Chapter 12: Bringing Honor to the Class
Cao Jun handed the sign-up sheet for the sports meet to the class monitor, He Sheng, instructing him to have all the names compiled by Wednesday.
After Cao Jun left, He Sheng immediately began gathering names. Jiang Xu, being a sports student, naturally couldn’t escape. He signed up for the men’s 3000-meter race and the long jump.
Wen Xia instinctively avoided such things. She had been physically weak since childhood. After getting married, Qin Mo had… well, ahem… “complained” about it, so he dragged her out to jog every day. Only then did her stamina improve a bit.
Liu An’an and Jiang Yan hadn’t even considered signing up. Within a short while, the three of them had completely forgotten about it.
Over the next two days, the whole class noticed that Wen Xia was receiving “special” attention from all the teachers in various subjects.
How tragic.
It was now Wednesday, the last day for compiling the sports meet sign-up sheet. The women’s 800-meter and 3000-meter races still had no participants.
There weren’t many girls in the science class; Class 8 had only 18 of them.
He Sheng scanned the classroom, and his gaze finally landed on Wen Xia and her two friends.
At that moment, Wen Xia happened to turn her head to say something to Liu An’an and accidentally locked eyes with He Sheng.
“…”
A bad feeling crept over her.
She pretended not to notice and turned back, picking up her pen to start her homework.
By now, the entire class was aware that no one had signed up for the women’s 800-meter and 3000-meter races.
The girls were all actively avoiding the class monitor.
He Sheng walked over with the sign-up sheet in hand. He was a slightly frail boy, wearing black-framed glasses with a small mole near the corner of his eye. His appearance was average.
Liu An’an, seated on the outer side, was the first target. He Sheng placed the sign-up sheet in front of her and adjusted his glasses, speaking in a tone that carried a hint of negotiation. “Liu An’an, Jiang Yan, Wen Xia, why don’t the three of you sign up for one event? Last semester, you didn’t sign up for anything. This semester, it’s only fair that other girls don’t have to step in again.”
Liu An’an, busy copying her math homework, looked up at He Sheng briefly before returning to her work. As she continued to write, she refused bluntly, “Class monitor, we’re terrible at running. We didn’t even pass the physical fitness test last semester. We’ll definitely lose.”
He Sheng was truly at a loss for candidates. “Teacher Cao said it’s all about participation, winning or losing doesn’t matter.”
“Class monitor, no, we really can’t do it.”
Liu An’an looked pitiful, with a long face. The 800-meter race would be fine, but the 3000-meter race would take half her life to finish.
“Class monitor, please find someone else. We’ll cheer them on,” Jiang Yan added, nodding in agreement.
He Sheng adjusted his glasses again. “Just support my ‘work,’ will you?”
“You three can send one person to sign up, then I can report to the teacher.”
With his words out there, the three girls felt a little guilty, especially Liu An’an and Jiang Yan, who often asked He Sheng to let them copy his homework.
Seeing Liu An’an and Jiang Yan looking like they were about to cry, Wen Xia gave in with a sigh. “Class monitor, I’ll sign up for the 800 meters.”
He Sheng nodded and wrote Wen Xia’s name in the 800-meter column. There were still two spots left for the 3000 meters.
After he left, Liu An’an immediately threw herself at Wen Xia. “Xia Xia, you’re my lifesaver!”
Jiang Yan followed suit, hugging her from behind with a playful grin. “Xia Xia, you’re truly an angel! I’ll cheer for you, and I’ll even buy you a whole row of Wahaha drinks!”
“Go away, stop buttering me up,” Wen Xia said, “pretending” to be disgusted as she pulled them back by the collars.
Despite her mock rejection, they continued to hug her tightly, showering her with praise. “Xia Xia, you’re the best!”
“Xia Xia is a little fairy, the prettiest little fairy!”
…
During evening self-study, Cao Jun took over the class.
He began with exaggerated politeness. “There are still no sign-ups for the women’s 3000 meters. Is there any girl willing to volunteer for the event and bring glory to the class?”
The entire class of girls stayed silent. Liu An’an kept her head down, pouting, and muttered, “Old Cao’s at it again, ‘forcing’ people to sign up.”
As expected, Cao Jun began to make decisions on his own. “Since none of you have signed up, I’ll just pick someone. The teacher doesn’t expect you to bring glory, but at the very least, you shouldn’t give up without a fight. It wouldn’t look good for Class 8 if people hear about it.”
He glanced over the list and, after a long pause, continued, “There are still Jiang Tian, Liu An’an, Zhang Li, Jiang Yan, and He Lin who haven’t signed up.”
He looked at several of them before settling on Jiang Yan and He Lin, who were both relatively tall, and happily declared, “Jiang Yan and He Lin.”
