MM | Chapter 44

Stranger

Sunlight spilled over the tips of the grass, vibrant and green. Sheng Wang squinted against the glare, feeling the warmth rise from his forehead and ears. He suspected it was the heat carried over by Gao Tianyang, and after fanning his collar a couple of times, he said to Jiang Tian, “How is this a bet? I always end up losing.”

Jiang Tian raised an eyebrow, saying nothing. After a moment of silence, he half-sighed, half-wondered, “Why didn’t you feel like you were losing when you tricked me?”

“That’s different,” Sheng Wang laughed, feeling the heat less intense as a cool breeze swept by, bringing a sense of autumn’s crispness.

He confidently declared, “You said it yourself, it was a trick.”

“What trick?” Gao Tianyang asked, walking over with a bottle of water from the logistics team, drinking as he went.

“Nothing, just talking about your amazing trick,” Sheng Wang replied offhandedly, pointing to Jiang Tian’s outfit.

The three of them turned their attention back to the field.

Before the race, Sheng Wang had mentally prepared himself. Judging by Song Sirui’s height and legs, he knew he wouldn’t be fast, but he didn’t expect him to be this slow…

“You better tell me Old Song is saving his energy for a sprint later,” Sheng Wang said, pointing to the person gradually being overtaken by other classes.

Gao Tianyang chuckled awkwardly. “Who saves energy in a 200-meter race?”

As they spoke, a girl from Class 8 overtook Song Sirui. He struggled with his short legs, but it was futile.

“His starting speed is already his fastest,” Gao Tianyang said, never holding back when teasing Song Sirui. “In the last 50 meters, you’ll see his legs spinning like a hamster wheel. It looks like a sprint visually, but it’s not, it’s quite an illusion.”

Sure enough, as Song Sirui reached the handoff point, Gao Tianyang’s lead had vanished. From a distant lead to fifth from last, all in just 200 meters.

“Stay steady, don’t crumble. Remember our class slogan,” Gao Tianyang pointed to the conspicuous red banner. “Winning or losing doesn’t matter, just finish the race. Long live Class A.”

Sheng Wang: “…”

“Why did I agree to come up here and embarrass myself?” Sheng Wang seriously asked Jiang Tian.

Jiang Tian replied indifferently, “I’m wondering the same thing.”

“To great friendship,” Gao Tianyang raised his Vita water bottle.

The three of them were in good spirits, but Li Yu, who was taking the baton, was completely overwhelmed. She wasn’t good at this, but as class monitor, she was pulled in to fill the numbers. By the time she finished, fifth from last quickly became last.

The referee raised a flag, and the students running the fourth leg took their positions on the track. Sheng Wang was among them. Having warmed up earlier, he bounced in place a few times, ready at the handoff point.

One by one, students rushed over, and others took the baton. Li Yu still had over ten meters to go.

Sister Jing often said she had an unstable mindset, prone to nervousness and anxiety. This was magnified on the adrenaline-fueled sports field—

She was in tears by the end.

Through blurred vision, Sheng Wang was already jogging at the handoff point, a clean and bold silhouette.

As she handed over the baton, she heard Sheng Wang say, “Hey, don’t cry.”

The next second, the boy shot off like an arrow.

The most captivating thing about a spirited youth is the way they run through time. But in that moment, no one thought of such sentimental things, only the most direct reaction—the entire Class A erupted, shouting themselves hoarse.

They soon realized it wasn’t just Class A cheering; other classes were even more frenzied.

“What the hell—you guys hacked the game!!!” the Class B P.E. committee member, who wasn’t in the relay, shouted from the stands.

“If you have the guts, you hack too!” a girl shouted back without hesitation.

Sheng Wang overtook Class 8, Class 6, Class 3, Class 9…

With each person he passed, the stands erupted in cheers, every class shouting.

Then Class 12, Class 7, Class 2, Class B.

Class B’s early runners hadn’t left the field, standing on the grass to follow along, including Shi Yu, who shared a dorm with Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian.

After the English competition results came out, Shi Yu had been in an awkward state for a long time. Even though Sheng Wang didn’t know he was waiting to see him fail, Shi Yu still felt like he’d been slapped in the face, embarrassed to show himself.

Maybe it was because He Shu praised Sheng Wang for days, or maybe it was just a guy’s competitive nature. Shi Yu suddenly entered “competition mode,” listing Sheng Wang as his benchmark and quietly striving to outdo him—

Sheng Wang spent a week on competition problems, only scoring 10 points higher than Shi Yu in the physics and chemistry weekly exams, nothing special.

Sheng Wang memorized ancient poetry and did his own homework, scoring only 126 in the weekly Chinese exam, nothing special.

Sheng Wang’s English… well, English was probably a natural talent.

Everyone has one or two talents. Sheng Wang’s was English, Shi Yu’s was sports.

Shi Yu always felt he was naturally gifted physically, with speed, explosiveness, and jumping ability far above average. He believed innate differences couldn’t be overcome, it was fate. This was his excuse for copying homework, playing games, and not studying.

But in this moment, what he’d believed for years was suddenly shaken.

He watched Sheng Wang overtake twelve people, getting closer to second place, the most dazzling presence on the field, and suddenly felt his so-called talent wasn’t so outstanding.

“Damn, that’s crazy!” Class B’s guys couldn’t help but exclaim, and one hooked Shi Yu’s neck, saying, “Did you know your roommate was this awesome?”

Shi Yu forced a laugh, finally abandoning “nothing special,” and replied, “What do you think?”

