Chapter 23: Sports Day Registration

Jiang Bozhou quickly shoved the thought of extra lessons to the back of his mind, then flopped over his desk with a groan.
“Signing up for the sports meet is harder than solving a killer physics problem!”

He snatched up the registration form from his desk, the paper crinkling noisily in his grip.

“I’m the proud PE rep of Class One. I spent the whole break calling everyone to recruit them, but even now we still don’t have enough people to fill the roster!”

Wen Yannan didn’t even look up from his physics notes. “Isn’t that pretty normal?”

He pushed up his glasses.
“Even if you sign up, you still have to train. And the midterm is right before the sports meet.”

“No way, no way!” Jiang Bozhou suddenly sat bolt upright, grabbing both Chi Ling and Wen Yannan by the wrist, his eyes gleaming like a wolf spotting prey.

“Come on, bros, save me! Sign up for the hardest events!”

Expressionless, Chi Ling pulled his hand back. “…One thousand meters.”

“Knew I could count on you, Ah Ling!” Jiang Bozhou beamed, then turned to Wen Yannan with expectant eyes.

Wen Yannan sighed. “Three thousand meters.”

“You guys are the best!” Jiang Bozhou’s energy was instantly restored. He bounced off to pester other classmates.

“Hey, beauty, with looks like yours, why not sign up for the long jump?” he said to a girl in class, smiling ingratiatingly like a salesman desperate to close a deal.

She burst out laughing. “Jiang Bozhou, cut it out. I’ll think about it.”

Sensing an opening, Jiang Bozhou pressed on.
“No need to think! You’re a natural athlete—long jump will be a breeze for you. And who knows, maybe you’ll shine at the meet and become the class star.”

The girl blushed and tilted her head back. “I-I think I’ll just do shot put…”

Jiang Bozhou’s smile froze. “Huh? S-shot put… great! Perfect for you!”

Forcing himself to write her name down, he turned away muttering under his breath, “We’re doomed… our girls’ shot put is gonna be dead last…”

Meanwhile, in Class Seven’s room, the bell had just rung when PE rep Zhang Suo hopped onto the podium with a registration form in hand.

He slapped the desk loudly and shouted,
“Quiet down! Sports meet is on November fourth. If you want to win glory for the class, get over here and sign up now! Don’t wait until you’re drafted as cannon fodder!”

Song Xingran shot up from her seat, grabbing Lin Yumo’s arm and shaking it.
“Little Jasmine, what event are you signing up for? I haven’t decided yet!”

Lin Yumo tilted her head in thought, her eyes curving into pretty crescents.
“I’ll do high jump. You’d better decide fast, or you’ll be stuck with the three-thousand-meter run!”

“What? No way!” Song Xingran waved her hands frantically. “I’m still growing; no way I can do jump rope or endurance. I’ll just do the hundred-meter dash—just a quick sprint! Come on, Little Jasmine, let’s go!”

The two squeezed to the front of the podium.

“I’ll do high jump,” Lin Yumo said softly. “Song Xingran will do the hundred-meter dash.”

Zhang Suo looked up, saw it was Lin Yumo, and his eyes lit up, the corners of his mouth curling up without him realizing.
“Alright! No problem! Any other events?”

From the side, Song Xingran shook her head furiously. “Nope, just those two!”

Then she dragged Lin Yumo back to their seats, the two of them chattering about what sneakers to wear for the big day.

…

The next day during the big break, sunlight slanted across the corridor while the broadcast speakers blared an upbeat march.

Hugging a folder stuffed with test papers, Lin Yumo walked straight toward the physics office over the tiled floor.

The office door was half-closed. She knocked three times, and after hearing a “Come in,” she carefully pushed it open.

The physics teacher, wearing black-rimmed glasses, was bent over correcting assignments. Seeing her, he pointed to an empty chair beside him.
“Sit down. What tricky problems have you brought today?”

Lin Yumo pulled out her chair and sat down, spreading her test paper and notebook across the desk. She tapped a finger lightly on a problem about electromagnetic induction.
“Teacher, I still don’t quite understand the force analysis on this one.”

The teacher picked up a red pen and began circling and marking on the test paper, explaining patiently:
“Look, your judgment of the direction of the Ampère force here was wrong—it should follow the left-hand rule…”

Sunlight filtered through the gap in the window, drifting between their overlapping shadows. Lin Yumo listened attentively, nodding from time to time, her pen moving quickly over her notes.

After clearing up her question, the teacher flipped through her test paper again, marking a few key problems with the red pen.
“These are high-frequency exam topics—make sure to review them carefully later.”

With the paper now full of annotations, Lin Yumo returned to the classroom. By the time she pushed the door open, it was already full of students.

Song Xingran was lying on her desk in a daze. The moment she saw Lin Yumo walk in, she shot up excitedly.
“Jasmine! You missed it today!”

She lowered her voice in excitement.
“Ling God went up to give a speech as the year’s top student—still just as handsome! It’s such a pity you didn’t see it!”

Lin Yumo smiled and spread her paper out on the desk.
“The physics teacher went over some key problems. I need to organize my notes while it’s still fresh.”

Her gaze fell on the bright red annotations, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the paper’s edge.

Song Xingran was about to say more when the class bell rang.

The final bell of the afternoon rang particularly crisp. Lin Yumo quickly packed her bag, slipping the materials for the competition class into a separate folder.

Resting her chin on her hand, Song Xingran watched her bustle around and sighed dramatically.
“Jasmine, I won’t see you during evening study anymore—it’s going to be so lonely.”

Lin Yumo zipped her backpack and poked her friend’s cheek with a smile.
“Isn’t that a good thing? Now you get both desks to yourself.”

The slanting sunlight from outside sprinkled golden flecks along her eyelashes.

Song Xingran’s exaggeratedly pitiful look crumbled instantly.
“Alright, alright—then you work hard in the competition class. Let’s go eat.”

They packed up and walked toward the cafeteria together.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long on the ground. Along the way, Song Xingran chattered away:
“Jasmine, you joined the math competition class?”

Lin Yumo nodded, her fingers absently rubbing the strap of her bag.

The fiery clouds at the horizon caught in her eyes, scattering shards of light.

“Jasmine, you’re actually in the same competition class as Ling God!”

Song Xingran suddenly leaned closer, lowering her voice mysteriously.
“I heard he’s been preparing for competitions since junior high. His family’s study is full of competition books…”

Her eyes lit up.
“Oh, oh! By the way!”

Before Lin Yumo could react, Song Xingran grabbed her wrist.
“If you run into Ling God, could you…”

She pulled a face.
“…help me find out if he really has an eight-pack? The school forum’s going crazy over it…”

“Song Xingran!”
Lin Yumo nearly choked on her own saliva, the tips of her ears flushing scarlet.

She reached out to cover her friend’s mouth, but Song Xingran dodged nimbly, pulling another face at her.

Jogging to catch up, Song Xingran hooked her arm through Lin Yumo’s with a grin.
“Kidding~ But seriously…”

Her tone suddenly turned sincere.
“He’s really good. You should ask him for help with physics questions.”

Lin Yumo gave a quiet “mm,” her grip on the bag strap tightening unconsciously.

She suddenly recalled that day in the library—Chi Ling’s long fingers flowing across the scratch paper as he wrote out each step of the solution, elegant and effortless.

“Come on, if we’re any later there won’t be any food left in the cafeteria.”
Lin Yumo shook her head, brushing away the messy thoughts.