Seventeen

Spring warms up fast in Nancheng City, so every school's spring Sports Day starts earlier than in other places.

Sports Day lasts two days. Those two days, you don't have to go to class or stay in the Classroom for self-study, so for most students it's basically a two-day school holiday. The bolder ones even skip school for both days.

The sun was perfect on the opening ceremony morning.

The school required everyone to wear the same uniform for the march-in. Looking around, almost every class was in the standard T-shirt and pants.

Zhuang Fangqin was actually wearing a brightly colored dress today, which was rare. She stood by the class line, waiting to march in.

"What's going on? You all look dead," Zhuang Fangqin scanned the line. "Tuck your uniform shirts into your pants."

"But that looks so ugly," Zhang Xianjing said worriedly.

"This is the opening ceremony, not a talent show. You don't need to look good—just look energetic." Zhuang Fangqin finished, then squinted and leaned in close. "Zhang Xianjing, are you wearing makeup?"

Zhang Xianjing shrank back. "No, this is natural beauty—"

"When you walk past the school leaders, keep your lips pressed together so they don't notice," Zhuang Fangqin said. "Your mouth's painted like a flower."

Zhang Xianjing immediately made a heart with her hands. "Got it!"

Zhuang Fangqin turned around, saw the person in the second-to-last row, and the smile vanished from her face.

"Yu Fan," she said. "Did you hear what I said?"

Yu Fan was too sleepy to argue or care.

He forced his eyes open, moved his hands lazily, and tucked his shirt into his waistband.

Because they were about to march in, the line was arranged vertically.

Chen Jingshen stood at the very end of the line, and as Yu Fan moved, he dropped his gaze.

Yu Fan tucked it in sloppily—the fabric bunched up messily, cinching around the boy's waist.

Chen Jingshen glanced at the people around him, then quickly looked away.

Why's his waist so much thinner than everyone else's?

The school rule said two classes march in side by side, so Class 7 was next to Class 8.

Zuo Kuan had been pretty listless, but when he turned and saw Wang Luan'an, he burst out laughing. "Damn, Wang Luan'an, your ass is huge. You look like such an idiot."

Students from both classes started laughing.

"The fuck? Why doesn't your class have to tuck in?!" Wang Luan'an's face turned red. "What are you even saying? Who doesn't look stupid with their shirt tucked in? Look at the other classes—we all look equally ugly!"

Zuo Kuan said, "Turn around and look."

Wang Luan'an twisted his head.

Yu Fan stood there lazily, so sleepy his head was drooping, hands in his pockets. The baggy school uniform suddenly tightened at the waist, somehow making him look messily handsome.

And Chen Jingshen went without saying—though he looked a bit weak, his appearance was totally fine: broad shoulders, long arms and legs. If he could just put some expression on his face, he could be in the student recruitment brochure.

Wang Luan'an: "..."

What the hell? The only two guys in the whole school who look good with their shirts tucked in are both standing behind me?

The opening ceremony lasted an hour before they were dismissed. Their class got seats on the bleachers right next to the Presidium Platform—prime location, turn your head and you're making eye contact with the school leaders.

Zhuang Fangqin was in a great mood today.

For her, it didn't really matter what place the class got in Sports Day. As long as everyone showed up, she didn't care even if they came in last.

She took out the snacks she'd bought at the supermarket last night and handed them out to the students. Then she gathered the class's competitors and went over the check-in locations and race times with each of them.

Yu Fan was forced into two events—one relay, one long jump—both today.

Long jump check-in was coming up soon. Yu Fan rubbed his eyes, planning to sneak off somewhere for a smoke to wake himself up.

"Classmate Yu..."

Yu Fan turned around. It was a few girls from his class—he'd barely said two words to them before.

A bag opened toward him. It was so heavy they had to carry it together.

"We used the class fund to buy some food and drinks," one of the girls said. "There's Red Bull in here. You looked really tired... want one?"

Yu Fan glanced into the bag with half-lidded eyes.

Even though he'd never bullied anyone in class, people were still a bit scared of him.

Seeing his expression, they quickly said, "If you don't want one, that's fine..."

The boy's hand reached into the bag.

Yu Fan pulled out a can of Red Bull. "Thanks."

Yu Fan tipped the Red Bull into his mouth, chugging it. When Zhuang Fangqin turned around, she thought he was openly drinking alcohol in broad daylight.

Students from other classes were scattered around, most having gone to check in or cheer for their classmates. Every now and then you'd hear a cheer. Only Class 7's seats were almost full, everyone bent over doing their own thing.

