Chén Zhāoyáng brought his father to the hospital once again, his heart filled with anticipation and anxiety. Every single second before the test results came out felt like a heavy stone pressing down on his chest. During the wait, he paced back and forth in the hospital corridor, his mind racing with a flurry of thoughts—now picturing his father's pale face, now imagining his family's future life, and now seeing visions of himself and Lín Xiǎotáng striving together.
At last, the doctor walked out holding the medical report. Chén Zhāoyáng immediately hurried over, staring intently at the doctor's face in an attempt to glean the results beforehand from his expression. The doctor's expression softened somewhat as he said, "For now, the situation isn't as bad as previously estimated, but we still can't lower our guard. Continued observation and treatment will still be necessary going forward." Hearing this news, the boulder hanging in Chén Zhāoyáng's chest settled slightly, but he knew that his father's illness remained like a sword suspended over their family's heads, and he could not afford to relax in the slightest.
Upon returning home, Chén Zhāoyáng shared the news with his mother and Lín Xiǎotáng, and the entire family let out a sigh of relief. Lín Xiǎotáng patted Chén Zhāoyáng on the shoulder and said with a smile, "I told you Uncle would be fine! From here on, let's keep up the hard work and make sure Uncle gets completely better." Chén Zhāoyáng looked at her gratefully and nodded.
Through this ordeal, Chén Zhāoyáng cherished the time spent with his family even more, while also pouring greater energy into his studies and business. Meanwhile, news that the school would soon hold a sports meeting spread across the campus, immersing the entire school in an atmosphere of excitement.
Chén Zhāoyáng thought that this might be a great opportunity to deepen his bond with Lín Xiǎotáng, and it would also allow him to showcase himself in front of his classmates—who knew, perhaps he might even discover some new business opportunities. Without hesitation, he signed up for multiple events, among which was the highly challenging hurdle race.
After signing up, Chén Zhāoyáng utilized every spare moment outside of class to train. In a corner of the school playground, he used discarded wooden planks and ropes to rig up makeshift hurdle props, practicing his hurdle technique over and over again. Sweat soaked his school uniform and streamed continuously down his cheeks, but he paid it no mind; in his heart, there was only a single conviction: he had to achieve a great result at the sports meeting.
Seeing Chén Zhāoyáng work so hard, Lín Xiǎotáng voluntarily joined the training sessions. Although she wasn't competing in the hurdles, she would cheer Chén Zhāoyáng on from the sidelines, carefully keeping track of his times and performance during each run to help him analyze his flaws.
"Chén Zhāoyáng, during that last hurdle, your left leg didn't lift high enough, which slowed you down," Lín Xiǎotáng said earnestly.
"Got it, I'll try again." Chén Zhāoyáng wiped the sweat from his face, adjusted his posture, and launched into another sprint.
With Lín Xiǎotáng's companionship and help, Chén Zhāoyáng's hurdle technique improved by leaps and bounds. Before long, the day of the sports meeting arrived.
On the day of the event, colorful flags fluttered across the playground. Students wearing neat school uniforms sat in the spectator stands, waving small colored flags in their hands to cheer on the athletes. The broadcast speakers continuously emitted the passionate voice of the announcer as they introduced the various events and competitors.
Chén Zhāoyáng stood at the starting line of the hurdle race, his heartbeat accelerating involuntarily. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and fixed his resolute gaze on the track ahead. The athletes beside him were also rubbing their hands and eager to give it their all.
"Bang!" With a crisp gunshot, the race officially began. Chén Zhāoyáng shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, his stride light and powerful as he rapidly closed in on the first hurdle. With a single effortless leap, he cleared the bar smoothly and naturally, drawing a wave of cheers from the spectators.
Through the next few hurdles, Chén Zhāoyáng maintained his lead. However, an accident suddenly struck. While clearing the second-to-last hurdle, Chén Zhāoyáng suddenly heard a startled cry from the adjacent lane. Subconsciously turning his head, he discovered that Lín Xiǎotáng had somehow wandered to the edge of the track, and at that very moment, a runaway shot put was rolling toward her at high speed.
