Times of Our Lives - Chapter 10

On the day of the sports meet, Zhang Ganggang brought his camera specifically. He took photos during the march past, he took photos of Ji Qinyang during high jump, and he even captured Qi Fei lying on the ground after finishing the 1500 meters, tongue out like a dead dog.

 

“… Zhang Ganggang, why the hell are you taking photos?! Get up and help me!” Qi Fei roared angrily at the camera almost touching his face.

 

Zhang Ganggang reached out, “Alright, alright.” He looked around, “Where’s Xie Meng?”

 

Qi Fei twisted open a bottle of mineral water and poured it over his head, “He’s in the second group for high jump. Ji Qinyang went to accompany him and hasn’t come to cheer me on!”

 

“That’s normal,” Zhang Ganggang consoled him, “It’s always about seeing new faces smile, not hearing old friends cry.”

 

Qi Fei: “…”

 

Meanwhile, Xie Meng was preparing for the high jump with Ji Qinyang by his side. Unlike the others in shorts and vests, Xie Meng was simply dressed in long pants and a shirt, while Ji Qinyang stood casually with his hands in his pockets, chatting with him.

 

When Zhang Ganggang dragged Qi Fei over to cheer, Xie Meng was getting ready to compete.

 

“Xie Meng!” Zhang Ganggang shouted loudly, “Go for it!!!”

 

Xie Meng heard him and waved back. Suddenly, Ji Qinyang grabbed him.

 

“?” Xie Meng looked down and realized his shoelace was undone. Before he could bend down, Ji Qinyang had already crouched down.

 

“…” Xie Meng instinctively moved aside.

 

Ji Qinyang looked up, raising an eyebrow at Xie Meng, “Move aside for what?”

 

Embarrassed, Xie Meng said, “It’s okay…”

 

Ignoring his protest, Ji Qinyang skillfully tied his shoelaces. Xie Meng leaned on his knees, feeling awkward, and mumbled a thank you.

 

Ji Qinyang smiled, “Good luck.”

 

Xie Meng nodded, reaching out his hand to Ji Qinyang. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Zhang Ganggang still taking photos…

 

“Get closer together, I’ll take a few more shots,” Zhang Ganggang exclaimed excitedly.

 

Because the class rankings were based on points, besides athletes pushing themselves, the cheerleaders also gave their all. Each ticket given on the podium added one point. Mi Le Fo led a group of girls, including Wu Xiaomei, who were all focused on writing.

 

But writing alone wasn’t enough; they also needed cheering. With too few students, Class 3 could only rely on athletes to cheer for each other, often resulting in comical scenes of athletes running around the field.

 

After finishing the high jump, Xie Meng went to watch Zhang Ganggang throwing shot put. Among the muscular professional athletes, Zhang Ganggang looked like a weak young cock that had been starved and abused, unsure where the next meal would come from…

 

“Hey…” Zhang Ganggang nervously greeted, “Friendship first, competition second…”

 

A group of strong, hefty guys looked down at him.

 

“…” Zhang Ganggang’s expression was one of ‘Oh my god, this world is terrifying, I want to go back to Mars’.

 

After all the track events were over, Class 3’s results were not ideal. Apart from Ji Qinyang and Xie Meng taking first and second place in men’s high jump, Qi Fei got second place in the 1500 meters. The champion was a national-level long-distance runner who could easily outpace Qi Fei…

 

“We’re 30 points behind first place,” Qi Fei calculated the scores with Zhang Ganggang’s camera, “If we win the men’s 4×100 meters relay, we can recover half of that.”

 

Ji Qinyang leaned on his chin, “We need to change the order of the relay. Qi Fei runs the first leg, I’ll run the last.”

 

Chen Dong raised his hand, “I’m not that good, maybe I should run the second leg.”

 

Ji Qinyang nodded, “Then Xie Meng will take the third leg.”

 

Xie Meng glanced at Ji Qinyang and simply nodded.

 

Zhang Ganggang hurriedly approached, “I found out! None of the other classes have specialized athletes running, so Class 6 is our biggest competitor. Zhuo Xiaoyuan runs the last leg!”

 

Ji Qinyang smiled, “Looks like revenge is coming quickly.”

 

Qi Fei was stretching his legs. When he heard this, he shouted with excitement. The four of them put on their number tags and prepared to enter the field. Suddenly, Xie Meng stopped Qi Fei.