Last year they'd come in last in the grade, which had pretty much crushed the class's fighting spirit.

This time everyone was half-hearted, thinking it was just about participation.

Yu Fan grabbed Zhang Xianjing's umbrella, opened it, and propped it up beside him to block the view from the Presidium Platform. He leaned against the wall and scrolled through his Mobile Phone.

Wang Luan'an sat on the bleachers, a bag of chips in his hands. His mouth hadn't stopped moving since he sat down. He looked at the person next to him. "Hey, seriously, why are you here at Sports Day too?"

Zuo Kuan's class was sitting right next to them. Zuo Kuan leaned against Wang Luan'an like he was part of Class 7. "If you guys are all here, what's the point of me skipping alone? What events did you sign up for?"

"Yu Fan signed up for long jump and the relay," Wang Luan'an said. "I'm running the three-thousand-meter."

Zuo Kuan: "Have you lost your mind?"

"I haven't lost it—Fangqin has," Wang Luan'an said. "Whatever, I'll just jog it. I'm not going for a placing anyway. Finishing is winning."

"You know you're running three thousand meters and you're still eating that much?" Zhang Xianjing was sitting in the last row of the girls' section, legs crossed, turning her head back. "Chips and ice cream—you're gonna puke your guts out later."

"No way. Didn't I tell you? I've got an iron stomach." Wang Luan'an held the chips out to the person next to him. "Want some, Yu Fan?"

Yu Fan yawned. "No."

He found a game in a WeChat mini-program to kill time. After playing for a while, he decided it wasn't as fun as Snake Game. Just as he exited, he noticed a notification pop up on his Moments feed.

He tapped in and looked.

Chen Jingshen had liked a post from two years ago on his Moments.

"..."

He looked up. Sure enough, the person in front of him was bent over his phone, showing a long, clean neck.

Yu Fan's Moments didn't really have much content—just random stuff he posted. Since he'd put it out there, he didn't care if other people saw it.

But somehow, knowing Chen Jingshen was sitting in front of him, scrolling through his old posts one by one...

It felt really, fucking awkward.

Yu Fan sat up with a scowl, about to tell Chen Jingshen to stop snooping, when a boy beat him to it and started talking to Chen Jingshen.

The boy was called Gao Shi, their Class Monitor. He'd also struggled for a long time before coming over.

Gao Shi hesitated. "Classmate Chen, do you have a moment?"

Chen Jingshen lifted his eyelids. "Hm?"

"It's just... do you have time to write a broadcast script? Fifty to a hundred words, just say something nice," Gao Shi said. "The school requires each class to write a broadcast script for every event. We're still missing scripts for two events."

Zhuang Fangqin had just told him to use this group activity to try and get the new transfer student to blend into the class.

He'd racked his brains and come up with this one idea.

Chen Jingshen glanced at the notebook in his hand and didn't say anything.

Gao Shi: "If you don't want to write, it's—"

"Which events are missing?" Chen Jingshen asked.

"Shot put and long jump!" Gao Shi thought for a moment. "But long jump is starting soon, so it might be too late. How about I just modify an old script for that event and submit it, and you write the shot—"

"Give me a piece of paper," Chen Jingshen said. "I'll write the long jump one."

Gao Shi quickly handed over paper and pen. He was about to say he could just copy something off the internet, but then he saw the top student take it and start writing like he had divine inspiration.

Right, the grade's number one wouldn't bother copying templates from the internet!

Gao Shi curiously leaned in to look—

'To Yu Fan, long jump athlete of Senior 2 Class 7.'

Huh? You don't need to write a specific name, do you?

Gao Shi was about to remind him, but seeing Chen Jingshen bent over writing so seriously, he swallowed the words and kept reading—

'You are like a sword on the School Playground—a sunny, handsome sword.'

Gao Shi: "?"

Huh? You can describe someone like that?

'Standing among the crowd, you are the most beautiful sight on campus.'

Gao Shi: "??"

'When the whistle blows, you sprint like an arrow released from the bowstring, leap like a springbok, your soaring arc like a rainbow, shining brightly in my eyes.'

Gao Shi: "???"

'Your fighting spirit inspires me, your hard-earned sweat intoxicates me. No matter the final result, you are the most vibrant rose in my heart.'

Gao Shi: "...?"

Gao Shi's eyes went wide as he looked up and down repeatedly, unable to believe that the expressionless Chen Jingshen had written this.

