novelraw Chapter 49
Chapter 49
Chapter 49 In late October, Yishi High School’s fall sports meet was held as scheduled, much to the eager anticipation of most students.
So, before the pressure of the upcoming monthly exams and the division into academic tracks, the entire high school department was first immersed in an atmosphere of relaxation and joy.
Class 6 of the second-year students was no exception.
On the day of the sports meet, at 7:30 in the morning, every student in Class 6 was already seated in the classroom.
When their homeroom teacher, Mr. Shen Liang, entered the classroom after the grade meeting, he was momentarily taken aback by the collective, upright posture of his students, then he smiled as he walked to the podium.
—
“I’ve never seen you all so enthusiastic during morning classes,” Mr. Shen joked.
“How can you compare this to regular classes, Mr. Shen?” a student replied with a similar lighthearted tone.
Mr. Shen wasn’t offended; in fact, his smile broadened. “All right, I know you all feel like you’re sitting on a hot stove right now, so I’ll keep it brief and just relay the main points from the meeting. It’ll only take about an hour.”
Even though everyone knew he was joking, the students couldn’t help but groan in mock despair.
“All right, quiet down. I’ll try to wrap this up in two minutes.”
After enough teasing, Mr. Shen cleared his throat, and his smile faded slightly.
The students of Class 6 obediently fell silent, focusing their attention on Mr. Shen.
“As for this fall sports meet, the school’s intention is to help you relieve stress; so, safety is the top priority. I’m sure you all understand this without me going into detail.”
Hearing the students respond in agreement, Mr. Shen continued, “The second point concerns some basic rules during the sports meet—those who are not participating in events should not enter the competition area and must stay in the spectator stands. You are allowed to bring snacks or drinks, but after the events, you must clean up and take everything with you. The school has made it clear that if any trash is found in a class’s area, that class will be responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the sports field for the rest of the semester.”
“No problem! Don’t worry, Mr. Shen, I’ll make sure everyone follows the rules,” the class’s hygiene monitor eagerly volunteered.
“Good, I’ll leave that responsibility to you.”
Mr. Shen gestured for the hygiene monitor to sit down.
“And the last thing—you all know that today’s sports meet will last the entire day, and there will be no evening self-study, right?”
Although this news had already been circulating in the class, hearing Mr. Shen confirm it made the students so excited that they couldn’t help but pound their desks in celebration.
In an instant, the classroom erupted into a frenzy of excitement.
Mr. Shen didn’t stop them; he just folded his arms and watched the class with a smile that was oddly unsettling.
Under the weight of that smile, the students’ uproar gradually subsided.
“Had enough fun?”
Mr. Shen’s smile remained, but his tone was a bit more serious.
The students exchanged looks, then nodded.
“All right, then I’ll announce the last thing—after today’s sports meet ends, no one is allowed to leave immediately. Everyone must stay for an additional fifteen minutes.”
Mr. Shen paused, then added, “I have something to discuss with you all regarding the upcoming academic track selection.”
The classroom fell silent for a moment, and then the students began whispering to each other.
The class monitor stood up and asked, “Mr. Shen, should we head back to the classroom for this?”
“No need, we’ll just have a brief chat right on the field, seated on the ground.”
Although they didn’t fully understand Mr. Shen’s intentions, the lure of the sports meet ahead made the students agree without much thought.
Once Mr. Shen finished speaking, the class became lively again as everyone gathered their things and headed downstairs to line up by class.
The class sports monitor stayed behind and ran up to Mr. Shen. “Mr. Shen, I’ve been holding onto our class’s banner, but I’m in one of the first events and need to check in early. Who should I entrust with it?”
Mr. Shen paused, then glanced toward the back of the classroom, a smile forming on his face—
“I recall that we have one person in the class who’s exempt from participating due to injury—why not leave it with him?”
The sports monitor hesitated.
He knew exactly who that one exempt student was, but asking that person to carry out a task?
…He’d rather run the full 3000 meters while carrying the banner himself.
Unfortunately, before the sports monitor could come up with an excuse, Mr. Shen’s voice rang out above him—
“Wen Yufeng, come here for a moment.”
“…”
At the back of the classroom, Wen Yufeng, who had been lazily propping his head up while watching the girl beside him pack her bag, slowly lifted his eyelids.
After a couple of seconds, he stood up and began walking toward the front, casually grabbing the girl’s packed backpack and slinging it over his shoulder as he went.
Meanwhile, Qin Qing had just finished packing her snacks, drinks, sportswear, and shoes. She breathed a sigh of relief, only to look up and find her backpack had vanished.
By the time she realized what had happened, the tall boy was already walking up to the podium, effortlessly carrying her bag.
