Her older teammates often suffered from physical strains, but Lin Miao didn’t think that she would also suffer from the same problems.
It was just occasional dull aching at first, which she ignored since her physical health had always been pretty good.
However, a few days later, when Lin Miao woke up in the morning for her routine exercise, she felt a throbbing pain in her knee, like her bone marrow was hurting.
Tan Jing immediately went to find the coach, who sent Lin Miao to the hospital. After a diagnosis, she was found to have chronic strain injury, and needed medicine to treat it.
She wouldn’t be able to participate in high-intensity training either.
Lin Miao wasn’t happy. It meant that she couldn’t participate in this year’s world championships.
Her parents soon came to the hospital. They didn’t feel as unfortunate that Lin Miao couldn’t participate in the world championships. She had already won the Olympics, and that was very exceptional already.
Lin Miao wanted to continue training and competing, but she also knew that her coach and the doctors’ advice were more professional.
She lay on her bed, waiting for the nurse to apply topical medicine.
“Does Shuishui want to eat something? Mom can make it for you.” Lin Miao’s mother patted her head. “Don’t worry, you’ll still have chances in the future.”
Lin Miao knew that she would have more opportunities in the future, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit down.
She knew that all athletes will have to face the problems of strains and wounds, it’s just that she’d never expected it to happen so soon.
Yu Jingxuan also came. For him, it wasn’t much of an inconvenience to find Lin Miao’s room.
He arrived right as Lin Miao’s mother was heading back to prepare a meal, thinking that her mood would definitely be lifted by the presence of her boyfriend.
“Does it still hurt?” Yu Jingxuan caringly patted her head, “Gege is here.”
“Gege, I might not be able to compete.” Lin Miao was a bit sad since she had been training for competitions all these years. Now, she was in a hospital bed while everyone else was practicing. Anyone in her situation would feel the same way.
Yu Jingxuan held her hands tightly, “I’m not that busy these days, so I can stay here with you. Don’t worry, I’ll always be here.”
Lin Miao shook her head, “I’ll ask my dad to bring some books so I can study. Gege, you should do your own things.”
When the participant list came out for the world championship, Lin Miao’s name was nowhere to be found. Now, the web exploded.
Lin Miao always had massive attention online, from first winning the world championships when she was fourteen, to the Olympics when she was sixteen, and now to her dating. Even though she didn’t want this much attention, her popularity never dropped.
So, it raised many fans’ curiosity when the list didn’t have her name on it. By performance, there was no way she didn’t qualify.
People even came up with conspiracy theories that it was because Lin Miao dated prematurely and crossed the team’s orders.
The team soon gave a statement that Lin Miao damaged her knee and needed to receive treatment and heal. They also said it was a temporary break.
The discussion online took a turn, with most of the netizens now worrying about Lin Miao’s health.
Meanwhile, Lin Miao had already returned home, studying as she received treatment.
Yu Jingxuan naturally continued to visit her everyday.
Initially, she still felt a bit sad, but she had soon gotten used to it.
She thought that life like this wasn’t the end of the world.
Following the doctor’s instructions, her knee quickly healed, and she was soon able to join her badminton team again.
Because of this, Lin Miao was more careful and protective of her knees.
In the following year, her knee pain would occasionally come back, but she had also gotten used to that. Lin Miao pushed herself to win the next Olympics before announcing her retirement.
Even though it was surprising to many, they still respected her decision due to her reason.
Lin Miao felt an indescribable feeling when she left her team. It had been a very long time since she felt this way.
Then, she saw Yu Jingxuan, her father, and mother waiting for her outside.
Lin Miao froze, then ran towards them.
She chose to be an athlete at nine because she liked badminton. Now, she was twenty, she didn’t even know herself if she was retiring too early.