Chapter 180 – No way, again?
After Xia Yuan and Mei Fang spent some time together, they returned to the gymnasium next to the track field. At this moment, the venue was holding high jump, standing long jump, and triple jump competitions, with students coming and going continuously.
Lin You Xi was not on the field at this time; she was standing aside talking to Liu Xiaoyu. When she saw Mei Fang and Xia Yuan approach, Lin You Xi hurriedly asked about Mei Fang’s condition.
“How come you took so long? Are you okay?”
While Lin You Xi was asking her question, Xia Yuan looked away suddenly, feeling guilty. Mei Fang didn’t feel much pressure and simply answered Lin You Xi’s question.
“It’s nothing serious, just need to observe. Have you finished your events or have you not started yet?”
“I’ve finished. I got seventh place in the high jump for the first-year girls’ group, which is not bad.”
“That’s great! Congratulations! It’s a pity I couldn’t cheer for you from the side.”
Mei Fang congratulated Lin You Xi on her achievement. Lin You Xi smiled slightly and gently patted Mei Fang’s arm.
“Let it go this time. In the afternoon relay race, both Yuan Yuan and I will be participating. Don’t you dare miss it then.”
“No problem, I’ll definitely be there to cheer for you.”
“Just being there is enough. No need to cheer. Your class 3 still has to compete with us. You only need to cheer for Bing Bing to avoid gossip.”
“I’ll cheer for you two in my heart.”
Lin You Xi noticed Xia Yuan’s abnormal state while chatting with Mei Fang and approached to pat Xia Yuan’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong with you, Yuan Yuan? You’ve been acting strange since earlier.”
“I… I’m fine…”
Xia Yuan quickly waved her hand and mumbled, “I was just thinking about the relay race. I performed so poorly and ran slowly, I’m sure I’ll disgrace the class.”
“Girls generally don’t run fast; it’s normal that you can’t compare to classes with athletes.”
Upon hearing this, Mei Fang was surprised, “Does your class not have any athletes? I remember Bing Bing said she had a teammate in the school basketball team, isn’t that someone from your class?”
“You mean Shang Qin, our PE monitor…?”
Xia Yuan sighed silently, “She lost the class president election to You Xi. Since then, she’s been at odds with us. So she only signed up for individual events during the sports meet, not team events. Otherwise, how could Xiao Yu and I, as rookies, sign up for the competition?”
“At odds with you?”
Mei Fang frowned slightly, “It sounds like there’s a clique.”
“Many local students have known each other since middle school, especially the local girls who are good friends with Shang Qin, they don’t really care about us transfer students… Ah, let’s not talk about this, girl stuff is complicated, you don’t need to worry about it.”
Did Lin You Xi encounter some group conflicts in Class 5? Should this be considered common among female high school students?
This matter wasn’t a big deal for now, so she would keep it in mind for later.
The three classmates from Baimei County, who had no events, called Liu Xiaoyu and wandered around before heading to eat.
Lin You Xi met the class publicity officer Xiao Yang in the cafeteria. He told Lin You Xi that the number of radio scripts for Class 5 did not meet the basic requirements.
Upon inquiry, they found out that several girls in the class had not submitted any scripts at all, and they were all close friends with Shang Qin.
According to the division of labor for the sports meet, if one did not participate in any individual events, they should submit at least three radio scripts.
Xia Yuan angrily said, “They seem to have made plans with friends today and don’t care about class affairs at all.”
Liu Xiaoyu was worried, “Isn’t it too late to ask them to submit the scripts now? We don’t even know where they are… Should we fill in the missing scripts first?”
“But that would mean no time for a nap,” Mei Fang reminded the girls, “We still have competitions in the afternoon, so we need to conserve energy.”
“But if the number of scripts doesn’t meet the standard, wouldn’t the school criticize us?”
The publicity officer agreed with Liu Xiaoyu’s concern, “You guys need to prepare for the competition. How about I write a few more scripts first and submit them, then have them add more if we find them later.”
“No need, don’t write anything. Let’s rest assured. You don’t need to write extra, just focus on your part.”
Lin You Xi spoke sternly, “They’ve missed deadlines like this before. They used to find people to help, but we can’t always clean up after them. If they still haven’t submitted their scripts, I’ll report it to the head teacher. Even if they get criticized, it’s better to expose the issue and make everyone aware of who is responsible.”
Lin You Xi was the top student in her grade when she was a class president in junior high, and almost no one in the class, except a few thick-skinned boys, dared to defy her. She had sailed smoothly through everything.
In Jiangcheng High School, although Lin You Xi no longer held the same authority as before, surrounded by strangers, being a class president was a significant test for her.
From the way Mei Fang handled the situation just now, he could sense Lin You Xi’s decisive and efficient style of work.
This was consistent with how she managed C Station’s work coordination.
She had a clear sense of responsibility. Whoever caused a problem, she would arrange for them to handle it personally as long as it didn’t affect the overall project progress.
Even for the simplest bug, she wouldn’t trouble another person to fix it or do it herself — her speed in fixing bugs was well-known, and many bugs were simple for her.
