Love Me in Another Universe

Chapter 13. The High Jump Test

June 16, 1994, Thursday. The third class today was physical education. And there was a high jump test.

Gao Xinglang gazed at the 1.24-meter-high crossbar to his right, took a deep breath, and began his approach run. As he reached the bar, he raised his hands up, his right foot swung forward and upward with force, and launched himself into the air. Both of his feet cleared the bar, and he landed softly on the mat as the bar remained steady.

"Gao Xinglang, passed!" The team leader / proctor announced loudly.

"Yay!" Gao Xinglang cheered. Glancing towards the 1.08-meter area not far away, he caught sight of Guan Xuchen just as he was jumping. Guan Xuchen's right foot cleared the bar, but his left foot clipped it. After landing on the mat, the bar swayed twice and fell to the ground.

"Guan Xuchen, failed!" The team leader / proctor announced loudly.

With a dejected look on his face, Guan Xuchen walked to the back of the line to have another try.

Gao Xinglang came over and asked a bit surprised. "Soupy, haven't you cleared the 1.08-meter passing height yet?"

"Not yet," Guan Xuchen shook his head helplessly and then asked, "Lang, what about you?"

"I've already cleared 1.24 meters and got 100 points!" Gao Xinglang exclaimed excitedly. But when he saw Guan Xuchen's downcast expression, his smile faded slightly. "You must have been playing basketball less recently, Soupy. That's why your bouncing power has become weaker."

Guan Xuchen forced a smile but said nothing. After a moment's thought, Gao Xinglang smiled and said, "Come on, Soupy, come with me. I'll show you a 'secret weapon', which will definitely help you pass."

"Lang, what 'secret weapon'? Guan Xuchen asked feebly. "I still have to take the test..." But he followed Gao Xinglang to the steps beside the playground.

Gao Xinglang looked around, sat down on the steps, took off his sneakers, and handed them to Guan Xuchen, saying. "Soupy, these shoes are the 'secret weapon'. Put them on and you'll definitely pass."

Guan Xuchen took the sneakers and examined them carefully. They looked quite high-end in their gray and white color scheme. He asked dubiously, "Lang, these shoes are beautiful. But do they have springs in them? Can they really help me jump higher?"

Gao Xinglang looked around cautiously, then lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Soupy, tell you what, these aren't just any ordinary sneakers. They're special basketball shoes that our school team uses. They're supposedly imported from the US and can increase your vertical jump. I could only clear 1.16 meters at most when I practiced before. But with these shoes, I can easily clear 1.24 meters!"

"Really?" Guan Xuchen's eyes lit up. He quickly sat down on the steps, took off his canvas shoes, and put on Gao Xinglang's sneakers. But they were a bit too big, and it felt like he was wearing slippers.

"Lang, your shoes are too loose for me. I can't run like this," Guan Xuchen complained.

"What size do you wear?" "Gao Xinglang asked!"

"Size 35," Guan Xuchen answered.

"Oh, I wear a size 37. No wonder." Gao Xinglang thought for a moment and asked Guan Xuchen to take the sneakers off. He took out the two insoles from his sneakers and the those from Guan Xuchen's canvas shoes. He then carefully stuffed the sneaker insoles into the canvas shoes. After a bit of fiddling, he finally made it.

Gao Xinglang handed the canvas shoes to Guan Xuchen, saying, "Here, Soupy, try these on. These insoles are specially designed too. They should give you a bit of a boost."