Now this was the real center of attention! [Thanks for the generous tip!]
Lu Yuanqiu smiled quietly too. As if they shared some unspoken understanding, neither said a word to the other, and they both looked away at the same time.
Lu Yuanqiu really couldn't think of anyone besides Bai Qingxia who would cheer for him.
The girl who appeared just when he needed her, and the smile that came with her, instantly put his heart at ease.
"Get up, you lump of charcoal! You're holding me back! Look how far ahead everyone else is!"
Lu Yuanqiu hauled Tan Le up and immediately chased after the runners ahead with him.
Wang Haoran still charged along in first place as though his life depended on it. His performance was certainly winning the girls over: the girls from Class 28 in their school-uniform skirts screamed their support like crazy.
"Holy mother, she's so pretty! If I could just say one sentence to her, my whole life would have been worth living!"
Tan Le raved hysterically as he ran.
Lu Yuanqiu laughed. "You're seriously obsessed. Is it really that big a deal?"
"Don't worry, she'll be in our exam room for this month's exams. She's the last seat, then you, then me."
Tan Le blinked. "Isn't she ranked first in our year?"
"She missed the last exam," Lu Yuanqiu explained.
The two boys trailing far behind the pack soon caught Liu Wei's attention.
The woman, who was over thirty, adjusted her glasses in fury and shouted at Lu Yuanqiu, "Having a chat, are you?! Lu Yuanqiu! If you finish dead last, just see what I do to you!"
Facing Liu Wei's tigress-like glare, Lu Yuanqiu couldn't help swallowing.
He could only tell Tan Le beside him, "Bro, let's chat again next lap. I'll do a lap first."
"Huh?" Tan Le felt as though he wasn't hearing Chinese anymore.
Lu Yuanqiu lengthened his stride and accelerated. Everyone present turned to watch, including Wang Ping, their PE teacher.
"What's this kid doing? Sprinting now?"
Wang Ping muttered to himself.
The boosts to stamina, endurance, strength, and all his other physical attributes that came with his rebirth hadn't had much other use, but they were more than enough for a sports meet.
Lu Yuanqiu tore through that lap. When he reached Wang Haoran, the boy with the center-parted hair widened his eyes.
"Wait, you... Lu Yuanqiu?! Wait for me!"
Unwilling to accept defeat, Wang Haoran tried to catch Lu Yuanqiu. But charging into first place right from the start had drained so much of his stamina that he simply couldn't keep up. Instead, he slowed further and further, and the little pack behind gradually caught him again.
Anyone who had run three thousand meters knew that maintaining a reasonably fast, steady pace was what you ought to do early on.
To everyone else, sprinting right from the start like Wang Haoran and Lu Yuanqiu was pure idiocy.
After successfully lapping Tan Le, Lu Yuanqiu leisurely returned to his side. Seeing his horrified expression, Lu Yuanqiu explained, "Can't help it. My homeroom teacher's a tigress. I'd better get a lap ahead of you first."
Lu Yuanqiu was currently in first place.
Tan Le was dumbfounded. "Bro, you're making me look like an idiot!"
Lu Yuanqiu answered with a perfectly straight face, "Then let's both speed up."
Tan Le said, "I..."
He hurriedly stopped talking, because he realized they were passing Bai Qingxia again, and the girl was looking at him.
Tan Le's dark face instantly flushed red. He scratched his head, wanting to say hello, but was still too embarrassed and could only avert his eyes.
"Keep it up."
Bai Qingxia spoke softly and shyly.
"Oh, okay, okay. Thanks!"
Tan Le didn't even dare raise his head and hurriedly answered with a smile. Only after they had passed Bai Qingxia did he turn to Lu Yuanqiu. "Bai Qingxia from your class is pretty friendly. I thought she'd be really aloof."
But after saying that, Tan Le noticed Lu Yuanqiu staring at him strangely.
"What? Do I really look that handsome today? Bro, tell me the truth!"
As though something had dawned on him, Tan Le hurriedly asked in excitement.
Lu Yuanqiu scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, pretty decent. Pretty decent..."
He couldn't bear to burst his bubble. They were good friends, after all.
But the bewildered look Bai Qingxia had just given Tan Le had almost made Lu Yuanqiu burst out laughing.
Because Bai Qingxia had clearly been cheering for him, Lu Yuanqiu.