 

“Let’s switch,” he handed the number tag to Qi Fei, “I’ll run the first leg.”

 

They were evenly matched in their usual speed tests, so Qi Fei didn’t think much about it and switched positions with Xie Meng. When they lined up, Ji Qinyang turned around and didn’t see Xie Meng.

 

Qi Fei waved his arm from 100 meters away.

 

Ji Qinyang narrowed his eyes, staring at the position across the playground. Xie Meng was already poised for the start, his back curved into a perfect arc.

 

The starting gun went off.

 

The entire crowd erupted in cheers. The girls stopped writing notes and joined in, led by Mi Le Fo’s cheers. Zhang Ganggang nervously snapped photos on the sidelines.

 

“Xie Meng is first! Xie Meng is first!” Wu Xiaomei wished she could jump down from the stands. As Xie Meng rounded the first bend, it was clear he had a lead over the second-place runner.

 

Chen Dong shouted at the second leg, “Faster, faster, faster!!!”

 

Xie Meng passed the baton smoothly, and because of his incredibly fast speed, he surged ahead with Chen Dong by nearly 10 meters, significantly easing the pressure on the second leg.

 

Zhang Ganggang rushed up and hugged Xie Meng. 

 

“It’s not over yet,” Xie Meng chuckled, ruffling Zhang Ganggang’s hair. He saw Chen Dong passing the baton to Qi Fei, and Class 6 catching up as well. For a moment, it was completely unclear who was in the lead.

 

“I’ll go wait at the finish line,” Xie Meng told Zhang Ganggang. The third leg was already halfway through, with Class 6 and another class neck and neck, and Ji Qinyang preparing for the final handoff.

 

Zhuo Xiaoyuan almost simultaneously received the baton.

 

Xie Meng fixed his gaze firmly on the two runners approaching the final bend. With many supporters from Class 6 shouting in unison, Ji Qinyang’s lead wasn’t clearly visible.

 

Zhang Ganggang was extremely anxious. Qi Fei and Chen Dong also arrived, but their cheers were drowned out by the crowd. Out of frustration, Qi Fei led everyone to run past the finish line.

 

“Yang Ge!!!” Qi Fei shouted at the top of his lungs.

 

Zhang Ganggang snapped photos while shouting, “Wang Zhongyi!!!”

 

Chen Dong added, “Good-looking young man!!!”

 

Xie Meng: “…”

 

Everyone stared at him.

 

Taking a deep breath, Xie Meng shouted loudly, “Ji Qinyang!”

 

Ji Qinyang looked up, and Xie Meng opened his arms behind the finish line. He smiled and shouted again, “Ji Qinyang!”

 

The next second, the starting gun sounded, and Ji Qinyang threw himself into Xie Meng’s arms.

 

“Yeah!!!” Qi Fei was the first to realize they had won. He shouted and hugged Ji Qinyang and Xie Meng tightly. Chen Dong and Zhang Ganggang followed suit.

 

Zhang Ganggang was ecstatic, “We won, we won, we won!!!”

 

Ji Qinyang’s hug was so strong that Xie Meng’s waist hurt. Helplessly, Xie Meng could only wrap his arms around Ji Qinyang and pat his shoulder.

 

Suddenly, Ji Qinyang lifted him up and weighed him.

 

Xie Meng: “…”

 

Ji Qinyang held him for a long time.

 

Xie Meng laughed and cried, “Am I not heavy?”

 

Ji Qinyang chuckled, hugged Xie Meng again, and slowly put him down.

 

“Have more to eat,” Ji Qinyang said, “You’re too light.”

 

The morning athletics events ended with Class 3 trailing first place by less than 10 points. The afternoon ball games were a blessing for classes without sports stars.

 

Led by Wu Xiaomei, the dodgeball team won their first place.

 

“Wow!!!” The girls screamed and hugged each other, even lining up spontaneously to do a rabbit dance around the field to celebrate.

 

Qi Fei cheered, “Which class has the prettiest girls?”

 

The boys shouted back, “Class 3!”

 

“Which class has the cutest girls?”

 

“Class 3!”

 

“Which class has the smartest girls?”

 

“Class 3!”

 

The girls were amused and laughed heartily, and in the following boys’ basketball game, Wu Xiaomei also returned the favor.

 

She somehow managed to gather cheerleaders’ pom-poms, with over 20 girls each chanting slogans in perfect unison on the sidelines.

