"Get over here! Are you two trying to kill me today?!" With the help of the medical staff, Shen Yibin slowly recovered. The first thing he did once he got his strength back was grab Shi Gaofei’s leash and give him a good scolding. "Thank goodness I’m in decent shape, or you two would have been the death of me right here and now."
"Mmmph," Hah’Er scratched his head and looked down, embarrassed. Out of the three of them, he had it the easiest. He had basically been sightseeing the whole way as Shi Gaofei dragged him to the front. If you could say he’d made any effort at all, it was probably just enduring what it did to his hairdo. After being blown by the wind for over an hour, his fur was now slightly swept back, giving him an incredibly cool look.
Shi Gaofei, however, couldn’t care less about Shen Yibin’s scolding. It tilted its head, barely even breathing heavily. It looked like it could easily run another half-marathon without a problem. This made Shen Yibin feel incredibly lucky. ’Thank goodness this little guy didn’t start running during the full marathon for the professional group, or I really would have dropped dead on the spot.’
Scolding was one thing, but Shen Yibin still cared deeply for the two of them. As soon as he recovered a little strength, he took some bottled water from a staff member and gave them a drink. After some water, he also got them some fruit to replenish their energy.
"Ah, Bin, you’ve really given us a big problem." While Shen Yibin was feeding them, he saw Mayor Wang walk over with a smile. After his speech, the mayor had taken a car to the finish line to present the award to the champion, but he never expected the first ones to cross it would be Shi Gaofei and Hah’Er.
"It really wasn’t on purpose! How was I supposed to know they’d suddenly start running? I had no choice but to chase after them. It didn’t cause any major issues, did it?" Shen Yibin asked nervously.
"The athletes are fine, but our panel of judges has a real headache." Only now were other runners gradually beginning to arrive at the finish line, and their gazes all fell upon Shen Yibin, Shi Gaofei, and Hah’Er.
"Uh, what’s wrong with the judges? Oh, are you talking about me getting first place? I don’t care about that. If I broke any rules, just disqualify me." Shen Yibin wasn’t a marathon enthusiast, so getting first place or not didn’t matter to him. He cared even less about the prize money.
"Who said you were first place? The first one to cross the finish line was this... what kind of animal is this, anyway?" Mayor Wang asked curiously, pointing at Shi Gaofei. He had truly never seen such a creature before.
"This is a Mongoose. Don’t let its small size fool you; it has a terrible temper. It’ll even dare to take on a lion." While explaining, Shen Yibin shielded Shi Gaofei in front of him. He wasn’t afraid of Shi Gaofei being harassed, but rather that other people wouldn’t be able to handle the consequences of harassing Shi Gaofei.
"Oh, right. I saw it at the starting line, too. It and Hah’Er both started running only after the gong, and they never deviated from the designated route. Technically, their results should be valid," Mayor Wang said, still smiling. "In that case, first place should be awarded to this... this Mongoose..."
"Its name is Shi Gaofei," Shen Yibin interjected. ’Are they really going to give first place to Shi Gaofei? Then what about Hah’Er’s result? He was ahead of me, too.’
"Of course, Hah’Er was on a skateboard being pulled by Shi Gaofei. According to the rules, his result naturally can’t be counted." Perhaps seeing what Shen Yibin was thinking, Mayor Wang explained, "But now there’s another problem. You have to register in advance and get a participant bib for this race. Those two don’t have one, so no matter how well they ran, their results can’t be officially recorded."
"Oh, that’s fine. If you can’t record it, then don’t." ’Huh? But I registered in advance and got a bib. Does that mean I’m the first-place winner of this race?’
"How can we do that! How can we disqualify Shi Gaofei and Hah’Er’s results over such a minor oversight after they worked so hard?" Mayor Wang said with righteous indignation. This was such a great publicity opportunity; how could he possibly miss it? Thus, after an urgent consultation, the panel of judges had come up with a solution. Mayor Wang was here now to discuss that solution with Shen Yibin. "I just discussed it with the judges. We definitely can’t include their results in the same rankings as the human contestants."
"But achieving such an outstanding result is still worthy of a reward!" Mayor Wang raised a hand to stop Shen Yibin from interrupting and continued, "So, our organizing committee has decided to create a special award on the spot for Hah’Er and Shi Gaofei. During the awards ceremony later, the two of them will be the first to go on stage to receive their prize!"
"Furthermore, we also plan to contact the Guinness World Records certification center to apply for a record for Shi Gaofei and Hah’Er for an animal running a half-marathon!" Mayor Wang was quite skilled when it came to publicity. If these plans were carried out, Yunzhong City’s fame would surely rise again. Moreover, both the awards ceremony and the Guinness World Record certification would require promotional videos. While Shi Gaofei and Hah’Er would be the stars of the videos, the background would be the beautiful scenery of Yunzhong City, which amounted to another round of advertising for Yunzhong City’s tourism resources.
And if this news got out, all the major media outlets would definitely report on it, which would be tantamount to free advertising. Where else could you find such a good deal? He now looked at Shen Yibin with increasing fondness. All of this good fortune was because of him. If it weren’t for him and these amazing animals, Yunzhong City would never have its current level of fame.
"Hah’Er and Shi Gaofei are both champions! Their medals and prize money will be the same as the professional group’s!" Since there was so much to be gained, Mayor Wang didn’t mind giving up a small benefit.
’What else could I say to that? Should I refuse a gift that’s being handed to me on a silver platter?’ Shen Yibin quickly nodded and expressed his thanks, "Thank you, Mayor Wang. Thank you, organizing committee."
Mayor Wang still had to prepare for the awards ceremony, so after giving his instructions, he left first. A few staff members escorted Shen Yibin, Hah’Er, and Shi Gaofei to the area near the awards stage. A makeup artist came forward to do a simple touch-up for Shen Yibin and Hah’Er. As for Shi Gaofei, Shen Yibin didn’t dare let them touch it.
After a short wait, the last runner crossed the finish line. The races for both the professional and amateur groups were all successfully concluded. It was finally time for the awards ceremony.
And so, a scene that stunned all the contestants and spectators unfolded. Mayor Wang was the first to announce the winners of the special award. Shen Yibin led Shi Gaofei and Hah’Er onto the awards stage. On the big screen behind them, a freshly edited highlight reel appeared, showing Shi Gaofei pulling Hah’Er like the wind as they swept past the other runners, all the way to the final dash across the finish line. It made the contestants and audience members who hadn’t witnessed it firsthand click their tongues in amazement.