Chapter 65: You

Yu Tongjie went up to the fourth floor; the entire open corridor was a mess, the floor slick with wet stains.

A cold wind blew, and he pulled his coat tighter.

He looked up just in time to see Li Qingrong's profile as she entered the classroom, and his mood lifted slightly.

He put down his umbrella and walked into the classroom.

Li Qingrong's seat was in the first row, not far from his own. Because the desks were arranged in triple rows, the classroom was cramped, and the aisles were extremely narrow.

How to put it? The aisle in Class Zero was wide enough for five people to kiss at once.

The privileges of a rich kid in the elite class.

After all, everyone there was a top student with at least a 985 pedigree, the pride of Zhennan High School. With fewer than eighty students total across both classes, even boarding students got two-person dorms.

Refrigerators, washing machines, meals and lodging included, plus a monthly living allowance. Better grades meant scholarships; winning awards meant cash prizes—all about prestige.

Yu Tongjie squeezed through the narrow aisle and ran straight into Li Qingrong looking up; on impulse, he greeted her.

"Morning."

"Mm." Li Qingrong responded, her gaze immediately dropping back down.

Yu Tongjie's face showed nothing, but inside, his heart bloomed like a withered tree in spring—immense joy flooded his limbs and rushed into his chest. Thump-thump-thump, his mind went blank, lost in the rush.

Clearly, his decision to sign up for the sports meet was right!

Yu Shao remained quiet and impassive. Sitting at his desk, he pulled books from his bag, and only then did a flicker of joy pass through his eyes.

He began looking forward to the sports meet—even Jiang Nian, cleaning the blackboard on duty, suddenly seemed bearable.

Suddenly, Yu Tongjie realized Jiang Nian had also signed up for the 3000-meter race.

His expression turned uneasy. Why was he everywhere? Please don't put us in the same heat. I wonder how good Jiang Nian's athletic ability really is?

Long-distance races have no preliminaries—only finals, but divided into heats.

Zhennan High's sports meet committee never separated athletes from non-athletes, or arts from science—only by gender. But athletes were mostly concentrated in the parallel classes.

In truth, this rule affected neither the parallel classes nor the elite classes much.

Do you think only your class has athletes?

But it did affect the Olympiad-level classes, especially Class Zero.

This isn't a stereotype, mind you.

Of course, some top students are tall and strong, but Class Zero is small and lacks numbers. Olympiad classes have more people, but some refuse to join the sports meet—they're resistant.

Yu Tongjie naturally assumed someone else would step up. Otherwise, the PE monitor Liu Yang would be forced to run himself—or beg Li Qingrong for a solution.

So, is the 3000-meter race about ranking?

No, it's about endurance.

As long as you finish the full distance, even if you come in last—so what? Look past the surface: I'm not running for class honor.

As long as Li Qingrong sees me finish, exhausted but complete, even if she isn't moved, she'll at least revise her opinion of me.

Only Li Qingrong makes me want to risk my life like this. For anyone else, I wouldn't bother.

Group Three.

Before morning study session began, Li Hua was stirring up trouble at his desk: "How was the blackboard wiped? There's still dirt over there—can't you see?"

Jiang Nian put down the rag and silently went to the back row. Two minutes later, Ma Guojun, Jiang Nian, and another boy came over and simply lifted Li Hua out.

"Ahh! Wrong! Wrong! Brother! I'll wipe it! I'll wipe the blackboard today!"

In the corridor, the fat boy Ma Guojun adjusted his glasses, grinning.

"That guy's just asking for it."

After a while, the group chatted in the corridor, bringing up the sports meet on Thursday.

"I'll bring my phone tomorrow. Old Liu won't care those days," Ma Guojun adjusted his glasses. "We could probably screen a movie in class."

"Not on the first day, though?" Li Hua leaned on the corridor's iron railing, ending his gaze and turning back. "They'll probably be strict the first day—roll call in the morning and afternoon."

"Old Liu'll let the PE monitor Liu Yang take attendance—he'll just let us slide," another said.

Ma Guojun's expression turned serious. "It's probably the class monitor."

At this, the group fell silent.

Another boy, Li Jiawen, said, "Old Liu wouldn't be that cruel, would he? If the class monitor takes attendance, what's the difference between this sports meet and sitting in jail for three days?"

"Hard to say. Old Liu's done plenty of cruel things before."

"Li Hua, you go convince Old Liu!"

"Me? Convince Old Liu?" Li Hua blinked in confusion.

"Then we're screwed. We're stuck in jail for three days."

"Don't be so pessimistic—what if it's not him?" Li Hua offered high-EQ reassurance. "Besides, even if Liu Yang's sidelined by the class monitor, we still have Year Brother."

Li Jiawen hesitated a moment. "Have Year Brother convince Old Liu?"

Ma Guojun picked up the thread. "You know what? Jiang Nian might actually pull it off. I'm telling you—Old Liu gets awkward whenever he sees Jiang Nian."

"I always felt something's going on between them. They're hiding something."

"Don't make things up. Nothing's going on," Jiang Nian denied. "Old Liu told me to be magnanimous, not to hold grudges against Yu Tongjie. Classmates should get along."

"Bullshit!" Ma Guojun blurted out.

No wonder he's the green badge of the tieba.

"Pure idiot," Li Hua added.

"It really is ridiculous," Li Jiawen said—he was on the periphery of the group, a free agent among factions, so he held back his words.

The topic ended there. Ma Guojun and Li Hua wouldn't touch any other subjects, afraid of accidentally leaking something later.

"Seriously, Year, you've got to handle the class monitor," Li Hua slapped his shoulder. "If it's really him taking attendance, the whole group's fate rests on you."

Jiang Nian glanced at Li Hua and asked curiously.

"Why do you think what I say matters?"

"Isn't that just fact?" Li Hua spread his hands, glancing at Ma Guojun and Li Jiawen. "It's common knowledge—who else gets to eat with the monitor?"

"Exaggerated. Just luck," Jiang Nian said aloud, but unconsciously his mind replayed what Li Qingrong had said this morning in the hallway.

【None of the boys in our class want to run three thousand meters—you were the first to sign up. Long-distance running demands rhythm. If you need someone with experience to run alongside and set the pace...】

【You can ask me.】

The monitor's pretty responsible, just a bit rigid.

Ding ding ding.

Morning reading began; the four entered the classroom one after another.

Today was Group Six's turn for cleaning. Since the school was lenient with the Olympiad class, the classroom cleanup was half-hearted, and the assigned zone was the easiest.

So Olympiad Class Three always treated classroom and assigned zone as one unit, rotating by group.

The classroom didn't need attention in the morning—just a quick walk through the assigned zone during morning self-study. But because of the rain... the six could only step out with brooms and umbrellas.

The sky was gray and drizzling.

Zhang Ningzhi and Huang Fang carried metal trash bins behind them; the four boys ahead each held a plastic red broom, walking and trampling the flowers and plants as they went.

Jiang Nian suddenly asked, "Hua, where's Long San up to?"