Women's Singles Badminton Final

The javelin and shot put competitions in the afternoon didn’t attract much attention.

But Lin Mo easily secured first place in both.

Even though other classes sent their heaviest students to compete,

these events weren’t simply about weight determining victory.

Lin Mo had spent two days mastering the proper form, making it look effortless, and then delivered throws just below the record but enough to claim the top spot.

With that, Lin Mo had won first place in all three events.

This made Jiang Daming couldn’t help but ask, “Lin Mo, you should really be a sports student, shouldn’t you?”

But Lin Mo shook his head.

“The path of a sports student is too short—it doesn’t mean much to me. Besides, I don’t want to end up with a body full of injuries in old age.”

Every elite athlete had at least one or two occupational ailments.

Frequent painkiller injections were practically inevitable.

Of course, this was just Lin Mo’s excuse.

Thinking of Lin Mo’s academic performance, Jiang Daming didn’t press further.

As a PE teacher, he himself carried lingering injuries from his younger days.

If his grades had been as good as Lin Mo’s back then, he might never have pursued sports.

Unless one truly had a dream for a particular sport.

With a quick farewell, Lin Mo turned and headed toward the badminton hall.

The finals were about to begin.

The women’s and men’s singles would run simultaneously, followed by mixed doubles after a break.

Most of Class Eight had already gathered at the badminton hall.

After all, it was the finals, and everyone knew Jiang Yunlu was competing in the women’s singles.

So at this moment, the crowd was buzzing with anticipation.

As Lin Mo reached the stairs, someone shouted,

“Lin Mo’s here!”

Distracted, Jiang Yunlu on the court lost a point.

She immediately scanned the crowd, quickly spotting Lin Mo.

From across the net, Wang Senling scoffed at Jiang Yunlu’s distracted gaze.

“Jiang Yunlu, when are you going to take this seriously?”

Lin Mo glanced at the score—it was close, with the two nearly evenly matched.

But now, Jiang Yunlu met Lin Mo’s eyes.

“It starts now.”

As if his presence alone had switched her into battle mode.

Wang Senling, however, sneered after looking at Lin Mo.

“The noble princess turns out to be a lovesick fool. So many people liked you before, but you ignored them all. Now you’re pining after someone else? How disappointing.”

Wang Senling served with a backhand, and when Jiang Yunlu returned with a high lob, she leaped up and smashed it down with a fierce overhead strike.

Wang Senling was a short-haired girl with long legs and impressive jumping power.

Her aerial smash was lightning-fast.

Jiang Yunlu took a deep breath. She had been training hard with Lin Mo lately.

Wang Senling had been her rival back in middle school.

Who would’ve thought they’d meet again at Guangba High, both on the school team?

Their head-to-head record was about even.

That’s why Jiang Yunlu had wanted Lin Mo as her mixed doubles partner—as a safety net.

But now, she didn’t think she’d lose.

As the shuttlecock descended, Wang Senling jumped again for another smash.

Yet Jiang Yunlu blocked it effortlessly.

Smashing might feel satisfying, but it drained stamina fast.

And Jiang Yunlu was conserving hers, letting her opponent wear herself out.

In some ways, badminton was a lot like tennis.

This old sport, which originated in the 12th century, is actually more leisurely than it appears.

Although the racket is heavier, badminton demands much higher physical exertion.

The sport involves more short bursts of sprinting, sudden stops, and jumps—these rapid movements require quicker reflexes and place greater strain on the body in a short span.

Wang Senling hadn’t expected Jiang Yunlu to withstand two consecutive smashes.

Realizing she needed to conserve energy, she lobbed the shuttlecock high instead.

But Jiang Yunlu leaped up and smashed it back.

The shuttle landed untouched—Wang Senling couldn’t even react.

In martial arts, speed reigns supreme.

The Class Eight crowd erupted in cheers.

Jiang Yunlu smiled and said, "That was just the warm-up. Now, let me show you the results of my special training!"

The so-called "special training" referred to Lin Mo’s relentless drills.

No matter how much Jiang Yunlu improved, Lin Mo always stayed a step ahead.

Under his guidance, her skills had skyrocketed.

Facing her former rival now, she felt the odds were 60-40—or even 70-30—in her favor.

Lin Mo stood by, arms crossed, his divine sense sweeping over the adjacent men’s singles match.

Huang X Lin wasn’t there—likely eliminated early.

Still, Huang lingered nearby, watching the games.

Before Lin Mo could approach, Fang Jun popped up out of nowhere.

"Hey, Mo, Huang X Lin’s here. Should we settle the score?"

"No rush. Let’s wait until after the match. Jiang Yunlu will wrap this up quickly."

True to his words, Wang Senling was utterly outmatched. She couldn’t return Jiang Yunlu’s smashes, while Jiang effortlessly countered hers.

Under the best-of-three rule, Wang was crushed two sets to zero.

Victorious and still energetic, Jiang Yunlu immediately turned to Lin Mo.

She waved in his direction, mouthing the words: "I won!"

Lin Mo simply nodded.

Before she could join him, the Class Eight girls swarmed her, showering her with congratulations.

Meanwhile, the men’s singles match dragged on, and Huang X Lin remained.

"Let’s go talk to him," Lin Mo said, disliking people who broke their word.

Huang spotted Lin Mo from afar and tried to slip away, but Fang Jun and the others had already cut off his escape.

"What... what do you want?" Huang stammered.

"Nothing much. Just letting you know your glorious deeds will be serialized in nine parts on the school forum—starting with how you challenged me, lost spectacularly, and then reneged on your bet."

Huang’s face paled.

"And every year, I’ll repost it so the new students can enjoy the story. Say goodbye to your dating privileges."

Huang gritted his teeth. "Fine! I’ll buy you a whole case of Red Horse. Just keep this quiet!"

Lin Mo stroked his chin.

"I’m guessing you’re not the type to break promises. Did your class monitor stop you?"

Huang stiffened, glancing around nervously to confirm the monitor wasn’t nearby before admitting:

"Yeah. He said it’d embarrass Class Twelve, so he forbade me."

"You're so well-behaved, actually listening to the class monitor?"

"You don’t know this, but the class monitor is..."

Before he could finish, a voice sounded behind Lin Mo.

"Lin Mo! Why are you blocking our classmate?"

Lin Mo turned around—Qin Ran, the class monitor of Class Twelve, stood right behind him.