Chapter 5: The “12.9” Long Run

After half a month and two seat rearrangements, Shen Jia Yan and Wen Wan Ning sat together again.

Some boys in the class were quite rowdy, and they didn’t hold back even during class. As Yang Hua put it, they never listened properly and were always up to some mischief underneath their desks.

Lately, the two boys sitting behind Shen Jia Yan and Wen Wan Ning had been particularly restless.

During math class, Li Yi, who sat behind Wen Wan Ning, started rocking his chair back and forth again. His movements had a casual rhythm that also made his desk shift slightly, bumping into Wen Wan Ning’s chair from time to time.

The shaking caused Wen Wan Ning’s pen tip to scratch an ugly mark across her notebook. She frowned slightly, her shoulders tensing unconsciously, but she didn’t turn around. She just took a soft breath and continued working on her problems with her head down.

Li Yi seemed completely oblivious to her discomfort and rocked even harder.

Wen Wan Ning’s temples throbbed, and her fingers gripped the pen tightly. She endured it through the entire class until the bell rang, but Li Yi didn’t stop—in fact, he got worse.

“Can you stop rocking?!” Wen Wan Ning whipped around, her voice unexpectedly sharp. “This is a classroom, not your house where you can do whatever you want!”

Though only a few classmates remained in the room, the previous laughter and chatter came to an abrupt halt at her scolding.

The classroom fell pin-drop silent.

Li Yi snapped back to reality, feeling his face burn from the sudden dressing-down. Without regard for whether the other person was male or female, he immediately stood up, acting like he was about to throw hands. “What’s your problem? I can do what I want—it’s none of your business!”

The air around them instantly thickened with tension.

Before Wen Wan Ning could respond, Shen Jia Yan stood up and said to him, “Li Yi, what do you think you’re doing!” Her voice was low and firm.

“Want to fight? This is your fault from the start. We’ve talked to you about it several times before, but you haven’t changed and act all justified about it. Not disturbing others during class is the most basic rule for a student, right? Put yourself in their shoes—if you were constantly interrupted like this, would you put up with it?”

Li Yi was left speechless. Seeing the looks from the surrounding classmates, he realized he’d gone too far.

He plopped back into his seat with a pout and muttered, “Fine, I was in the wrong. I shouldn’t have done that. I won’t push forward anymore.”

Seeing Li Yi’s attitude soften, Shen Jia Yan gave him an out. “Alright, no need to let this ruin the good relationship between us front and back desk neighbors. We’ve always gotten along well.”

She and Li Yi had always had a decent rapport. He often asked Wen Wan Ning for help with questions he didn’t understand and would occasionally buy water for her and Shen Jia Yan as thanks.

Wen Wan Ning had a cool personality and didn’t like too much interaction with others. Her familiarity with Li Yi had only developed gradually because he kept asking her for help.

Shen Jia Yan didn’t want Li Yi to ruin this classmate camaraderie.

Li Yi hadn’t wanted to escalate things either, so he took the out Shen Jia Yan offered. “Yeah, we’ve always been cool. No need to blow up like that.” Then he apologized to Wen Wan Ning, “Wen Wan Ning, sorry. It was my fault. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Shen Jia Yan chimed in, “You know we’ve always been cool, huh? From the way you acted, I thought we were enemies.” She rolled her eyes at Li Yi.

Then she turned to Wen Wan Ning. “Good thing our Wan Ning is magnanimous and won’t hold a grudge against you, right, Wan Ning?”

Wen Wan Ning hadn’t expected Shen Jia Yan to step up like that. She knew Shen Jia Yan was open and straightforward with close friends, but she wasn’t one to meddle in others’ business.

Today’s Shen Jia Yan touched her deeply and made her feel safe.

Her eyebrows lifted slightly, a faint curve appearing at the corners of her mouth. She simply replied, “Mm.”

Shen Jia Yan had never stood up for anyone like this before. When she saw Li Yi’s reaction, she felt a bit worried inside.

Worried she couldn’t convince him, worried he might actually do something.

But all those worries and hesitations vanished the moment Li Yi stood up, looking ready to fight.

In that instant, Shen Jia Yan’s only thought was to protect Wen Wan Ning, no matter what.

No one was allowed to bully her.

Time flew by, and December arrived. Winter’s chill permeated every corner of the campus, with the French plane trees along the paths standing bare, enduring the biting cold.

This was the season when no one wanted to leave the classroom, but some special activities forced everyone to experience the unique campus winter firsthand.

The “12.9” long run was an annual school event, held to commemorate the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement and to improve students’ physical fitness.

Each class was required to send three participants.

