Chapter 142: A Song for One Person

"So I was the one turning~"

"To reach the light~"

"The sun has always been right there~"

When the song reached the chorus, Li Luo's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

The powerful melody instantly seized everyone's ears, lifting their spirits.

Ying Chanxi's eyes shimmered with faint light, her gaze fixed straight on Li Luo atop the podium, his voice echoing endlessly in her ears.

"I wish everyone a joyful sports meet, running with your own flair on the track, and may you all, on your life's journey, go wherever your heart desires."

During the interlude, Li Luo smiled and spoke words of blessing, "I have a friend who's about to compete in the 1500 meters; before the race, he said he was nervous. I hope this song can give you strength too."

After saying this, Li Luo moved into the next verse of the song, finally ending it slowly as the guitar's resonance faded.

"I've never heard this song before," Xu Youyu asked curiously as he finished singing, "Didn't you write it yourself again?"

"Why not?" Li Luo returned the microphone to the two hosts and placed the guitar back backstage.

"I can't believe how your brain works," Xu Youyu marveled, still finding it unbelievable, "Was this song written just to cheer on Xi Xi?"

"You're really overestimating me…"

Pretending to be cool is one thing, but you still have to follow basic rules.

Someone like me, who barely knows music theory, is already incredible just for writing songs—I needed Yan Zhusheng to even write down the sheet music.

If people thought I wrote it on the spot, that'd be too exaggerated; Li Luo felt it was better to stay low-key.

"So you've already written three songs," Xu Youyu sighed. "That's impressive."

"Yeah, three…" Li Luo said, then his expression suddenly hardened, "How do you know it's three? Have you heard 'The Light Chaser'?"

"Huh?" Xu Youyu froze, then broke into cold sweat, stammering, "Y-yes, I've heard it—'The Light Chaser.'"

In truth, she'd never heard 'The Light Chaser'—it had only been sung for Yan Zhusheng and Ying Chanxi, and once on the eighth-grade bleachers.

Li Luo didn't know whether Xu Youyu had just happened to pass by then and heard it.

As for Xu Youyu, she'd mistakenly counted 'The Ring of Years' as one of the three, and accidentally slipped up.

But from Li Luo's perspective, only Yan Zhusheng knew the details of 'The Ring of Years'; Xu Youyu and Ying Chanxi should've had no idea.

This accidental alignment of their thoughts barely avoided exposure.

Seeing that Li Luo hadn't noticed anything, Xu Youyu relaxed slightly and said, "Xi Xi's already lined up for the 1500 meters—go check on her."

Li Luo followed Xu Youyu's pointing finger and saw Ying Chanxi's figure in the distance.

He didn't linger on the podium, bid Xu Youyu farewell, then leapt down and jogged toward Ying Chanxi.

At that moment, Ying Chanxi's lips curled into a smile, her steps lighter than usual, walking across the lawn as if treading on soft clouds, her whole being floating in the sky.

Everyone initially thought this song was sung by Li Luo for all the students.

But later they realized it was written specifically for the friend Li Luo mentioned.

And Ying Chanxi knew perfectly well who that person was.

She was lost in this joy, completely forgetting the nervousness of her upcoming 1500-meter race.

She didn't even notice when Li Luo walked up beside her.

"What are you grinning at?" Li Luo tapped her head and chuckled, "A full-grown person standing right here, and you didn't notice?"

"Mmm…" Ying Chanxi covered her head, turned to look at Li Luo, and glared at him, "You walk like a ghost—trying to scare me to death?"

"You just weren't paying attention," Li Luo reached out and removed her name tag, "I'll hold it for you."

"Hmph, good of you to be thoughtful," Ying Chanxi let him take the tag, then remembered something and turned to Qiao Xinyan beside them, "Xinyan, take a photo of me."

She pulled Li Luo close, positioned herself with the podium as the backdrop, and raised her scissors gesture.

Li Luo had no interest in photos, but still posed along with her.

After taking the photo with Li Luo, Ying Chanxi handed the instant camera to him, then pulled Qiao Xinyan and Jin Yuting—who was also competing—together for another photo.

Just a simple keepsake.

The 1500-meter race had no heats or finals; over thirty first-year girls crowded onto the starting line at the teacher's cue.

Li Luo watched Ying Chanxi among them and shouted, "Go!"

The next second, the teacher yelled, "On your marks—go!" Ying Chanxi froze, then only sprinted after everyone else had already dashed forward.

Li Luo's heart tightened; he immediately ran alongside the lawn after Ying Chanxi, calling out, "The 1500 is a endurance race—leading early doesn't matter; focus on your rhythm and pace, manage your energy."

Ying Chanxi nodded silently, staying close behind the front group; following Li Luo's advice, she didn't rush, keeping herself in the third tier at the start.

But the actual skill levels among those competing from each class varied wildly.

Girls like Jin Yuting, who were just there to fill numbers, were already left behind by Ying Chanxi after just two straightaways.

"Three laps left," Li Luo called out, running beside Ying Chanxi.

As Ying Chanxi passed the bleachers of Class One, led by Liu Shao Wen and Xie Shuchen, the class loudly cheered her on.

Class Eight didn't lag behind either; under Zhu Yufei's leadership, they shouted encouragement for Hua Xiuxiu and Jin Yuting.

Especially Lin Yuan, who screamed "Go, Hua Xiuxiu!" with such desperation he looked ready to jump down and carry her himself.

But some girls were muttering among themselves.

"The monitor doesn't cheer for our own class, but he's running alongside another class's girl?"

"Yeah, he's the monitor, after all."

"That girl is Ying Chanxi, okay?"

"Who's Ying Chanxi?"

"Grade one's top student—the genius of Class One."

"And she's the monitor's cousin, don't you remember? She comes to his classroom every day after school to walk home with him."

"No wonder."

Why don't I have an older cousin like the monitor does?

It's not too late to recognize Li Luo as your brother now.

Hahaha~ You mean recognize him as a good older brother?

That's right, from now on you'll be his good little sister.

As they chatted, the topic veered off, and a string of soft giggles spread among the girls.

At this moment, Li Luo had already accompanied Ying Chanxi through her third lap.

Ying Chanxi had also smoothly moved to the front of the second group.

Look further ahead.

Besides the track athlete who had pulled far ahead in the lead, only five or six people remained ahead of Ying Chanxi.

"Assess your stamina," Li Luo panted, speaking calmly, "for the final lap, judge for yourself—be ready to sprint at any moment!"

With Li Luo's plan in mind, Ying Chanxi calmed her mind and ran forward in silence.

When only half a lap remained, Ying Chanxi clenched her teeth and launched her final sprint.

Li Luo immediately matched her pace, continuously urging her from beside: "Two hundred meters, one hundred fifty meters, one hundred meters."

"Fifty meters left!"

"Hold on!"

"Break the line!"

"Push harder!"

Under Li Luo's steady encouragement, Ying Chanxi emptied her mind, her eyes fixed only on the final goal.

After overtaking several figures ahead, she threw herself forward and finally buried her head across the finish line!

At the moment she reached the finish, Ying Chanxi's legs went weak, as if all strength had been drained from her body, nearly toppling to the ground.

Fortunately, Li Luo appeared beside her in time.

In the end, Ying Chanxi had no strength left and collapsed into Li Luo's arms.