Chapter 74

1500 meters seed contender, without a doubt, is Xiang Gang, who is about to participate in the Universiade.

Although Lei Mingsheng did not pin his hopes on Xiang Gang winning a medal at the Universiade, Xiang Gang's strength in the 1500 meters is already among the best at Xinan University. This time, at the Xinan University Autumn Sports Meet, he aims for nothing but first place.

Lei Mingsheng also looked relaxed. Although the race schedule was a bit odd, having his disciple win the first track event of this sports meet would certainly add to his prestige.

Of course, it would be the first place. His disciple, a national team coach, getting second place in a university sports meet would be a joke. In his view, the other seven participants were merely there to accompany Xiang Gang.

Ai Xiaohai lazily stood at the starting line. As soon as he appeared, a burst of laughter erupted, and even Lei Mingsheng and Kuang Dihan shook their heads.

It turned out that this contestant number 003 was wearing a standard sports vest and Nike running shoes. The problem was... he was actually wearing a pair of mid-length shorts to the race!

Looking at the other contestants, all of them were in sports shorts, making Ai Xiaohai's mid-length shorts stand out particularly in the group of athletes.

"How outrageous, how outrageous." The department head, Kong Youzhong, had a sullen face: "He doesn't take the sports meet seriously at all, it's a disgrace to Xinan University!"

Although the vice-principal, Hong Qihai, had a good impression of Ai Xiaohai, his attire today was really...

"Xiaoyun, why didn't you buy Ai Xiaohai a pair of sports shorts?" Xu Yunqi was laughing so hard she couldn't straighten her back.

Deng Mengmeng's face was as red as anything. How could a girl buy shorts for a guy? She wasn't even Ai Xiaohai's anything...

"Yuyan, are you still filming?" The cameraman from Xinan TV scratched his head.

Yuyan didn't know what to say... What was Ai Xiaohai doing...

...

Xiang Gang glanced at Ai Xiaohai beside him: "Brother, can you even run like that? Should I tell the referee to let you go change?"

This guy was nice, and Ai Xiaohai lazily replied: "No need, I'm just running for fun."

He originally thought Xiang Gang was one of Deng Chenglong's people, but seeing his attitude, he definitely wasn't. So, he would just give him some face during the race.

Who was Ai Xiaohai? The only human in the world with the speed of a leopard. To save Jiajia, he ran 60 kilometers back and forth in no time. Participating in such a sports meet, it would be hard for him not to win first place.

"Get ready—"

With this command, all the athletes lined up at the starting line.

The enthusiasm of the art department cheerleaders was clearly waning. Ai Xiaohai, wearing mid-length shorts, was bound to be the last. It was all Mengmeng and Yunyun's fault, saying Ai Xiaohai would definitely win first place. They should have cheered for someone else.

Deng Mengmeng and Xu Yunqi did shout a few cheers, but with only the two of them, it sounded particularly odd...

...

"Bang—"

The starting gun fired, and seven contestants bolted out.

Eight people were participating, and seven of them rushed out. Ai Xiaohai, seeing no one around, slowly started.

Another burst of laughter followed.

Yang Ziwei was very pleased, boasting: "Young Master Deng, Ai Xiaohai can't run at all. He's bound to make a fool of himself this time."

Deng Chenglong nodded in satisfaction. Making Ai Xiaohai look ridiculous was not bad.

"Ai Xiaohai seems to be catching up." Gao Mingyi's voice suddenly came.

Deng Chenglong and Yang Ziwei quickly looked at the race.

Everyone else had already sprinted over ten meters, while Ai Xiaohai leisurely and reluctantly left the starting line.

His speed wasn't particularly fast, but he soon caught up with the pack.

The contestant who was originally in seventh place saw Ai Xiaohai pass him, and he became eighth... Then, the sixth place became fifth, the fifth place became sixth...

Ai Xiaohai overtook the other contestants and ran side by side with Xiang Gang in first place.

Xiang Gang had a significant advantage in this event, so he led from the start without any tactics. Who would have thought that someone would suddenly overtake him, startling him.

Ai Xiaohai, unhurried, gradually overtook him, but the lead wasn't much. After the first lap, Ai Xiaohai was only about one meter ahead of Xiang Gang.

Ai Xiaohai thought Xiang Gang was a decent person and intentionally wanted to give him some face. Otherwise, what would happen if the leopard's speed was unleashed?

Xiang Gang wasn't worried. If Ai Xiaohai wanted to lead, let him. He would make his move in the last lap.

Lei Mingsheng and Kuang Dihan had been observing the race with binoculars from the start. Kuang Dihan couldn't help but say: "That's the Ai Xiaohai who signed up for six events, right? Hmm, he can actually keep up with Xiang Gang so far, not bad."

"Overconfident." Lei Mingsheng wasn't too worried: "He probably has some potential, but it's a pity. If he had trained under me from a young age, he might have a chance to join the city team, even if the national team is out of reach."

