Chapter 4: Against All Expectations

The reason Luo Na had said "What a pity" on the No. 3 Middle School playground was because she'd believed Duan Yucheng was completely out of luck with A University. Their track and field special admission quota for this year had been filled, and he'd had no chance.

So when she learned that Duan Yucheng had entered A University based on his academic scores alone, she was utterly astounded.

Many students dismissed the idea of athletic specialties, considering such students simple-minded and physically strong. While Luo Na disliked such comments, she had to acknowledge that, to some extent, there was truth to them.

Athletes' lives were extremely monotonous and arduous, almost mechanized. Most of their energy was devoted to training, leading to relatively straightforward thinking. Although there were occasional exceptions, generally speaking, athletes' academic performance was often... well...

So what was going on with this kid?

Luo Na held Duan Yucheng's admission notice, lost in thought for nearly ten minutes.

Ten minutes earlier, she'd been watching the track and field team train on the playground. The weather was sweltering today, the sun blazing overhead, and the sky a brilliant blue. Luo Na wore a wide-brimmed sun hat that cast her entire face in shadow. She wore only a sports vest, yet her cheeks were still flushed from the heat. In the distance were the new recruits, recently enrolled, being drilled by the coaches, each putting on a display. Luo Na observed them one by one, offering her critique. She leisurely fanned herself with the large palm-leaf fan she'd borrowed from Wang Qilin. Then, at a certain moment, she heard a soft call.

"Sunglasses sister, sunglasses sister—"

The fan paused, and Luo Na turned around.

A refreshing figure leaned against the two-meter-high iron fence, waving at her.

Blue sky, green grass, a verdant campus—his appearance was like the opening scene of a movie.

Luo Na smiled. She found it curious; so much time had passed, so many students coming and going at the university every day, yet she still remembered his name, even recalled the sweet taste of that Cornetto ice cream.

Duan Yucheng wore a light gray short-sleeved hoodie, black casual shorts, and sneakers. He clung to the fence, his palms exposed to the sunlight, long and slender yet strong. Two fitness trackers adorned his right wrist, black silicone tape connecting them to metal plates.

Duan Yucheng, with his long, agile limbs and handsome face, could have made a dashing entrance, but instead, he clung to the fence in a comically awkward pose, like an enthusiastic cartoon character.

He greeted Luo Na.

"Sunglasses sister, long time no see!"

Luo Na laughed. "What are you doing? Come down."

Duan Yucheng braced himself against the iron railing, pushed off with his feet, and nimbly vaulted over. Luo Na silently observed him; in the past six months, his body seemed to have grown a bit more.

"What brings you here?" Luo Na asked.

"Here to report for enrollment." Duan Yucheng pulled a transparent bag from his backpack, containing a neatly stacked pile of documents. He extracted his acceptance letter and handed it to Luo Na.

Then Luo Na began a long, stunned silence.

She read aloud, word by word: "Economics... Management... School..."

"Hmm."

She raised an eyebrow. "Finance?"

"Yes, my dad said since I can't train for sports through a special entrance exam, I might as well get into a better major."

He made getting into A University's top major sound as effortless as getting into a culinary school.

Luo Na returned the acceptance letter to Duan Yucheng. "Impressive," she said sincerely. "You're truly remarkable."

Praised, the boy beamed.

"Was it alright?"

"Excellent, absolutely excellent." Luo Na patted his shoulder. "Congratulations, study diligently, you'll have a bright future."

She then headed toward the sports field.

"Hey!" Duan Yucheng saw her leaving and quickly blocked her path. "You're just leaving?"

"What else?"

Duan Yucheng stared intently at her.

"Have you forgotten what you said?"

What had she said?

After being fixed by the boy's round eyes for a moment, a memory with a hint of strawberry flavor surfaced in Luo Na's mind. It seemed to be a sunny day like this, and the kid had been walking backwards, declaring that he would definitely get into A University and then come to the track and field team to ask her for guidance.

