Volume One: High School Days Chapter Thirteen: The Sports Festival Where Yagyu Stole the Spotlight

At seven o’clock on Saturday morning, Yusheng arrived punctually at the school gate, waiting for the bus that would take them to the district sports meet. Standing at the entrance with his fellow team members, each holding a pancake and a cup of soybean milk, they shivered in the chilly late October morning as they waited for the school bus.

During their chatter, the school gate opened, and a yellow bus drove out. At that moment, Teacher Han poked her head out from the bus and called, “Get on.”

Once the team members boarded, their only activity was eating, paying no attention whatsoever to the sports teachers’ reminders.

At eight o’clock, they were at the sports field. After the district leaders finished their speeches, each school’s parade team began to enter the field in turn. As captain of Xinghai City Seventh High School’s sports team, Yusheng led at the very front, holding aloft the school’s flag.

In the stands, one person’s gaze never left Yusheng, watching his every move. Seeing him in his school uniform, holding the Seventh High School flag, her heart surged with excitement. This was Xiaoya, who had come early to watch Yusheng compete.

Xiaoya herself became a picturesque sight in the stands. Though she looked a little tired, sitting among others, she still stood out. Students, teachers, and parents nearby couldn’t help but glance her way from time to time.

The Seventh High School’s parade team approached the podium and shouted their slogan, “I love sports and studying. Sports make me happy, studying makes my mom happy. If my mom is happy, my whole family is happy!”

Yusheng’s voice was the loudest when shouting the slogan, making everyone in the stadium burst into laughter. Xiaoya on the stands laughed so hard she clutched her stomach and bent double, but still didn’t forget to record the moment on her phone.

All the teachers leading Seventh High School were stunned—this wasn’t the original slogan. In fact, Yusheng had come up with it, rallying the parade students before entering, resulting in this hilarious scene.

The district leaders on the podium also laughed. One leader then approached Seventh High School’s principal, saying, “Your students seem very filial and creative. Nowadays, students should preserve traditional education while innovating new things.”

Initially tense at their actions, the principal relaxed after hearing the leader’s words.

When all the parade teams had entered, the district leaders and school principals stood on the podium. The district leader gave a brief speech, and then the Xinghai City Hedong District athletics meet for primary and secondary students officially began.

Yusheng’s 100-meter sprint was scheduled for the morning, and the 4x100 relay for the afternoon. The elementary and junior high divisions competed first, and only after they finished would the high school division begin. So Yusheng headed to the stands to sit beside Xiaoya.

Seeing him sit, Xiaoya immediately hooked her arm through his, resting her head on his shoulder.

People in the stands, watching the girl they’d been paying attention to now leaning on another boy, showed unfriendly expressions.

Suddenly Yusheng realized he was, after all, a student—not in 2019—and that the school prohibited early romantic relationships. He gently pushed Xiaoya away and whispered, “I’m a student—there are so many teachers and students here, it doesn’t look good!”

The crowd saw Yusheng push Xiaoya away and thought, “What’s wrong with this guy? Doesn’t he know how lucky he is? Such a beautiful girl—what’s the harm in letting her lean on him?”

Some time passed.

“Students competing in the high school 100-meter sprint, please report to the check-in area,” the stadium loudspeaker blared.

“Alright, you stay here and watch. I’m getting ready to go.” Yusheng spoke to Xiaoya, then headed straight for the check-in area.

After check-in, all high school 100-meter runners entered the track. Walking on the 400-meter oval, Yusheng felt a surge of excitement—he hadn’t expected to have another chance to pour out his passion on the field.

He removed the headphones from his ears, tangled them with his phone and tucked them into his jacket pocket. Then he took off his outerwear, revealing a red-and-yellow track uniform with “Xinghai City Seventh High School 099” emblazoned across it. From his backpack, he pulled out a pair of red-and-white Nike track spikes.

As he changed into the spikes, all his opponents stared at the dazzling shoes, which looked remarkably high-end. Yusheng had ordered them online, just to show off during the competition.

Not far away in the stands, Xiaoya watched Yusheng. His muscular build made her swoon all over again. Yusheng was the type who looked slim in clothes, but muscular when he took them off—muscles!

First came the preliminaries: eight runners per group, six groups in total. The top eight by time would advance to the finals.

As the referee assigned each athlete to their group and lane, the high school 100-meter race officially began.

“On your marks! Set! Bang!” With the starter’s gun, Yusheng, in the first group, shot forward like an arrow. Eight lanes, eight runners—once Yusheng took the lead, no one else could catch up.

He crossed the finish line first, a red lightning bolt, clocking 10.98 seconds to win his group. In the final that followed, Yusheng showed no mercy, taking first place with a time of 10.46 seconds.

After the race, Yusheng dressed and left the track. Wherever he went, people stared at him as if he were a phenomenon.

Meanwhile, various athletics events continued in the stadium. Yusheng returned to his school’s area with the other team members and teachers.

