“Why do we still have to listen to this boring lecture even in college!”
“Right, it’s so annoying!”
The students whispered among themselves, some even scratching their hair in irritation.
They had thought that college would be free from those bureaucratic platitudes, but it turned out to be the same treatment.
Lin Jiaxin took all of this in, but she didn’t join in or agree.
Instead, she raised her chin slightly and let out a smug snicker:
“Heh, I said you’re kids, not comparable to me, and you’re not happy about it? Honestly, think about it—college is still a school, managed by people. As long as it’s run by humans, it can’t escape human nature.”
“And I figured this out back in middle school, way earlier than any of you!”
“Ah, human nature… you people who haven’t experienced anything won’t understand…”
Although everyone admitted her words had some truth to them, they were still speechless at her tone as if she were an old hand.
I mean, if you’re going to say it, do you always have to bring up how special you are? We’re all the same age, but you act like you know so much more than everyone else! Isn’t this just the leader’s itch to criticize and talk down to others?
But since they hadn’t been dismissed yet, although they wanted to argue back, they didn’t dare to speak up, so they just gritted their teeth and pretended not to hear.
Zheng Jiaoguan, who was standing in front……
‘Still not settling down, huh?’
‘Fine, I’ll deal with you later!’
…
After being subjected to a long torrent of pointless rhetoric, the expressions of the thousands of students on the field finally shifted from initial excitement to numbness.
The time was so long that at first they didn’t even realize when the dean had said, “End, training begins.”
The students, like ducks returning to their nests, lowered their heads and were urged and shouted by their respective instructors to go to their training grounds.
It wasn’t real dejection; it was because the dean, during his speech, was too focused on himself and forgot to turn off his magic. This caused every word he spoke to carry a soul-shaking, awe-inspiring dignity that intimidated without anger. It struck everyone on the field except the instructors numb!
…
As for Lin Jiaxin, she was led by Zheng Jiaoguan to the edge of the plastic sports field track.
There were far fewer people here than in the square, only a few teams.
Zheng Jiaoguan glanced at his watch, pondered for a moment, and said, “It’s getting late. Let’s start simple today—run 20 kilometers, just as a warm-up.”
“Don’t rush to complain about being tired. I know you Magic Cultivation Department students have different physiques, generally weaker, so I’ve already cut the training volume by a lot.”
Zheng Jiaoguan sneered, having anticipated the students’ groans, and continued ruthlessly:
“Of course, if you think I’m not being fair and want to match the training volume of the students from the adjacent Artifact Refining major, that’s fine. Add 30 kilometers on top of the 20—that’s their training volume for today.”
“Cut-down version or equal treatment version, you choose.”
The students were instantly silenced; no one said another word.
Who would choose the latter! 30 kilometers isn’t 30 meters!
Even Wu Jing, who was most eager to curry favor, turned a bit pale.
It was true that he went to military summer camp every year for training. But that kind of joke-level experience center for underage students was far too different from a real university. His personal best was 10 kilometers, and even then he would scream about being dead tired.
Only Lin Jiaxin, standing straight ahead, remained calm and composed. There was no trace of fear on her face. It was as if 20 kilometers was as simple as taking 20 steps in her eyes!
Some people grumbled inwardly, thinking she was just putting on a front, and that her heart was probably churning inside.
Lin Jiaxin ignored their glances. Even if she knew what they were thinking, she would just smirk and sneer.
‘Joking—would I be afraid of a mere 20 kilometers? Pure nonsense!’
After all… when you’re about to face a 20-kilometer run and you find out you have to add an extra 20 kilograms of weight—and it’s something you asked for yourself—you won’t be afraid anymore. You’ll just want to laugh…
…
“BEEP————!”
With a whistle from Zheng Jiaoguan, the formation run officially began!
The team was led by Wu Jing, the Acting Class Monitor who was determined to remove the “Acting” prefix.
“One! Two! Three! Four!”
Wu Jing’s sharp voice, like a eunuch’s screech, called out the cadence from near to far, finally returning to the starting point. They finished one lap, exactly one kilometer.
Not long after they returned to the start, Zheng Jiaoguan, who had disappeared after blowing the whistle, suddenly emerged from a corner. He carried a large basket of heavy items in his left hand and waved to the crowd.
Seeing Zheng Jiaoguan’s kind smiling face, everyone suddenly realized something and slowed their pace. All sorts of amused gazes instantly focused on Lin Jiaxin.
At this moment, the world focused on you!
Lin Jiaxin’s smile froze, and the stone that had been hanging in her heart finally fell.
‘Sure enough, I can’t avoid it today.’
She sighed inwardly, stepped out of the crowd, and while trying to maintain her aloof posture, slowly walked toward the instructor.
Lin Jiaxin had actually thought Zheng Jiaoguan had forgotten about this, or would get her the weights during tomorrow’s training. After all, she had already started running with the others. She had even already planned it out. Tonight, she would use the large amount of Manifest Saintly True Qi she had accumulated today to train overtime, strengthening her physique, cramming at the last minute, and hoping she wouldn’t collapse too embarrassingly.
Unexpectedly… having carefully planned the task, only to fail because the instructor didn’t play by the rules—who could have expected this outcome? 💔💔💔
“Here, this is the 20-kilogram weight you asked for. I just borrowed it from the adjacent Body Cultivation Department. It was cleaned beforehand and hasn’t been used.”
Zheng Jiaoguan stared at Lin Jiaxin with a smile and even thoughtfully told her it was clean. It seemed like he was considering her possible germaphobia as a girl, or another form of pressure. He seemed to be saying, “See, I got the stuff for you, and it’s clean. You can’t make excuses now, right?”
“Mm, thank you, Instructor.”
The corners of Lin Jiaxin’s eyes twitched slightly, but she still thanked him calmly and politely. Then she reached out to take it, weighed it in her hands, her expression unchanging, and suddenly murmured to herself:
“Tsk, it’s okay, lighter than I expected… Mm, maybe next time I can directly borrow 40 kilos. This weight doesn’t even count as a warm-up for me…”
After saying that, Lin Jiaxin lifted her ponytail with one hand and swung the weighted pack over her shoulder. The movement was smooth and clean.
Then, the moment she turned around, she quickly lowered her head, secretly took a deep breath, held the strain with all her might, and used all her strength to keep her knees from buckling…
‘Geez, no way… this thing is way too heavy!’
Lin Jiaxin was almost crying inside. Just wearing this weighted pack on her back was already messing up her breathing. Could she really run 20 kilometers carrying this?!
Lin Jiaxin looked at her classmates not far away, who were still running but also turning back to look at her.
‘They all want to see me make a fool of myself…’
She let out a soft laugh, took a deep breath, and started striding to catch up with them.
Lin Jiaxin’s back at this moment was like that of a soldier about to head to the battlefield—determined, heroic, and tragic. But there was no regret or fear!
And this silhouette in Zheng Jiaoguan’s eyes made him startle inwardly, and then he began to doubt himself.
‘Could it be… I was mistaken?’
‘She can really do it?!’
…
‘By the way, if I really can’t hold on, maybe I can strike a pose as I fall and still show off in front of my classmates?’
And Lin Jiaxin was already thinking about what pose would look better when she fell later…