Chapter 7

In the reception area, Xu Jingming sat there, drinking plain water, and observing the fitness club. From the decoration to the size, it was quite decent.

"Brother Xu." A familiar voice.

Xu Jingming looked up and saw Yang Qingshuo walking over with a smile. Although everyone said Xu Jingming was young, having become a national team main player early, Yang Qingshuo was actually a year younger, once being the youngest member of the national team.

The once slender and handsome youth had now gained some weight, and even had a few strands of white hair. His eyes also showed some weariness.

"A Shuo." Xu Jingming stood up.

"Let's go inside and sit down." Yang Qingshuo led Xu Jingming into a small reception room with a partition. Yang Qingshuo also brought over some snacks and fruit platters and poured two glasses of water.

"Brother Xu, thank you for your help this time." Yang Qingshuo said as he sat down.

Xu Jingming noticed that Yang Qingshuo's right hand was always wearing a glove, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with your hand?" It was a hot summer day, and his right hand was always in a glove.

Yang Qingshuo's expression froze for a moment, then he smiled indifferently, took off the glove on his right hand, revealing a prosthetic limb. Although it was made to look like a real right hand, it could still be distinguished with a closer look.

"Your hand?" Xu Jingming couldn't believe it.

"Prosthetic limb." Yang Qingshuo smiled and put the glove back on. "It happened last year. A scaffolding from a high-rise building fell, and there was a little kid below. You know, I'm a professional martial arts athlete, and my reflexes are specially trained. I immediately rushed over and caught the little kid, saving him. My right hand blocked the impact and was crushed, so I had to have it amputated."

"How could this happen?" Xu Jingming was stunned.

"I consider myself lucky. If it had hit my head instead of my hand, I would have been dead." Yang Qingshuo shook his head. "The scaffolding fell from dozens of meters high. If it had hit my head, I would have been dead. Now it's just a hand, and in exchange, the little kid survived. It's worth it! And the prosthetic limb technology is quite good now. I can still do simple tasks like serving dishes and pouring water."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly. "So you left the Sports Bureau?"

"This was an act of bravery." Yang Qingshuo said. "The Sports Bureau rewarded me and encouraged others to learn from me. But without my right hand, I'm no longer suitable to be a professional coach, so I was transferred to the office to do administrative work. The salary for administrative work is lower, about ten thousand a month. I was once ranked as high as nineteenth in the world in martial arts, so finding a job with a salary of several ten thousand a month isn't hard, so I decided to venture out."

Xu Jingming understood.

Most jobs at the Sports Bureau don't pay very well. Only the highly skilled coaches are well-paid. For example, his master Liu Hai, the head coach of the national team, earns millions annually. Coaches at the provincial team generally earn at least fifty thousand a month! But administrative work is just a regular position within the Sports Bureau, and the salary can't compare to that of a professional coach.

"A Shuo, if you need any help, just let me know." Xu Jingming said.

"You lending me money this time was a big help." Yang Qingshuo smiled. "What I really want to see is Brother Xu getting married soon. How old are you now? You're already thirty this year."

"Twenty-nine!" Xu Jingming quickly corrected.

"In our hometown, we count age by the lunar calendar." Yang Qingshuo said.

Xu Jingming blinked. "Don't worry about my marriage. I'm getting married in a few months."

"Good news! Who is it?" Yang Qingshuo asked eagerly.

"Li Miaomiao." Xu Jingming said. "Don't spread it around. When the wedding comes in a few months, you must come."

"Li Miaomiao, is she the one who sings so well, or is it just a coincidence?" Yang Qingshuo asked.

"It's her."

Xu Jingming nodded. "Li Miaomiao and I don't know much about marriage and having children. You're experienced, so have your wife Xiao Yu chat more with Miaomiao."

Yang Qingshuo looked a bit awkward and took a sip of water. "Xiao Yu and I are divorced."

"Divorced?" Xu Jingming was taken aback.

"Yes, it happened in the first half of this year." Yang Qingshuo nodded.

Xu Jingming understood.

Last year, A Shuo became disabled, and as a professional martial arts athlete who used a spear, a disabled right hand meant he couldn't use a spear anymore and couldn't be a professional coach. His future prospects and income would be greatly reduced. This was likely one of the reasons for the divorce.

"The divorce rate is high these days." Xu Jingming said.

"In our area, the divorce rate is almost 50%." Yang Qingshuo shook his head. "Being single is also good, less trouble."

Xu Jingming nodded.

He could sense that A Shuo had a lot of bitterness in his heart.

"By the way, I'm leaving Binhai soon and will be settling back in my hometown." Xu Jingming chatted with his good friend, talking about life and some gossip in the circle.

Half an hour passed, and during the conversation, Yang Qingshuo was very relaxed, as if they were back in college or training at the national team.

Back then, they were carefree, focusing only on martial arts.

"Brother Xu, I should head back." Yang Qingshuo looked at his watch and said, "I need to cook for my son."

"You go ahead and take care of your business." Xu Jingming also stood up.

"I should have taken you out for dinner, but..." Yang Qingshuo looked a bit embarrassed.

"Ha, I'm heading to Beijing anyway. You go take care of your son." Xu Jingming said.

Xu Jingming vaguely understood that A Shuo had lost his father early, and his mother was now hospitalized with a serious illness. Raising a child alone must be very difficult.

"I'll go first." Xu Jingming got into a smart car at the Jiaxin Fitness Club entrance.

