Qi Anlu's father was a professor in the university's physics department. As a teacher himself, he had very strict requirements for his son. He had planned out his son's future path early on – to study physics, later join a research institute, and dedicate his entire life to physics research.
However, Qi Anlu didn't actually like physics, nor could he understand his father's fanaticism for it. The year his father went abroad as a visiting scholar was Qi Anlu's most relaxed year, but unfortunately, he had recently returned.
Qi Anlu remembered when he told his father about the school's sports meet, inviting families to come watch at the school. His father had said:
"What's there to see at a high school sports meet? It's a complete waste of time."
"Three days without classes – think of how many practice problems you could solve in that time!"
"My time is extremely valuable. I don't have time for such meaningless activities."
Not only did Qi Wenhan refuse to attend his son's sports meet, he also wouldn't let Qi Anlu's mother go.
Qi Anlu's mother was a housewife who never dared to disobey her husband. Even though she felt sorry for her son, she didn't dare say anything.
"Your father just wants what's best for you. Study hard, and everything will be fine once you get into university," she said.
Would everything really be fine once he got into university? Qi Anlu didn't believe it at all.
Sometimes when he was extremely upset, Qi Anlu would say to his mother, "Mom, you should divorce dad. I'll stay with you."
But his mother would act as if she'd been frightened and scold him: "What nonsense are you talking? How could I divorce your father?"
After this happened many times, Qi Anlu grew tired of saying it. If it was just about studying, then he'd study. After all, studying wasn't going to kill him.
That's what he told himself.
On the third day of the sports meet, the morning events included the 400-meter and 800-meter finals, as well as the three-legged race. The closing ceremony and awards would be in the afternoon.
"Whoa! Chu Mingyan, what's up with your hair?" Nian Suian looked over, following Gu Zhijing's voice. Chu Mingyan seemed to have put extra effort into his appearance today. His usually casually styled hair was now combed back and set with product.
Chu Mingyan gingerly touched his hair. "This is my carefully designed hairstyle to reduce air resistance."
Everyone knew each other too well. Qu Zizhou immediately called him out: "Oh, please! If you want to look good, just say so. Don't make up useless excuses."
Chu Mingyan's mother chimed in from the side: "Isn't he just trying to look handsome? He got up super early this morning to fuss with that mess of hair, and even asked me to help him pick out clothes."
"Mom! Give me a break in front of everyone," Chu Mingyan protested.
His mother laughed, "Alright, I'll stop. My boy's all grown up now, caring about his image and all."
When there were no competitions, Chu Mingyan was too excited to sleep. But now that the actual race was here, with so many people watching, he became nervous and didn't know what to do with his hands and feet.
"Chu Mingyan, what are you doing? Put your arm around my shoulder," Xu Yuan said straightforwardly, taking the initiative to wrap her arm around his waist. She hadn't thought much of it – since they were in the race, they should try their best to win.
This was also the first time that Xu Licheng didn't notice Cen Xi standing not far away.
At that moment, he was gritting his teeth as he watched Chu Mingyan.
"Why do I feel a bit cold?" For some reason, Chu Mingyan felt a chill down his spine.
"Cold? It's not cold at all. Are you just too nervous?" Xu Yuan asked.
"Maybe that's it," he replied.
Xu Yuan reassured her partner, "Don't be nervous. It's not a big deal."
Thanks to their previous practice, the pair won an impressive third place.
After crossing the finish line, Chu Mingyan wanted to chat with Xu Yuan for a bit, but was interrupted.
"Let go! The race is over, why are you still holding onto her?"
Chu Mingyan was startled and quickly let go, but then forgot that their legs were still tied together. He almost fell, but Xu Yuan steadied him and untied the band around their feet. Then she said to Xu Licheng, "Uncle, why are you being so fierce?"
"Hmph! You don't understand. I saw everything clearly!" He wasn't up to any good.
With that, he pulled Xu Yuan away.
Seeing that Xu Yuan had left, Gu Zhijing and the others approached.
Qu Zizhou handed his phone to Chu Mingyan. "Take a look. I took some photos for you. Aren't I a good friend?"
At first, Chu Mingyan was excited, but after looking at the photos, he was left speechless.
"Is the main subject of your photos supposed to be the track?" He couldn't tell that Qu Zizhou had been trying to photograph him at all.
Would Qu Zizhou admit that his photography skills were terrible? Of course not.
"You should be grateful there are any photos at all. Don't be so picky. Isn't this what you've been dreaming of?"
Well, there wasn't much he could do if he wasn't satisfied. Chu Mingyan carefully sifted through the pile of photos, finally managing to find one where Xu Yuan's face was clearly visible and he looked somewhat human-like beside her.
He zoomed in and examined it over and over, extremely pleased with himself.
His expression was so sickly sweet that it made Gu Zhijing and the others' teeth ache. They couldn't be bothered with him anymore, so they rubbed their arms and left.
The last event of the morning was Qi Anlu's 800-meter final.
To cheer for his friend, Gu Zhijing had even brought drums.
It wasn't just their group of friends – Nian Suian, Gu Junxing, Jiang Yun, and Chu Mingyan's mother Ming Si had also joined the kids at the starting line.
"Boom boom — boom boom boom"
"Qi Anlu — Go for it!"
"Boom boom — boom boom boom"
"Qi Anlu — You can do it!"
The 800 meters might not seem long, but it's actually quite challenging. It's difficult to maintain a steady yet fast pace during the race. Most people run out of steam before reaching the 400-meter mark.
In Qi Anlu's ears, there was a constant stream of encouragement and cheering from his friends. He couldn't focus on anything else, just single-mindedly pushing forward. His throat and chest burned, and he didn't even have the energy to worry about what place he was in.
Just like what happened with Gu Zhijing earlier, after crossing the finish line, Qi Anlu was about to collapse to the ground. Once again, the quick-thinking Gu Junxing caught him. Having gained experience from catching his son before, he was even faster this time.
However, Qi Anlu didn't dare to stay in Gu Junxing's arms like Gu Zhijing had. After catching his breath for a moment, he stood up on his own.
"Thank you, Uncle Gu."
"No problem. Can you stand steady by yourself?"
Qi Anlu nodded, indicating he was fine. His throat hurt terribly, and the exertion had made his eyes sting.
He had once written in an essay that "father's arms are strong and powerful," but in reality, since he could remember, he had never felt the so-called strong and powerful arms of his father.
It wasn't until today that he truly understood the meaning of that line from his essay, through the father of his friend.
"You beast! You almost got first place!"
"How come we never knew you could run so fast?"
"You really were just a hair's breadth away from catching up to first place,"
His friends' chatter pulled Qi Anlu out of his thoughts.
"Thank you all."
"What are you thanking us for? Cut that out!"
Gu Zhijing put his arm around Qi Anlu's shoulders and covered his mouth.
"No need to say it. I understand. It's all in here," he said, pointing to his heart.
