Chapter 140: Ying Chanxi

In the campus of Appendix One, the teaching building was now empty, while the playground buzzed with voices.

At around nine in the morning, Li Luo called Lin Yuan and Zhang Guohuang, who had no upcoming events, to the school wall at the edge of the playground.

He successfully obtained two large boxes of snacks from his uncle Lin Xiufeng, all bought at wholesale prices, costing very little.

He had Lin Yuan and Zhang Guohuang each carry a box back to the stands, then asked Hua Xiuxiu to distribute them to their classmates, drawing a wave of cheers.

Students from the neighboring class looked on enviously, but since these were perks distributed by the Class Eight monitor, they could only watch and secretly envy.

For Li Luo, though still underage and unable to pursue many lucrative opportunities, such minor expenses of a few hundred yuan no longer pressed him at all.

Making those around him happy was enough.

Compared to those who spent thousands on bags, clothes, and cosmetics just to impress a girl, only to see no reaction, his approach was quite cost-effective.

After handing out the snacks as Li Luo instructed, Hua Xiuxiu returned to her seat, pulled out an English vocabulary list, and began silently memorizing words.

Beside her, Lin Yuan held up an umbrella to shield her from the sun, helping her see the vocabulary clearly and sparing her eyes.

Other classmates whispered and chuckled, but they were used to this scene.

Only when Kong Junxiang occasionally came by to inspect what everyone was doing did Lin Yuan quietly put away the umbrella, pretending he knew nothing.

Like Hua Xiuxiu, there were always a few such study demons in every class who studied even during the sports meet.

In Class Eight, besides Hua Xiuxiu, there were Lu Jiahao, Wei Chun, Jin Yuting, and Shi Yanran.

In contrast, Zhu Yufei, Zhang Guohuang, Xu Yinghuan, and their lively group wandered around, eating, drinking, playing, and laughing—completely different from the first group.

Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng fell between these two extremes.

They neither studied during this time nor ran around wildly for fun; they simply sat in their seats watching the events.

Occasionally, Yan Zhusheng would feel in the mood and play a few notes on his harmonica for Li Luo.

Since hearing that Li Luo could write songs, Xu Yinghuan had been insisting he sing one.

Tormented by this guy, Li Luo had no choice but to ask Yan Zhusheng to provide simple accompaniment and sing "Chasing the Light."

After the song ended, Xu Yinghuan led the applause, and several students from neighboring classes were drawn over.

But compared to Li Luo, they clearly found Yan Zhusheng more interesting: "Can the singer over there sing too?"

Yan Zhusheng blinked, indifferent to singing or not, but handed the harmonica to Li Luo with a look that said, "Why don't you accompany me?"

Li Luo naturally chuckled and told the neighboring class: "Wait for the closing ceremony—private performances cost extra."

"So that song was really written by the monitor himself?" Xu Yinghuan leaned close to Yan Zhusheng, curious. "That's incredible—I never would've guessed. Li Luo, why weren't you this talented in middle school?"

"I suddenly woke up, okay?" Li Luo twitched his mouth, thinking the song "Chasing the Light" was ruined—at least he couldn't use it in his novel anymore.

After all, among those he knew in class, Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang were already reading his novel.

Who knew if the other boys sharing their dorm were reading it too.

If he wrote something into the book and got caught, he'd never wash the stain off, not even by jumping into the Yellow River.

"Yan Zhusheng, Xu Yinghuan." Zhu Yufei returned to the stands after finishing the men's 100-meter race, winning first in his group. "The 200-meter prelims start soon—get ready."

"It's your turn again," Li Luo said.

"Too bad I didn't make the 100-meter finals," Xu Yinghuan sighed. Her prelim time placed her 13th, while Ying Chanxi barely scraped in at eighth.

Yan Zhusheng, needless to say, took first easily—no surprise, she'd broken the school record in middle school.

"Zhusheng, before reporting in, come with me to the restroom?" Xu Yinghuan hugged Yan Zhusheng's arm. "We can go straight to the gym after."

"Mm." Yan Zhusheng nodded, glancing at Li Luo before leaving.

Li Luo understood her look at once, stood up, and patted his pants: "I'll head to the gym first and cheer for you."

Yan Zhusheng nodded silently, completed the exchange without a word, and left with Xu Yinghuan to tackle the restroom dungeon.

Watching their retreating backs, Li Luo wasn't in a hurry. He slowly descended from his seat and walked over to Lin Yuan. "Kong Laoshi is here."

Before he finished speaking, Lin Yuan reflexively snapped the umbrella shut, then stood up and pretended to look around the railing, then angrily exclaimed: "Monitor, you tricked me!"

"Here." Li Luo shoved a bag of snacks into his hand. "Our vice-monitor works hard studying—give her some energy."

"Oh… oh oh…" Lin Yuan held the snacks, a flicker of interest on his face. He quietly returned to sit beside Hua Xiuxiu as Li Luo instructed.

What happened after that, Li Luo didn't know.

He had already left the stands and walked along the edge of the playground toward the gym.

On the way, he passed the podium and saw Xu Youyu's figure. He stopped, climbed the steps, and greeted him.

