Falling in Love with High School English Teacher Sakura (GL Teacher-Student Love) - Chapter 8

The annual long-distance race at First Elementary School had begun. Class teacher Wang Piaopiao had made it mandatory for all students in her class to participate in the school-organized long-distance running competition. In her previous life, although Yue Ran suffered from severe asthma and doctors had warned her against strenuous exercise, she had been at the bottom of her class academically—a true underachiever. As a result, Wang Piaopiao found fault with Yue Ran in every way and would never have agreed to let her skip the school’s long-distance race. Yue Ran could already imagine how, if she asked Wang Piaopiao for an exemption, the teacher would mercilessly humiliate her, saying things like, “You’re no good at academics, and now you can’t even handle sports? What use are you? Just a waste of space!”

Knowing Wang Piaopiao well, Yue Ran was certain the teacher would say such things without hesitation, likely adding a scornful glare for good measure.

Now reborn, Yue Ran had no intention of risking her life again. In her past life, the 2000-meter race had nearly killed her. This time, she made sure to obtain a medical certificate from her doctor. When she presented it to Wang Piaopiao, the teacher—finding the class short on students to carry water and watch over belongings—agreed to let Yue Ran handle those tasks instead. Of course, it helped that Yue Ran’s grades had improved dramatically, making her Wang Piaopiao’s new favorite. As the top student in her grade, Yue Ran had become the teacher’s precious darling.

The day of the race coincided with an unusually intense late-summer heatwave, making the 2000-meter run an especially daunting challenge for elementary schoolers.

At the sound of the starter pistol, Yue Ran watched as the children surged forward like a flock of lambs bursting out of a pen, quickly disappearing past the school gates. It should be noted that the race wasn’t held on the school track but followed a marked route through the school grounds and surrounding neighborhood, with arrows guiding the way.

Yue Ran couldn’t help but envy the children’s boundless energy as she lounged in her seat, leisurely sipping water. Ah! So refreshing! The water she’d painstakingly carried downstairs tasted especially sweet—this was long before the famous “Nongfu Spring, a little sweet” ad campaign.

Less than ten minutes later, however, Yue Ran spotted two boys from her class helping the pigtailed class monitor—the class beauty—back through the school gates. The trio was heading her way. Unsure what had happened, Yue Ran rushed over to check.

“Monitor fainted while running,” one of the boys explained. Yue Ran saw that the girl’s face was flushed bright red, her eyes closed as she leaned heavily on the boys. Recognizing the signs of heatstroke, Yue Ran and the two boys quickly helped her to a chair to rest.

Wang Piaopiao hurried over, asking with concern, “How are you feeling, Ma Xue? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Weakly, the monitor replied, “It’s alright, Teacher Wang. I feel much better now. I just need to rest here for a while.”

Yue Ran knew heatstroke could range from mild to severe. Searching her memories from her past life, she couldn’t recall the class monitor ever suffering from it—but then again, in that timeline, Yue Ran had been too busy struggling for breath during her own asthma attack on the track, feeling like she was dying, to notice anyone else’s condition.

Realizing what was happening, Yue Ran quickly grabbed a thin shirt that a student had taken off and soaked it in cold water. She then handed the damp shirt to the class beauty and monitor, Banhua.

The monitor looked up at Yue Ran in confusion. Yue Ran explained, “Use this to wipe your face! It’ll help cool you down. There aren’t any towels here.”

Banhua thanked Yue Ran and took the wet shirt from her hands.

Seeing that the monitor, Ma Xue, didn’t seem to be in any serious condition, Wang Piaopiao felt relieved and asked Yue Ran to help take care of her.

The two boys who had just helped Banhua back to the rest area returned to the running track. Yue Ran noticed that two or three students from other classes had also suffered heatstroke and were being carried back by their classmates. This sports meet really picked the worst timing—who knew which clueless school official had chosen such a scorching day for a long-distance run? They should make that official and the teachers run alongside the students to see how it felt.

Sitting next to Banhua, Yue Ran found herself in an awkward silence, the tension from their previous conflicts lingering between them.

Eventually, Yue Ran broke the silence. Pointing at the wet shirt on Banhua’s forehead, she asked sincerely, “Ma Xue, do you want me to soak this in cold water again for you?” The high temperature had likely warmed the damp cloth by now, making it less effective for cooling.

Still feeling a bit dizzy, Banhua obediently handed the shirt back to Yue Ran. Watching as Yue Ran took it, she then saw her pull out a bottle of mineral water and unscrew the cap. To avoid splashing water on her pants, Yue Ran crouched slightly and poured half the bottle onto the shirt. After testing the dampness and coolness with her hand, she handed it back to Banhua.

Banhua found it odd—last time, she had seen Yue Ran skillfully bandage Liu Yugang’s wound, and now she seemed just as adept at handling heatstroke. Of course, Banhua had no idea that Yue Ran had studied clinical medicine in her past life, making such basic first aid knowledge second nature to her.

After the first male runner crossed the finish line, the other students gradually arrived as well. Yue Ran busied herself handing out water to the exhausted runners.

Some students, panting and parched, eagerly reached for water, only to be stopped by Yue Ran, who warned them that drinking immediately after running could risk lung injury. She advised everyone to sip slowly. One particularly impatient kid, upon hearing they couldn’t drink right away, unscrewed their bottle and poured the cold water over their overheated head and body instead.

Yue Ran’s deskmate, Cao Yu, had finished the long-distance run in 45th place—a remarkable achievement for a girl. As Cao Yu crossed the finish line, Yue Ran rushed to support her. The young girl was gasping for breath but, thanks to her good physical condition, managed to joke between breaths, “I almost tripped during the run!” Yue Ran couldn’t help but laugh.

In their previous life, Yue Ran and her deskmate Cao Yu eventually got new seating partners. The one Yue Ran ended up with was particularly disgusting—constantly picking his nose and smearing it on the desk. At that time, Yue Ran missed Cao Yu terribly, her kind, clean, pretty, and sweet-smelling former deskmate. Yue Ran handed Cao Yu a bottle of water and reminded her to rest a bit before drinking.

This year’s school long-distance running event concluded successfully. The top ten finishers each received a badminton racket as a prize, leaving all the other students envious. Cao Yu also wanted a badminton racket but ended up with just a towel.

Yue Ran comforted her deskmate, saying, “At least you got a towel—look at me, I got nothing! But I believe you’ll make it into the top ten next time.”

Touched by the encouragement, Cao Yu replied sincerely, “Yue Ran, thank you for cheering me on.”

Yue Ran responded with exaggerated warmth, “That’s what deskmates are for! We’ll improve together!” Deep down, Yue Ran absolutely didn’t want to lose such a wonderful deskmate like Cao Yu.