A Young Woman's Heart

Everyone laughs at spending money, everyone is spending money~

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Chapter 127 Mixed-Gender 10,000-Meter Long-Distance Run

On November 3rd, the overcast sky looked like it could rain at any moment. The sun hadn't been seen since morning, and without looking at a clock, it was impossible to tell what time it was.

The vice principal, who was also the former principal—a stern old man—was standing on the podium giving a speech before the last event of the sports meet.

“In the past, Yukong High School was an all-girls school, and back then, our school sports meet included a 10,000-meter race. Speed ​​was secondary; the important thing was to hone our willpower and promote our spirit of perseverance…”

These idioms were originally good, but unfortunately they are always used and repeated, and after a while, people feel like their ears are getting calluses.

"Participation is key, so I hope every student can persevere to the end and not give up halfway. Each of you represents the spirit of our class..."

"The reason we set up the competition as a mixed-gender event is to show the boys that the girls are no less capable than you."

"This 10,000-meter race isn't for competition, so the rules exclude students from sports schools and those with good long-distance running records. This time, we're challenging ourselves..."

The head of academic affairs, standing below the stage, glanced at the principal, who in turn smiled back at her, and the two seemed to exchange a few words.

Mo Xueyao was puzzled when she heard this.

In other words, is it intentionally making people who are not good at running participate in running events?

What if you're not in good health, or you can't keep it up because you don't exercise enough?

Even if you manage to persevere through sheer willpower, your body won't be able to hold on, and you might faint on the ground.

What era are we living in? Why are we still doing this kind of idealistic stuff?

It's obvious that this was something the vice principal insisted on; otherwise, given the principal's personality, he wouldn't have arranged it this way, even if it were a 10,000-meter race.

The students who were selected were the ones who suffered the most.

The rules stipulate that students with excellent long-distance running results are not allowed to participate; in other words, only students with good results are allowed to participate.

Those who barely qualify or don't qualify will definitely not be selected, so those students who just barely meet the criteria but are at the back of the list are in trouble. This is probably what they call picking the tallest among the short.

"Keep going, Zhou Yong." Gao Yuan patted his best friend's shoulder with a heavy expression. "You have to come back."

"Damn, what? It's like I'm going to my death!" Zhou Yong rolled his eyes.

"The wind howls, the Yi River is cold..." Liu Xiaowei began reciting it from the side.

"Stop, stop, stop! It's just 10,000 meters! Don't underestimate me!"

"That's backbone! That's the kind of spirit we need!" Li Hongran gave a thumbs up. "Keep it up, Zhou Yong!"

"Since we have to participate anyway, we can't be spineless..." Zhou Yong gave a helpless bitter smile. Another person standing not far away, also preparing, was Hua Yinyin.

Each class must send two students, one male and one female.

Hua Yinyin happened to be the student with the best long-distance running performance, besides those with excellent grades—she was just two seconds away from breaking into three minutes and twenty-five seconds.

Long-distance running is all about endurance, but to run this distance while carrying two such large resistance balls is already quite an achievement—so much so that Mo Xueyao suspected it was honed by constantly chasing after and flirting with other girls.

Just like Wang Jiale, who often arrived late and had to run to school, which honed his sprinting skills to a high level.

This time, all three grades started the race at the same time. As long as you reach the finish line, your class will get a lot of points. If you get a top-five finish, you'll get even more points.

However, with so many students starting to run on the playground at the same time, the scene is bound to be a bit chaotic...

For the students, this is already a long enough 'marathon'.

As the starting gun fired, the sports meet of Yukong High School entered its final stage. Until next year's school sports meet, we probably won't hear the sound of the starting gun again.

Some people want to get a head start from the beginning, while others start slowly. Of course, most people choose a compromise: to stay in the middle and follow the main group.

Zhou Yong was the slowest runner; he was at the very back, and even the girls passed him.

"Zhou Yong—run faster!" Ye Wen shouted anxiously at him through a megaphone.

"Damn, what's Zhou Yong doing? Why is he running like a tortoise?" Li Hongran said helplessly. "Is this kid trying to slack off?"

If you didn't know better, you'd probably think Zhou Yong had run several laps and was running out of steam!

In fact, he has only just begun.

Hua Yinyin turned her head and glanced at him, the weight on her chest trembling, and then easily overtook him along with the others.

"The older girls are so well-developed..." A first-year high school student standing next to Mo Xueyao remarked to his companion.

No, no, no... it's just that Hua Yinyin is exceptionally talented!

Mo Xueyao muttered to herself.

At the beginning, the group was quite orderly, somewhat like a morning run.

However, after everyone had run about a kilometer, the gap gradually became apparent.

If thirty or forty people were spread out on the playground, they would actually look quite sparse. Everyone is now running on their own, and some students don't even want to lift their heads in order to save energy.

