A Startling Success (Part 1)

Aside from the music matters, another thing had been bothering Zhang Hupan these past few days. Zhang Hupan was now an absolute celebrity among the freshmen. Even the Scottish beauty knew that Zhang Hupan was participating in the sports meet held by the School of Environmental Resources, and had, unprecedentedly, signed up for six events. Of course, in the eyes of foreigners, regardless of whether you had the strength or not, courage and confidence were always what they admired most. So after English class, Cindy specifically came over to Zhang Hupan and said, "Go for it, Zhang! I'm proud to have such an outstanding student!" Zhang Hupan was very grateful for Cindy's encouragement. However, in the eyes of many Chinese people, acts of standing out were often given many derogatory evaluations like overestimating one's abilities or seeking attention. Zhang Hupan was now being slandered countless times by those who didn't know the truth, and many gazes directed at him were filled with mockery. Even Zhao Liya, with whom he had developed a tacit understanding for over a month where neither would acknowledge the other, couldn't help but mock Zhang Hupan, saying, "I heard you signed up for six events. You better work hard and not embarrass us freshmen!" His roommates also felt extremely guilty about the current situation, as they held almost no hope for the results Zhang Hupan could achieve. What started as a joke among them had now made the entire school aware, and even the School of Economics and Trade, with whom they shared classes, knew about it. If Zhang Hupan didn't achieve any results, it would be very embarrassing. Therefore, they all regretted their actions, and these past few days, they had been treating Zhang Hupan like royalty, taking turns treating him, and not mentioning a word even when Zhang Hupan returned late at night. Zhang Hupan didn't expose them; he was quite enjoying his roommates' current attitude towards him. Although it came at the cost of some disdain and criticism, Zhang Hupan didn't take it to heart.

Friday, the bar was very crowded, but Zhang Hupan still went to greet Liu Xizhen at the usual time to leave. However, Liu Xizhen's expression was a bit hesitant today, as if she had something to say. The darkness was no different from the daytime for Zhang Hupan, so he could see Liu Xizhen's expression very clearly. Thus, he asked with a bit of curiosity, "Sister Xizhen, is there something you want to tell me?"

"Well, it's nothing much. I just don't know if you're free tomorrow. Feifei wants me to ask you to go to the zoo with us tomorrow!" For some reason, Liu Xizhen, who was usually generous, poised, and eloquent, was a bit shy today, as if she had turned into a young girl again. Even Liu Xizhen didn't understand why she was acting so girlish.

Seeing the charming and voluptuous Liu Xizhen acting so alluringly like a delicate girl, Zhang Hupan was truly annoyed that Hu Zhiming and the others had signed him up without his consent. But there was no other way; he was still a student, and a true man couldn't break his word. He had no choice but to cruelly refuse the beauty before him and the cute little girl who wanted to invite him.

"What? You're participating in the college sports meet tomorrow? I didn't realize you were also an athlete! Then you should go back and rest early. The little girl will be fine. You can accompany her another day when you're free!" Hearing that Zhang Hupan was participating in the sports meet tomorrow, although Liu Xizhen felt a trace of disappointment, she was very happy that the boy she admired could be so motivated.

Liu Xizhen's words made Zhang Hupan feel very shy. If she knew that he was the Immortal spoken of in legends, would she still call him an athlete? It was true; if his disciples and grand-disciples knew that he was actually competing in races with ordinary mortals, wouldn't that be extremely embarrassing? At this moment, Zhang Hupan suddenly felt like burning that group of scoundrels with Samadhi True Fire.

Looking at Zhang Hupan's retreating back, Liu Xizhen suddenly thought about where she was going tomorrow.

Saturday morning, the Zhejiang XX University stadium was bustling with people. The School of Environmental Resources' annual sports meet was in full swing. Cheers erupted from the field, but at this moment, a clear and tender cheer from the sidelines caught the attention of the crowd, and also caught the attention of Zhang Hupan, who was participating in the 1500-meter race.

