"The second round of Group A's matches has reached a fever pitch!"
"Currently holding possession of the ball on the court is the Track and Field Club captain, Owen. He has already broken into the penalty area!!"
"Bam!"
"A layup! A beautiful layup!"
"The winner of this match is the Track and Field Club!!"
On the field, whenever it was the Track and Field Club's turn to compete, the atmosphere in the stands beca extrely enthusiastic.
Many girls crowded around Gongzi as they walked down the spectator stands, but the shy girl only went as far as the bottom tier, waving at Owen below.
"Hurry, blow him a kiss! Blow him a kiss!"
"Eh? That's too..."
During the matches, many mbers from the cultural clubs also went down to perform.
A senior and junior female student from the Dance Club perford an Otaku Dance that utterly captivated the mbers of the Computer Club.
Well, there were also a few little geniuses from the inner courtyard engaging in opportunistic business, selling water and snacks in the spectator stands. They ended up being chased all over the place by Ashley and the Disciplinary Committee.
"In the second round, the Doujinshi Society, which successfully defeated the Soccer Club in the long jump, seems to be locked in a bitter struggle. The Swimming Club currently holds the lead in the score!"
"The Swimming Club is up two to one! With just one more point, the Swimming Club will eliminate the Doujinshi Society!!"
"Student Spencer seems to be in poor form. Ah, that offensive move was a complete blunder! From the looks of it, Student Spencer's Doujinshi Society is about to be pushed into a corner!"
"..."
"Alright, congratulations to the Doujinshi Society on their victory. Please, Student Spencer, give us your victory speech."
In contrast, whenever it was the Doujinshi Society's match, almost everyone cheered for their opponents.
As soon as they saw the Doujinshi Society's opponents falling behind, the crowd would start cursing, and then go back to doing their own things.
In the entire venue, only Yurianna's comntary remained highly spirited, as if she had an endless supply of vitality.
"Now then, after several rounds of fierce competition, the spots for the grand finals have been decided. They are the Track and Field Club and the Doujinshi Society."
"Will both sides please send a representative to draw the final competition event. Following a forty-minute break, the finals will officially begin at 11 o'clock!"
"..."
"Alright, the final event drawn by both sides is... oh my, is it a track and field event?!"
"The final competition event for both sides is..."
"The 4x400 ter relay race!!"
Rest ti.
"Captain! Captain!!"
Hua Zhaofeng rushed toward the Track and Field Club's rest area in a panic. At this mont, there were quite a few people coming and going inside.
There was Gongzi's group of best friends who had teased her into coming down from the spectator stands to visit her boyfriend, the parents of the Track and Field Club mbers, and many other people from outside schools who had co to observe and learn.
Mainly from Shuurei Academy.
Many students from the inner courtyards of the two schools knew each other. Even if they weren't close friends, they had t before when their parents brought them along to gatherings.
At this mont, Hua Zhaofeng squeezed through the crowd. From a distance, he saw Owen standing in front of Gongzi and her parent, scratching the back of his head in an immature manner.
"Captain!"
Hearing Hua Zhaofeng's voice, Owen turned his head and gave him a sunny smile.
"Yo, you're here. Perfect timing. Auntie, let
introduce you. This is the manager of our Track and Field Club, Hua Zhaofeng, a friend of mine."
"Hello, I am Gongzi's mother, Nijo Kaoru."
Just as Hua Zhaofeng was about to say sothing, he noticed the elegantly dressed woman standing next to Gongzi, and his expression imdiately grew tense.
Gongzi's father was the Director of the Departnt of Finance in Linn, and the woman before him was his wife, who held a position in the Departnt of Education.
"A-Auntie, hello."
"Mm. Well then, Owen, do your best in the upcoming match. Auntie won't bother you young people anymore. Good luck."
"Will do, Auntie."
Owen nodded, intending to see her off, but Gongzi gave him a reproachful look and said affectionately,
"You go prepare for your match. I'll see Mama off myself."
"Co on, as if I don't know you. I can head back on my own. You stay here and keep Owen company."