But if she felt that working with someone was impossible, she would directly talk to Mei Fang and end the partnership next month.
In short, she would fire them.
To Lin You Xi, the roles of C Station leader and class president were seamlessly interchangeable, and Mei Fang fully agreed with her working style.
After all, he had experienced it firsthand.
In his previous life, as a mid-level manager, he always got along well with his colleagues and worked harmoniously.
Mei Fang intended for a relaxed and harmonious work atmosphere, hoping everyone could work hard together and achieve positive results.
However, the result was that problems piled up from above, while colleagues below had a lackadaisical attitude, dragging their feet daily.
Because the team atmosphere was too good, Mei Fang couldn’t reprimand his colleagues harshly or urge them to work diligently, and ultimately, he had to work overtime to clean up their mess.
Then, due to the unbearable pressure heaped upon him, Mei student received the blessing of sudden death.
“Younan is right… Even if we all get scolded, we can’t let such people off easily. The softer we are now, the more they will bully us later.”
Lin You Xi and Mei Fang’s words convinced others not to dwell on it, and everyone went back to their class to take a brief nap.
The first event in the afternoon was the tug-of-war. Under the leadership of Xiang Bingbing, the “female war god” of Shennongjia, Class 3 triumphantly defeated several teams, advancing straight to the finals, even pulling down the Aviation Class of the Monk Class.
“Class 3 gets the first gold!”
Mei Fang followed his class team to win the competition, a story of热血 and youthful vigor—
Okay, the热血 feeling was non-existent, as they barely felt any space to exert themselves, and the rope was already moving toward them.
All thanks to Xiang Bingbing leading the charge.
After Mei Fang casually joined the team to win the first place, he went to the relay race field with Xiang Bingbing. At this time, Heluo Yun, the class president of Class 3, brought a bag of water over and asked Mei Fang to distribute it to the girls in the relay race.
Mei Fang helped pass out the water on the field, and the girls preparing for the race were delighted to receive it. However, when Xiang Bingbing took the water, she also observed Mei Fang’s face closely.
“Yuan Yuan said I knocked your nose out of place. Is that true? I can’t tell… But you must be in pain, right? My grandfather taught me bone-setting techniques. If you don’t mind, I’ll give you a taste of our Shennongjia bone-setting method after the race.”
“No, no! Absolutely not! My nose is completely fine.”
Sweating profusely, Mei Fang rubbed his nose to show Xiang Bingbing, “Look, there’s nothing wrong with it.”
“It seems so, I’m relieved.”
Xiang Bingbing happily exclaimed,
“The water Mei Boss bought for me tastes especially sweet!”
“It’s the same for everyone, don’t misunderstand, it’s paid for by class funds.”
“It’s not sweet anymore!”
Xiang Bingbing cried.
For the women’s 4x100m relay race, many boys were watching, as if they came specifically to see the action. A few boys even discussed the “girl from Class 5,” speculating whether she had 36DD measurements.
These despicable actions of the students greatly upset Justice Defender Mei Fang, who coughed loudly and chased the boys away.
Yuan Yuan, remember to wear the sports clothes tightly!
Only I, as your childhood friend, can freely appreciate it.
Justice Defender Mei Fang is not only vengeful but also stingy.
His possessiveness is no less than that of Yuan Yuan and Lin You Xi.
Xia Yuan stood in the third position for the baton pass, and this time, her last leg was for Lin You Xi. Mei Fang first waved at Lin You Xi to encourage her, then ran to Xia Yuan’s starting position to accompany her.
Seeing Mei Fang looking at her, Xia Yuan immediately gathered her fighting spirit.
With a gunshot from the referee, the girls started the women’s 400m relay race.
Students on both sides shouted “Come on” and “Come on,” and many students ran alongside their class’s competitors.
Xia Yuan was the latest to pass the baton among the five teams because Liu Xiaoyu was even weaker than Xia Yuan. Of course, Xia Yuan was naturally a gentle and soft girl, so it was unrealistic to expect her to perform well in running.
But Xia Yuan did not lose heart. After receiving the baton, she sprinted to catch up. Mei Fang also sprinted with her after Xia Yuan passed the baton.
When they reached the baton exchange point, they managed to catch up with one person, while Xiang Bingbing, the fourth runner of Class 3, had already surged ahead by over 30 meters.
Lin You Xi, relying on her physical advantage, sprinted to catch up. It was rare to see You Xi running with flushed cheeks and determined strides. Mei Fang, feeling Lin You Xi’s determination, ignored the rumors about her being a traitor to Class 3 and shouted encouragement to her while running.
Perhaps due to Mei Fang’s shouts, Lin You Xi’s second half of the race became even more intense. Her sudden acceleration moved her from fourth to third and then to second place—
“We won!”
Lin You Xi could not catch up with Xiang Bingbing no matter how hard she tried.
Xiang Bingbing was very happy after leading her team to victory. She hugged the girls from her own class and slapped the boys on the shoulders, jumping in circles.
