With sweat dripping down her face, Xia You turned her head and shook it, beads of sweat scattering off before they hit the ground, twinkling in the sunlight.
After gulping down some water, Xia You continued her solitary marathon. Her lips, moistened by water, regained their rosy color as she adjusted her breathing and ran forward, step by step.
Once her body had healed, she had been advised complete rest, and her mother had always opposed her participation in sports activities. Even when choosing her university major, she had been compelled to choose secretarial studies. She was allowed to participate in the marathon only after getting a health report from the doctor, indicating it would help improve her constitution.
By late afternoon, after four, Xia You had passed the 40-kilometer mark, her pace was slower than before, dragging herself forward.
Suddenly, Xia You stopped and bumped into the lushly growing willow branches. The dense willow leaves struck her face, and sweat slid down the green leaves.
Next to the willow tree was a municipal notice board, on which a conspicuous recruitment advertisement was posted: "The Southeast Military District is recruiting a file secretarial staff member for the entire city. Once hired, you will enjoy the same treatment as Hua Country military personnel."
"Secretarial staff for the Southeast Military District archives?" As a new graduate, Xia You, like all her soon-to-be-graduating peers, faced the pressure of finding employment. This would be her last marathon, as once she left the ranks of students, she would need to dedicate most of her energy to work. Only by doing this could she help alleviate her mother's burden on the household.
After memorizing the contact number from the poster, Xia You took a few deep breaths and continued the last few kilometers of the race. There were still people waiting for her at the finish line.
Xia You ran past, her retreating figure casting a shadow on a nearby concrete-colored utility pole. It was an ordinary pole, like any other in our country, plastered with a patchwork of small advertisements.
Among the ads, one palm-sized piece of paper, battered by the weather for several months, read: "Recruiting 500 experiment participants from the public, with generous compensation." It was just another piece of ubiquitous small print advertising, except that the contact number at the end had six "1"s as the ending digits.
At the finish line of the city marathon, the line, which had been knocked down by hundreds of people, was set up again, and a few members of the organizing committee and two people, one tall and one short, were overjoyed to see a faltering figure approaching from a distance.
"Sister You!" The little girl's voice lifted the spirits of the lethargic volunteers nearby, cheering her on with more excitement than even the first runner who broke the record.
When Xia You crashed into the finish line, her legs buckled beneath her, but she managed to land on her hands first, preventing her body from collapsing completely. She had finally persevered through it all.
"Xiao You," mother Xia Yun fretted, quickly helping her up, checking her complexion, wiping her sweat, and fanning her.
"Mom, let me do it, let me!" Xia Maiqi hopped around, trying to snatch the fan from her mother. She and her mother had been waiting for her sister at the finish line since eight in the morning.
"Maggie, be good, your sister is very tired, no more fussing," Xia Yun admonished.
Xia You looked at her mother and sister, whose faces were reddened from the sun, and smiled. She squatted on the ground and leaned her sweaty head towards Xia Maiqi, "Sister isn't tired, but my old problem has acted up again, Angel, give me a rub."
Xia You's "old problem" referred to headaches, likely a result of her brain tumor surgery. After excessive studying or intense exercise, she would suffer from headaches as if being pricked around her temples.
Eight-year-old Xia Maiqi quieted down upon hearing this and began to massage her gently with her fingertips.
Xia Yun watched her older and younger daughters under the setting sun, more convinced than ever about her decision four years ago to adopt "Xia You" and bury the "secret of Kabi Island" forever in her heart.
After collecting the coveted completion certificate from the organizing committee, the mother and her daughters headed home.
Qianze Street, where the Xia Family lived, was an old-fashioned commercial street, lined with various low-priced eateries and grocery stores on both sides. Every evening, the most lively time for the street, diners going out for a meal mingled with the homebound, bringing new vitality to the old quarter.