When Sheng Wang reached the handoff point, he was neck and neck with second place, just two steps behind first.

He handed the baton to Pepper but couldn’t stop his momentum, running another seven or eight meters before finally halting, the wind he stirred hitting Pepper in the face.

The next moment, Pepper, face flushed, dashed out.

Most of the middle legs were boys, and Class A thought their advantage would be lost again. They never expected that when girls went wild, anything was possible!

“Oh my god…” Class B’s P.E. committee didn’t know what to say.

Class A was stunned for a moment, then erupted again, as if their loud voices could give Pepper a boost.

“From now on, Pepper’s officially renamed Fire Wheel!” a boy shouted, and others, finding it fitting, laughed along.

The girl overtook another runner, and after 200 meters, Class A was back in first. With more boys in the class, their cheers were distinctly different, shaking the heavens.

Then the heart attack journey began—

Sheng Wang stood by the field, drinking water, but after a few seconds, he decided not to, afraid he’d choke to death.

First, the sixth runner, Zhao Qiao Na, slipped, stumbling a few steps as seven or eight classmates whizzed past her.

Panicking, her breathing rhythm was off, and after a hundred meters, she was gasping. By the end of her leg, Class A was down to 11th.

Then the seventh runner was bumped by someone from Class 4, nearly falling, hands on the ground before getting up to chase…

Chasing herself into last place.

Even a roller coaster wasn’t this wild.

Seeing things going south, Sheng Wang ran halfway across the field to Jiang Tian.

By then, the teacher had raised the flag, and Jiang Tian was at the handoff point, with Gao Tianyang giving him a pep talk. After a while, he realized Tian-ge was zoning out, not hearing a word.

Following his gaze, he saw Sheng Wang on the sidelines.

“Alright, your mindset is rock solid, I’ll step back!” Gao Tianyang bowed out.

Just as Sheng Wang was about to cross the track line, the field staff started shooing people away. Gao Tianyang ran over, saying, “They won’t let you through, just shout whatever you need to say.”

Sheng Wang was stunned, suddenly realizing he didn’t know what to say. Why did he run across the field and track?

Just to stand by the field? Just… to take a look?

“Oh, I thought you rushed over with some important tips or strategy,” Gao Tianyang waved his hand. “Let’s just cheer then! Tian-ge—run well!”

Jiang Tian was stretching his ankle, his calm gaze passing over the track.

Other classes’ seventh runners were rounding the bend, with Class A in last.

Sheng Wang frowned, looking worried.

When he looked back from the distance, he saw Jiang Tian give him a thumbs-up, then turn sideways, reaching out steadily for the girl coming from behind.

Sheng Wang suddenly felt at ease.

That day, Class A felt like they were on a death-defying roller coaster, heart attacks coming and going.

Finally, when they saw Jiang Tian overtaking one person after another, the crowd was so excited they started counting.

When they reached 13, the relay race finally ended. Jiang Tian crossed the finish line second, with Class 4 barely ahead.

Class A was thrilled, second place was enough to make them scream, considering they used to finish last in relays.

The language class rep even had a broadcast script ready, only for the referee to make a gesture, calling a few students from the corner to ask some questions.

Minutes later, Class A’s scoreboard flipped to a new number: 15 points added.

“What happened???”

Class A thought it was a mistake, but then Gao Tianyang shouted, “Class 4 was disqualified for bumping, rankings adjusted, our class is first!!!”

Jiang Tian wasn’t aware, walking back from the finish line with a bottle of water in his hand.

He rolled up one sleeve to his shoulder, letting off steam, when suddenly someone ran up behind him, hooking his neck. “We’re first!”

It was Sheng Wang.

No one else would dare cling to him like that.

Jiang Tian lowered his head, shoulders hunched, staggering a couple of steps, calmly twisting open the water to drink.

“Did you hear? We’re first, first!”

Someone was getting bolder, not only hooking his neck but also ruffling his hair.

“I heard,” Jiang Tian replied with his lips against the bottle, taking a few more sips before lowering it, revealing a smile.

They were about to head to the registration area behind the stands when Jiang Tian suddenly stopped, looking ahead.

Sheng Wang was still hooked to his shoulder, watching Jiang Tian’s smile vanish, replaced by a cold expression.

He paused, following Jiang Tian’s gaze.

The west gate to the field required taking Road No. 3, with steps extending over. A well-dressed man was descending the steps, stopping midway when he saw Jiang Tian.

Sheng Wang’s first thought was that the man looked familiar. He rarely remembered faces, but if he had an impression, there must be something special.

He suddenly realized the man’s special trait was his resemblance to Jiang Tian.

Then he remembered seeing this man before. In Wutongwai, near Old Man Ding’s alley.

“Xiao Tian,” the man called.

Sheng Wang realized this was Jiang Tian’s long-absent father, Ji Huanyu. He recalled Old Man Ding’s descriptions of Jiang Tian’s childhood, finding the man’s distinguished demeanor increasingly off-putting.

Jiang Tian didn’t respond.

Sheng Wang saw Ji Huanyu’s gaze sweep over him. Before he could react, Jiang Tian straightened up.

The shoulder-hooking gesture suddenly became awkward, and Sheng Wang hesitated, letting go.

“And who might this student be?” Ji Huanyu tilted his head slightly, clearly curious about Sheng Wang.

Finally, Jiang Tian spoke.

“None of your business,” he said coldly, then lightly patted Sheng Wang’s shoulder. “What are you standing here for? Let’s go.”