Chapter 007　 Let me see which hero it is!

  *

  The next segment was mountain stream rafting.

  Each contestant rode a kayak down a 10-kilometer stretch of stream. The current was rapid, and it was easy to capsize if one didn't control the direction properly. Although lifeguards were stationed along both banks at intervals, ready for rescue, there was still some inherent danger.

  Su Xian rarely had the chance to do this and was clumsy at first, spinning in circles or hitting protruding rocks, and occasionally being splashed by people nearby, looking a bit miserable. It took her a few hundred meters downstream to finally get the hang of it. Straightaways only required slight adjustments, but the turning technique was more crucial, especially for sharp bends, which required anticipating the turn and controlling the force in advance. One slip and the kayak would flip.

  After practicing a few turns, Su Xian was in her element, having great fun. She didn't notice someone ahead deliberately slowing down and spinning in place. As she quickly paddled past that person, he suddenly shoved his paddle against the bottom of her kayak. Her boat instantly tilted and flew sideways, spinning twice before flipping over.

  Su Xian was pinned under the kayak and couldn't surface immediately, with bubbles burbling from her mouth.

  Oh no, am I really in trouble?

  She panicked a little, thrashing around randomly.

  Just then, a hand encircled her waist and pushed her out from underneath the kayak.

  *

  Her head breached the water surface, and she took deep, free breaths, thinking: Let me see which hero it is!

  A head of curly hair broke the surface, revealing a fresh face.

  "Li Chengshi, how did you catch up?!" She was truly shocked.

  The kayak drifted over. Li Chengshi stabilized Su Xian, swam over to flip the kayak right-side up, and grabbed the paddle.

  "Team Leader, get on and continue the race."

  Su Xian held onto his shoulder and climbed aboard, scanning back and forth. She pointed to a yellow kayak ahead and said, "That person shoved me!"

  "Leave it to me."

  Before she finished speaking, he shot forward like a swordfish. In no time, he was under the yellow kayak. It wasn't clear what he did, but the kayak suddenly began spinning madly, then crashed head-on into a rock on the bank, flipping over spectacularly. Li Chengshi, meanwhile, stayed underwater, swimming against the current to catch up to Su Xian, pushing her rapidly forward from the other side.

  "That person hasn't surfaced yet. Is he going to drown?" Su Xian was a little worried.

  "Don't worry, I've already contacted the nearest lifeguard."

  Sure enough, Su Xian saw two staff members blowing whistles and rushing toward the scene. At the same time, the person who flipped over had successfully rescued himself, but his kayak was ripped by exposed tree roots on the bank, forcing him to get ashore and withdraw from the race.

  Su Xian had paddled too far to clearly see his expression, but she imagined it was quite brilliant.

  *

  The downstream terrain was more complex, with rapid changes in water flow. The number of lifeguards along the banks increased, meaning Su Xian should be safe now. Li Chengshi swam ashore when no one was looking, waved Su Xian goodbye, and unlocked his waterproof pouch. He sent the video he had just recorded of the shove to the competition live broadcast room under the name of "Enthusiastic Citizen Picking Mushrooms."

  The unethical participant was quickly identified. He was a professional athlete participating in the team event on behalf of Dacheng Construction Company.

  The host immediately announced the cancellation of his eligibility and a permanent ban from the competition, and issued thanks to the netizen "Enthusiastic Citizen Picking Mushrooms."

  *

  Because of this little incident, Su Xian couldn't overtake Department Head Sato in the rafting segment. Next was a downhill section. She sprinted the whole way but still didn't see him, though she did manage to surpass all the people from Dacheng Construction.

  A bunch of rookies!

  The final stage returned to the seaside, crossing a magnificent thousand-meter floating bridge. A large crowd of tourists and contestants' friends and family had gathered on the shore.

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  Statistics showed that less than 20% of participants reached the final stage of the off-road obstacle race in previous years, so every athlete stepping onto the floating bridge was met with applause and whistles from the crowd.

  Su Xian stopped at the supply station again to replenish water and energy.

