175 Aftermath

Tang Yan once again made headlines on major sports websites.

"Tang Yan Fumbles!"

"Magical Reversal to Magical Choke!"

"What Really Went Wrong With Tang Yan"

"Hidden Injury? End Of A Legend In The Making!"

The internet was littered with articles, some informative others pure clickbait...

...

The reports about Tang Yan were overwhelming to say the least. People were anxious and afraid of something happening to Tang Yan. He was their hope of gaining a world-class swimmer.

In Lotus City, propaganda about Tang Yan was being spread out. The council was working hard in order to turn it into a tourist destination and build a tour around him. They had even added Tang Yan to the city's promotional video.

Even the local companies hopped onto the scheme and whilst his loss had slowed down the momentum of his fame, his achievements so far motivated them to push forward.

It was no exaggeration to say that with the continuous breakthroughs of Tang Yan in sports, his reputation and status in the country was skyrocketing.

Whilst things were simmering as people awaited news from the swimming team.

Weibo which was already filled with commotion, a post suddenly exploded and began trending.

A post by a female account called "Max Lvl Healer Biyu" received crazy retweets and likes on Weibo.

It was a photo of Tang Yan from a day ago, asleep on a chair in a hospital.

With the caption: "I met Tang Yan's twin on duty".

But what really sparked the netizens was a post on (Baidu) Post Bar forum. From a user claiming to be connected to the swimming team, which claimed that the reason that Tang Yan was absent from the 800-meter freestyle race and performed so abnormally today was because he went back home to check on his mum who was in the hospital.

After this information came out, paired with people finding the photo of him asleep. Netizens glued everything together and begun discussing:

"No wonder Tang Yan lost, imagine how tired he must have been"

↪ "Yeah it's like a 6 hour journey I swear, to come back from that and go straight into competing after 4 days straight of intense competition as well. Especially after such an intense 100m freestyle race, he must be knackered, I reckon he just didn't have anything left in him, which is why he lost."

↪ "Yeah, I can understand why he lost now. It's really unfortunate but at least he tried his best, he looked in bad shape when he was carried out though, hopefully it's only like a cramp not a pulled hamstring or something worse. #FamilyFirst #ComeBackPending"

↪ "No excuses, what the hell is he doing going back anyway! Now look how the Americans are celebrating. What a piece of trash. You get paid for one job so do it right. #TangYanFail"

↪ Shut up you unfilial, hating ass, oxygen wasting, talentless, unwanted piece of human excrement.

↪ (ಠ_ಠ)━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

↪ Oh sh*t, you didn't have to violate him like that

↪ (⌐■-■)

.....

Tang Yan was taken straight to the team doctor.

He got evaluated whilst Shen Qing watched anxiously and Song Xiaocheng held a cold look across his face.

The doctors final evaluation was that there was no major injury but he had heavily worn his body out especially his hamstring and calves by forcefully powering through his cramps and pushing ahead. He had muscle fatigue, nerve fatigue and slightly strained muscles.

Whilst nothing major, he had to rest for a day or two to allow his body to recover properly or he would be pushing himself onto the knife edge, heading out completely with a pulled hamstring or calf if not careful.

So he was sent home with strict instructions to stay off his feet and rest, luckily he didn't have an event tomorrow.

He had just initiated his plan to stay in bed when he got a call.

The caller Id showed it was Yan Bing, he picked up with a small smile.

"Don't you know it's rude not to call back?"

"...."

"But I know you're busy, so I guess I can give you a pass, where do you live now, I'll come to you."

"You're coming to see me?"

"Yeah, Auntie told me you got a place in Shanghai. I wanna see it."

"...urmm, sure..." Tang Yan hesitated for a second but told Yan Bing the address.

He laid about for an hour and just as he was getting sleepy, the doorbell rang.

He got up and walked to the door, and looked out through the cat's eyes. Yan Bing was wearing a casual dress, she was standing outside with a thermos cool box in hand.

He opened the door and said, "You got here so late, how are you gonna head back later? It's getting dark."

"I'll walk back, it's not too far. Besides, what's a little bit of darkness, are you forgetting who protected you when you were a kid." Yan Bing shook her fist as she entered the room with a smile.

Tang Yan said nothing and closed the door and said, "I'll call you a taxi to take you back later."

"It's okay, come taste the mapo-tofu I cooked for you." Yan Bing didn't consider herself an outsider. After she came in, she walked directly to the sofa and opened up the cooler box she brought. Taking out a bunch of dishes.

It took Tang Yan a moment to notice that Yan Bing had brought in food.

"I'm not hungry, plus my diet is very strict."

"I know, but you can rest assured, it's vegetarian just spicy sauce made with fermented black beans and fermented broad bean paste, along with hot red pepper and Sichuan pepper, there's no meat." Yan Bing seemed to have done her homework before coming.

Tang Yan scratched his head. To be honest, he didn't expect Yan Bing to come over suddenly.

He moved down to the sofa.

"Come, it took me more than an hour to cook it. Just try it, give me face." Yan Bing said with a smile.

Tang Yan nodded and took two spoonfuls after moving over, spicy and soft.

"Wow not bad."

"Okay, obediently eat, it's very helpful to reduce physical fatigue."

Tang Yan smiled, and nodded, even though he was a big name now, in Yan Bing's eyes, he was still the little kid who followed her about.

"I heard about Auntie, is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's okay, it was just a small mishap, nothing major." Tang Yan swallowed the food in his mouth and said.

"Ok, that's good. You know I still can't believe you've suddenly become a professional athlete, I don't remember you being so sporty." Yan Bing said, looking around the room.

"Hahaha things change. Look at me now, I'm not the same as when I was a kid." Tang Yan replied.

"True. We haven't seen each other for more than ten years. It's been a long time and a lot of things have changed." Yan Bing said with emotion.

"Yeah, what are you studying again?" Tang Yan asked, looking up.

"Well, I'm studying Economics and Management but I don't like it. I plan to graduate next year and try to get a post as an intern reporter."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get it." Tang Yan continued eating, no matter if it was the Yan Bing in his memory or seeing her as a volunteer at the World Championships. Compared with working as a manager in an office, being a reporter profession seemed more suitable.

"Do you remember the time when you tried to steal a bird's nest and almost got caught by your dad? Actually thinking about it now, the fact you were able to climb such a tall tree is actually very athletic!"

"Haha yeah I remember, if you didn't stop me in time, my dad probably would've peeled off a layer of skin of me..."

"Haha Uncle let you off easy, that tree..."

While eating, the two talked and the sense of distance between them began to fade.