Chapter 147: Your Water, My Water

When the night passes, on the horizon~

I am that light~

Warm yourself and give others strength~

At the gym entrance, Li Luo listened to Yan Zhusheng sing this song, and for a moment felt dazed.

Just yesterday, he had stood right where Yan Zhusheng stood now, singing the same song to Ying Chanxi.

Back then, he had been full of confidence and boldness; after the parent-teacher meeting and the sports meet opening ceremony, he had become utterly at ease performing before the whole crowd.

But now, standing in the very spot where Ying Chanxi had stood yesterday, listening to someone else sing the same song to him, it was an entirely different feeling.

A very special feeling.

Especially when Yan Zhusheng finished the song and simply left into the microphone a single phrase: "Keep going," it made everyone find it deeply meaningful.

Only Li Luo knew at once that it was meant for him.

Though this thought might seem narcissistic and arrogant to outsiders, it was simply true.

Of course, besides him, Xu Yinghuan sitting in the stands had also guessed it immediately, her lips curling wildly upward, feeling like she'd just hit another jackpot.

As for the classmates from Class Eight, rumors had already been circulating privately; Yan Zhusheng's gesture merely confirmed this fact once again.

As for students from other classes and grades, it was an entirely different matter.

They had no idea what relationship Yan Zhusheng had with Li Luo; they only felt this girl was so confident she glowed with light.

She instantly imprinted herself on countless hearts, becoming an unforgettable light of their youth.

Perhaps when they reached middle age and occasionally drank while recalling the past, remembering their high school years, they would long have forgotten the problems they'd solved and the exams they'd taken.

But they would remember this girl, who had left a mark in their hearts with a single song.

Even if the two had never had any connection during high school.

In his past life, even if Li Luo had truly managed to get into Fuyi High, he would probably have been just like these people—but in this life, it was different.

Li Luo smiled faintly, a strange emotion flowing through his heart; when the song ended and its echoes lingered, he finally turned and walked back into the gym, joined the queue to register for the 3000-meter race, and followed his coach Xu Youyu toward the starting line.

Since this was the final event among all student competitions, the school had lifted restrictions on the stands, allowing students to freely enter and exit, and watch directly from the field grass and beside the track.

Thus, as the Grade One 3000-meter race was about to begin, many from each class had come down, crowding thickly around both the starting and finishing lines.

Many of Yan Zhusheng's classmates from Class Eight had gathered over.

"Class monitor, go for it!"

"Wei Chun, go for it too!"

Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang shouted from the side.

Li Luo glanced over and quickly locked eyes with Yan Zhusheng.

Yan Zhusheng didn't shout "Go!"—she had already said it—so she simply waved at him, then silently raised one thumb.

Li Luo chuckled silently, then, under the coach's direction, took his place on the starting line, lining up with the others, waiting for the signal.

In the stands, Ying Chanxi, whose knee injury made movement difficult, stared longingly at the crowded crowd below, pouting, visibly downcast.

Beside her, Qiao Xinyan, seeing this, could only comfort her: "Watching from the stands isn't bad either—you get the full view, can see everything more clearly!"

Ying Chanxi pouted, thinking this was only a small part of why she felt bad.

But she didn't dare say more to Qiao Xinyan, so she just nodded and waited silently for the race to begin.

Meanwhile, Li Luo, standing on the starting line, saw the coach hadn't yet called "Go," so he glanced left and right—and found no one who looked like a sports student.

Instead, Lu Wei from the neighboring class cheerfully squeezed into the spot beside Li Luo, clearly determined to race against him.

As for Liu Shaowen on the other side, he had completely dismissed the 3000-meter race; his only goal was to finish the course, so he was relaxed, chatting with Li Luo.

"Li Luo, don't worry—Ying Chanxi is in our class, and even with her leg injury, we'll all take good care of her."

"I'm not worried about that," Li Luo replied offhandedly, already finding Liu Shaowen's train of thought baffling—why was this kid suddenly so enthusiastic toward him?

Finally, the coach was ready, raised a small flag toward the finish line as a signal, then told the runners to prepare.

"Take your marks."

"Set—"

"Go!"

With that simple command, Li Luo shot off from the starting line.

Thanks to his daily morning and evening runs recently, plus the school's daily morning exercise laps, his stamina was excellent.

If this were his thirty-five-year-old body from his past life, Li Luo couldn't imagine himself sprinting out at this speed without feeling heavy or exhausted—instead, he felt light.

One push of his foot, and his body floated forward effortlessly, every part of him brimming with something called youthful energy.

Instantly, Li Luo held his position in the leading group.

For this 3000-meter race, each class theoretically had two entries, but many hadn't filled their slots.

Some classes simply had no one willing to sign up, and might have only one participant.

So in the end, only twenty-five or twenty-six runners showed up.

Within the first half-lap, these twenty-odd runners quickly separated into tiers.

The slowest were clearly those just there to fill numbers—many were chubby kids, utterly unsuited for long-distance running.

