The girls from the rocket class and Class 24 were momentarily stunned.
They hadn’t expected Zhou Xiu to actually step up and participate after just a few provoking words from Qi Yaguang.
It felt satisfying, and if they won, it would be even more satisfying, the girls from Class 24 thought.
However, Yuan Ruoyi quickly snapped out of it, frowning in disapproval, “Zhou Xiu, let Yu Qingyan take your place.”
“Don’t let your personal grudge affect the entire team.”
All the girls participating in the short-distance relay had long legs. Even Hua Xu was over 170 cm tall, but Zhou Xiu was shorter, and her physical disadvantage was obvious when compared to the other athletes.
Yu Qingyan had initially planned to be a substitute, but since Zhou Xiu had already declared she would run, she quickly waved her hand, “I can’t. I’m slow. Let Xiu Xiu run.”
Yuan Ruoyi gave Zhou Xiu a disdainful glance from head to toe, crossing her arms and coldly turning away.
The sports committee member, Wei Xiang, said, “Participation is what counts. Just do your best. It’s okay if we don’t score in the relay; the boys will make up for it.”
Though he said that, the girls knew better. It wasn’t just a few points they’d lose if they didn’t perform well in the relay. With Hua Xu unable to compete in many events today, they were already losing points they could have easily secured.
While Zhou Xiu was indeed a top student, this was about collective honour—how could they treat it as a joke?
But Zhou Xiu insisted, “I’ll run the last leg.”
“Trust me.”
Yuan Ruoyi had already been reluctant to let Zhou Xiu fill in, and now she was even more frustrated that Zhou Xiu wanted to run the final leg.
She rolled her eyes, practically seething with anger.
Another girl on the team tugged at Yuan Ruoyi, signalling her with her eyes:
“Why are you picking on Zhou Xiu now? Don’t argue among ourselves and give the rocket class a reason to laugh. We just need to run fast in the first three legs and try not to fall too far behind.”
“Zhou Xiu, you’ve got this!”
Zhou Xiu nodded firmly, her calm expression betraying no emotion.
The girls from the other classes, upon seeing Hua Xu bow out, let out a collective sigh of relief.
What had seemed like a sure victory now had an element of uncertainty. Did this mean they had a chance at winning the championship too?
It felt a bit unkind to think this way, but nothing was more reassuring than seeing a top competitor drop out.
The 4x100m relay began its final check-in.
Coincidentally, Lu Lingshan was the final runner for the rocket class, and Zhou Xiu was lined up right next to her on a different track.
Lu Lingshan, true to her reputation as the school’s most popular beauty, was surrounded by junior students even before the race started. They were there to give her water, hand her towels, and carry medical kits—she was treated like a star.
“Good luck, senior!”
“Senior, you look great today! Look over here! We’re recording the whole race!”
“Lu Lingshan, I believe you’ll win the championship! Go for it!” Qi Yaguang shouted loudly.
Lu Lingshan had once performed as a cheerleader and had been certified as a second-level national athlete, so she had a real chance of winning the race.
Last year, she hadn’t participated in the relay, but this year, for some reason, she had decided to run the final leg.
She was wearing a red athletic outfit that accentuated her slim figure, her brown, slightly wavy hair tied up tightly, and her fair skin glowing in the morning light.
Zhou Xiu stood next to Lu Lingshan in the adjacent lane.
Zhou Xiu was shorter, and while she had a certain cuteness, Lu Lingshan’s beauty overshadowed her instantly, making Zhou Xiu look like a mere background character.
Qi Yaguang withdrew her gaze.
The chilly morning wind made Zhou Xiu sneeze a few times in a row.
Lu Lingshan took a few sips of an energy drink, did some warm-up exercises, and then turned to smile at the camera.
“Look, look! The senior finally smiled!” The boy with the camera quickly captured the moment.
With the sound of the starter pistol, the female athletes shot off like arrows from a bow, their feet pounding the ground rapidly like raindrops.
Yuan Ruoyi, running the second leg for Class 24, sprinted with all her might, her teeth clenched as she pushed her body to its limits.
“Damn! Yuan Ruoyi is running so fast—”
“What got into her?”
Class 24’s students suddenly burst into cheers.
Lan Xin, running the third leg, took the baton from Yuan Ruoyi, who had passed it first, and sprinted as fast as she could, trying to widen the gap.