'—Chen Jingshen, Senior 2 Class 7...'

Gao Shi snapped back to reality, about to say that the top student really didn't need to sign it—

With a 'whoosh,' the paper was snatched from Chen Jingshen's hand.

He looked up and met a flushed face.

What's wrong with this guy?

The Red Bull was working too well—Yu Fan felt his face heating up in waves.

He crumpled the draft paper in his hand and said to Gao Shi, "Don't you know what his Chinese level is? And you asked him to write?"

Gao Shi: "It's, uh, at the 110-point level."

Even though it wasn't great compared to Chen Jingshen's other subjects, taken on its own it was still above average.

Yu Fan ignored him and glared down at the person.

Chen Jingshen was sitting lower than him, and now he tilted his chin up to look back at him, his expression calm and breezy, looking extremely punchable.

Yu Fan was considering whether to shred the paper and stuff it in his mouth or make him swallow it dry when Zhuang Fangqin's voice came from ahead—

"Yu Fan, why are you still here?!" Zhuang Fangqin checked her watch. "Get down here and check in! Long jump is starting!"

Yu Fan choked on his words. "Got it."

"Then why are you still standing there? Get down." Zhuang Fangqin grabbed someone on the spot. "Gao Shi, go with him to check in so he doesn't run off halfway."

"..."

Gao Shi felt like he was out of luck.

He saw Yu Fan standing there motionless and was hesitating how to urge him on when the guy finally stepped down.

As he passed Chen Jingshen, Yu Fan kicked his backpack with the tip of his shoe and warned coldly, "Don't write any more of those crappy broadcast scripts."

Chen Jingshen quietly twisted his pen, about to say something, but the other had already hurried down the steps, leaving behind only a quick, quiet sentence: "...And don't fucking scroll through my Moments either."

-

Yu Fan was waiting in line for check-in when Gao Shi, standing next to him, suddenly leaned in.

"Yu Fan, our group got pretty unlucky—all long-legged tall guys, plus one sports student. Probably won't make it past the prelims," Gao Shi patted his shoulder. "But it's okay, it's about participation. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, just do your best."

Yu Fan, the tallest and longest-legged in the line: "."

He stretched his body. "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

"Oh, no rush. I'll cheer you on first, then go," Gao Shi smiled. "Besides, you've never participated in Sports Day before, so I was worried you'd forget to register after your jump."

You have to register too?

Yu Fan said, "Suit yourself."

The broadcast started playing the script for the men's three-thousand-meter. Gao Shi glanced toward the starting line of that race, planning to watch Yu Fan's long jump first, then go bring water to the classmates running the three-thousand.

His clothes were suddenly grabbed.

"Wait," Yu Fan frowned. "I didn't come to Sports Day last year."

Gao Shi was startled. "Huh? Yeah, that's right."

Yu Fan stared at him, thinking for a couple of seconds. "I didn't even come to the School Playground."

Oh no—Yu Fan wasn't blaming him for not showing up last year, was he?

Gao Shi: "Yeah, but I know you must have had something going on..."

His heart had just started racing when he felt the grip on his clothes loosen. Yu Fan let him go and turned around silently.

Gao Shi let out a breath and didn't dare say anything more.

Only when Yu Fan was signing in for check-in did Gao Shi dare to sneak a look at him.

Yu Fan's face was dark—very dark. His eyelids were tight, his expression cold enough to be scary.

What did Chen Jingshen say before?

That he'd started paying attention to him since first year of high school.

That during Sports Day, he'd watched his events.

First-year Sports Day, he'd climbed over the wall to go to an internet café. What event did Chen Jingshen watch? An e-sports event?

Fuck, Chen Jingshen was messing with him.

Gao Shi stood on the sidelines waiting. Athletes from other classes had people cheering for them before their jumps—their class couldn't be without face either.

When it was Yu Fan's turn, Gao Shi was just about to open his mouth when the boy took off in a fast run-up, leaped high, his tall figure carving a beautiful arc through the air—

Gao Shi suddenly felt that the script Chen Jingshen had written earlier wasn't actually unusable.

After the results were recorded, Gao Shi still felt a bit dazed.

His mouth hung open for a long time before he asked blankly, "Yu Fan, you, you got second? Just a little behind that sports student?"

"That's amazing. Did you train before? I thought you were..."

"What time are the teachers' races?" Yu Fan interrupted him.

Their school's Sports Day also had teachers' events, but not many, and they didn't count toward class scores.

