"Shen Qi, you've changed," Xu Rui said.
The PE teacher hadn't arrived yet, so the students of Class 2, Grade 11 were free to do as they pleased on the sports field.
"Brother, people change. But you're my best brother, and that'll never change." Shen Qi, who was five foot nine, patted Xu Rui on the shoulder. Xu Rui had grown even taller—he had to be at least six foot one now.
Xu Rui angrily knocked Shen Qi's arm away. "You bastard, don't call me your brother. You've been secretly studying behind my back. How could you do that to me? What happened to your original goal, Shen Qi? We agreed to fail together, but you broke your promise with a perfect score. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
"Xu Rui, you're a high school student, not an elementary school student. Try to be a little more mature."
"Mature my ass! You hypocrite!"
Xu Rui turned and walked away. His sturdy frame couldn't conceal his bewilderment. Where could he turn to voice his sorrow?
"This guy's inner world is full of quirks."
Xu Rui had a twisted sense of humor and a distorted bluntness. Shen Qi knew him well. A few days of soothing him would be enough; they'd still be brothers, for life.
"That's what happens when you're top of the class. Keep it up long enough, and you'll find your friends dwindling while your loneliness grows." Someone strolled over. It was Huang Zikun, who always seemed to appear at just the right moment to offer a few words of wisdom.
Huang Zikun was a veteran top student. He excelled at math, physics, chemistry, biology, Chinese, and English. With no weak subjects, he was a well-rounded student. On top of that, he was quite handsome—the best-looking boy in Class 2, Grade 11.
"But I think as long as you get along, grades are secondary. What matters most is the friendship," Shen Qi said.
"No. Sparrows and swans can never be true friends, because they fly at different heights." Having said that, Huang Zikun drifted away.
"Being so good at school that you have no friends—is that sad, too?" Shen Qi thought it over. What Huang Zikun said seemed to make some sense.
Toot, toot—
A sharp whistle rang across the sports field. The PE teacher had arrived.
"Line up!" Teacher Sun ordered, raising his right fist and extending his left arm straight out to the side.
The forty-odd students of Class 2, Grade 11 formed four lines, with a few more boys than girls.
"Warm-up exercises. One, two, three, four; two, two, three, four..." Teacher Sun led them through their warm-ups.
"Today we're practicing the 50-meter dash. Four to a group. Once you've run, you're free to go." After the warm-up, Teacher Sun led the class to the track.
"Shen Qi, how about a race?" Huang Zikun was about the same height as Shen Qi, and they'd been standing next to each other in line.
"Sure. Let's run in the same group." Shen Qi accepted the challenge, and he and Huang Zikun were put together for the 50-meter dash.
"Two weaklings. What's the point of weaklings racing each other?" someone behind them said scornfully. It was Xu Rui. PE was the only subject where he could crush those top students.
"We're just doing it for fun," Huang Zikun replied calmly, paying no mind to Xu Rui's blabbering.
"Even if it's just for fun, you're still a weakling. Not only are you a weakling, you're a study bitch." Xu Rui had disliked Huang Zikun for a long time. Huang Zikun was always so cool and unruffled around everyone, even poor students. In Xu Rui's eyes, Huang Zikun looked down on poor students deep down. It showed in his so-called calm indifference, like he couldn't be bothered to take them seriously.
"'Study bitch' isn't a suitable term for a boy." Huang Zikun wasn't angry. He stayed perfectly composed, as calm as ever.
"A weakling among study bitches, a tractor among weaklings." Xu Rui kept at it. Shen Qi was getting closer and closer to that study bitch Huang Zikun, and Xu Rui was growing ever more disheartened. Shen Qi was straying farther down the path of betrayal.
"Fine, fine. We're weaklings, and you're the strongest chicken." Shen Qi quickly tried to soothe Xu Rui and smooth things over between them. He valued his friendship with Xu Rui, who had once fought for him and ended up in the hospital.
"Damn right," Xu Rui declared, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, completely oblivious to the girls nearby covering their faces as they giggled in embarrassment.
"All right, all right, strong chicken, go stand at the back. We weaklings will run first." Shen Qi gave in.
"Shen Qi, you're such a goofball." Xu Rui cursed him, but he'd forgiven Shen Qi a little. He stopped talking and stepped back a few paces.
Shen Qi, Huang Zikun, and two other boys took their places on the starting line. The four of them would run the 50-meter dash first.
"On your marks!" Teacher Sun gave the signal to get ready.
The four boys stood ready to run.
"Set!"
"Tweet!"
The whistle sounded, signaling the start.
The four boys took off. Shen Qi reacted quickly and stayed in the lead for the first 20 meters.
Shen Qi's default PE rating in the system was Level 1, meaning the average high school student.
Boys were naturally competitive. Even in a practice 50-meter dash, Shen Qi wanted to be the first to cross the finish line.
At the 30-meter mark, Huang Zikun suddenly lengthened his stride. After a few long steps, he overtook Shen Qi.
"Go, Huang Zikun!"
