(1)
The pull-up bars were arranged from low to high, and green soft mats were spread underneath to prevent injuries if someone slipped and fell.
These mats were laid down two years ago when An Jing first enrolled, but now they were tattered and full of holes.
The mats directly under the bars, however, remained intact—perhaps because no one damaged them, or maybe those sections were replaced immediately once worn out.
The testing order wasn’t based on height but followed the class roster.
An Jing’s number was relatively late, so she could watch others “perform” and get a feel for it by the side.
“Let’s start with this bar!”
The PE teacher stopped in front of the third pull-up bar.
“If you feel it’s not high enough, pick a taller one nearby. Everyone else, don’t mess around. First person—!”
“I’ll go.”
Zhou Chao, who was student number one in the class, raised his hand enthusiastically with a calm smile on his face.
“Damn, Zhou Chao’s about to start showing off again.”
Sun Wei rubbed his hands with envy.
An Jing glanced sideways at him, about to say something, but then saw Zhou Chao grab the bar and swing back and forth like on a playground swing, effortlessly doing ten pull-ups.
Some whispered nearby, “That’s not standard.”
“Swinging up like that, what does that count as…”
“Exactly.”
“Such an act.”
Zhou Chao’s popularity among the boys wasn’t great; many envied him and, trying to side with the girls to gain their approval, would often be hostile toward him.
“Scum among men, shameful to be associated with”—that was the motto of some.
But in reality, the girls didn’t seem to dislike Zhou Chao much, especially the pretty ones; their relationships with him were fairly good, at least maintaining a normal, friendly distance.
This only fueled others’ jealousy even more.
“Ten. If you can do more, keep going!”
The PE teacher leisurely twirled the whistle’s lanyard.
“Let’s see who can do the most today.”
“Eleven, twelve, thirteen—”
Sun Wei, who had been quietly mocking Zhou Chao earlier, now cheered him on, “Nice, Brother Chao! You’re killing it!”
“Let’s see if he can hit twenty!”
An Jing shouted excitedly.
“Fourteen… eighteen, nineteen…”
“Twenty!”
Zhou Chao shouted himself on the last one, then let go and dropped down.
“Alright, finally made twenty.”
“Teacher, during the physical exam, can we swing up like that?”
“Sure, as long as you make it up there and don’t cheat, they won’t mind.”
“Okay, I’m number two. I got this. Swinging up is easy.”
A boy rolled up his sleeves and spat into his palm.
His friends immediately started cheering him on loudly.
But Zhou Chao paid no attention to their challenge.
Instead, he walked over with An Jing and openly admired the girls setting up mats on the basketball court.
The exaggerated shouting behind them was just background noise.
“Eleven, twelve!!!”
“Awesome, Brother Hu!”
“Whoa, taking off clothes!”
“How come ‘normal movements’ sound so sleazy coming from your mouth?”
An Jing looked helpless.
“I’m just stating facts, aren’t I?”
The girls did sit-ups in pairs—one held the other’s feet while they did reps, then they switched.
Their pace was much faster than the boys’, since only two groups were needed.
Counting was done by the partner girls, so accuracy wasn’t crucial; after all, this was just a casual fitness test.
Since it was winter, the girls wore a lot of layers and usually had to take off their jackets to do sit-ups properly.
Those wearing too many layers even had to remove sweaters underneath.
As the jackets came off, white steam rose in the cold air.
Sun Wei sniffed lecherously, as if already catching a whiff of the girls’ “fragrance.”
“Can you act normal for once…”
An Jing gave him a helpless look.
But Sun Wei didn’t reply; instead, his eyes widened in shock.
His gaze locked on Wang Xinru, who had just removed her thick jacket and then slipped off her long-sleeved school uniform shirt, revealing a form-fitting sweater beneath.
Her slightly plump figure was fleshy and full, and what caught the eye was how the sweater accentuated her stunning curves.
“Damn… so big!!”
“Hey, where are you looking?”
An Jing’s face was full of black lines.
“Screw you, mind your own Zhu Ying! I’m not looking at your girlfriend!”
“Creep.”
“So what if I’m a creep? I’m proud of it! Without creeps, how can pure people stand out?”
“Alright, enough of your twisted logic.”
Zhou Chao patted his forehead.
“Teacher’s calling your name.”
“Damn, it’s my turn already?”
Sun Wei looked guilty.
“Why so fast…”
“Because your student number’s at the front.”
“Damn, I should’ve scored lower on the class placement test…”
“That has nothing to do with it. My placement score was way higher than yours.”
Sun Wei raised his middle finger in frustration and quickly went to the pull-up bar.
A few boys nearby whispered quietly.
“Ah, so close, just two more.”