Nijo Kaoru smiled faintly, patted her daughter's head, and then turned to leave the Track and Field Club area alone.
Owen watched her leave, then grabbed a bottle of mineral water. As they walked further into the club area, he asked Hua Zhaofeng,
"By the way, what's wrong? Why were you in such a panic?"
"Oh, right."
Hua Zhaofeng snapped back to his senses, hurriedly catching up with Owen and Gongzi. He chuckled,
"It's nothing major. I just saw the Student Council President of Shuurei Academy earlier. She wished you good luck, Captain, and asked
to pass the ssage along."
"Hah, she couldn't even be bothered to see
herself and had to pass along her encouragent. That really does sound like sothing she'd do."
Owen and Gongzi took their seats, and Hua Zhaofeng sat down beside him.
Hua Zhaofeng glanced at Owen's thoughtful expression before asking carefully,
"So, Captain, about the finals..."
"I've already picked the participants. For the boys, it'll just be
and the vice-captain. As for the girls, it'll be the Cooper sisters from Class C."
"Those twins? That's great! Doesn't that an we're guaranteed to win?"
Upon hearing the na "Cooper sisters," a hint of joy appeared on Hua Zhaofeng's face, seemingly well aware of the strength of the Track and Field Club's twin blossoms.
However, seeing the confidence brimming on his face, Owen simply smiled faintly and said,
"Don't celebrate too early. Actually, the way I see it, it won't be that easy to win."
"Huh?"
The joyful expression that had just ford on Hua Zhaofeng's face slightly froze. Then, he asked blankly,
"Not that easy to win... really?"
"You know, despite being the manager of the Track and Field Club, you are utterly ignorant about track and field. I really have to hand it to you."
Although he said that, Owen didn't an to bla him. Instead, he began to explain the specifics to Hua Zhaofeng.
"I've told you before, the 400-ter is a very difficult race.
"There are quite a few in the club who train for sprints. We have plenty of strong runners for the 50-ter and 100-ter dashes. We also have many who train for long-distance, perfectly capable of running 1,000 or 5,000 ters...
"But the 400-ter alone, this event that sits right between a sprint and a long-distance run—almost no one truly specializes in it.
"The training thods for long-distance and sprinting are completely different. Most people would rather train for the 50 or 100-ter dashes than tackle the devilish 400-ter.
"Can they run it? Sure, they can run it. After all, it's just one lap around the track. But if you ask how well they run it... at least in my eyes, most people's performance is just average."
Hua Zhaofeng swallowed his saliva and said nervously,
"But that bunch from the Doujinshi Society are nothing but stinking fish and rotten shrimp..."
"We both watched the first long jump event. Tatsuya Sakawa and Jiang Yun are at an average level, and that chubby guy actually has decent stamina."
Owen stroked his chin, carefully recalling the physical attributes of the various Doujinshi Society mbers he had observed.
"What surprised
was that Nino... He's practiced track and field before, and his physical condition is excellent. You're in charge of recruitnt for the Track and Field Club; do you rember him?
"He's already a sophomore. Why didn't he join the Track and Field Club during his freshman year?"
At the ntion of this, Hua Zhaofeng's expression turned awkward.
He secretly glanced over at Gongzi and whispered,
"He did apply back then. It was just that later on, it seed like our club's Senior Arai's ex-girlfriend had so sort of dubious relationship with him. So, the whole thing just fell through."
"...Is that the incident where Arai claid his girlfriend was being harassed?"
"Yeah..."
Owen shot Hua Zhaofeng a speechless look, but didn't judge other people's private matters any further, simply dropping the topic of Nino.
What surfaced in his mind instead was Spencer's textbook long jump form from earlier.
"The most crucial factor is that Spencer."
"..."
Hua Zhaofeng didn't speak this ti, as he knew full well how strong Spencer was.
"When I beat her in the 100-ter dash earlier, honestly speaking, it felt like an unfair win.
"At that ti, I watched her run the 400-ter with Gongzi's friend, the one nad Ye Shiyu. It was obvious at a glance that she hadn't received any specialized training.
