After a while, the An Zhong students reached the intersection and gradually merged with the An Zhi students. Many teachers stood at the intersection, constantly shouting through megaphones about maintaining safety, keeping distance, and avoiding physical conflict.
Qing Ye found it quite puzzling that these two schools would hold a joint marathon, thinking it was just asking for trouble to bring together schools that didn’t get along.
Then Fang Lei told her beside her: “Because An Zhi’s campus is too small, they can’t hold their own sports meet, so they join this winter marathon every year.”
Already tired from running while talking with Fang Lei, Qing Ye felt the cold wind constantly rushing into her throat, making it unbearably dry. She said to Fang Lei: “You go ahead, I need to slow down.”
She then reduced her pace. While Qing Ye could handle writing tests or participating in debate competitions and knowledge contests, this kind of long-distance running wasn’t her thing. Yet surprisingly, even with her rookie-level endurance, she was still running ahead of the vast majority of her classmates.
At this point, she was mostly surrounded by An Zhi students, her uniform standing out conspicuously among their varied outfits.
She found herself wrestling with a decision: whether to sprint ahead to catch up with Fang Lei, or simply wait in place for her classmates behind her. Being sandwiched between An Zhi students made her feel extremely uncomfortable, like some kind of traitor.
Before she could decide, suddenly a male student jogged up from her left and bumped into her. Qing Ye was stunned and had just shifted to her right when another male student bumped her from that side. Soon, she found herself surrounded by An Zhi boys who, with teasing grins, asked: “Haven’t seen you before, which class are you from? Let’s get to know each other?”
Qing Ye stopped in her tracks, her expression instantly turning cold. The group of boys continued laughing: “Why so angry? Race comes second, friendship comes first. We just want to be friends with you.”
Just as they finished speaking, someone suddenly grabbed the back collar of Qing Ye’s uniform. She was about to throw an elbow backward when she turned to meet Xing Wu’s cold, narrow eyes firmly fixed on the boys who had just spoken. One hand in his uniform pocket, he used the other to pull Qing Ye slightly to his side, frowning slightly as he said without a hint of warmth: “Want to get to know me first?”
The boys’ expressions changed immediately. One muttered quietly: “Could she be Qing Ye?”
Another forced a laugh and called out: “Brother Wu, you’re participating in this kind of activity too? How rare.”
Xing Wu completely ignored them, and they didn’t push their luck further, turning to run away.
Qing Ye looked at Xing Wu with surprise: “How did they know my name?”
Xing Wu gave her a meaningful look: “Would I step in for other girls?”
Qing Ye nudged him lightly with her elbow: “So I just benefited from your reputation?”
He replied with a half-smile: “You’re welcome.”
Then he slightly raised his eyebrows: “Weren’t you running with Fang Lei and the others? How did you end up alone?”
Qing Ye looked at him with pitiful big eyes, saying softly: “I couldn’t run anymore.”
Xing Wu’s eyes curved with doting affection: “Then what should we do? Want me to carry you?”
“Can you carry me to first place?”
“If you want it, and if I can do it.”
Qing Ye deliberately put on a troubled expression: “Then would the first place count as yours or mine?”
Xing Wu replied seriously: “Of course, it counts for whoever’s feet touch the ground.”
“Then why should I let you carry me? I won’t get first place anyway.”
“Either way you won’t get first place, and I’m not interested in first place, so why should we run?”
“…” The logic seemed sound.
Then Qing Ye watched as those An Zhi girls, who were supposed to be participating in a marathon and should have shown some ceremony about it, suddenly all flocked to the roadside to buy milk tea while running. Where was their integrity?
Just then she heard Xing Wu ask beside her: “Want some?”
“Yes.” No integrity indeed.
The two walked toward the roadside. Originally crowded with girls, as Xing Wu approached the milk tea shop, the girls immediately felt a dark shadow looming behind them. At 182 centimeters tall, when not smiling, his features were cold, and the slash at his sideburns carried an untouchable wickedness. This exact roguish appearance was fatally attractive to these seventeen or eighteen-year-old girls.
The girls quickly began whispering among themselves, occasionally uttering “Xing Wu.” Qing Ye stood waiting for him on the road outside the crowd.
Suddenly, a group of noisy An Zhi girls deliberately pushed a heavily made-up girl toward Xing Wu. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking up at the menu when the girl crashed into him, falling directly against his arm. If he had moved slightly to the side, she would have fallen flat on her face. Xing Wu frowned and immediately turned to look at Qing Ye.
Qing Ye stood by the road watching this scene coldly, expressionless. Xing Wu looked away, his eyes immediately showing impatience. The girls stopped laughing, quickly pulled the made-up girl back, and actively made way, saying to Xing Wu: “You go ahead and order first.”
Xing Wu bought two milk teas. When these girls saw him order two, they turned around and saw a girl in An Zhong’s uniform waiting nearby. The girl was tall, and even in such a soulless uniform, her outstanding beauty couldn’t be concealed.
