Gray Tiger was a simple man: simple mind, simple nature, and his story was simple too.
In recent years, he had treated Yi Ming as his imaginary rival.
The first time he heard Yi Ming's name was one evening when he was dining with his teammates. A few big men got drunk at the barbecue stall and chattered about this and that. One of his teammates mentioned a few promising talents he recently knew, and when Yi Ming was brought up, he casually said, "This kid is as good as our Brother Tiger. I think he's just young at the moment, but once he gains more experience, Brother Tiger will be no match for him."
Another teammate smiled sheepishly with a flushed face and patted his shoulder, "Hey, you shouldn't say that. If Brother Tiger hears this, he'll beat you up to the point where you'll be searching for your teeth all over the floor."
"No way, no way, Tiger won't find out. We'll just say it secretly and not let him hear."
The teammate was chuckling while hugging the liquor bottle, but Gray Tiger frowned and slammed the beer bottle on the table with a "Bang!" "You little rascal, your grandpa is right here!"
They were all so drunk that no one could tell who was present at the scene.
That day ended in an unpleasant way, and Gray Tiger went home in a huff. However, he had remembered the name Yi Ming in his heart.
After that, Yi Ming's name rose to prominence in the cycling world, attracting more and more attention. Whenever Gray Tiger heard this name, he felt an itching in his teeth from anger. He wanted to challenge Yi Ming a few times, but each time the opportunity slipped away due to various reasons.
This time, when he learned that Yi Ming would also participate in the Provincial-level Competition, Gray Tiger was excited and restless.
A week before the competition, he secretly watched Yi Ming train a few times. After each time, he would lock himself in the hotel room, not eating or talking to anyone.
The flame in his heart gradually dimmed until finally, the last trace of rationality turned to ashes.
He knew he couldn't beat Yi Ming anymore.
As his teammate said, the young and energetic Yi Ming in his growth stage was incredibly talented. Even if Yi Ming participated casually, Gray Tiger might not be able to win. What's more, this time Yi Ming exuded an aura of full commitment.
Gray Tiger panicked.
Before coming to the competition, he had made a bet with his teammates. If he lost to Yi Ming this time, he would smash his racing bike and never touch it again.
At the time he made the bet, he was dead serious. But when faced with the reality, he could only choose to back down...
"You mean... you've never actually met me, but only heard about me from others."
Yi Ming was shaken. The pressure on Gray Tiger was too heavy. He cared too much about winning and losing, to the point of madness, treating someone he had never met as an imaginary rival and continually nurturing hatred.
"Yes. But I hate you."
Because of his hatred, he was willing to go to any lengths to disrupt the relationship between those around him and Yi Ming.
Because of his hatred, he was terrified of losing to Yi Ming, so when no one was paying attention, he tampered with Yi Ming's racing bike.
"But have you ever thought that there might be more than just one 'me' in this world?"
"What do you mean?" Gray Tiger frowned tightly.
"Today, you're afraid of me winning, so you used this method to interfere with the fairness of the competition. But tomorrow, there might be an even more formidable 'Yi Ming' appearing in this world. What will you do then? Keep dismantling their bikes and obstructing their competitions?"
Gray Tiger: "..."
Gray Tiger bit his lip tightly. "I never thought about that."
"You didn't think about it before, but now you should." Yi Ming sighed and patted Gray Tiger's shoulder. "I won't report you to the police or the organizing committee because I know your passion for cycling is genuine. But... this time, you deprived me of the opportunity to compete and disappointed my family and friends. You have to bear the consequences."
"What... do you want me to bear?"
Gray Tiger frowned at him in confusion.