Chapter Forty-Three: The Contest

“Students participating in the boys’ 100-meter final in the junior high division, please gather at the starting point immediately.”

The announcement echoed three times in quick succession as the clock struck two o’clock. The crowd, previously scattered across the field, surged toward the boys’ 100-meter track, eager to witness the final. The sports field at No. 2 Middle School was a spacious soccer pitch, and since no stands had been constructed, everyone could only stand along the track to watch. Those who preferred a more distant view sat on the steps between the teaching building and the field.

Built at the foot of the mountain, the campus stretched upward: the new teaching building, the administration building, the old teaching building, followed by the teachers’ dormitory, and to the west, both teachers’ and students’ dormitories. The height difference meant there were more than thirty steps between the sports field and the new teaching building, making the steps an ideal vantage point. Some even ventured into the corridors of the six-story teaching building; from there, one could see the entire sports meet, though the distance made details indistinct.

At this moment, students from the junior high section gathered everywhere—beside the track, on the steps, and even in the teaching building. They all wondered: Would Wei Linxi dominate the afternoon’s race? Could Zhou Xuan win a place, and perhaps even create a miracle?

Zhou Xuan, wearing canvas shoes, walked slowly to the starting point. He glanced at his competitors, his face calm and inscrutable, betraying nothing of his thoughts.

Wei Linxi, noticing Zhou Xuan’s canvas shoes, said to Luo Fei with a sneer, “Does he think he can win wearing those? Where does his confidence come from?”

Luo Fei looked at Zhou Xuan’s shoes and chuckled, “Don’t forget, he ran under twelve seconds in the preliminaries.”

Wei Linxi laughed, “Sure, the preliminaries show some ability, but I don’t believe that’s all he’s got. Luo Fei, I know you always hold back a little.”

“Haha, same goes for you!” Luo Fei’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Wei Linxi.

Having always come second to Wei Linxi, Luo Fei felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction. Though he was consistently runner-up, people only remembered the champion; being second or lower hardly made a difference. After a year of relentless practice, Luo Fei’s goal was to defeat Wei Linxi and claim first place. Yet Wei Linxi’s run under eleven seconds yesterday had doubled the pressure.

As for Zhou Xuan, he was collectively ignored by the two. If he dared to challenge them, the finals would soon show him their true strength.

Seeing the contemptuous smiles of Luo Fei and Wei Linxi, Zhou Xuan grinned in return—a bright, dazzling smile.

He never considered them his true rivals. Ever since agreeing to participate in the sports meet at the request of Teacher Li Yunxi, Zhou Xuan’s target was never his schoolmates. His ambition was directed at Teacher Li’s nemesis, Wang Wei from City No. 3 Middle School, and Wang’s star pupil, Zheng Qiang, the holder of the city student sports meet 100-meter record at 10.89 seconds.

Faced with their dismissiveness, Zhou Xuan almost wanted to tell them they weren’t even qualified to be his competitors.

He looked around, noticing no one was speaking to him—he seemed collectively ostracized once again. Touching his nose, Zhou Xuan thought, “Soon, I’ll show them what it means to sweep the field!”

Just as Zhou Xuan believed he was being ignored, a student nearby introduced himself, “Zhou Xuan, care for a quick introduction? I’m Li Jing from Class Three.”

Zhou Xuan was surprised that Li Jing would come over to meet him, and his opinion of him rose. He shook Li Jing’s hand and smiled, “Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Li Jing regarded Zhou Xuan with admiration and envy, recalling his brilliance in academics and now his athletic talent. Having been well brought up, Li Jing knew not to indulge in jealousy; seeing others distance themselves from Zhou Xuan, he deliberately went the other way and befriended him.

For junior high students, arguments and scuffles were trivial, soon forgotten. Li Jing was more mature than most—this was his genuine perspective.

“You seem very confident about today’s finals!” Li Jing remarked, eyeing Zhou Xuan’s canvas shoes in admiration for his daring.

But he didn’t underestimate Zhou Xuan; if Zhou Xuan dared sign up for the sprint, he must be confident of success. Otherwise, he could just have entered the 1500-meter and 5000-meter races.

Li Jing, also a boarding student, knew Zhou Xuan ran every day and was formidable in long-distance. He had witnessed Zhou Xuan beat Teacher Li Yunxi in a race.

Finding Li Jing interesting, Zhou Xuan smiled, “I entered the race on short notice, so I didn’t really prepare. Just do my best—the process matters most, don’t you think?”

“Haha, Zhou Xuan, you’re too modest. I saw you beat Teacher Li myself.”

Zhou Xuan hadn’t expected Li Jing to know about that Monday morning incident, which explained his earlier comment. “That was Teacher Li going easy on me. Otherwise, how could I possibly win against a graduate from a sports university?”

Li Jing smiled, clearly unconvinced by Zhou Xuan’s explanation.

Just then, the teacher responsible for starting the race called everyone to get ready—the competition was about to begin.

Everyone returned to their lanes: Zhou Xuan in lane four, Wei Linxi in the middle lane five, Luo Fei in lane six, Li Jing in lane three—the top four from the preliminaries.

On the eve of the race, remembering Li Jing’s friendliness, Zhou Xuan passed by him and said, “Good luck.”

As he reached his own lane, Wei Linxi beside him looked over. In his gaze was the usual disdain; Zhou Xuan smiled lightly, full of confidence, raised his right hand to signal “one,” and pointed to himself.

“First place is mine!” Zhou Xuan declared boldly, leaving Wei Linxi convinced of his arrogance.

“Heh, keep dreaming, kid!”

Their pre-race exchange was noticed by spectators nearby, sparking a lively debate.

“Zhou Xuan is way too arrogant. Is he trying to provoke Wei Linxi?”

“He thinks a bit of academic success makes him invincible.”

“Just wait and see Zhou Xuan fall behind and finish in disgrace…”

Even Zhou Lin, Zhou Xuan’s strongest supporter, was puzzled. “Hey, Xuan, you’re a bit too high-profile. Why not just quietly take third place?”

“Yeah, it’s already impressive for Zhou Xuan to place in his first sprint,” Zhuo Lian said, worried about Zhou Xuan and unsure what more to say.

Yu Xiaoling, the close friend of campus beauty Liu Yixue, had never liked Zhou Xuan. “Look, Yixue. Zhou Xuan is truly arrogant. Isn’t the outcome obvious?”

“I believe in Zhou Xuan. He can do it!” Liu Yixue’s words shocked Yu Xiaoling.

“Yixue, don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for Zhou Xuan?”