"Her running posture, her breathing frequency—everything was wrong.
"Running like she did back then ant a large portion of her body's potential went untapped. But in the past few matches just now, her posture has been extrely standard... No, I should say professional.
"I heard she's been training non-stop recently. From the looks of it now, she's compensated for her technical shortcomings to the greatest extent possible."
Hearing Owen praise Spencer made Hua Zhaofeng seethe. He asked indignantly,
"In such a short amount of ti, a person like her, who looks stupid to death at a glance, can achieve such textbook form?!"
Owen glanced at him and said rationally,
"That's just how people with athletic talent are. Fundantally speaking, these techniques are simply conclusions drawn by predecessors groping through practice. It's completely normal for so talented individuals to bypass the barrier of trial and error and grasp them directly."
"..."
Hua Zhaofeng had nothing left to say, and Owen took a deep breath, once again revealing a confident smile.
He glanced at Gongzi and said,
"Phew, the pressure is actually quite high. It's making
a bit nervous. I need to go do so proper warm-up exercises. Gongzi, do you want to co with ?"
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. If you lose, you lose; it doesn't matter."
"Who says? If we win, we get a wish."
"Tch, a wish... A bunch of boorish guys in the Track and Field Club, what good wish could you possibly have?"
"Shh, you'll find out when we win."
As for the matter of treating the whole school to an engagent banquet after winning, Owen had only told a few close brothers, including Hua Zhaofeng. He hadn't told anyone else.
Owen changed into his athletic wear, took Gongzi's hand, and walked outside. Before leaving, he didn't forget about the crowd who had co to observe and learn,
"Zhaofeng, rember to bring out the club's water and drinks and distribute them to the other students and parents. I'll leave these logistics to you, our minister of support."
"Ah, yes, Captain."
Watching the back view of Owen and Gongzi walking away, Hua Zhaofeng felt increasingly anxious.
The re thought that the Doujinshi Society might win made him uncomfortable.
Part of it was for himself, and part of it was for Owen and Gongzi.
As for himself, it went without saying. Spencer had beaten up his crush, Park Seo-moon, and had beaten him up in the process.
To say that Hua Zhaofeng wasn't furious would be absolutely impossible.
On the other hand, Owen had always treated him well.
Even though he didn't know anything about track and field and rarely trained, Owen didn't mind. He simply let him handle recruitnt and logistics, and still hung out with him.
Owen had been planning this for a long ti, leading everyone in training since the beginning of the sester.
If the Doujinshi Society won...
Then all of this would go up in smoke.
"..."
Hua Zhaofeng's mind was in a ss, his thoughts spiraling further and further. Yet, he hadn't forgotten Owen's instructions and planned to head to the storage room on the outer edge of the Athletics Field to fetch the water.
Stepping out of the Athletics Field, the atmosphere in the spectator stands was lively. Inside the dia Room, Yurianna was still broadcasting catchy background music, simultaneously reading out scripts from the Yuanyue Newspaper Club.
All around the spectator stands, countless cara equipnt of unknown purpose were pointed toward the green grass inside.
Pointed at Spencer, who had changed into running shoes and light athletic wear, and was currently doing warm-up exercises.
As she did so, she held her mobile phone, carefully observing the professional 400-ter techniques that An Le had found for her.
Spencer had watched this every day during her prior training, so now she was just treating it as a review.
"Tch."
As soon as he saw Spencer, Hua Zhaofeng gritted his teeth.
He withdrew his gaze and walked toward the outer edge of the Athletics Field.
The storage room was next to the restroom in Building D. There were four or five restrooms near the Athletics Field, so right now, this most secluded one near the storage room didn't have many people.
It was mostly club mbers who had just finished competing that would co over here.
"Yo, isn't this the dog from the Doujinshi Society? Step aside."
"That Sakawa guy is from your class?"
"I don't know him well, don't ask . What more is there to say when he's joined the Doujinshi Society? Spencer is trash to begin with, so the people surrounding her are probably about the sa..."
"Hey, that Nino guy is the one who..."
