Instead, on several occasions, he had even lent Fang Jinglin a helping hand when he was in trouble.

He seemed like someone who could remain unnoticed in a crowd yet exude an air of quiet authority, appearing unassuming and harmless, yet undeniably someone you couldn't underestimate.

If he could pull something like that off back then, who knows what he had gone through behind the scenes?

Having known him for so long, Fang Jinglin had never seen Meng Chenzhou lose to anyone, not once.

Now that Meng Chenzhou himself had decided to participate, he must have been confident about it to make such a statement.

Fang Jinglin glanced at Zhan Yuxi, who seemed a bit worried about Meng Chenzhou, and was about to offer a few words of reassurance. But a smug sense of superiority—like someone who had seen through everything-suddenly welled up in him.

"Alright, Miss Perfectionist, stop fretting over Meng Chenzhou. That guy's a total prodigy. Instead of worrying about him, you should probably feel bad for the poor souls competing against him,"

Fang Jinglin said half-jokingly.

Meng Chenzhou ignored him, calmly inserting a straw into a glass of juice and placing it back in front of Zhan Yuxi.

"Don't worry about me. It's just a simple competition, " he said with nonchalance, his tone as light as a passing breeze.

His calmness was contagious, and Zhan Yuxi couldn't help but be reassured.

Alright then, she thought. It seemed like everything became effortlessly simple in Meng Chenzhou's presence, as if he could handle anything with ease.

After all, winning or losing isn't everything; what truly matters is the spirit of participation.

Sipping her sweet-and-sour juice, Zhan Yuxi convinced herself to let it go.

After finishing their meal, they returned to the classroom.

Zhan Yuxi wrote Meng Chenzhou's name under the last event on the list, finally completing all the registrations.

After class, Zhan Yuxi handed the list to the homeroom teacher, who skimmed through it.

Everything seemed fine at first glance, but when the teacher noticed Meng Chenzhou's name under the 5, 000-meter event, the same concern that had crossed Zhan Yuxi's mind earlier resurfaced.

"Is Meng Chenzhou physically up for the 5, 000 meters?" the teacher asked.

Zhan Yuxi recalled Meng Chenzhou's composed demeanor and nodded.

"I'll make sure he starts training gradually over the next few weeks. He'll definitely be able to finish the race by then."

The teacher thought for a moment before nodding."

That's true. With the sports committee member absent, it's already commendable that Meng Chenzhou had the courage to sign up. Thank you for your effort, Yuxi."

Zhan Yuxi smiled and exchanged a few more words with the teacher before leaving the office.