Water deliveries only for campus belles? Snide remarks at the fitness test!

Before heading out, Lin Bei picked up his clear sports bottle from the desk and filled it to the brim with Spiritual Qi Water.

The four of them pushed open the door and marched toward the south sports field, heads high and spirits soaring.

In September in Jinghai, even the morning sun was already rather fierce.

Cries of misery filled the south sports field.

Over three thousand freshmen stood listlessly on the grass, each looking like an eggplant wilted by frost.

After ten-odd days of military training, they were already so exhausted their bones felt ready to fall apart. Now they had suddenly been told there would be a fitness test today, including a three-kilometer run. This was practically driving them to their deaths.

The School of Economics and Management's formation stood right in the middle of the field.

Lin Bei spotted Ruan Qingwu at the front of the girls' line at a glance.

She had tied her hair into a neat high ponytail today, and even her baggy camouflage uniform could not conceal her cool, otherworldly air.

But after putting so much effort into her classical dance last night and getting up early today, she looked a little tired around the eyes. She was leaning against a camphor tree at the edge of the field, bending over to gently pound her calves.

Lin Bei walked over and held out his clear water bottle to her.

"Have some water first."

Ruan Qingwu stopped what she was doing and looked up.

When she saw Lin Bei, little sparks of light instantly appeared in her normally cool eyes.

Without standing on ceremony, she reached out, took the bottle, and drank a small sip.

The moment the water entered her throat, Ruan Qingwu's eyes went round.

The sensation was extraordinary.

The muscle aches and mental fatigue from last night's dancing and poor sleep seemed to be completely smoothed away by a gentle hand the instant she swallowed that mouthful of water.

The cool water slipped down her esophagus into her stomach, then turned into a warm current that spread through every limb and bone.

She even felt as though she could jump two meters straight up from where she stood.

"Wh... what kind of water is this?" Ruan Qingwu looked at the bottle in surprise, then looked up at Lin Bei.

Before Lin Bei could answer, a head suddenly popped up beside them.

Holding a little handheld fan and blowing it on herself, Zhao Mengyao sidled over with a mischievous grin and teased her.

"Ooh, Qingwu, water delivered in person by our handsome Lin! Is it sweeter than honey?"

Ruan Qingwu flushed scarlet at her teasing.

She shot Zhao Mengyao a reproachful glare and shoved the bottle into her hands.

"You and your big mouth! Have a sip yourself. Lin Bei said he added glucose."

Zhao Mengyao chuckled and, not minding sharing the bottle, took a big gulp straight from its mouth.

"Holy shit!"

In less than three seconds, Zhao Mengyao blurted out a curse.

She abruptly straightened and bounced twice on the spot, her face full of disbelief.

"My legs aren't sore anymore! This is miraculous! Ruoxue, try it! What glucose? This has to be an immortal pill!"

Standing in the back row, Lin Ruoxue pushed up her black-framed glasses and, half doubtful, took the bottle and drank a sip.

Immediately afterward, Lin Ruoxue's expression changed too.

She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, discovering that her previously dry, aching eyes now felt indescribably cool and comfortable. Even the distant stands looked much clearer.

The three girls gathered around a single water bottle, clicking their tongues in wonder.

Just as the atmosphere here was growing lively.

A jarringly discordant set of footsteps came from the side of the formation.

Zhang Liang swaggered over with a hard plastic clipboard in his hand, strutting as though he would acknowledge neither kith nor kin.

As the class sports representative, he was responsible for recording the fitness test results today.

This gave his pitiful little vanity immense satisfaction, making him want to point his nostrils at the sky as he walked.

Following behind Zhang Liang were Zhou Zihao and several of his lackeys.

Zhou Zihao's outfit was particularly conspicuous today.

He wore a baseball cap pulled low over his head and a black medical mask snugly over his face, concealing more than half of it.

Last night's horrendous "face-braking" incident had not only split his chin open but also broken off half a front tooth.

When he looked in the mirror this morning, Zhou Zihao had nearly smashed it.

But for today's fitness test, he had gritted his teeth and come anyway.

He had trained in track and field since childhood and had won second place in the three-thousand-meter race at the city's secondary school sports meet in high school.

This was the asset he took the most pride in.

He had lost to Lin Bei in musical instruments last night. Today, he had to stomp his way back to dignity through physical fitness! He would show Ruan Qingwu who the real man was!

Zhang Liang stopped in front of the line from Room 502.

His gaze landed directly on Fatty Wang's round belly, the mockery on his face undisguised.

"You fat bastard, take it easy on that three-kilometer run later."

"With that build of yours, don't drop dead from a brain hemorrhage halfway through. I'm the sports rep. If you collapse on the track, I'll have to go to the trouble of carrying you."

Normally, Fatty would probably have shrunk back in fear upon hearing that.

But today was different.

With more than half a jug of Spirit Water in his belly, Fatty now felt as though he had inexhaustible oxlike strength inside him. How could he put up with this crap?

"Zhang Liang, stop fucking waving a chicken feather around like an imperial command! If I can't finish today, I'll take your surname! You'd better not get leg cramps halfway through and need Lord Fatty here to come back and rescue you!"

Zhang Liang froze, clearly not expecting the fat bastard to show such backbone today.

"Fine, you've got some fucking guts. We'll see how you die out there!" Zhang Liang cursed through gritted teeth.

Standing behind him, Zhou Zihao snorted coldly, his gaze passing over Fatty to fix squarely on Lin Bei.

Even through the black mask, his snide tone came through clearly.

"Lin Bei, don't think making a little splash playing some lousy instrument last night means you can coast through today."

"A fitness test is the real deal. Some people have a few flashy tricks with their hands, but their bodies are as frail as weak chickens. Don't cry when you fail and lose credits."

Lin Bei lazily lifted his eyelids and glanced at Zhou Zihao.

Looking at the face covered so tightly by the black mask, Lin Bei completely ignored his provocation and merely replied lightly, "There's a draft through your front teeth. Talk less, or you'll gulp down a bellyful of cold air while running and shit your pants."

"Pfft-"

Several girls in the neighboring formation failed to hold back and burst out laughing.

Zhou Zihao's face instantly turned the color of pig liver, and he was just about to erupt.

"Tweet-!!"

Zhao Tianlong blew a shrill whistle at the starting line.

"First group! Boys! All of you, onto the track! Get ready to start!"

The crowd instantly surged toward the starting line like ducks being herded.

Zhang Liang and Zhou Zihao exchanged a glance, then used their strong builds to force their way through the crowd and seize the most advantageous positions in the front row.

The two rotated their ankles and adopted professional starting stances, looking utterly determined to win.

Fatty, Liu Chen, and Chen Mo exchanged glances.

Without a word, all three sensed the irrepressible excitement within one another.

The transformation brought by the Spirit Water was comprehensive. They now even felt that standing here waiting for the starting gun was torture, and they wished they could charge out immediately and sprint ten kilometers.

"Bang!"

The starting gun fired.

The dense mass of people instantly surged forward.

Zhang Liang and Zhou Zihao lived up to their training, bursting into impressive speed right from the start and shooting to the very front of the leading pack in the blink of an eye.

The two led side by side with steady strides.

After running a dozen or so meters, Zhou Zihao even deliberately turned back and gave Lin Bei and Fatty, who were behind him in the crowd, an insulting thumbs-down.

His arrogance knew no bounds.

Yet Lin Bei showed no intention of speeding up, hanging unhurriedly at the very back of the group.

Watching the two figures ahead desperately setting the pace, trying to establish an absolute advantage in the very first lap, he raised an eyebrow, his lips curling with the amusement of someone watching a pair of idiots.