Just as Hua Zhaofeng arrived near the storage room, he saw the defeated Soccer Club mbers walking out of the restroom, fuming.
"Brother Hua..."
"Hey."
Hua Zhaofeng nodded but didn't look at them. He only watched Tatsuya Sakawa and Nino, who were lowering their heads as they walked into the restroom ahead.
In his line of sight, he faintly saw Tatsuya Sakawa and Nino's clenched fists and trembling thighs.
Both of their expressions carried a certain bleakness and dejection.
"..."
Seeing this scene, Hua Zhaofeng's eyes narrowed slightly.
Then, instead of heading to the adjacent storage room, he secretly followed them into the restroom.
"Jiang Yun!"
"..."
At the edge of the Athletics Field, Jiang Yun, who was just about to head to the restroom, paused slightly. She turned around to see a girl with short black hair standing there. When the girl saw Jiang Yun turn around, she smiled faintly.
"Long ti no see."
"...Is there sothing you need, Senior?"
"Just Senior? You used to call
President."
The girl before her was the current president of the Astronomy Club, surnad Qiu.
"I left the club a long ti ago."
Jiang Yun gave her a glance, then turned back and continued walking toward the restroom.
Behind her, Senior Qiu hurriedly caught up and arrived by her side.
"No one chased you away. You can still rejoin us."
"Rejoin? Rejoin to do what? To keep listening to you all gossiping about
behind my back? To go back to being a little sandbag in the club?"
Jiang Yun still didn't look at Senior Qiu beside her. She simply walked up to the sink in the won's restroom, turned on the faucet, and began to wash her hands.
Seeing this, Senior Qiu grabbed Jiang Yun's hand and spoke up,
"You don't need to take your anger out on . You know I made them apologize to you right away."
"..."
"Co back. It's better than staying in the Doujinshi Society. Look, your reputation has spread all over the school recently."
"..."
The next second, Jiang Yun gently extended her wet hand and flicked her fingers right in front of Senior Qiu's face.
Tiny droplets of water splashed onto Senior Qiu's face, making her imdiately cover her face and release Jiang Yun.
"Jiang Yun, you..."
"Forget it, Senior Qiu. I appreciate your good intentions."
"Why? Did Spencer give you so sort of benefit? Or is the Jinshi Group backing her threatening to do sothing to you guys if she doesn't succeed in staying?"
"...No."
"Then why?"
Jiang Yun looked at Senior Qiu, hesitated for a mont, but still said,
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not doing this for Spencer; I'm doing it for myself."
"..."
"If it wasn't for her and the Doujinshi Society, I wouldn't have been able to prove in the first round that I'm better than the people in the Astronomy Club, right?"
In the first round, she had utterly crushed the Astronomy Club mbers in the astronomy trivia section.
It made the spectators look at her in a whole new light.
"Senior Qiu, I actually want to ask... I left the club in my freshman year, and a whole year has passed since then. Why are you only coming to look for
now?"
"I..."
"If I hadn't directly beaten the Astronomy Club in the trivia during the first round, would you have even rembered ?"
"..."
Senior Qiu didn't speak again, and Jiang Yun seed to already know the answer.
She couldn't help but give a mocking smile, then turned the faucet back on to continue washing her hands.
As she washed them, she said in a relaxed tone,
"Well, even though training with Spencer recently has been really exhausting, I won't say I perford exceptionally well in today's competition, but at least I didn't embarrass myself, right?
"Following her all the way to defeat two large and powerful clubs to reach the finals... I'd consider this a worthwhile journey. So..."
Saying this, Jiang Yun turned her head to look at Senior Qiu and said,
"Senior Qiu, unless you have a habit of observing people of the sa sex using the toilet, could I ask you to leave?"
"...Alright. Take care, Jiang Yun."
"Mm, you too."
Senior Qiu silently turned and left, while Jiang Yun kept washing her hands.
However, her movents grew slower and slower, as if she were just watching the clear water stream through her fingertips.
Then, she exhaled softly. Without entering a bathroom stall, she turned and headed outside.