Mei Fang, who was eager to find You Xi, was an exception. He was caught by Xiang Bingbing and spun around before being released, clearly receiving special treatment from Bingbing.
“Mei Fang! I saw you cheering for me while running, thank you so much! Though you were a bit slow.”
“Oh… that…”
Seeing Bingbing so happy, Mei Fang couldn’t bring himself to say he was cheering for Yuan Yuan and You Xi, not her. He merely gave a casual response and then went to stand beside Lin You Xi.
After finishing the race, Lin You Xi was greeted with congratulations, but she sat aside massaging her foot, with Xia Yuan sitting next to her.
Seeing Mei Fang rush over, Xia Yuan explained, “You Xi twisted her ankle when she stopped.”
“Twisted her ankle? Let’s go to the infirmary for cold compress. Come on… I’ll help you.”
Xia Yuan felt guilty for running off without permission, so when she saw Mei Fang supporting Lin You Xi, she patted his shoulder, “Are you stupid? Twisted ankles shouldn’t be walked on. Carry her over quickly…”
“…”
Mei Fang and Lin You Xi exchanged a glance, “Do you want me to carry you?”
“Yes.”
Lin You Xi did not refuse Xia Yuan’s suggestion, so Mei Fang did not hesitate and carried Lin You Xi to the infirmary like a princess.
Although carrying someone of the opposite sex romantically might not necessarily indicate early love, it was still mutual assistance between friends!
Mei Fang kept his thoughts pure, but he couldn’t avoid hearing the girls’ exclamations.
When girls got excited, they would shout loudly and stomp their feet wildly to express their unspoken excitement.
Mei Fang walked briskly under everyone’s gaze, even the usually aloof Lin You Xi unconsciously covered half her face and buried her head in Mei Fang’s chest.
“Put me down, I regret it.”
“What’s the use of regretting now? We’re here already.”
Mei Fang carried Lin You Xi for a while before finally putting her down and helping her into the infirmary.
However, the doctor was not in the infirmary; it was empty.
Mei Fang skillfully retrieved an ice pack from the freezer and walked towards Lin You Xi.
At this moment, Lin You Xi was already holding her injured leg, rolling up her tight pants and slowly removing her socks to show her swollen ankle to Mei Fang.
“Um…”
Lin You Xi pulled up her pants and looked up at Mei Fang, “You brought me here, aren’t you going to help with the cold compress?”
“Huh? Oh…”
Mei Fang sat beside Lin You Xi and placed the ice pack on her ankle.
Lin You Xi seemed unaffected by the ice pack and continued to stare at Mei Fang’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… I just wanted to look at you.”
Lin You Xi smiled slightly, “Thank you for supporting me today, whether it was dealing with the radio scripts or the competition, you always stood by me.”
“Why are you thanking me suddenly? It feels weird… I’m not used to it.”
Mei Fang felt a bit embarrassed and changed the subject:
“Aren’t you afraid the ice pack will freeze you?”
“It’s okay, I don’t feel anything. I’m always cold in my hands and feet.”
“But this is an ice pack. No matter how cold you are, you should feel the temperature, right?”
“Um…”
Lin You Xi tilted her head in thought, “Actually, it’s fine. Maybe because it’s too cold, I don’t feel anything. Try pinching it with your hand.”
“Pinching?” Mei Fang paused, “Pinching… your foot? Or what?”
“Do you think my foot is dirty?”
“How could that be! We’ve been through thick and thin together.”
Although You Xi was proactive in daily life, Mei Fang knew she was also delicate and needed his care.
To demonstrate his care for Lin You Xi, Mei Fang placed the ice pack aside and directly pinched her ankle twice.
“How does it feel?”
Lin You Xi pursed her lips and blushed slightly, “I don’t feel anything.”
“Then I’ll pinch harder, okay?”
“Mmm…”
Lin You Xi pursed her lips.
“Will this hurt you?”
“No… I don’t feel anything.”
“If you keep saying that, I might have to get serious…”
Just as Mei Fang and Lin You Xi were having fun, a loud voice suddenly came from behind.
“No way, again? You two never stop—”
Mei Fang turned to look and recognized the doctor who had chased them out earlier because of Mei Fang and Xia Yuan’s flirting.
“You brat… Why did you suddenly change? Which class are you from? I’ll let you off for early love, but now you’re even doing Gui! I won’t let you go this time! Wait, wait!”
While the doctor was cursing and preparing to teach Mei Fang a lesson, Mei Fang carried Lin You Xi and fled, recreating the scene from earlier with Yuan Yuan.
Recommended a new book seedling, the author is a dedicated pianist writer, my reference for music-related plots.
Introduction:
Traversing from the explosion of a giant ship 100 years ago to 2015, the Sea Pianoist was forced to stand on the mainland he feared, reluctantly adopting the identity of Chinese student Fu Tiao to live a different life.
From jazz genius to classical king, to soundtrack master.
This time, he will be unstoppable in the realm of music.
Pure piano novel, starting from the Chopin Competition.
(End of Chapter)
