Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 396 - 336: We Need the World’s Best Team Doctor

「The next morning.」

When Chen Yu arrived at the dining hall, Liu Xiang and his coach were already there.

After getting some food and sitting down, Chen Yu noticed Liu Xiang just poking at the food on his plate with a fork, barely taking a bite.

"You have to eat something. You can’t compete on an empty stomach," Sun Haiping coaxed gently from the side.

Liu Xiang mumbled an agreement and speared a small piece of fried egg, but he couldn’t bring himself to eat any more.

Sun Haiping’s brow furrowed in worry, but he didn’t know what else to say.

Chen Yu saw all of this.

’It might not just be his mood affecting his appetite. The food might genuinely not suit his palate, or just be plain awful.’

’My talk with him last night should have been helpful.’

’With the buff from my communication skills, plus a Silver Level psychological therapy effect, it had to have done something.’

After a moment of thought, Chen Yu stood up and said, "Wait here."

Chen Yu walked straight to the kitchen.

"Dr. Chen, is the food not to your liking? What do you need? We have fresh foie gras and truffles that just arrived this morning, and also king crab." The head chef, who surprisingly recognized Chen Yu, immediately came over to ask.

Chen Yu’s stomach turned. ’Foie gras first thing in the morning? Isn’t that incredibly rich?’

"I’d like to cook something myself," Chen Yu said as he started gathering ingredients.

His goal: a bowl of small wontons.

And maybe some pan-fried dumplings.

’The pork won’t do, the gamey taste is too strong. I’ll use beef.’

"It’s not perfect, but it’ll have to do." About an hour later, Chen Yu placed a bowl of beef and shrimp wontons in front of Liu Xiang.

’The ingredients were passable, but the seasonings were a real pain to find.’

"What’s this?" Liu Xiang was stunned.

"What do you think? Hurry up and eat."

Chen Yu placed a bowl in front of himself as well and started digging in.

’The taste is still a little off, but the feeling is right. So comforting.’

Chen Yu was truly sick of bread and butter.

Liu Xiang nodded blankly, picked up his spoon, and started to eat.

As he ate, the familiar taste suddenly made his eyes well up and turn red.

"Tastes pretty authentic," Sun Haiping commented graciously.

Chen Yu had already finished his bowl. He stood up and patted Liu Xiang’s shoulder. "When you’re done, give your family a call. You didn’t even go back for the Spring Festival."

Liu Xiang froze for a second, then nodded firmly.

「The semi-finals were at two in the afternoon.」

This time, Liu Xiang was assigned to Group A, which included Alan Johnson.

Before the race, in the locker room, Alan Johnson got another call from Chen Yu.

"Chen, do you have a grudge against him or something? Why do you keep doing this?" Alan Johnson asked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry after hearing Chen Yu’s request.

’Most importantly, I don’t want to do this.’

Having endured so many hardships to become the king of hurdles, Alan Johnson knew very well how difficult the path was. He wasn’t the type of person to do something so malicious.

"Just this last time. Do me a favor," Chen Yu pleaded.

"Alright."

Alan Johnson sighed and agreed.

Soon, the athletes of Group A were at the starting line.

Alan Johnson was in lane two, while Liu Xiang was in lane six.

He silently adjusted his short-sleeved shirt, tucking it neatly into his shorts. Just then, feeling a gaze, Liu Xiang turned his head.

From three lanes over, Liu Xiang met Alan Johnson’s provocative stare.

Alan Johnson sneered, raised his right hand with a thumbs-up, and then slowly turned it upside down.

The color drained from Liu Xiang’s face.

In the prep area, Sun Haiping saw the gesture.

Beside him, Shi Dongpeng had already blurted out, "Son of a bitch."

"Xiaoshi, what’s going on with Liu Xiang and Alan Johnson? Did they have a fight?" Sun Haiping asked with a frown.

Shi Dongpeng snorted and didn’t explain, just said angrily, "That guy’s a piece of shit."

Sun Haiping looked toward Liu Xiang.

Liu Xiang withdrew his gaze, his face so calm that no change in expression could be seen.

At the referee’s signal, the runners bent down into their stances.

After adjusting his feet, Liu Xiang looked up. The hurdles stood before him, one after another, overlapping like a series of gates.

Or a series of mountain peaks.

With every hurdle, Liu Xiang felt like he was conquering a peak, surpassing himself.

At that moment, Liu Xiang recalled what Chen Yu had said yesterday.

’If you want to earn respect, there’s only one way: become the strongest!’

He took a deep breath and exhaled. Everything else faded from Liu Xiang’s vision. The cheers from the stands, the sound of his competitors breathing beside him—it all grew faint.

It was as if the world had fallen silent.

Into that void, the sound of the starting pistol cracked.

His muscles exploded with power, and Liu Xiang shot forward.

In just a few steps, the first hurdle was already upon him. In that instant, his mind went blank, and all his movements became pure physical instinct.

But deep down, a voice echoed, reminding him to lift his leg, to tuck his shin.

With his mind clear of all distractions, Liu Xiang had entered a wondrous state. The muscle memory from his endless training was awakening, carrying his body forward.

A few short seconds later, Liu Xiang crossed the finish line like a gust of wind.

In the stands, Chen Yu’s eyes immediately shot to the screen.

It had all happened too fast. The victory was decided by a hair’s breadth, impossible to see clearly with the naked eye.

The next moment, the results appeared.

The first name was still Alan Johnson: 7.50 seconds.

He was still first, and it looked like he hadn’t even given it his all.

Right behind him, Chen Yu saw a familiar name.

Liu Xiang, 7.53 seconds.

Chen Yu immediately broke into a smile.

