Chapter Thirty-Eight: Preventing Zhou Xuan from Reaching the Finals

In the blink of an eye, Saturday arrived—the day of the school sports meet.

The weather was exceptionally fine, not a cloud in the sky, and the sun shone brilliantly. By nine in the morning, the entire student body had already assembled in neat formations on the field for the opening ceremony. Thus, the 2007 Autumn Sports Meet of the Second Middle School officially began.

Events like running, high jump, long jump, and tug-of-war were all held simultaneously. The very first race to take place was the Boys’ 100-meter dash for the junior high division.

Zhou Xuan followed the volunteers into the field and headed to the sign-in area, where several students were already seated, stretching and warming up.

There were twenty classes in the junior high division, with a total of thirty-six participants registered for the boys’ 100-meter race. According to the rules, the thirty-six runners would be divided into four heats of nine, occupying lanes one through nine in each heat. After each preliminary, the top two finishers would advance to the finals, and among the remaining runners, the fastest would also proceed, making a total of nine finalists.

As Zhou Xuan joined the warm-up, the other thirty-some contestants immediately recognized him. After all, Zhou Xuan was a well-known figure at school these days, though most were surprised to see him enter the 100-meter dash.

“Hey, why is Zhou Xuan here?” remarked a student from Class Two.

“I heard Zhou Xuan’s been running every morning for over a month now, and his speed’s improved so much that even the PE teacher was impressed,” added a student from Class One. “But that just means he’s good at long-distance. Today’s the 100-meter dash—it’s all about explosive power.”

Just then, the group assignments were posted. Zhou Xuan glanced at the list—fortunately, he wasn’t in the first heat, but in the second, right in the middle.

At that moment, Li Qing, the class’s sports committee member, hurried over. “Zhou Xuan, you’re in the second group.”

“I already know,” Zhou Xuan replied.

“Let me tell you, Zhou Xuan: in your heat, the strongest is Wang Wen from Class One. He took second place at the last school sports meet. The others are just average. With your ability, making the finals should be no problem,” Li Qing explained, making sure Zhou Xuan knew to keep an eye on Wang Wen.

Zhou Xuan was amused by Li Qing’s enthusiasm. “Thanks. By the way, when does your event start?”

Li Qing was competing in the long jump, where she’d won second place at the last meet.

She grinned. “In PE last week, Mr. Li said you’re really fast. You’d better show us what you’re made of and win a few first places for our class!”

“No problem, that’s a piece of cake,” Zhou Xuan promised.

“Hah! That’s some big talk!” A harsh voice interrupted from behind.

Zhou Xuan turned to see a student nearly six feet tall standing there, a mischievous grin on his face, with several others behind him, all eyeing Zhou Xuan and Li Qing with unfriendly expressions.

Li Qing tugged at Zhou Xuan’s sleeve, whispering, “That’s Wang Wen from Class One. Looks like he doesn’t believe you’re a threat.”

Zhou Xuan chuckled. “Let him gloat for now. He’ll see what I’m capable of soon enough.”

“This isn’t good!” Li Qing’s expression changed. “Zhou Xuan, those guys behind Wang Wen are all from your heat. Judging by how chummy they are, maybe they’re planning to gang up on you and keep you out of the finals.”

“That’s very likely.” Zhou Xuan eyed their little huddle—anyone could see there was something fishy going on.

“Wait here, I’ll go find out more.” Li Qing dashed off and disappeared into the crowd.

Watching Wang Wen and the other second-group runners chatting nearby, Zhou Xuan felt no pressure at all. He knew his own abilities—soon enough, they’d discover that no trickery could stand up to sheer strength.

Meanwhile, Wang Wen felt very pleased. With his own skills, beating Zhou Xuan would be no trouble. Someone who’d never even participated in a sports meet had the nerve to enter the 100-meter dash, not knowing that the top three spots in every meet were always split between Class One and Class Two.

Moreover, this time Wei Xinyu from Class Six and Hai Chen from Class One had promised that if Zhou Xuan didn’t make the finals, everyone in the second group would get a hundred yuan. Whoever finished ahead of Zhou Xuan would get another hundred, and if anyone managed to make Zhou Xuan come in dead last, they’d get an extra two hundred.

A hundred yuan was one or two months’ pocket money for the average student—who wouldn’t give it their all? Even Wang Wen was tempted; if he could make Zhou Xuan finish last, that’d be three hundred yuan in his pocket.

“Wang Wen, is it really true?” someone asked, skeptical.

“Of course it’s true. As long as Zhou Xuan doesn’t make the finals, everyone gets a hundred. Why would I lie to you?” Wang Wen replied with a smirk.

“Haha, that’s generous! Looks like Zhou Xuan and Wei Xinyu really are at odds,” another chimed in.

“Well, it’s his own fault for winning over the school belle’s heart.”

“Hey, look! Liu Yixue is coming over.”

Everyone looked up—sure enough, the school beauty Liu Yixue and her best friend Yu Xiaoling had walked over to the edge of the inner track, gazing toward the 100-meter dash.

Seeing Liu Yixue watching, the boys all straightened up, puffing out their chests and trying to look dignified.

“Heh, who would’ve thought Liu Yixue would come to watch Zhou Xuan race? Maybe the rumors are true.”

“Zhou Xuan’s only got good grades—what’s so special about that?”

“Right! Being good at studying doesn’t mean you’re good at sports. This sports meet will show him his limits—he can’t expect to excel at everything.”

“Exactly! Let’s run our hardest and make sure he comes in last.”

“Haha, if he finishes last in front of the school belle, what a humiliation that’ll be.”

...

While Zhou Xuan warmed up, he was completely unaware of the second group’s plotting—or that Wei Xinyu and Hai Chen had wagered so much just to keep him from reaching the finals.

At that moment, Li Qing hurried back, whispering fiercely in Zhou Xuan’s ear, “Unbelievable. Those guys in your group are ganging up to keep you out of the finals—and they want to see you finish last.”

“Hah, then they’ll be disappointed. My abilities are far beyond theirs,” Zhou Xuan replied with a wry smile. Their childish schemes amused him—soon enough, he’d show them just what he was capable of.

Eyeing Wang Wen and the others, Zhou Xuan’s lips curled into a cold smile. They couldn’t possibly imagine the pain that awaited them—but soon, they would.

Over by the track, Liu Yixue and Yu Xiaoling were chatting about Zhou Xuan.

“Yixue, do you think Zhou Xuan can make it to the finals?”

“How should I know? But I suppose, since he’s competing, he must be confident.”

“I’m not so sure. Now that you’re here, Zhou Xuan’s become everyone’s target. Without absolute strength, it’ll be hard for him to get through.”

Just then, a whistle sounded: “Boys’ 100-meter preliminaries, first heat, begin!”

“Ready!”

With a sharp whistle, the first group of runners shot from the starting line like arrows, and a chorus of cheers rang out from the sidelines.