The group whispered, trying to find out who she was, then watched as Xing Wu walked over to her with the milk teas and offered her one. Qing Ye didn’t take it, instead glancing at his left arm where the made-up girl had bumped into him, then looking at him coolly.
Xing Wu lowered his eyes and smiled – his girlfriend was angry.
Without any fuss, he transferred both milk teas to one hand, took off his uniform jacket, and unhesitatingly threw it into the nearby trash can, put straws in the drinks, and offered them to her again. Qing Ye glanced at the heartlessly discarded uniform, took the milk tea, and then they walked away as if nothing had happened.
The An Zhi girls behind them were completely stunned. What kind of move was this? Throwing away his uniform just because someone touched it? Throwing it away? Holy crap!
Qing Ye sipped the warm milk tea, her eyes curving into crescents: “You don’t want your uniform anymore?”
Xing Wu replied indifferently: “Don’t want it.”
“Then what will you do in summer if you’re bare-chested?”
“Cut off the arm.”
Qing Ye laughed and reached out to pinch him. Xing Wu coughed, and Qing Ye’s half-extended hand casually withdrew. After all, students from both schools were around – if they flirted in the middle of the road, what would others think? That they were siblings with a great relationship?
Just then, Huang Zhi Ming from their class suddenly ran back from ahead, spotting Xing Wu and shouting: “Brother Wu, it’s bad! Small Lingtong got dragged into an alley by An Zhi students!”
Xing Wu frowned, asking puzzledly: “Why would they drag him away?”
“He was running too fast.”
“…”
Qing Ye finally understood why An Zhong students couldn’t win. Those who no one dared to mess with, like Xing Wu, Yellow Hair, and their group, were leisurely walking at the back of the pack like they were browsing a market. Meanwhile, those who actually tried to win and ran hard basically became cannon fodder, getting taken down by An Zhi students in no time. With this pattern, winning would be strange.
However, unfortunately, the person they caught today was Zhou Chen from Class Two, nicknamed Small Lingtong. Qing Ye had seen his footwork on the basketball court during PE class – though short, those little legs could run like the wind and were quite agile. Who would have thought he’d meet such a sad fate today, taken down because of his legs?
Xing Wu said indifferently: “Why don’t you go tell a teacher? Why tell me?”
Both Qing Ye and Huang Zhi Ming looked at Xing Wu, thinking “damn, that’s cold.” Even Qing Ye was worried about Small Lingtong being surrounded – after all, though talkative, he wasn’t a bad guy, sitting in front of her and always being friendly until they became friends.
Huang Zhi Ming pointed at the stripe on Xing Wu’s sideburns and said: “Bro, who else should I tell? You’re our school’s ‘Team Captain’!”
“…” Only today did Qing Ye understand Xing Wu’s hairstyle – while others put the captain’s badge on their arm, he cut it into his hair. Such arrogance.
Xing Wu looked at Qing Ye, who wore an expression saying “Wow, he’s from your class and you’re standing by? You beast!”
He only asked which alley the person was taken to. Huang Zhi Ming pointed to the road. As the kingpin of Zha Zha Pavilion, Xing Wu immediately knew the general location. He threw his milk tea in the trash and said to Qing Ye: “I’ll go check it out, you go tell Pang Hu and the others.”
Qing Ye nodded, and Xing Wu left with Huang Zhi Ming. Qing Ye immediately turned back to find Pang Hu and Yellow Hair.
People around stared at her curiously – someone running the marathon in the opposite direction was quite bizarre behavior. Occasionally, schoolmates would kindly remind her: “Qing Ye, you’re running the wrong way.”
“???” Qing Ye simply ignored these people. Did she look like someone stupid enough to run the wrong way?
After walking for quite a while without finding Pang Hu, she started jogging, and damn near ran back to the starting point before she saw a group of people squatting by the road smoking. She was impressed – this wasn’t a marathon, this was marking time in place.
Pang Hu saw Qing Ye come back and threw away his cigarette, standing up: “Why, why did you come back? Where’s Brother Wu? Didn’t, didn’t he go find you?”
Bent over and panting, she said: “Zhou Chen got surrounded by An Zhi people. Xing Wu and Huang Zhi Ming went ahead, and told you guys to hurry.”
Pang Hu was after all a class monitor – hearing that a classmate of three years was cornered by An Zhi students, he immediately led a large group charging forward furiously. Qing Ye followed behind, panting. As they turned the corner, they ran into Teacher Zhu Fen wearing a red armband. His body suddenly tensed as he raised his megaphone and shouted: “Under heaven, Class Two reigns supreme, accumulate strength and unleash power, victory is at hand, charge!!!”
Qing Ye, last in line, quietly wiped her cold sweat. If Old Zhu knew they were going to fight, who knows if he could still shout such a slogan?