"You've got no duties this morning, right? Why are you wandering around?" Xu Youyu was instructing two sports meet hosts. Seeing Li Luo approach, he raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Yan Zhusheng is competing. As monitor, I need to show up and cheer."

"Don't just cheer." Xu Youyu pointed to the pile of communication drafts on the table. "Out of 48 classes from Grade One to Grade Three, yours submitted the fewest."

"You can't even read all this," Li Luo said, eyeing the basket of drafts beneath his feet. "Even if you read nonstop for three days and nights, you'd barely finish."

"Of course I won't read all of them," Xu Youyu rolled his eyes. "Only the good ones get picked."

As Xu Youyu spoke, the male host had already selected a decent draft and began reading it with dramatic flair.

Li Luo felt goosebumps rise. He twitched his mouth and asked: "How many drafts do you read per day among 48 classes? Evenly split, each class gets maybe a few."

"We have other things to broadcast. Reading these is mainly to fill empty time," Xu Youyu crossed his arms. "Over two and a half days, we'll probably read over a hundred."

"So each class gets three or four?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow.

"It's a school assignment. Don't slack off."

"How could I slack off, my lord?" Li Luo grinned. After the male host finished reading, he waved to him, signaling for the microphone.

The student froze, then looked at Xu Youyu.

"Cough… give it to him," Xu Youyu glanced at Li Luo and told the host, then added, "Why do you need the mic?"

"To read the communication draft," Li Luo said, took the mic, cleared his throat twice, then turned it on.

"On this green field, the flame of youth burns fiercely."

"The sports meet is not only a contest of speed and strength, but also a feast of spirit and will."

"Each athlete is a gust of wind on the track, a fierce tiger in the field events, embodying the Olympic spirit of 'Higher, Faster, Stronger' through action."

"Team collaboration, personal breakthroughs, every cheer, every embrace, is the most sincere tribute to the spirit of sports."

"The sports meet is not merely a stage for competition, but a place where the spirit dances—let us jointly witness this ode to youth!"

Imitating the male host's tone, Li Luo delivered his memorized draft with passionate energy, then handed back the microphone with both hands: "President, how's this press release? Should at least get a passing grade, right?"

Xu Youyu: "……Well, that's the only one."

"I'll come back this afternoon," Li Luo raised an eyebrow. "Same goes for tomorrow and the day after—I'll take care of our class's entire quota, so no one has to drag in half-baked submissions just to fill the numbers."

"I'm truly worn out by you," Xu Youyu sighed, pressing his right hand to his forehead. "Since you're so capable, why not take on all the press releases? Saves me from chasing after every class."

"No way," Li Luo shook his head vigorously. "I'm swamped. Gotta run."

After escaping from Xu Youyu, Li Luo finally drifted over to the gymnasium.

Yan Zhusheng and Xu Yinghuan had already finished using the restroom and arrived here; seeing Li Luo, Yan Zhusheng said curiously, "I thought I just heard your voice."

"Got dragged in as a wordsmith," Li Luo shrugged, taking her harmonica from Yan Zhusheng's hand and slipping it into his pocket.

After a simple check-in and lineup, Yan Zhusheng and Xu Yinghuan quickly joined the procession onto the field.

With his ID tag around his neck, Li Luo moved freely, following alongside to the starting line of the 200-meter track.

As the starting gun fired, Li Luo glanced toward Yan Zhusheng's sprinting back, then strolled toward the 200-meter finish line.

As expected, he watched Yan Zhusheng's swift figure cross the finish line.

After the men's 200-meter preliminary race ended, it was already noon.

Ying Chanxi and Qiao Xinyan approached Li Luo and the others, heading together to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Li Luo, don't go yet," Ying Chanxi pulled Qiao Xinyan aside and took a photo, then took another group photo with Yan Zhusheng, Xu Yinghuan, and Jin Yuting.

Finally, it was Li Luo's turn.

After Ying Chanxi tilted her head and pressed close to Li Luo's body to complete the photo, Jin Yuting asked curiously, "Chanxi, when did you buy a new camera?"

"This was a gift from Li Luo," Ying Chanxi smiled happily, shaking the instant camera in her hand. "The photo develops right after you take it—so convenient."

"This seems pretty expensive," Jin Yuting glanced at the instant camera and couldn't help saying, "I remember my cousin had one—it cost several thousand, and the photo paper is crazy pricey—each sheet costs several yuan. After a few shots, you've already spent dozens."

Hearing Jin Yuting say this, Ying Chanxi suddenly realized something, then turned to look at Li Luo.

Because she normally received living expenses and pocket money from Ying Zhicheng, she had no clear sense of cost for items worth several thousand.

But now, reminded by Jin Yuting, Ying Chanxi remembered: Li Luo's family was already burdened with a mortgage—where did he get the money to buy such an expensive camera?

Could it be from his uncle and aunt?

If his uncle and aunt found out this gift was meant for her… and cost several thousand… Ying Chanxi bit her lip, fell silent, and felt a quiet unease stirring inside her.

Meanwhile, Li Luo remained oblivious, completely unaware of Ying Chanxi's expression, only saying, "It's just a gift—talking about money ruins the feeling. Let's go eat, I'm starving."