Gao Shi: "There's a relay around eleven, I think. Why?"

No reason.

Just picking a time to beat someone up.

On the way back, Yu Fan kept thinking about where to hit Chen Jingshen.

The face—the face was the most punchable.

What kind of begging words would Chen Jingshen say?

Couldn't imagine.

Would Chen Jingshen cry?

Cry, cry with snot running down his face—that'd be best. Then he'd take a picture, and post it along with that love letter on the school bulletin board—

Yu Fan walked expressionlessly along the track, having already beaten Chen Jingshen up ten times in his head. As he passed a certain referee point, someone suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him into the crowd of onlookers.

He turned his head and met Zhang Xianjing's eyes.

Zhang Xianjing was startled. "Tsk—why do you look so fierce? Didn't jump well?"

"Does it look like it?" Yu Fan said. "Let go."

Zhang Xianjing didn't let go. "Where are you going?"

"Back."

"Don't. Come cheer for our classmates."

Yu Fan stopped in his tracks. It took him a moment to remember that the men's three-thousand-meter was happening now.

"What lap are they on?" He stood still and asked.

Zhang Xianjing said, "The fast ones are already on lap seven. Almost done."

Yu Fan hummed in acknowledgment, his gaze sweeping over the figures at the back who were running like they were half-dead. He didn't find the person he was looking for.

"Where's Wang Luan'an?"

"Him?" Zhang Xianjing gave a sarcastic smile. "Crouching in the Academic Building."

"?"

"That idiot ate too much. When it was time to check in, he said his stomach hurt and ran to the bathroom... So the top student filled in for him."

Yu Fan was stunned for several seconds before blurting out, "Who did you say?"

"The top student, Chen Jingshen." Zhang Xianjing lifted her chin. "Look, there."

Yu Fan followed her gaze.

Chen Jingshen was tall and thin, in his school uniform, awkwardly squeezed in among a bunch of people in athletic wear.

The guy who could barely breathe after running four hundred meters was actually participating in the three-thousand-meter??

Yu Fan: "Is he a lap behind?"

"How is that possible?" Zhang Xianjing shot him a look. "The top student's a hidden talent—he's competing for the top three with three sports students."

"??"

Before Yu Fan could react, Zhang Xianjing shouted to a few classmates nearby, "Here they come! The final sprint! Quick! Start cheering!"

"Go top student!!"

"Sprint, top student! Sprint!!"

"Top student, go! Pass that guy with the small eyes!!!" Zhang Xianjing yelled.

Amid their noise, Yu Fan stared blankly as Chen Jingshen pushed hard, accelerated, and crossed the three-thousand-meter finish line in second place.

He'd pushed too hard at the end, so he jogged a few more steps before stopping.

He stood steadily, bent slightly at the waist, his face turned to the side as if waiting for the referee beside him to announce the result.

Chen Jingshen was a bit sweaty. His school uniform had taken a beating during the run, his hair was a mess, everything about him was disheveled—the complete opposite of his usual proper self.

But his expression was still calm, his handsome face taut, making the other boys who were panting like dogs look even more pathetic by comparison.

The referee said a number to him. Chen Jingshen nodded, then, like every other guy, grabbed the hem of his shirt and wiped the sweat off his chin.

His taut waist and stomach flashed into view for a moment.

"—Ahhh! Second! Are the results recorded? Can I go bring him water now?"

Zhang Xianjing's shriek snapped Yu Fan back to reality.

Chen Jingshen had obviously heard the commotion too. He lifted his head and looked in their direction.

Yu Fan's heart jumped. He quickly looked away. "I'm going back."

Fighting someone who just ran three thousand meters—even if he won, it wouldn't feel like a real victory.

Wait. I'll beat you up tomorrow.

But how come this guy doesn't even look tired? And he got second place among all those sports students.

Is he better at long-distance than short-distance?

Is he just holding himself up to show off? Forget it, with his build, he'll probably collapse in two minutes—

His arm was grabbed from behind. Before Yu Fan could react, he was forcibly turned around.

Meeting Chen Jingshen's dark eyes, Yu Fan was momentarily stunned. "What the fuck—"

Chen Jingshen swayed and fell straight toward him.

Yu Fan froze, instinctively reaching out to catch him.

The taller boy collapsed onto him, his head resting on Yu Fan's shoulder. He could even feel Chen Jingshen's burning body heat.

"Sorry." The person on him breathed warmly, his voice weak like he was about to go into shock, whispering in his ear, "Can't stand anymore."