69. The Arsonist’s Fulfilling Day

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the sixty-fifth annual Intercollegiate Sports League!”

As time went on, the various competitions proceeded smoothly, and the atmosphere of the venue reached its peak. The announcer stood atop the platform, fervently narrating the progress of each match. Of course, he clearly focused his commentary on the participants from the elite families:

“The current event is the high school boys’ fencing match. Approaching us now is Richard Yuan from Jinlan Secondary School! He is the son of the head of sales at Levitt Tanguhan Tobacco Co., and I’m sure his father is proud of his son’s dedication! His opponent is from Inubis High School… Who was it again? Well, never mind. Both contestants, please enter the arena. The match is about to begin!”

After introducing the two athletes, the host picked up a postcard and read aloud, “This match is sponsored by Levitt Tanguhan Tobacco Co., whose trendy ‘Prairie Series’ electronic cigarettes will soon be released. Interested spectators may scan the QR code below to purchase!”

Listening to the host’s awkward product placement, Chen Shang couldn’t help but complain to the senior from the Boxing Club beside him, “Is it really appropriate to insert tobacco ads in a high school competition?”

“What about that condom commercial just now?” the senior sighed helplessly.

“I actually think it’s good to teach high school students about sex early,” Chen Shang joked.

The magnates of Night Pivot City didn’t hold these high school events out of a love for or encouragement of youth. One purpose of organizing them was to advertise new products and attract investment.

“Next up is the girls’ 8,000-meter long-distance race!”

Some time later, the host shouted enthusiastically.

“Hm?” Chen Shang perked up and pulled a high-precision camera from his pocket.

“Your sister’s race is about to start, isn’t it?” the senior beside him asked, as if it were only natural.

“That’s right. I’m going to record her race,” Chen Shang replied with a smile.

...

Inside the athletes’ preparation room, girls clad in tight sportswear anxiously awaited the security robots’ signal to proceed.

All their training had led to this moment. They were about to step into the spotlight, with fame or defeat hanging in the balance.

Nayuta’s breathing grew rapid; the female coach nearby comforted her, “Don’t be nervous. If you perform as usual, you’ll place well.”

“Okay,” Nayuta nodded, though her tension remained.

—My brother’s watching from the stands. I mustn’t let him down!

With this thought, Nayuta slowly walked toward the arena.

Meanwhile, in the Suzuki High School lounge, a secret conversation was underway.

Chihiro Jito, with her purple ponytail, looked at Nayuta with obvious hostility and whispered to the coach beside her, “Is this the competitor you told me to watch out for? She looks like a first-year student.”

The coach pulled out a tablet and handed over some data, “This is what my analysis shows. That girl from Shangcheng High has impressive physical attributes and outstanding trial results. She could be the dark horse in this race.”

“Even if she is, so what? I’ll crush her all the same!” Chihiro snorted disdainfully.

“There’s always a chance, so play it safe,” the coach murmured, “During the race, you just need to...”

“I understand~ I understand~” Chihiro’s lips curled into a wicked smile as she licked them. “We’ve always done it this way, haven’t we~?”

“I’ve already bribed the thirteenth referee on the southeast side,” the coach instructed. “You know what to do.”

They nodded knowingly, and Chihiro rose to head to the track.

...

A dozen high school girls in shorts, their figures striking, strode onto the field, immediately stirring thunderous cheers from the audience.

“On your marks... Get set...!” With a shot from the starter pistol, the girls shot forward like arrows.

Nayuta focused on maintaining her breathing, her mind filled only with the pure thought of “I mustn’t embarrass myself in front of my brother,” as she sprinted ahead.

Without realizing it, she had left most of the competitors behind, and even the announcer, who usually only praised the children of magnates, couldn’t help but commend her.

“Quite the runner, you little brat~” Suddenly, she heard someone beside her strike up a conversation.

Nayuta glanced sideways and found Chihiro Jito, ponytail swaying, keeping pace with her, eyes full of malice.

“...” Nayuta said nothing, maintaining her rhythm.

Soon, the race was halfway through. Nayuta kept a commanding lead, while Chihiro Jito trailed closely, showing no signs of fatigue.

Was it her imagination, or was Chihiro edging ever closer, almost brushing against her?

—What did my brother mean when he told me to watch out for Chihiro Jito’s feet?

Nayuta’s thoughts were muddled, unable to decipher her brother’s warning.

Still, trusting him, she occasionally glanced at Chihiro’s feet.

At that moment, she noticed Chihiro unnaturally stretching a leg forward, seemingly aiming to trip her.

—How could this be?!

Nayuta’s face showed shock. Looking up, she saw Chihiro’s expression verging on laughter, mocking her.