“Brother Hu skipped lunch, he’s hungry.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Plus, Brother Hu didn’t swing, pulled himself up by strength.”
“Exactly.”
Sun Wei rolled his eyes and ignored them completely.
Without hesitation, he leapt up, grabbed the bar fiercely, and pulled hard.
And then…
He hung there.
“What are you doing?”
The PE teacher leaned sideways with a teasing look.
“I thought we had to hang on for a minute!”
“Alright, I’ll count for you!”
“Doesn’t the front count?”
“Now it starts!”
Sun Wei gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.
It got harder toward the end, but he managed to hold on.
Although this wasn’t how it would be done in the official exam, at least he wouldn’t have to stay after school to do pull-ups today.
“Not bad, right?”
“Hanging there like a piece of cured meat,” An Jing glanced at him.
“Don’t brag, or the next person to fail will be embarrassed!”
***
(2)
When it was An Jing’s turn, many boys who had finished pull-ups had already gone to the playground to prepare for the long-distance run.
This made her feel a bit more relaxed.
At least she wouldn’t be embarrassed going up later…
“An Jing.”
The PE teacher looked at her with a joking tone, “Can you do it? If not, you can go do sit-ups with the girls.”
“Cough…”
An Jing wanted to say something tough, but she really wasn’t confident she could pull herself up.
She rubbed her hands hard, jumped with all her strength, but as soon as she grabbed the bar, her hands slipped and she nearly fell on her butt.
“Can you do it, An Jing?”
Sun Wei, who had mocked her earlier, now didn’t hesitate to tease again.
“Slip!”
An Jing blushed, defending herself as she jumped up again.
This time she held on, but didn’t have the strength to pull herself up.
She knew the swinging technique Zhou Chao used, so she tried to rock back and forth, hoping to do one or two pull-ups, but she only managed to sway and couldn’t pull herself up.
And—
Her tender palms felt like they were being torn apart.
“Ah!” Finally unable to endure the pain, she jumped down and staggered a few steps, stopping awkwardly by the long jump sandpit.
“Forget it.”
The PE teacher waved his hand.
“Go wait over there for the long run test.”
“Ah, that’s it?”
“Can’t help it. People are just different. You’re small and slight, look at that guy—”
He pointed at Sun Wei, “You’re far behind him. Even among girls, your frame’s small. Forcing you to do this won’t work.”
“Then what about the exam? Don’t we have to do pull-ups?”
“Lose some points, or try your best to barely pass.”
An Jing smiled bitterly, “I’ll try my best…”
“There’s also the shot put, but that requires even more strength. Pull-ups still have some tricks.”
The teacher waved them off. “Go, go, go. Wait over there, the long run is about to start!”
“Good luck, brother. I believe you can do it!”
Sun Wei slapped An Jing on the shoulder with a smile that looked encouraging but was actually schadenfreude.
An Jing immediately gave him two middle fingers.
“Screw you!”
***
(3)
When the boys began the long run test, the girls had just finished theirs.
The girls were fewer in number, took less time doing sit-ups, and only had to run 800 meters, so the process was much quicker than the boys’.
“Have all the girls’ results been recorded?”
The PE teacher glanced at Zhang Qiqi, who held another roster.
“Yes, all done.”
“Fang Qiang timed it?”
“I did.”
Fang Qiang raised the stopwatch and handed it to the teacher.
“The last one just finished.”
“Alright—let me check the girls’ results… hmm… all passed. Not bad.”
The teacher clicked his tongue.
“Okay, girls are dismissed and free to go. Boys, come over here and line up as usual. We’ll split into two teams; the first team runs first!”
“Zhou Chao, don’t run so fast. Wait for me and An Jing later.”
Sun Wei looked at Zhou Chao warming up nearby.
“I’m running slow, steady pace.”
“Yeah right, I’d believe that when pigs fly! You always run right behind A Qiang. You think we don’t know?”
“He’s faster.”
“Obviously, he’s the fastest in our class!”
“I might… not keep up.”
An Jing didn’t have much confidence in her current condition.
“Don’t worry, I’m the worst at long-distance running here. You’ll definitely be faster than me.”
Sun Wei offered rare encouragement.
Before, An Jing wouldn’t have worried about this—after all, she played basketball every day, so her endurance was guaranteed.
Even if not fast, at least she could pass.
But now…
She awkwardly looked elsewhere on the field, just catching Wang Xinru’s eyes.
She quickly looked away and accidentally met Zhu Ying’s gaze.
“Don’t look at me, damn it.”
An Jing lowered her head uneasily.
She already pictured herself embarrassingly finishing last.
The fact she’s smaller than the other girls as well is so funny. She’s gonna flunk so hard.