Chapter 59: New Hero Appears

"Alright, let Ma Guojun take the shot put." Liu Yang muttered to himself.

As long as he doesn't face any track athletes who specialize in shot put, Fatty's advantage in throwing it is genuinely greater. Just unleash the Beast's Giant Arm span, spin—ta-ta—go!

Almost no one chooses to do cartwheels—it's just too abstract.

While Liu Yang was talking to Jiang Nian, the rest of the class was chattering about the upcoming Thursday sports meet.

"Hey, let's sneak out and play some games," Sun Zhicheng grinned lewdly, "They probably won't check attendance strictly the next day—sports meet followed by the weekend, perfect."

He had no interest in sports, one of those guys in Class Three who stood out precisely because he blended in—into the crowd. He liked obscure music, hip-hop, and niche brands that signaled taste.

Obscure, showing off, and most likely an escape artist who talks big.

"Sun Zhicheng, stop bluffing—you skip and I'll call you Dad for a week," Lin Dong scoffed. "If you don't skip, you call me Dad for a week—deal?"

Lin Dong, a boarding student.

Tall in stature, in a class where the average score exceeds 510—he's the best athlete among the top students, dabbles in every sport.

He's always been popular in the class, quietly the leader among the boarding male students.

Sun Zhicheng is also a boarding student, in the same group as Lin Dong. Once grouped, the assignments won't change for the entire Gao San year—even when seats shift, the whole group moves forward together.

Their close relationship and loud banter drew attention from others.

Two pretty girls giggled—one named Chen Yunyun, the other Wang Yuhe. Both were boarding students and shared the same dorm.

In this science class with far more boys than girls, they ranked among the top five most beautiful.

"Lin Dong, what events are you signing up for?" Chen Yunyun, only 1.6 meters tall and looking petite, had an outgoing personality and often teased Lin Dong.

"Hundred meters, or maybe the relay," Lin Dong said casually. "Just messing around—I could do high jump or long jump too, or maybe nothing at all."

On the other side, the PE monitor Liu Yang somehow overheard and shouted out.

"Lin Dong, you HAVE to sign up! Otherwise we won't have enough people!"

Lin Dong shrugged, feigning helplessness—he thought to himself: 800 or 1500 meters are too exhausting, 3000 meters are humiliating. The 100 meters, high jump, long jump? Those he had an edge in.

Win? Big profit. Lose? No loss of face. Relay? Easy to blame others.

"I'm signing up for the 4x100 relay and long jump too," Chen Yunyun said. "Yuhe's signing up for long jump alone—she's really good at it."

"Really?" Lin Dong was surprised.

"No! I was joking!" Wang Yuhe pulled Chen Yunyun's arm. She was taller, around 1.7 meters, with long legs and an introverted personality.

The four of them formed the core of a small clique—Sun Zhicheng was the only day student. He looked drained, the kind of obscure guy who had to make his clique obscure too.

A few peripheral members tagged along, mostly boarding students.

"What's Sun Zhicheng signing up for?" Chen Yunyun asked.

"I'm not signing up—better yet..." The obscure guy was about to keep flexing, then feared Lin Dong would roast him, so he changed course. "Fine, I'll do high jump or long jump—snipe Lin Dong."

"You?" Lin Dong laughed. "What's the bet?"

Sun Zhicheng turned with a tough-guy glance. "You little punk, don't you know gambling's illegal? I'll report you to the Central Authorities."

"Heh, idiot."

The class continued chatting. Lin Dong turned his head, his gaze instinctively drifting to the other side.

There were plenty of small cliques in the class; boarding and day students weren't sharply divided—many mixed freely. But what caught his attention was... Jiang Nian's side.

Li Hua, Yao Bei Bei, and Ma Guojun had known each other since childhood, and grew even closer after being placed in the same high school class. Li Hua's father worked at the Procuratorate; Yao Bei Bei's family was in the Tax Bureau.

Ma Guojun, this fat guy, his dad was Deputy Director of the County People's Hospital.

Their family conditions weren't especially wealthy in Zhennan County, let alone in the city—but in this small class, they stood out.

Lin Dong was a small-town kid; his family ran a small business and had modest wealth. Good grades, decent looks, athletic, and money—logically speaking...

For some reason, he just couldn't get along with those three.

Of course, Lin Dong wasn't particularly eager to be friends with them either. But three new students had just joined the class, and two of them were immediately absorbed by the trio.

It made Lin Dong feel a little deflated—what's this mean? Only hang out with county-hukou kids, right?

What you can't get is always the best.

Besides, the new girl Zhang Nenzhi had caught his attention. There were so few girls in this class, beautiful ones were rare, and ones as pretty as the class monitor? Even rarer.

She lived in Nanjiang Bay—Lin Dong remembered his parents had mentioned last year considering buying a house in Nanjiang Bay. In essence, he and she were equals.

If he could have Zhang Nenzhi as a girlfriend, taking her out would definitely boost his face.

What? Why not chase the class monitor?

Ha, don't joke—first ask why Yu Tongjie, with his great dad, doesn't chase her.

He pushed through the crowd and stopped near the inner circle of girls. He smiled at Zhang Nenzhi, offering what he thought was a kind expression.

"What events are you signing up for?"

Zhang Nenzhi, startled by a stranger speaking to her, instinctively looked for Yao Bei Bei. Seeing Yao Bei Bei chatting with Li Hua, she lowered her head and walked over.

Lin Dong stood there. "????"

What the hell... did I just activate invisibility mode?

Zhang Nenzhi circled behind the line, held her breath, and expertly found Jiang Nian's nape. He was too easy to spot—even easier than that woman Yao Bei Bei with her yellow heart.

As she drew near, Zhang Nenzhi heard the PE monitor Liu Yang let out a startled cry.

"Three thousand meters? Jiang Nian's insane!"

Hearing this, Zhang Nenzhi froze—he actually signed up for three thousand meters?

For a girl as weak as her, just hearing about the 800-meter test made her face pale. Three thousand meters in competition? Pure hell.

Jiang Nian also saw Zhang Nenzhi, then tapped Yao Bei Bei.

"Someone's looking for you."

Zhang Nenzhi opened her mouth to weakly protest.

But the yellow-hearted Yao Bei Bei grinned and lunged forward, wrapping her in a hug, eliciting a startled cry—so Zhang Nenzhi never got to speak. Not just looking for...

Suddenly hearing that Jiang Nian had chosen the three-thousand-meter run, the boys and girls in Class Three's morning exercise formation all turned their heads.

"Picked the three-thousand-meter right away? Jiang Nian is really something!"

Lin Dong followed the sound with his gaze and saw Zhang Ningzhi standing right beside Jiang Nian, which made him even more annoyed inside.

Did he swallow an invisible sixth child or something?

"Jiang Nian is signing up for the three-thousand-meter? That impressive?" Wang Yuhe asked curiously.

"Indeed, way fiercer than most of the boys in our class." Chen Yunyun unconsciously stirred the pot, saying to Lin Dong, "Lin Dong, why don't you sign up for one too and give it a try?"

Lin Dong was a bit irritated and spoke without thinking, "Only an idiot would sign up."