Huo Feng followed Pu Sangzhi for a short distance because Huo Mingshan’s figure was not far ahead; therefore, Huo Feng dared not chase any further.
"Sangzhi! Run faster! Charge ahead! Come on!"
Huo Feng could only shout from behind her, but in reality, shouting so loudly could still catch Huo Mingshan’s attention.
When Huo Feng stopped yelling and chasing, Huo Mingshan was over 100 meters ahead, their gazes meeting from afar.
They saw each other as mere tiny figures in their eyes due to the distance, and they couldn’t even see each other’s expressions clearly. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩
But even so, father and son, Huo Mingshan and Huo Feng, both knew the other was watching them.
Huo Mingshan glared at his dissipated son with knit brows, despising him for not changing his ways and for his persistent crooked heart.
Huo Feng looked at his pitiful old father in annoyance, despising him for being like a relentless ghost, forever spoiling other’s peace.
But the father and son both tacitly maintained their eye contact, refraining from further physical actions.
For the sake of their own reputations within the school, an incident of domestic violence was avoided.
At that moment, Huo Mingshan occupied the 1500 meter race’s starting point, and Huo Feng was at the finish line. To avoid a direct confrontation between father and son in front of many students, they both just stood their ground, not intending to interfere with each other.
The vast playground seemed to be divided into two realms, keeping the large and the small Huo apart.
Yet, in the hearts of Huo Mingshan and Huo Feng, an inescapable contest was secretly underway.
It seemed there would need to be a good bout of strategizing between father and son once they got home that week.
However, while Huo Feng and Huo Mingshan were silently competing, on the other end of the playground, a group on their own was passing their judgment on the race from another perspective.
Dai Shanshan from the senior two class nine was also participating in this race.
So at that time, on the other side of the playground, a few girls from class nine were sitting together, cheering for Dai Shanshan while gossiping privately about Pu Sangzhi.
Han Feiyi was also sitting among these girls...
That day, Han Feiyi inexplicably lost her position as the campus belle, with a bad mood etched across her face.
To cheer Han Feiyi up, the girl group from class nine had been badmouthing Pu Sangzhi all morning long.
Now, as Pu Sangzhi and her classmate, Dai Shanshan, raced, the malicious gossip from these girls grew even fiercer.
"Shanshan! You can’t lose to Pu Sangzhi! Don’t bother coming back if you do!"
"You can lose to anyone but her! Fight for us!"
"Run faster! Even faster!"
Just as Dai Shanshan had completed one and a half laps, passing by these girls, she was instantly spurred on by their cheer.
Dai Shanshan herself had been part of the cheerleading squad the day before and held prejudices against Pu Sangzhi. Encouraged by her classmates, she gritted her teeth and sprinted fiercely!
Seeing Dai Shanshan surge ahead in one breath, all the girls from class nine yelled excitedly!
At that time, Pu Sangzhi, who was last in the girls’ group, managed to keep half a lap behind the second-to-last.
Gradually, Pu Sangzhi also reached the one-and-a-half-lap mark, running past the girls from class nine.
Filled with hostility, the girls from class nine saw Pu Sangzhi pass by and each of them mocked her, shouting, "Here comes the last one!"
"Everyone else is on their second lap, and you’re just showing up! Can’t run anymore, huh?"
"You might as well give up early, you little trash!"
The girls insulted Pu Sangzhi with their words, and their laughter erupted cruelly at her lagging behind.
This noise caught the attention of the teachers outside the track.
A male teacher passing by pointed at them and scolded, "Students, do not insult the competitors!"
By that point, Pu Sangzhi had already run past the group of girls, and naturally, they stopped yelling.