Chapter 43 Astonishing Speed
"I told you this kid is not as good as Chen Chen."
"Exactly, he's nothing special!"
"He's going to be in trouble now."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
The onlooking crowd seemed to have foreseen the outcome, starting to mock Xiao Han with cold derision.
However, to everyone's surprise, Xiao Han started to pick up pace in the latter half of the race. Facing the wind, it was as though one could see the determination on Xiao Han's face when he burst forward. Chen Chen felt the pressure from behind and became anxious, but his body seemed to have reached its limit. Yet, Xiao Han slowly began to distance himself, pulling ahead by several lengths.
Chen Chen could only watch as Xiao Han gradually increased the distance between them, getting farther and farther away.
In the last thirty meters, it was almost as if it were Xiao Han's solo performance. He left Chen Chen trailing far behind with an absolute advantage.
"My God... he... he actually caught up?"
"This is unbelievable!"
"Such terrifying burst power."
The stunned onlookers, including the athletes, were taken aback. Just being able to stand on the starting line with Chen Chen without trembling legs was enough to earn their respect. Plus, Xiao Han's strength didn't seem bad at all; initially, he was only a few lengths behind Chen Chen. This was already incredible to the athletic students.
But in the end, Xiao Han's overtaking, his counterattack, his proverbial 'slap in the face,' had them awestruck.
The sports teacher, Liu Huaicai, was also shocked, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
"What a terrifying speed!" Liu Huaicai exclaimed in shock.
Whoosh...
Xiao Han was the first to cross the finish line.
"Xiao Han, you're amazing!" When Chen Zihan saw Xiao Han cross the finish line, her excitement was uncontrollable, and she ran wildly towards him. Seeing the boy she liked defeating Chen Chen in front of so many people and proving himself made her happier than if she had won five million.
Xiao Han crossed the finish line, slowing down with long steps, his hands held high above his head as he raised his index finger. His expression was solemn.
This was the posture of a winner. Now, Xiao Han had once again proven himself in front of so many students. This time, he felt countless times happier than when he scored 720 on his exam. The thrill of this comeback, this overtaking, made him feel an incredible exultation that stemmed from the innate combative spirit in human nature.
The whole playground was in shock, deathly silent as everyone looked at Xiao Han with admiration and profound esteem.
"My goodness, this... this is just too incredible."
"Is... is that still Xiao Han?"
"No! He is no longer the Xiao Han of the past."
A group of people whispered, afraid to provoke the strong being before them. From ancient times, humans have naturally respected the strong. No matter how pathetic or weak Xiao Han used to be, the Xiao Han of now was no longer a weakling, but a genuinely powerful being.
Strength does not necessarily come from physical force; brute strength is for the uncouth. A true strong person should have significant influence within their specific field.
Chen Chen was the Sprint King of Linjiang No.1 Middle School and even the entire city of Linjiang. Now, the Sprint King had been stepped on, dominated, surpassed. And the one who stepped on him, dominated him, surpassed him was Xiao Han. Thus, all of Chen Chen's honors were now bestowed upon Xiao Han.
"My God, ten seconds seventy!" Teacher Li exclaimed in surprise.
Xiao Han defeated Chen Chen with a time of ten seconds seventy, and with Xiao Han's lead, Chen Chen also broke his personal best with a time of ten seconds seventy-nine.
"You lost!" Xiao Han said coldly to Chen Chen.
Chen Chen had a blank expression, his gaze hollow. He hung his head and stared at his toes, never having imagined he would lose, let alone to someone who had never learned sports or trained in sprinting.
This was a disgrace, destined to be nailed to the pillar of shame!
He was the Sprint King of Linjiang, the holder of the city's 100-meter record. But now, he had fallen hard and was covered in metaphorical bruises.
Xiao Han looked at the despairing Chen Chen and walked over. Then he picked up the five mobile phones and twelve hundred yuan from the ground, pocketing them all.
"Xiao Han, you're so great!" Chen Zihan said excitedly to Xiao Han.
"Let's go!" Xiao Han took Chen Zihan's hand and slowly walked off the track.
The dense crowd on the playground spontaneously parted to create a path for the two, all watching Xiao Han with adoring and reverent eyes.
Just as the sports teacher Li Huaicai was about to step forward to stop Xiao Han, Chen Chen approached.
"Teacher Li, I want to quit the sports team!" Chen Chen said.
"What?!" Li Huaicai was startled and said in amazement, "Are you... are you crazy, boy? Do you know how good your result is? You just broke your personal best. With this performance in the college entrance exam, you'd score full marks!"
"No!" Chen Chen shook his head and said, "I don't want to train in sports anymore!"
