Chapter 40: The 3,000-Meter Race—Bai Qingxia Offers Water in Public

This fellow’s calm response caught Liu Wei off guard. The woman in her thirties, who could switch moods as quickly as an actor changing masks in a Sichuan opera, instantly turned her anger into a smile. She gently patted Lu Yuanqiu on the shoulder, encouraging him:

“Oh, is that so? You have an event this morning, Lu? Do your best. I was only teasing you just now.”

Lu Yuanqiu couldn’t help but nod, suppressing a smile.

The implication was clear: settle the score after the race.

Liu Wei was a woman who always had to be first in everything. Whether it was major exams or any kind of class-based school competition, she had to win. The reason she doted so much on Bai Qingxia was because Bai single-handedly raised Class 28’s average score by seven or eight points every time.

It was rumored that last semester, when Bai Qingxia missed the final exam, Class 28’s average fell out of the top three in the grade. Ever since the start of this term, Liu Wei had been enduring in silence in the office, barely speaking to the other teachers, all in anticipation of reclaiming her pride at this monthly exam.

Lu Yuanqiu remembered that Liu Wei’s archrival was the homeroom teacher of Class 29—Cao Yan, another bespectacled woman in her thirties, but taller, thinner, and more fashionable than Liu. The two classes were always in secret competition during exams, the roots of which lay in the long-standing grudge between the two teachers. No one really knew if there were other reasons for their rivalry.

After the opening ceremony, Lu Yuanqiu hurried back to the classroom to change into his sportswear, ready for the three-thousand-meter run that morning. Bai Qingxia, meanwhile, headed toward the campus convenience store.

A single minute of the class procession “catwalk” had made her the undisputed star of Luzhou No. 7 High, and that was no exaggeration. If the internet had been as widespread then as it would be in later years, a video of Bai Qingxia holding the placard would already be going viral across every short video platform.

In student days, a single fleeting glance was often enough for everyone to remember an outstanding girl.

As she walked towards the shop, Bai Qingxia felt more and more eyes on her. Small groups of students even clustered together, trailing after her and whispering like obsessed fans.

She ignored every gaze, walking with her head down as though no one else existed. Despite herself, she could clearly hear the conversations around her, and even caught her own name mentioned. It was as if her name had spread silently across the entire schoolyard, like an epidemic—by now, even those who’d had no prior interest in her knew who she was.

“Excuse me, senior!” someone called from ahead.

Bai Qingxia stopped in her tracks, raising her head to see a fair-skinned boy standing in front of her. The moment she looked his way, his face flushed crimson with embarrassment. He glanced awkwardly back at his friends behind him, flashing a silent middle finger in protest.

Bai Qingxia felt uncomfortable as well, but she didn’t brush him off or walk away, simply waiting for him to state his reason for stopping her.

“Could I add you on QQ?” the boy asked, bowing politely and speaking with what he thought was a charming tone.

In 2010, QQ was immensely popular among young people—a hot social app of the time.

“I don’t have QQ,” Bai Qingxia replied honestly, her voice naturally cool. That was just how she sounded when she spoke.

The boy was momentarily stunned. Before he could recover from the “rejection,” Bai Qingxia had already walked around him and continued on her way.

“I told you not to ask. Happy now? Got rejected,” the boy muttered to his friend.

Other onlookers turned their gaze to him, making his embarrassment even worse.

“Seriously… was she always this aloof?” his friend asked, coming over, eyes fixed on Bai Qingxia’s slender waist and long legs.

How could someone not have QQ at their age?

At the shop, Bai Qingxia asked softly, “Excuse me, how much is a bottle of mineral water?”

The shopkeeper, a young man, glanced over from the TV and replied, “One and a half yuan per bottle.”

The moment he saw her, he froze for a second, then scrambled up from his rocking chair and, with a smile, repeated, “One and a half yuan, little sister.”

“I remember it was one yuan per bottle…” Bai Qingxia murmured, clutching two coins, a hint of doubt in her voice.

The shopkeeper laughed. “It’s sports day, so the price went up a bit.”

Seeing her hesitance, he relented, “Alright, I’ll sell it to you at the original price—one yuan per bottle.”

Only then did Bai Qingxia hand over her two coins and receive two bottles of water.

