After collecting the athlete rosters from each grade, the school checked the recent weather forecast and finally decided to hold the sports day the day after tomorrow.
On the afternoon of the same day Zhu Yaya signed up for the high school freshman girls' 3000-meter long-distance run, she went to report it to her boss after school.
"3000 meters?" Yan Heng raised an eyebrow, looking at her with a hint of doubt in his eyes.
This petite little thing was going to run 3000 meters?
He seemed to think of something, and his expression suddenly turned very unpleasant.
Zhu Yaya, who had been closely watching his expression, shuddered violently, her small frame trembling.
"Did someone force you?"
Zhu Yaya understood and secretly rejoiced—she hadn't mistaken her boss!
"Of course not! It was my own idea." After all, Xu Chun was also going to run the 3000-meter race. Although they weren't in the same grade and wouldn't compete directly.
Zhu Yaya thought for a moment and made a strongman pose: "Even though I look small, I'm actually very good at long-distance running. My dad made me go for morning runs every day, so I'm trained."
After saying that, she grinned foolishly again: "Brother Yan, you'll come watch my race, right?"
Yan Heng's expression returned to normal: "Mhm."
"Hehe, you have to cheer for me!"
"Okay."
...
Under Zhu Yaya's eager anticipation, the anticipated three-day Scott High School Winter Sports Meet finally arrived.
Upon hearing that his precious daughter was an athlete, Zhu Jianjun had long prepared weak saline solution, wet wipes, band-aids, mercurochrome, and so on, constantly stuffing them into Zhu Yaya's backpack.
Zhao Jing checked the recent weather forecast, found that the coming days were forecast to be warm and sunny, squeezed past Zhu Jianjun, and put a bottle of sunscreen and Huoxiang Zhengqi Water into the backpack.
Zhu Yaya: "...It's just a sports meet. No need to prepare so much stuff."
Then, she took back her backpack and took out things like the mercurochrome and Huoxiang Zhengqi Water: "The school clinic has these things."
"Haha, worry makes us act rashly, doesn't it?" Zhu Jianjun scratched his head sheepishly, "This is your first time participating in a sports meet, Yabao!"
Zhao Jing looked at her with concern in her eyes: "Don't push yourself too hard."
"Okay, okay, I know." Zhu Yaya packed her bag, changed into running shoes, opened the door and left, heading first to the X District's Tian Tian Breakfast Shop as usual to wait for Xu Chun.
Xu Chun still didn't know that someone had maliciously signed her up for the sports meet's long-distance run, leaving her completely unprepared.
The breakfast shop owner's wife smiled and cheered for Zhu Yaya. Zhu Yaya thumped her chest with her right fist: "Absolutely!"
Although the weather forecast said today's temperature would exceed 20 degrees Celsius, it was still early winter and the morning was quite cold. On the bus to school, Zhu Yaya passed a large grassy area and saw it covered in frost, a vast expanse of silvery white. She felt somewhat relieved that she had worn a thick sweater under her tracksuit.
By 8 a.m., when the sun was fully up, she didn't think so anymore.
Zhu Yaya's face was flushed, with beads of sweat already seeping out on her forehead.
Panting slightly, her upper body leaning forward a little, she asked Xu Baoying, who was standing in front of her, in a muffled voice: "Yingying, when will the sports meet opening ceremony end?"
Because the opening ceremony was underway, they were currently standing on the school's sports field, under the sun.
Zhu Yaya now deeply regretted why she had worn so many layers of clothes when she got up in the morning. Why hadn't she trusted today's weather forecast?
"It's still early!" Xu Baoying tilted her head back slightly, "The principal just finished speaking. Later, there will be speeches from Director Zhou, the referee representative, and the athlete representative! Also, you've been through this, you should know well—Director Zhou's speeches are never short!"
Xu Baoying faced forward but stretched a hand back to pass several tissues, her tone carrying a hint of faint pity: "Yaya, stay strong!"
Zhu Yaya looked utterly desperate; she wanted to die!
So she waited another hour and a half before finally hearing the sports meet announcer say the words, "The 41st Scott High School Winter Sports Meet now begins!"
Zhu Yaya hurriedly went to greet her homeroom teacher, Chang Wen, first, then ran to the nearest teaching building's restroom to change out of the sweater underneath.
The moment she took off the sweater, Zhu Yaya sighed with emotion, shedding tears of happiness: "Finally free!"
The entire Scott High School was now immersed in excitement. When Zhu Yaya returned to her class to put away her clothes and get her fruit box, she didn't see a single student on the way. Everyone had gone to the sports field to watch the competitions or to compete themselves.
When she reached the sports field, she was completely bewildered. The bleachers were packed with people, a dense crowd as far as she could see. She simply couldn't find her class's spot.
She even doubted if there was any space left for her to sit.
Since the 3000-meter race for high school freshman girls was scheduled for the afternoon, she simply wasn't in a hurry to return to class. Hoping she might unlock a task, she began searching everywhere for Grade 11, Class 27.
Zhu Yaya was prepared for a long search, but she didn't expect to spot Yan Heng at first glance as soon as she approached the bleachers.
This was partly due to Yan Heng's striking height and appearance, which made him stand out in a crowd. But the main reason was that the seats to Yan Heng's left, right, front, and back were all empty! The people around him desperately pushed outward, crowding together with the other classmates.
Zhu Yaya: ...
She was somewhat taken aback. Was Yan Heng that terrifying? Why was there no one in the school daring to get close to him?
But, this was good too. She had a place to sit.
Zhu Yaya, clutching a box of fruit, trotted over, bouncing with glee, squeezed past the students in front, and plopped down next to Yan Heng, grinning from ear to ear: "Brother Yan, I'm here!"
Yan Heng seemed to be deep in thought about something. It wasn't until Zhu Yaya spoke that he noticed she was sitting next to him, somewhat caught off guard.
He withdrew his previous train of thought, glanced at the fruit box in Zhu Yaya's arms out of the corner of his eye, and uttered an "Mhm."
Zhu Yaya didn't notice his oddness. She looked around but surprisingly couldn't find Li Hao, who was always competing with her for the position of Brother Yan's number one sidekick.
This wasn't right!
Was that kid hiding in some corner plotting something?
Full of suspicion, she asked Yan Heng: "Where's Li Hao?"
Yan Heng pointed to the lower left.
Zhu Yaya followed his gaze and saw the scene over there clearly.
Shen Wandan was there.
Today she had changed into a pink-and-white little dress, which thankfully didn't trail on the ground this time and only reached her knees. It had a lot of lace and was adorned with sequins, glittering like gold in the sunlight. Zhu Yaya felt as though her eyes were about to be blinded. She averted her gaze.
Shen Wandan was surrounded by a circle of boys. Among them, Zhu Yaya saw Li Hao with an utterly sycophantic look on his face.
Zhu Yaya: ... How does a guy who looks perfectly normal turn into this as soon as he sees Shen Wandan!
