I Really Didn’t Want to Increase My Favorability! - Chapter 182
Qin Yunhe, in order to avoid gossip, simply threw away a bottle of water and left, but the hostility around him grew stronger.
What surprised him the most was that because Ji Yun and the others came to deliver water, many other girls also started buying water to send to him.
Initially, it was just one or two, but eventually, the water by his feet went from three bottles to dozens. He had no choice but to distribute them to the surrounding students.
However, many students refused to take them. Eventually, he had to refuse to accept any more water. Otherwise, buying it without anyone drinking it would be too wasteful.
“Xu Lin, it seems like you’re getting the star treatment, with fans sending you water and all?”
“Don’t even mention it, I really don’t want this treatment. It’s too tiring.”
“I’m looking forward to the competition later; everyone must be gearing up to surpass you.”
“Well, as long as I can beat Zhang Kang, others can lose, but I definitely don’t want to lose to him!”
Xu Lin glanced at Zhang Kang not far away, and only a few students remained from the third group who hadn’t finished running yet. Xu Lin took a deep breath and prepared to take the stage.
“The fourth group can come over and get ready, line up according to your number tags!”
“I’m going over.”
“Yeah!” Li Bin and Ma Zhiyu also bumped shoulders and shouted, “Go for it!”
“Got it!”
Xu Lin smiled and walked towards the track, while Zhang Kang also walked over, looking disdainfully at him.
“You can’t outrun me.”
Xu Lin still couldn’t be bothered to deal with him and stood in his own position. Looking back, Xu Lin found Huang Chao on his left side and Zhang Kang on the far right.
He wasn’t very familiar with the others, but he recognized a few, one was the class monitor of Class 1, and another was the sports committee member of Class 3.
The rest were all tall; he had measured himself recently and had grown to 178 centimeters, a few centimeters taller than six months ago.
But among these 30 people, most were taller than him, which was really absurd. Did his group really feel different in quality from the previous ones?
Or was it that everyone was really spurred on by jealousy and was prepared to ‘kill’ him with all their might?
“Xu Lin, just do your best. Worst case scenario, I’ll be last and give you second to last place.”
“Brother Huang, everyone here has such long legs, it’s really depressing.”
“I’m the one who’s depressed. They’re all talented guys; I only know six sports committee members.”
The students watching the race around them also started chatting, feeling that this group might run more excitingly.
“Hey, Zhou Mei, what do you think Handsome Xu will rank?”
“Second to last?”
“Do you look down on our Handsome Xu so much?”
“Because there are several athletes in this group. And didn’t Xu Lin and Zhang Kang say they were going to compete in running?”
“Who knows, but it’s only for girls like Ji Yun that boys would do this.”
“That’s true, but why didn’t I think Xu Lin was this handsome before, now the more I look, the more handsome he seems.”
“I agree, especially after seeing that advertisement.” A few girls behind also chimed in.
“Anyway, this race should be exciting; should we cheer for Xu Lin?”
“Sure!”
On the track, the 30 students were ready to go, and the referee was ready to blow the whistle. The filming crew also instantly entered battle mode.
They could feel that this group might be exciting; if the first few ran well but the rest slacked off, they would have to do heavy editing later.
“Come on! Xu Lin!”
“Come on, Handsome Xu!”
“Go for it!”
“Aren’t you from Class 7?”
“I’m cheering for Handsome.”
So, a burst of cheering erupted, and the wave of encouragement for Xu Lin instantly exploded on both sides. Xu Lin couldn’t help but blush; he had never experienced such a scene before.
His cheeks instantly turned red, but he felt a little happy inside. After all, it was cheering for him, making it feel like he had fans supporting him, which was a bit embarrassing.
“You’re quite popular; being good-looking does have its perks…”
But before Huang Chao could finish, the referee suddenly shouted, and the whistle sounded!
“Run!”
Xu Lin immediately pushed off the ground and shot out! He quickly moved to the front of the pack.
But after a few seconds, four or five figures appeared in front of him! Although they were only slightly ahead, about half a meter, they maintained their speed, making it difficult to overtake.
Everyone behind him was also closely following, so if he relaxed even slightly, he would be overtaken.
But feeling this competitive atmosphere, he was actually a bit excited. This was what a race should feel like!
On the high platform, the Chu sisters, Ji Yun, and Bai Xiaoxiao whom Ji Yun had pulled up, were closely watching the race.
After watching for a few seconds, Chu Fengyi suddenly slammed the table!
“What’s going on with Xu Lin? Just now, over there, it was like anyone could surpass him, really!”
“Well, it doesn’t necessarily have to be first. Everyone seems pretty impressive.”
Chu Qingchan watched as everyone stood so close to each other, she was worried that Xu Lin might accidentally fall and get hurt.
“Come on, cheer for Xu Lin! With so many girls, let’s all spontaneously cheer for him.”
“Chu Fengyi, we’re standing so high up, it’ll be too conspicuous if we shout.”
“You’re a star, an actress. But you’re wearing a mask, so what are you afraid of?”
“I’m afraid of being recognized, wouldn’t that be social death?”
“Look at you, so timid.”
