "I also got full marks in all the jump rope tests."
Fang Yuenian said, "Luckily I didn't choose jump rope, otherwise I would definitely have held them back. Look, they've started running—"
As the women's 800-meter race began, cheers from the No. 2 Middle School's volunteer cheerleading team, along with parents and teachers on the periphery, resounded throughout the stadium.
"come on--"
"Go! Go! Go!"
Having honed their skills on the dirt track through countless hours of training, stepping onto this advanced synthetic track felt like a divine intervention. The girls seemed to be riding on wheels of fire, leaving their male classmates, with whom they had trained for so long, completely mesmerized. Fang Yuenian, Cheng Bing, and a group of other boys stood on the inner field, shouting encouragement to the girls as they sped past, feeling a surge of energy even in themselves.
After the girls' team finished running and their results were recorded, the teacher in charge kept shouting, "Don't lie down!" "Get up and walk around!" to prevent them from lying down suddenly after strenuous exercise. He urged them to go to the inner field to cool off and arranged for the boys to come over and prepare.
This wasn't a competition where there was much to fight for, so Fang Yuenian and Cheng Bing were both at the back. There was a moment of chaos when the starting gun fired, but a long line quickly formed. Outside, parents were shouting themselves hoarse, while inside, girls who had finished running were returning the favor, cheering loudly even though they were still panting.
As they approached the bend, Cheng Bing had already overtaken Fang Yuenian to take the lead, with Fang Yuenian close behind, creating quite a distance between them. Cheng Junjun's shouts could then be clearly heard: "Bingbing—Niannian—Go for it—"
Her roommate, seeing this, almost laughed. "My goodness! Cheng Junjun, do your two younger brothers need to work harder? They're so cool, little brothers—keep it up—full marks await you—"
There were also some unfamiliar classmates nearby, who were all saying, "Wow, those two boys are really good-looking! Are all junior high students this tall now? — Keep it up!"
"Which school are you from? Try to get into No. 2 High School! Your older brothers and sisters are waiting for you—"
Cheng Qiuyan and Wang Jing couldn't get too close, only watching from the outer edges. Wang Jing was truly surprised, not knowing her son could run so fast. Just then, other parents nearby chimed in, asking Cheng Qiuyan which child it was. Cheng Qiuyan grinned from ear to ear: "Ah, that one, in the blue tracksuit, the one running in the lead. The second one is also from our area..."
The parent exclaimed in admiration, "That's amazing! So tall, no wonder he runs so fast. He definitely deserves a perfect score..."
The first group clearly got off to a good start. After all the results were confirmed, the students came out of the exit area like heroes returning from battle. Not to mention the waiting teachers and parents, even the students and parents of the next group were praising them loudly. For a moment, the atmosphere in the waiting area was particularly good, and the tension of the candidates who had not yet taken the exam was greatly relieved.
Cheng Junjun's roommates all expressed their envy of her, saying how wonderful it was to have two such amazing younger brothers.
She remained quite calm. Only after her younger brothers finally handed back their vests and officially finished the exam did she go over to greet them, praising Cheng Bing and Fang Yuenian, "Amazing! You both got full marks, right? I didn't see your little project."
"Perfect score!" Fang Yuenian said, "It's all thanks to Sister Jun's Red Bull!"
Cheng Junjun chuckled, "Okay, it's finally over. It's good that the exam is over. Mom, are you going back now?"
Cheng Qiuyan actually wanted to spend more time talking with her daughter, but with Fang Yuenian and Wang Jing present, it was a bit inconvenient. So she leaned closer and said, "Junjun, we're going home now. You can look at things if you want, and relax. It's a rare opportunity. Your father will come to see you next week, and he can take you to the supermarket to buy whatever you like to eat or use."
"Okay, we'll be one more group of cheerleaders before we leave. You guys go back."
"Okay, okay, then go ahead, and remember to eat well."
"Okay, okay."
Cheng Bing and Fang Yuenian also came over to say goodbye. Cheng Junjun waved her hand, didn't linger, and went to find her classmates.
Cheng Qiuyan was naturally happy today. Cheng Bing and Fang Yuenian were also relieved after finishing their exams, as if a load had been unloaded. Only Wang Jing was not feeling well.
Cheng Junjun was still very nice to Fang Yue Nian, and she was also considerate and obedient in front of Cheng Qiu Yan. Her soft and pleasant "Mom" reminded Wang Jing of more than ten years ago, of that dark-skinned, thin little girl who always wore shoes with half of the sole missing and would only stand far away, looking at her with a curious yet repulsive gaze.
Did she ever call her "Mom"? She definitely did, but it was so long ago. That memory is nowhere near as vivid as the image of her nestled in Grandma Cheng's arms, vomiting and crying out, "I don't want to go back!"
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