Chapter 79 Double Champion, what’s wrong with your leg?

“He’s insane! Who told him to run like that!”

“Which class is that person from? Who told him to lead the race? He’s too malicious, isn’t he?”

“Our class has already been made to throw up by him! He started with a hundred-meter sprint, is he intentionally causing trouble?!”

“Who is this? Does he even know how to run?!”

“From Biyang, what are you saying?” Liu Yang retorted loudly, “We’re from Class Three, what’s wrong? Is our running bothering you?”

“Have some common sense, okay? It’s clearly someone from your class not following the rules! Referee, we want to appeal!”

“Three sports students can’t outrun an Olympiad participant, do they even know how to run!” Liu Yang mocked loudly, “Don’t run anymore, go home and drink milk in your mom’s arms!”

Li Hua pulled Liu Yang, looking embarrassed.

“Brother, brother, calm down, our class is going to get a yellow card warning soon.”

Sports Committee! Are you forcing the school to install soundproof booths on the track?

Li Qingrong was stunned; she returned to the stands. Standing on a slightly elevated spot, she overlooked the four-hundred-meter red track, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Jiang Nian was still leading, having already run three laps. He kept accelerating, causing several runners to throw up and stop directly on the track.

It’s rare for someone to lead a long-distance race from start to finish; usually, runners choose to follow others. They gradually overtake in the middle of the race and sprint in the final lap.

But facing Jiang Nian’s almost abnormal stamina, constantly breaking the wind and widening the gap, the second-place runner was in a tough spot. Not follow? They might gradually fall behind due to wind resistance.

Follow, then? Damn, he’s running too fast, it’s too hard to keep up.

The second-place runner didn’t want to break the wind, so he gritted his teeth and followed. The third-place runner would have the same thought; who in their right mind runs against the wind? Follow! Must follow him!

And so on, the rhythm of the entire long-distance running team was thrown off by Jiang Nian.

Halfway through the race, a large number of people were either throwing up or getting side stitches. Or they simply gave up, running at their own pace.

Only a few sports students were still biting down hard, with three of them taking turns breaking the wind to chase Jiang Nian. But they had expended a lot of energy early on, so they couldn’t wear Jiang Nian down at all.

Jiang Nian, who was leading by half a lap, saw them catching up again and simply accelerated once more.

In the small, self-formed temporary team of three sports students, the guy leading and breaking the wind was charging forward with his head down. He looked up and saw Jiang Nian sprinting ahead, and his mentality instantly exploded.

Damn it! He must be playing Yasuo! So malicious!

Follow, what else can I do?

Not following means losing, only three laps left. If the gap gradually widens, it will probably be impossible to overtake; if you accelerate, he accelerates too, and after a stalemate, you’ll lose.

“Holy cow, Brother Nian has surpassed them by almost half a lap, hasn’t he?” Li Hua looked shocked, turning to Ma Guojun, “If he can lap them, and maintain it, he’s guaranteed to win.”

“Definitely, you saw how guilty he looked last time. I don’t think that thing at Second Middle School was fake,” Ma Guojun said with certainty, adjusting his glasses.

Zhang Ningzhi watched nervously and asked.

“Beibei, how many laps are left?”

“Jiang Nian should have two laps left, he’s running alongside Yu Tongjie now.” Yao Beibei also found it absurd; Jiang Nian was not only malicious but also incredibly strong.

On the track, Yu Tongjie felt like he was dying.

His chest felt like it was on fire, constantly sending signals of pain to his brain. Every two steps he ran, the thought of “maybe I should stop” popped into his head.

It was like a devil, constantly tempting him.

But he also knew that once he gave up, all his efforts would be in vain. Everyone in the class would remember Jiang Nian, and they would also remember a person who quit the race.

He opened his eyes and suddenly found Jiang Nian in front of him.

Huh? He had fallen behind!

At this moment, his mind was in Chaos, unable to sort things out. He only had one thought: at least keep up with Jiang Nian; if they were going to lose, they’d lose together.

