You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

"Alright, alright, stop acting with me."

Old Li's tone was full of helplessness, clearly indicating that he had already seen through Jiang Che's clumsy acting.

Jiang Che chuckled twice and shamelessly continued to plead with Old Li, "Teacher, illness strikes like a landslide, and I'm really feeling unwell right now. Please approve my leave."

"Granted."

Old Li sighed, his tone softening, "Although I don't know what kind of trouble you're up to this time, I believe you know what you're doing."

"Remember, catch up on your missed lessons yourself, don't let me down during the mock exams."

"Okay, thank you, Teacher Li. I'll treat you to tea sometime."

Jiang Che quickly hung up the phone, stuffed it into his pocket, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Get it done.

It was not yet fully light at this time.

The winter mornings are bitterly cold; every breath you take feels like your lungs are freezing.

Jiang Che couldn't help but tighten his sports jacket. After leaving the apartment building, he came to the circular running track inside the community for people to walk.

First, I did two sets of high knees to warm up, and then I pressed the button on the electronic watch on my wrist.

Start.

Since we've decided to take the special admission route for sports, we have to be serious about it and not treat it like a game.

Although Kyoto University's special admissions program is called a special admissions program, it is still a highly competitive process with thousands of applicants vying for limited spots; the only difference is the target group.

Moreover, his immediate priority is to finish in the top three in the marathon; otherwise, he won't even qualify for special admission.

Anyone who can run a full marathon is a trained athlete.

Jiang Che knew his current level well; at best, he was an amateur enthusiast with decent physical fitness, and he was far inferior to those dark-skinned sports students who had trained since childhood.

He shook his head, clearing his mind of all distracting thoughts.

Never mind all that, let's run five kilometers first to get a feel for things.

After adjusting his state, Jiang Che took a deep breath, then started running and dashed out along the circular track inside the residential area.

At first, he felt quite relaxed, after all, he was young and had a good foundation, and his training in the military compound hadn't been for nothing.

But problems arose in the second half of the race.

His breathing became erratic, and his steps grew heavier and heavier, as if his legs were filled with lead, making each lift a struggle.

Along with that came a feeling of suffocation, rising up his throat as if someone was choking him, making it hard for him to breathe.

Jiang Che gritted his teeth and, with his last breath, crossed the finish line.

"drop--"

He stopped the stopwatch, and his whole body went limp. He put his hands on his hips and started walking forward with small steps, panting heavily as he walked, his chest heaving violently.

After a long while, feeling that he had regained some strength, he managed to lift his wrist to glance at his score.

23 minutes 45 seconds.

Upon seeing this number, Jiang Che's heart sank.

That's five kilometers!

Converted to a full marathon of 42 kilometers, let alone whether he can maintain this pace to finish the race, even if he can, this result would probably be so bad that he wouldn't even be able to see the taillights of other cars in a professional competition.

Not to mention that he stood out from the special admissions program of Peking University. His score was far from the standard of Peking University's special admissions program.

"Too slow..."

Jiang Che grabbed a handful of his sweat-dampened hair, feeling his heartbeat had calmed down, and then sat down on a bench by the roadside to rest.

He slapped his thigh in frustration. With this level of ability, he still wanted to go to Peking University with Su Qinghe?

You must be dreaming.

Jiang Che was unwilling to give up no matter what he thought about it. He felt that he had not exerted his full strength, so he supported himself on his knees and tried to stand up and run another set.

Just as I was about to set off, a somewhat aged but powerful voice suddenly came from the side.

"Young man, if you keep running around like this, you might as well have your knees amputated."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Che paused involuntarily, then looked in the direction from which the voice came.

Not far from him, next to the horizontal bar, stood a middle-aged man wearing a gray tracksuit.

The man looked to be about fifty years old, with some gray hair. He was carrying a thermos and was looking at him with disdain.

Jiang Che paused for a moment, looked around to make sure no one else was nearby, then pointed at himself and asked, "Uncle, are you talking about me?"

"If you don't say it, who will you say it?"

The middle-aged man unscrewed the thermos and slowly took a sip, then spat the tea leaves from his mouth back into the thermos with two "plop plop" sounds.

"I've been watching you run around here for ages, and your form is completely wrong."

"You landed too heavily on your heels, your knees didn't cushion the impact, your arm swing was too large and wasted your energy, and your breathing rhythm was completely messed up."

The middle-aged man took two steps over, looked Jiang Che up and down, and shook his head. "With the way you run, forget about a full marathon, you'll end up in the hospital after just a half marathon."

Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself that this person was an expert.

Although these comments weren't exactly pleasant to hear, as the saying goes, honest advice is hard to swallow, and the uncle's words were indeed spot on.

He did feel a dull ache in his knees just now, and he couldn't regulate his breathing no matter what he tried.

Jiang Che immediately abandoned his contempt, straightened up, and became much more respectful.

"Sir, from what you're saying, you're a professional?"

"I'm not a professional."

The middle-aged man waved his hand, looking nonchalant. "I'm just a retired old man who wanders around aimlessly with nothing to do."

After saying that, the uncle turned to leave, showing no intention of giving Jiang Che any pointers.

Jiang Che was not about to let this opportunity slip by.

He's currently worried about not having anyone to mentor him, and if he lets this expert who's offered himself up slip away, he'll regret it terribly.

"Hey, uncle, don't go!"

Jiang Che strode over and blocked the uncle's path, grinning as he said, "Since you've figured out my problem, you must have a solution, right?"

"Could you please give me some pointers?"

The middle-aged man stopped and looked at Jiang Che, who was blocking his way, with amusement. "Give you pointers? I'm very expensive."

"Don't worry, money is not a problem."

Jiang Che answered crisply, "As long as you can get me results, you can name your price."

The older man raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that the young man would agree so readily.

He looked Jiang Che over again, his gaze lingering on Jiang Che's long legs and taut muscle lines, a hint of barely perceptible admiration flashing in his eyes.

This kid's physical condition is indeed a rough gem, but unfortunately, it hasn't been properly polished.

"Want to train for a full marathon?" the middle-aged man asked, looking up at him.

Jiang Che nodded, "Yes, we not only need to practice, but we also need to win awards."

"Quite the boast."

The middle-aged man chuckled. "Do you know what a full marathon means? It's a challenge to the limits of the human body, not a game for rich kids like you to play house."

"I'm not kidding."

Jiang Che's smile faded, and his expression became extremely serious. "This is very important to me. I have a reason why I must win."