 

“Our girls from this class are really awesome,” Chen Dong chuckled while dribbling and warming up.

 

Zhang Ganggang handed the camera to Xie Meng and asked him to take a picture of him holding the basketball.

 

“Make it look good,” Zhang Ganggang struck a cool pose. “I want to show it to Rourou.”

 

Xie Meng: “…”

 

Zhang Ganggang: “Is it good? Is it good?”

 

Xie Meng: “…Your movements shouldn’t look too deliberate.”

 

Zhang Ganggang balanced the basketball on his head.

 

Xie Meng: “…Try another pose.”

 

Zhang Ganggang thought for a moment and tried placing the basketball between his legs.

 

Xie Meng: “…”

 

Finally, Ji Qinyang couldn’t bear it any longer and helped him strike the simplest pose, holding the basketball under his arm.

 

In the basketball match among six classes, two classes forfeited, splitting into two groups of 2-on-2, with the winners advancing to the finals. Zhuo Xiaoyuan’s class, known for its strength, was expected to stay till the end, leaving Class 3, the dark horse, to contend. 

 

“Let’s win.” Qi Fei played for time against Zhuo Xiaoyuan. “Since your score isn’t enough to win, if we win, we’ll be first.”

 

Zhuo Xiaoyuan ignored him entirely.

 

Ji Qinyang: “Rest assured, they won’t let the water flow, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

 

“You?” Zhuo Xiaoyuan lifted his eyes slightly. “What, have you given up your forbidden zone?”

 

Ji Qinyang pointed to Xie Meng and smirked provocatively. “We have a secret weapon.”

 

Initially dismissive of this classic quote from Coach Anxi, Zhuo Xiaoyuan excelled in three-pointers. However, his efforts were hampered by Ji Qinyang’s defensive skills, which neutralized his dominance in the restricted zone.

 

“Don’t be too sure,” Ji Qinyang stood in front of Zhuo Xiaoyuan and suddenly exclaimed, “I’m not the only one in the restricted zone.” Before Class 6’s passing could continue, Chen Dong intercepted the ball, and Zhuo Xiaoyuan quickly intercepted Ji Qinyang to prevent him from reaching the basket. Zhuo Xiaoyuan never expected Chen Dong to pass the ball directly to Xie Meng.

 

Zhuo Xiaoyuan: “!”

 

Xie Meng dribbled the ball, turned directly, took two steps, jumped from the side and dunked, the whole process went smoothly, and the action was clean and neat.

 

Zhuo Xiaoyuan: “…”

 

Ji Qinyang raised his hand and slapped with the approaching Xie Meng, “How do you feel about dunking?”

 

Xie Meng thought for a moment, smiled and said, “I didn’t think I could jump so high.”

 

Ji Qinyang did not speak, he looked at Xie Meng’s smiling face, stretched out his hand around the other side of the neck, exerted his force to hug.

 

Ji Qinyang remained silent, watching Xie Meng’s smiling face. He reached out and wrapped his arm around Xie Meng’s neck, giving him a tight hug.

 

After the game, Zhuo Xiaoyuan hardly made use of his three-point shots. Instead, Xie Meng found himself at ease in the restricted area, and the score reversed in the last minute, driving the girls from Class 3 completely crazy on the sidelines.

 

Xie Meng managed to put the ball into the basket despite being double-teamed, but lost his balance and fell to the ground. When the final buzzer sounded, he had almost no strength left to stand.

 

Zhang Ganggang excitedly sat on top of him, followed closely by Qi Fei, Chen Dong…

 

“Don’t…” Xie Meng laughed and stopped them, “My arm hurts.”

 

The excitement rendered them deaf to everything, until Ji Qinyang came over and shooed them away.

 

Xie Meng brushed his soaked bangs aside, smiled at Ji Qinyang, and Ji Qinyang bent down, extending his hand towards him, “Can you get up?”

 

Xie Meng nodded and took a moment before standing up.

 

“I’ve never used so much energy outside of studying,” Xie Meng joked self-deprecatingly.

 

Ji Qinyang raised an eyebrow, “Feeling bad?”

 

“No…” Xie Meng shook his head, smiling at Ji Qinyang again, “Feeling great.”

 

Class 3 ended up with the highest total score in the first year of high school. After that, Ji Qinyang and Xie Meng became quite popular throughout the school, with seniors inquiring about them.