After the second lap, 800 meters were over, and Ai Xiaohai was still in first place, but his lead had expanded to two meters.

At the start of the third lap, Xiang Gang clearly picked up the pace, but as he sped up, so did Ai Xiaohai. The distance remained about two meters, but Xiang Gang couldn't catch up.

In middle and long-distance running, this was the worst thing. If you fail to overtake the opponent several times in a row, you lose momentum. Xiang Gang's steps gradually became disordered.

At the end of the third lap, 1200 meters, the art department cheerleaders started cheering again:

"Ai Xiaohai—Ai Xiaohai—Ai Xiaohai!"

There were only 300 meters left, and this guy, wearing mid-length shorts, was still in first place!

Lei Mingsheng's face turned sour. He could see his disciple was doing his best to catch up, but Ai Xiaohai's speed wasn't much faster, and Xiang Gang was always just a bit behind.

At this moment, Ai Xiaohai heard the cheers from the art department cheerleaders and even waved at them as he passed by!

This caused another round of screams from the girls, who knew nothing about sports.

What was this? The sports enthusiasts and teachers looked at each other. With only 300 meters left, Ai Xiaohai still had the mood to wave?

Even if he waved, Xiang Gang couldn't close the two-meter gap!

"Quick, quick, film!" Yuyan hurriedly said.

The cameraman finally did his job and captured the moment Ai Xiaohai crossed the finish line in first place.

"Ai Xiaohai—Champion! Champion—Ai Xiaohai!"

The cheerleaders' cheers rang out again.

The 1500 meters champion—Ai Xiaohai!

Xiang Gang was the second to cross the finish line. His steps were disordered, and he was panting heavily, but he wasn't at all discouraged. Instead, he gave Ai Xiaohai a thumbs up: "Awesome!"

Ai Xiaohai was the kind of person who, if you were tough on him, he would be even tougher. But if you were nice to him, he would feel awkward: "Lucky, lucky. I had seafood yesterday, so my endurance is good."

Hmm? Eating seafood can make one's endurance good the next day? Why had the coach never told him that? Xiang Gang was puzzled.

Some were happy, some were worried.

Deng Chenglong's face was grim: "Yang Ziwei, didn't you want him to make a fool of himself? Look at him now, is he making a fool of himself?"

Yang Ziwei looked embarrassed: "It's luck, pure luck. Young Master Deng, the 10000 meters is next. Ai Xiaohai just finished the 1500 meters, he'll be exhausted."

Thinking about it, Deng Chenglong barely suppressed his inner displeasure...

Lei Mingsheng was also unhappy, not because he had any grudge against Ai Xiaohai, but because Xiang Gang was his disciple preparing for the Universiade. Losing to an unknown person today would be a disgrace to his reputation as a gold medal coach.

He couldn't sit still and personally came to the field, harshly scolding Xiang Gang.

Xiang Gang was full of grievances: "Coach, he's not that fast, but I just can't catch up with him."

"Enough, stop making excuses." Lei Mingsheng interrupted him with a sullen face, calling over the seed contender for the next event, Guan Tongcheng, and two other contestants: "Xiao Cheng, you lead. Xiao Gu, you stick to Ai Xiaohai, no matter what, ensure Guan Tongcheng wins the championship."

"Understood, Coach."

Guan Tongcheng gave them some reassurance: "Although you didn't make the national team this time, after the competition, I'll try to transfer you to the city team. Train for a year, then go to the provincial team, and stay there after graduation."

"Thank you, Coach, thank you, Coach!"

Lei Mingsheng, to win the 10000 meters and save face, had to resort to despicable means.

But, he was overthinking it, really overthinking it...

...

The 1500 meters had just ended, and the 10000 meters was about to start. This was clearly unfair to Ai Xiaohai, who had just run so much, and soon a chorus of boos erupted.

Ai Xiaohai himself didn't care. After all, he hadn't used much effort in the previous race. With the speed of a leopard and the strength of a bear, the 1500 meters was nothing.

Deng Mengmeng, Xu Yunqi, and Yuyan were initially worried about whether Ai Xiaohai could handle it, but seeing him grin at them, they felt reassured for some reason.

During the warm-up, Guan Tongcheng came to Ai Xiaohai's side and said menacingly: "Ai Xiaohai, not bad, you got first place."

"Thanks, thanks."

"You offended Young Master Deng, and you're still so smug?"

This one sentence made Ai Xiaohai frown. Why was it always Deng Chenglong?

"Little bastard." Guan Tongcheng, who had received a favor from Deng Chenglong and was determined to help him, suddenly cursed fiercely: "You're a bastard with no parents!"

Ai Xiaohai's parents had gone missing, and the snake research institute from their unit had come to the school, so many people at Xinan University already knew.

However, this one sentence struck a sensitive nerve in Ai Xiaohai. Although he seemed to not care about it, he was always thinking about his parents.

Ai Xiaohai's face darkened. "Referee, wait!"

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