Chapter 275: How Is It Cheating When We’re Not Breaking Any Rules

For a moment, the entire gymnasium seemed to freeze in time. Even the player from the other team, who was already on his way back, stopped in horror.

All jaws dropped—audience members, staff, students—as they stared at Julius carrying nearly half of his team with him. While he made massive leaps forward, the children clinging to his body held onto the sack tightly. Even the elderly woman in his arms chuckled as she held the baton.

Raka gasped as he watched Julius already heading back, passing their player who was still frozen in place.

"Hey!" he shouted. "What are you still doing standing there like that!?"

The stunned player snapped out of it and resumed hopping, only to stop again when Julius had already made it back. He couldn’t help but stare at the people the old lady passed the baton to.

There were three children inside one sack and one male adult.

"Kids... pulverize them!" Ashley roared from behind.

Fueled by enthusiasm, the children immediately started hopping. Their arms were locked together as they moved in sync, following each other’s momentum.

And because they were children, their teamwork and energy far surpassed that of the adults.

"Hey! Pass it!" the next person waiting in line shouted, snapping their teammate out of his daze as he kept getting distracted by the chaos happening on the other side.

"Ye— yes!" he stuttered, leaping forward and almost falling flat on his face.

Meanwhile, Raka watched in disbelief as the people on the other team squeezed themselves into each sack.

If they had followed the intended order, each team should’ve had at least thirteen groups.

The Red Team was already almost halfway through.

But the Blue Team?

There were only five sacks left because people had crammed themselves together.

"This is cheating!" Raka shouted as he looked around until he spotted a nearby staff member. "Hey! Why are you letting them cheat right in front of everyone!?"

"Cheating?" Ashley laughed, causing the other parents on the blue team to turn toward the Red Team and laugh like evil witches—as instructed by her. "How is it cheating when we didn’t break any rules?"

Julius smirked with his arms crossed as he got back in line again, now with a few more children he needed to carry. "Say, Teacher, are we really cheating?"

The staff member, who was just as flabbergasted as everyone else, opened and closed his mouth helplessly. He turned toward his colleague, who looked equally confused.

All these games were supposed to do was help parents and children bond.

They were just games.

So, none of them had expected to deal with something like this.

"In the rules you sent us, this game only requires everyone to finish the race while inside the sack," Lucian remarked calmly, sounding like a lawyer as he looked directly at the staff. "Nowhere does it specifically state that each sack can only contain one student and one guardian."

Raka scoffed. "Of course it doesn’t, because that part is already obvious!"

"Rules are written for people to follow," Lucian argued calmly. "And we are following them exactly as written."

Everyone on the blue team nodded while their players continued competing. This time, the participants were physically fit parents carrying their children on their backs inside the sacks.

"We’re not doing anything wrong!" another parent from the blue team argued. "Or don’t tell me you’re going to change the rules now?"

"Isn’t that biased?"

"Earlier, the Red Team had no complaints because they were winning. But now that they’re losing, suddenly they have a lot to say!"

The staff member listening to the argument looked trapped between the two overly competitive teams.

"It’s... just a game," he muttered under his breath, only to flinch when several parents whipped their heads toward him at the same time.

One team wanted the other disqualified.

The other team argued that disqualifying them would be unfair and biased.

Had the committee known this would happen, they probably would’ve spent more time refining the rules for these games. After all, several of the upcoming activities also involved parents.

"Decide now," Lucian urged calmly, earning nods from his team. "Before our team finishes this game."

The moment he said that, everyone realized he was already holding a baton while simply standing there idly.

Well, there were only three runners left on their side now: Lucian with Primo and several children, Ashley with some parents, and Julius as the final runner.

Meanwhile, the Red Team still had five participants left, with one person still hopping painfully slowly.

"Uh..." the staff member cleared his throat, though his voice almost failed him.

His eyes darted between the two teams before he looked toward his colleague. The second staff member let out a sharp breath.

"Technically, the Blue Team didn’t break any rules," he explained, earning an offended gasp from Raka. "To make things fair, the Red Team is allowed to do the same."

Everyone on the Blue Team smiled at one another. Even the children cheered.

And to further irritate Raka’s team, cheers from the biased Pink Team echoed loudly across the gym.

"Go, Blue Team!"

"B.L.U.E GO!"

"Primpim~! You can do it!"

"Eli~! Pink Team is on your side~!"

The bubbly Pink Team shook their pom-poms while chanting and cheering for the Blue Team. They had been supporting them from the start, but their voices had been drowned out by the noise earlier.

"Good," Lucian nodded in satisfaction.

He bent slightly as Primo clung to his back. A few children hugged the sack around his waist, each standing on top of one of his feet as though pretending to be his limbs.

A glint flashed across Lucian’s eyes as he jumped just as far as Julius had, enough to make the participant from the other team nearly stumble backward in shock.

Lucian smirked as the children clinging to him shouted while pointing ahead.

"Let’s go, Uncle Coach!"

Everyone watched as Lucian covered the entire distance in only a few massive leaps before tossing the baton toward Ashley.

A few parents were already inside the sack with her, and at her command, they all jumped as high as possible according to her instructions.

"Now!"

The women beside her leaped fiercely with every roar Ashley made, following her lead without hesitation.

The moment they reached the starting line again, Ashley tossed the baton toward their final runner, Julius.

The women’s eyes blazed as though they had been possessed.

"Finish it!"

Raka gasped as Julius launched himself forward with another enormous jump, his sheer weight making it feel as though the ground tilted.

Even the participant from their team, who had been trying desperately to catch up, stopped completely the moment Julius landed nearby.

Julius smirked at the opposing player before continuing forward.

But that smirk alone was enough to completely crush the other participant’s spirit.

After all, the Red Team still had several players left.

Julius was already the Blue Team’s last runner.

"It’s..." the player muttered in shock, his eyes drifting toward Julius. "... over."

The moment those words left his mouth, loud cheers erupted from the Blue Team and even louder ones from the heavily biased Pink Team.