  The slower one goes on the floating bridge, the harder it is to maintain balance. She needed to charge across in one breath.

  Blue sky, vast sea, cool wind, seabirds, and the focus of ten thousand eyes—it felt fantastic.

  She had completely forgotten her mission and was just enjoying the run.

  The bridge was about 3 meters wide. Theoretically, there was plenty of room to overtake other contestants, but since everyone preferred running in the middle, one had to overtake from the side, risking both people falling into the water.

  However, a tanned, muscular lifeguard was stationed every few dozen meters, which made Su Xian feel that falling in wouldn't be so bad.

  With speed and flair, amid the cheers of the audience, she successfully passed several people, slowly approaching the finish line.

  Oh, isn't that Department Head Sato ahead? Su Xian accelerated, sprinting to the shore almost simultaneously with him, finishing in 97th and 98th place, respectively.

  "Make mashita! (I lost!)" Su Xian continued to use her clumsy Japanese to converse.

  Department Head Sato laughed heartily and used stilted Mandarin to invite her to compete again next year.

  *

  "Well done!" Liang Wenya had already taken a taxi to the finish line in advance.

  Three of Anliang's ten people had now reached the finish line. Liang Wenya and Li Chengshi withdrew, leaving five still behind.

  Liang Wenya arranged for the others to go home and rest, asking only Su Xian to stay with her to wait.

  "Engineer Zhang and Lao Li made it into the top 50."

  "My mission today wasn't to win, otherwise I could have been in the top 10."

  "You managed your pace well, but can you please stop bragging?"

  "My mission today wasn't to win, otherwise I could have been in the top 30."

  Liang Wenya shook her head helplessly.

  Her phone vibrated. Su Xian opened her waterproof bag and checked her phone. It was a WeChat message from Li Chengshi: "Team Leader, did you reach the finish line safely? My clothes were ripped, so I had to go home early. Could you please let General Manager Liang know?"

  Su Xian happily pulled Liang Wenya to take a photo with the finish line backdrop and sent it, saying: "Safely arrived, 98th place. Thank you, my hero, for saving the beauty. Dinner's on me tonight."

  "Aren't you tired?"

  "I can concentrate on being tired after dinner."

  "Where should we eat then?"

  "Bay View Grand Restaurant."

  "That place is expensive. You're not planning to deduct the cost from my money, are you?"

  "Am I such a heartless wretch?! I'll pick you up at 6 PM."

  **

  Li Chengshi changed several outfits and was still fussing with his hair in the mirror in the final minutes.

  His mother, Li Xiao, walked over, looked him up and down, and asked with a smile, "Which friend are you having dinner with?"

  "You've met him, Sun Xinghai, the one with glasses."

  Yes, I have met him. He was Li Chengshi's dorm leader in college.

  But does he need to dress up like this to eat with a male classmate?

  Could it be that my child likes boys?

  It seems I need to introduce him to a girlfriend as soon as possible.

  *

  At 6 o'clock, having received no message from Su Xian, Li Chengshi proactively sent one: Team Leader, where are you?

  She didn't reply.

  A bad premonition surged in his heart. He closed his bedroom door and dialed her WeChat voice call.

  Su Xian was sleeping spread-eagled and was startled awake by the phone ringing. She saw the time and realized disaster had struck. The puppy must be angry!

  "Hello, haha, so sorry Li Chengshi, traffic jam. I'll be 20 minutes late. Could you wait for me a bit?" She held the phone in one hand while frantically digging through clothes with the other.

  "Traffic jam? Press the car horn so I can hear it."

  "...Beep."

  "Su Xian!"

  "I'm sorry, I just fell asleep."

  Li Chengshi sighed and softened his tone. "Never mind, I won't hold it against you. You must be too tired today. We can have dinner another day."

  "No, no, no, we're eating today. I'm leaving right now. I'll be there in exactly 30 minutes."

  "30 minutes? Are you planning to go in your pajamas and slippers? I'll give you time to get properly ready. Just come over at 7 o'clock."

  "Alright!"

  *