Chapter 7: Getting Into Tsinghua Through Sports

“Mind your own business! You’re just jealous that I have a son! Don’t come looking for Xiao again!”

Lin Xiao’s mother glared viciously at Ning Ning before storming off in a fury. Jealous? Jealous that her son has an extra thing but one less brain?

Ning Ning could only shake her head in amusement, full of disdain.

“Sorry, Ning Ning. You got scolded by my mom because of me.”

Just then, Lin Xiao reappeared out of nowhere, speaking from behind so suddenly that Ning Ning jumped. She lowered her head guiltily.

“It’s fine, Xiao. I’ve found your way out!”

Ning Ning patted her head with a radiant smile.

“Huh?”

“Xiao, you have real talent for running. You can try competing to win a gold medal. Later, you could even become a P.E. teacher. Who knows—you might even get into Tsinghua with your athletic specialty. So take the college entrance exam with me. I’ll aim for Tsinghua, and you just need to reach an ordinary university’s score. I’ll tutor you. Nowadays, even a bachelor’s degree is valuable.”

…

Lin Xiao was stunned. She swallowed nervously and reminded her, almost painfully:

“Ning Ning, I didn’t even finish elementary school.”

She had only gone up to fourth grade before her family pulled her out. Back then, her grades weren’t good either. Forget college or Tsinghua—she couldn’t even pass junior high. The only thing she could manage was roasting sweet potatoes.

“That’s fine. You don’t need a high school record to sit for the entrance exam.”

That’s not the problem! Lin Xiao screamed in her heart. But her long-standing dependence on Ning Ning kept her from saying no. Instead, she weakly changed the subject.

“Me, a teacher?”

“That’s just a backup plan. If you can make it to the Olympics, even better—you’ll have more paths to choose from. If not, being a university P.E. teacher is still good.”

Ning Ning said as she pulled Lin Xiao along.

“So first things first: we’ll test your running speed, burst power, and stamina.”

Lin Xiao followed in a daze, barely understanding anything.

Although Ning Ning could roughly gauge distances and times, sprinting required precision down to seconds and milliseconds. Manual timing wouldn’t cut it. After thinking a bit, she realized only Yue Chi might have a stopwatch. So she went to his house.

“Stopwatch? What do you need that for?”

He looked surprised.

“To test Xiao’s running speed. I think she has talent for it. Do you want to come watch?”

She invited him. Yue Chi thought for two seconds, then nodded.

“Alright.”

He took his stopwatch and left with her. From a distance, Lin Xiao saw them walking together. Uneasy, she shrank like a frightened quail.

“B-Brother Yue Chi.”

When they got close, she stammered a greeting, eyes fixed on the ground—the fear of a failing student before the top student.

“Xiao, when I say go, run from here to the first tree, okay? Then come back, and from here, run to the third tree. I’ll be standing there. You just have to run past me. We’ll test 50 meters and 100 meters first, then do long-distance.”

“But Ning Ning, how do you know the distance if you didn’t measure it?”

It was pure curiosity on her part. Ning Ning, on the other hand, was purely confident. Without looking back, she said:

“My eyes are the ruler.”

Hearing this, Yue Chi’s lips curved slightly. Since he was already here, he might as well act as referee. He stood at the start line and called out the signal.

“Xiao, are you ready?”

At that moment, Ning Ning walked to the first tree and waved from afar.

“Ready!”

Lin Xiao shouted back. She steadied herself, imagining her mother chasing behind and Ning Ning ahead as a huge prize of meat. As soon as Yue Chi said “start,” she shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. Her form was sloppy, but her energy was fierce.

50 meters: 7.4 seconds.

100 meters: 12 seconds.

The results were impressive. Both met the standard for a first-class athlete. Yue Chi’s eyes flickered with surprise, while Ning Ning was thrilled and satisfied.

“I knew I wasn’t wrong about you! Xiao, you’re amazing. With no formal training, you’re already at this level. Now let’s test 200 meters and 800 meters.”

Lin Xiao had no idea what the numbers meant, nor what “first-class” or “second-class” athlete referred to. But Ning Ning told her to run, so she ran—never mind how silly it looked to keep running back and forth.

By noon, sweat soaked her clothes and damp hair clung to her forehead. When Ning Ning finally shouted “stop,” she clung to a tree, panting.

“Th-that’s enough, right, Ning Ning?”

“That’s enough. Tomorrow I’ll take you to find a coach.”

Her 200m and 800m times were also good. With a coach to train her and competitions to enter, plus following Ning Ning’s study plan during free time, she could pursue both sports and exams.

Yue Chi, who had observed her whole plan, finally broke his silence.

“I know a sports coach. Tomorrow, I could take you to meet him.”

“That’s perfect! Xiao, aren’t you going to thank Brother Yue Chi for his help?”

Ning Ning nudged her arm, hinting to seize the opportunity. Truly, he was like a walking golden cheat—whatever she needed, he had.

“Thank you, Brother Yue Chi.”

Ding-dong.

“Task One progress +10. Current total: 25.”

“Task Four progress +3. Current total: 36.”

The system’s notifications rang out again. Ning Ning remained calm, pretending not to hear. Even though her survival depended on progress, she never worried—maybe smart people naturally had that kind of confidence.

“What are you all doing, running back and forth like fools?”

Ring, ring, ring. A trendy girl with curled hair, a pinafore dress, shiny leather shoes, and a bicycle stopped beside them. She looked them over with arrogant disdain, her gaze uncomfortable and piercing.

Chen Xinxin. The white-rich-beautiful second female lead from the original book. She liked Xing Yuan, but disdained openly pursuing him like the heroine. Yet she envied the heroine’s boldness and feared Xing Yuan might actually fall for her, so she constantly schemed against her. Later, she even pushed her fake younger sister to drug the male lead, hoping to force herself on him. In the end, the heroine reaped the benefit. A tool character through and through.

Ning Ning also looked her over calmly. Indeed, she qualified as “white, rich, and beautiful.” Just her outfit alone must have cost forty or fifty yuan.

“Talking to a fool.”

“You’re the fool! Brother Xing Yuan’s back—you’re not going to see him?”

Chen Xinxin shot her a sharp look, half-testing, half-mocking.

“He already has a girlfriend. I don’t like him. I told him to get lost.”

Ning Ning lied casually. Chen Xinxin’s face drained of color. She dropped her bicycle and rushed forward, grabbing Ning Ning’s arm with a shrill voice.

“What did you say?! Who’s his girlfriend?!”