She didn't return to the Athletics Field, but instead walked alone toward the back of the restroom.
Behind the restroom lay the very edge of Far Moon Academy. From here, looking over the boundary wall, one could easily see the artificial forest outside.
The lush, verdant forest swayed slightly, giving off the feeling that the trees wished for stillness, but the wind would not cease.
"Rustle..."
Jiang Yun sat on the ground, leaning against a small tree near the restroom, and watched the clouds in the sky gradually grow thicker.
What a pity, the sunlight was blocked out...
Well, maybe it was for the best. When the race started, not having glaring sunlight would actually be ideal.
Just as Jiang Yun was thinking this, she faintly heard the sound of conversation coming from the n's restroom behind her.
"Sakawa, Nino, I know this isn't your fault..."
'That voice...'
'Is that Hua Zhaofeng from the Track and Field Club?'
Don't forget, when Spencer had picked up a desk and smashed it into Hua Zhaofeng, Jiang Yun had been present.
Therefore, she recognized the speaker the mont she heard him.
'Why is he talking to mbers of the Doujinshi Society?'
Thinking this, Jiang Yun frowned, quietly stood up, and crept closer to the n's restroom.
Through the open ventilation window near the top, the voices inside grew clearer as she approached.
Inside, Hua Zhaofeng looked at the two hesitant boys and said,
"This is all Spencer's fault. I'm familiar with both of you, and you're good people. Especially you, Sakawa—we're in the sa class. Have you forgotten? Back at Universal Studios, I even said hi to both of you."
Tatsuya Sakawa and Nino exchanged a glance, both feeling a slight sense of goodwill toward Hua Zhaofeng.
"Right? When we were in class earlier, I even told them about your situation, Sakawa. And last ti, heading into the Club War, our Track and Field Club originally wanted to invite both of you."
"R-Really?"
Hua Zhaofeng nodded and placed a hand over his chest as he said,
"I'm the one in charge of recruitnt for the Track and Field Club, how could I not know? The school gave us a quota to accept students who hadn't joined any clubs, so of course I would pick people I know..."
Hearing this, unlike Tatsuya Sakawa whose eyes lit up, Nino's eyes dimd as he said,
"Just forget about . You probably didn't even consider
anyway."
"Who says? Senior Nino, we actually all know about your situation."
"You all..."
Hua Zhaofeng leaned a little closer to Nino, patted him sympathetically on the shoulder, and said,
"Justice lives in people's hearts. Senior Arai was a veteran in the club, so others didn't dare say anything. But things are different now. I'm very close with Captain Owen now, and I can have Arai apologize to you."
"Apologize... to ?"
Nino stared blankly for a mont, but then he shook his head and said,
"Forget it. It's in the past... it doesn't matter anymore."
Hua Zhaofeng's expression stiffened slightly, but he continued to persuade him,
"Yes, the past doesn't matter anymore; it's the present that matters. Sakawa, Senior Nino, I really can't stand to watch your current situation."
"..."
"Spencer has a terrible reputation, and dragging you two down with her really isn't worth it. Think about it: if she wins and gets to stay, won't you both have to keep living like this?"
When Hua Zhaofeng said this, both Tatsuya Sakawa and Nino couldn't help but swallow hard.
But Nino raised his head to look at Hua Zhaofeng and suddenly asked,
"...Just say it straight. What do you want?"
"..."
Hua Zhaofeng blinked, then said,
"I'll give it to you straight. I've never gotten along with Spencer. You saw it yourselves—that girl beat
up right in front of you without any rhy or reason..."
The more he spoke, the angrier he beca,
"Yeah, her family has money, so she was able to force the school to squeeze out a spot for her. I'm telling you, if Captain Owen wasn't so upright and unyielding, she really would have gotten away with it.
"Letting soone like her continue staying at the school will only get more and more disgusting. It doesn't just disgust us—don't you guys feel disgusted and uncomfortable too?"
While listening, Nino realized what he was trying to do,
"You want us to throw the race?"
"Throw the race?!"
Tatsuya Sakawa's expression drastically shifted, nearly exclaiming out loud.
