Chapter 56: Before I Even Made a Move, They Collapsed

"Let's go, Brother Ming, a bunch of purple sweet potato freaks, they're disgusting to look at!" Pan Zhanle stepped up to support Wang Xiaoming, leading him toward the award presentation area.

Shortly after receiving his medal, they headed to the interview zone.

By this time, a massive crowd of reporters had already gathered in the interview area.

In particular, the Chinese media had sent five or six waves of journalists!

And everyone's target was naturally the most dominant swimmer currently holding the gold medal—Wang Xiaoming!

"Hello, Xiaoming. Congratulations on winning yet another gold medal. Is there anything you'd like to say to everyone right now?" a reporter asked.

Wang Xiaoming answered with complete bluntness: "Anything to say? Well, everyone study hard and make progress every single day!"

A single sentence instantly cracked everyone up on the spot!

Good grief, since when did he become so witty in conversations?

"Then, Xiaoming, when you fell behind at the very beginning, did you panic at all?" the reporter asked again.

This time, Wang Xiaoming didn't resort to joking around.

He first feigned a look of utter astonishment, then turned to ask Pan Zhanle beside him, "Was I falling behind right at the start?!"

Hearing Wang Xiaoming's words, Pan Zhanle was stunned for a moment before letting out a bitter laugh, "Brother Ming, don't say you didn't know..."

It was only then that Wang Xiaoming seemed to realize the truth: "Oh! So I was trailing in the beginning? I genuinely thought I was in first place from the get-go!"

"Why didn't you guys tell me sooner? If you had told me earlier, I would've accelerated earlier!"

Hearing Wang Xiaoming's words, all the reporters burst into loud laughter.

Good grief, flexing like this, are we?

True to form for today's youth, his words sure sound smooth!

What you're implying is that you hadn't even used your full strength yet, right?

Sure enough, Wang Xiaoming's next sentence confirmed their suspicions.

Shaking his head, he spoke directly into the lens: "Sigh, I hadn't even made my move yet, and they had already collapsed!"

In an instant, all the Chinese reporters burst into uproarious laughter.

Meanwhile, reporters from other countries stood nearby, completely clueless about what was so funny.

Just as Wang Xiaoming was chatting and laughing merrily with his home journalists, an American reporter nearby shattered the harmonious atmosphere!

"Hello, Mr. Wang Xiaoming. Regarding the recent doping controversy, what is your view on the Olympic Organizing Committee's handling of the matter?"

As soon as these words were uttered, the entire area fell into sudden silence.

This was hardly an easy question to answer!

One slip of the tongue and saying something inappropriate would mean offending the organizing committee completely!

Wang Xiaoming also realized this. He smiled at the questioning reporter and slowly replied, "Regarding this incident, I only want to say that the organizing committee has the organizing committee's rules."

"Those who refuse to abide by the rules naturally deserve to be punished!"

Having said that, Wang Xiaoming turned his attention back to the American reporter.

"By the way, there is actually one more thing I'd like to mention. I hope the organizing committee can lift Sun Yang's suspension early. I'm really eager to have a showdown with him!"

At these words, all the Chinese viewers watching fell completely silent.

The name Sun Yang was both unfamiliar and deeply familiar.

Upon closer thought, it seemed Sun Yang had vanished from the public eye for several years.

Back in Beijing, inside his home, Sun Yang was already weeping tears of joy!

After finishing the interviews, Wang Xiaoming finally spotted the chubby little guy shouting and waving at him from the spectator stands.

Wang Xiaoming had been chatting with Zhang Wei over the past few days.

"Brother Ming, autographs! A few of these little foreigners want your signature!" Zhang Wei shouted, holding up hats and T-shirts printed with Wang Xiaoming's name.

Needless to say, this kid must have been using his name to flex again.

Still, it didn't matter; it was all standard procedure!

After signing the items for Zhang Wei, it was time for the mandatory medical check.

Of course, this was routine procedure, not targeted specifically at Wang Xiaoming!

Moreover, it wasn't just Wang Xiaoming.

Because of the recent incidents, drug testing targeting all Chinese athletes had actually been reduced significantly!

Returning to the back arena, Wang Xiaoming's gold medal was passed around among Pan Zhanle, Zhang Zhanshuo, and the others, who held it in their hands and couldn't bear to put it down.

"Damn, Brother Ming is an absolute beast! Another gold medal!"

"Too fierce, Brother Ming, simply too fierce!"

"Brother Ming, are you even going to let the rest of us make a living?!"

"How are we supposed to win any medals left?!"

"Wait a minute, don't you guys already have some? Why are you still making such a big fuss over this one?" Wang Xiaoming asked, genuinely puzzled.

Many of them were playfully bantering with Wang Xiaoming.

Over the past few days, it felt as though Wang Xiaoming had seamlessly blended into their group, becoming the darling of the team!

After chatting for a while, they all headed back to the Olympic Village.

Tomorrow held yet another packed schedule of events.

For today, however, Wang Xiaoming needed to get some solid rest.

Even though his physical stamina was immense, enduring a whole day of such intense consumption would exhaust even an iron man.

Soon, after washing up, Wang Xiaoming collapsed onto his bed and immediately fell fast asleep.

As he slept, the buzz online was rapidly fermenting.

Those who hadn't had the time to watch the Olympics during the day eagerly picked up their phones at night to check China's gold medal tally.

After all, Wang Xiaoming's current popularity was scorching hot.

Everyone wanted to keep up with his latest updates.

When people saw the rows and rows of trending searches related to Wang Xiaoming, everyone burst into an uproar of excitement!

"Damn, another gold medal!"

"So satisfying!"

"As expected, Wang Xiaoming is simply invincible!"

[Athlete Wang Xiaoming trails initially but catches up to courageously secure the gold medal!]

[I hadn't even used my full strength yet, and you guys collapsed? Turns out the other countries' athletes couldn't even force out half of Wang Xiaoming's true power!]

[Is there anyone in these Olympic Games who can stop Wang Xiaoming? Absolutely no one!]

[A super blood-pumping chase, witness how Wang Xiaoming leaves everyone else in the dust!]

[A match for the history books, Wang Xiaoming expresses his post-match desire for a hearty showdown with Sun Yang!]

[The King of the Olympics, Wang Xiaoming!]

Every single trending topic was about Wang Xiaoming.

Overnight, he had once again shaken the entire internet.

Even footage of his races was spreading like wildfire across the web.

Everyone was re-watching his match videos and chewing over the words he had spoken after the race.

Expectations among the public were soaring.

However, when people tried to dig into Wang Xiaoming's past background, they discovered that virtually zero information was available.

Aside from his birthplace and the schools he attended, there was not a single clue to be found.

Not even a shred of news regarding any previous competitions he had participated in existed.

This left everyone speculating: what on earth did Wang Xiaoming used to do?

The ultimate number one athlete of the Olympic Games, yet his past origins remained shrouded in mystery.

That wasn't all. Countless brand representatives were frantically trying to contact Wang Xiaoming's family, attempting to secure various endorsement deals with him.

Among them were major international brands like Nike and Adidas.

Yet, nobody could find a single scrap of information regarding Wang Xiaoming's family!

Even when they tracked down the school Wang Xiaoming had attended, neither the teachers nor the principal possessed any information whatsoever about his family!