"As for your 1500-meter race, the teacher said it can't be canceled, but we can swap runners. Just change it to my name when the time comes."
After saying this, Jiang Shiyi prepared to leave.
Actually, she had called her out to ask another question.
But looking at the current situation, there was really no need to ask.
Just as she turned around, Ji Zhaoxi, who had been playing mute all along, finally spoke up.
"But... didn't you sign up for several events? I saw you registered for the sprint, the relay race, as well as the high jump and long jump..."
Wasn't the reason Jiang Shiyi didn't sign up for the 1500-meter race in the first place to save her energy for those events?
Jiang Shiyi's footsteps paused, a sudden, inexplicable sourness welling up in her heart. "You certainly studied my registered events thoroughly, and conveniently signed me up for the one I missed."
Being malicious towards others didn't weigh heavily on Ji Zhaoxi's conscience, but playing dirty tricks on Jiang Shiyi actually made her feel terrible.
Because Jiang Shiyi had been genuinely good to her.
"I will run the 1500 meters. If you run it for me... I'll feel awful."
Ji Zhaoxi spoke up meekly.
Jiang Shiyi's hands clenched tightly; she had truly had enough.
"Zhaoxi, I really don't understand you. Why are you still saying such coaxing words at a time like this? And I'm such a fool for actually taking them seriously."
Ji Zhaoxi looked at her back and fell silent for a moment. "Those aren't coaxing words. It's the truth from the bottom of my heart."
She spoke weakly, but the words that came out of her mouth grew uglier with every sentence.
"Haven't you noticed that I've been bullying you all along? Everyone knows, except you. The letters from before, and the class funds, I did all of that on purpose."
"Do you know how jealous I am of you? Everyone likes you, and everything comes so easily to you. You always achieve such great grades, while I can only watch you from the corner."
"It's true that I'm jealous of you, and it's also true that it hurts me to hurt you."
The timing was perfect.
After learning about Ji Zhaoxi's true personality, Jiang Shiyi began to distance herself from her. Without Jiang Shiyi's help, Ji Zhaoxi's life in the class became even more difficult.
From today onwards, Jiang Shiyi probably wouldn't speak to her ever again.
In the original novel, Ji Zhaoxi had known Jiang Shiyi and Xie Sili since middle school.
At the time, Ji Zhaoxi was also ranked first in her own middle school, but when placed in the entire district, her grades fell somewhat short.
In every district-wide unified exam, either Xie Sili or Jiang Shiyi would take first place. The teachers would use these two as examples in every class.
Upon entering A High, Ji Zhaoxi was utterly crushed by Jiang Shiyi.
In her diary, she frantically poured out her jealousy toward Jiang Shiyi and her despair over her own lack of talent.
This agony affected her for her entire life. Even up to the very second she closed her eyes before dying, she was still brooding over the fact that she was inferior to Jiang Shiyi.
She would always keep her eyes on Jiang Shiyi, always feeling that she could never catch up to her, and always envying her.
This was also the reason why Ji Zhaoxi had never slacked off in her studies since entering this world.
Jiang Shiyi's eyes widened, staring at her in disbelief.
She had never expected that this was what was going through Ji Zhaoxi's mind.
The class bell rang, and the noisy chatter on the playground quickly quieted down.
Looking at Ji Zhaoxi, whose shoulders were trembling slightly, Jiang Shiyi spoke softly.
"Zhaoxi, there is no such thing as a person whom everyone likes in this world. It's just that they can gain benefits from me, so they act as if they like me in every way."
Grades, family background, money—it was nothing more than these few things.
"If you are willing to get close to me, you'll actually find that I have many flaws. I'm not really that smart either. I have good grades because my family hired one-on-one tutors for me since I was little. I've already learned the high school curriculum long ago."
Her voice grew softer and softer. "Zhaoxi, if you had my privileges, you would definitely be much more amazing than I am."
Everyone else in the class had been directly admitted from the affiliated middle school, except for Ji Zhaoxi, who had tested in from an ordinary middle school.
Ji Zhaoxi kept her head down, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her shirt. She felt awful for Jiang Shiyi, and she also felt awful for herself.
In the original novel, Ji Zhaoxi was always belittling herself. In her world, Jiang Shiyi was an existence she could never reach. She always felt she wasn't working hard enough and constantly hated herself for being so lazy.
But she had forgotten that she stayed up until midnight doing practice questions every day. Even though she was thin-skinned, she still brazenly went around borrowing A High's past exam papers. She had already put in far, far more effort than the vast majority of people.
From an ordinary middle school to the honors class at A High, and from the bottom of the honors class to the top ranks, she had exerted an amount of effort that ordinary people couldn't even imagine.
It was only because her focus on Jiang Shiyi far exceeded her focus on herself that she felt she couldn't do anything right.
In the end, the names on the registration form remained unchanged.
And from that day on, Jiang Shiyi and Ji Zhaoxi never spoke to each other again.
Xu Kezhi thought she was the reason the two of them stopped talking. She privately asked Jiang Shiyi several times, and only after receiving negative answers several times in a row did she finally set her mind at ease.
Jiang Shiyi truly was a very good person. If she had just said a few bad things about Ji Zhaoxi, Ji Zhaoxi's situation in the class would have become incredibly difficult.
But she didn't.
Ji Zhaoxi reverted to her previous state of being a loner.
Running 1500 meters was not a simple task for her, and the homeroom teacher didn't have high expectations for her either.
"For the students in our class, it's enough to just focus on studying well. Don't put so much pressure on yourself; just jogging casually will do."
But the thought of not only coming in dead last but also being watched by so many people made Ji Zhaoxi truly dread imagining the scene.
Thus, she decided to run a few laps every day after school.
It wasn't that these dozen or so days of practice would improve her speed by much, but at least it would let her adapt to the intensity so she wouldn't faint on the track when the time came.
Her mind uncontrollably conjured up the image of Jiang Shiyi running during P.E. class. Not only did Jiang Shiyi have good grades, but her stamina was also excellent.
If only she could run as fast as Jiang Shiyi.
A hint of jealousy couldn't help but rise in Ji Zhaoxi's heart.
The summer night breeze felt very comfortable, but she didn't feel very comfortable running in it.
A rusty taste surged straight up her throat, and the pressure in her ears swelled painfully. As she kept running, her side started to ache in sharp, throbbing spasms. Ji Zhaoxi's face was pale as she pushed forward against the wind.
After running just two laps, Ji Zhaoxi was already on the verge of tears.
Was it too late for her to kneel before Jiang Shiyi now, apologize, and beg her to run in her place?
She really didn't think she could hold on.
Just then, a familiar figure appeared beside her, shielding her from most of the wind.
Ji Zhaoxi was already running until her head spun. She vaguely remembered that Xie Sili seemed to have signed up for the long-distance race as well.
Looking at how effortlessly Xie Sili was running...
Ji Zhaoxi's heart twisted for a moment.
So jealous...
