After One Peck, the Woodpecker Falls Down with a Thud

The ones who rush to the very front in a 1,000-meter race are usually just the fourth or fifth place finishers.

True experts like to tail behind others, letting the person in front break the wind for them, and only start accelerating when the frontrunner slows down.

Huang Chen knew this very well. It was quite common for sports students to run at the back initially, then exert their strength in the final lap to steadily take first place.

With Shen Nian running in the front, Huang Chen didn't panic at all; he was just waiting for Shen Nian's stamina to deplete.

Showing off by running in the front, understandable, understandable.

After one lap, when he felt Shen Nian slowing down a bit, he finally started to exert his strength.

Sports are a sports student's strong suit, after all. Why do you think I'm a sports student?

Surpassing Shen Nian would take no effort at all, right?

Huang Chen began to speed up, but just as he was about to overtake Shen Nian, Shen Nian pulled away from him again.

How could he still accelerate?!

As soon as Huang Chen sped up, Shen Nian matched his pace, maintaining his position in first place.

Shen Nian sweatdropped, not knowing why Huang Chen was competing so fiercely with him. Was it that embarrassing for a sports student to lose to an academic student?

Couldn't he just pretend he wasn't running seriously? Now everyone could tell Huang Chen was trying his hardest, and to make matters worse, he still couldn't outrun him...

Shen Nian even had the time to look back at Huang Chen. If he didn't want to put on an act, he could sprint the entire kilometer at top speed without even batting an eye.

Huang Chen tried to overtake him from the side again, but Shen Nian sped up a bit more. Glancing back, he saw that Huang Chen's expression had already turned quite ugly.

But that was none of Shen Nian's business. You couldn't stop me from taking first place, could you?

The one-kilometer race was over in a flash. When Shen Nian crossed the finish line, he still had to pretend to pant heavily.

"Ahhh, I'm so exhausted I could die!"

Chen Dong came over to join the fun, so he leaned his weight onto Chen Dong, taking the opportunity to slap him twice on the back.

"Damn, you're so heavy!" Chen Dong felt half-dead. "I'm just here to see your scores, not to hold you up. Can you get off me?"

"I'm dead tired. You have to support me whether you want to or not."

"You sprinted that fast and now you're telling me you're tired? Ma Mingfan hasn't even finished running."

"Can't help it. I have my reasons and convictions that compel me to run first."

"Fuck off," Chen Dong shuddered in disgust. Who gets why a guy has to press his whole body against yours in P.E. class.

We are just friends, you've crossed the line, you know.

Two girls leaning against each other is cute girls being affectionate, but two guys leaning against each other is easily mistaken for being gay.

Shen Nian pretended for a little while longer before he got too lazy to keep it up, slipping away to check his score.

Hmm... two minutes and forty-eight seconds.

Shen Nian didn't know what kind of score this was, knowing very little about the standards for sports students. However, seeing that Huang Chen couldn't even catch up to him, it should be pretty good.

"Bro, no way, you ran this?" Chen Dong looked at the score, then at Shen Nian, feeling like the world had gone crazy.

With this kind of ability, you didn't sign up for anything at the sports meet, and instead stayed at the camp chatting with girls and playing Naruto?

Bro, seriously.

Chen Dong was scared to tears. He had checked it out before the sports meet; the school's 1,000-meter record was two minutes and fifty-one seconds. You broke the school record wearing a big jacket and long pants for a physical test?

Was this still the Shen Nian who didn't play sports or exercise? He must have turned on cheats!

The P.E. teacher was also a bit dumbfounded. How did a two-minute-and-fifty-second score pop out of a physical test?

Even among so many sports students, there was no one like this.

Two minutes and forty-eight seconds, only eighteen seconds slower than a third-level athlete. If this was his score without any training, what if he was taken and trained for a bit...

Hiss.

Shen Nian squeezed his way in and glanced at Ma Mingfan's score.

He ran it in just over four minutes. Congratulations, congratulations.

Ma Mingfan was genuinely a bit weak. After finishing the 1,000 meters, he still hadn't recovered, and his whole body felt awful.

He had always been physical trash. In the past, he would lazily jog for five or six minutes. Now, even after biting the bullet, he still couldn't break the four-minute mark, and his breathing had become somewhat difficult.

