Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Bottleneck? I Have a Clever Solution

Ever since Ling Yu withdrew from the global sports meet, his every move has been magnified.

Even if he goes out to get a haircut and gets spotted, people online would scold him for not properly reflecting on himself and becoming stronger through shame. They’d say he’s busy grooming himself to pursue a celebrity path and make money.

Xu Ying looked at Ling Yu before her. He appeared in poor mental condition, with gloom written all over his face.

Even standing under the glaring desert sun, there seemed to be an invisible shadow hanging over him.

Xu Ying recalled a segment in a personal interview where they played a video of the competition four years ago, with Ling Yu standing on the podium, draped in the national flag, his smile bright, looking full of ambition. A sour feeling stirred within Xu Ying.

An academic superstar who consistently scores highest might cause disappointment among teachers and parents with just one bad performance, rendering past honors seemingly negligible.

Ling Yu was confronting the expectations of more than a billion “parents and teachers” nationwide.

“I have to do about six hours of pre-competition training every day. Can I spend the remaining time helping at the shelter?”

Ling Yu felt he was already imposing too much on Xu Ying: “Don’t treat me as an outsider, use me as much as you please!”

Xu Ying nodded: “Of course you can.”

Who wouldn’t ask for help when a strong elite athlete is willing to work for free?

“However, it’s already late October, and you have your competition in a bit over a month. I’m afraid volunteer work might affect you.”

Ling Yu gave a bitter smile: “It won’t. Nothing could be worse than things are now.”

“Preparing for December’s competition is incredibly stressful for me; I’m already to the point of being unable to sleep through an entire night.”

“Each time I stand before the hurdles post-comeback, I can’t concentrate. My mind keeps replaying the online abuse, the disappointment in my coach’s eyes, the sympathy and pity from my teammates…”

“Only when I watch the videos of you interacting with the animals do I feel the world quiet down, albeit temporarily.”

“I’m currently stuck in a plateau; my results are very unstable. Occasionally, I can reach my previous speed, but this might be my last time participating in world-class events.”

“I don’t know if I’ve already passed my peak, whether I’ll ever get back to where I was, but after all, I’m already twenty-five…”

Xu Ying noticed Ling Yu’s expression growing more confused and quickly interrupted his thoughts, pulling him to the shelter’s entrance: “Don’t think about all that now!”

“Since you’re already here, let’s get to work!”

“Let’s get you acquainted with our shelter’s animals now!”

Xu Ying opened the shelter door, letting Ling Yu wait outside while she made the fox cubs ready before calling Ling Yu in.

“Kids, we’re going to have a new caretaker soon. When your sister isn’t at the shelter, he’s in charge of feeding and playing with you.”

“This caretaker has won a world championship! He’s the fastest human in the 110-meter hurdles~”

Xu Ying explained the concept of hurdling to the foxes.

“And he’s your fan~”

[World! Champion! Is our fan?]

The ear foxes, hearing Xu Ying, opened their mouths in surprise.

Fox Boss smugly ruffled the tufts of hair on his head: [See, we ear foxes are just that popular~]

Fox Erniu: [Is he really fast? Faster than ostriches and cheetahs?]

Xu Ying, upon hearing Er Bao’s words, suddenly had a bright idea, a possible way to help Ling Yu break through his bottleneck—to try it tomorrow.

Fox Sansan, as a face-conscious individual, of course was most curious about the new caretaker’s appearance: [Is he handsome?]

Fox Si Bao was plotting quietly in the corner, urging the obedient Fox Xiao Wu to steal the dry milk powder from the jar and thus missed Xu Ying’s words. Xu Ying seized Fox Si Bao by the neck and lifted him up.

“Si Bao, stop eating that! Too much dry milk powder causes heatiness! You even want to lead Xiao Wu astray. Your punishment is three sips less milk tonight.”

Fox Si Bao pawed helplessly in the air: [Sister~ I know my mistake! We’ll properly welcome the new caretaker!]

The other little foxes also nodded, ready for the fan meeting: [Let our fan in~]

Xu Ying called Ling Yu in.

The moment Ling Yu entered, the little ear foxes waved the little red handkerchiefs from last night’s dance and chirped excitedly to welcome Ling Yu.

Ling Yu, upon seeing the little ear foxes, couldn’t move a step. His tense posture relaxed considerably.

He felt the excitement and awkwardness of a fan meeting an idol.

Whenever he was enveloped in negative emotions, watching videos of the little foxes would temporarily dispel his troubles, leaving only feelings of happiness and warmth.

Ling Yu turned to Xu Ying, somewhat perplexed: “Wh—what should I do?”

Xu Ying found the world champion’s excitement amusing: “Take your time to connect with them, just like you would with cats and dogs!”

Ling Yu nodded, seriously disinfecting his hands with alcohol spray, then cautiously reached out to the little foxes.

Ever outgoing and a fan of handsome guys, Fox Sansan bounded over.

Its dusty little paw made a “slap” on Ling Yu’s palm, leaving a grayish paw print on his fair hand.

[Wow, you’re really handsome too. I can’t believe there are so many handsome guys at sister’s shelter! A police officer, a rancher, a world champion. Which one should I pick as brother-in-law? Such a hard choice!]

Xu Ying’s face flushed instantly, quickly pinching Fox Sansan’s chirping mouth, manually silencing her. This girl couldn’t be saved from her romance-oriented mind.

Ling Yu heard Fox Sansan’s incessant chirping and, knowing Xu Ying could understand animal speech, asked her: “What’s it chirping about?”

Xu Ying glanced at the gray paw print on Ling Yu’s palm and made up an explanation: “It said this paw print is a fan-signature from a female celebrity.”

“This little fox, so vain and fond of handsome guys, really likes you because of your looks.”

“Ah! I remember now.”

Ling Yu, as a diehard fan of Xu Ying’s livestream, immediately connected the dots: “This one is Sanbao, Fox Sansan, isn’t it?”

Animals have pure affection; they don’t judge people by wins or losses.

Be kind to them, and they’ll reciprocate—it’s as simple as that.

Being recognized and loved by the little foxes, Ling Yu’s eyes lit up with smiles, softening the gloom around him.

He gently pinched Fox Sansan’s little paw with two fingers for a friendly handshake, then began recognizing the other little foxes and noticed the one farthest from him with its arms crossed: “This aloof one must be Boss!”

“This one looks full of vigor, it’s Erniu…”

Ling Yu accurately identified each little fox, and each fox cub, upon being named, was surprised and delighted.

Other animals might not always distinguish them apart!

The little ear foxes soon got familiar with Ling Yu, their devoted fan.

With Ling Yu’s help to carry water, clean, and care for the fox cubs, Xu Ying felt much more relaxed.

The sun was nearing the horizon, the outside temperature gradually dropping, no longer as hot as it was at noon.

“Little Xu Station Chief, I need to start preparing for training.”

Ling Yu reluctantly bid farewell to the little foxes.

Xu Ying, holding the fox cubs, blinked curiously: “Can I and the fox cubs watch you train?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep