Chapter Fifteen: Registration for the Competition

  Xia Meng rushed back to school and hadn't even entered the dormitory when she heard Chen Yu Meng shouting loudly inside: "What to do? What to do?"

  "What's wrong?" Xia Meng asked as she pushed open the door. "You've been gone all day, where did you go?" Chen Yu Meng grabbed Xia Meng's hand and asked. "What's wrong with you? I could hear your mournful cries from far away in the dormitory."

  Xia Meng looked at Chen Yu Meng's pale face and couldn't help but laugh: "Li Han didn't say he was going to dump you, did he?"

  "I've got a lot of pimples on my forehead!" Chen Yumeng said with a sobbing tone, "What can I do?"

  Wang Qi had been listening to Chen Yu Meng's complaints in the dormitory for a whole day and lost his patience, lying on the bed with earphones plugged into his ears listening to English. "You should ask Anuo about this, isn't she known as the beauty queen?"

  "Zhao Yinu hasn't returned to her dorm for several days now. She leaves school directly after class, didn't you know?"

  Xia Meng has indeed not been paying attention to Zhao Yi Nuo recently, and she herself has also been quite busy lately.

  "Besides, I'm really annoyed with her lately!" Chen Yu Meng said, mentioning Zhao Yi Nuo, his face looked strange.

  "I've never had acne before, maybe we should go to a dermatology hospital?" Xia Meng said, "It's the sports meeting at the end of the month, what events are you guys going to sign up for?"

  Wang Qi and Chen Yu Meng both shook their heads. They were barely passing in physical education, how could they possibly sign up for the sports meet?

  On Monday's class meeting, Class Director Liu mobilized classmates to sign up for the sports meet: "Last time, our class won the school championship in both men's and women's basketball. Many classes were not convinced, saying we relied on luck! Because the top three students with the best grades in the grade are all in our class, other teachers are also unconvinced, saying you're just a bunch of bookworms who only know how to read books!" The Class Director became more and more excited as he spoke from the podium.

  Actually, many students under the stage are not so concerned about the good or bad results of the sports meet. They are more concerned about their own academic performance because they came to this key high school for learning, which is the most important thing. Others don't care, it's just that no one dares to express it directly.

  The head teacher adjusted her glasses, cleared her throat, and swept the students below the stage with her sharp eyes. "Classmates, enthusiastically sign up with Sports Commissioner Sun Biao! Everyone, be sure to bring back the first place for me!" Although the head teacher spoke with great enthusiasm, many of the students below were silently ridiculing her.

  Xiǎ Mèng Tāmen A zhōng, shì quán chéng zuì hǎo de gāo zhōng, xuéxiào de jiāzhòng dàxué gāo lùqǔ lǜ jí liáng hǎo de xuéfēng xiào fēng, yún jì le quán chéng zuì hǎo chéngjī de xuéshēng. rù xué fēn bān de shíhòu, zhōng kǎo qián 100 míng, yóu bān zhǔ rén chōu qīān, juédìng zhèxiē yōu děng shēng de qùchù.

  Head teacher Liu drew the first place in the middle school entrance examination, Zhang Li, and the second place, Xia Meng. Her good luck made other head teachers jealous, but Head Teacher Liu only got two excellent students, while other head teachers got three or more. As for Li Han, who was ranked last in the grade, no head teacher wanted to keep him. In order to balance the minds of other head teachers, the principal decided to assign Li Han to Class 3, and although Head Teacher Liu had some reservations about this decision, she could only reluctantly accept it.

  But unexpectedly, Li Han jumped from the bottom of the class to second place! This reversal made other teachers regretful. And Class Teacher Liu was overjoyed. So, the whole grade took 3rd class as a target, if 3rd class achieved good results, it would be: "3rd class originally had the best students anyway"; if the results were poor, it would be: "What's the use of having the best students?" Class Teacher Liu was walking on thin ice, worried that she would make mistakes and be gossiped about behind her back. So for an important event like the Sports Day, she absolutely couldn't afford to lose.

  Xiǎ Mèng is a person with a strong sense of class honor, absolutely a good student in the teacher's eyes. She unconditionally obeys the head teacher's call, otherwise, she wouldn't have been the class leader for over 10 years.

  Some students think she is good at flattering and fawning, and they don't like her; others think she is simple and responsible, worthy of trust. But Xia Meng just thinks that as a member of the class, she has the responsibility to add glory to this class. After class, she takes the initiative to find Sun Biao and signs up for the 1500-meter run and long jump.

  Li Han recently stayed at home after school to study a topic, he originally didn't want to waste time participating in any project, but saw Zhang Li also signed up, and the direct sign-up was a project that no one dared to challenge: 5000 meters running.

