Chapter Forty-One: The Perennial Third Place

"Great! I hope Zhou Xuan can't even make it into the top three, not a single place!"

While Zhou Xuan and the others were getting ready for the junior boys' 200m and 400m preliminary races, a few students were sitting on the steps between the sports field and the teaching building.

Among them was Wei Xinyu, the math class representative from Class Six, who had lost a hundred yuan to Zhou Xuan in a bet. There was also Hai Chen, who had been rejected by Liu Yixue during a writing workshop, and Jiang Xiaopang, who liked to flaunt his allowance in front of Zhou Xuan.

"Haha, this Zhou Xuan is really something! Look, even the school beauty Liu Yixue is hanging around him," laughed Li Chao, the one who'd told Wei Xinyu in the computer lab that Zhou Xuan and Liu Yixue had eaten together.

He himself wasn’t interested in the school beauty, but he had no qualms about fueling Wei Xinyu and Hai Chen’s jealousy towards Zhou Xuan, hoping they'd tear each other down.

“Hmph, Li Chao, what’s that supposed to mean? Zhou Xuan is just a bit better at studying and running, isn’t he?” Ever since Liu Yixue had rejected him, Hai Chen was eating up with jealousy towards Zhou Xuan.

Li Chao glanced at Hai Chen and grinned, “Seems like his writing skills are way ahead of yours too!”

Li Chao had a knack for hitting sore spots, instantly putting Hai Chen on edge. “Li Chao, what are you talking about!” He moved forward, ready to pick a fight.

“Enough! What are you two squabbling about?” Wei Xinyu couldn’t take it anymore. “Li Chao, we’ve all suffered at Zhou Xuan’s hands, and we all hate him. But you never know when Zhou Xuan will make you look bad, so don’t expect us to help you out.”

“Hmph, I’m just a poor student, and I don’t even like the school beauty. There’s nothing for me to be jealous about. Why would Zhou Xuan have any conflict with me?” Li Chao didn’t care at all about Wei Xinyu’s attempt to drag him down with the rest.

“Hmph, in that case, there’s nothing more to say,” Wei Xinyu shot him a look and then turned to Hai Chen and Xiaopang, “Let’s go!”

“Petty kids fighting over jealousy, what’s the point?” Ignoring the departing Wei Xinyu and Hai Chen, Li Chao turned his gaze to Zhou Xuan on the track, a slight smile curling his lips.

“Zhou Xuan, it’s time to get to know you.”

In the first heat of the junior boys’ 200-meter preliminaries, Zhou Xuan’s luck seemed poor—he was matched in the same group as Wei Linxi.

As everyone expected, Zhou Xuan finished second, with Wei Linxi maintaining the lead throughout. In the eyes of the crowd, Zhou Xuan was desperately trying to catch up, but he never quite managed it.

However much Zhou Xuan pushed forward, Wei Linxi would always find another burst of speed, keeping Zhou Xuan firmly in second place.

Thus, although Zhou Xuan still finished second and made it to the finals, everyone was disappointed that he hadn’t managed to pull off another miracle.

When all four heats of the 200 meters were finished and the results were posted, the crowd was in an uproar.

“Wei Linxi, first place, 23.59.”

“Wang Wen, second place, 24.86.”

“Zhou Xuan, third place, 24.99.”

…

"Wow, Wang Wen really exploded this time, actually grabbing second place."

"Damn, Wei Linxi is incredible—he even meets the national second-tier athlete standard."

“Haha, Zhou Xuan is third again…”

“If he gets third in the 400 too, he’ll really be the eternal bronze.”

“There’s no hope anymore, with results like this. Zhou Xuan’s being completely suppressed by Wei Linxi—it’s hard to see a miracle happening now.”

“So this is Zhou Xuan’s real level, huh? Guess it’s not that impressive after all.” Wang Wen hadn’t expected to take second overall in the 200 meters, and now, feeling cocky, he downgraded his estimation of Zhou Xuan’s ability.

Even Wei Linxi, who had just bagged another first place, remarked, “So this is Zhou Xuan? I thought he’d at least give me some pressure, but it looks like that’s all he’s got. He couldn’t even beat Wang Wen in the 200 meters—what a disappointment.”

This time, Luo Fei came in fourth, just 0.02 seconds behind Zhou Xuan, which left him full of regret. If only he’d pushed a little harder, Zhou Xuan would have lost his place in the top three, which would have been perfect.

Listening to the chatter, Zhou Xuan’s heart remained calm, his expression unreadable.

Only Zhou Lin, Zhuo Lian, and the school beauty, Liu Yixue, hovered nearby, constantly offering comfort—much to the irritation of the other boys. Why should Zhou Xuan get all the attention from the school beauty, even as the perpetual third-place finisher?

Soon after, the 400-meter third heat concluded, and the results further cemented Zhou Xuan’s reputation as the eternal third.

“Wei Linxi, first place, 54.13.”

“Li Jing, second place, 54.55.”

“Zhou Xuan, third place, 54.99.”

Three times in third place left everyone marveling at the coincidence and the impressive strength of those ahead of Zhou Xuan.

There was a buzz of conversation; it seemed Zhou Xuan wouldn’t take first in any event. Maybe he’d grab a third-place finish—everyone was thinking the same thing.

“Sigh, third again—he really is the eternal bronze.”

“Haha, as if Zhou Xuan could be that amazing. Just because he’s good at studying doesn’t mean he’s some running prodigy. I was surprised when he took first that one time—thought he was a dark horse!”

“Yeah! Now that the preliminary results are out, Zhou Xuan’s always third, and the gap with Wei Linxi is huge. There’s little hope of him taking first.”

“We hoped for a miracle, but it looks like that’s not happening.”

“How can you say that? This is Zhou Xuan’s first sports meet, and already he’s performing like this—isn’t that the mark of a true dark horse? What right do you have to criticize him, when you wouldn’t even dare to sign up for the race?”

“That’s right! Zhou Xuan’s real strength is in the 1500 and 5000 meters. He just signed up for the sprints for fun. Who are you to judge?”

“Exactly! Zhou Xuan is amazing! He’ll definitely take first in tomorrow’s long-distance race.”

“Tch, do you think the rest of our junior division are just fodder? There are other powerhouses in the long distance, like Wei Linxi. I bet Zhou Xuan won’t make it either.”

“Yeah! Our class’s Li Cheng has come first in the 5000 meters for three meets in a row—what does Zhou Xuan amount to?”

“Teacher Li Yunxi, am I right? Zhou Xuan wants to take first, but he’ll have to get past our class’s Wei Linxi.” Unexpectedly, even the teachers were talking about Zhou Xuan.

“Haha, of course. I have absolute confidence in Zhou Xuan,” replied Li Yunxi, who had run with Zhou Xuan many times.

He’d noticed something odd: when Zhou Xuan ran, his breathing remained steady—even after several kilometers, he wouldn’t break a sweat.

Zhou Xuan himself hadn’t expected that, by conserving his energy a little, he’d end up placing exactly third in the 100, 200, and 400 meters in the preliminaries—such a strange coincidence.

Hearing everyone call him the eternal bronze, and seeing how little hope anyone now had for him taking first, Zhou Xuan no longer expected anything.

He paid it no mind; he knew himself best. When the finals came that afternoon, he’d show them all.

“Miracles are in my hands.

I say, let there be a miracle, and so there shall be.”

That was what Zhou Xuan was thinking.