Sports Meet
On the day the three-day National Day holiday ended and students returned to school, Deng Lianchun called Lu Er to his office.
"Please hand out this form." Lu Er took the form and looked at it. "This is the registration list for the sports meet. Each event needs to be filled with participants. Ideally, everyone in the class should register. Give it to me after you've filled it out."
Lu Er nodded, returned to Class 18, informed them of the matter, and distributed the forms.
When the list was passed to Lu Er's table, she quickly scanned the sports meet events on the left. Lu Er hadn't signed up for any events in her first and second years of high school. Firstly, she wasn't good at sports, and secondly, as the person collecting the forms, she usually had access to the registration information. The lists for the previous two years were already full, so Lu Er didn't need to put in any extra effort.
If there are not enough entries for a project, including situations where class leaders volunteer to sign up for several projects, then the class monitor and sports committee member have to do psychological work with the students in the class—in short, they have to persuade them and try to get them to agree.
Lu Er disliked doing psychological work and naturally didn't favor the latter situation. So, she glanced down the rows of papers and signed her name on the shot put and the girls' 50-meter race.
Compared to the 50-meter dash, Lu Er had less experience with shot put. So, after class, she would spend more time training for the shot put.
In physical education class, Lu Er practiced shot put with the girls who had also signed up for the shot put.
The girl next to Lu Er was 10 centimeters shorter than her. She held the 4kg shot put in her hand, kicked her legs, and threw it. The shot put flew out like a bird.
“This distance…” the girl measured with her eyes, “It’s eleven meters, perfect score. Class monitor, you try it, I’ll check for you.”
Lu Er imitated her, secretly exerting his strength, and flung the ball out.
The ball landed a few steps in front of her, as if pitying her, and rolled a little after landing. Compared to the landing point of the previous shot put, the difference was completely visible to the naked eye.
The girl covered her brow with her hand: "This... should be six meters. Not bad, class monitor. Some people can't even throw it from five meters."
Lu Er asked, "How many meters is the passing grade?"
"Eight meters."
Lu Er: "..."
Then the two threw the shot put several more times. Lu Er's shot put seemed to have settled around five meters, refusing to go any further.
Lu Er believes it's a matter of practice; practice makes perfect. On Sunday afternoon, she returned to school early and practiced throwing on the playground.
-
In Huai'an, autumn and summer always blend together, like shredded ginger and potatoes, making it hard to tell them apart. In mid-October, the sun was still blazing fiercely. Lu Er threw the shot put directly into the scorching sun, his eyelids burning so badly he couldn't help but squint.
Lu Er recalled the girl's shot put technique and tried to concentrate her strength in her wrist, aiming to send the shot put flying in an arc. However, the shot put pulled her strength away from her, causing her upper body to lurch forward and nearly fall.
As expected, sports weren't something she would enjoy. Lu Er thought dejectedly, and just as she was about to pick up the shot put again, a man wearing a baseball cap snatched it up first. In the golden light, his figure resembled a shimmering coconut tree on the beach.
Lu Er's heart skipped a beat: "Ruan Xiyan?"
Ruan Xiyan tossed the shot put over: "Did you sign up for this at the sports meet?"
"Yes." She bent down and picked it up, looking at him, feeling a sudden silence in her chest. "Why...did you go back to school?"
"Sunday afternoon was free time, and I forgot to bring my drawing board, so I came back to school to get it." Ruan Xiyan smiled, her dimples bright and clear, "and I just happened to see you, Teacher Xiaolu."
Ruan Xiyan was referring to the drawing board that had been left behind in the art classroom at No. 3 Middle School. First and second-year high school art students had to go to the dedicated art classroom for evening self-study sessions.
Lu Er found it amusing: "You remember to bring your drawing board, but you don't remember to bring your school uniform?"
Ruan Xiyan blinked, an innocent smile playing on her lips: "I was just afraid you'd ignore me after I returned the school uniform." Worried that she would continue to dwell on this topic, he quickly changed the subject, saying, "Is Teacher Xiaolu going to practice shot put? I'd like to watch."
Lu Er assumed a stance and threw the shot put. She hadn't felt anything when practicing alone, but now, throwing five meters in front of Ruan Xiyan, a faint blush appeared on her face. But when she glanced sideways and saw Ruan Xiyan remove her baseball cap, her eyes intently observing the shot put's trajectory without a hint of amusement, that embarrassment vanished completely.
"Ms. Xiaolu, may I give you some pointers?"
“Of course, come on over.” She really wanted to know the answer to her question.
