[I'll be back after finishing the story next door~]
[Childhood friends to mutual pining to lovers] [Two athletes save each other] [Competitive passion and gentle healing]
Wan Qinglan rose to fame at the World Championships, becoming the undisputed "queen of the medley."
After winning the title, she returned to the provincial team to visit her mentor. By the pool, she ran into a familiar figure: Jiang Yan, her childhood friend, a once-gifted athlete who had retired due to injury. Now he was silently coaching the younger swimmers.
"Congratulations. Four medals at your first World Championships." His voice was calm, as if no three years of silence and regret had ever separated them.
Wan Qinglan gripped the strap of her bag, remembering how, at sixteen, she had returned full of joy with a gold medal from the Youth Olympic Games, only for him to suddenly leave the national team.
When asked if he still remembered their old promise, he answered with absolute conviction: "I remember."
Listening to him speak so frankly about his story, Wan Qinglan felt like a sinister, evil woman, forcing someone to tear open his own wounds.
But what she didn't know was...
He watched recordings of her races over and over late at night.
His drawer was locked, filled with countless yellowed tickets to competitions.
He had kept training in secret, all to wait for a chance to fulfill his promise to her.
"Can you still swim?" One day after training, she pushed him into the pool.
Amid the splashing water, he grabbed her wrist, turbulent emotions swirling in his eyes. "Don't provoke me."
When the whistle for the Olympic trials sounded and he dove into his lane, she finally understood: Some promises, even if delayed for years, will still reach their destination in the end.
Theme: Even after years of delay, a promise will still reach its destination
