Chapter 73: Follow Me!

“Hmph!”
The instructor let out a proud, disdainful snort, a trace of smugness flashing across his face.
He overtook Ling Qiu again, dashing forward at full speed.
However, during the third lap…
His pace gradually began to slow, just a little. After all, keeping up such a long-distance sprint—even a beast would start to tire!
Yet, in order to maintain his lofty authority as an instructor, he did his best to conceal his fatigue, lifting his head and puffing out his chest, still striding forward in large steps.
The way he swung his arms and took the bends at lightning speed looked effortlessly dashing—even he was a bit taken in by his own style!
At this moment, the students who had been whispering among themselves gradually fell silent, each now looking at the instructor with a meaningful gaze, tinged with a hint of sympathy.
He ran like a carefree wind, unaware… that he had been made a fool of.
“Third lap!”
The instructor ran up beside Ling Qiu once again, announcing in a booming voice, feeling as mighty and imposing as ever!
Ling Qiu even raised a hand and clapped: “Impressive, truly impressive.”
Whoosh!
With a gust of wind, the instructor swept past Ling Qiu yet again, charging forward!
The students now looked at the instructor with even more sympathy.
Meanwhile, Ling Qiu had only just finished his first lap…
“When will the instructor finally realize what’s going on?”
“No idea… I feel like there’s something clogging his brain, nothing’s getting through…”
“But… he’ll figure it out eventually…”
“Yeah, and when he does, Ling Qiu won’t be able to laugh anymore.”
“The instructor has a temper—if he finds out he’s been tricked… things will get ugly!”
Amidst the banter, a sense of worry for Ling Qiu began to creep in among the students.
Boy, you’re playing with fire!
And so it went…
The fourth lap…
The fifth lap…
The sixth lap…
The students watched as the carefree wind runner passed by them again and again with effortless grace.
By the time the instructor reached his seventh lap, Ling Qiu had only just finished his second!
Now…
The instructor’s steps grew ever slower, sweat soaking his back, and a strange feeling slowly dawned on him—something wasn’t right!
As he passed by the students and caught sight of their barely-suppressed laughter, his heart suddenly skipped a beat!
Wait, hold on!
Something’s off…
I’m already on my seventh lap!
But Ling Qiu has only just finished his second!

Could it be… he’s doing this on purpose?!
Thinking back to the tough words he’d spoken earlier, the instructor suddenly saw the problem!
He’d only said he himself wouldn’t stop, and that Ling Qiu couldn’t stop either—he’d never specified how far to run!
Damn it!!!
Realizing this, the instructor’s heart roared with anger!
He’d been outsmarted!
Honestly, he really wanted to lose his temper right then!
He wasn’t even sure if, when he next passed Ling Qiu, he could hold back his fury!
But…
Wouldn’t that just confirm to everyone that he’d been made a fool of?
No way! Even if he could out-run anyone here, his pride would be in tatters!
So, as he ran, he racked his brains for a way to save face.
Seeing Ling Qiu’s back getting closer, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind!
“I’m on my seventh lap! You’ve only just finished your third!”
He dashed up to Ling Qiu and called out.
Ling Qiu, just like before, clapped lightly, a smile playing on his lips: “Instructor, you’re unstoppable.”
“Hmph! Don’t think I can’t see through your little plan! — Don’t forget, I said the requirement was twenty laps! I’ve been keeping count! Once I’ve run twenty laps, I’ll wait for you! For every five minutes you lag behind, you’ll stand at attention for an hour!”
He almost shouted this at the top of his lungs!
All the other students heard it too!
“He finally figured it out!”
“Or maybe… the instructor always knew Ling Qiu’s plan, and just waited until now to spring the trap!”
“Tsk, tsk… Every five minutes behind is an hour of standing at attention… At this rate, Ling Qiu’s going to be an hour behind… Let me do the math, seven times one is seven, two times seven is fourteen, three times eight is Women’s Day, May First is Labor Day… Ha! Ling Qiu’s going to be standing for twelve hours!”
Hearing this, some of the girls and Zhao Dezhu felt a jolt of worry for Ling Qiu once more!
Yet…
At that moment, as Ling Qiu jogged along, he only smiled faintly.
He knew the instructor would catch on eventually—he just hadn’t expected it to take this long.
But it didn’t matter; he’d baited him into making a bold statement on purpose.
Now that the words were out, let him be hoisted by his own petard!
And so…
Ling Qiu sent a surge of energy through his legs and—
Whoosh!!!—
A sudden gust of wind erupted!
Ling Qiu, who had been plodding along like a snail, suddenly shot forward like lightning!
Thud, thud, thud—
His feet pounded the track at a furious rhythm, his running form blindingly fast and dazzling!
Huh?!!!!
Watching Ling Qiu suddenly pick up speed, all the students were stunned!

Whoa!
So fast!
By comparison, the instructor ahead of Ling Qiu suddenly looked like a pitifully slow turtle…
“Instructor, hello.”
In just the blink of an eye, Ling Qiu had caught up to the instructor, tossing out this casual greeting as he passed.
Huh???
The instructor froze, not quite processing what had happened, only to see Ling Qiu’s dashing figure streaking away like a wild stallion!
“So… so fast!!!”
The instructor’s heart lurched!
That speed… it was even faster than his own initial sprint!
In no time at all, Ling Qiu completed another lap, returning to the instructor’s side and saying with a smile: “Fourth lap.”
Whoosh!—
Another gust of wind as Ling Qiu shot off again, his speed undiminished!
In a flash, he finished another lap and returned: “Fifth lap.”
…
And so, under the stupefied gazes of both the students and the instructor…
Ling Qiu maintained a pace rivaling an Olympic sprinter, tearing around the track again and again!
Sixth lap…
Seventh lap…
Eighth lap…
…
Nineteenth lap…
Twentieth lap!!!
Thud.
By the time Ling Qiu completed his twentieth lap, the instructor had only just finished his tenth!
Ling Qiu returned to the front of the group, and, so as not to seem too superhuman, even made the effort to squeeze a bead of sweat from his brow.
He looked utterly at ease: “Instructor, I’ve finished my twenty laps. Now, I’ll keep time for you. —Remember, you said it yourself: every five minutes behind means an hour standing at attention.”
Ahhhhhh!!!!
My god!!
In an instant, all the students erupted in a frenzy!!
The place went wild!!
Especially the girls, who were already swooning over Ling Qiu’s dazzling sprinting—
Their faces flushed, desperate to rush over and give Ling Qiu a kiss!
Zhao Dezhu was so excited his face turned crimson, and he whipped out his phone, holding it high: “I’ll keep time!!!”