Rejecting Temptation

When Gao Jing ran onto Victory Road, with only the last 1,000 meters left to Victory Memorial Square, cheers suddenly erupted from both sides of the long street.

Thousands of Cloud City residents and tourists alike gave Gao Jing their most sincere and enthusiastic applause!

In previous International Marathons, the championship had always been taken by African runners.

If the first contestant to appear on Victory Road this year had still been an African runner, everyone would have applauded too, but never with such fervor and delight.

Most importantly, Gao Jing, standing 1.87 meters tall in his running shoes, was genuinely handsome!

"Go! Go!"

The cheers and applause accompanied Gao Jing all the way as he charged toward the finish line.

Although he had left his strongest opponents far behind and his physical strength had been greatly depleted, encouraged by the spectators' enthusiasm, Gao Jing still made one final sprint.

As he burst through the long red finish tape, the atmosphere around him instantly reached its peak.

"Champion!"

In the Sailfish Livestream, "Tomorrow After Tomorrow" sent seven rockets in one go!

Still wearing the colored ribbon, Gao Jing ran another dozen meters before slowing to a walk to catch his breath.

He was drenched in sweat, his heart pounding fiercely.

Although Gao Jing's physical fitness was several times better than before, it had not reached superhuman levels.

A volunteer ran over and handed Gao Jing a national flag.

"Thank you!"

Gao Jing accepted the flag with both hands, solemnly draped it over himself, and waved toward the cameras and the cheering crowd.

Thank you all!

Copper Anchor was being lashed by torrential rain, and Faith Power poured in without end.

Gao Jing could already sense the existence of the boundary!

When he came to a stop, another staff member brought him flowers.

People from the television station appeared soon after, and a beautiful host with a microphone conducted an on-the-spot interview with Gao Jing.

"Hello, Gao Jing. Congratulations on winning the Cloud City Summer International Marathon!"

"What are your thoughts right now?"

Internally mocking her formulaic question, Gao Jing answered with a smile, "I'm very happy. I didn't expect that I could win the championship, so I'm very excited right now."

Gao Jing was telling the truth. Before entering the race, he had not been certain he would win.

Right now, he even felt that he could have run a little faster.

"According to your registration information, you're from Cloud City. Is there anything you'd like to say to the people of Cloud City?"

"Yes, thank you all for your encouragement and support!"

"Then..."

After the brief interview ended, the two African runners crossed the finish line one after another.

They were nearly ten minutes slower than Gao Jing!

Gao Jing's full marathon time was 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 17 seconds.

Not only did this result break the best record in the Cloud City Marathon, it also set a new record for domestic city marathons, undoubtedly becoming the biggest highlight of this year's event!

However, the winner's result was not announced immediately. According to the organizing committee's rules, Gao Jing underwent a drug test.

Of course, he had not taken any banned substances, so his result was genuine and valid.

The award ceremony followed shortly afterward.

Amid celebratory music, Gao Jing stepped onto the podium in the center of Victory Square.

He received a champion's trophy, a certificate, and a large check.

The check was a promotional placard made from printed foam board; the actual prize money would be deposited directly into Gao Jing's bank account.

Since Gao Jing was a domestic participant, the money was converted directly into yuan.

It came to roughly 350,000 yuan.

Tax-free.

Not only that, because Gao Jing had broken the record, the organizers awarded him an additional 100,000 yuan.

The total prize money was as high as 450,000 yuan!

This money completely relieved Gao Jing's pressing need, meaning he no longer had to borrow from Boss Ma's family to get by.

After the award ceremony ended, Gao Jing accepted interviews from several media outlets.

Everyone was very curious about this rookie champion who had suddenly emerged out of nowhere.

After all, the previous prizes had all been monopolized by African runners.

And Gao Jing was an amateur participant.

After dealing with the reporters, Gao Jing was about to leave.

A middle-aged man blocked his path. "Hello, Mr. Gao Jing. May I have a word with you?"

Gao Jing frowned. "What is it?"

What he wanted most right now was to find an all-you-can-eat restaurant and have a proper meal!

He really had little interest in making small talk with strangers.

"My surname is Huang."

The middle-aged man read his expression and immediately presented an exquisitely made business card with both hands. "I have an important matter to discuss."

Gao Jing accepted the card.

The middle-aged man was named Huang Decheng, and his title was chief agent of Cloud City Starlight Agency.