In that instant, Nayuta slowly grasped the situation. She didn’t know how her brother foresaw this, but his warning was no idle advice.

“If that’s how it is, don’t blame me for retaliating!” Nayuta’s face darkened.

...

Even as she pondered, her feet were airborne, making it impossible to change her landing spot. Instead, she twisted her waist slightly and stomped down on Chihiro’s outstretched leg.

“Ah—!” Chihiro’s face twisted in agony as she crashed to the ground. Her calf, struck by Nayuta’s running shoe, seemed to crack with a sickening snap.

Her scream was soon drowned out by the crowd’s noise, while Nayuta pressed forward, unfazed.

Sensing something was amiss, the Suzuki coach rushed onto the track to check, finding Chihiro clutching her swollen leg, cold sweat pouring down as she glared ahead. “That little bitch... She dared to step on me!”

“It’s fine. We’ll talk to the referee,” the coach said, unfazed. Instead, he sneered, a sinister smile on his face:

“We’ll claim she maliciously attacked another athlete and have her disqualified!”

The race soon ended. Without Chihiro Jito’s interference, Nayuta crossed the finish line first and claimed the championship without suspense.

Amid the host’s cheers, the Track Club members surrounded Nayuta, celebrating her victory.

“Nayuta, I knew letting you compete was the right choice!” The coach hugged her tightly, grinning from ear to ear.

“Th-thank you for trusting me, Coach...” Nayuta smiled along, though her joy was muted.

Her eyesight was excellent. She had seen Chihiro deliberately try to trip her, and also noticed the referee nearby unnaturally turning his head away, as if deliberately ignoring them.

This sense of discord made Nayuta uneasy, feeling things weren’t as simple as they seemed.

“Hey! Move aside!” Suddenly, a threatening shout came from outside the crowd.

Several Track Club members celebrating were shoved aside, creating a path through the throng.

Nayuta noticed the commotion and saw a group of Suzuki High students, their faces fierce, approaching her.

In their midst, Chihiro Jito, her leg in a cast and supported by her coach, hobbled toward Nayuta.

“You cheated!” Chihiro shouted, pointing at Nayuta, tears threatening to spill from her heavily made-up eyes.

“Huh?” Nayuta was momentarily stunned, and the club members beside her were equally perplexed.

“Hmph, I saw it clearly!” the Suzuki coach sneered. “You deliberately stomped on our competitor during the race and fractured her leg, rendering her unable to compete!”

“I-I didn’t, it’s your—”

Nayuta tried to retort, but the Suzuki delinquents blocking her seized the chance to raise a ruckus:

“Don’t try to deny it!”

“We demand justice!”

Their shouts drowned out Nayuta’s voice, cutting her off.

“No more talking, come with us!” The Suzuki coach marched up and grabbed Nayuta’s arm, attempting to drag her away.

“Where are you taking me?!” Nayuta cried out, struggling to break free.

The club members tried to intervene, but were shoved aside by the Suzuki students, the two sides nearly coming to blows.

...

“It always comes to this,” Chen Shang observed from the stands, watching the events unfold.

Not all players were fools. Some, after experiencing this sports meet event, would reload their save and try to warn Nayuta to avoid the opponent’s cheating.

But even if Nayuta dodged the crisis mid-race, Suzuki High would still target her, biting back at the first opportunity.

Thus, at this critical juncture, Xu Qing would still become the key to resolving the incident.

“Stop!”

In the chaotic arena, Xu Qing, blond-haired and flanked by a dozen male classmates, intervened, shouting at the Suzuki coach.

“Xu!” Nayuta, as if grasping a lifeline, relaxed visibly.

“So, Shangcheng High students want to cover up for this cheater?” A Suzuki student stepped up to Xu Qing, menacingly. “She injured our school’s competitor and stole the championship that should have belonged to Chihiro. We won’t let this slide!”

“Whether she cheated or not, that’s up to the referee,” Xu Qing replied, undaunted despite being half a head shorter. “You can’t take her away!”

“You little blond brat... Looking for a fight, are you?” The Suzuki student, seeing Xu Qing unafraid, rolled up his sleeves in threat.

As the two faced off, Xu Qing suddenly noticed something odd in the other’s eyes.

The Suzuki student’s gaze was wild, bloodshot—something no normal person would show, as if he’d taken drugs.

As he pondered, the student swung a fist at Xu Qing’s face.

Xu Qing, with lightning reflexes, blocked the punch but was still forced two steps back.

“These thugs dare strike first! Take them down!”

Seeing their leader attacked, Shangcheng High students erupted in anger, swinging fists to retaliate.

Suzuki students were equally aggressive, and the center of the arena devolved into a brawl, drawing a crowd of onlookers.