The arrival of Liu Feifei and Liu Xizhen made Zhang Hupan, who was originally planning to casually aim for a not-too-embarrassing third or fourth place, change his mind. Although such a competition was hardly a challenge for Zhang Hupan, perhaps a race to see who could fly faster would have some challenge, but Zhang Hupan didn't want to be outdone in front of the cute little girl who admired him. Moreover, a great beauty stood beside this little girl. Seeing Liu Xizhen disregarding her status and shouting with all her might along with her daughter, Zhang Hupan suddenly felt happy.

The appearance of the beauty and the cute little girl naturally attracted the attention of Zhang Hupan's scoundrel friends. Especially Liu Xizhen's demeanor, which clearly belonged to high society, and her charming figure, made guys like Hu Zhiming, who forgot their friends for beauty, forget to cheer. They were solely focused on finding excuses to approach this five-star beauty. When they noticed that the beauty was also cheering for Zhang Hupan, they couldn't help but marvel at Zhang Hupan's luck with women and simultaneously rejoiced at the opportunity to approach the beauty through Zhang Hupan.

Almost in unison, the five of them tacitly moved their positions towards Liu Xizhen. Women's innate sixth sense quickly allowed Liu Xizhen to detect the movements of the five lecherous men. However, Liu Xizhen did not dislike their actions, which clearly had ill intentions. On the contrary, she felt a hint of joy that she could still attract these young men, and at the same time, these familiar scenes seemed to transport her back to her university days.

The closer they got to Liu Xizhen, the more the five felt her mixed charm of youth and maturity, and the clearer they felt her innate noble temperament and the commanding aura she naturally possessed as a boss. Although the five usually boasted about themselves as the number one pickup artists in the world when talking about women, none of these innocents, who had never experienced such romantic encounters, dared to speak first when truly facing a top beauty. In the end, it was Hu Zhiming, as the leader of the group, who reluctantly stepped forward and stammered, "May I... may I ask who you are to Zhang Hupan?"

Seeing these clearly Zhang Hupan's classmates, but with such lustful hearts and no courage, Liu Xizhen couldn't help but purse her lips and smile. She thought to herself that Zhang Hupan seemed very natural when they first met, without any nervousness. She wondered what kind of freak he was.

Although Liu Xizhen's smile was not enough to topple cities, it was full of charm. These five, who only knew how to fight on paper, had never seen such an intoxicating beauty smile before. They all stood there, stunned. If Zhang Hupan saw this scene at this moment, he would definitely not admit to knowing these guys.

"My name is Liu Xizhen, and I'm Zhang Hupan's friend. You must be Zhang Hupan's classmates, right!" Liu Xizhen said with a smile.

Only then did Hu Zhiming and the others snap back to reality and quickly replied, "Uh, Miss Liu, the five of us are all Zhang Hupan's roommates."

"Oh, so you're his roommates. Then you must have a good relationship with him! If you don't mind, you can also call me Sister Xizhen, just like Zhang Hupan!" Liu Xizhen said with a smile.

"Really?" The five couldn't believe that such a top beauty would smile and tell them they could call her sister. It wasn't until Liu Xizhen pursed her lips and smiled, nodding at them again, that they cheered happily, causing everyone to look their way.

"Mom, look! Big brother is catching up! He's running in first place!" Liu Feifei's tender yet high-pitched surprised voice interrupted Liu Xizhen's conversation and also interrupted the five men's fantasies.

Everyone turned their eyes to the track. Indeed, Zhang Hupan, who had been in about third to last place for the first two laps, had now overtaken more than ten competitors in just half a lap and was actually in first place. The classmates who came to cheer for Zhang Hupan erupted, shouting loudly, "Go, go!" Of course, Hu Zhiming and his group were cheering the loudest.

Since Zhang Hupan took the lead, he was never caught up. In the end, Zhang Hupan naturally won first place in the 1500 meters. (To be continued)