The boys from Class 7 don’t do as well academically as those from Class 1, but the boys from Class 1 aren’t as physically robust as those from Class 7.
Both sides were gripping a rope, refusing to give in, all drenched in sweat from exhaustion.
The atmosphere was buzzing with unprecedented excitent; no one wanted to lose, especially the tug-of-war participants whose eyes were almost blazing red.
The sun was still fierce at this hour, and Qingran used her hand to shade her forehead from the sunlight.
She really didn’t want to be squeezed into the sweltering crowd. Zheng Chunming and Ruan Ruan had already thrown themselves wholeheartedly into the excitent of the competition. Judging by their clenched fists, they seed even more nervous than the competitors.
Knowing she couldn’t drag them away, Qingran squeezed through the crowd and went to cool off in the shade of a distant tree.
Under the tree there were already a few plump girls who looked like they might succumb to heat stroke at any mont, probably seeking refuge in the shade out of necessity.
These girls were from Class 7, and Qingran did not know them. She stood a little farther from them and listlessly watched the crowd.
The plump girls behind her apparently recognized Qingran, glanced at each other, and murmured amongst themselves.
One asked, "Isn’t that Li Qingran?"
Qingran was a bit startled when she heard their discussion about her from behind, but she pretended not to hear and continued to watch the noisy crowd.
"Right!?", replied another voice, even more quietly and with a tinge of uncertainty.
If it weren’t for the quietness here, Qingran wouldn’t have been able to overhear their conversation.
Finally, a voice interjected: "What do you an ’right’? She’s definitely Li Qingran. She was all over the school forum for so long recently as the second top of our grade, didn’t you see it?"
"I saw it, but no one posted her picture."
"Her brother is the school bully. Who would dare to post her picture? That’s just asking for trouble."
There was a mont of silence, and Qingran thought the discussion had ended. She was about to sit down when she heard—
"Wow, being a top student is one thing, but why does she also have to be so pretty? Doesn’t leave any room for the rest of us, does it?"
"What’s the use of saying that? She looks good because she has good genes, and if her grades are good it’s because she worked hard for them."
"That’s true. I heard from a friend in Class 1 that Li... spends all her ti in school studying seriously, except when eating."
A murmur of awe: "Wow, that dedicated? No wonder!"
"I really want to ask her how she managed to get second in the grade?"
The girl beside nudged her: "She’s right here, why don’t you ask?"
"I... I don’t dare."
"She’s not the school bully, what’s there to be afraid of?"
"And there’s really nothing to ask, do you know who her deskmate is?"
"I know, the school heartthrob!"
"The heartthrob is also the top student of our grade, with such a deskmate to help and tutor her, isn’t it normal that she would be second in the grade?"
"Cut the crap! By that logic, if anyone sat next to the top student, they could beco second in the grade, right?"
"Well, that also depends on whether our school heartthrob is willing to tutor, don’t you two know that Xie... hadn’t had a deskmate before being with Li...?"
The few girls behind her lowered their voices even more, and Qingran could only catch bits and pieces of their conversation. She didn’t feel like listening anymore and focused on the competition instead.
Following the loud whistle from the P.E. teacher, cheers erupted from the crowd.
It seed the competition was over.
The girls behind her stood up, dusting off their pants.
"The competition’s over, let’s go see which class won?"
"I think it should be our class, we’ve got several heavyweights in our class, we could crush Class 1 with weight alone..."
"Haha! If there were a girls’ competition, with our figures, we’d definitely win too."
They walked past Qingran, but she still showed no interest in going over. It was just a minor competition, after all, she didn’t care which class had won.
Until the competition ended and Xie Ying’an ca over, it was then that Ruan Ruan and Zheng Chunming noticed that Li Qingran was no longer beside them.
Xie Ying’an pushed away the bottled water that a girl handed to him, and gave Ruan Ruan a glance, his look filled with inquiry.
Ruan Ruan was bewildered, and beca even more flustered under Xie Ying’an’s gaze, stuttering as she spoke, "I-I didn’t see Ranran, she was just here, and in the blink of an eye, people..."