Chén Zhāoyáng's mind went completely blank. Without time to think, he altered his running trajectory and charged toward Lín Xiǎotáng. The exact moment before the shot put was about to strike her, he pulled Lín Xiǎotáng behind him and used his own body to shield her from the shot put.
"Ah!" Chén Zhāoyáng let out a cry of pain as the shot put slammed heavily into his back, causing his body to pitch forward and crash onto the ground.
"Chén Zhāoyáng!" Lín Xiǎotáng screamed in terror, and the surrounding classmates quickly swarmed over.
"Chén Zhāoyáng, how are you?" "Quick, call a teacher and the school doctor!" The students shouted over one another amid total chaos at the scene.
Lín Xiǎotáng knelt beside Chén Zhāoyáng with tears welling in her eyes. Her hands trembled as she gently helped him up, her voice choked with sobs as she said, "Chén Zhāoyáng, don't scare me—wake up!"
Gritting his teeth through the intense pain, Chén Zhāoyáng managed to say, "I... I'm fine. As long as you weren't hurt..."
Moments later, the teachers and the school doctor rushed to the scene. After conducting a brief examination of Chén Zhāoyáng, the doctor announced, "Thankfully it's just superficial injuries and the bones weren't damaged, but we still need to head to the infirmary to treat the wounds."
Supported by his classmates, Chén Zhāoyáng was carried to the infirmary. Lín Xiǎotáng followed closely behind the entire way, her eyes brimming with worry and self-blame.
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't run to the edge of the track, you wouldn't have gotten hurt," Lín Xiǎotáng reproached herself.
Looking at her, Chén Zhāoyáng forced a faint smile and replied, "Silly girl, how could this be your fault? There's no way I could watch you be in danger and do nothing."
Inside the infirmary, the school doctor tended to Chén Zhāoyáng's wounds, applied antiseptic, and patched them up with gauze. Although the injuries still hurt badly, Chén Zhāoyáng felt deeply at ease in his heart because Lín Xiǎotáng was safe and sound.
This incident quickly spread throughout the school, and Chén Zhāoyáng's courageous act won him unanimous praise from his peers. Everyone gave him a thumbs-up, calling him a true hero.
"Chén Zhāoyáng, you were amazing! To save Lín Xiǎotáng, you didn't even care about your own safety," a classmate said admiringly.
"Totally! Now *that* is what a real man is!" another classmate chimed in.
At that exact moment, Lín Xiǎotáng's feelings for Chén Zhāoyáng underwent a subtle shift. As she watched his injured back, her heart filled with overwhelming emotion and tenderness, and a special kind of affection quietly took root within her.
Following this event, the relationship between Chén Zhāoyáng and Lín Xiǎotáng grew even closer. They encouraged each other in their studies and cared for one another in daily life, causing their romance to heat up rapidly. Meanwhile, Chén Zhāoyáng's popularity at school surged higher and higher, with many classmates taking the initiative to befriend him, which in turn brought some fresh business opportunities for his shop.
When some classmates learned about the convenience store run by Chén Zhāoyáng's family, they frequently dropped by to patronize it and even helped spread the word. Seizing the opportunity, Chén Zhāoyáng rolled out promotional offers tailored for students—such as giving away small snacks upon purchasing school supplies up to a certain amount—which made the store's business even more booming.
Even though Chén Zhāoyáng failed to finish the hurdle race because he was busy saving someone during this sports meeting, he reaped something far more precious than a championship trophy: Lín Xiǎotáng's heart and the friendship of his classmates. He knew this was merely a minor interlude in his journey of rebirth, with many more challenges and wonderful things awaiting him in the future, and he had the full confidence to face it all together with Lín Xiǎotáng.
As the days of the high school entrance examination drew closer, both Chén Zhāoyáng and Lín Xiǎotáng poured even greater effort into their studies. Together, they mapped out a detailed revision schedule and supervised each other every day to ensure their study tasks were completed. Under the lamplight at night, one could always spot their diligent figures—sometimes discussing problems, other times writing furiously. In their minds, the goal of getting into the same key high school grew sharper by the day, and they were giving everything they had to strive for that objective.