But, under the watchful eyes of the crowd—
Lan Xin’s foot suddenly slipped, and the loud cheers from the crowd abruptly turned into gasps, “Ah?”
Lan Xin struggled to get up, fumbling to pick up the baton, while the other runners from different classes began to catch up.
The medical team rushed over immediately.
“No, I don’t need help.” Lan Xin gritted her teeth as she got back up. Despite her scraped and bleeding leg, she hobbled and hopped towards Zhou Xiu.
“Damn it, what’s that idiot doing—” The students from Class 24 stood up, cursing in frustration.
“Why is she still running?”
“Is Lan Xin stupid?”
The lead that Yuan Ruoyi and the others had built up in the first two legs vanished instantly, and by the time Lan Xin reached Zhou Xiu, Class 24 was already in last place.
When Zhou Xiu received the baton, there wasn’t even time for a word. She grabbed it, clenched her teeth, and sprinted toward the finish line.
Lan Xin finally collapsed to the ground, and the students from Class 24 rushed to her side, their focus now entirely on the injured runner, no longer paying attention to the race.
The gap was so large that the outcome seemed certain. What a pity—
Yuan Ruoyi glared at Lan Xin with a mix of frustration and heartache. She gritted her teeth and said, “Forget it, it’s just a few points.”
“We’ll just have to let the boys make up for it.”
Suddenly, a loud wave of cheers erupted from the stands, whistles, and applause ringing out.
Du Feiyang looked up, following the sound—whoa—
Their Xiu Xiu was flying down the track.
She had already passed the third-place runner.
With a grimace on her face, she overtook the second-place runner.
Finally, in a moment too brief for anyone to react, she was closing in on the first-place runner, Lu Lingshan.
Du Feiyang was in shock, his eyes practically popping out of his head.
“Xiu Xiu!!!!” Du Feiyang suddenly let out a shout, his voice breaking with disbelief:
“Xiu Xiu, go for it!”
“Zhou Xiu—Zhou Xiu—Zhou Xiu!”
The students of Class 24 were frozen in shock, then suddenly, as if injected with adrenaline, they felt a surge of hot blood rush to their heads.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lu Lingshan saw a blurred figure approaching. She gritted her teeth and accelerated, leaning forward to break the finish line tape.
Less than a second later, Zhou Xiu also crossed the finish line.
Not far from the finish line, a group of students caught Lu Lingshan as she nearly collapsed. Several juniors and seniors reached out, gently supporting her as she almost fell.
Zhou Xiu gradually slowed down, veering off at an angle to avoid the large crowd of Lu Lingshan’s supporters.
She kept jogging until she finally came to a stop, panting heavily, her face contorted in pain as she rubbed her knees and hips on the grass.
The audience in the stands finally snapped out of their daze:
“Wow, that girl gave it her all.”
“I can’t believe those short legs were so powerful!!!”
“She ran so hard—so hard—”
“Damn!”
“She’s incredible!!!!”
“That lonely, tired figure with the short legs is so pitiful. I can’t help but want to go down there and help her.” Some spectators couldn’t help but roll up their sleeves.
“What’s going on?” Those who hadn’t been paying attention to the race looked up, confused.
Why did it feel like the world had changed in the blink of an eye?
“A girl just ran super fast in the relay, almost catching up from a huge deficit to snatch the win. It was intense.”
“And her class hasn’t even reacted—they’re still too stunned to offer her a drink!” a concerned voice cried out.
“If she had pushed just a little harder, she probably would have won the championship.” Another voice said, slapping their thigh in frustration.
“No, I think she might have broken the school record. Coming back from such a deficit and running like that is already incredible, don’t you think?”
On the track, Zhou Xiu felt like her lungs were about to explode. Her butt hurt, her knees hurt, and she tilted her head back, panting heavily with no regard for appearances.
The system, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly chimed in: [Ding—You’ve earned 50 RMB for securing second place in the relay race.]
Zhou Xiu was so stunned she couldn’t even speak.
Her lips curled up, and suddenly, all the exhaustion and discomfort melted away.
“If there’s a reward for participating in sports, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
[Sports events are voluntary. We don’t offer incentives.] the system replied.
After a moment, Zhou Xiu gathered her strength and went to the judges’ area to get a bottle of water.
She took a glance at the scoreboard. Second place in the relay earned them 18 points.
First place went to the rocket class, which earned 20 points.
Zhou Xiu left the track with a calm expression—she had done her best.