“Your throwing form is not quite right.” Ruan Xiyan ran up, holding the shot put against her cheek. “You need to stand with your feet apart. When you throw the ball, you should use your chest to move your arms forward.”
Ruan Xiyan used this posture to throw the shot put from her palm.
The shot put went very far, a distance visible to the naked eye. Lu Er tried to measure it with his eyes, his expression blank: "It must have been more than ten meters."
"It's been a while since I've thrown, and it feels pretty good." Ruan Xiyan covered her head with her baseball cap. "This is about a perfect 15 meters." The perfect score for a boy's shot put is 15 meters.
"Teacher Xiaolu, why don't you give it a try?"
Lu Er stood up and imitated Ruan Xiyan's throwing posture. Ruan Xiyan helped her correct a few details of her hand and body movements, watching her throw the 4kg shot put with all her might.
At first glance, there doesn't seem to be much difference, but Lu Erjian felt that he had improved by a few centimeters compared to the last time.
She practiced throwing it a dozen more times. Gradually, she improved from a little over six meters to seven meters, and was almost at the passing mark of eight meters.
Under the blazing sun, beads of sweat dripped from Lu Er's forehead, landing on her eyelashes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.
Ruan Xiyan suggested, "Teacher Xiaolu, let's take a break."
Lu Er nodded and sat with Ruan Xiyan in the dense green shade of the sycamore trees. Sunlight filtered through the sycamore leaves, like a silent rain.
Ruan Xiyan handed over a can of orange soda. Lu Er said thank you, then remembered that she wanted to ask Ruan Xiyan what project she had applied for.
Ruan Xiyan repeated what she had said to Chen Xiang to her again.
Lu Er nodded: "That's good too." It's unclear whether he meant the referee position was good, or that it was good that he could return to No. 3 Middle School to participate in the sports meet.
The two rested quietly for a while. It was almost afternoon, and the sunlight seemed to know that sunset was not far away, so it felt slightly warm on people.
“Teacher Xiaolu,” Ruan Xiyan suddenly said.
"Um?"
"You know, you agreed to be my friend, but that doesn't mean I can't like you."
Upon hearing this, Lu Er felt as if her heart had been squeezed. She suppressed the turmoil in her chest and said, "Mm."
Ruan Xiyan adjusted the brim of her hat, and when Lu Er met her gaze, only her eyes were reflected in his. Ruan Xiyan's lips curved slightly, and she chuckled softly, "So I will wait for that day."
"Which day?" The answer was obvious, but Lu Er still asked him.
"The day you'll fall in love with me."
-
Another mock exam was scheduled for the end of October. The day before the sports meet, it rained in Huai'an City. The rain was continuous and gentle, but it fell in endless drizzle, as if there was no end in sight.
During the break, Lu Er overheard students from Class 18 quietly complaining about the weather, saying it would affect tomorrow's sports meet. After all, Huai'an No. 3 Middle School, known for its focus on rote learning and exam preparation, wanted to cancel every activity that prevented seniors from studying.
Lu Er's heart was always heavy. What she was looking forward to was not the sports meet, but the people it would bring.
Fortunately, the weather cooperated. On the first day of the sports meet, the sky was high and the air was crisp and clear.
The formations of each grade and class entered the field one after another. After the opening ceremony, the playground was divided into their respective activity areas. Whistles and announcements mingled, sometimes broadcasting cheers from different grades and classes, sometimes announcing that the 50-meter runners were ready.
Lu Er ran the 50 meters on the first morning. Her time for this event was always very consistent, eight seconds, not a minute more or less.
Coincidentally, Ruan Xiyan served as the referee for the 50-meter track. Lu Er stood on the starting line, and when he looked up, he could see Ruan Xiyan's straight, arched shoulders. He was also wearing that burgundy baseball cap, which looked like a blooming burgundy flower.
The fifty-meter race hadn't even started yet. Ruan Xiyan said something on the other end, then turned and walked towards Lu Er.
"Teacher Xiaolu," he said softly, but he couldn't hide his smile.
Lu Er was maintaining a cool and aloof expression, but upon hearing his voice, she couldn't keep it up any longer. So, she tried her best to suppress her serious expression and said, "What?"
"Hey, do you have any projects this afternoon?" Ruan Xiyan walked beside her as if nothing was wrong. The surrounding noise was so loud that no one noticed their whispers. "If not, let's go out for lunch together."