They'd been forced into this event simply because no one else volunteered, dragged up as cannon fodder.

These were the third-tier runners, about seven or eight of them.

Ahead of them was the large second-tier group, where Wei Chun was among them.

This group had twelve or thirteen runners, starting tightly packed, then stretching into a long line, closely following one another.

The first tier, meanwhile, consisted of four or five runners including Li Luo—clearly those with decent endurance, already leading from the start.

When they reached the second lap, Li Luo had been following the runner ahead—until Lu Wei suddenly surged forward, determined to take second place.

Li Luo didn't fight him for it; he was happy to have someone blocking the wind, so he quietly fell in behind Lu Wei.

But in reality, Lu Wei had merely exhausted a huge amount of physical energy to surge forward from the second group.

He did it all just to catch up with Li Luo's pace.

He hadn't expected Li Luo to have some ability—he'd started the 3000 meters already so far ahead, and how could he possibly endure that? He immediately burst into a sprint.

Especially since he'd deliberately chosen the spot where Gao Yuqin was watching from the grass.

When he passed Li Luo right in front of Gao Yuqin, a wave of triumph surged deep within him, and his running momentum strengthened considerably.

Li Luo didn't care at all—he simply followed behind Lu Wei.

But Ying Chanxi in the stands clenched her fists and muttered softly: "What are you doing? Letting someone overtake you and not passing him back? I'm going crazy."

The 3000-meter run on a 400-meter track was a full seven and a half laps.

Li Luo wasn't in a hurry—he constantly adjusted his rhythm, maintaining a pace slightly faster than his usual morning run, keeping his breathing and strides even.

In contrast, Lu Wei, who was running ahead, kept getting overtaken by Li Luo during the straightaways whenever he grew too exhausted, forcing him to grit his teeth and speed up again.

This cycle repeated three or four times; by the fourth lap, Lu Wei was gasping for breath, drenched in sweat, his entire rhythm shattered.

By the fifth lap, his legs felt like they were filled with lead, and Li Luo easily passed him.

When he tried to accelerate again to overtake, he found his legs wouldn't move—once he loosened his breath, in the blink of an eye, several runners passed him one after another, and he ended up at the very back of the second group, barely clinging on.

Li Luo didn't pay much attention to Lu Wei—he only watched the back of the person ahead.

He'd originally thought the runner ahead must be some athlete.

But judging by this strength, he didn't seem like one at all.

By the time he reached the last one and a half laps, Li Luo's body also felt heavy; his nasal passages and lips burned fiercely from the intense breathing.

His chest pumped like a bellows, whooshing air in and out.

Around him echoed the shouts of his Class Eight classmates.

Countless eyes were fixed on him.

When he reached the final lap, he smoothly overtook the runner ahead, launching a full sprint with the residual strength preserved from seven full laps.

He crossed the finish line!

The shouts shook the heavens and earth!

Li Luo's head buzzed; he gasped for fresh air like a vagrant who hadn't eaten in eight hundred years, his chest heaving uncontrollably, his whole body limp and weak.

Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang rushed over, each grabbing one of his arms, and, following the PE teacher's instructions, led Li Luo in a slow walk around the track.

"You can't sit down to rest yet—the PE teacher said you need to keep walking until you've recovered."

"I know…" Li Luo replied weakly, then couldn't help glancing at Xu Youyu, who had come over to congratulate him, "Senior, wasn't there supposed to be an athlete? Where is he?"

"Huh? You didn't know? That athlete twisted his ankle during training two days ago, so he didn't compete," Xu Youyu said, then suddenly realized, "Oh right, when the PE teacher was calling names, you were over by the gate listening to Yan Zhusheng sing."

Li Luo: "..."

Hearing Xu Youyu's words, Yan Zhusheng beside him flickered his gaze, then quietly walked over to Li Luo's side, pulled out a bottle of water, twisted open the cap, and held it to Li Luo's lips.

Li Luo didn't think twice—he opened his mouth and drank deeply, replenishing his fluids.

"Monitor! Monitor!" Xu Yinghuan ran over from nearby, pointing to the center of the grass, "Someone over there is calling you to come get your medal and take a group photo."

After walking on the grass for about ten minutes, the classmates Li Luo had lapped finally finished the full distance.

After the rankings were finalized, Li Luo was escorted to the award podium, standing at the top gold-medal position, where he received a gold medal from the PE teacher and hung it around his neck.

After the photo session ended and he was escorted back to the stands by his Class Eight classmates, Li Luo let out a long breath, ready to finish drinking the bottle of water.

But when he turned his head, he watched in disbelief as Yan Zhusheng twisted open that same bottle and drank it down in loud gulps.

"Hey wait—" Li Luo widened his eyes, "Aren't those my waters?"

"Huh?" Yan Zhusheng blinked in surprise, "This was my water all along—I just saw you were so thirsty, so I let you take a sip."

Hearing Yan Zhusheng say such a naive and innocent thing, Li Luo fell silent, unable to speak for a long time.