 

“I heard Li Jingfang from Grade 11 came to watch your basketball game yesterday?” Qi Fei asked curiously while copying notes.

 

Following the sports meeting, they entered the intense review phase for the final exams. Occasionally, Xie Meng stayed after school to help Zhang Ganggang with his assignments.

 

Ji Qinyang had earplugs in one ear and handed another to Xie Meng. “Didn’t notice,” he asked, turning to him. “Did you see her?”

 

The music playing this time was a rock-style song, and Xie Meng was engrossed in listening. After a while, he reacted, “…Li who?”

 

Qi Fei clicked his tongue. “It’s such a waste for you two to be together. You can’t even hook a beauty.”

 

Ji Qinyang smirked, hooking Xie Meng’s shoulder lazily. “You say we’re together, why do we need another beauty?”

 

Xie Meng hummed along with the music, took Zhang Ganggang’s draft notebook, and recalculated, “You made a mistake here, use this formula.”

 

“Ah, okay, okay,” Zhang Ganggang earnestly erased and rewrote it.

 

Qi Fei muttered, “…Where’s the youth? Where’s the youth?”

 

Before he finished, Zhuo Xiaoyuan appeared at the back door. “What are you yelling about?” He frowned coolly. “Are you hitting puberty?”

 

Qi Fei: “…”

 

Ji Qinyang greeted him casually, “Hey.”

 

Zhuo Xiaoyuan sneered, “So serious? Want to play ball?”

 

Zhang Ganggang hurriedly said, “I’ll finish soon!”

 

“Not with you,” Zhuo Xiaoyuan sneered. “Your skills suck.”

 

Zhang Ganggang stared, “Now that my master is Xie Meng, I’ve improved rapidly!”

 

Qi Fei grumbled, “Damn, I get blamed even lying down?!”

 

The five of them teased and joked as they finished their tasks. When they arrived at the playground, they found it already crowded with seniors. One of them called out to Ji Qinyang, “Wanna join us?”

 

Ji Qinyang unplugged his earphones, stretched his shoulders, and turned to ask Xie Meng and the others, “What do you say?”

 

Xie Meng took off his uniform, rolling up his shirt sleeves. “I’m good.”

 

Zhang Ganggang nervously said, “I’ll try not to lag behind!”

 

Qi Fei gave him a disdainful look and stretched on his own.

 

“Are you asking me?” Zhuo Xiaoyuan scoffed, spinning the ball. “When have I ever been afraid?”

 

Because they only played half the game, the five of them took turns playing 3-on-3 with the seniors. Xie Meng, Ji Qinyang, and Zhang Ganggang were the first to go on, while Qi Fei and Zhuo Xiaoyuan directed from the sidelines.

 

“Pass the ball, pass the ball!” Qi Fei waved his arms. “Are you stupid, Zhang Ganggang?!”

 

Zhuo Xiaoyuan hurriedly sang a different tune, “Don’t listen to him! Charge inside, charge inside!”

 

Zhang Ganggang got angry, “You can, you up! bb!”

 

Twenty minutes later, Zhang Ganggang came down dejectedly…

 

The game continued, and Zhuo Xiaoyuan started shooting three-pointers.

 

“This stance, why does it look like it won’t go in no matter how you look at it?!” Qi Fei mocked.

 

Zhang Ganggang chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, look, it didn’t go in!”

 

Zhuo Xiaoyuan sighed, “…”

 

Qi Fei was subbed in and immediately charged into the restricted area with the ball.

 

Zhuo Xiaoyuan started lecturing Zhang Ganggang, “See, this is how a mad dog plays, no tactics, too low IQ, never learn.”

 

“Uh… Who are you calling low IQ?!” Qi Fei roared like a mad dog, “I’ll bite you!”

 

Finally, Ji Qinyang and Xie Meng got tired too.

 

“You three go ahead,” Ji Qinyang tossed the ball to Zhuo Xiaoyuan, then handed a bottle of water to Xie Meng. The two of them sat on the sidelines, quietly watching the three lively guys play ball.

 

Xie Meng’s shirt was soaked with sweat at the back, and he unbuttoned the collar to fan himself gently, revealing half of his collarbone, the lines clear and soft.

 

Ji Qinyang turned his head away, tilting up his head to tidy his bangs. After a while, he couldn’t help but turn back.

 

“?” Xie Meng had already fastened his collar again and smiled at Ji Qinyang.

 

Ji Qinyang: “…”