“Chu Fengyi, if you want to do it, then go ahead!”
“Sister Ji Yun?” Chu Fengyi looked directly at the smiling Ji Yun.
“What’s up?”
“I said let’s cheer for Xu Lin.”
“Okay, but wait a moment.”
“Why wait?” Chu Fengyi didn’t understand why Ji Yun wanted to wait; was there a specific time to cheer?
“During a previous race, I cheered for Xu Lin in the last 100 meters.”
Ji Yun recalled what Xu Lin had told her. During the physical test six months ago, everyone had someone cheering for them, but no one cheered for Xu Lin.
When she shouted encouragement to him, he treated her like his angel, his guiding light.
But now, with so many people around him, could my cheer still help him?
Despite this question, hearing so many people cheering for Xu Lin made her feel happy. Because he had people cheering for him now, he was no longer a boy running desperately alone in loneliness.
At this point, Xu Lin and the others had completed the first lap. Out of 30 students, except for 5 or 6 lagging behind, the rest were still neck and neck within half a meter.
The surrounding students were also stunned. Damn, they’re so professional!
Students from various classes also started cheering for their classmates, some calling out names, some shouting slogans.
Xu Lin had been maintaining his position between 3rd and 5th place. The two ahead were the sports committee member of Class 3 and Zhang Kang.
At first, Xu Lin thought Zhang Kang was just average, but he actually had some skills.
“Xu Lin, come on, stop dawdling!”
And at that moment, a familiar voice slipped through the cheers. Xu Lin suddenly froze, his speed slowing down a bit, dropping to around 10th place.
“Qin Yunhe?”
Xu Lin looked towards the platform and saw two figures on the left, Qin Yunhe standing in front shouting, with Su Qingwan beside her.
“Sister Qin, stop pulling me~”
“Why don’t you shout too?”
Qin Yunhe rolled her eyes at the shy Su Qingwan. Her friend was too shy, I got ahead of her, and she’s still growing up?
Ji Yun and her group were also drawn to Qin Yunhe’s voice, noticing the beautiful and confident Qin Yunhe, along with Su Qingwan beside her.
Ji Yun narrowed her eyes, seeing Xu Lin pass the 600 mark and reach the second half. She stood up immediately and walked to the edge of the platform.
Then she glanced towards Su Qingwan from afar, and Su Qingwan felt Ji Yun’s gaze, turning her head.
Their eyes met for two seconds, then separated again. Su Qingwan’s initial shyness dissipated a bit, replaced by an inexplicable courage.
Taking a deep breath, she shouted, “Xu Lin, come on!”
Hearing Su Qingwan’s shout, Ji Yun followed suit, shouting, “Xu Lin, come on!”
Xu Lin waved his arm towards the two, feeling warm in his heart. But his speed slowed down again, falling to the end of the top ten.
After the two finished shouting, Qin Yunhe also walked over with Su Qingwan, and Su Qingwan followed to Ji Yun’s side.
“Teacher Su, there’s someone here who’s too embarrassed to shout, so let’s give him a final boost together, shall we?”
“Sure.”
Su Qingwan looked at the masked figure and suddenly realized, her eyes lighting up. It was Chu Qingchan, how did I not notice earlier?
“Sister Chu, Sister Bai.”
Ji Yun waved to the three people behind, and they walked over slowly.
The six beautiful girls stood together, instantly attracting half of the attention from the audience who were originally watching the race.
“We’re approaching the final 100 meters, everyone, cheer on!” the referee announced through the loudspeaker.
Instantly, everyone entered the final sprint stage, the 11 people seeming to instantly become neck and neck!
Zhang Kang, the sports committee member of Class 3, and another short-haired athlete remained at the front!
Xu Lin fell to around 20th place, and Ji Yun also held the hands of Su Qingwan on the right and Chu Qingchan on the left.
“Together.”
“Come on, Xu Lin!!!”
Amidst the cacophony, the voices of the six girls weren’t particularly distinct, but Xu Lin heard them clearly.
Seeing the six of them standing together, a smile crept onto his lips, “For you guys, I can’t afford to lose! I’ve got this!”
Zhang Kang heard the voices of Ji Yun and the others, but he sneered, “So what if they’re cheering? I’ve already won!” He looked towards the finish line, just 30 meters away, his eyes gleaming.
The surrounding spectators, seeing Xu Lin stuck in the middle of the pack, about 20 meters behind Zhang Kang and the others, thought he was surely going to lose.
But just as the first group approached the finish line, Xu Lin accelerated. With a sudden large step, he surged to around the 10th position.
The next moment, he increased his pace even more, passing Zhang Kang from behind!
Zhang Kang and his companion felt the presence behind them and pushed themselves to accelerate again. But before they could pick up speed, a slender figure appeared before them like a ghost!
Wasn’t he still a dozen meters away? In their bewilderment, the next moment, the lean figure crossed the finish line!
Xu Lin didn’t stop after crossing the line, landing on the ground with a thud, the sound of disbelief echoing in his ears.
He gasped for air, looking towards the nearby podium, wiping the sweat from his brow, muttering to himself, “This time, I didn’t let them down with their cheers, did I…”
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