  The school stipulates that only one person from each class can sign up for the 5000-meter event, but it is not required to sign up for every class. The sports meeting is limited to two events per person. Li Han chose what he thought were the simplest two events: 800 meters and high jump. Even the most popular Li Han signed up to participate, and other classmates in the class couldn't sit still, rushing to sign up with Sun Biao.

  After school, Xia Meng took off her cotton long skirt and changed into a sports suit to practice running and long jump on the school playground, where she met Zhang Li who came to run as well.

  "I didn't expect you signed up for long-distance running!" Xia Meng said with admiration, "You need to have super strong endurance to run 5,000 meters."

  "I've been insisting on running every day!" Zhang smiled humbly, he was always so gentle and courteous, and his heart was calm when interacting with him.

  "There are too many people running on the playground now, why don't you come with me to run a few laps by the river behind the school? The scenery is beautiful, and when we're tired, we can sit on the grass and take in the view!" Zhang Li invited Xia Meng to visit his secret paradise.

  "Okay! Actually I also want to go behind the school to take a look, but don't know how to get there!"

  "Then come with me!" Zhang Li said.

  Zhang Li led Xia Meng around the school football field, from a small path between the trees at the edge of the football field, and walked straight to the edge of the school wall. There was a small side door that was tightly closed. Zhang Li took out the key from his pocket and opened the iron gate. "How did you get the key to this door?" Xia Meng asked.

  "Don't forget, I'm whose son!" Zhang Li said with a humorous smile.

  "Haha." Xia Meng smiled awkwardly, "Director Lai is quite kind at home, huh."

  "Yes, my mom is in charge of the school's style and atmosphere. Nowadays, students are exposed to a vast amount of information, and the outside world is more complicated than before. Students are getting smarter too, it's not easy for my mom, haha!" Xia Meng nodded in understanding.

  Zhang Li led Xia Meng on a slow jog through a wild orange forest, arriving at the riverbank. The area was covered in lush green grass, with calm and clear water that was visible to the bottom. On the opposite bank of the river was the mountain where Xia Meng had last barbecued with Li Han, Zhang Li, and Chen Yu Meng. Zhang Li found a clean rock, wiped it down with a tissue, and invited Xia Meng to sit down. Zhang Li picked up several smooth rocks, turned sideways, and threw them towards the river surface, "Splish, splish, splish———" The rocks skipped across the water's surface, bouncing nine times before finally sinking to the bottom!

  "Wow, you're really amazing!" Xia Meng couldn't help but jump up and applaud for Zhang Li.

  "Haha, I've liked practicing this skill by the river since I was young!" Zhang Li said with a humorous smile. "This little world is my secret base. Every time I make some progress or encounter setbacks, I like to sit here for half a day, clear my mind and set off again. Here, facing the river water, my heart becomes especially calm. Staring at the river water for a long time, it's as if I can merge with the water, flowing forward, endless."

  "In fact, I also think you're like this winding river water!" Xia Meng said sincerely, Zhang Li was as gentle and calm as the water.

  Zhang Li smiled and leaned against the grass with his hands behind his head. "Xia Meng, lift your head up and look at the white clouds here, isn't it a different kind of charm?"

  Indeed, the murmuring sound of the river by my ear, looking up at the clouds in the sky, as if they had come to life, singing, running and crying clouds.

  The two of them stayed by the river for a while, ran around the riverbank several times, and Summer Dream was sweating profusely, while Zhang Li was still calm and composed. "You used to play basketball, you can play a whole game, your physical strength is already good enough!" Zhang Li comforted Summer Dream.

  Xiǎo Mèng de xià duì zhe shǒu: "Liǎng gè duō yuè méi yǒu xùn liàn, tǐ lì jiù gēn bù shàng le!"

  English Translation:

  Xiǎo Mèng shook his head in embarrassment: "More than 2 months without training, my physical strength can't keep up!"

  "It's okay, just keep running for a week and you'll recover! We should head back to school now, you haven't had dinner yet!" Zhang Li said with a smile.

  Since knowing Zhang Li, he has always been smiling so warmly, making Xia Meng dazed.

  Back to school, Xia Meng and Zhang Li waved goodbye. The school cafeteria was already closed, missing dinner, making Xia Meng extremely disappointed. Xia Meng returned to the dormitory, which was empty, guessing that everyone had gone to the classroom for evening self-study. Xia Meng hastily took a shower, changed into clothes, and ran back to the classroom.

  There are still 10 minutes before the evening study session starts. Zhang Li hasn't gone home, he is still wearing the same clothes from running in the daytime, sitting at his seat, diligently doing his homework. The light shines on his face, bright and dazzling. If you ask a man when he is most attractive to girls, Xia Meng would answer without hesitation: A serious and persistent man is the most charming.