"Go, Huang Zikun!"
The girls watching from Class 2, Grade 11 cheered Huang Zikun on as one. The handsome, high-achieving, athletic all-rounder was a prince among boys and had plenty of admirers.
Huang Zikun grew more and more fired up. With an advantage of over a full body length, he crossed the finish line first.
"Huang Zikun's pretty fast!" Shen Qi had led early but got overtaken midway. He crossed the finish line second.
"Seven flat! Seven point two! Eight point four! Nine flat!" Teacher Sun clicked his stopwatch in quick succession and called out the four boys' 50-meter times.
"The first two were so-so. The last two are all show and no go. Even a koala could outrun you!" Teacher Sun praised Huang Zikun and Shen Qi, then chewed out the other two boys.
Huang Zikun's time of seven flat was a perfect score for the 50-meter dash. Shen Qi was a little slower; his seven point two earned him 90 points.
"Huang Zikun, you're pretty good," Shen Qi said, drenched in sweat. He meant it. Huang Zikun had almost no weak points, and even his PE score was perfect.
"Seven flat is just average. Good enough, I suppose," Huang Zikun replied, as cool and composed as ever.
"Is that your limit, you weakling study bitch?" Xu Rui called out as he stepped onto the starting line. It was his group's turn.
Toot! The starting whistle blew.
Xu Rui took the lead as soon as he set off. His running rhythm was powerful, his hip drive strong, and he deliberately controlled his turnover rate. It was obvious he'd trained before.
The other three boys in Xu Rui's group really were weaklings beside him. They couldn't put up any resistance.
With a lead of more than ten meters, Xu Rui crossed the finish line first.
"Six point three! Nice run, Xu Rui. Come here, have some water." Teacher Sun called Xu Rui over and handed him a bottle of mineral water. Not every student got that kind of treatment.
"Thank you, Teacher Sun." Xu Rui accepted the water respectfully, dropping his usual clownish attitude. He respected the PE teacher most of all and liked PE class best.
"You could actually go even faster. Fifty meters is too short for you. You've only just hit top speed when you cross the line." Teacher Sun admired Xu Rui. With his build and physique, he had the makings of a sprinter.
"I've been training for the 100-meter dash with Teacher He lately."
"The 100 meters is the event that suits you best. Keep training with Old He. He knows how to bring his students along."
"Okay!" Xu Rui nodded firmly.
Seeing Xu Rui getting special attention from the PE teacher, Shen Qi was happy for him, too. Everyone had their own unique strength, and Xu Rui's was his outstanding athletic ability.
Next came free time. Most of the girls left the sports field to do their own thing elsewhere on campus. The boys played basketball or soccer, the two most common sports for high schoolers.
"Weaklings, come on! Take me down!"
On the basketball court, Xu Rui drove toward the hoop with the ball. He knocked three players over, then easily scored.
"Too weak! You're all too weak! Someone tough, come take me down!" Xu Rui shouted arrogantly. Whether on the track or the court, he had a mysterious kind of swagger.
The basketball rules in Class 2, Grade 11 were simple. Students made up teams of three, played half-court, and the first team to lose five points left the court. Another team came on to challenge the winners.
Xu Rui scored five points on his own and sent the other team off. Three more players came up to challenge him.
"Xu Rui, quit hogging the ball! Pass it to me so I can score a few, too." Shen Qi wasn't happy. He was on Xu Rui's team, but he couldn't get the ball at all.
"Weakling, catch!" Xu Rui powered his way to the basket, knocking two players over, then passed the ball back and to the side to Shen Qi.
The two opponents Xu Rui had bulldozed to the ground were left in tears, while the last one backed away in fear to the three-point line. With no one guarding him, Shen Qi easily took a shot and scored.
"Ha ha ha, that felt great!" Shen Qi had finally scored, and he was thrilled.
Xu Rui's style of play was to knock you over first, then talk things out afterward.
That was why Xu Rui could only join the school's Track and Field team. The school basketball team wouldn't dare take him.
Shen Qi wasn't as strong as Xu Rui. His strong point was his high shooting percentage when no one was guarding him. He was basically a squishy ADC.
The tank, Xu Rui, charged around drawing aggro, while Shen Qi stood still and fired to his heart's content.
The two worked together seamlessly, each playing a clear role, and their brotherly bond was back. The other boy on their team had nothing to do. His only role on the court was to inbound the ball.
Shen Qi and Xu Rui's team couldn't be beaten. They kept winning until class ended.
"That was one hell of a PE class!" Shen Qi was drenched in sweat, relishing the joy of dominating the court.
Just then, the system notified him: "The host has gained 1 Academic Ace Point through physical exercise."
"Hey, running and playing basketball can earn Academic Ace Points, too. Nice." It was only 1 Academic Ace Point, but it was an unexpected bonus, and Shen Qi felt he'd come out ahead.
But when he thought about it more carefully, if studying and doing practice problems could earn Academic Ace Points, then exercise could, too, since PE was one of the system's ten indicators.
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