Hua Zhaofeng made a "shh" gesture, and then asked,
"That's what I'm thinking, but I need to confirm sothing first, right? If you lose, will the Jinshi Group and Spencer do anything to you?"
"Well... she hasn't said anything like that."
"There you go. As long as you act a bit convincingly, wouldn't that be best for everyone?"
Hua Zhaofeng held up a finger to Tatsuya Sakawa and Nino and said,
"Look, even if you lose and she leaves, her family is so rich, she can go anywhere. It's not like she won't be able to get an education, right?
"But we're different. If she leaves, won't we just return to our normal daily lives?
"You guys wouldn't have to suffer from criticism that you don't deserve anymore. Sakawa, you can join our Track and Field Club. And I can have Captain Owen reveal the truth between you and Senior Arai..."
Nino froze slightly, but muttered softly,
"I've said it so many tis already, but no one believes ..."
"That's exactly why Captain Owen needs to announce it. If he says it, everyone will believe it."
Hua Zhaofeng patted Tatsuya Sakawa and Nino on their shoulders, enunciating every word,
"In a head-on race, although the odds aren't high, you guys do have a sliver of hope of winning, considering how fierce that Spencer is.
"Since there's already a probability of you losing, why don't we just make that probability a certainty? It'll be good for you, good for , and good for everyone...
"No one will be able to tell anyway. The first and third legs are run by girls, so the crucial second and fourth legs are in your hands. You're the ones who get to decide if you win or lose...
"What do you think?"
Hearing this, Tatsuya Sakawa and Nino simultaneously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Then, they exchanged a glance.
A faint glimr, like spectral fire, flickered in both of their eyes.
"Heave-ho, heave-ho~"
On the Athletics Field, Spencer was still doing her warm-up exercises.
While she was warming up, Yurianna's voice ca over the broadcast again,
"Alright, alright! The final battle is about to begin in just ten minutes!! Spectators, please return to your class seats and don't wander around!
"Athletes from both clubs, please assemble quickly and prepare for registration with the Student Council executives!!"
Hearing the broadcast, Spencer stopped her warm-ups and turned to glance at the empty space around her.
"That's weird, why are they taking so long in the restroom?"
Just as Spencer was about to pull out her mobile phone to text the others in the Doujinshi Society and remind them to co back for registration, Tatsuya Sakawa and Nino finally ca running back.
"Student Spencer, we... we're back..."
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Spencer put her phone away, nodded, and said,
"It's fine. We're still waiting on Jiang Yun anyway. Don't be nervous. It's the finals; we just need to go all out!"
"..."
The two of them swallowed hard and exchanged a glance.
When Spencer saw they weren't replying, she gave them a puzzled look.
Seeing this, Nino hastily said,
"Go all out, let's do our best!"
"Mhm!"
In Spencer's eyes, the image of the two little gray pigs before her distorted slightly, causing her to rub her eyes.
The next second she opened them, two perfectly intact little pigs appeared before her once more.
"..."
"Rumble!"
At this mont, high up in the sky, clouds were gathering.
The heavy cloud cover temporarily blocked the sunlight, casting a thin layer of shadow over the earth.
"Doujinshi Society, is everyone here? If not, that's fine too. Co over here first to collect your number tags and relay baton, and listen to the rules!"
"Awoo, okay!!"
Spencer didn't think much of it. She simply turned her head quickly and replied.
At the edge of the arena, watching the sky gradually darken, Yan Huan took off his sunglasses.
However, because his sun-protective clothing was tied with a waist belt, he didn't take off the jacket itself.
He looked over at Spencer, who was brimming with excitent. It was hard to discern the exact expression on his face.
He rely cheered for her silently in his heart.
But the next second, right before his eyes, Jiang Yun appeared from outside the Athletics Field, sprinting madly toward Spencer with a pale face, clutching her mobile phone.
"..."
Yan Huan looked at the anger and tension filling Jiang Yun's face, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.
'What happened?'
"Spencer!! Don't check in yet!!!"
In the next mont, Jiang Yun's loud shout rang out.
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