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墨書 Inktalez
In the final four hundred meters, everyone's gaze turned to the brick-red track. The sunlight illuminated it, transforming the color into a warm orange hue. The runners seemed to be surrounded by halos, and the audience erupted in synchronized cheers from the stands.
It was hard to tell whether the cheers from the crowd had an effect or if the shouts from the finish line were simply too loud to ignore, but in those last moments, everyone pushed themselves to the limit.
Especially Jiang Yan, who had been lingering in third or fourth place, neither falling behind nor moving ahead. He remained in that position until the very end when he suddenly surged forward with a visible burst of speed.
His strides grew longer, and his pace quickened to a dizzying rhythm. The wind swept his bangs back, and the sweat-soaked headband darkened against his forehead. Beads of sweat dotted his face, and the sunlight refracted off him, making his features appear hazy, with layers of halos forming around him. Li Xiao felt as if she could barely see him clearly.
The crowd at the track cheered for this moment of tension and excitement as the first and second places constantly shifted. Those on the podium exchanged predictions about who would make a final push for victory.
With about two hundred meters left to the finish line, Li Xiao grabbed her camera and dashed across the soccer field toward the finish line.
The lens widened to capture all the figures straining with effort.
Her eyes focused on one runner in particular; by this point, his expression had shifted from calm indifference to a serious furrow of concentration. A close-up revealed his facial strain. His white athletic wear clung tightly to his chest while billowing at his back. His damp hair swayed wildly in front of him, but he paid it no mind as he battled for position against the runner who had initially been in first place.
Watching him charge forward made Li Xiao's heart race; she felt he might stumble on that rubber track at any moment.
Fortunately, in those final moments, he crossed into first place, raising his hands high with a bright smile.
The track erupted with enthusiastic cheers; this moment of youthful exuberance reached its peak.
She found her angle and quickly pressed the shutter, capturing this vibrant display of youth.
Later, every athlete who reached the finish line posed for their signature moves in her frame.
After photographing everyone, she turned her gaze back to find that first runner sitting on the grass of the soccer field. His hands rested on slightly bent knees as he lowered his head slightly, wiping away sweat from his face with a tissue.
But Li Xiao watched as the sweat beads glistened on the low-hanging strands of hair on his forehead.
Just as she was about to step forward, a large wave of people suddenly surged from the side, interrupting her thoughts. She stood still, observing the crowd—some holding tissues, some with bottled water, and others clutching lollipops. They either stood or sat around Jiang Yan, excitedly expressing their admiration and pride from their class.
Oh, so they are his classmates. No wonder those girls spoke to him so familiarly.
“Jiang Yan, I told you, first place is definitely yours!”
“Yeah, yeah! That last lap was simply amazing; it showcased our strength perfectly!”
“Honestly, I was so nervous watching that I wished I could give you wings to fly!”
“Hahaha, I really felt like we were being chased in that moment!”
A girl next to them playfully slapped the boy who was speaking.
“If you can’t say anything better, just keep quiet. The way you describe it is ridiculous…”
“Jiang Yan, drink some water,” a girl standing nearby offered him a bottle.
Jiang Yan smiled and picked up the half-empty bottle of water beside him.
“Thanks!”
“Hahahaha! I knew it! You all are completely smitten by Jiang Yan, aren’t you?”
The classmates around were teasing each other, while Jiang Yan sat there holding a bottle of mineral water, smiling slightly but remaining silent.
"Hey, not bad! I thought you were just trying it out, but you actually nailed it right away," Gu Zhan suddenly appeared out of nowhere, bouncing over to Jiang Yan's side to take in the "spectacle" before him.
"Where have you been? Did you throw the shot put and end up throwing yourself out too?" Jiang Yan, who had only just spotted Gu Zhan since the competition started, couldn't help but suspect he had been sneaking off to do something.
Gu Zhan, feeling defiant, grabbed the water bottle that Jiang Yan had set aside and twisted it open, gulping it down in one go until it was empty.
"Hey, what are you talking about..." Before he could finish his sentence, his gaze caught sight of a girl outside the crowd holding a camera—the same girl who had taken his milk earlier.
"Hey, look!" He kept nudging Jiang Yan with his elbow, urging him to look ahead.
"Huh? What?" Jiang Yan didn't see anything at first.
"Stretch your neck and look diagonally forward," Gu Zhan said, tilting his head to indicate the direction.
Jiang Yan leaned his body, stretched out his arm, and craned his neck. Finally, he managed to catch a glimpse of someone standing still between two classmates blocking his view.
He suddenly got up from the grass and brushed off the bits of grass clippings from his clothes.
"Hey! What are you doing? You scared me half to death!" Gu Zhan stumbled sideways due to Jiang Yan's sudden movement, glaring at him as if he had just come back to life.
"Huh? Who did you see?" Their class monitor looked confused and glanced back.
"I saw a friend, so I'm going to say hi," he said as he made his way through the crowd towards Li Xiao.
Li Xiao couldn't approach him to greet him. She thought about waiting a bit longer; if his classmates left first, she would go over. If they lingered for a while, then it was fine—she could congratulate him next time they met.
After waiting for a while, she felt that they wouldn't disperse anytime soon. Just as she was about to tidy up her camera bag and prepare to leave, she caught sight of a figure running toward her against the light. She looked up and saw him.
Those who love photography often believe that the light just before sunset is the most perfect, but at that moment, the sun was still high and shining brightly. Yet Li Xiao felt that the scene before her was already captivating enough. She wanted to lift her camera and capture it but hesitated out of shyness.
Finally, he arrived, slightly out of breath, standing in front of her with his back to the sun while she stood in the shadow he cast.
"I thought you had left. I looked around but couldn't find you," he said.
Seeing that she was still there seemed to make him happy; the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and his eyes sparkled as he looked at Li Xiao.
"No, I still have some shots to finish."
"Right, you took quite a few earlier. There must be some of me—let me see," he gestured toward her camera while also watching Li Xiao intently.
"I haven't developed them yet. I'll show you once they're ready."
"Can't you show me something first?"
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