“Hey! Everyone, stop!” Xu Qing realized the situation was spiraling out of control and tried to stop the fight, but even his student council confidants joined in, making it impossible to halt.

Seeing a Suzuki student rushing at him, Xu Qing could only kick him several meters away.

...

Meanwhile, Chen Shang, the indirect instigator of the melee, left the stands and headed for the referee’s booth.

After saying goodbye to his sister, he hadn’t gone straight to the audience but had quietly entered Suzuki High’s lounge.

According to event protocol, the organizers provided bottled drinking water to all participants, distributed by school.

Chen Shang had surreptitiously added a stimulant, purchased from the black market, into Suzuki High’s water barrel. Its main effect was to heighten aggression, but it was subtle and not enough to trigger a positive test. His dosage was low, not reaching the event’s detection threshold.

Yet these stimulants acted as the last straw. After ingesting them, if conflict broke out, Suzuki students would inevitably strike first, turning the clash into a full-blown brawl.

The farce lasted over five minutes before security robots intervened and halted the fight. The students glared at each other, eyes filled with hatred.

Though they themselves couldn’t recall what triggered the sudden violence.

At that moment, everyone saw a Shangcheng High student leading a middle-aged man in a referee’s uniform into the crowd.

The referee swept his gaze over everyone, commanding loudly, “I am the chief referee for this event. The Suzuki High competitor is suspected of tripping another athlete and bribing a referee. Please submit to an investigation.”

“What’s going on?!” Chihiro Jito and her coach exchanged bewildered glances.

“Wait... Are you mistaken? Clearly the Shangcheng High athlete was the one who cheated!”

“We already have ample video evidence!” the referee declared. “Follow me for investigation. I won’t repeat myself.”

Chen Shang stood beside the referee, smiling as he raised his camera.

He had recorded the race precisely to catch Chihiro Jito’s cheating, submitting the footage as evidence.

However, the video had been subtly edited, visually amplifying Chihiro’s malicious act.

Seeing the camera in Chen Shang’s hand, everyone instantly understood the source of the so-called evidence.

“Brother!” Nayuta instinctively smiled in relief.

“This is unreasonable! He’s from Shangcheng High—this must be falsified evidence!” the Suzuki coach protested loudly.

But at that moment, the argument seemed powerless. The chief referee looked at them coldly, saying, “If you persist in wasting my time, Suzuki High’s entire track team will be disqualified, and next year you’ll face a ban.”

“No, no, please! Let’s talk it over!” The coach panicked, while Chihiro Jito collapsed in despair.

The other Suzuki students who had come to stir trouble sensed the situation and quietly withdrew from the scene.

With the crisis resolved, Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief, smiling to the group, “Thank goodness, it looks like it’s over... huh?”

Normally, everyone would gather around Xu Qing afterwards, praising and thanking him for his wise leadership.

But this time, nobody paid him any attention; instead, they flocked to Chen Shang.

“You’re really our savior!”

“Thanks to your footage, those Suzuki maniacs finally got their comeuppance!”

“Thank you for stepping up—on behalf of the Track Club, thank you!”

Facing their gratitude, the usually low-key Chen Shang waved his hand, “I only did a little, nothing worth mentioning.”

He quickly moved into the crowd and grabbed Nayuta’s wrist.

“Eh, eh! Brother!” Nayuta was caught off guard, her face flushed with excitement.

“If you’re so energetic, save it for today’s champion!” Chen Shang hugged Nayuta and tossed her high into the air.

The Track Club members caught her and, laughing, tossed her again and again.

“Ahhh, what are you doing?!” Nayuta screamed like a frightened kitten as she was thrown skyward, over and over.

Yet amid the revelry, her eyes sought only her brother, who walked away, giving her a thumbs-up.

“......”

“Want a drink?” Chen Shang pulled a can of cheap soda from his pocket and handed it to Xu Qing, who stood outside the crowd.

At that moment, Xu Qing was like a mere backdrop, unable to join the festivities or become its center.

“Th-thank you.” Xu Qing smiled and took a sip.

As a scion of nobility, he would never willingly drink cheap soda, but he strove to maintain a genial image at school and couldn’t refuse.

The harsh bubbles and saccharine taste stung his mouth, with a hint of what seemed like formaldehyde.

—Awful! Isn’t this the Radiated Bird Company’s discontinued sports drink, infamous for being undrinkable?! Is he messing with me on purpose?!

“Gulp...” Xu Qing forced the soda down, his gaze falling on the boy who handed him the drink.

For some reason, he felt a strange sense of aversion, as if something precious to him had been taken away...

And it seemed this feeling had happened more than once.