Chapter 67: I have been so good to you, and yet you want to repay kindness with enmity?

When it came to the 1500-meter swimming event, it was not as if Huaxia had never achieved any results. Yet, those results were practically no different from having none at all. Therefore, seeing Wang Xiaoming in this state, people could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.

Fortunately, at least he had not missed the competition. Everyone still vividly remembered his declaration before the match:
"I will participate in every single swimming event!"

However, apart from the Huaxia audience, viewers from other countries were immensely joyful! With Wang Xiaoming in such a state, what was there for them to fear?

The athletes from their own countries had arrived at the venue early to prepare for the race, but what about him? He had cut it close, arriving at the venue in the very last few seconds! Earlier, he had brazenly boasted about entering every competition and sweeping all the gold medals. Who did he think he was? Did he really consider himself a god?

"This time, victory is absolute. I refuse to believe Wang Xiaoming can turn this around!"
"Hahaha, with an attitude like that, can he actually win?"
"The Chinese are always like this—feigning modesty and moderation on the surface, but utterly arrogant to the bone!"
"Look at how hard our country's athlete trains, and then look at himself. How can they even compare?"
"All athletes, please get ready! The race is about to begin!"

In the final second, Wang Xiaoming stood on the starting block. Gazing at the dazzling array of lights, he found himself momentarily lost in thought. Step by step, the possibility of his younger sister's full recovery was drawing closer and closer!

As for women, Wang Xiaoming was never in short supply. At the very least, he did not lack women like Carly. Furthermore, he had seen right through whatever schemes Carly harbored in her heart. Yet, even though he could tell, Carly had been forced by circumstances in the beginning. Facing such a woman, Wang Xiaoming merely felt pity.

After giving Carly's two full moons a thorough hands-on treatment, he had discovered the underlying issue with her body. It was likely caused by prolonged training, which had severely deformed her thigh bones. If things continued this way, her post-retirement life would probably be far from comfortable. After all, society was not particularly kind to retired athletes—whether domestically or abroad.

Perhaps he was tempted by Carly's beauty, or perhaps he simply wanted to offer some compensation in return for taking advantage of her two full moons. Wang Xiaoming had spent a considerable amount of time massaging her, a process that could only be described as excruciatingly torturous. That was solely because the woman's cries were so soul-stirringly alluring that he had almost regretted it! Not only that, but once the massage concluded, the woman had actually tried to get hands-on with him.

I treated you so well, and yet you repay kindness with ingratitude? How could he possibly tolerate that? Right then and there, he flipped her over and gave those two full moons a few resounding smacks. This was the exact reason why Carly's face had been flushed bright red when she entered the arena.

Upon learning the entire sequence of events, the coach from the Beautiful Country turned ashen. He had never expected Wang Xiaoming to be such a man of strict moral integrity! If that was the case, then the earlier rumor about him spending the night with the Romance Country's athlete must have been false as well, right?

"Bastards! These Huaxia people are truly as cunning and vicious as the rumors say!"

From his perspective, the events of that morning were deliberately leaked to them by the Huaxia athletes. Their sole purpose had been to feed them false information! Truly malicious to the extreme. No wonder their ancestors could never defeat the predecessors of Huaxia; the sheer depth of their stratagems was overwhelming.

As for the greeting Wang Xiaoming had given him right before taking the stage, he no longer had any idea what it meant. He could only assume it was a deliberate provocation directed at him!

At this thought, he could not help letting out a cold snort. "Even if you managed to rush here, and even if you weren't drained dry, you have zero preparation and haven't even warmed up. I refuse to believe you can still win the gold medal!"

After a quick change of clothes, Wang Xiaoming stood atop the starting platform. The 1500-meter race was not merely a test of endurance; it was also a contest of explosive power. Perhaps a single second of explosive drive was all it took to surge into first place in one fell swoop!

Standing right beside Wang Xiaoming was the athlete from the Beautiful Country. Seeing Wang Xiaoming appear next to him, the athlete felt a surge of eager anticipation. Everyone said Wang Xiaoming was the current god of the swimming world! If he could defeat him, what did first place matter? What did a gold medal matter? He would be the true god of the swimming world!

At this thought, the athlete grew utterly ecstatic. He had spent eight grueling years training through bitter winters and scorching summers, treating every single training session as if it were an official race. His painstaking efforts were definitely something this young man beside him could never hope to match. Not to mention, right before a major tournament, this young man had actually been distracted by romance! Such a person could never be his match.

Suddenly, a poem from Huaxia flashed through his mind. He immediately turned his head to look at Wang Xiaoming.

"Hey, Wang!"

Wang Xiaoming looked over at his neighboring competitor, bewildered.

The Beautiful Country athlete flashed eight dazzling white teeth and said to him with utmost confidence, "When I harbor the ambition to reach the clouds, I dare to mock Xiaoming for lacking a hero's soul!"

For a split second, Wang Xiaoming was stunned. Then, he burst into a roar of laughter! He had to admit, the Beautiful Country was truly deceitful! Having failed with a beauty trap earlier, they were now resorting to a fool's trap right here on the field! Were they trying to make him laugh to death?

Facing such an amusing opponent, Wang Xiaoming made up his mind. "Rest assured, I won't let you lose too miserably!" With that, he flashed a gesture implying he had everything under control.

"What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on me?" The Beautiful Country athlete wore an expression of displeasure.

To his surprise, Wang Xiaoming simply shook his head. "No, no, no. What I mean is, I've already decided that for this race, I will lead you by precisely this much!"

The race was about to begin, leaving the Beautiful Country athlete no time to dwell on words! He channeled all his resentment into raw motivation, determined to ruthlessly crush Wang Xiaoming in the upcoming race!

Shortly after, accompanied by the shrill sound of a whistle, all the athletes assumed their positions!

The next instant...

With a resounding "bang," the starting pistol fired. Everyone plunged into the water simultaneously, kicking up splashes of water like a school of leaping dolphins!

The spectators in the stands were still caught up in the relief of Wang Xiaoming's timely arrival. They completely failed to notice that, right from the very beginning, Wang Xiaoming was cutting through the water like a white dragon amidst the waves, swiftly seizing the lead!

"Look! Big Brother Ming is already in first place right off the start!"
"Awesome! Could it be that the plan has changed and we're champions once again~?"
"Keep your cool! After all, this is a 1500-meter race; the second half is what truly matters!"

Yet, as the laps ticked away, everyone began to notice something was amiss! Even the coach of the Beautiful Country athlete caught onto Wang Xiaoming's terrifying pace.

"What on earth is going on? Why does this Wang Xiaoming seem even faster than before?"

In an instant, everyone was utterly baffled! This was a 1500-meter race, so why did Wang Xiaoming's speed appear even faster than a 50-meter sprint? Was he recklessly squandering his stamina like this, meaning he intended to give up on the second half?

However, the coach from the Beautiful Country had spotted a telling detail. Why did it look as though Wang Xiaoming was consistently maintaining a lead of precisely one finger-width ahead of their country's athlete the entire time?