Did you win?

"Thank you, Teacher."

Gu Yue answered naturally, a hint of a smile still on her lips. To her, the match that had just ended with such a clear winner and loser had been no more than a chance to prove just enough.

Wu Changkong's expression did not soften in the slightest.

"Then go run with them."

His voice was flat and cold.

"This is Class Five's basic physical conditioning lesson. Xie Xie, you too."

Xie Xie had still been stewing over the fight. At those words, his face fell.

"Teacher, didn't you say I wouldn't have to run once the fight was over?"

Wu Changkong glanced at him.

"Did you win?"

Those three short words left Xie Xie choking on his response.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, not a single word came out.

I didn't win.

Those words were stuck in his throat. He could neither swallow them nor spit them out.

When he fought Tang Wulin, he could still find excuses for himself: the first time, he had underestimated his opponent; the second time, that inexplicable transformation had caught him off guard. But in the fight just now, he had been serious and cautious enough, yet he had still lost.

And it had not been a pretty defeat.

The girl named Gu Yue looked quiet, even a little casual, but once she started fighting, ice, fire, earth, and wind came at him in turn. Then she had thrown out a ball of white light, forcing him straight into a corner.

The more Xie Xie thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt.

Gu Yue said nothing more. She simply gave a slight nod, turned, and ran toward the edge of the Playground, joining the Class Five students who were still running laps.

Watching her retreating figure,