Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Not only poor people like Harvey came to participate in the competition, but also some wealthy individuals who enjoyed seeking attention.

After all, achieving good results in the competition required proper physical conditioning. Many people hadn’t built a solid foundation in their youth, so even if they had potential, they couldn’t fully utilize it.

If it weren’t for Ning Chan’s arrival, which gradually gave everyone the chance to eat their fill, those gaunt, undernourished people, lacking strength, would have had no opportunity to compete against those who'd never known hunger—they were already at a significant disadvantage in terms of basic conditions.

Naturally, those who already had the ability and resources to train looked down on the free clothes and food provided. They even wanted to arrange their own special meals, consuming plenty of bone broth, meat, and blood-enriching foods to gain more strength for the competition.

“This setup doesn't sit right with us. We don’t even know if the food here is nutritious. If we’re not kept in peak condition and end up losing against competitors from other towns, that would be terrible.”

“Exactly. My family has already agreed to send me bone broth three times a day to make my body stronger. Do you even have things like that in your cafeteria?”

“Hmm, I wonder what kind of food they serve here. I’m quite picky and not used to outside meals. What if I can’t adapt to the cafeteria food and lose weight?”

These people patted their well-muscled limbs, convinced that every ounce of muscle was stored for victory—not a single bit could be lost.

Hearing these complaints about the food, the messenger inwardly smiled in satisfaction. The meals and clothes weren’t mandated by the king—they were sponsored by the town’s “good-hearted” merchants for their local training camp.

If these people didn’t want them, even better. The extra funds could be directly funneled back into town coffers and later distributed as bonuses. This was all legit and by the book—nothing to fear from scrutiny.

Of course, since the sponsors had contributed, they had to put up appearances. The food could be refused, but the clothes had to be accepted—after all, the sponsors’ logos were sewn onto them!

“If you really don’t want to comply, we’re very democratic. We’ll prepare the food for you, but if you don’t like it, you can eat your own. However, to present a united front for our town’s sports department, you must accept the competition uniforms we provide. You don’t have to wear them daily, but during training and competitions, they’re mandatory.”

The attendees had expected the speaker to sternly reject their demands and enforce strict compliance. To their surprise, he was so accommodating—it seemed dealing with these people wouldn’t be too difficult after all.

While the others resisted the food and clothes, Harvey’s heart tightened. He feared the official might angrily take everything back, but upon hearing the response, he relaxed. He didn’t care if the food tasted good or the clothes were comfortable—as long as he could eat his fill and train with strength, that was enough.

When training began, Harvey, as before, didn’t give his all. After being tricked time and again, he had finally learned to hide his true abilities.

It was precisely this unremarkable performance that kept him out of the crossfire of certain people’s schemes. After learning that one teammate had his hand broken by a carriage while out and another had been warned, Harvey became even more low-key, occasionally even playing up minor ailments—making himself seem like all brawn and no substance.

If the roster hadn’t already been submitted, the town department might have considered replacing Harvey based on his performance. By the time of the city-wide competition, the officials only bothered to encourage the star performers ahead of him. When it was his turn, they just patted his shoulder and said, “Well, you got this far. Just relax and do your best.”

Harvey didn’t defend himself. He simply nodded and stepped onto the field. He instinctively glanced around, but the stands were too far away—he couldn’t even make out the faces of the spectators. Not that he expected anyone familiar to be there anyway.

After hearing about his mediocre performance in the town’s training camp, the villagers had mocked him behind his back, saying he was destined to return to the village for hard labor, that even his one strength—his physical power—wasn’t impressive, and that he was a worthless bum.

They were all waiting for him to be sent back to the village, waiting to laugh at his failure. Why would they bother coming to the city to cheer for him?

Just as Harvey withdrew his gaze and took his position, preparing to begin, a bright voice rang out from afar: “Harvey, you got this! Harvey, you’re the best!”

Harvey turned toward the sound, but the stands were just an indistinct mass of spectators—as if the voice had been an illusion. Then it came again, and this time, more voices joined in calling his name.

