Chapter 61 – Medal
Qiao Huaiyao’s breathing had not yet calmed down, and upon hearing those words, it came to an abrupt halt.
He suddenly raised his eyes, his lips slightly parted, and when he met Bai Jinyan’s gaze, he froze imperceptibly.
The light flush on Qiao Huaiyao’s face could have been from the warmth of running or from the embarrassment and annoyance caused by Bai Jinyan’s words.
In the brief moment of silence, his gaze involuntarily shifted to the side, and he slowly buried his head in Bai Jinyan’s chest.
Bai Jinyan chuckled lightly, wrapped his arms around him, and walked forward with Qiao Huaiyao at a leisurely pace.
The audience’s screams rose and fell, mixed with sporadic discussions.
“Wow——!”
“Bai Bai Bai… Bai… what are they doing?!”
“This sports meet is totally worth it!”
The audience couldn’t hear their voices, but they could see the two embracing, with Bai Jinyan leaning in close.
Other students who were far behind Qiao Huaiyao in the race were greeted by classmates or close friends at the finish line.
They were supported, had their shoulders held, and walked forward in groups, which was completely normal.
But not Bai Jinyan. He held Qiao Huaiyao from the front, maintaining the posture from when Qiao Huaiyao had crashed into his arms at the finish line.
Then, he walked backward step by step, not letting Qiao Huaiyao stop.
This careful protection starkly contrasted with the other students who were stumbling forward with support from their friends.
Qiu Shufeng, watching from above, forgot about fighting Wang Zhan for the loudspeaker.
He squinted in confusion, “Won’t people see there’s something off about this?”
Wang Zhan glanced over, casually tossing the loudspeaker into his bag, “What’s off? Those who don’t know the truth would just see it as a brother taking care of his younger brother.”
“Besides…”
Wang Zhan methodically analyzed for Qiu Shufeng: “A close younger brother, too excited after the sprint, wants a hug, and can’t stop moving after exercising. Walking backward while holding him is a great idea.”
Yu Luofan nodded in agreement, observing that most people’s attention was on Bai Jinyan and Qiao Huaiyao, with a few scattered individuals holding up their phones to take pictures, looking thrilled.
Yu Luofan calmly said, “Instead of worrying about whether the relationship between the top student and Brother Bai will be exposed, you should worry about yourself.”
“When the top student comes down, will he hit you on the head with the loudspeaker?”
Those few words were quite bold to shout.
Everyone here is an adult, yet using childish cheers makes us feel embarrassed just sitting nearby.
Especially since Qiu Shufeng’s first cheer explicitly mentioned Qiao Huaiyao by name.
Wang Zhan agreed wholeheartedly, “Absolutely.”
He thought that if he were running and heard those words, he’d abandon his rank just to climb up and grab the loudspeaker to give him a slap.
Just to shut him up.
Qiu Shufeng, feeling justified, said, “Why do you care what I shout? Just tell me if it had momentum!”
Wang Zhan: “…”
On the track, the last student slowly crossed the finish line.
The gym teacher blew the whistle and signaled to them, “Don’t stop, keep walking, one more lap.”
The track had now cleared out.
Bai Jinyan led Qiao Huaiyao off the grass and onto the rubber track.
Qiao Huaiyao emerged from his embrace, and they walked forward hand in hand.
After walking on the track for about two to three minutes, Qiao Huaiyao’s breathing had not completely evened out, but the deep flush on his face had slightly faded.
Qiao Huaiyao lightly swung their hands, his fingertips hooked around Bai Jinyan’s, and casually asked, “Brother, are you done with the film crew’s work?”
Bai Jinyan replied calmly, “It’s all arranged.”
Because he wasn’t sure if Qiao Huaiyao’s sports meet schedule would change, Bai Jinyan had finished his filming duties in advance.
He only went this morning to reshoot a personal scene.
After the shoot, he returned immediately.
Qiao Huaiyao walked around the outer circle of the rubber track, completing half a lap, and saw the teachers starting to call the names of students participating in the 800-meter race.
Once the roll call was done, the participants would be assigned to the track.
Qiao Huaiyao said, “Let’s go up.”
Bai Jinyan wore a hat, but obviously, one hat couldn’t hide much.
The audience seats were elevated, and from the side, they could clearly see his profile.
The audience’s attention was clearly on Bai Jinyan and Qiao Huaiyao. They had even forgotten to cheer for the high jump event being prepared in the middle of the field.
While waiting for the results of the 1000-meter race, participants were not allowed to leave the field temporarily.
Qiao Huaiyao returned to the audience seats and sat down.
The seating was divided by class regions, not by a fixed number of seats per class.
To make the area look uniform, each section had an extra row or a few seats to round up the numbers.
Qiu Shufeng and his group were seated in the front row, and apart from their dorm mates, there was no one else.
They had also set up two cameras to record the sports meet.
Seeing them return, Qiu Shufeng greeted cheerfully, “Good morning, Brother Bai!”