As she walked away, the young shopkeeper stared after her and muttered, “Is that girl from No. 7 High? How come I’ve never seen her before?”

“Boss, two bottles of water!” Chen Fei called, glancing at Bai Qingxia’s retreating figure. She was buying the water for Zheng Yifeng, who was running the hundred-meter dash. Was Bai Qingxia buying water for Lu Yuanqiu?

“Three yuan for one, six for two,” the shopkeeper replied offhandedly.

“What the—? Are you robbing people?”

“That’s just how it is during sports day,” the shopkeeper said, lying back down to watch TV, clearly not caring whether she bought anything or not.

“Next group, warm up!”

On the red track, Lu Yuanqiu stood ready in a T-shirt and cargo pants, his number tag pinned to his chest. The three-thousand-meter race meant seven and a half laps around the four-hundred-meter track.

There were eleven runners in his group, including his own classmate, Wang Haoran.

Wang Haoran shook his middle-parted hair, swung his arms for the benefit of Class 28’s cheering section, and proclaimed confidently, “Don’t worry, everyone—the winner in this group is me!”

“Go for it!” Liu Wei joined her students, cheering Wang Haoran on excitedly.

But they all seemed to forget that Lu Yuanqiu was also in this group.

As Wang Haoran warmed up, he glanced disdainfully at Lu Yuanqiu, who was stretching nearby. “What’s wrong with you? Everyone else is in shorts, but you show up in cargo pants?”

Lu Yuanqiu snorted and gave his pants a casual pat, brushing off some grass and a small flower. “None of your damn business.”

Wang Haoran ignored him. He hadn’t cared much about Lu Yuanqiu before, but seeing how friendly Bai Qingxia was with him lately, he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of annoyance toward the burly guy.

Why did both Hu Caiwei and Bai Qingxia get along with him?

The girls in their JK uniforms were all cheering Wang Haoran on, and he was enjoying the attention. He spotted two bottles of Scream sports drink in Hu Caiwei’s hands—those were obviously meant for him later.

“Wait, is that Lu Yuanqiu?”

A voice called from the side. Lu Yuanqiu turned to see a boy with skin as dark as charcoal.

He hesitated, then guessed, “Tan Le?”

“Who else would it be?” Tan Le grinned, clapping Lu Yuanqiu on the back. They’d been close in their first year, but hadn’t kept in touch since the classes were reshuffled.

Truth was, they’d always gotten along well—Lu Yuanqiu was consistently second-to-last in the grade, and Tan Le was last.

“I saw you in Class 28’s procession—damn, you—” Tan Le lowered his voice conspiratorially, “That Bai Qingxia from your class, I’ve only ever heard of her—never seen her before. She’s gorgeous, like a character out of an anime! Seriously, has she been studying at home this whole time? I’ve never seen her in the cafeteria either.”

As he warmed up, Lu Yuanqiu replied, “She’s a day student, and all she does is study.”

Tan Le grinned slyly. “So, you know her well? Give me her QQ, will you?”

Lu Yuanqiu brushed another flower off his pants, glancing around but not spotting Bai Qingxia. He pursed his lips, “Not especially.”

Had she run off? Why wasn’t she here yet? He was about to start, and if Bai Qingxia wasn’t there to cheer for him, Lu Yuanqiu couldn’t imagine anyone else from the class doing it.

Tan Le nodded in resignation. “Makes sense. Back in first year, none of the girls talked to us. Average looks, lousy grades.”

Lu Yuanqiu shot back, “Speak for yourself about the looks.”

“On your marks!”

The teacher with the starting pistol shouted, and with a sharp crack, the eleven runners set off at an easy pace. Wang Haoran sprinted to the lead, his hair flying back as he ran.

Tan Le and Lu Yuanqiu kept chatting in the middle of the pack.

Tan Le seemed bewitched. “She’s honestly the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. Bro, I’ve never asked you for anything before—help me get her contact—wait, there she is!”

He yelled, eyes going wide as Bai Qingxia appeared at the edge of the track, cradling two bottles of water and running over like a fairy.

So stunned was Tan Le that he tripped and went sprawling, rolling over on the ground.

“Watch where you’re going!” Lu Yuanqiu hurried over to help him up, glancing at Bai Qingxia.

She smiled at him, standing shyly on the other side of the track, giving a little shake of the two water bottles to show she’d bought them for him.