The Afternoon on the Basketball Court.
The sky was a brilliant blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds, and the sun shone brightly.
A gentle breeze swept across the lush green grass. An orange basketball rolled quietly on the ground, while in the distance, other classes were energetically engaged in their physical education activities. Nearby, the students of International Trade Major gasped in disbelief.
In front of all her classmates, Emily, dressed in a white sports shirt, bowed deeply to Yuki. Her head hung low, her short, fine hair failing to conceal her flushed cheeks.
Yuki could hardly believe her eyes and ears.
"What did you say?"
"I'm sorry..." Emily's fingernails dug painfully into her palm as she maintained her deep bow. "I'm apologizing to you on behalf of Ryan."
"Are you crazy? Why are you apologizing for him?" Yuki was both anxious and angry.
Daisy also ran out from the crowd, pulling Emily forcefully and stamping her foot. "Hey, what's wrong with you? Why are you apologizing for someone like him?"
"Please, forgive him."
Emily bowed even lower to Yuki. In the light breeze, her frail body seemed as though it might break.
"And—please don't call him a waste, and don't curse him."
Her voice was softer than the wind, yet it carried a resolute firmness.
Ryan's fingers froze.
The basketball lost its balance and fell, bouncing "thump thump" on the court. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Emily with an expression of exasperation. He strode over and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her vigorously.
"Damn it! What's gotten into you now?"
Emily saw stars as he shook her, feeling dizzy and unsteady on her feet. She looked up at him with difficulty.
"You wouldn't apologize, so I did it for you."
"Who do you think you are?" Ryan roared. "Apologize for me?! You can go to hell! Take back everything you just said, do you hear me?!"
He shook her angrily.
Emily struggled to breathe, her head spinning. "I won't..."
"Ryan! Causing trouble again!"
At this moment, Miss Fiona, female PE teacher, had heard the rough details from the other students: during the basketball warm-up, everyone was playing except Ryan, who was sleeping on the sidelines. Wesley mocked him as a waste, which infuriated Ryan, leading to a violent outburst with the basketball.
Miss Fiona, standing at a towering 1.9 meters with a body like an iron tower, was all muscle. The students secretly called her "Iron Fiona." He grabbed Ryan's arm, pulling Emily away from her violent grasp, and glared at the furious Ryan, his voice booming.
"You dare cause trouble in my class?!"
The students were all excited. It was said that Iron Fiona was known for her hatred of evil, and she had severely disciplined many troublemaking students in the upper grades.
Ryan glared back, equally furious!
Terrifying—
The students of International Trade Major gasped.
It seemed as though a fierce orange flame was burning around Ryan. His eyes blazed, and the diamond in his nose gleamed with a sinister light in the sunlight.
He stood facing Miss Fiona, her aura undiminished!
At this moment, every student on the basketball court felt the unusual tension in the air. Boys and girls alike crowded around, standing on tiptoe, holding their breath, eager to see what would happen next.
"I heard Wesley called you a waste?" Miss Fiona scrutinized Ryan. "He was wrong to insult you, but solving problems this way is too simple and violent."
"Miss Fiona!"
Wesley was fuming. He had been beaten up, yet he was the one in the wrong? It turned out Miss Fiona was just like the other teachers—favoring the strong and being a sycophant!
Ryan sneered, "I hit him, so what? What are you going to do about it?"
"It's easy to prove you're not a waste. One of the most respected and admired events in sports is the marathon. Only those with perseverance can complete it." Miss Fiona pointed to the red track. "If you can run 10,000 meters, then Wesley was wrong."
The students were stunned.
10,000 meters!
That was twenty-five laps!
Running 5,000 meters during the physical fitness test was already exhausting; running 10,000 meters would surely make one collapse, foaming at the mouth.
"Fine! If you can run 10,000 meters, then today's incident is my fault!" Wesley glared at Ryan. "But if you can't, everyone will know—Ryan is a complete waste!"
In the three years of university, Ryan had never participated in any sports events, not even the basic fitness tests required of the students. He missed all the school's and class's sports activities. The boys privately gossiped that despite Ryan's good looks, he was actually as weak as tofu, panting after walking just 500 meters.
Immediately, all eyes were on Ryan.
Ryan's lips tightened.
He stood coldly, his eyes dark and icy, the sunlight reflecting off the diamond in his nose, lighting up his entire face.
The girls covered their mouths.
Oh my, even at this moment, Ryan remained so strikingly handsome. If only his temper weren't so terrible, he would be the perfect prince charming straight out of a novel or manga.
"I'll run for him!"
A girl stepped in front of Ryan.
"10,000 meters, right? I'll run it for him." The girl's clear eyes looked at Wesley and Yuki. "There's no need to apologize or admit fault because he was never wrong. But please forgive his behavior today."
The girl nodded at Wesley, Yuki, and Miss Fiona, then gritted her teeth and dashed towards the long track.
It was Emily again!
The students exchanged bewildered glances. Was this girl really out of her mind? Miss Fiona raised his eyebrows in surprise. Who knew, Ryan actually had the charm to find such a self-sacrificing girlfriend. Daisy was too stunned to speak. Yuki watched Emily running on the track, a look of disdain slowly appearing on her face.
Ryan glanced at his watch and said coldly, "Class is over." With that, he started to walk away, not even sparing a glance at Emily in the distance.
"Hey! Her running doesn't count!" Wesley finally reacted, shouting at Ryan's retreating figure.