Tan Le had probably misunderstood because he happened to be running on the outside, between Bai Qingxia and Lu Yuanqiu.
On the fifth lap, Lu Yuanqiu noticed the little pack behind them beginning to accelerate.
He was still in first place, but his lead was in danger.
Liu Wei stepped forward like a woman possessed and shouted, "Lu Yuanqiu, what are you waiting for?! They're catching up!"
The girls in uniform skirts behind her clearly hadn't expected their hopes in this heat to rest on Lu Yuanqiu. Wang Haoran, whom they'd originally pinned their hopes on, had fallen back to the third pack and was now panting like an ox.
Liu Wei turned around. "What are you standing there for?! Cheer for Lu Yuanqiu!"
Everyone paused, then hurriedly shouted, "Go, Lu Yuanqiu! Go, Lu Yuanqiu!"
Lu Yuanqiu raised his right hand high. "Got it!"
As if he never tired, he lengthened his stride again, his long legs practically leaving afterimages on the track.
PE teacher Wang Ping stared blankly at him. "You can still sprint?! Wait, you... You're going to sprint for two laps?"
They were his own students, after all, and Wang Ping couldn't help calling out in concern.
But Lu Yuanqiu seemed not to hear. He wasn't running flat out; he simply took great, long strides and doubled his speed. The little pack behind watched in despair as he pulled far ahead, their faces filled with astonishment and confusion.
Was this guy even fucking human?
He'd already sprinted a lap, and he could still sprint now? Did he have an engine in his lungs or something?
They'd only ever heard that Lu Yuanqiu was good at basketball. Nobody had said he was this damn good at distance running.
Lu Yuanqiu charged into his final lap. Seeing the finish line ahead, he actually slowed down, because he had left the second pack a whole lap behind!
With twenty meters remaining, Lu Yuanqiu stopped running. Drenched in sweat, he stretched out his arms and grinned, goofily imitating an ostrich's walk as he inched toward the finish line.
Class 28 erupted in laughter, but Lu Yuanqiu only had eyes for Bai Qingxia.
Seeing the girl standing alone laugh at his antics, he grew even more outrageous. He turned around and continued his ostrich walk backward, retreating toward the finish line one step at a time.
On the sports
field, some spectators from the other classes doubled over laughing, while others looked furious.
Lu Yuanqiu's antics were about as provocative as they could possibly get.
For once, the normally stern Liu Wei didn't stop his clowning. Among the students running this heat were students belonging to her sworn rival, Cao Yan of Class 29.
She turned smugly and glanced at Cao Yan beside her, taunting, "That boy in your class, Liu Wenqiang-wasn't he supposed to be really good at running?"
Liu Wenqiang, who was now sprinting in second place, watched in despair as Lu Yuanqiu stepped onto the finish line.
He crumbled inside.
Cao Yan snorted. "Ha. Ha."
Having won his heat, Lu Yuanqiu dropped the pose and let out a long breath. He spread his arms toward the field, and all of Class 28 burst into jubilant cheers.
Before long, Wang Haoran and Tan Le crossed the finish line, one after the other.
Exhausted, Wang Haoran looked toward Hu Caiwei. He had barely forced a smile onto his face when he saw that she wasn't looking at him at all. Instead, she was walking toward Lu Yuanqiu with a bottle of Scream.
Tan Le braced his hands on his knees, panting hard. When he raised his head, he froze.
He saw Bai Qingxia jog over to Lu Yuanqiu with a bottle of water, then shyly hold it out to him with both hands.
One girl on his left, one on his right; an expensive drink on one side, cheap bottled water on the other.
Hu Caiwei stared blankly at Bai Qingxia opposite her. She couldn't imagine Bai Qingxia doing something like offering someone water.
Students from every class watched the scene in surprise too. Lu Yuanqiu, who had just become the center of attention, became the true center of everyone's attention all over again with Bai Qingxia's arrival.
"Lu Yuanqiu, fuck your grandma..."
Eyes wide with shock, Tan Le delivered his regards to Lu Yuanqiu's family, slowly and quietly.
.sp
Spare me a few monthly votes? (Shameless, I know.)
I'd like to recommend a friend's book. It's another campus-belle story.
An Aloof Campus Belle? No, You're the Embodiment of Absurdity
The link is below.