“Nice job, Yusheng! You’ve brought honor to your teachers today. I’ll give you an extra drumstick at lunch!” Teacher Han said, hugging Yusheng. The other team members excitedly recounted the scene they had just witnessed.

“Yusheng, how did you get so strong? You’re way better than you were in junior high. We’re counting on you for the 4x100 relay this afternoon!” said the other three relay runners.

Yusheng grinned smugly. “It’s all talent, nothing to do with hard work. Hahaha! By the way, everyone—my family’s hotpot restaurant opens tomorrow. Come along, food and drink are on me. Let’s have a lively time together!”

Hearing this, his classmates’ eyes sparkled. Teacher Han turned to the other teachers, saying, “Looks like we’ll get a free meal tomorrow too.” The teachers all thanked Yusheng in advance.

“Congratulations to Xinghai City Seventh High School’s number 099, Yusheng, for breaking the Hedong District 100-meter sprint record with a time of 10.46 seconds!” the stadium loudspeaker repeated three times.

All the Seventh High School team members and teachers cheered.

Amid the joy, a van drove up. Everyone complained, “Why are we eating in the school cafeteria again? Can’t we go out for once? Such a big school, why so stingy?”

It was the school cafeteria van. When the doors opened, inside were two big boxes and a huge pot of stewed drumsticks. The boxes held four dishes, rice, and soup. Each person received four dishes, soup, and a drumstick.

Just as Yusheng was about to eat, he remembered Xiaoya was there. “Give me another portion!” he said. Teacher Han replied, “Yusheng performed well today. Cafeteria chef, give him another serving.”

With two meals in hand, Yusheng hurried to the stands, found Xiaoya still seated, and handed her one portion, saying, “It’s our school’s food—hope it’s alright.”

Xiaoya tasted it and looked at Yusheng. “It’s delicious. You’re amazing, breaking the record. If only I’d known you years ago. I wish I could have been your classmate.”

“If we’d met years ago, I’d have been a junior high or elementary student—what use would that be?” Yusheng replied, watching the students playing basketball in the center of the field.

“Captain, aren’t you going to introduce us?” called a junior high teammate from the entrance steps of the stands.

Yusheng quickly turned his head and snapped, “Get lost! You’re everywhere!”

Xiaoya set her half-eaten meal aside, stood, and stretched. Yusheng was entranced by her slender waist. Xiaoya suddenly turned to look at him, and he hurriedly lowered his head.

“Don’t let youth leave regrets. Enjoy your student days—they’re the happiest time of your life. Cherish the people in front of you, and treat your classmates well,” Xiaoya said softly to Yusheng.

Just as Yusheng was about to speak, Xiaoya cut him off. “Thank you for lunch—it was delicious. Don’t complain about things so easily in the future. Only by facing everything with a smile will you gain everything. I have to go now.”

After walking a few steps, Xiaoya turned back. “You looked handsome today, so do your best this afternoon. I’ll come to watch you again tomorrow.”

Yusheng smiled as he watched Xiaoya leave, thinking, “If you were always by my side, you’d certainly help me become better and better. You’re like a guide for my life, always helping me face everything calmly. If possible, you’d be a wonderful choice.”

At that moment, Yusheng’s heart gradually warmed because of Xiaoya, and only when she disappeared from sight did he pick up his leftover meal and return.

When Yusheng came back, everyone looked at him and grinned mischievously. Yusheng glanced at the teammate who had seen him with Xiaoya. The boy quickly said, “It wasn’t just me who saw! Why are you looking at me?”

Yusheng knew he’d told the others, but said nothing more. Teacher Han spoke, “You’re a student, I’m a teacher. There are things I don’t need to spell out—I’ll just pretend I don’t know.”

Another PE teacher joked, “You didn’t see it, did you? How would you know?”

Teacher Han always looked after Yusheng. No matter what mistakes Yusheng made, as long as his nature wasn’t bad, Teacher Han would always protect him.

That afternoon, Yusheng watched the excitement until five o’clock, when the high school 4x100 relay began. Yusheng ran the first leg, as he was the fastest and most professional starter among the four.

After Yusheng’s opening leg, the distance from their opponents had already increased, making it easy for the next three. They ultimately won first place in the relay.

With the relay ended, the first day of competition drew to a close. Everyone boarded the school bus and returned to school.

After getting off, Yusheng didn’t linger. He hopped on his electric scooter and went home. On the way, he sent Xiaoya a text: “Today’s competition is over. Will you come tomorrow?”

He then called Ren Xiadong’s home—since Ren didn’t have a mobile yet, he called the landline.

“Hello, who’s this?” Ren answered. Yusheng wasted no words: “Tomorrow my family’s hotpot restaurant opens. Tell the whole class to come for dinner tomorrow night—everything’s free.”

After hanging up, he still hadn’t received a text from Xiaoya. Yusheng inevitably felt anxious and a bit disappointed. When he got home and finished dinner, his phone finally rang.

He hurriedly opened it—it was Xiaoya’s message: “Are you tired? Get some rest. I didn’t notice my phone earlier. I’ll come early tomorrow to watch your competition.”