A Young Woman's Heart

……

Chapter Forty-Eight: A Disheveled Long Jump

The rain continued to fall.

Whistles and gunshots were always heard on the playground.

It is said that Mo Xueyao finally took her first steps to the edge of the playground when the semi-finals of the girls' 100-meter sprint for the senior high school students finally began.

Although the playground here is the same size as that of Yukong High School, I always feel that the sports meet held here lacks the unique charm of Yukong High School.

Or rather—it's the lack of that familiar feeling.

There are no teaching buildings nearby, and the playground is not open-air. Although it is good that it can shelter from the wind and rain and is very large, it still makes people feel like a bird in a cage.

That's probably a bit of an exaggeration, but that's the gist of it.

Wang Jiale made it into the semifinals of the senior girls' 100-meter race. After this race, the finals will be held tomorrow.

Today's sports meet is almost over, and there's about an hour left before the normal dismissal time—not counting evening self-study.

The high jump event seems to be conducted grade by grade, meaning that the competition continues until the champion, runner-up, and third-place winners are determined in one grade before moving on to the next grade.

As a result, Mo Xueyao, a senior high school student, has not yet received any notification to participate in the high jump event.

"On your marks, get set—" Jin Jiahui, with a whistle around his neck, raised his starting pistol and pulled the trigger towards the dome. With a bang, the girls rushed out in a flash.

In running, the longer your legs, the greater your advantage.

However, the sports meet at Yukong High School is, after all, an amateur event, and having long legs doesn't necessarily mean one can fully utilize their advantages.

Wang Jiale's group only had one member on the school sports team. Perhaps because she had seen too much Aya Akimoto, she didn't think her legs were that long. Her height was probably less than 1.8 meters, which was quite different from Aya Akimoto's exaggerated height of over 1.9 meters.

Wang Jiale strutted around with her short legs at a high frequency, almost turning into a blur.

"Go, Lele!" Mo Xueyao shouted at the top of her lungs, though it was unclear whether the latter heard her as she ran.

One hundred meters is very fast.

Everyone only had time to shout encouragement a few times before Wang Jiale crossed the finish line.

She and that tall, leggy member of the school sports team arrived at the same time, so they probably both qualified.

The finals are a four-person competition. As long as you're not the last one, you can at least get a third place.

"Huff—" The 100-meter sprint didn't consume too much of Wang Jiale's strength. After reaching the finish line, she ran quickly to Mo Xueyao and the others without pausing.

Li Wanyan casually handed over a bottle of mineral water that she had drunk during the previous competition. The bottle was already opened, and the latter took it and drank directly from it.

"Lele, are you tired?"

"It's alright, phew, I feel like I'm running slower than last semester."

"why?"

"I guess it's because I haven't been exercising enough? I've been arriving at school early lately, there's no need for me to run into the classroom."

Mo Xueyao lowered her eyelids: "So you arrived at school on time just to practice your sprinting ability, right?"

"Hmm—half and half!" Wang Jiale said smugly, hands on her hips. "Oh, right, I also have a steamed bun I bought this morning, perfect for eating..."

"It's all cold."

"It's nothing, I was just hungry. I ran several 100-meter races today, it was really tiring!"

"Akimoto Aya has run the 800 meters several times and hasn't said anything yet." Mo Xueyao shook her head helplessly.

Today's lunch was packed from the school cafeteria, just like usual, but it was quite cold when it arrived, so the taste was much worse.

Even Mo Xueyao, who isn't a picky eater, ate less than usual today, and some leftovers were thrown away.

"Attention all senior girls participating in the high jump competition, please listen carefully to the announcement, senior..." Shen Kelin repeated three times before continuing, "Attention Gao Huimin, Chen Wei... Mo Xueyao, Qiu Yuanling, Xuan Anyi..."

She gave the names of the students who were going to participate in the competition.

Mo Xueyao, who had been waiting all day, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After she finished her jump today, she can rest assured tomorrow, because if she didn't pass the first round, there wouldn't be any more competitions.

In reality, most schools don't make the competition that complicated.

Take the long jump, for example. It's like a test. Students come one by one to jump, and then the height is counted. Based on this data, the champion, runner-up, and third place can be determined immediately, saving time and effort.

However, Yukong High School still insists on this more traditional competition method, probably because they believe that everyone's performance will be different in each round of the competition, so they need to increase the margin for error.

This is also why the sports meet at Yukong High School takes two full days.