"Ah..." she suddenly realized.

Duan Yucheng's eyes lit up when he saw that Luo Na had reacted, and he displayed a puppy-dog-like expression.

"Let me join the track and field team, Sunglasses Sister."

Luo Na corrected his form of address first.

"My surname is Luo. You can call me Teacher Luo or Coach Luo, but don't call me 'Sunglasses Sister'—it's not appropriate in school."

"Oh." Duan Yucheng pouted and whispered, "Coach Luo."

Luo Na continued, "If you want to continue practicing high jump, you can. There's a track and field club in school, organized by the senior track and field team members, with professional coaches to guide you. You can train with them."

Duan Yucheng said, "I don't want to go to the club. I want to join the track and field team."

"The coursework in the School of Economics and Management is extremely demanding—there simply isn't enough training time unless it interferes with classes." Luo Na patiently explained to him. "But there's no need for that. Getting into A University's finance program based on your academic scores alone is already quite an achievement. It would be wasteful to sacrifice your studies."

Duan Yucheng didn't respond.

Luo Na patted his shoulder again encouragingly. As she turned around, the young man suddenly said, "I've grown taller."

She turned back, and Duan Yucheng gave her two "OK" gestures.

"Three centimeters. I'm 1.82 meters tall now."

Luo Na raised an eyebrow.

No wonder she'd felt he had grown.

Duan Yucheng said, "Coach, I can balance my studies and training. I'll show you my results."

Luo Na asked, "What results?"

Duan Yucheng thought for a moment and said earnestly, "How about this? There's a school sports meet in October. I'll represent the School of Economics and Management in the competition. If I can beat the track and field team, you can let me join the school team, okay?"

As he said this, his bright eyes were unblinking, revealing a naive sense of determination.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and Luo Na couldn't help but burst out laughing. She found the scene utterly amusing; anyone who didn't know better would think she'd wronged him somehow. She picked up her large palm-leaf fan to cool herself. "Sure, if you can win, of course we can recruit you. Just think it through yourself. For us, we definitely hope to have as many high-level athletes as possible."

Duan Yucheng breathed a long sigh of relief after receiving Luo Na's approval. Luo Na couldn't help but tap his head with her fan at his exaggerated expression.

Duan Yucheng rubbed his head and said, "Then I'll go register first."

"Go ahead."

Duan Yucheng slung his bag over his shoulder, turned around, and leaped up the two-meter-high iron fence again. Luo Na frowned. "Can't you just use the main gate?"

Duan Yucheng paused there awkwardly, asking hesitantly, "Should I come back down?"

"Never mind, just go!"

Duan Yucheng climbed over the fence, waved to Luo Na, and called out, "See you later, Sunglasses Sister!"

"It's Coach!"

Luo Na watched his cheerful retreating figure. The weather remained sweltering, but her mood became refreshingly light.

---

Duan Yucheng registered first, then took his luggage to the dormitory. He arrived at school relatively late. Three people had already moved into the room, leaving only one bed near the door available.

In the oppressive summer heat, two of his roommates were lying on their beds enjoying the fan, while one played on the computer below.

Seeing Duan Yucheng enter the room, they all poked their heads out and greeted him listlessly. "Hey, bro."

"Hi." Duan Yucheng greeted them briefly. The two lying on their beds were Han Dai, the thin one wearing glasses, and Hu Junxiao, who appeared half-asleep. The chubby guy playing computer games shirtless was Jia Shili.

This was the dormitory building of the School of Economics and Management, quite far from the School of Physical Education. Duan Yucheng was unpacking his luggage when Jia Shili watched him extract running shoes, track clothes, knee pads, bandages, and resistance bands—a whole array of impressive gear—from his bag, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Dude, what's all this stuff?"

"For training."

"Training?"

"Yeah."

Jia Shili observed it curiously for a while, then said, "Let's go out for dinner tonight—everyone can get to know each other."