“Who’s Harvey?”

“No idea, but the big guy on the field right now must be him.”

“Hmm, with that frame, he must have some skill. Hey, Harvey, send it flying!”

“Big guy, I’m rooting for you!”

Hearing these unfamiliar cheers, Harvey felt his chest swell, his blood pumping with energy.

“Ah!” Harvey clenched his fists, raised them high, and let out a battle cry to the crowd. Then he punched his own chest hard, signaling his determination.

The crowd went nuts at his wild display, cheering wildly as if they were already celebrating his win.

Everyone got three throws, and even in this exciting moment, Harvey still remembered to hold back a little. For the first attempt, he put in about 70% effort.

Compared to his usual 50% performance, this improvement undoubtedly made the town's coaches sit up and take notice. Who would’ve thought this young man could perform so well under pressure?

Thinking about how some of their own athletes choked during competitions, they couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Now that they finally had someone who exceeded expectations, the staff couldn’t resist pumping their fists.

Meanwhile, the audience, seeing Harvey’s impressive performance, cheered even louder. Even though he only threw the second-farthest, they went wilder for him than for the first-place competitor.

No one knew who he was, but his outstanding performance was a wonderful surprise. The excitement spread, and soon, the atmosphere just kept building.

The athletes who competed after Harvey got nervous at the overwhelming cheers. What was going on? They hadn’t heard of any standout athlete by that name before.

At the time, they didn’t know the term "dark horse," but later, they would be pleasantly surprised by Harvey’s repeated breakthroughs beyond their expectations.

In the end, Harvey advanced again by taking silver in shot put and third in the 100-meter dash, earning him a spot in the royal capital’s competition.

When he returned to his team, Harvey looked shell-shocked, as if shocked by his own achievements and still unable to process them. His teammates, seeing his dumbfounded expression, could only mutter about him getting lucky. In their eyes, Harvey had just got caught up in the moment and performed beyond his usual level.

It never occurred to them that Harvey had achieved such results while still holding back. How could this simple-minded guy possibly scheme or deceive?

Now more cautious, Harvey humbly accepted everyone’s congratulations and vowed to try to repeat today's success in the royal capital.

The town's coaches, recalling his dazed expression when stepping off the podium, could only respond with hopeful encouragement, "Well, well, do your best."

Sigh. Next time, he might not be so lucky.

After all the competitions ended, Harvey waited at the exit, hoping to see if Pa Bo was among those who had cheered for him earlier. But with so many people leaving, by the time he spotted Pa Bo, the latter was already surrounded by a crowd. They praised Harvey’s performance, marveled at his strength, and wished him success in bringing glory to their city.

From a distance, Pa Bo watched Harvey, so beloved by so many, waved at him, and then turned to leave.

He had taken time off work to come to the city and needed to hurry back, or else he'd get pay deducted again. The ticket for the city competition hadn’t been cheap—he'd scraped together just enough for one. Who knew how much the royal capital’s tickets would cost? If he didn’t work hard, he might not even have the means to buy one.

Thinking back, when he was the only one in the entire stadium cheering for Harvey, Pa Bo’s heart ached. How could someone so strong and kind go unnoticed by everyone else?

But Harvey hadn’t let him down. On the field, he'd been radiant, so brightly that soon, it wasn’t just Pa Bo calling his name—so many others had joined in. That was wonderful.

Now, seeing Harvey surrounded by so much love, Pa Bo felt a little less guilty. Maybe he wasn’t the only one by Harvey’s side anymore.

At that moment, Pa Bo felt both joy and bitterness, his feelings a tangled mess.

And this tangled feeling lingered until he and Harvey met again.

Harvey, with his favorite pastries in hand, showed up where Pa Bo was. "Pa Bo," he said, "if I can win in the national competition and earn those prizes… will you give me a shot?"

Pa Bo didn’t understand why Harvey suddenly said this or what kind of "shot" he meant. But the heart in his chest began to pound uncontrollably. "What do you mean?"

"I want a home. I want someone to stay by my side. I want to open my eyes every morning and see you there."