"Yaoyao, let me take you to the high jump competition."

"Ah, okay... but can't I just go there myself in the middle?"

"Your number is with me."

"Oh, I almost forgot I needed this..."

As she spoke, Li Wanyan had already pinned the number paper to her back with a safety pin.

This thing is actually quite inconvenient, especially for students who run. While running, the bib number gets blown to the ground by the wind, and when they come back to pick it up after finishing the race, it's covered in footprints.

When they arrived, Aya Akimoto and An-yi Xuan, who had participated in many events, were already there. As the two tallest girls in the class—one over 1.7 meters and the other over 1.9 meters—they naturally took on many of the sports events and were already very familiar with the route.

When Mo Xueyao arrived, there were already more than a dozen people in the line. The teacher in charge of the high jump was Yao Gugu, who was checking the number of people.

This is just the first batch.

There will be another group of about a dozen people next.

Mo Xueyao stood in the middle of the line, feeling somewhat out of place.

The girls in this group all seem to be quite tall. Although they aren't as exaggeratedly tall as Aya Akimoto, they are at least 1.7 meters tall or taller.

She seems to be the only one who's 1.62 meters tall...

To do high jump, you need to be tall and have long legs.

She felt she had miscalculated.

"cough……"

"What's wrong?" Li Wanyan, who was standing next to her watching the number, turned her head slightly.

Mo Xueyao rubbed her sweaty forehead: "Although it's just a formality, I feel, uh, I don't think I can't even jump over the lowest bar, do I?"

"Just do your best."

“Yes, it’s all about participation!” Aya Akimoto, standing behind her, patted her shoulder forcefully.

No matter when you stand next to Aya Akimoto, you can feel a strong sense of pressure.

The height difference of over thirty centimeters makes it seem like an adult is looking down at a child.

"It's okay, it's okay, I definitely can't jump over it either." Xuan Anyi smiled to relieve Mo Xueyao's pressure. "Relax, don't be too nervous."

Mo Xueyao didn't answer, but instead took a deep breath with some unease.

The students in front of them jumped one by one in order. This was not pole vaulting, but just the ordinary high jump where you run and jump.

Mo Xueyao, who had never done high jump before, was cramming at the last minute and learned some of their high jump techniques.

No one jumped straight in from the front; they all flipped over sideways.

Jump, then turn to the side, and just as you flip over, pull your legs up...

After reading it, Mo Xueyao felt that it wasn't too difficult.

"Next, it's my turn."

"Go, Auntie!" Mo Xueyao encouraged her, but she felt conflicted.

I both hope she jumps over successfully and I hope she fails—that way I won't look too embarrassed.

Shen Kelin successfully jumped over the lowest one. Everyone had three chances, so Yao Gugu, the chemistry teacher in charge of the high jump, wiped her bright red hair—in this era, you could probably only see a teacher with such a hair color at Yukong High School.

"Should we make it a little higher?"

"Ah."

"Okay, add another ten centimeters."

This time, Xuan Anyi used the method of banging her head against the soft cushion, making it look like she was falling backward.

In situations like this, height becomes a significant advantage.

This time, she barely made it across. Although she hit the pole, Yao Gugu probably turned a blind eye and still counted the score.

"Should we make it even higher?"

"Okay, raise it one more time."

This time, Xuan Anyi failed to get over it; she knocked the pole down, which is quite normal in high jump.

She smoothed her slightly disheveled long hair and sat up from the cushion: "Phew, almost..."

"Yes, what a pity." Mo Xueyao nodded in agreement. She had mainly bumped her heel because she hadn't been able to stop properly.

"Yeah, Xiaoyao, good luck too."

"I'll do my best..." Mo Xueyao felt uncertain.

She watched as Yao Gugu directed two students to adjust the pole to a height of 1.2 meters, then glanced at her a few more times and had them lower the pole to one meter.

Even if it's only one meter, it would be roughly at Mo Xueyao's lower abdomen.

She took a deep breath, mimicked the high jump posture of the person in front of her, and sprinted ahead of her after Yao Gugu announced the start.

Then he leaped!

"Bang, crash—" The pole was knocked down by her head-on, and even the two pillars supporting the pole were shaken.

She landed heavily on the soft mat, sprawling on her back.

The skirt, perfectly in accordance with gravity, flipped up completely, covering her stomach. She vaguely heard someone whisper the words "strawberry pattern."

Her face immediately turned bright red, and because her head was upside down, it even turned somewhat purple.