Demons Beside You

Forty kilometers was almost a marathon. (An actual marathon is 42.195 kilometers long).

It would not be strange if an athlete could finish a marathon, of course, but Normans was still 90 kilograms now.

Running a marathon with her weight was not only a test of her stamina, but also one of her willpower.

When they arrived at the stadium, even Normans’ jacket was wet.

“Drink some water.” Chen Zhao passed her a bottle of water.

She downed all the water one mouthful. As she walked to relieve the soreness in her muscles, she looked at Chen Zhao.

“Asshole, are you not tired at all?”

“Of course I am.”

“But you look like you can run much more.”

“I wouldn’t say that. Can’t you see I’m covered in sweat?” Chen Zhao said.

Normans placed her hand on Chen Zhao’s chest. “Your heart rate is normal. Are you a monster?”

“Chen.” They could already see Bord waving his hand in the distance.

Chen Zhao walked up and gave Bord a hug. Bord felt Chen Zhao’s sweat. “Chen, why are you covered in sweat?”

“My friend and I just ran a marathon’s distance,” Chen Zhao answered. “This is Normans. I’m her slimming coach now. This is Bord, a professional fitness coach.”

“Hi...” Bord and Normans shook each other’s hand.

“Chen, are you a full-time coach now?”

“Nope, she’s only one of my clients,” Chen Zhao replied.

Normans twitched her lips. “Which of you is more professional, I wonder?”

She was deliberately trying to provoke the two of them. Chen Zhao and Bord looked at each other and smiled together.

They would not be incited by Normans’ taunt. After all, Bord had even received his current job from Chen Zhao.

As Rufford’s coach, he had a decent income at the moment.

He could not thank Chen Zhao enough. Clearly, he would not be angry at Chen Zhao.

“Alright. It’s about time that we should enter.”

“Bord, what competition is this?”

“National Elite. If Rufford can perform well here, he will probably be eligible for Diamond League next year.”

“Rufford? I know him. I’ve watched his competitions before,” Normans said immediately. “Is your friend Rufford?”

“Yup.”

“Chen is also Rufford’s private doctor. Just over a month ago, Rufford was at the trough of his life. Luckily, he met Chen.”

After bringing Chen Zhao and Normans to their seats, Bord went to the backstage.

When Rufford came out onto the field, he looked at Chen Zhao’s direction. Then, he waved his hand.

Chen Zhao nodded gently in return. Normans glanced at him. “Are you very close?”

“Kind of. I’ve helped him before, but I’m also investing in him.”

“Is his result now because of you?”

“A bit.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve made some kind of stimulant for him.”

“Please. With the current technology, do you think an illegal doctor like me can create a stimulant that can bypass urine tests and blood tests? You’re really overestimating me. I didn’t even give him any legal drugs, not to mention stimulants.”

Rufford was the most popular athlete in the competition. Since he reappeared not long ago, he had been continuously producing excellent results.

He was like a newborn star in sprinting. In the few competitions that he had, he had remarkable performances.

At the moment, he was already in the top ten among the track and field athletes in America. In addition, his 100m sprint record was the best in the year. His international ranking was just over fifty.

In fact, with his results in the last five competitions, Rufford could have entered ten top, or perhaps even top three, internationally.

However, an athlete’s performance would fluctuate. Outstanding performances in a few recent competitions did not necessarily mean that he was better than the other athletes.

This was the reason for the point system, which was calculated annually. Rufford had made his comeback last December. Before that, he had been either injured or producing mediocre results. Hence, his ranking was not high.

The new year had just begun. The points gained last year still determined his current position.

In IAAF, points would usually be renewed once every three months. Rufford’s points were therefore not very high.

Rufford had been spending all his time in competitions recently.

In just twenty days, he had taken part in seven or eight competitions already.

He was precisely trying to gain more points and a higher ranking in order to be eligible for Diamond League.

The athletes took their positions. Rufford was also ready.

A deafening silence broke out. Following a loud bang, all the sprinters charged toward the finish line like a rainbow.

Far ahead of the rest, Rufford passed the finish line first.

The audience was stirred up at once.

Everyone stood up and cheered wildly. A number appeared on the electronic screen.

9.60!!

Downwind, 1.1m/s

Result effective!

Rufford had broken the national record in America. He became the fastest 100m sprinter here.

Rufford!

Rufford!

Rufford!

All the audience were shouting his name.

While it was not the world record, his result was enough to make the audience go insane.

The host introduced Rufford again with a resounding voice.

...

After enjoying the cheers and applause from the audience, Rufford returned to the changing room. The first thing he did was hug Chen Zhao and Bord.

“Chen, did you see it? Did you see it! It was 9.6 seconds!” Rufford was still unable to calm down.

“Rufford, I hope that I will be there too when you break the world record.”

“Can I?”

“Yes, you can. Believe me.”

“I will. I definitely will!” Rufford clenched his fist tightly.

“By the way, have you signed the contract with CAA?”

“We’re already discussing the final details. You’ve introduced it, so I’m certainly okay with it.”

As an athlete, Rufford surely did not have the time to go for any business activity or endorsement.

Hence, he had to have his own agent and agency. They would be in charge of these things.

Chen Zhao introduced Normans to Rufford. The two had a brief chat.

Despite being fat, Normans was really interested in sports.

When they left the stadium, Chen Zhao looked at Normans. “Do you want to run back?”

“Sure.” This time, Normans agreed readily.

By the time Chen Zhao returned home, it was over nine at night.

Fali knew that Chen Zhao had been helping a woman to lose weight. When she saw Chen Zhao covered in sweat, she was really concerned.

“Chen, why are you so late today?”

“Just had two marathons.”

“You must be tired.”

“No.”

“Let go of me... Go take a shower first.”

“Together.”

Unable to resist Chen Zhao, Fali was pulled into the bathroom.