CHAPTER 809: CHAPTER 730: DISLOCATED LIVES 8

The lap coach mentioned means running one lap around the small field, which is a full 500 meters. Running ten laps like this is definitely not an easy amount of exercise for kids like Shuangshuang and the others, who have never trained and have always been pampered.

Among them, Shuangshuang’s stamina is particularly poor. She has made up her mind to persist and finish the run. However, during the first lap, she already feels her legs going weak. Watching the coach’s pace, it’s really just a slow jog, not intense at all.

Looking at Wang Xiao beside her, running with ease, Shuangshuang feels she’s performing the worst. Of course, she’s not even bothered to compare with those even worse than herself; everyone is comparing upwards.

Shuangshuang grits her teeth. She knows her stamina is poor, but she didn’t expect it to be so weak that her legs would go limp after just one lap.

To keep going, Shuangshuang has to adjust her breathing and pace, trying to run in the most relaxed way possible.

Originally, Shuangshuang thought she had the worst stamina. However, after only four and a half laps, several kids started to fall behind, crawling along at a snail’s pace. These slow runners include both boys and girls, each with flushed faces and sweat-drenched heads, panting like a bellows, clearly not pretending to slack off.

As some fell behind, the neat and orderly rows of boys and girls running side by side scattered into disarray.

If not for Coach Wang leading the way and the fourteen other coaches running along both sides, constantly herding the students back in line, who knows what kind of shape the formation would have been.

By the seventh lap, students with poor stamina could barely lift their legs, causing the formation to completely fall apart. Shuangshuang was especially worn out.

At this point, her legs felt like noodles, shaking uncontrollably. It was only through sheer willpower that she kept running, gasping like a bellows. When Wang Xiao asked how she was doing, Shuangshuang was too out of breath to respond, only managing a weak wave of her hand.

Barely managing to finish the eighth lap, Shuangshuang’s legs nearly gave way twice, almost causing her to fall. Meanwhile, Wang Xiao was just a bit winded but still had energy to spare.

The surrounding students were even worse off, collapsing onto the ground one by one, only to be pulled up by the following coaches, who wouldn’t allow them to stop.

Despite the coaches watching them, after some more running, the students couldn’t take it. Their speed slowed to a crawl, with only about ten looking as good as Wang Xiao. The rest were sluggishly running at a snail’s pace.

Shuangshuang wanted to speed up and run properly, but her stamina wasn’t sufficient. She wanted to take bigger strides, but her legs wouldn’t obey. Her muscles trembled, and Shuangshuang herself couldn’t believe that just a short run could exhaust her so much!

The coaches were also at a loss. Although they said to train like soldiers, they weren’t actually soldiers. The coaches couldn’t be as strict as with real soldiers. This was the first training session, so in the end, they had to turn a blind eye, as long as the students didn’t stop running, tolerating their sluggish pace.

Wang Xiao stayed by Shuangshuang’s side and, seeing her struggling, directly took Shuangshuang’s arm and put it over her shoulder, half-supporting her as they ran.

Shuangshuang couldn’t even say thank you, panting as she borrowed Wang Xiao’s strength to keep running. By the time they reached the last half lap, Shuangshuang was almost being dragged along by Wang Xiao to finish.

Once they completed ten laps, Wang Xiao didn’t let Shuangshuang go but kept supporting her as they walked slowly in place until her breathing steadied. Once Shuangshuang caught her breath, she stood on her own and finally thanked Wang Xiao.

Though her legs were weak, once Shuangshuang caught her breath, she was at least able to stand, which was better than most who lay sprawled on the ground. Less than half the students could still stand after ten laps, while those running twenty laps were still struggling, crawling like snails under the coaches’ supervision.

While those running twenty laps were still going, the ones who finished ten weren’t idle either. Once they caught their breath, the coaches had them stand at attention. This wasn’t as tiring, just required some willpower, and they had to avoid standing in the midday sun to prevent heatstroke.

They stood at attention until those running twenty laps finished. Then the coaches announced that they could eat. Having gotten up at five in the morning, by the time those running twenty laps finished, it was already eight.

Before breakfast, Coach Wang sent Meng Jiao, who had been squatting and crying, to the confinement room. The summer camp wasn’t very long, so confinement was unnecessary. If the kids here actually needed confinement as discipline, it would be a waste of time.

The purpose of the confinement wasn’t the confinement itself, but the act of confinement. The summer camp rules stated that if someone was confined three times, they would be sent home.

The summer camp wasn’t profit-driven and operated on government subsidies. Even compulsory education has expulsions; a government-subsidized summer camp certainly wouldn’t waste resources on those who are unredeemable.

Don’t underestimate the severity of being sent home from summer camp. This gets recorded in personal records. It’s not easy to take advantage of government resources. In some ways, the summer camp is like a short-term military school, supported by the state.

Students who perform exceptionally well in summer camp might even be recommended to prestigious military schools. Otherwise, why would so many doting parents send their kids here to endure hardships?

Being sent home from summer camp is like being expelled; it gets recorded in personal records. Being recorded means some strict jobs will be out of reach. For instance, trying to work in any government office will be impossible unless they change their pampered ways and excel in every aspect.

Meng Jiao and Mo Siqi don’t understand the seriousness of confinement. They think it’s just a common punishment. Besides, in the confinement room, they can’t communicate with the outside world, but other than that, they have no obligations. Meals are better than the small window meals, and they don’t have to train. Some might mistakenly think it’s a good place, not realizing the potential impact on their future.

After breakfast, coaches led everyone out of the camp courtyard. This summer camp housed thousands, not just the small group with Shuangshuang. The area Shuangshuang was in was just a small courtyard of students.

As they marched out of the courtyard, they found a mass of students outside. Looking out, they saw a vast crowd, each group of around 200, lined up in rows, separated by gender, neatly arranged, with a dozen coaches overseeing each group standing at attention.