During the school sports meet, No. 3 Middle School did not impose any special restrictions on students entering or leaving. Some people would take the opportunity to sneak out to order takeout, and others would bring students from other schools in to visit.
"Okay," Lu Er replied, urging him softly, "You should go back now, it's about to start."
Ruan Xiyan smiled through her dimples: "Then I'm off, Teacher Xiaolu, good luck."
The morning flew by. Lu Er's shot put event was on the third day. Although there were no other sports events during that time, as the class monitor, she still needed to act as a support staff, running around doing everything.
The sun was high in the sky, and Lu Er was sweating profusely under the tree.
Ruan Xiyan came into view. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt with a referee's badge hanging on his collar.
Lu Er remembered that Ruan Xiyan had invited her out for lunch. She glanced into the distance and noticed two other people behind Ruan Xiyan.
A girl, tall and slender, wearing small leather shoes and a pleated skirt; a boy, but Lu Er was too far away to see his face clearly.
Ruan Xiyan ran over faster than the two behind her, her big eyes shining: "Teacher Xiaolu, I'm sorry, my friends came unexpectedly. Do you mind if I bring them along?"
Lu Er said she didn't mind. The girl approached the tree, and Lu Er saw her delicate features and rosy lips. Her mind went blank for only two seconds before she remembered that this was Ruan Xiyan's childhood friend, Sheng Jiao.
The boy behind him looked completely unfamiliar. He was handsome with a high nose bridge, but the color of his eyebrows and eyes was somewhat pale, so much so that when he lowered his eyes, he had a kind of weary look that made him seem indifferent to people.
"You met Sheng Jiao at the KTV. The guy behind her, Wen Fei, is my friend."
Ruan Xiyan looked at Lu Er and unconsciously smiled, revealing her dimples: "This is our class monitor, Lu Er."
Lu Er nodded: "Hello."
“I’ve seen you before.” Wen Fei, who always seemed nonchalant, suddenly spoke, glancing at Lu Er’s face. “At last year’s math competition.”
Ruan Xiyan paused for a moment, then introduced Wen Fei to Lu Er, saying, "Wen Fei is a very good student and has won quite a few awards. You top students... you should have met him in those kinds of competitions."
Among Ruan Xiyan, Sheng Jiao, and Wen Fei, Ruan Xiyan and Sheng Jiao's grades were almost identical. Especially in mathematics, Ruan Xiyan and Sheng Jiao had set new records of 15 and 18 points respectively. Only Wen Fei stood out from this group of slackers, excelling in his studies.
Lu Er vaguely remembered the competition, but she had no recollection of Wen Fei: "I participated in the Mathematical Olympiad... but I only made it to the league."
Wen Fei nodded: "It was during the league, what a coincidence."
"What a coincidence."
"Can we talk on the way?" Sheng Jiao seemed impatient. She was wearing light makeup today, and looked like a shiny porcelain doll in the light. "Let's go eat now. I didn't eat breakfast and flew here. I'm starving."
Wen Fei glanced at her: "You won't eat the breakfast I brought you."
"The tea eggs you bought are awful, I'm not eating them."
Wen Fei commented: "Spoiled."
Sheng Jiao scoffed, "Mind your own business."
Ruan Xiyan, Lu Er, and Sheng Jiao walked out of the school. The four of them walked in two rows, with Ruan Xiyan and Lu Er in the back and Sheng Jiao and Wen Fei in the front.
Ruan Xiyan glanced at Lu Er out of the corner of his eye and lowered his voice, saying, "Teacher Lu, I thought my friend would come in the afternoon, but I didn't expect it to be noon. That's why I made plans to have lunch with him. You really don't mind, do you?" He actually only wanted to eat with Lu Er.
Lu Er also said in a voice that was only audible to the two of them, "I don't mind, your friend is a very nice person."
Ruan Xiyan was relieved: "Okay."
Sheng Jiao looked left and right at her fingers, then turned to Wen Fei. This month, according to school rules, she removed her manicure and felt that a piece of her hand was missing: "What should we eat for lunch? Ruan Xiyan, you tell me, you're the host."
Ruan Xiyan glanced at Lu Er unconsciously, then looked back at him with a slightly bewildered expression: "I'm fine with anything." Ruan Xiyan honestly stated, "I haven't decided yet."
Wen Fei gazed at an intersection: "The food street on North Road, haven't been there in ages, where to go?"
Sheng Jiao became interested: "I almost forgot this place existed. Let's go. I haven't been here since I returned to China."
Ruan Xiyan's questioning gaze fell on Lu Er. She nodded and said, "Okay."
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