After school at five, all the selected participants for special training gathered on the track, divided into groups for an hour-long practice session.
Li Yang kept the time, while Sheng Qian recorded everyone’s running times on a laptop. Lin Xiaoxiao and Xia Linchuan, who had nothing else to do in the evening, stood nearby, serving as Zhou Le’s cheer squad, while Chen Nan directed each runner on their technique.
“You’re starting too fast. This isn’t a sprint, so why are you running like a rabbit?”
“And those long legs of yours—are they just for show? Can’t you use them properly? Are they stuck?”
When he got to Zhou Le, he looked at him silently for a long time with a bewildered expression, as if he couldn’t find the words.
Zhou Le, a bit winded after his laps, looked at Chen Nan and couldn’t help but ask, “So, how did I do?”
Chen Nan just glared. “Can you stop with the false starts?!”
“And what’s going on with your legs? Can’t you stretch them out? Are they glued together or something?”
“If you’ve got short legs, then swing them more! Don’t you know those sports guys with legs over 1.8 meters long?”
Zhou Le hadn’t expected such a scolding—he could practically feel the spit hitting him.
And about that 1.8 meters—who wouldn’t want to grow taller? But as a disabled Omega, he figured it was already impressive he’d reached this height.
Zhou Le closed his eyes, mumbling, “I think my legs… are doing okay. I feel like I’m moving them pretty fast.”
Just as he finished, he heard a low chuckle. Looking up, he caught Lu Jingran watching him, his mouth still curved in a faint smile.
Chen Nan: “You think you’re doing okay? Seriously? Just now, you couldn’t keep your pace consistent! Your speed changes all over the place!”
“If you start fast but burn out, you’ll get overtaken in no time.”
Feeling guilty, Zhou Le lowered his head.
He’d noticed this problem too. In the last 50 meters, he would run out of steam, feeling like all the air he’d been running through was trapped in his chest. It was uncomfortable, sapping his stamina for the final stretch.
“So what should I do? Is there a way to train for this?” Zhou Le asked earnestly.
Chen Nan was about to reply when Li Yang called him urgently from the side. “Chen Nan! Check this out!”
“Got it, coming.”
Chen Nan was practically busier than the homeroom teacher during this hour.
Before he left, he told Zhou Le to keep practicing on his own.
But Zhou Le didn’t know what to focus on, so he just kept running, hoping to get his breathing in sync with his strides, though it didn’t help much.
Exhausted, he eventually collapsed onto the grass on the field.
Every bone in his body ached, and his face was slick with sweat.
As he tilted his head back, eyes closed, to catch his breath, he sensed someone approaching.
Even with his eyes shut, he could tell someone was standing nearby.
“When you’re running, control your breathing. Sprinting like that won’t help.”
Hearing that first line, Zhou Le immediately knew it was Lu Jingran.
His voice was low and smooth, with a calm quality that was oddly reassuring.
Zhou Le opened his eyes.
Lu Jingran was standing beside him, looking down with his eyes slightly lowered, backlit by the setting sun, the breeze lifting the hem of his shirt.
For the first time, Zhou Le clearly realized that Lu Jingran was truly good-looking—so much so that it was almost impossible to look directly at him.
“…Mm.”
Zhou Le stood up, frowning slightly. “So… how should I run? Do you think it’s still possible for me to get better with practice?”
“I…I really want to get that… first place.”
He mumbled, lowering his eyes.
He couldn’t exactly say he was after the rice cooker prize, so he’d had to put it this way.
Lu Jingran’s gaze lingered on his face for a moment before looking away. “Try a slower jog first. Focus on keeping your breathing steady instead of going all out. Let your body adjust to a regular pace.”
Zhou Le didn’t completely understand, but since Lu Jingran had said it, he was willing to give it a try. After all, Lu Jingran had experience, as did Chen Nan and Sheng Qian, both of whom were on the school basketball team with athletic abilities comparable to sports majors.
“Okay, I’ll give it a shot. I’ll go for a run now,” Zhou Le said, getting ready to take off.
“Wait a second,” Lu Jingran called. “Rest a bit first. Have some water.”
Water?
Just then, Zhou Le heard Li Yang calling out, lugging a box. “Take a break, everyone! The class rep bought us drinks! Xia Linchuan, stop standing there—come help!”
“Whoa, the class rep’s treating us! I’ve got to post this on social media!”
“The class rep is awesome! Long live the class rep!”
“Haha, long live the class rep!”
When Li Yang and Xia Linchuan put the box down, a crowd swarmed around them.
“Cola! I want this one!”
“Me too! Me too!”
“That was the last one.”
“Then I’ll take this iced tea.”
“Fine, just don’t push!”
“You’re the one pushing, you jerk, haha!”
“Get off me! You’re sweating all over me.”
The lively energy of the boys filled the empty field.
Zhou Le watched the others crowd around and decided not to push his way in, quietly standing off to the side.