Gao Jing could not help laughing. "You're not trying to sign me, are you? I'm not cut out to be a star."

"No, no, no!"

Huang Decheng shook his head vigorously and said seriously, "Mr. Gao Jing, in my opinion, you have great potential to become a star!"

"Could we discuss this in detail?"

After thinking it over, Gao Jing agreed.

The two sat down in a café near Victory Square.

Contrary to what Gao Jing had expected, Huang Decheng was not an entertainment agent, but a sports agent!

He did not want to sign Gao Jing in order to develop him in the entertainment industry.

Huang Decheng hoped to sign a contract with Gao Jing and represent him in competitions.

In other words, he would select and arrange domestic and international city marathons for Gao Jing, then take a share of the prize money.

"Mr. Gao Jing..."

Huang Decheng said earnestly, "I watched your race just now. Although your age is a little beyond the ideal range, your talent is outstanding. If you undergo proper professional training, I believe your results can improve even further."

"Our company can tailor a training program specifically for you and hire professional coaches to train you."

"And we can guarantee that, as long as you follow our arrangements, your annual income will be at least this much!"

He held up his right hand with all five fingers spread, then took a sip from his coffee with his left hand.

He looked at Gao Jing with great confidence.

Gao Jing smiled. "Fifty million?"

Huang Decheng nearly sprayed the coffee in his mouth on the spot. He hurriedly set down his cup. "Five million."

Gao Jing merely smiled without speaking.

Of course, he had been joking with Huang Decheng.

But honestly, for one fleeting moment, Gao Jing had truly been tempted.

With Gao Jing's current physical condition, just as Huang Decheng had said, if he underwent professional training, his results would definitely improve substantially. He might even break the marathon world record!

Moreover, his looks were more than impressive. With eye-catching results and records, becoming a sports star admired by millions would be no difficult feat.

At that point, never mind race prizes—filming advertisements and taking endorsements would have him earning until his bowls overflowed and his pots brimmed.

This path was undoubtedly more realistic and much easier than becoming an entertainment star!

Gao Jing's former dream could be fully realized.

However, the current Gao Jing was no longer the Gao Jing of the past.

Over the past half month or so, his life had undergone unbelievable changes.

Becoming a sports star and earning five million a year no longer held much temptation for him!

What Gao Jing truly longed for was still that Great World, filled with danger yet brimming with endless opportunities.

A Great World that belonged to him!

Seeing that Gao Jing remained unmoved, Huang Decheng grew somewhat anxious. "Mr. Gao Jing, we are very sincere. You should know that racing on your own is not so easy. Others will definitely target you in the future..."

He thought Gao Jing wanted to keep all the profits for himself and was unwilling to give an agency a share.

So Huang Decheng explained to Gao Jing the weaknesses of fighting alone and the advantages of having an agency's support.

Only then did Gao Jing learn that, in recent years, with domestic city marathons becoming increasingly popular, quite a few bounty hunters had appeared.

Many agencies specialized in organizing African runners to come to the country and rake in money.

To win races, agencies would help their runners devise all kinds of plans to defeat their opponents.

Some were strategies within the rules, but others were sinister and shameless methods.

What Gao Jing had encountered in the earlier race was the best proof. If his advantage had not been so overwhelming, even more vicious moves would have awaited him later.

Those were methods that could not be put into writing.

There were other shady tricks as well.

So one had to have an agency backing them in order to fend off open attacks and hidden arrows.

But Huang Decheng had clearly miscalculated.

The more Gao Jing listened, the greater his disgust and aversion toward the so-called "circle" and its "unspoken rules" became!

"Mr. Huang..."

Gao Jing interrupted him and said, "Thank you for your appreciation and kindness, but I may not participate in races again in the future, so I can only appreciate your goodwill."

"Perhaps we'll meet again someday."

Rejecting Huang Decheng's attempts to keep him, Gao Jing stood and left the café.

He paid the bill on his way out.

At eight o'clock that evening, Cloud City Television's main channel aired a report on the Summer International Marathon on Cloud City News.

As the champion of the race and the record-breaking contestant, Gao Jing appeared on screen for a full two minutes!

Gao Jing did not own a television, so he did not see the report.

But after the news ended, Gao Jing, who had just fallen asleep, abruptly awoke.

The "water" in Copper Anchor was full.

It had leveled up!