With a cold expression, Xie Ying’an ignored Ruan Ruan and strode outside, as the crowd naturally parted to create a path for him.
Song Shize snatched the bottle of mineral water that had just been offered to Xie Ying’an and callously rejected by him.
Rubbing his sore arm, he caught up with Xie Ying’an and asked, "Where to, Xie Ying’an?"
Xie Ying’an had already spotted Li Qingran standing under the shade of a distant tree. His expression lightened slightly, and he turned back with a frown to glance at Song Shize, "Don’t follow!"
How could Song Shize possibly not follow? He didn’t even want to give Li Qingran and Xie Ying’an a second alone.
Adolescent feelings are earnest, always believing that whatever is unattainable is the best, and Song Shize was just such a person.
The uncatchable Li Qingran had seemingly turned into the revered cinnabar mole in his heart.
Faced with such a formidable rival as Xie Ying’an, even knowing his efforts would be fruitless, he stubbornly wanted to compete.
At the very least, he was happy just to be a nuisance to Xie Ying’an.
Both young n, fearful of being one step behind as if Li Qingran wouldn’t see them, almost simultaneously ran in front of her.
Li Qingran paid them no attention as she was staring in another direction, so lost in her trance, taking a long ti to turn back, not even noticing when Song Shize called her.
Xie Ying’an followed Li Qingran’s gaze.
Just one look, the youth’s face darkened, with the prelude to a storm brewing in his dark eyes. His brows were furrowed, lips tightly pressed into a straight line, hands clenched into fists at his sides.
Song Shize, about to speak to Xie Ying’an, was startled as he turned and saw Xie Ying’an’s expression.
Truth be told, he hadn’t seen Xie Ying’an sport such a look for quite so ti, rembering the last occasion was at a KTV, when he first had his mouth get the best of him, taunting Xie Ying’an over the phone, only to have Xie Ying’an rush over and, without a word, beat him to a pulp, landing him in the hospital.
Recalling the pain of his loose teeth, Song Shize instinctively took a step back, only then noticing that both Li Qingran and Xie Ying’an were looking in the sa direction.
Song Shize also looked over, and just with one glance, he blurted out, "Holy shit!"
A young man stood far from the crowd, tall and slim dressed in all black, with a black hat, his entire being seemingly luminescent.
He too looked in their direction, too far to discern any expression.
But under the shade, all three of them knew, that person was the once-fad figure of the campus—Ji Yanchen, God Ji!
Song Shize awkwardly asked, "Why has Ji Yanchen co back?"
Wasn’t he abroad receiving treatnt for an illness?
No one answered him, as the two beside him didn’t know the answer either.
Song Shize didn’t expect an answer anyway.
Ji Yanchen, from a distance, adjusted his cap and then suddenly strode towards them.
Song Shize exclaid again, pointing behind Ji Yanchen, "Wow! Why is there a girl following him?"
Only then did Li Qingran co back to her senses and looked beyond Ji Yanchen; a petite girl dressed in black, initially hidden by Ji Yanchen and the shadows.
The girl seed to be saying sothing to Ji Yanchen, but he kept walking without any reaction.
Upon closer approach, Li Qingran’s gaze t with the girl’s across the space. The girl paused, her large eyes instantly curving down, and she quickly walked a few steps to stand in front of Li Qingran, extending her hand, "Nice to et you, Qingran. I’m Mi Xiao."
It was clear that she knew Li Qingran.
But Li Qingran didn’t recognize her, rely nodding at Mi Xiao and trying to force a smile, yet ultimately unable to.
"Nice to et you, Mi Xiao."
Mi Xiao smiled happily, "Oh, Qingran, I think you’re even prettier than Aunt Cui described."
Li Qingran gave Mi Xiao a stiff smile. She looked beyond Mi Xiao and, after a long while, was the first to break the silence.
"God Ji," Li Qingran said, "long ti no see."
The indifference and distance in her tone slightly relaxed Xie Ying’an’s tensed nerves.
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