CHAPTER 38: YOU DON’T HAVE TO ENDURE IT

But by now, Rong Xingyu could barely hear the shouts around him. The pain roared in his ears like thunder.

Still, he kept running.

Like someone making one last desperate fight before death, he found strength hidden deep inside his exhaustion and agony.

Rong Xingyu was barely conscious, he keep running forward only by pure will, the belief that he couldn’t let the cheater win.

And then, when he finally crossed the finish line, his body suddenly gave out, like a tightly pulled string that had finally snapped.

He collapsed to the side.

But before he could hit the ground, a warm embrace caught him.

And from that embrace came a low sigh, almost like a whisper carried by the wind.

"Why are you always so stubborn?"

That gentle sigh drifted away in the wind and Rong Xingyu didn’t quite catch the words.

He only felt himself being pulled into a warm chest and strong arms that was supporting him firmly. For some reason, his wildly beating heart suddenly felt calm, as if it had finally found a place to rest.

All around him, the crowd was cheering and calling his name, but Rong Xingyu only heard that low, familiar voice again.

"Yuyu, don’t stop yet. Walk a few steps slowly first."

"...Dr. Ding?"

Ding Yixin paused for a moment before replying softly, "It’s me."

He extended his arm, not just to support Rong Xingyu, but almost as if he was gathering the young man completely into his embrace.

The surrounding students who saw that he was the school doctor quickly stepped aside to make way and letting Dr. Ding escort Rong Xingyu off the track to treat his injury.

After a long distance race, the body was still under heavy strain and couldn’t stop moving all at once.

Rong Xingyu understood this, so he obediently followed Dr. Ding’s deliberately slowed pace. Without realizing it, he leaned most of his weight against the doctor’s arm.

From a distance, the two of them looked almost as if they were walking in a quiet embrace.

The pain continued to pulse sharply from the scrape on Rong Xingyu’s knee. Cold sweat dampened his forehead, but even then, his thoughts were still on the race.

Tilting his head up slightly from within Dr. Ding’s arms, he asked in a weak but earnest voice, "Dr. Ding... did I win first place?"

Ding Yixin was silent for a moment.

He looked at the boy’s pale face, the sweat beading on his temples and those clear eyes that still shone like stars despite the pain. His expression softened strangely.

"Yes," he finally said. "You’re first."

Maybe it was because of the pain, but Rong Xingyu’s voice sounded faint and fragile. The corners of his lips lifted in a small, tired smile. "That’s... really great..."

Dr. Ding didn’t reply again. He just looked quietly into the boy’s eyes.

When Rong Xingyu’s breathing had steadied a little, he suddenly felt his body lift from the ground.

The strong arm he had been leaning on slid beneath his knees and before he could react, Dr. Ding had picked him up in his arms.

Feeling startled, Rong Xingyu gave a small gasp and instinctively clutched at the front of the doctor’s white coat.

"D-Dr. Ding?"

Without breaking stride, Ding Yixin carried him firmly and swiftly toward the infirmary.

Looking down at him, his eyes carried an unreadable depth. His voice, low and steady, came out softer than usual.

"Yuyu... you don’t have to hold it in. You’ve already done great."

Rong Xingyu froze.

He wanted to say that the wound didn’t hurt that much, that it wasn’t necessary to trouble Dr. Ding, that he could walk by himself.

But when he heard those words, something inside him tightened, like invisible fingers closing gently around his throat and he couldn’t speak at all.

All his life, he had heard words like these before, but never in this tone.

"Xingyu, you’re older now. Leave this for your younger siblings."

"Xingyu, be mature. Endure it, it’ll pass."

"Xingyu, be strong. Everything will be fine."

Even Rong Xingyu himself often told himself the same things.

But now, someone was telling him, you don’t have to endure it.

That he had already done well enough.

His fingers tightened around the front of Dr. Ding’s white coat.

And finally, unable to stop himself, Rong Xingyu buried his face against the doctor’s chest.

He trembled softly, like a small, soaked kitten curling up in the only warmth it could find, and quietly hiding in the man’s embrace, finally letting go.

It really hurt.

Tears welled up in Rong Xingyu’s eyes and soon soaked through the front of Dr. Ding’s white coat.

Feeling the dampness against his chest, Ding Yixin paused briefly, then pushed open the door to the infirmary and carried Rong Xingyu inside.

Ding Yixin carried Rong Xingyu all the way to a single bed behind the curtain in the infirmary.

He gently placed the young man down on the bed and was about to stand up when he suddenly felt a small but firm tug holding him back.

Looking down, he saw that Rong Xingyu was gripping the front of his coat tightly and refusing to let go.

"...Yuyu?" Dr. Ding’s voice softened.

Hearing him speak, Rong Xingyu shivered slightly, like a startled animal. Then he shook his head while still in Dr. Ding’s arms, even trying to burrow in deeper, unwilling to move.

It was rare for him to act this stubborn and refusing to lift his head at all.

Dr. Ding’s tone carried a hint of helpless amusement. "Yuyu, be good. I need to treat your wound."

The scrape on his knee had only been sprayed with disinfectant earlier and it needed proper cleaning.

Only then did Rong Xingyu finally release his grip, though he sat at the edge of the bed with his head lowered, still refusing to look at him.

When he finally lifted his face, Dr. Ding immediately understood why.

The young man’s face was streaked with tears, his eyes and the tip of his nose flushed red, he looked so pitiful it was almost painful to see.