Stay close! Absolutely cannot fall behind!

In the stands, from a high vantage point.

From Li Qingrong’s perspective, Jiang Nian had lapped everyone by one and a half laps, catching up to the straggling Yu Tongjie.

Facing a classmate with whom he had previously had a conflict, Jiang Nian chose to slow down. He gave up the chance to break a record, putting aside past grievances to help him break the wind.

He really did.

On the track, Jiang Nian was exasperated; how had Yu Tongjie gotten stuck to him?

He wanted to pull away, but this guy was too close.

People have their limits, and Jiang Nian was not some kind of superhuman. After some thought, he decided to conserve some energy, waiting until the last lap to really push himself.

When Jiang Nian began his explosive sprint, the stands erupted in cheers once again!

He won!!

Zhang Ningzhi was excited, tightly clutching Yao Beibei’s hand. Her arm visibly sank a few centimeters, and even Yao Beibei was firmly held.

No, Xi Bao, you’re deeply hidden!

No wonder Jiang Nian wanted imported mineral water, damn it. If I had known it was this big, who wouldn’t want to drink it!

The moment he crossed the finish line, Yu Tongjie was stunned; how had he finished the race?

The Sports Committee member Liu Yang was still watching him and shouted a reminder.

“Yu Tongjie, you still have one lap, don’t stop!”

At that moment, Yu Tongjie, who was still running at an idle pace, felt the world go dark. Jiang Nian hadn’t fallen behind, he had lapped him, and he had to run another lap even though he was dying!

Jiang Nian stopped and took the mineral water from Zhang Ningzhi’s hand.

He hadn’t even caught his breath, his face was still a bit red, and he looked down to see that it was unopened.

He immediately felt regret. Damn it! Even the champion doesn’t deserve imported mineral water?

Zhang Ningzhi also noticed Jiang Nian’s action of looking down at the water bottle, and her face instantly flushed. This was a secret known only to the two or three of them, but she hadn’t done that.

Imported mineral water was simply too perverse.

She planned to play dead.

Jiang Nian twisted open the bottle cap to rinse his mouth. Xi Bao, full of energy, came over and showed him the photos she had taken. Zhang Ningzhi stood nearby, suddenly feeling a bit gloomy.

Li Qingrong came over at the very end and collected his bib number. As the class monitor, she was aware of Jiang Nian’s request for leave.

“Are you leaving right away?”

“Yes, I’ve already taken leave.” Jiang Nian wiped away some sweat.

Hearing this, Li Qingrong paused, unsure what to say. After a few seconds of silence, as if stuck, she simply stared at Jiang Nian, who couldn’t help but feel nervous.

No, what’s wrong with a double champion looking at legs?

Still holding a grudge?

Li Qingrong’s pink lips parted, and she spoke a simple, unadorned sentence.

“Be careful.”

Jiang Nian: “???? Monitor, how did you know I was going fishing at the reservoir?”

He had said it as a casual joke, but he saw Li Qingrong’s pupils slightly dilate. Her gaze became focused, and she slowly frowned, seemingly pondering what to say.

“No, I was just kidding.” Jiang Nian felt a bit awkward.

Li Qingrong hummed, seemingly sensing his awkwardness. She lowered her gaze and thought for a second, then her lips curved slightly, and a very small smile appeared on her face.

The sports field was bustling, and the starting gun suddenly fired, freezing the scene for a moment.

Vibrant like an oil painting.

Jiang Nian went home, took a shower, and headed straight for the county bus station.

As dusk gradually fell, he walked through the streets with his backpack. Arriving at the brightly lit, dilapidated bus station, short-distance buses to the countryside didn’t require tickets.

You just had to sit on the red and blue plastic chairs in the waiting hall and wait for the ticket seller to shout out the bus’s destination.

The usual format was, “Anyone going to XXX?”

XXX was the final destination.

