Demons Beside You

“Tiger, I said this before. Stop boxing. Can’t you just go to class and study? Look at you now.” Tiger’s mom wiped at her tears. “The doctor said that you need at least two to three years to recover.”

“Excuse me.” Chen Zhao walked up. “Tiger, I have good news for you. A management company wants to sign you as their athlete.”

Tiger looked at him blankly. “Mr. Chen, do you think I can still box now?”

“Miss, can I talk to Tiger alone?”

Tiger’s mom turned toward Chen Zhao. She didn’t know how she should reply.

“Mom, let me talk to Mr. Chen.”

“Fine.” Tiger’s mom finally got up and left the room.

“Tiger, do you know Rufford?”

“Yeah, he’s the top American sprinter and 14th track athlete worldwide.”

“I’m his main doctor,” Chen Zhao said. “We also have an agreement. Last October, his injuries were similar to yours…” He told Tiger about his and Rufford’s story. “I sponsored him with the condition that a portion of his earnings would go to me for two years.”

Tiger looked at him. “Mr. Chen, can you heal me?”

“Yes. In at most a month, I’ll help you recover and also act as your temporary coach to train you.”

“So you’re saying that if I sign the contract, I can be like Rufford?” Tiger grew excited.

“Rufford and I didn’t sign any contracts. We just trust each other. But if he goes against our promise, I’ll make him pay.” Chen Zhao looked at Tiger. “You too. I won’t sign any lawful contracts with you. I can’t promise that you can be more successful than Rufford either. I can only say that you’ll stand in the ring again, stronger than before.”

“Okay, I accept,” Tiger agreed to Chen Zhao’s suggestion without even thinking.

Right now, he had no other choice.

One option was not doing anything and recovering for two or three years. After that, his boxing career would be completely destroyed.

After all, he was at the prime age now. Two or three years later, he would be going downhill.

The other option was accepting Chen Zhao’s suggestion and gambling his future.

“Stay in the hospital for now. I already paid for all the bills. When you recover, we’ll start the treatment. Also, I helped you find a management company. It’s CAA, just like Rufford.”

Tiger felt that Chen Zhao was a stranger. From the first conflict to the later apology to going to Chen Zhao and asking for help, until now. He discovered that Chen Zhao was clearer about his future development than he was himself.

The man even knew CAA. This was something a newbie like him didn’t even dare to think about.

…

“Professor Fick, I have a test report here. Help me take a look. It’s my son’s newest report.”

Tim Waltz handed the report to Professor Fick. The advantage of being rich was that any expert or scholar was at their beck and call.

A few minutes later, Professor Fick said, “Mr. Waltz, this is Hoffman’s newest report?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“The report after the surgery by Hoffman’s lifesaver?”

“Yes, it’s from today.”

“Mr. Waltz, can you introduce me to that man?”

“What’s wrong?” Tim asked, confused.

“I would like to learn from him. I can’t even call myself a professor before him.”

“Why?” Tim Waltz was even more confused. From what he could see, Chen Zhao was young enough to be Professor Fick’s student.

“Hoffman’s heart surgery was very successful. You can even say that it’s perfect. It’s much more effective compared to the first surgery. His heart’s shape is already close to the regular shape. The heartbeat is just a tad slower. This is because Hoffman’s long-term lack of exercise caused his heart to be too weak. Judging from this report, Hoffman indeed should try some exercises.”

“You’re saying that Hoffman can exercise like regular people?”

“Not yet. I still need to get some data so Hoffman won’t over-exercise.”

Hearing Professor Fick’s reply, Tim Waltz was even more overjoyed.

“Oh, you can ask the gentleman who performed surgery on Hoffman. He should be clearer than me about how to arrange exercises for Hoffman.”

Tim thought for a moment. It made sense.

After Hoffman’s surgery, that Mr. Chen had said that Hoffman should exercise. He was definitely the most familiar about Hoffman’s condition.

But how could Waltz find the man? He didn’t have his contact information. It seemed that he could only ask Dr. Faur.

Tim went straight to the hospital and found Faur’s office.

“Dr. Faur, hello.”

“Mr. Waltz, hello. How can I help you?”

“I wish to know Mr. Chen’s contact information.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t give you his contact without his permission.”

“Then can you help me ask about Hoffman’s condition and how he should exercise?”

“I’ll ask for you.”

…

The next day, Chen Zhao received Wright’s call. The UCSF swim team backed out of all men’s events. Only the girls remained fighting. They’d probably destroyed the men’s egos and were too embarrassed to continue.

This was quite big news. It spread throughout all the University of California schools.

The guys of the UCSF swim team went to the boxing club to cause trouble but got beaten up instead. The leader of the UCSF team—that middle-aged balding man—never went back to school after that day.

Since UCLA was the main organizer of this year’s sports event, they wouldn’t go easy on the others. It was especially so with someone as authoritative as Wright.

On the day of the opening ceremony, Chen Zhao went to the stadium to watch as well.

Wright stood alone in the center of the huge stadium with Princess. She announced the start of the competition through the microphone.

It was only a schoolwide event, but they weren’t any less professional than official competitions.

There were many events too, including track, swimming, weightlifting, ball sports and more. There were at least 100 events with thousands of students participating.

Many students from the ten University of California schools were at a professional level. The entire campus was filled with the athletic spirit.

As soon as Chen Zhao walked out of the stadium, he was stopped by a few girls.

“Is UCLA really this cowardly? Do you think you can get more gold medals by hurting the guys on our swim team? They’re not our only swimmers. Our women’s team is stronger than the men’s. We’ll show you tomorrow just how good we are.”