Chapter 60: Brother Ming, Do You Want to Fall in Love?

"Come on, Lezi, there's no need to be so gloomy about it!" Wang Xiaoming patted Pan Zhanle on the shoulder with a smile after the match.

"Gloomy? Brother Ming, I'm not gloomy. I just feel like I'm always living in someone else's shadow."

"Hahahaha!"

Wang Xiaoming burst out laughing.

Pan Zhanle's words reminded him of a movie he had once watched.

*Goodbye Mr. Loser*.

The protagonist time-travels back to his youth and steals all the glory that originally belonged to the Heavenly King of Mandopop, leaving the singer feeling like he was living in the protagonist's shadow all his life.

And wasn't Pan Zhanle in the exact same situation right now?

Wang Xiaoming understood Pan Zhanle's feelings very well.

After all, if he hadn't come along, Pan Zhanle's current strength in the Chinese swimming world would make him virtually invincible, an absolute powerhouse capable of handling a hundred opponents single-handedly.

He would have been the undisputed leader of Chinese swimming.

It was just a pity that he had run into him.

"Hey, what's a small matter like this? For the upcoming team events, I'll have the coach add you to all of them. That way, won't you be able to win a few more gold medals?"

Hearing this, Pan Zhanle's eyes lit up.

Even though he felt like he was living under Wang Xiaoming's shadow, what was that compared to gold medals?

Under normal circumstances without Wang Xiaoming, he would only have had absolute confidence in winning gold in the 200-meter freestyle.

As for the rest, it would have been a toss-up.

But now, with Brother Ming here, the gold medals he was securing amounted to much more than just one.

Not to mention there were still several team events coming up!

"Still, I always feel like these gold medals are won purely by you alone!" Pan Zhanle pouted and said.

Wang Xiaoming shook his head and looked at Pan Zhanle solemnly. "Lezi, you have to remember that you guys are the true Olympic athletes of China!"

"You are the real pillars of the Chinese team, understand?"

"Future competitions will still rely on all of you!"

Pan Zhanle looked completely baffled. "Brother Ming, what do you mean by that?"

Wang Xiaoming smiled without explaining further.

Of course, he wasn't going to tell Pan Zhanle right now that this would be his first and last Olympic Games.

In the future, Chinese swimming at the Olympics would still depend on young talents like them!

"All right, that's enough talk. Time to rest and prepare for tomorrow's matches!" With that, Wang Xiaoming took the lead and walked toward the dormitory area.

***

The remaining events included the backstroke and the breaststroke.

From the coaching staff's perspective, these were considered China's weaker events.

But in Wang Xiaoming's eyes, victories here were practically guaranteed.

The only event he needed to pay attention to was the 1500-meter freestyle!

In swimming competitions, this was the ultimate test of an athlete's physical endurance.

It could be called the final showdown.

However, for Wang Xiaoming, this was absolute child's play!

When it came to stamina advantages, he dared say that not a single athlete in the world could compare to him.

Now, with so many skills mastered, sweeping all the gold medals in swimming seemed already within his grasp!

That evening, Wang Xiaoming was eating and chatting with his teammates.

"Tell me, Brother Ming, since you're so amazing, you must have a lot of girls chasing you, right?" Pan Zhanle asked suddenly.

Wang Xiaoming smiled and shook his head. "No."

"No way? You mean you've never even been in a relationship?"

Wang Xiaoming nodded. "Yeah. Is that really so strange?"

Pan Zhanle let out an astonished gasp. "Holy crap, seriously, Brother Ming? You've genuinely never even dated anyone?"

His loud exclamation immediately attracted countless gazes from people around them.

In everyone's subconscious minds, a man as outstanding as Wang Xiaoming surely wouldn't lack young, beautiful women surrounding him.

Yet now, they were hearing that Wang Xiaoming had never even been in a relationship?

"Keep your voice down, you idiot! Is there any need to make such a big fuss?" Wang Xiaoming was utterly speechless.

This kid Pan Zhanle couldn't just be steady for a single day, could he?

Well, great. Now he had become the center of attention in the cafeteria all over again.

Rubbing the back of his head, Pan Zhanle said apologetically, "Sorry, sorry, Brother Ming! I was just a bit too shocked!"

"Someone as exceptional as you, and you've never dated? Man, what a pity. I haven't either, otherwise I could have shared what being in a relationship feels like!"

"Get lost, you jerk! Women will only slow down my swimming speed!" Wang Xiaoming cursed playfully!

Relationships?

He really hadn't been in one.

Was his identity suitable for dating?

Of course not.

Still, Lezi, when it came to women, Big Brother was definitely a step ahead of you.

***

At the very least, Big Brother wasn't a virgin!

However, he would definitely never say that out loud.

Otherwise, who knew what kind of trouble Pan Zhanle would stir up for him next!

As they chatted, however, Wang Xiaoming suddenly noticed an influx of intense, burning gazes around him.

He looked up and discovered that quite a few female athletes from other countries were staring right at him.

Their eyes were filled with undisguised aggression.

It was almost as if...

Wang Xiaoming had seen that kind of look before, usually in nature documentaries.

It was the look predatory animals gave when they finally laid eyes on their prey after starving for days!

For a moment, Wang Xiaoming—who had never felt nervous or known what fear was—suddenly felt goosebumps break out all over his skin.

"What's going on here? Why do these female athletes look like they want to devour me alive?" Wang Xiaoming was baffled.

Even so, that didn't stop the female athletes from continuously scanning him up and down.

Some of them even boldly winked at him when they caught his eye!

"Something's not right..." Wang Xiaoming finished his food in a few quick bites and immediately prepared to drag Pan Zhanle and the others away.

Meanwhile, Pan Zhanle was still chattering away, completely oblivious. "Brother Ming, you know, now that I've won so many gold medals!"

"When I go back home, do you think a lot of girls will want to get to know me?"

"Sigh, Brother Ming, it's actually no big deal that you've never dated. I haven't either. I've never even held a girl's hand!"

"Brother Ming, I heard girls' hands are super soft, is that true?"

"Anyway, I definitely won't find a girlfriend from the swimming team. You have no idea—their hands get all waterlogged and aren't soft at all anymore!"

"Actually, I'm not discriminating against them when I say that. I just want a girlfriend who smells nice and has soft hands..."

"Brother Ming, why aren't you saying anything? Oh right, you haven't dated either, so how would you know if girls' hands are soft or if their lips are sweet..."

Just as Pan Zhanle was getting carried away, a tall figure suddenly blocked their path.

"Hi, nice to meet you, Ming!"

Pan Zhanle looked up and saw a foreign athlete standing right in front of them.

He looked very familiar, but Pan Zhanle couldn't quite put a finger on who he was.

While he was still trying to recall, he saw the tall foreign woman stride directly up to Wang Xiaoming.

*Mwah!*