Zhou Yong remained slow and steady, his speed neither increasing nor decreasing, but his advantage became apparent at this moment.

Marathons among ordinary people are all about endurance.

Even if you're ahead by a thousand meters at the beginning, it's useless because you'll slow down as your momentum wanes.

The students are more proficient in long-distance running such as 1,000 meters or 800 meters, and most of the participants have no experience in running 10,000 meters.

If this were a 1,000-meter race, Zhou Yong would be in last place, but this is a 10,000-meter race after all.

At this point, the race has only just begun; the first kilometer is merely a warm-up.

"Sure enough, he wasn't slacking off! Haha, I knew it, this kid was definitely trying to conserve his energy to finish the race!" Li Hongran excitedly slapped her palm. "Go Zhou Yong, don't let us down!"

"Brother Yongzi, charge!" Gao Yuan shouted.

"Stop rushing my ass! It's only been a few laps!" Li Hongran bumped into him. "Stop giving me these ridiculous directions!"

"Hey, isn't this just to liven things up a bit?"

"How's it going, Yinyin?" Mo Xueyao gloated as she ran a few steps after Hua Yinyin. "Can you keep up?"

"Huff huff..." Hua Yinyin had no strength to speak, she just raised her middle finger to express her feelings.

Gradually, Zhou Yong began to overtake the others and eventually moved to the middle position.

When they reached the 3,000-meter mark, someone finally couldn't resist stopping and walking.

The vice principal said to persevere to the end, but he didn't say whether to run to the end or walk to the end.

They comforted themselves with this thought and slowed down one by one.

Although Zhou Yong was conserving his energy, it was still becoming difficult to continue.

For someone like him who hasn't undergone systematic training, running 10,000 meters is simply too difficult.

The air he breathed in felt scorching hot, and his body told him he had to stop and rest as soon as possible. Only his willpower kept him going.

"Yinyin~!" Mo Xueyao waved to Hua Yinyin, who no longer had the strength to practice raising her middle finger. She was like a robot, running forward by inertia.

At the 5,000-meter mark, even more people stopped.

Hua Yinyin finally couldn't help but stop, and some students didn't even want to walk anymore and went to rest on the lawn next to her.

This kind of competition is simply asking the impossible for students who have never been trained.

You can't create miracles with just enthusiasm.

This isn't a novel or anime where the protagonist can simply roar and have memories flood back, guaranteeing them a victory over the boss...

What cannot be done in reality simply cannot be done.

That's why it's called 'reality'!

"Ha...hoo...ha..." Zhou Yong looked like he could barely maintain his shape, his body swaying like a lump of jelly as he moved forward at a speed barely faster than walking.

"Thirteen laps to go! Zhou Yong! Keep it up!" Ye Wen was counting the laps for him.

"Students, don't give up, persevere! Don't walk, run! You can do it!" the vice principal encouraged enthusiastically, though he wasn't the one actually running on the playground...

"Ouch!" Just then, a girl running in front of Zhou Yong twisted her ankle and fell forward, her body tilting to one side.

If you fall on the ground, your face will probably get scraped and bruised by this rough rubber surface.

Zhou Yong gritted his teeth, ran a few steps faster, and quickly caught her, but he himself lost his balance and was knocked to the ground.

The girl tripped over his foot again and fell face-first onto him.

The crowd outside gasped with envy and jealousy, but the two people in the audience didn't feel embarrassed or surprised at all.

Exhausted and unwilling to get up, Zhou Yong barely pushed the girl away, then swayed as he stood up, only to fall back down on the ground before regaining his balance.

Once you stop, you really can't run anymore.

"Get up after you fall and keep running! This is your test! Keep going, young men!"

"Ugh—!" Hua Yinyin covered her ears in frustration. She had only walked half a lap and had regained some strength. She turned and ran towards the podium, then stood next to the microphone and yelled at the vice principal who was standing there talking without any sense of responsibility, "If you can't run, you can't run! You haven't had any special training! What are you running for! Does being unwilling to give up mean you can accomplish anything? If that were the case, there wouldn't be so many people in the world who live with regrets forever!"

Probably no student had ever dared to speak to the vice principal like that before, so much so that he was momentarily speechless.

"How do you speak to your elders? Didn't your parents teach you that?"

"No, so what! If you're so capable, why don't you go and run it yourself! Ten thousand meters? What a load of crap! Didn't you say that as long as you persevere, you can run to the end? Then go and try to persevere for a while!"

Hua Yinyin's voice was broadcast throughout the entire campus.

Her response was an angry shout from the vice principal: "Go to the disciplinary office and get disciplined!"

"Your word doesn't count; the principal's word counts!"

"I am the principal!"

"Tch, it's not even real." Hua Yinyin's teasing made everyone burst into laughter.

……

Chapter 128 Games on the Way Home from School