"I don't agree with you quitting!" Li Huaicai's eyes widened. Having discovered and nurtured such a talent, how could he possibly agree to let him go just like that? Li Huaicai was determined not to agree, and what's more, he wanted to recruit Xiao Han as well. That guy is a natural Sprint King. From his starting posture, his movements...
to his running form in the middle and his final burst power, all were almost at the national athlete standard. If he could receive training and tempering, he was bound to achieve greatness.
After saying this, Li Huaicai, annoyed, walked away.
Only after he turned around did he realize that Xiao Han had already disappeared.
Li Huaicai quickly asked the students nearby, "Which class is that kid who was running from?"
"Seems like he's from the senior third grade." The onlooking students didn't know the details; they just knew Xiao Han was a high school senior.
"Hmm, I need to go and have a good talk!" Li Huaicai hurriedly left.
Xiao Han had already taken Chen Zihan by a shortcut to leave the sports field and arrived at the bike parking area.
"Xiao Han, are you really going to take their phones?" Chen Zihan asked awkwardly.
"Some people, if you don't make them pay a price, they will never learn what pain is!" Xiao Han chuckled, "I've decided on these phones. Moreover, I'm going to sell them right now."
"What?" Chen Zihan was shocked, "Xiao Han, is that... isn't that wrong? After all, a phone costs several thousand; aren't you afraid their families will come looking for you?"
"Silly girl, this is the price for provoking me!" Xiao Han laughed, "Before, I was humble and forbearing. Yet, people still bullied me, offended me. Therefore, I have to be more assertive, to let them know that Xiao Han is not to be bullied."
Chen Zihan stopped in her tracks, looked up at Xiao Han, and suddenly realized that he seemed different from before. The Xiao Han before her seemed like he had transformed into someone else entirely.
Matured!
That's right, he had become more mature, and stronger. He had shed his former timidity and meekness and replaced it with a strong heart. His original greenness was gone, and now he had become a mature man, so different that Chen Zihan felt she hardly recognized him.
"Xiao Han!" said Chen Zihan, looking at him.
"What's up?" Xiao Han looked at Chen Zihan curiously.
"I've noticed you've changed!" Chen Zihan smiled.
"Really?" Xiao Han was stunned for a moment, touched his face, and said, "Did I become more handsome?"
"Get out of here!" Chen Zihan's face turned slightly red and said, "I've noticed you've become more mature!"
"Yes!" Xiao Han nodded, "I must mature quickly, otherwise how can I protect our Zi Han?"
"I am not yours, you know." Chen Zihan's face turned even redder.
"Haha!" Xiao Han laughed heartily, "But you are my girlfriend."
"That's a separate matter!" Chen Zihan huffed.
Grinning, Xiao Han took Chen Zihan's hand and said, "Come on, it's time to go."
Chen Zihan nodded.
Riding an electric bike, Xiao Han took Chen Zihan to the entrance of her residential complex.
After watching Chen Zihan enter the complex, Xiao Han headed straight for the Pawnshop.
"Where did you get these phones?" the Pawnshop owner asked curiously as he looked at Xiao Han.
Laying out five phones at once, and each in fairly new condition, the owner naturally suspected their origin. However, each phone had a SIM card inside, and the phones were all in serviceable condition. If these were stolen phones, calls would have probably bombarded them by now, but astonishingly, not a single one of them rang.
"Won them!" Xiao Han smiled, "The phones are legitimate, definitely not stolen or snatched."
"Is this... reliable?" the owner was taken aback, "Won't there be trouble later?"
"No way!" Xiao Han shook his head, "I have all the unlock codes. Plus, you take the phones, give me back the cards, I still have to return them later."
The owner hesitated, then checked the phones and said, "These three Apple phones are quite new, I can pay ten thousand. These two Samsung phones, four thousand. Fourteen thousand in total. Deal or no deal?"
"Fifteen thousand and they're all yours!" Xiao Han looked at him.
Frowning, the owner eyed Xiao Han. The young man's gaze was deep, inscrutable. Despite wearing a school uniform, there was nothing schoolboy-like about him. After a moment of thought, the owner said, "If you guarantee there's no issue, I'll pay fifteen thousand!"
"Absolutely no problem," Xiao Han nodded.
"Deal!" The owner immediately counted out the money for him.
With fifteen thousand in hand, Xiao Han took a taxi straight home. The owner toyed with the five phones, all desirable national version Apple devices. The quality of the phones was excellent; the screens had no scratches and no signs of impact. There were no issues at all. These phones could be flashed, repackaged, and sold as new, and they wouldn't be easily detectable.
The phones were of high quality and would not have any problems for at least three years, and even if they did, they were still under warranty.