Gym Class

Due to his enhanced Spirit, Chen'an remained alert throughout the whole lunch break. A few students who were equally devoted to their studies noticed him studying, and chastised themselves for not doing the same. If Chen'an was making efforts to improve his weakest subject, they had no excuse to squander precious revision time on a nap–not when they could be attempting practice papers.

On Chen'an's part, he completed his own paper quickly and easily, without having to cram to finish it within an hour as he would have in the past.

The hour-long lunch break passed quickly. There were three lessons after lunch. The first was gym class, which was widely popular among the students.

Shangke High's gym teacher was fit enough to rival the physical education department of any school, and his classes tended to go by smoothly. Except for rainy days, which aggravated his rheumatoid arthritis. If his condition got too serious, he would have to be hospitalized, so substitute teachers would take his place on such days. Not today, though–the sky was clear, complete with a pleasant breeze.

When the bell rang, most of the students had already awoken, with the exception of a few still buried in the muzzy cocoons of sleep.

Chen'an closed his textbook. He had recited nearly a hundred English words during lunch, all of which had been imprinted onto his mind.

His past self would have forgotten half the words he had learnt in just a few periods–it was partly why he had lost the motivation to study for English–but now Chen'an had faith that his memory would serve him well. If only he had had this ability then, his English grades might not have been half as dismal.

Chen'an patted Lu Gang's cheek. As expected, his deskmate didn't stir, so he said, "The teacher's here to check your phone, Lu Gang."

All traces of Lu Gang's sleepiness vanished. He jolted upright, eyes darting about frantically.

"Where?"

When it became clear there were no teachers lurking in the vicinity, Lu Gang's shoulders slumped. Chen'an grimaced at the tissue on his face, plastered there by his own saliva.

"Wipe yourself off. Don't be late for gym class." He stood and left his seat.

Lu Gang sat there, blinking, before realizing he had been played–again.

"Wait up, you!" He unpeeled the tissues from his face and chased after Chen'an, footsteps echoing in the hallway like that of an elephant.

The school field was located less than a hundred meters away from the snack kiosk they had visited earlier. Several classes were scattered there, including sports students who spent most of their time training for aptitude-based admissions to the top colleges. The benefits of this strategy were twofold: it reduced pressure to perform in their humanities subjects, and would likely yield better results than burning the midnight oil.

Most of Class 37 were already present. Only a few students had yet to arrive, probably still cramming practice questions in whatever time they had left.

"What took you so long, Chen'an?" Li Chaoqun asked. He was a classmate Chen'an was on friendly terms with.

Chen'an greeted him with a wave. "What's the point of coming early and standing around? You might as well spend the time reading in the classroom."

Lu Gang was taken aback. Something must be seriously wrong with Chen'an. His enthusiasm during gym class was unmatched; why would he say such a thing?

"Don't scare me, man. I heard you'll lose your memory thrice a week. Take care of yourself," Li Chaoqun advised.

Chen'an blinked. What did he mean? Or was Chen'an misunderstanding something?

His classmate's voice cut through his thoughts. "I hope I can pass today's 1km run," he continued. "Last time, I was short by just three seconds."

"A test?" Chen'an muttered under his breath.

The memories were coming back. Finishing the run within 3 and a half minutes meant you had passed with flying colors, and 4 and a half meant you had just passed. In this, his parallel world mirrored the real one.

The only difference was that this time, their results would be included in their overall scores for the college entrance examination.

Their fitness test was worth 40 marks in total, with the 1km run, 50m sprint, long jump, and pull-ups worth 10 marks each. It was no surprise that everyone was taking gym class as seriously as they would any other subject.

"1km? Again?" Lu Gang blurted out, agony written all over his face. "I already vomited during the last run, do I have to suffer that again?"

He was hardly the only one dreading the run, though; it would pose a challenge to most of the boys in Class 37. Being a student of Shangke High meant that one had to possess at least a degree of academic aptitude, and most of Class 37's students were book-smart, with no particular inclination towards sports. It was fortunate that their school had had requirements for the students' physical education–similar to the college entrance examination–so they didn't neglect their fitness in pursuit of their studies.

"What's so intimidating about it? 1km will take you just three minutes; four at most. If you can't even handle that, how can you call yourself a man… or get married in the future?"

Lu Gang stared at Chen'an, failing to piece together the connection between running and his ability to find a wife. Wasn't the latter simply based on looks… or whatever else the woman had to offer? What was so important about running?

Chen'an sensed his bewilderment, but decided against explaining himself. Lu Gang wasn't mature enough to understand the adult world yet. "Just follow me later," he said. "I'll run in front so it blocks you from the wind. Do your best so you don't lose 10 marks for nothing."

1km was a manageable distance for Chen'an, who had made a habit of visiting internet cafes since his 6th grade. Some lesser-known establishments had been far from his house, and in order to save money from taking a car, Chen'an would dutifully walk there instead. As such, he had been in decent shape ever since he was young. He had kept this up till 8th grade, when his family had finally obtained a computer, but the results of all that exercise had stayed with him–enough for him to get full marks in gym class, even if he was no star athlete.

A 1km run would be no exception.

With Chen'an's current stamina, he estimated that the run would take him 3 minutes and 20 seconds. His fastest time had been 3 minutes and 15 seconds, but even that extra burst of energy had left him feeling more tired than usual.

Amidst the chatter, the gym teacher arrived at the field with a stopwatch in hand.

"Listen up," he called, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention.

He looked as strong and sturdy as ever, dressed in short sleeves that bared his biceps–thicker than some of the boys' thighs–heedless of the chilly weather. Who would dare not to take gym class seriously, with a teacher like that?

At that moment, a notification from the system popped up.

"Dungeon detected. Do you wish to open it?"