He walked for a while before he dared to go rest. Sitting on the grass panting, he kind of wanted to drink some water, but he no longer had the energy to walk to the tuck shop.

Sigh, willpower could indeed help him fight his way out of a siege, but physical stamina could not be ignored at all.

From now on, he would watch "Super Sweet Candy" while lifting small dumbbells, cultivating both his willpower and stamina.

After checking the scores, Shen Nian deliberately glanced at Huang Chen and his group. Their expressions looked quite uncomfortable, seemingly a mix of confusion and frustration.

A sports student going all out but failing to outrun an academic student was perhaps indeed a bit embarrassing. Shen Nian couldn't be bothered to guess what Huang Chen was thinking at the moment. He only knew that he was in a very good mood right now. If Huang Chen had taken first place, he probably would be feeling the same way Shen Nian was now.

It was fine. Shen Nian had already taken other people's share of happiness and made it his own.

There was still another round of the boys' physical test, so Shen Nian ran straight over to the girls' side.

"Guess what my time was?" Not minding the dirt, he plopped down right next to Xia Yanchun.

"Th-three minutes?"

Xia Yanchun was doubtful. She had watched Shen Nian run the whole race; not only did he not slow down, but he even accelerated, leaving Huang Chen far behind. She felt like Shen Nian could even do five push-ups at the finish line without breaking a sweat.

"Two minutes and forty-eight seconds. Is your Brother Nian awesome or what?"

"Pretty awesome. I'll allow you to be proud."

"That's it? No other rewards?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Do you want me to treat you to some stinky socks!"

"Ew, I refuse because it's gross. Give me a non-stinky one to collect."

Xia Yanchun shot him a shy, glaring look, then turned to look at Li Shiyan, who was also watching them.

Li Shiyan blinked. Even though she was so close, she decided to pretend she hadn't heard anything. This little girl, who wasn't even 1.6 meters tall, had a depth of shrewdness two stories high.

In her heart, she was already squealing and shipping them so hard.

Shen Nian was actually asking Bestie for a reward? This was way, way, way too sweet to ship!

It was so natural that it clearly wasn't their first time. Bestie and Shen Nian must do this often!

What kind of reward would it be when they were alone in private?

Her imagination ran wild. Li Shiyan's not-so-innocent mind was filled with various scenes, and just thinking about them made her small face flush with a light shade of pink.

She felt so blissful.

Shen Nian and Bestie were much better to ship than Xiong Er and Logger Vick.

Who could understand the thrill of watching two people go from being at each other's throats to having so much romantic tension? Just one taste of this ship was enough to make anyone swoon and drop dead on the spot.

After the physical test came free activity time. Because she had run 800 meters, Xia Yanchun approved Shen Nian's request to go buy drinks this time, since she was also feeling a bit thirsty.

Li Shiyan also wanted Shen Nian to bring her a bottle, but she didn't know how to ask. She absentmindedly tugged at Xia Yanchun's fingers, planning to buy one herself after class.

But when Shen Nian returned, not only did he buy a Nutri-Express for Xia Yanchun, he also brought an extra small bottle of AD Calcium Milk, the kind with a straw.

"Here, take it," Shen Nian said generously.

Agility +3 had brought him stronger observational skills... Of course, the little loli's bashfulness when she had something to say but didn't dare to was also very obvious. He could easily tell just by looking.

He felt that if he asked this little loli for a friendship fee, she would actually pay it.

"Thank you!" Li Shiyan was overjoyed, feeling absolutely wonderful. Even if Shen Nian stepped on her foot right now, she wouldn't get mad.

She wouldn't egg Xiaochun on to hit Shen Nian anymore. Shen Nian was a great guy. Tonight, in her sketchbook, she would treat a little stick-figure Shen Nian to a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast.

Shen Nian didn't pay much attention to Li Shiyan; his attention was on Chunbao drinking.

Watching Chunbao take a small sip of her Nutri-Express, Shen Nian resisted the urge to brush her hair back and instead chugged more than half of the Pepsi he had just bought in one gulp.

This Pepsi hit the spot; Coca-Cola really just lacked that certain something.