In the prep area, Sun Haiping erupted like a volcano, leaping high into the air and turning to hug Feng Shuyong in his excitement.

"He broke the Asian record!" Sun Haiping shouted, beside himself with excitement.

The existing Asian record for the indoor 60-meter hurdles, 7.55 seconds, was set by Chinese athlete Li Tong in 1996 and had stood for seven years.

Feng Shuyong was just as excited. With a time like that, if Liu Xiang could maintain it, he had a real shot at a medal in the finals.

Next to Liu Xiang, Anil Garcia sized him up in astonishment.

He knew of Liu Xiang, of course; he knew this was a very talented young man.

But that was all.

Every year, one or two promising prospects would emerge—so-called "geniuses"—but there was only one crown, and only a select few were ever able to wear it.

He had been in lane five, right next to Liu Xiang, and had crossed the finish line right after him to take third place.

But thinking back on the race, he felt that Liu Xiang beside him had been frighteningly fast. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t catch up.

Also stunned was Alan Johnson.

As he stood with his arms outstretched, soaking in the crowd’s cheers, he turned to look at Liu Xiang, a serious expression appearing in his eyes for the first time.

Before this, he had never truly seen Liu Xiang as a rival.

Even when Chen Yu kept asking him to provoke Liu Xiang, he had just thought it was Chen Yu’s way of encouraging and motivating him.

Chen Yu believed Liu Xiang could surpass him, but Alan Johnson hadn’t thought so.

But now, the impossible seemed to be becoming possible.

When he’d crossed the finish line, he had caught Liu Xiang in his peripheral vision. He was seriously fast, right on his heels, the gap just a hair’s breadth.

Just as he was watching, Liu Xiang, as if sensing his gaze, looked over.

His eyes were calm, but held a hidden ferocity.

’He’s responding to me!’

Alan Johnson shrugged and looked away. ’Looks like Chen Yu was right. This guy is pretty impressive.’

’Of course, he’s still a ways off from surpassing me.’

Only after walking off the track did a smile finally appear on Liu Xiang’s face. He accepted his teammates’ congratulations, hugged his coach, and then he saw Chen Yu walking toward him.

"Dr. Chen, thank you." He extended his hand, his eyes filled with gratitude.

"Don’t mention it."

Chen Yu waved a hand and smiled. "I told you, you have the ability. And it’s not just about breaking records—you can win the gold medal!"

Chen Yu tapped Liu Xiang on the chest.

"The gold medal?"

Liu Xiang was taken aback for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "I think I can do it."

"Let’s go."

Chen Yu nodded in satisfaction. ’I wasn’t wrong. This kid’s got it.’

Back in the locker room, Chen Yu personally administered physical therapy to help Liu Xiang relax his body.

"We’ll go back to the hotel and do some recovery exercises, then get some rest early tonight. Keep this momentum going. By the way, what do you want to eat? I’ll figure out a way to make it for you," Chen Yu asked.

Eat well, sleep well, get his body into peak condition, and go all out for the final push tomorrow.

Liu Xiang nodded hard, then asked tentatively, "Could you make braised pork belly?"

Chen Yu grimaced. ’You really know how to give me a challenge.’

’Don’t you know the United Kingdom has a ban on castration? The pork on the market is basically inedible.’

"How about fish instead? Steamed. I hear you like fish," Chen Yu said.

Liu Xiang smiled and nodded vigorously.

Back at the hotel, just as Chen Yu got out of the car, the lobby manager with the neatly styled hair approached him and said with considerable elegance, "Mr. Chen, a gentleman is waiting for you. Would you like to go see him?"

Chen Yu paused, surprised, and asked who it was.

"A Mr. Perez from Spain."

Chen Yu was taken aback again. ’Perez from Spain? Doesn’t ring a bell at all.’

After a moment’s thought, Chen Yu nodded. "Take me to him."

"He’s a busy man," Sun Haiping couldn’t help but remark as he watched Chen Yu walk away.

Ever since arriving in the United Kingdom, Chen Yu had been meeting people one after another.

In the hotel restaurant, Chen Yu met this Mr. Perez.

He was dressed in a sharp suit and wore glasses, with a bodyguard standing behind him. Sitting in a corner of the restaurant, he saw Chen Yu walk in, immediately stood up, and extended his hand.

"Dr. Chen, we finally meet," he said with a broad smile.

Chen Yu gave him a strange look and said, "Hello, Mr. Perez."

Chen Yu had never met the man in person, but he knew who he was.

The president of the Real Madrid Club, Florentino Perez.

In 2000, he successfully took charge of Real Madrid and his first move was to buy Figo from their crosstown archrivals.

After that, he adopted a "one superstar per year" strategy, waving cash around crazily all over Europe.

After sitting down and waiting for the waiter to serve coffee, Chen Yu finally asked Florentino his reason for coming.

’This old man came all the way to the United Kingdom. It can’t be as simple as just wanting to meet me.’

Florentino beckoned to the bodyguard behind him.

The bodyguard took a folder from his briefcase and handed it over.

Florentino pushed it across to Chen Yu and said, "Dr. Chen, I’ve heard your name for a long time. You are the best doctor on this planet. you’ve healed so many players and saved many careers."

A whole string of compliments.

"You probably know that Real Madrid’s team-building strategy is centered on superstars. We want to have the best stars in the world. But this year, something occurred to me. While having the best stars in the world, I feel we should also have the best team doctor in the world."

"Which is you."

He smiled and pointed at Chen Yu.

By this time, Chen Yu had already opened the folder.

Inside were a few blank sheets of paper, along with a check on which a string of numbers was already written.

A full five million euros!

It was only then that Chen Yu realized what was happening. The old man was here to poach him.