Chapter 014

After the midterm exam, the autumn sports meet followed.

Ancheng was too hot in October, but in November, the sun was shining, and the wind was cool, just right.

Although high school students focused on studying, they also had to participate in the sports meet. As soon as the break came, the sports committee members began to mobilize everyone.

He Ye lowered her head to do her homework, avoiding eye contact with the physical education committee member.

Apart from her good hands-on ability to doing experiments, she really had no talent in sports or dancing.

Despite her reluctance, the sports committee member still approached her, half-jokingly and half-encouragingly, “He Ye, you’re taller than the other girls. Do you want to sign up for the long jump?”

He Ye shook her head repeatedly. “I really can’t do it.”

In the words of a former physical education teacher, she could probably jump farther by lying down than by jumping.

The sports committee member wanted to persuade her again, but a cold voice came from the back row: “I’m signing up for two track and field events.”

It was Lu Jin.

The sports committee member left immediately, and He Ye breathed a long sigh of relief.

After working hard all morning, the sports committee members finally gathered participants for all the events, except for the last fun team event, which required eight students: four boys and four girls.

During the lunch break, the sports committee member walked directly to the back rows and said, “We need participants for the caterpillar race. The taller you are and the longer your legs are, the more advantages you have. Who’s going?”

Zhou Xiangming glanced at He Ye, grabbed Lu Jin’s hand, and raised it up. “Lu Jin and I are in the same group!”

Lu Jin frowned but said nothing as the sports committee members wrote down their names.

The boys gathered first, and the girls…

Wu Yuanyuan raised her hand and urged her deskmate, He Ye, “Let’s go together? It’s our last year of high school, and it’s a sports meet. We can’t participate in other events, but this is just for fun, and it’s super easy!”

The sports committee member struck while the iron was hot, “Yes, it’s the last year. Everyone should cherish the opportunity and try to leave a special memory for the three years of high school!”

He Ye still didn’t want to go, but maybe it was because Wu Yuanyuan’s eyes of encouragement were too bright, or maybe she was touched by the word “special memory.” Under Wu Yuanyuan’s repeated encouragement, He Ye impulsively nodded.

Wu Yuanyuan was even more excited than He Ye herself. “He Ye has also signed up. Hurry up and make a note of it!”

Zhu Qing in the first row was jealous and envious. “They’re still short of two people. Can I go?”

Zhou Xiangming replied, “You’re tall and have long legs. Go look in the mirror yourself!”

The classmates burst into laughter. Zhu Qing was so angry that she left her seat and grabbed a broom to hit Zhou Xiangming.

The sports meet lasted for three days in total.

After the opening ceremony, non-participating students stayed in the rest area of their respective classes as required.

Different from the passionate first and second-year students, the learning atmosphere in the third year was more intense, and many students brought exercise books.

He Ye was one of them.

Placing a Chinese test paper on her knees, He Ye lowered her head and concentrated on answering the questions. The noise from far and near passed by her ears with the wind but did not divert much of her attention.

“It’s the boys’ turn to run the 800-meter race. Have you seen Lu Jin?”

The familiar name made He Ye raise her head, but the starting point of the 800-meter race was too far away. She glanced casually and then lowered her head again.

After a while, Zhu Qing came over and gently bumped her arm. “Everyone is going to cheer for Lu Jin. Why don’t you go?”

Only then did He Ye realize that the seats around her were almost empty.

If she didn’t go, it would seem like she didn’t care about the collective honor at all.

“Let’s go.”

Pressing the test paper, He Ye followed Zhu Qing to the runway.

With the sound of a gunshot, the first group of participating students rushed out of the starting point at the same time.

Lu Jin was on the outermost track 8, wearing black sportswear, shorts, and a short-sleeved shirt, with a conspicuous athlete number on his chest.

Perhaps it was because of the classmate filter, but He Ye felt that Lu Jin had the best running posture among the eight participants. His legs were long, and his muscles were smooth. He was like a black wind, quickly surpassing the classmates in front of him. After passing the position of Class 8, Lu Jin had already rushed to first place.

By the second lap, Lu Jin’s advantage had become even more obvious.

The wind blew the hair on his forehead, and the warm autumn sun illuminated his handsome face.

He Ye heard Zhu Qing muttering softly, “So handsome…”

He Ye also felt that Lu Jin had reached a new level of excellence.

In addition to admiration, she was also envious. She envied these classmates for being able to enjoy their youth on the field.

He Ye’s youth was filled with nothing but books, nothing special.

After confirming that Lu Jin won the championship in his group, He Ye returned to the rest area and continued answering the questions.

More and more classmates from the class participated in the events, and students in the rest area were walking back and forth. Sometimes girls would sit next to He Ye to ask questions, and sometimes boys would come to chat with her, saying social things that He Ye thought were meaningless.

Suddenly, a figure loomed over from the left.

He Ye turned her head and first saw a pair of slender legs exposed under black sports shorts. Before she could look up, the person sat down on the small bench next to her. This bench clearly belonged to Wu Yuanyuan, who had disappeared.

Facing Lu Jin’s slightly flushed face, He Ye quickly looked at the test paper, her heart in turmoil.

Why is he sitting here?

If Zhu Qing saw this, she would start to make a fuss again.

“Is this your water?”

Lu Jin bent down and picked up a bottle of Nongfu Spring next to the leg of He Ye’s bench.

He Ye nodded without looking away.

Lu Jin asked, “Can I drink it? I’m thirsty.”

He Ye nodded again. The water bottle was still unopened.

Lu Jin unscrewed the bottle cap, tilted his head back, and gulped down a few mouthfuls. Then he stood up and casually rubbed her head like some boys teasing girls. “Borrowed it for now. I’ll return it later.”

After saying that, he left without looking back. His attitude was so natural that it seemed as if he had simply come to He Ye to borrow a bottle of water. Maybe he didn’t even know her; he was just thirsty, and He Ye happened to have some.

The few students watching silently didn’t have any ambiguous guesses.

He Ye’s heartbeat gradually returned to normal, leaving only a lingering tension that quietly formed part of her high school memories.

Fun sports events were scheduled before the closing of the games.

As a contestant, He Ye arrived at the competition venue in advance with Wu Yuanyuan, Lu Jin, and others.

After studying for so many years, this was He Ye’s first time participating in a sports meet.

Class 8 was assigned a sky-blue inflatable caterpillar, with boys and girls sitting on it in staggered seats.

Zhou Xiangming took the initiative to act as the team leader and arranged for the four girls to sit down first. He Ye followed the instructions completely. Just as she sat down and hadn’t looked at the boys, someone suddenly sat astride her from behind. He Ye turned around and saw Lu Jin.

“It’s a pleasure working with you,” Lu Jin said with a smile.

He Ye also smiled, grabbed the ring handle in front, and was ready to set off at any time.

Having long legs does offer an advantage in this game. He Ye only needed to maintain her balance and match the rhythm of her teammates.

The sounds of shouts and cheers blended with the bright sunshine. In this competitive and joyful atmosphere, He Ye forgot the pressure of being watched by her classmates. She concentrated on moving forward and laughed when she saw someone fall down comically.

With a “click,” a classmate who was acting as a photographer came over at some point and took a close-up photo of her as she turned her head slightly.

He Ye: …

She lowered her head in embarrassment.

After reaching the finish line, the excitement of the competition receded like the tide. He Ye, holding Wu Yuanyuan’s hand, ran towards the rest area without looking back.

Fortunately, their class secured second place in the grade, and the prize was a notebook.

The eight notebooks only differed in color. The girls chose first, and He Ye picked one with an apple-green cover.

He Ye was very happy. With this, her high school life finally had a special memory worth remembering.

The next day, He Ye had already forgotten about the sports meet.

After having lunch in the cafeteria, He Ye returned to the classroom and continued reading.

Suddenly, someone in the front row shouted, “He Ye, you’re on our No. 2 Middle School’s official news account!”

He Ye raised her head in confusion.

No. 2 Middle School prohibits students from bringing mobile phones into school, but there are always a few students who break the rules, such as Jiang Lingling, the propaganda committee member who had just shouted.

Afraid that He Ye wouldn’t believe it, Jiang Lingling held her phone up for He Ye to see.

The page was promoting the autumn sports meet of No. 2 Middle School, and He Ye’s photo was displayed in the caterpillar competition column.

In the photo, the girl with a ponytail is smiling youthfully, her eyes are bright, and she is showing two rows of small white teeth.

He Ye didn’t know she could smile like that.

“Hey, is Lu Jin looking at you?” Jiang Lingling belatedly noticed that Lu Jin was also in the frame. He was bathed in sunlight, looking at He Ye with narrow eyes. His usual cold demeanor was replaced by a faint smile and a hint of tenderness.

After Jiang Lingling said this, the other girls who gathered around also started to make ambiguous comments.

“With a snapshot like this, anything can happen. Maybe Lu Jin was just looking ahead,” Chen Xuan analyzed objectively.

He Ye replied, “Yes, that’s it.”

Jiang Lingling wasn’t letting it go, staring at He Ye and laughing, “You seem a little nervous.”

He Ye thought, If any female classmate were about to become the target of gossip, wouldn’t she be nervous?

Zhu Qing could tease her good sister, but she didn’t want others to tease He Ye. “Okay, Jiang Lingling, put your phone away quickly, and be careful not to be seen by the teacher.”

Because He Ye was obviously not the type to fall in love too early, the girls made some jokes and then dispersed.

Before Zhu Qing left, she smiled meaningfully at her good sister.

He Ye: …

When Lu Jin and Zhou Xiangming finished their meal and returned to the classroom, Jiang Lingling raised her cell phone and started making a fuss again.

Lu Jin looked indifferent, neither explaining nor responding, which made Jiang Lingling feel very embarrassed.

After school in the evening, He Ye rode her bike forward intently, hoping that other classmates wouldn’t see her and Lu Jin together, which might spark more suspicion.

Zhou Xiangming looked at her back and gloated at Lu Jin, “I think you should stop calling me Lu Jin and start calling me Lu Xie. Let He Ye avoid me like a snake.”

Lu Jin glanced at him indifferently.

After returning home, Lu Jin checked the No. 2 Middle School’s official account, clicked on the high-definition photo, and saved it to his phone’s photo album.

He Ye in the photo had a particularly beautiful smile.

Lu Jin turned the keychain she gave him and sent a message to He Ye: [Sorry, I caused you trouble with the photo.]

He Ye replied: [It doesn’t matter. Everyone is just making a fuss; we’ll forget about it after a while.]

Lu Jin: [As compensation, I’ll give you a small gift.]

He Ye was stunned. Is this worth giving a gift for?

She quickly sent a message saying, “No need,” but Lu Jin did not respond. Then, he sent her a picture.

He Ye clicked on it and found it was a math problem.

Lu Jin: [It’s a bit difficult. Don’t stay up late.]

He Ye smiled. This gift was good, and she liked it.