(1）
The spring breeze gently lifted An Jing’s clothes as the students gathered on the side, waiting to hear their names called.
Just then, Sun Wei’s name was called. He struck a wildly exaggerated pose, spat twice into his palm with a “pfft pfft,”
then gave a powerful leap, grabbing the iron bar and made a proper attempt at the pull-up—but then,
he just hung there.
Refusing to give up, he swung his body back and forth like a swing, struggling for a long while before finally managing to get his chin over the bar.
An Jing couldn’t hear any sounds, but she clearly saw the students below bursting into laughter.
In the boys’ world, there was rarely any tolerance or comfort; if you couldn’t do what most could, you were sure to be ridiculed.
And this wasn’t just one class—boys from several classes were gathered, even some from other schools a bit farther away…
Sun Wei, who was usually tough and brash as if nothing could faze him, flushed red and bit his teeth, struggling to pull himself up to about half a face’s height—probably enough to count as one pull-up—then his hands gave out, and he dropped down.
He stood on the ground, pretending to be indifferent as he muttered a few words, then scurried out of the crowd like a rat afraid of the light.
Fang Qiang laughed loudly, pointed at Sun Wei, and said a few words that made Sun Wei’s expression sour.
But soon after, he threw an arm around Sun Wei’s shoulder in a “brotherly” manner, joking around.
Zhou Chao, waiting nearby, patted An Jing’s shoulder and pointed ahead.
An Jing immediately understood and hurried forward.
The proctoring teacher frowned and glanced at her twice, as if questioning something.
It was obvious without needing to think—it was because she was a girl…
Fortunately, the class advisor was nearby, overseeing the boys to prevent chaos and came over to explain her appearance.
An Jing took a deep breath, stared at the iron bar, and after a long mental preparation, jumped up with a strong leap.
But her hands slipped, and she fell down.
The proctor pointed upward with a pen, motioning for her to try again.
This only made An Jing more nervous.
She bent her knees slightly, slowly swinging her arms, imagining countless possibilities in her mind, until she worried the others might get impatient waiting.
Then, she jumped again with all her strength.
This time, she firmly grasped the iron bar.
So… what next?
Nothing much.
She just hung there, unable to use any strength.
The people below looked at her with various expressions—curious, mocking, laughing…
Their gazes stabbed at her like steel needles, making her want to jump down immediately and escape their stares…
But then she saw a few good brothers’ faces, all smiling calmly, waving vigorously to cheer her on.
So she decided no matter what, she had to complete at least one pull-up.
She imitated Sun Wei, awkwardly swinging back and forth like a limp noodle.
Every moment was agony, but she persevered, eventually finding the easiest angle to exert force, and gave a powerful swing upward.
Although her hands gave out and she fell, she let out a small sigh of relief.
After all, it was better than zero.
Unable to hear any sounds, she didn’t notice the others’ laughter and quietly stepped out of the crowd, only to be grabbed by Fang Qiang’s arm.
He seemed to be saying comforting words, casually pointing at Sun Wei, who immediately flipped him off and rolled his eyes skyward—in other words, Fang Qiang’s “comfort” carried a hint of teasing.
An Jing couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head and stretching leisurely, using body language to show them she was fine.
Fang Qiang slapped his forehead, made a running motion, then pointed at An Jing and his own back.
Sun Wei nodded along, saying something unknown, prompting Fang Qiang to vigorously pat his chest, as if making a solemn promise.
There was no time to be upset about failing the pull-ups.
Because the dreaded one-thousand-meter run was coming up next…
***
(2）
The students on the field were running with all their might, even those who weren’t good at running were giving their full effort today.
Many probably wouldn’t be this serious during the school sports meet.
An Jing stood on the high platform beside the track, watching those somewhat blurry figures pounding the ground with forceful strides.
The faster runners moved with the grace of leopards; watching the rhythmic motion of their bodies was a pleasure in itself.
Some athletes wore tight uniforms to reduce wind resistance and quickly left everyone else behind.
Others, though awkward in form and running clumsily, refused to give up.
Honestly, a few looked like zombies… but at least they were still running and hadn’t stopped.
An Jing smiled wryly, thinking she probably wouldn’t do much better than those people.
The waiting time was agonizing, and she kept wondering why it wasn’t her turn yet.
The test alternated—boys running in one batch, then girls in the next.
It seemed all the students from Xiao Cheng No.1 High School had finished because An Jing saw some students from Xiao Cheng No.2 High School starting to enter the track.
But they weren’t boys—they were girls.
And from Class Five.
Zhu Ying looked very relaxed as she lightly jumped at the starting point and waved enthusiastically at An Jing, who was leaning on the railing.
An Jing, nervous, returned a big smile, silently shouting “Go!”
Zhu Ying raised her face proudly, as if she didn’t take the eight-hundred-meter run seriously.