Before the 1000-meter run started, students from other classes had already gone down to wait.
This was to cheer up close and to help carry participants forward after they finished the two-and-a-half laps and instinctively slowed down past the finish line.
Their job was to assist at this crucial moment.
But Qiu Shufeng’s group didn’t move.
Qiao Huaiyao lived in a single dorm and didn’t have roommates at school. These friends were the ones he was closest to.
The reason they didn’t move was mainly because… they saw Bai Jinyan down there.
So, how could they join in the excitement? They just cheered from above.
Qiu Shufeng scratched his nose and joked, “You’re amazing, top student! During military training, I already knew your endurance was good, but I didn’t expect you to sprint a thousand meters in one go.”
He was almost like an athlete breaking a record.
The last few participants gave up on winning, slowing down as they crossed the finish line leisurely.
Qiao Huaiyao smiled slightly and said, “I participated in sports meets often in high school, so I’m used to it.”
In high school sports meets, there were always athletes participating, and running with them often fueled a competitive spirit to surpass them.
While academics were important, maintaining good physical fitness was also essential.
His brother often took him out to train, and they probably ran more than a thousand meters back then.
Even the PE teacher tried to recruit him for sports training.
But after some reasoning from the chemistry teacher and other subject teachers, the PE teacher gave up.
Bai Jinyan opened a snack pack and placed his hand on Qiao Huaiyao’s leg, “What are your plans for the few days off after the sports meet?”
Zhao Jiamei was busy personally overseeing the editing of the variety show, and the second season wasn’t scheduled yet.
Qiao Huaiyao thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go to the set with you.”
He had already submitted his lab application to his professor, and besides that, there wasn’t anything urgent to do at the moment.
With free time, Qiao Huaiyao preferred to stay with Bai Jinyan on the set.
Qiao Huaiyao ate a shrimp chip, a bit puzzled by Bai Jinyan’s question. He pondered, “Brother, do you have an outdoor shoot during those days?”
“Not an outdoor shoot,” Bai Jinyan said, twisting open a bottle of lemon water and placing a straw inside.
He casually explained, “The crew’s schedule is mostly set. During the sports meet holiday, I should have time to take you around.”
Qiao Huaiyao was surprised, “When did you…?”
“When you mentioned having a break, I talked it over with the director,” Bai Jinyan replied. He had thought that three days was a decent little break.
Although they couldn’t travel far, there were many spots near Qing University they hadn’t visited yet.
With the current cold weather, there would be fewer crowds.
No need to squeeze through crowded tourist spots.
Bai Jinyan lifted the lemon water, touching the straw to Qiao Huaiyao’s lips. His eyes were filled with gentle smiles as he said, “Didn’t we make a local travel guide at the start of the semester?”
However, due to lack of time, they had only visited a few places.
They had been busy with filming, rarely taking weekends off.
This three-day break was perfect for relaxing.
Qiao Huaiyao couldn’t help but chuckle, “I’ll go back and update the guide.”
That guide had been left unused, the original file just sitting on the computer.
With the change in seasons, the recommended spots would also change. The guide was still useful but needed new additions.
Seeing that Qiao Huaiyao had only eaten a few shrimp chips, Bai Jinyan set them aside and opened a new snack.
Handing it over, he said, “Share the file with me. We’ll work on it together.”
Qiao Huaiyao’s eyes curved in a smile, “Alright.”
…
The results of the 1000-meter race came out quickly.
Since no two people crossed the finish line simultaneously, there was no need to spend extra time reviewing footage.
Each runner finished individually, and rankings were based on their times.
The school’s prizes included notebooks and various pens, with other miscellaneous items gathered into bags.
Presumably, they were all school supplies.
The award podium was well-prepared. Qiao Huaiyao walked to the first-place spot, facing a camera directly.
Photos taken during the race weren’t always perfect, and students couldn’t redo their actions just for better pictures.
So, the school kept action shots but used staged photos of the top three on their website.
“Alright, everyone look at the camera,” the photographer instructed, “You can pose with your medals. These medals were designed by our school’s professional staff, using high-quality materials. Wear them and we’ll take a picture.”
Qing University’s medals weren’t cheaply made. If materials ran short, the chemistry teachers would whip up more in the lab.
The photographer snapped several shots in quick succession, “Great! You can step down now.”
With other events waiting, the photographer moved on swiftly.
Qiao Huaiyao descended from the podium, casually removing the medal from his neck, and walked towards Bai Jinyan.
“Brother!”
“Mm.” Bai Jinyan reached out to take the bag from Qiao Huaiyao’s hand. The school had packed quite a few items, making it heavy to carry.
Qiao Huaiyao swung the medal in his hand, smiling at him, “Come closer.”
Bai Jinyan, knowing what Qiao Huaiyao wanted to do, leaned down slightly.
Qiao Huaiyao stepped forward, a grin on his face, and placed the medal around his brother’s neck.
Just like how Bai Jinyan had once given him a trophy.
Both trophies and medals symbolize honor.
I want to share it with you.