After the students of Class 24 finally snapped out of their daze, they started running around the field in search of Zhou Xiu.
…
Zhou Xiu left the sports field and washed her face. Water splashed from the faucet, and she cupped a handful to pour over her face.
A whistle sounded from nearby.
Zhou Xiu turned to see two second-year boys sitting on the steps, both looking at her.
One of them was Xi Shaoyuan.
The other boy smiled silently, his lips curving up.
Xi Shaoyuan stretched out his long legs on the steps, and after a moment, he finally got up and walked over to Zhou Xiu, saying in a calm voice, “Zhou Xiu, your pants have a tear.”
He took off his winter uniform jacket and handed it to her.
The other boy stopped smiling. Although there was a hint of mischief in his eyes, it wasn’t malicious. He politely looked away.
He said, “Sorry, it’s a bit rude, but I wanted to let you know.”
Zhou Xiu’s face suddenly flushed red, and she fought the urge to look behind her.
Her athletic pants were a hand-me-down she’d worn for years and hadn’t had the heart to throw away. They must have torn during the intense race.
Zhou Xiu glanced at Xi Shaoyuan.
Xi Shaoyuan’s hand hovered in mid-air for a moment, his gaze tinged with a hint of mockery, “You don’t want it? Or would you prefer his?”
“Forget it then.” He withdrew his hand, taking the jacket back.
The boy sitting with Xi Shaoyuan was unexpectedly handsome, with a gentle and refined look, the breeze blowing softly around him.
Zhou Xiu quickly composed herself, taking the jacket from Xi Shaoyuan and tying it around her waist.
“Thank you.”
Xi Shaoyuan’s jacket was especially large, and when tied around her waist, it looked like she was wearing a skirt. Zhou Xiu quickly ran back to her classroom.
Fortunately, Zhou Xiu had prepared an extra pair of pants for gym class. She went to the restroom and quietly changed out of the torn athletic pants, putting on her school uniform pants.
She carefully folded Xi Shaoyuan’s jacket and placed it in a plastic bag.
After Zhou Xiu left, the other boy teased, “Shaoyuan, showing rare kindness.”
Xi Shaoyuan replied lazily, “Xie Cheng, I bet you didn’t make it to the top 20 in the winter camp, did you?”
Xie Cheng shrugged, “Obviously.”
…
When the students of Class 24 found Zhou Xiu back in the classroom, they suddenly fell silent. They hadn’t expected the person they were frantically searching for to be hiding in the classroom, doing homework.
Was homework really that appealing?
Even more than the grand award ceremony?
The underachievers were at a loss for words. Why hadn’t they thought of Zhou Xiu sneaking off to find a quiet spot to do her homework? But—moments later, they suddenly erupted into cheers.
Du Feiyang, excited, said, “Xiu Xiu, I didn’t know you could run so fast!”
Zhou Xiu paused, putting down her pen. Her expression was calm, but there was still a trace of regret in her voice, “It’s a shame I didn’t come in first. I did my best.”
Du Feiyang waved it off with a grin, “Ah, forget about first place.”
“Xiu Xiu, didn’t you hear? Even though we scored two points less than the first place, you broke the school record with your 100-meter dash. Breaking records earns bonus points, so we actually ended up in first place!”
“Hahaha…”
Just thinking about the surprised and strange expressions on the faces of the rocket class top students made them feel a special kind of satisfaction.
They won against Class 24, but lost to Zhou Xiu—it was like Zhou Xiu was their class’s kryptonite.
Before Du Feiyang’s excited voice could fade, it was drowned out by a wave of cheers.
Lan Xin, feeling both guilty and excited, looked at Zhou Xiu, “Thank goodness you came through, or I would have felt guilty for the rest of my life.”
Zhou Xiu smiled and said, “If it weren’t for you insisting on finishing the race and handing me the baton, I wouldn’t have made it to the finish line even with eight legs.”
“Lan Xin, you were great too.”
Yuan Ruoyi let out a cold huff. Although her face was tightly drawn, her eyes subtly softened.
Lan Xin’s eyes grew misty with emotion.
Sniff, Zhou Xiu was so warm.
How could someone be so warm?
Amidst the cheers, Yu Qingyan bent down and said, “Hey, why is Yuan Shao’s name badge here?” She picked up the silver nameplate, the bold black characters clearly spelling out the name: Xi Shaoyuan.
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