The moment the starting gun released a puff of smoke, Zhu Ying ran out with light steps.
Her speed wasn’t fast, probably mid-pack, but she looked completely at ease.
The long-legged girl from the athletic training team was clearly in the lead, but Zhu Ying didn’t seem to try to keep up, running entirely at her own pace.
One lap passed, and many runners had started to fall behind, but Zhu Ying maintained her steady speed.
Just when An Jing thought Zhu Ying hadn’t even sprinted at full strength, she had already reached the finish line.
She was the third to arrive, and it looked like she would easily earn an excellent grade.
From afar, Zhu Ying flashed a “yeah” gesture at An Jing, then hurried to support the unsteady Wang Xinru as she crossed the finish line—Wang’s legs had been trembling during the run, yet she still ran this fast, earning admiration.
Speaking of which, Wang Xinru’s health was never great as a child, but now she looked much healthier…
Just then, a rough hand slapped An Jing’s shoulder hard.
She grimaced and turned to see Fang Qiang toss his head with flair, motioning for her to hurry up.
That meant it was time for her to run the one-thousand meters…
***
(3）
Though she had been so nervous earlier that her hands and feet went cold, standing on the track calmed An Jing down.
She even had time to appreciate the wind-swayed shadows of the trees and the unexpected yellow flowers blooming along the edge of the rubber track.
The warm sunlight lazily bathed the earth, highlighting the layers of green on the leaves.
A few butterflies fluttered their white wings up and down, bringing waves of floral fragrance.
The field was large but couldn’t accommodate all the boys running at once; after all, this was an exam and needed to be more formal with each person having an independent starting point.
Fortunately, Fang Qiang, Zhou Chao, and Sun Wei were running near her—only a few lanes apart.
The teacher holding the starting pistol slowly walked to the edge of the track, raised his hand high, and opened his mouth to shout silently.
An Jing stared intently at the gun barrel but, unable to hear, started a moment later than the others.
Panicked, she turned and ran forward, but after a few steps, she stumbled and fell to the ground.
Before she could react, a strong arm reached out, firmly grabbing her and pulling her forward a few steps.
Not looking to see who it was, An Jing steadied herself and, ignoring any rhythm of breathing, pushed her legs forward and tried to keep pace.
The four-hundred-meter track felt endless.
Half a lap in, she already felt out of breath, and the boys in the outer lanes had moved to the inner lanes, ready to speed up.
Sun Wei gave her a thumbs-up while panting heavily, and Zhou Chao and Fang Qiang ran ahead at a steady pace.
An Jing tried to match Zhou Chao’s stride and felt she was regaining a bit of rhythm.
Fang Qiang glanced back, saw they were adapting, and slowly started to accelerate.
An Jing had no energy to look back but sensed a few runners behind her—she wasn’t the slowest!
Having just completed four hundred meters, it felt as if she had run around the world; the starting line was far behind her now.
Fang Qiang and Zhou Chao’s strides lengthened, Sun Wei shook the sweat from his head and followed closely, but An Jing’s legs were numb and slowing down.
She struggled to keep up, but her head dropped lower and lower, and the world before her lost all color, turning into a blur of black and white.
Then she fell hard, her palm scraped raw on the rubber track, sending sharp pain through her.
Sun Wei was the first to stop, shouting a couple of times.
Fang Qiang and Zhou Chao quickly stopped and turned to pull her up.
An Jing weakly waved them off—she had no strength left—and felt that even if she got up now, passing was impossible, let alone achieving an excellent result…
The wind howled past her ears.
But the breeze that touched her face was gentle.
Fang Qiang’s shout rang like thunder: “Brothers, together! Brothers—!! Together!!”
Zhou Chao and Sun Wei helped An Jing up, panting like broken bellows from their exertion.
The crowd around them erupted in noise, and the proctor shouted from behind: “You guys hurry and keep running!”
Sun Wei pushed from behind, while Zhou Chao and Fang Qiang each grabbed one of her arms; their shouts had never sounded so clear.
“Don’t give up!!”
“Run, brother!!”
“Run together, brother, brother, run together!!”
Even knowing An Jing couldn’t hear, they still shouted with all their might.
“I… can run myself!”
An Jing took a deep breath, gently shook off Fang Qiang and Zhou Chao’s hands.
Though her legs no longer felt like her own, and the suffocating lack of fresh air made her soul feel like it was drifting away…
She still ran with all her strength.
“Ha ha, An Jing!!”
Fang Qiang wanted to say something but had no energy left.
“Brothers, charge!!”
Zhou Chao smiled but dared not laugh out loud; he ran alongside her, pointing fiercely forward.
“Charge—!!”
Sun Wei’s voice cracked but he insisted on shouting more, “Charge, charge—!!”
The world beyond that white line looked unexpectedly beautiful…
The finish line was right ahead.