Since everyone was new to the school, Yang Hua wasn’t sure about their athletic abilities. Plus, Star City Key High School’s “12.9” long run was a demanding five kilometers, so few students volunteered.

Yang Hua had to select based on the basic info sheets from the start of the semester.

Shen Jia Yan had been on her middle school’s track team, but she specialized in sprints. Yang Hua didn’t consider that and grabbed the rare athlete she could find.

After morning exercises during the break, as everyone waited for the next class bell, Yang Hua stepped onto the podium.

“I’ll use this time to announce the three classmates from our class who will participate in the ‘12.9’ long run.”

Everyone snapped to attention, listening intently and silently praying their names wouldn’t be called.

“Liu Mingxun, Jiang Hanyu, and Shen Jia Yan—get ready. The event is tomorrow afternoon.”

“Huh?” Shen Jia Yan’s hand, which had been warming Wen Wan Ning’s, paused. She muttered softly, “Me, running the ‘12.9’?”

“Alright, get ready for class.” Yang Hua adjusted her glasses and calmly stepped down.

Shen Jia Yan’s mind went blank. She never imagined she’d be picked, and Yang Hua hadn’t even left her any room to wiggle out.

She had been on the middle school track team, but long-distance running wasn’t her strength. Plus, she had a mild respiratory issue that made prolonged running cause frequent coughing.

But since it was the homeroom teacher’s assignment, she gritted her teeth and accepted.

It wasn’t like she had a choice anyway.

Seeing Shen Jia Yan frozen in thought, Wen Wan Ning pulled her hand free from Shen Jia Yan’s grasp, placed it over Shen Jia Yan’s instead, shook it lightly, and asked softly, “What’s wrong? If you can’t run, just tell the teacher. Don’t force yourself—five kilometers isn’t short, and lots of people can’t finish.”

Shen Jia Yan snapped out of it from the movement and forced a smile. “It’s fine. Sacrifice one for the happiness of millions, haha. It’s all about participation, right?”

Wen Wan Ning was amused by her optimism.

Whether they liked it or not, December 9th arrived.

With the event, afternoon exercises were canceled, and from exercise time through third period was dedicated to the “12.9” long run.

To avoid disrupting classes, non-participants stayed in their classrooms for normal lessons.

Shen Jia Yan lined up with the other participants at the starting line. The gun fired, and the race began in earnest.

For a five-kilometer run, most students didn’t go all-out at the start, conserving energy for the long haul. Shen Jia Yan did the same.

Her steps were even, arms swinging front to back, controlling her pace. She knew her long-distance limits and didn’t aim for a prize—just to finish.

Year 1 Class 7’s third period that afternoon was self-study. Wen Wan Ning fidgeted in the classroom.

She had seen Shen Jia Yan’s surprise and reluctance when the teacher announced it and knew long runs weren’t her thing. She kind of wanted to go watch.

She couldn’t do much, but even a simple cheer might help.

She alternated between reading and peering out the window, hoping to spot Shen Jia Yan in the crowd.

Shen Jia Yan had been running for a long time. Her legs felt nonexistent, only her thigh joints moving. Muscle soreness signaled her energy was spent. Her heart pounded wildly against her chest, her throat felt crusted over, and even her breaths carried a bloody taste.

This was the longest run Shen Jia Yan had ever attempted. She jogged and walked, ignoring how many passed her, just wanting to complete it as her victory.

The bloody taste in her throat and nose grew stronger—her heart racing too fast, blood circulating wildly. The world spun; she felt like she couldn’t hold on. Fortunately, it was the final half lap.

Eyes on the finish line, she dragged her exhausted body forward, bit her lip hard, furrowed her brows lightly, and pushed her heavy legs toward the end.

She collapsed to the ground instantly, relieved, gasping for air. It took a while before she slowly got up.

When the three participants returned to the classroom, fourth period self-study had already started.

Shen Jia Yan slipped quietly back to her seat.

Wen Wan Ning, seeing her return, was about to whisper and ask how it went when sudden coughing interrupted her—and it didn’t seem like it would stop.

She didn’t need to ask anymore. Seeing Shen Jia Yan’s flushed, strained face, she grew worried.

She raised her right hand and gently rubbed Shen Jia Yan’s back over and over until the coughing eased. She reached for her cup to offer water but found it empty.

Wen Wan Ning whispered, “Your cup’s empty. I’ll go fill it for you.”

From the moment Shen Jia Yan started coughing incessantly, Yang Hua had signaled Wen Wan Ning to look after her and report any needs.

After all, Yang Hua had assigned her to the event—if anything went wrong, she’d be responsible.

Wen Wan Ning had just stood up when the bell rang for the end of class.