When did he research a new move without telling me, Tan Chunying thought to herself, but said something else entirely without missing a beat, "Oh, it's a secret passed down in our family. The ancestors said casually passing it on will bring eternal misfortune."

Tan Xiao: ... Very good, a stable performance!

......

The "Great Shaman" crew spent several days investigating at the Tan family before leaving. In the blink of an eye, it was the sports meet at Nanchu No. 1 Middle School.

The day was blessed with good weather and bright sunshine.

In the familiar "March of the Athletes", Tan Xiao and Kong Xuan were together in their class's opening ceremony formation as they entered the field, finally gathering on the sports ground, everyone wearing the same sportswear.

Tan Xiao said softly, "Occasions like this were what I feared most when I was little, because everyone would be highly uniform - clothing, shoes, socks, sometimes even hairstyles would be the same. Then I would find everyone looked more or less the same. When people greeted me, I couldn't recognize them, which could be maddening, especially if I was asked to pass something or deliver a message."

It wasn't Tan Xiao's fault that he couldn't recognize people!

Kong Xuan privately thought that not recognizing faces was not a sin, and even felt sympathy for the young face-blind Tan Xiao.

Tan Xiao continued, "But later, I discovered that if I stayed calm, it was them who got hurt."

Kong Xuan: "...Mm!"

Taking a step back, were the people Tan Xiao couldn't recognize completely faultless? If their own behavior and mannerisms were more distinctive, wouldn't Tan Xiao have recognized them.

After the opening ceremony, the track and field events started immediately. The most active participant from Class 3 this time was not the competing students, but Yu Zhenzhen. This time she was one of the official photographers for the school's public account, running back and forth between various events.

When it was time for the men's 4x100m relay, Yu Zhenzhen was crouching in the best shooting position, thinking it was her time to shine.

Seeing Tan Xiao start, she quickly took burst shots, all the way until the fourth runner Kong Xuan, capturing him crossing the finish line first in her lens!

The official photographer also had her stance. Yu Zhenzhen cheered.

Taking a step back, Yu Zhenzhen nearly stepped on someone. Turning around, it was an unfamiliar classmate. "Sorry about that."

The person shook his head and even smiled at her. "No problem."

Yu Zhenzhen took a rough look and ran forward to take behind-the-scenes photos of the athletes after the race.

She saw Tan Xiao running over from the first runner's position and hugging Kong Xuan. She quickly raised her hand to take a photo, and her elbow bumped into someone again. Looking up, it was still the classmate she had stepped on earlier. "...Sorry."

The other person kept shaking his head, "It's my bad, I just also like this shooting position."

Yu Zhenzhen looked at his empty hands, not even holding a cell phone, her mind full of question marks.

...Shooting position, then take out your camera!

......

After resting a bit, Tan Xiao warmed up again, preparing for the 3000 meters.

Kong Xuan also stretched his wrists, ready to go. After seven and a half laps, he would be there to catch Tan Xiao whose legs would give out on the spot.

"Tan Xiao!" Yu Zhenzhen waved at Tan Xiao, signaling him to look at the camera. Good, a close-up!

With the camera there, Tan Xiao of course knew it was Yu Zhenzhen. The strange thing was, beside Yu Zhenzhen there was another classmate, also waving at him from afar and shouting, "Look here, look here!"

Yu Zhenzhen: "..."

A bit weird... Tan Xiao nodded and smiled in that direction, then continued his warm-up. The starting gun fired, and Tan Xiao burst out from the inner lane. Following the pace he had practiced, he swung his arms and breathed steadily. One lap, two laps, it was still relatively easy.

However, as he reached the middle and later stages, it inevitably became more challenging.

The commentator's enthusiastic voice boomed through the broadcast: "We can see that everyone is now in the fatigue period. Hold on, victory is just ahead! Next, I will read a piece written by Lin Yang, a student from Class 2 (3), for his classmate, contestant number one, Tan Xiao: Ah, Xiao Xiao, please run freely, run towards your dreams, run towards your future..."

Kong Xuan, running alongside, kept an eye on the distance between Tan Xiao and the other runners. It was dangerous; the runners beside him were too fast! First place was not secure!

Kong Xuan: "Sprint, sprint."

Tan Xiao didn't respond.

Kong Xuan: "Sprint now!"

Tan Xiao managed to squeeze out a sentence while adjusting his breathing: "Who sprints in the third lap?!"

Seeing that Kong Xuan still wanted to say something, he quickly added, "Participation is what matters." He was truly afraid that Kong Xuan would get carried away and come over to lift him as he ran.

Kong Xuan closed his mouth in disappointment.

As he reached the final lap, Tan Xiao focused on the path ahead, preparing to sprint in the last one or two hundred meters. At this point, he was exhausted, his breathing no longer even, his face flushed. He thought to himself, they had talked about securing third place and striving for first, but he hadn't expected everyone to be so competitive. Could he even maintain his position?

Just then, Tan Xiao heard a clear bark: "Woof!"

It was distant and faint, but it definitely pierced through the numerous cheers and reached his ears. Unable to resist, he looked in the direction of the sound.

Outside the wire fence by the artificial lake, a Yorkshire Terrier, after barking, picked up a stick from the ground and lunged forward, startling an orange cat that was sticking its butt out in front. The cat's fur stood on end as it dodged, then angrily opened its mouth—but stopped, not making a loud cry.

In the end, it only opened and closed its mouth, its whiskers twitching, and its paws rubbing even faster.

"!" Tan Xiao almost lost his breathing rhythm.

Elder Baoping? Yorkshire Terrier?

Tan Xiao watched as they chased and fought, running forward. The orange cat's plump but agile body twisted and turned, blocking the Yorkshire Terrier's path, but the Yorkshire Terrier seemed to have the upper hand, slipping under the orange cat's crotch and successfully breaking through, dashing forward.

The orange cat followed closely behind, the two running no less lively than the adjacent track. On the other side of the fence, everyone's attention was on the sports meet, and no one paid attention to the cat and dog. It seemed only he cared.

Elder, don't run, take me with you to score points!!

Tan Xiao's originally fatigued body suddenly burst with energy from somewhere, and he accelerated into a sprint.

The commentator's surprised voice spread throughout the school through the loudspeakers: "Contestant number one, Tan Xiao, has started sprinting half a lap early?! ...This is unusual, but his speed is fast, overtaking the two runners ahead of him!

"Is this some kind of tactic? We can see that the other contestants are also anxious, starting to sprint one after another... Well, some students have steadied themselves, preparing to sprint at the end, but their steps have become a bit chaotic.

"Meanwhile, Tan Xiao's speed hasn't decreased, and has even gotten faster. He is still sprinting. If he maintains the first position, he will win!

"...He's crossed the finish line!"

Tan Xiao dashed across the finish line, the red ribbon flying in the air as the boy broke through it, drawing a beautiful arc.

The scene erupted in cheers. Kong Xuan opened his arms—

"Let's congratulate contestant number one, Tan Xiao, on his undisputed victory in the men's 3000-meter race. Eh? Tan Xiao...?"

"Let's go!" Tan Xiao called out to Kong Xuan, his speed undiminished as he sprinted forward.

What are you thinking, holding out your hand like that? Didn't you see the dog?

Everyone: "...? ?"

What's going on? Led by the students of Class 3, everyone was stunned on the spot. They couldn't even find the person they wanted to celebrate with. They could only see Tan Xiao not stopping after crossing the finish line, seemingly sprinting even more vigorously!

"..." Kong Xuan still had his arms open, furious.