  Chen Yumeng pushed Xia Meng: "Why was Li Han late for tonight's self-study?"

  Xia Meng turned her head to see that Li Han's seat was empty. At the moment when the evening self-study was about to begin, Li Han rushed into the classroom with a big sweat on his forehead and a bulging backpack on his back.

  After the second evening self-study class, Xia Meng received a text message from Li Han. "Wait for me under the Longing Tree later." Xia Meng glanced at Li Han, who had already rushed out with his bag on his back. Xia Meng quickly followed and ran out as well.

  Arriving at the foot of the tree, Li Han handed her two lunchboxes. "Lunch, hurry up and eat!" Xia Meng didn't ask much, snatched the lunchbox, opened it, and the fish-flavored meat strips emitted a long-lasting fragrance, making Xia Meng's stomach growl with hunger!

  "It's so delicious!" Xia Meng wolfed down the food, not forgetting to lavish great praise, although it was just an ordinary home-cooked dish of fish-flavored shredded pork. The flavor really surpassed that of top-notch cuisine in the mortal world. It was truly unexpected that Li Han, who seemed so high-end and refined, would turn out to be a superb chef!

  "What's the recipe for Fish Fragrant Meat Threads?" Xia Meng actually also wanted to practice her cooking skills to treat herself.

  He glanced at her unrefined eating posture, shook his head, and said with a smile: "Fish-flavored shredded pork, named after the fish flavor seasoning. Fish-flavored dishes have only appeared in recent decades, and were first created by Sichuan chefs in the early years of the Republic of China. The 'fish flavor' in fish-flavored shredded pork is made from pickled chili peppers, Sichuan salt, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, and scallions. This seasoning has nothing to do with fish, but rather imitates the seasonings and methods used by Sichuan people when cooking fish, hence the name 'fish flavor', which has the characteristics of salty, sweet, sour, spicy, fresh, and fragrant, making it extremely delicious when used in cooking. The main ingredient of this dish is pork, which must be made from 30% fat and 70% lean meat, sliced into thin strips and stir-fried to make the meat tender and fresh. The finished dish has a reddish-brown color, tender meat, fresh texture, and rich fish flavor."

  Li Handong paused for a moment, then continued: "Legend has it that a long time ago in Sichuan, there was a family of merchants who loved to eat fish and were very particular about seasoning. When cooking fish, they would add ingredients like scallions, ginger, garlic, wine, vinegar, and soy sauce to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor. One evening, the lady of the house was stir-frying another dish, and in order not to waste the leftover seasonings from the previous night's fish cooking, she added them all to this new dish. At first, she thought it might not taste good, and her husband would be unhappy when he came home. Just as she was lost in thought, her husband returned home from work. Unbeknownst to him, whether due to hunger or the aroma of the dish, he couldn't wait to dig in and grabbed a handful of the food with his hands, devouring it in seconds. Before even a minute had passed, he eagerly asked his wife what she had used to make this dish. She stuttered at first, but was surprised to hear her husband repeatedly praising the flavor of the dish. Her husband asked again, "What's the secret ingredient that makes this dish so delicious?" Only then did she explain the whole story to him. It turned out that the dish was made by stir-frying leftover seasonings from cooking fish with other ingredients, which resulted in an endless depth of flavor. And so, it came to be known as 'Fish Fragrance Stir-Fry'. Over time, this dish has undergone many improvements by the people of Sichuan and has become a staple in Sichuan cuisine, including variations like Fish Fragrance Pork Liver, Fish Fragrance Meat Strips, Fish Fragrance Eggplant, and Fish Fragrance Three Strands. Today, its unique flavor has won over people from all regions, making it a national sensation."

  Li Han said with a profound tone: "Generally speaking, most of the origins of dishes are created by wives to entertain their husbands! You, who can't even cook..."

  Xia Meng finished eating, wiped her mouth and stuffed the lunch box into Li Han's arms. "I'm thirsty, I have to go back and drink some water!" Li Han looked at Xia Meng's back and sighed helplessly: "Haven't even asked you about going for a run with Zhang Li today!"

  Xia Meng returned to the classroom, lifted up her desk, and found a piece of bread and a bottle of milk inside. Underneath was a note that read: "Haven't eaten yet?" Xia Meng turned around and glanced at Zhang Li, who was drinking his milk and smiled at him. Xia Meng let out a satisfied burp and also smiled awkwardly.

  Chen Yu Meng glanced at Zhang Li and then looked at Xia Meng, leaning close to Xia Meng's ear and saying: "You and Zhang Li, is there something going on between you two?"

  "Go study! Finals are coming up soon!" Xia Meng smiled and pushed Chen Yu Meng.