Chapter 72: My Goodness!

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What?! Everyone was stunned, their eyes wide with disbelief.

This… this Ling Qiu… is he too bold for his own good?!

Granted, everyone knew he'd embarrassed Liu Donghai earlier. But back then, it was just the fearlessness of youth—the luck of running into someone who couldn’t really fight back.

But now…

Clearly, retaliation was on the horizon. The instructor had already been assigned to deal with him, and still he dared act so defiant!

This was bordering on recklessness!

These instructors all came from the military. Ten kilometers with gear on their backs was nothing for them. And yet Ling Qiu was actually challenging an instructor with such demands?

The instructor's eyes narrowed dangerously, his voice sharp and menacing. “You… you seem to have forgotten your place!”

Ling Qiu smiled faintly. “And what place is that?”

The instructor barked, “I don’t care if you’re a college student or just some hotheaded kid. Since this is military training, we do things by the book—the military’s way! Starting today, I’m your commanding officer, and you are my soldiers! In military discipline, soldiers obey their commanders! If I tell you to run, you run! How dare you try to bargain with me?!”

Ling Qiu’s lips curled up ever so slightly. “Are you afraid?”

What the—?!

The crowd erupted again.

Impressive, truly impressive!

Ling Qiu was tough as nails. The instructor had already been aggravated by his repeated defiance. Now, as their gazes locked, he barely restrained himself from lashing out then and there.

His hand lifted, but after a moment, he forced it down.

Despite it being military training, this wasn’t the actual army. Before coming here, they’d been strictly forbidden from laying hands on students. Some discipline was allowed, but outright hitting students would cross a line.

Seeing the instructor withdraw his hand, Ling Qiu said, “Thinking of using force? Honestly, that might not be a bad idea. At least we’d get a result faster.”

The instructor took several deep breaths, composing himself with effort. Finally, he regained his cool.

Fine! Let’s run, then!

Though he was more than a little annoyed, he was also a distinguished long-distance runner in the army. This kid’s bravado was surprising, but after all, he’d had the nerve to offend even Liu Donghai, so such a temperament was hardly unexpected.

So—

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He might as well swallow his pride today and race the kid head-on!

“Very well. Since you’ve challenged me, I’ll accept. Let everyone see the difference between a soldier and you soft college students!”

At these words, the surrounding students felt a rush of anticipation.

Exciting! Who would have thought military training would start off like this?

Ling Qiu smiled. “Alright, shall we run?”

The instructor shot him a fierce glare. “When we start, I don’t stop—you don’t stop! Even if you have to crawl, you’ll crawl to the end!”

…

The students stood at attention where they were, military style.

The instructor, still young and proud, lined up at the starting line next to Ling Qiu.

“Three, two, one—go!”

He called it himself, and then, like a charging bull, took off at full speed!

Normally, you wouldn’t start a long-distance race with such explosive power. But the instructor wanted to assert his authority. After being challenged so many times by Ling Qiu, and not being able to strike him, he had to dominate this “contest” from beginning to end—to demonstrate his strength and the respect it demanded.

Meanwhile, Ling Qiu simply began to jog, unhurried and calm, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Truth be told, this was all a bit petty. But he was bored anyway. Better to have a little contest than stand around doing nothing.

With the instructor gone, the students remained at attention but began to whisper among themselves.

“This Ling Qiu… isn’t he a bit too reckless?”

“I think it’s just the fearlessness of youth! I heard just this morning that he actually went up against Liu Donghai yesterday! And now he’s challenging the instructor to a race. He’s out of his mind!”

“Yeah! Didn’t the instructor just say that if he didn’t stop, Ling Qiu couldn’t stop either? They’re going to run Ling Qiu into the ground—he’ll be foaming at the mouth by the end!”

“Well, he asked for it! He’s digging his own grave!”

Yet, some of the girls found Ling Qiu rather appealing.

At this age, girls often liked boys who were cool and rebellious, a little different, a little “bad.” To them, Ling Qiu’s attitude was inexplicably dashing and brave.

“What should we do… there’s no way Ling Qiu can outrun the instructor…”

“Sigh… he was so brave just now. It’s obvious Liu Donghai sent someone to trouble him. Maybe he knows he can’t escape, so he’s choosing to face it head-on, putting on a show of bravado.”

At that moment, Zhao Dezhui—Ling Qiu’s first friend since starting school—spoke up with admiration. “That’s my brother, alright! He’s got guts! If you can’t escape, you might as well face it head-on. I respect that!”

A chatter of voices filled the air.

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Every pair of eyes was fixed on Ling Qiu and the instructor.

At this moment—

The instructor had already completed one lap, while Ling Qiu hadn’t even finished half a lap.

“Wait, that’s odd…”

Suddenly, a student caught on.

“What’s odd?” someone else asked.

“Think about it. Didn’t the instructor and Ling Qiu agree that as long as the instructor doesn’t stop, Ling Qiu can’t stop either?”

“That’s right.”

“So if the instructor keeps running at this speed and Ling Qiu just keeps jogging slowly… won’t the instructor be the one in trouble in the end?!”

“Wait, damn! You’re right!”

With that, everyone realized the truth. They turned to look at Ling Qiu.

They saw that Ling Qiu was barely faster than a brisk walk—a slow jog at best—and he still wore that faint, almost amused smile.

When he glanced at the instructor, who was already nearly flying through his second lap, his eyes seemed to glint with mischief and a hint of sympathy.

Damn…

So all along, he’d been playing with the instructor!

Thud-thud-thud-thud—

At that moment, the instructor thundered past the students, sprinting as if he had wings on his feet.

In no time, he caught up to Ling Qiu, bellowing, “Is this the best you can do? Challenging me—are you sleepwalking?! Pathetic!”

Ling Qiu smiled serenely. “You’re impressive, instructor.”

Hearing this, the instructor’s face showed a hint of pride.

Hmph! Surrendering already?

Not yet!

With a few powerful strides, the instructor shot past Ling Qiu again.

Whoosh—

He tore around the track, his running as aggressive as ever. After nearly two laps at a sprint, he still showed little sign of fatigue—he really was in excellent shape.

The instructor once again caught up to Ling Qiu. “I’ve run two laps already! And you haven’t even finished one! Now do you understand the difference between us?!”

Ling Qiu only kept his steady, slow pace, smiling. “Impressive, truly impressive.”