Yang Qingshuo, with a backpack on his back, watched Xu Jingming leave, then put on a helmet and rode an electric scooter home. Although smart cars with autonomous driving were very common and didn't require a driver's license, Yang Qingshuo had long sold his car.

Half an hour later, Yang Qingshuo, who had bought some groceries from the market, returned home.

This was a 200-square-meter apartment, quite nice in Jinmen City, which had cost five million when he bought it.

"Dad." A boy lying on the sofa, wearing a virtual reality headset, excitedly took off the headset and ran over to hug his father.

"Taotao, did you have fun playing the game?" Yang Qingshuo smiled.

"Summer vacation is great for playing." The boy said happily. "And in the morning, I played math and Chinese games. I've reached level 55 in math addition and subtraction, and level 22 in the Chinese phonetic game."

"Very good." Yang Qingshuo kissed his son.

The boy hugged his father affectionately, enjoying the time they spent together.

"I'll cook dinner for you." Yang Qingshuo said.

"Okay." The boy sat back down and put on the virtual reality headset again. A robot was by the sofa, the boy's only companion at home.

"I can only afford the cheapest level one intelligent robot. I don't have time to be with my son, so I let the robot keep him company." Yang Qingshuo, in the kitchen, looked at his son playing the game and felt quite guilty.

A level one intelligent robot could only clean, help watch the child, and have simple conversations. It couldn't do more complex tasks like cooking.

"All I can do is try to maintain my son's life." Yang Qingshuo looked around the house.

The property was split equally after the divorce!

Yang Qingshuo still lived in the house, but he had to give his wife 3.9 million in cash! All the cash in the house, including the mortgage of two million, was given to his wife.

To make matters worse, his mother was seriously ill and couldn't help with the child. The medical expenses were high, and he had already mortgaged the house to the maximum and sold his car.

He was now heavily in debt, but he had to keep going.

"Ding."

Yang Qingshuo pressed his watch, and a holographic screen appeared, showing a weary, plump woman in her fifties, his mother.

"Xiao Shuo." His mother's voice was weak. "I've looked up a lot of information online. This is a genetic defect, a rare disease. The special medicine can only delay it, not cure it. Don't bother anymore. I'll go home and spend time with my grandson, and you'll be more relaxed."

"Mom, don't worry. I signed a long-term contract with the company, so I have money." Yang Qingshuo said. "Just focus on your treatment, and don't worry about anything else. I'll visit you around eight tomorrow morning."

"Xiao Shuo." His mother genuinely cared for her son.

In just over a year, he had become disabled, lost a good job, divorced, and was heavily in debt. Now he was raising a child alone and taking care of his mother. His mother even thought about suicide, but she knew her son's character. If she died, her son would suffer for the rest of his life.

"Mom, I'll continue cooking. Taotao is waiting to eat." Yang Qingshuo said.

"Okay." His mother hung up.

Yang Qingshuo covered the pot, and the stove flame rose. He looked at it silently.

"How did my life end up like this?" Yang Qingshuo thought.

He had once been a top student!

"If I had listened to Brother Xu and the coach, focused on martial arts, and not fallen in love and married early... I could have gone further in the World Martial Arts Competition and earned much more. I wouldn't be in such a difficult situation now."

Yang Qingshuo recalled the past.

He had started dating in his first year of college, his first love. After joining the national team, they stayed in touch through the virtual network, always being affectionate. At 22, the legal marriage age, he got married and had a child.

Although he was very dedicated to martial arts, he had to admit that dating, marriage, and having a child had distracted him a lot, lowering his achievements. He was a year younger than Xu Jingming, and at the same age, he could have been on par with Xu Jingming.

"I'm not as focused as Brother Xu. During my time in the national team, I didn't suffer any fatal injuries, but Brother Xu even broke his leg and still managed to rise to the top eight in the World Martial Arts Competition a few years later! His gun skills are recognized worldwide, ranking in the top ten in history, earning the title of 'Gun Devil.' I also practiced with a gun..."

Yang Qingshuo thought silently, "I was content with the status quo and wanted more time with my wife and son, completely lacking the dedication of Brother Xu."

"Time can't be reversed, and regret is useless. I can only move forward step by step." Yang Qingshuo looked down, touched his watch, and a holographic screen popped up. He opened it and started paying bills: water, electricity, gas, virtual network, milk for his son, and monthly loan repayments...

His career had no prospects, he was heavily in debt, and he had to support his family. Everything depended on him.

He was the pillar of the family!

Yang Qingshuo looked up and saw his son, Yang Taotao, sitting on the sofa with a virtual reality headset, his small, thin body: "Taotao, I can't give you much, but even if I have to risk my life, I will make sure you grow up happily and can support yourself in society!"

The aroma of the braised meat gradually filled the living room.

"Dad, it smells so good." His son, Yang Taotao, sniffed and shouted happily.

"I cooked your favorite pork ribs. It'll be ready soon." Yang Qingshuo smiled.

...

Xu Jingming sat on the high-speed train back to Binhai, looking out the window.

"How did it come to this?" Xu Jingming understood A Shuo's current situation, feeling both heartache and helplessness. "Disabled, career destroyed, and a family to support..."

"All I can do is help as much as I can, but life is something A Shuo has to face on his own." Xu Jingming thought silently, "A Shuo, hang in there!"

Sometimes, life can't be resisted; it can only be endured silently.