"Okay." Duan Yucheng quickly organized his belongings, took a cold shower in the bathroom, and changed into dry sportswear. He gave Jia Shili his phone number, saying, "I'm going for a run. Call me when you're ready—see you later."

The three roommates exchanged glances.

Half-asleep, Hu Junxiao asked, "What did he just say he was going to do?"

Han Dai replied, "Run."

Hu Junxiao squinted at the scorching heat outside the window.

"In this weather?"

"Yeah."

Hu Junxiao clicked his tongue twice, lay back down, and sighed, "I can understand. It's the beginning of the semester—there are plenty of energetic freshmen." Hu Junxiao had repeated a year to get into A University's finance program. He slowly turned over, positioning his back against the small fan. "Old folks like me should just catch up on sleep."

---

Initially, Hu, Jia, and Han thought Duan Yucheng was merely bored and would only run for a short while before losing interest. But as time went on, they realized the situation wasn't so simple.

"Every day, 5:30!" Before a political theory class, Jia Shili solemnly recounted his roommate's remarkable feat to the student behind him. He held up five short, thick fingers, emphasizing it again. "5:30! Wake up! Run! No classes in the afternoon, so practice high jump, then run again in the evening! Come back, shower, 9:30!" He curled his index finger and repeated. "9:30! Sleep! Falls asleep the moment his head hits the pillow! Instantly! Isn't that terrifying? Tell me, isn't that terrifying?"

Someone said, "9:30—the nightlife is just beginning."

Someone else chimed in, "Yeah, what an unusual schedule."

Another person laughed. "What's unusual about it? That's called self-discipline."

Everyone turned around and saw class monitor Shi Yin, her hand supporting her cheek, her long hair falling over her shoulders, playing with a pen in one hand.

Jia Shili smiled ingratiatingly at Shi Yin. "Hey, goddess."

Shi Yin didn't hold back in mocking him.

"Duan Yucheng enjoys exercising. Look at his physique, then look at yours. You'd be better off exercising with him instead of complaining."

Jia Shili grinned shamelessly.

"Everyone has their own expertise—I'm not into that area."

During their casual conversation, Duan Yucheng entered the classroom. He looked around for a seat, and Shi Yin waved. "Over here!"

Duan Yucheng sat down, and the girls around him gathered, chattering.

"Did you go running again?"

Duan Yucheng wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Yes, I ran for a while."

"Why do you enjoy running so much? Isn't it hot outside?"

"Yes, it's hot, but I'll get used to it."

"The sun is so intense—aren't you afraid of getting a tan?"

"Don't you prefer guys to be a little tanned?"

"Ugh, so annoying!"

Duan Yucheng laughed and pulled out his water bottle, adding, "A little tan doesn't matter. If my metabolism is fast enough, I can recover my fair complexion quickly."

His responsive manner was so endearing that the girls began reaching for him.

"Your shoulders are really solid."

"Your arms too."

"Ouch, please stop, it's so ticklish..."

"Haha, so cute."

Jia Shili pouted. "Everyone, class is starting—can't you see the teacher coming?"

The classroom quieted down, and the political theory teacher, with an impassive face, prepared to begin the class.

Shi Yin watched Duan Yucheng gulp down his drink and asked, "Milk?"

Duan Yucheng nodded.

"You're still drinking milk?"

"I can't help it—I'm too short."

"You're still short?" Shi Yin exclaimed dramatically. "You're just right—any taller and you wouldn't look as good."

Duan Yucheng smiled but didn't elaborate.

Shi Yin observed his profile; his cheeks were still damp with sweat, his pores open from exercise, every inch of his skin seeming to breathe.

"You really love sports?"

"Yes."

"You should definitely have hobbies. There are too many people only studying these days—exercise helps you stay healthy."

Duan Yucheng put away his water bottle and said, "This isn't a hobby."

Then, without waiting for Shi Yin to inquire further, he opened his book and began to concentrate on his lesson.