His and Xu Qianqian’s hometown was the same village, Xiaolongtan Village, at the end of the bus route. It was a village that was neither poor nor particularly developed.

Above it was Longtou Village, and below it were Longwei and Longdong Villages.

Don’t ask me what Longdong is.

Don’t know.

After about half an hour, the last old-fashioned bus to Xiaolongtan Village finally arrived. It was already getting dark, and he glanced down at his phone.

Zhang Ningzhi had sent him a message, asking why he wasn’t at evening self-study.

“Went home, something came up.”

“Oh, oh, the class is watching a movie again.” Zhang Ningzhi replied almost without a pause, and then sent a picture, “【Movie Screen】.”

“What movie?” He got up to catch the bus, casually texting back.

“The Chorus.”

Jiang Nian pulled up his mask. Before he even got close to the dusty bus, his body had already reacted faster. He had to admit, his hometown really had a strong aftereffect!

Ugh!

He got on the bus, found a seat, and put on his newly bought Bluetooth earphones.

After successfully connecting, he finally replied to Zhang Ningzhi’s message.

“You watch it, you won’t shed little pearls, will you?”

“Of course not!”

Jiang Nian glanced at it, smiled, and put his phone away.

The conversation stopped there, by mutual understanding.

Outside the window was the county’s nightscape, and in his earphones, NetEase Cloud Music played a random song. A black vinyl record could be activated for just one cent, but he had never activated it.

An unknown singer’s cover of “Rewind” slowly flowed, 【It should be a happy place, but what you gave was emptiness. Spending holidays alone, can’t find anyone to watch the sea with me.】

Jiang Nian watched the flickering lights outside the window; the bus, moving away from the county, became increasingly desolate. It entered the mountains completely, driving along the quiet road in the darkness.

For no reason, he thought of Li Qingrong from that afternoon.

Quite strange.

But her legs were really white, *slurp slurp*.

He arrived at Xiaolongtan Village at 7:40 PM. After informing his parents of his safe arrival, his cousin from the same clan had already been waiting for a long time, ready to take him home on his motorcycle.

“Brother, can you ride slower?” Jiang Nian couldn’t hold back. The night wind blew, “Did our great-grandmother send you a dream, telling you that you absolutely must take someone down today?”

“Don’t take me! I haven’t even had sex yet!”

His cousin, Jiang Shuisheng, was tall and of average looks, only six years older than Jiang Nian. He had been married for five or six years, having children right on the edge of the policy, which was common in the countryside.

Have children early and many, parents help raise the children, and the couple, after ‘unloading their cargo,’ head south to Dongguang for work.

Work desperately, and if they’re safe and sound, they grow old and return home to help their children raise their grandchildren. If they get sick, they drag it out with medical insurance and the hospital; if they die, they drag it out with civil affairs, all clearly arranged.

It’s not just teachers whose lives are predictable; it’s the same in the countryside.

“Nian, you’ve studied for so many years, why do you still speak so coarsely?” Jiang Shuisheng slowed down his motorcycle, a bit speechless with his younger cousin.

“Holy cow, you’re complaining that I speak coarsely?” Jiang Nian was exasperated, “Aren’t I just trying to go with the flow? Liberate my nature a bit, what’s wrong with speaking coarsely?”

“Your wife and I don’t even use such crude language, your words are as crude as running naked,” Jiang Shuisheng chuckled.

Before long, he dropped Jiang Nian off in front of an old house. After some back and forth about whether he should stay at his place, Jiang Nian eventually got his way.

Vroom vroom! The motorcycle engine roared.

His cousin made a phone gesture, “Call me if there’s a problem.”

“OJBK!”

Cousin: “.”

After the motorcycle left, silence and darkness returned to the surroundings.

Jiang Nian used his phone’s flashlight to unlock the door and entered the courtyard. Asking his cousin about water and electricity issues was useless; he didn’t care about the intricacies of relatives.

After checking, both water and electricity were normal.

Soon, the first and second floors of the three-story building lit up.