Qin Qing stood in shock for a few seconds before hurriedly getting up to follow him.
When Wen Yufeng reached the podium, Mr. Shen eyed the stuffed pink-and-white backpack on his back with a smirk.
“Wen Yufeng, are you the class’s designated bag watcher today?”
“I’m watching a bag, but not for the class,” Wen Yufeng replied, his lips curling into a lazy smile, his slightly upturned eyes carrying a hint of mischief. “It’s for personal use.”
“…”
Qin Qing, who had just caught up, heard this comment and came to an abrupt stop, her face turning red within seconds.
If it weren’t for the fact that all the gear they needed for the event was in that backpack, Qin Qing would have pretended not to know him and turned around to walk away.
“Oh, personal use, is it?”
Mr. Shen looked at Wen Yufeng, exchanging glances with him for a few seconds before turning his gaze to the girl standing behind him.
“Qin Qing, the class would like to borrow your personally used bag to hold our banner. Do you mind?”
Qin Qing instinctively responded, “Mr. Shen, Wen Yufeng’s arm hasn’t fully healed yet.”
Wen Yufeng, who had been ready to accept the task, paused. After a couple of seconds, he couldn’t help but let out a raspy laugh.
…
In the end, the class banner was handed over to Wen Yufeng, along with that eye-catching pink-and-white backpack.
Qin Qing made several attempts to reclaim her backpack, but each time, Wen Yufeng effortlessly held it out of her reach, leaving her jumping in vain.
Before lining up, Qin Qing was still unwilling to give up.
Standing beside Wen Yufeng, she whispered, “Wen Yufeng, give me the backpack? Everyone’s looking at you…”
“I can’t.”
Wen Yufeng’s expression was a mix of amusement and seriousness, with no room for negotiation in his tone.
Qin Qing glared at him in frustration. “Why not??”
“…”
Wen Yufeng raised his right hand, which had been hanging by his side, until it was above the girl’s head.
Qin Qing stared up at his long, slender hand, bewildered.
Wen Yufeng chuckled, unable to resist patting the top of her head—
“With your short height and little legs, if you get any more squashed, you won’t grow any taller, and then running long-distance races will be even harder.”
“…”
This was the first time Qin Qing had been directly “attacked” with the term “little legs,” and she was so infuriated that her almond-shaped eyes widened, her delicate face turning a deep shade of red—
“Who says you’re the only one with long legs!”
Wen Yufeng didn’t reply. He turned to face her, taking a half-step forward, nearly closing the distance between them.
Throughout the entire movement, he kept his chin slightly lowered, his eyes glowing with a faint, playful light.
The sudden proximity startled Qin Qing, and after a moment, she instinctively stepped back.
But in that brief moment of zero distance, the difference in their heights was more than enough to answer her question.
—Who says you’re the only one with long legs?
—Yes, it’s just me.
The blunt reality, coupled with the curious glances from the surrounding students, left Qin Qing both embarrassed and annoyed.
After a couple of seconds, she stiffened her face, blushing all the way to her ears, and returned to her place in the line.
—
Yes, I’m the shortest one in the line.
Having escaped the spotlight, Qin Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But before her face could fully cool down, she heard the girl standing to her left suddenly take a sharp breath.
Qin Qing couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go wrong.
As if to confirm her fears, a tall figure moved past her and stopped just ahead of her on the right, at the front of the line.
Qin Qing stiffly craned her neck to look up.
“…Wen Yufeng, you’re not supposed to stand there.”
His eyes twinkling with a hint of a smile, Wen Yufeng gestured to the rolled-up banner in his hand.
“As the only person not participating in any events, I’m temporarily taking over the duties of the sports monitor today. So, this is exactly where I’m supposed to stand.”
Qin Qing: “…………”
The girls’ 4x400m relay was scheduled relatively early, and Qin Qing was among the second group of participants to check in.
After changing into her sportswear in the locker room and pinning on her number, Qin Qing emerged, her heart pounding.
—
She had never been this nervous, not even before an exam.
Although her stamina and running technique had greatly improved thanks to Wen Yufeng’s help, the sight of the official track and the competition setup still made her unavoidably anxious.
After checking in, Qin Qing, who was the third runner, began practicing baton exchanges with the second and fourth runners until the call came that the race was about to start…
A few minutes later, the race was over.
The last runner for Class 6 of the second year crossed the finish line first.
In an instant, the entire class erupted in cheers.
Only Wen Yufeng, among the crowd, stood up with a cold gaze, his eyes fixed on the center of the field.
—
Standing among the other three cheering girls, Qin Qing had a smile on her face, but her brow furrowed involuntarily each time she stepped forward with her left foot.