Chapter 52

Autumn Olympics... pfft, campus sports meet, what an archaic term.

When Jiang Nian was still a freshman in Gao Er, he suddenly decided to join the sports meet; using his body to perform a one-handed side flip and throw the shot put, he directly broke the boys' record.

Afterwards, the school's sports department, having failed to clarify the rules beforehand, reluctantly accepted it.

While the class gained points, Jiang Nian received a ban from sports.

The last person the sports department blacklisted was two cycles ago—a guy who stripped down in the long jump sandpit and made his own special little burger on the spot.

Another guy, gasping for breath after running, kissed a male teacher, nauseating him into quitting; his results were voided and he was banned by the sports department.

Jiang Nian was the only person with a normal mental state who got banned from sports for being too abstract.

A blacklisted eel.

Jiang Nian felt too embarrassed to tell Zhang Ningzhi he'd been blacklisted by the school sports department, so he declined:

"Uh, my athletic coordination isn't that great. I'm still a bit short of 185 cm, need to avoid injuries and keep cultivating, can't outrun the sports kids—better not."

Excellent athletic coordination, but questionable mental state.

"But I saw you play basketball pretty well?" Zhang Ningzhi blinked, "Last time you almost dunked—you jumped super high."

"Illusion," Jiang Nian flatly denied.

"Oh," Zhang Ningzhi trudged away slowly.

She reached the classroom door but couldn't help turning back—Jiang Nian was still writing problems, one hand resting on his neck, his whole figure bathed in a large patch of sunlight.

Jiang Nian seemed to sense it, turned curiously, his gaze landing on the doorway.

"Forget something?"

The hallway was flooded with white-gold sunlight, autumn bright and clear; two figures burst from the classroom at the end of the stairs, their scuffling echoing through the fourth floor, all other sounds instantly fading away.

Zhang Ningzhi's heart suddenly leapt, an inexplicable panic rising in her.

"N-nothing."

Afternoon.

The class sports officer indeed came with the registration form to ask Jiang Nian if he'd be willing to contribute to the class.

He himself was willing, but feared that after participating, the class would lose points.

Jiang Nian found a secluded spot, planning to quietly tell the sports officer the truth—he wouldn't even pass the review, and showing up would just waste everyone's time.

"I can't participate—I've been blacklisted by the school sports department."

The sports officer, Liu Yang, was big and burly, physically robust; thick eyebrows, well-developed muscles, average looks, height nearly 1.8 meters—he stood beside Jiang Nian, who was a few centimeters taller.

The extra few centimeters a man has, whether on his feet or his dong, are always impressive.

Liu Yang burst out laughing, "Nah, I've never heard of the sports department blacklisting anyone—how can you get banned just for joining the sports meet?"

"No, listen, it was mainly because of the situation back then..." Jiang Nian tried to explain.

Liu Yang cut him off, waving his hand—not refusal, but no need to elaborate.

"I get it—you don't want to show off."

"Huh?" Jiang Nian was stunned.

"Guys like us—good-looking and athletic—just lifting a finger gets mistaken for showing off," Liu Yang shook his head, looking like an emperor long-suffering from forced arrogance.

"No, I..." Jiang Nian tried to rebut.

"I understand the rules," Liu Yang cut him off again, "When the class has cycled through and no one else signs up, I'll force someone to register—I'll personally drape the dragon robe over your shoulders."

You understand nothing but Nüwa! Fuck.

Jiang Nian was utterly stunned, but he had to admit, Liu Yang's description was still pretty tempting—public Chinese-style pulling and tugging in front of the whole class.

"No, I, Jiang Nian, am a rational person—I won't join the sports meet."

"Brother Jiang, you're a born athlete—stop cultivating! Once a year, in this chaotic age, follow your destiny—put on the Shaolin outfit and compete!"

"What virtue do I, Jiang Nian, possess to even gaze upon the sports kid's throne? No! I won't compete!"

"Brother Jiang! Forgive me! The form... has already been submitted."

"You've really made my life hell!"

But!

Fantasy aside, reality was—he was on the ban list.

"No, seriously, I can't participate," Jiang Nian lowered his voice, "Ask around—last semester, was there a Jiang Nian banned from sports?"

"Nobody cares about that," Liu Yang didn't believe a word, waving his hand.

"Uh... fine," Jiang Nian, hearing this, couldn't push further, "Do whatever you want—I personally don't mind."

"Ojkb."

Vacation countdown: final day.

Jiang Nian woke up like a zombie; for the past two days he'd spent almost nothing except meals in the cafeteria—the breakfast buns had been canceled after his parents complained.

Now everyone buys their own—Jiang Nian had been mooching off Xu Qianqian these past two days.

Zhang Ningzhi covered his drinks; fruit-infused milk or lemon tea would occasionally appear on his desk, always claimed as "bought for someone else," but he paid not a cent.

Baby Zhizhi is the best!

Indeed, good people get good rewards.

The only thing that surprised him was that at noon that day, Song Xiuyun invited him out; hesitantly, she pulled from her pocket a stack of loose change—four hundred and twenty-five yuan, exact amount.

"What are you doing?"

"I heard from Qianqian you've been short on cash these past few days," Song Xiuyun looked embarrassed, lowering her head, "Thank you for helping my mom—her job is now completely stable."

"I know this pittance means nothing compared to the ten thousand you topped up for her—I'll pay you back slowly."

Song Xiuyun had been brooding over Jiang Nian topping up ten thousand for her mother's performance—initially felt weird, later realized there was nothing between them.

She'd hidden from him for a while, but yesterday, hearing Xu Qianqian mention it, learned he was short on cash—so she bit her lip and emptied her piggy bank.

"Refund?" Jiang Nian was stunned. "Didn't I already say? I just got the card on a whim—wherever I get it, it's the same. You can't expect a full refund just because I spent it with someone I know?"

Song Xiyun didn't know what to say, shoved the money into his hand, and ran off.

Just then, a girl passed by, glanced at Jiang Nian holding a wad of cash, then at Song Xiyun's retreating back. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she shook her head as she walked away.

Jiang Nian: "???"

Since it's come to this, let's just go to class.

He sorted the money—ten-yuan and twenty-yuan bills, only one fifty-yuan note. The girl must've saved this for a long time—so filial. But honestly, your old man doesn't need money at all.

Jiang Nian muttered to himself, stuffed the money into his pocket.

Ding ding ding.

In the morning, the last day of class, almost no one was sleepy.

Except Jiang Nian.

"Bro, tomorrow's the weekend, and you're this tired?" Li Hua nudged him, whispering, "What did you do last night? Like you were playing Genshin Impact."

Caught a Genshin slanderer.

"Respect the schedule of the parallel class—I've got jet lag too," Jiang Nian rubbed his temples, watching the characters on the blackboard gradually sharpen—thankfully, it was Chinese class.

Steal ten minutes of sleep, wake up, still understand everything.

He respected every subject equally, but every class made him want to head straight to an electronics factory.