CH 17.1

Protecting Wife (Husband)? (1)

“What? The new sports representative?” The physical education teacher could hardly believe his ears. He looked at the class monitor, Tang Tiantian, then pointed at the other side. “Him?”

Today was a rare overcast day, but the temperature was still sizzling hot. The students stood on the sports field, each of them listless. Only one person sat comfortably on the side of the sports field, under the famous large camphor tree. The overwhelming tree shade covered his entire body.

Seeing the glance of the physical education teacher, he slowly lifted his crutches and waved them at the other person; naturally, he was a patient.

Tang Tiantian nodded. “Mn. Our class just elected him yesterday. The class teacher hadn’t had the time to tell you yet.”

The physical education teacher had the surname Wu. He was physically fit and full of spirit. His eyes were opened wide at this moment. “Then, you shouldn’t just choose a –”

He swallowed back the word “lame” with difficulty. “Choose someone who is not in good health, right?”

Of course, he had an impression of the students in this class. This Ruan Qingmu had never liked sports. He would gloomily sit to the side all day long and was reluctant to come out and run a few rounds unless he was forced.

How did he suddenly become the sports representative? What kind of joke was this?

Tang Tiantian turned her head to look at Ruan Qingmu with a slight blush on her face. “Teacher Wu, he is very healthy and is very good at high jump.”

Huang Ya suddenly raised his hand from the boys’ line. “Reporting to the teacher. I lost an arm-wrestling match to him last night.”

Liu Jun’s expression was livid at the back of the line. Several of his companions also had an ugly look on their faces.

A boy sneered in a whisper. “Don’t you want face? Can’t wait to curry favor with the new sports representative?”

Huang Ya’s face turned red, and he turned his head. “I’m not lying.”

The talking boy was precisely the one being beaten by Ruan Qingmu into a nosebleed last time, called Li Zhiyong. He let out a ‘pah.’ “Just with that small physique, could he win against you in arm-wrestling? Don’t bullshit.”

Teacher Wu fiercely howled, “Shut up, everyone! Run three rounds on the sports field if you still continue to quarrel!”

He looked at Liu Jun and knitted his brows in embarrassment. “Then, who is going to get the sports equipment?”

Usually, the sports representative would lead them to get the sports equipment. But right now, the new sports representative was resting under the shade of a tree!

Bai Jing clenched his teeth and raised his hand. “Teacher, we will go.”

Several boys from his dorm all summoned their courage. “We will go together.”

After a while, Bai Jing and the others carried a  bag of sports equipment back and shouted, “Who wants it? Who wants it? Come here to take it!”

Liu Jun calmed his expression, reached out, and picked up a basketball from the net bag. Li Zhiyong and several other boys also reached out and snatched all the basketballs.

The remaining boys lowered their necks. Nobody dared to argue with them.

Huang Ya took a badminton racket, walked to the side, and whispered in discontentment. “Fuck! What kind of virtue this is.”

His roommate hurriedly pulled him back. “Forget it, forget it. Don’t cause trouble.”

He turned his head and looked at Ruan Qingmu under the tree shade, feeling a bit sad. “Why do I think our newly elected sports representative isn’t very reliable either? If he is still like this in the physical education class in the future, won’t it be a mess?”

Before, he didn’t have any presence. He was both gloomy and antisocial. Every time he and Fang Li were bullied, he wouldn’t dare to resist, with a ‘nothing left to live for’ look.

Now, his personality suddenly changed drastically as soon as school started. It was strange, no matter how you thought of it. Did he feel it was amusing to be the sports representative for a while? But what if he didn’t have any interest in it in the future?

Huang Ya nudged Bai Jing. “Had we known earlier, you might as well have gone for it!”

Bai Jing said, with a bitter face, “That’s enough. Don’t put me into the fire to be roasted1.”

On the other side of the sports field, it was also currently the physical education class for Class 1. A group of girls surrounded Fu Songhua. The class monitor, Qin Yuan, lowered his head and calmly distributed the sports equipment.

Class 9 boys looked at them nearby with disappointed faces.

It was such a contrast with them. The boys in their class were gathered in a mess, and the girls were also lazy. Except for several lively girls who took the initiative to receive table tennis rackets, the others were hiding to the side, chatting.

After Liu Jun and the others took the basketballs, they looked at each other and dribbled the balls in their hands.

“Teacher Wu has gone to coach the table tennis arena.” Li Zhiyong eagerly whispered.

Liu Jun glanced meaningfully at his several companions. While dribbling the balls, they gradually approached the camphor tree beside the sports field.

On the other side of the sports field, Qin Yuan distributed the last badminton rackets to two girls. As he raised his gaze and looked over to that side, his brows knitted.

Fu Songhua greeted him with a basketball. “Go, go, let’s go play ball!”

He had just wanted to run to the basketball hoop on the other side, but Qin Yuan pulled his arm.

Qin Yuan faintly glanced somewhere. Fu Songhua also followed his gaze and swore, “Fuck! What are Liu Jun and that group of sons of a bitch going to do?”

……

Under the tree shade, Ruan Qingmu lay down in boredom. Fang Li hugged his knees and quietly sat beside him.

“What is the sports representative supposed to do actually?” Ruan Qingmu weakly asked.

Fang Li thought for a while. “They need to help the teacher do roll calls during class, shout slogans during a jog, and be responsible for getting the sports equipment used by everyone and return it with a sign after the class ends.”

“……”

Footnote:

1 Describes putting the other person in a very painful, distressing situation.