Lin Xiaoxiao, the only girl there, wasted no time, grabbing a bottle of matcha soda, snapping photos for social media, and captioning it: “Ahhh, this drink was bought by my male god! Ahhh, can’t believe I’m drinking soda from Male God Lu himself—this day couldn’t get any better!!!”
After doing all this, she suddenly remembered something and turned around, shouting, “Zhou Le, what do you want to drink?!”
Before Zhou Le could answer, Xia Linchuan spoke up from the side: “I got one for him.”
He waved the drink in his hand.
Lu Jingran looked up and saw it was a lemon-flavored Sprite.
Zhou Le immediately ran over to Xia Linchuan, taking the drink. “Thanks.”
Xia Linchuan casually asked, “How’s the training going?”
Zhou Le pulled a face, “Not great…”
He could run fast, but whenever he thought of Xiao Lan’s long legs and powerful strides, he felt that getting first place wouldn’t be easy at all.
But then he remembered the 5-liter rice cooker. Even if it wasn’t a branded one, it would still cost 300 or 400 yuan. If it were branded, it’d be close to 1,000.
This was practically a free 1,000 yuan—who wouldn’t want that?
With that thought, Zhou Le felt a burst of motivation again.
After a short break, everyone started running laps around the track again, this time all together like a long-distance drill, practicing steady breathing.
There were over 20 people running, and with the background of the school after hours, they made for a noticeable scene.
Class 7’s cleaning team had just finished and saw this as they left the school building.
“D*mn, Brother Xiao, Class 3 is really pushing it. Training this late—they look like they’re aiming to sweep every event at the weekend sports meet.”
“Are you kidding? Brother Xiao is an actual athlete, and he’s already pre-accepted into a sports university. Why would he be afraid of them?”
Xiao Lan snorted, looking disdainful.
Moreover, among those people on the track, he spotted someone familiar—Zhou Le?
Ha, hilarious. Class 3 must be desperate if they’re sending someone as useless as him to compete. Isn’t that just embarrassing?
Meanwhile, others also noticed Zhou Le.
“Wait, am I seeing things? That’s Zhou Le, right? The one who always gets chased around by Old Feng—he’s competing too?”
“Yeah, him? With his flimsy build that looks like it’d blow over in a strong wind? Don’t let Brother Xiao accidentally knock him flying during the event!”
“Hahaha, that’s such an accurate image!”
Zhou Le wasn’t particularly eye-catching, but he was known around the school for being cheap and useful. Pretty much everyone knew of him.
Their laughter was so blatant that Chen Nan, who had been watching the running on the track, turned his head sharply and looked right at them.
“What the h*ll are you laughing at?”
Class 7 didn’t back down, still laughing.
“Brother Xiao, look, they’re getting all riled up.”
“Haha, what, the weaklings can’t handle some jokes? Hilarious.”
But gradually, they stopped laughing.
Or rather, they couldn’t laugh anymore.
Because Lu Jingran, who had been standing beside Chen Nan, had turned to face them.
Although he wore the same blue and white uniform, there was something particularly intimidating about him. When he lowered his gaze, his dark, calm eyes swept over them, sending a wave of icy tension that made everyone shiver.
He was merely standing there, yet he brought everyone to a halt.
Between Alphas, emotional responses were more direct, and Xiao Lan’s back went stiff immediately.
D*mn!
He cursed, gritting his teeth, but faced with Lu Jingran’s stare, he didn’t dare say anything and just turned to leave.
The others followed suit, turning meek as mice who’d spotted a cat, instantly deflated and unwilling to linger.
“D*mn,” Chen Nan muttered, annoyed, “Just looking at that guy makes me want to punch him.”
“You’re not the only one,” Sheng Qian replied, “but it’d be better if we could find a reason that wouldn’t get us in trouble. Breaking school rules over someone like him isn’t worth it.”
Chen Nan shrugged, “Even if I did get in trouble, I doubt the school would really punish me.”
And he wasn’t wrong. Given their status, even if they did cause a bit of a mess, the school wouldn’t take any serious action against them. But to Sheng Qian, Chen Nan was still a bit too young—there was passion in teenage impulses, but it wasn’t always the best approach.
Lu Jingran checked his watch.
“Alright, training is over. That’s enough for today.”
As soon as he said that, Li Yang started shouting from the side of the track, “Everyone, gather up! Stop running for now.”
To the group, still running, his voice sounded like a heavenly choir. Even though his voice was a bit grating, they’d never appreciated it more.
“God, I’m dead tired. I can’t go on.”
“Me neither… Slow running is even harder than sprinting. I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
“Me too… this is insane…”
Zhou Le was in slightly better shape and could still manage to stand, but he was also feeling weak. He leaned over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily, with sweat streaming down his forehead.
Gradually, he started to feel too weak to stand. Just as he was about to call Xia Linchuan for help, a shadow appeared beside him.
Zhou Le mustered up the strength to look up, his blurry gaze meeting Lu Jingran’s.
“Class Rep…”
Lu Jingran reached out to steady his arm.
Zhou Le used the last bit of his strength and, finally unable to hold on, fell into Lu Jingran’s arms.
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