Chapter 174: Concerns in the Heart

When they arrived at the gymnasium, it was already filled with students from other schools.

Since the vast majority of students weren’t sports-focused and had no intention of becoming professional athletes, they all had a rather casual attitude toward the physical education exam.

As long as they could pass, that was good enough.

So, most people looked relaxed.

After all, becoming a star athlete wasn’t easy.

But getting a passing grade on a standard PE test was something most students could manage.

Even those who couldn’t before had seen some improvement after two weeks of extra practice.

Kids are in their growth phase, so their athletic abilities generally aren’t too bad. Unless they have some congenital illness, in which case there’s really nothing to be done.

Otherwise, any kid with proper nutrition could improve their physical fitness with some decent training.

The exam events were separated by gender, so Chen Mo and Huang Mao split off from Su Yuqing and Zhao Yuanyuan.

Over on the boys’ side of the test area, there were plenty of guys of all shapes and sizes—tall, short, chubby, and thin.

Chen Mo only planned on getting a passing grade today, so he was pretty casual about it.

But while he wasn’t trying to stand out, someone else clearly was.

That person was Zhou Hao.

Chen Mo saw that Zhou Hao was taking every event very seriously, looking like he was eager to get a good score.

But as Chen Mo recalled, Zhou Hao didn’t seem to have any athletic dreams.

However, when he saw Zhou Hao glance over toward the girls’ section after every event, he understood why.

’The guy is obviously trying to show off in front of the girl he likes.’

Chen Mo watched Zhou Hao with a knowing smile, and his gaze met Zhou Hao’s as he turned back around.

Zhou Hao looked away immediately, like a thief caught in the act.

His reaction made Chen Mo chuckle again.

Zhou Hao might look big and tall, but he definitely had his own endearing side.

’No wonder Qu Danwan would fall for him.’

A person with only one defining trait is very one-dimensional.

Zhou Hao was clearly the "tough on the outside, soft on the inside" type.

Which was the perfect complement to Qu Danwan, who was the "soft on the outside, tough on the inside" type.

The two of them were a perfect match.

Chen Mo felt that if he could help them get together in this lifetime, it would be a major accomplishment.

At this thought, a sense of panic crept into Chen Mo’s heart.

He had experienced a dream-like state where he returned to his time as a criminal police officer.

He was terrified—terrified that one day he would suddenly go back, leaving Su Yuqing all alone.

He couldn’t imagine such a scenario.

The more he thought about it, the more panicked he became, as if he could be sent back to his own time at any second.

For the past few days, Chen Mo had even been deliberately avoiding the search for the real culprit. He had a premonition that once he found them, he would return to that world without Su Yuqing.

Everything would be over.

He was terrified of this baseless idea.

But if he didn’t find the culprit, and if this person was like Li Tie, who had been targeting Su Yuqing from the start, there would inevitably be times in the future when he couldn’t protect her. If that person seized an opportunity, it would still end in tragedy.

Chen Mo’s mind had been a mess lately, so chaotic that he didn’t know how to deal with this unknown criminal.

After letting his thoughts run wild for a while, Chen Mo shook his head, temporarily clearing the muddle from his mind. He stopped overthinking and started focusing on the exam.

Originally, both Tian Jing and He Xiaoyun had been eager to see Chen Mo deliver a spectacular performance.

But unexpectedly, Chen Mo’s results today were quite ordinary.

Just the level of an average high school student.

He Xiaoyun couldn’t tell, but Tian Jing could clearly see that the kid wasn’t trying his best at all.

"That little rascal!" she couldn’t help but complain.

"What’s wrong?" He Xiaoyun glanced at Tian Jing.

"He’s not giving it his all in this exam. Look at his breathing. Someone going all out would have much heavier chest movements. His breathing is steady, and he has a relaxed posture. It’s obvious he’s not trying his hardest," Tian Jing said, looking at Chen Mo.

"Looks like he really doesn’t want to be an athlete. He’s probably afraid you’ll try to recruit him again." He Xiaoyun smiled. "Let it be. His academic performance is also quite good. We should let the kid decide for himself."

"It’s such a waste of his athletic talent. If he were properly trained, winning an Olympic gold medal in the future wouldn’t be impossible." Tian Jing herself had Olympic dreams, so in her eyes, winning a gold medal was the highest honor a person could achieve.

Unfortunately, her student didn’t want to pursue this ultimate glory.

It’s very difficult for an academic student to reach a level where they can bring glory to the country on a global stage.

Even among graduates from top universities, very few have that kind of ability.

Of course, it wasn’t easy for athletes either. In any given Olympics, only a handful of people make it through the grueling process to compete, and among those, only a fraction win medals.

An even smaller fraction could win gold.

No matter which path one chose, reaching the top of the world was never easy.

But since it was the kid’s own choice, the two of them didn’t say any more about it.

As the events finished one by one, those who had been expecting an explosive performance from Chen Mo couldn’t help but wonder if he had just been pumped full of adrenaline that other day.

However, some guessed it was because Su Yuqing wasn’t around, so Chen Mo had no motivation to show off.

Just like Huang Mao, who previously hadn’t cared at all but was motivated by Chen Mo’s performance last week to achieve a better time than usual.

Chen Mo wasn’t too concerned with the chatter around him.

He never had any intention of making a name for himself in sports.

His number was called relatively early, so when he finished, many students were still testing. Chen Mo stepped aside to rest.

As for going over to Su Yuqing’s side, he felt a bit too awkward. After all, it was all girls over there right now, and a guy like him walking over would be way too conspicuous.

He found a random spot in the area between the two sections and sat down to rest, his gaze drifting toward the girls’ side.

Just as he was lost in watching Su Yuqing, he suddenly felt a cold sensation on his cheek.

He immediately turned his head and saw a girl with a pretty, round face whose eyes curved into crescents when she smiled.

"Brother Mo, I caught you secretly watching a girl," the girl said with a laugh as she handed a bottle of water to Chen Mo.

"Yaoyao, what are you..." Chen Mo started, then smiled and took the water. "I forgot your school is in the same district as ours."

As she spoke, the girl plopped down right next to Chen Mo, leaving no social distance between them. They seemed to know each other very well.

"Brother Mo, which girl were you watching just now? You looked so absorbed," the girl asked curiously, her gaze following the direction Chen Mo had been looking.

With just a glance, she spotted a very beautiful person who stood out strikingly in the crowd.

Without Chen Mo needing to say a word, she was sure that he must have been looking at this girl.