1.65 Meters - Chapter 6: Taking Off My Shoes — Two-Kilogram Sandbags and Blood Blisters

Chapter 6: Taking Off My Shoes — Two-Kilogram Sandbags and Blood Blisters

After the awards ceremony, I headed toward the mixed interview zone.

When I passed Coach Ma, he was crouching on the ground picking up his tactics board.

He looked up at me.

His voice wasn't loud, but I heard him say,

“You're wearing height-boosting shoes, aren't you?”

I didn't stop.

I kept walking.

More than a dozen reporters were packed into the mixed interview area.

Su Qing stood at the very front, holding up her recorder.

I had barely stopped when Coach Ma's voice came from behind me.

“Wait.”

He walked over.

One of the buttons on his suit had popped off.

His tie was crooked.

But his steps were steady.

He stood beside me and said to all the reporters,

“I demand that his shoes be checked.”

“And his age.”

“He's one meter sixty-five and plays striker, yet he scored three goals in one match.”

“Don't you think there's something wrong with that?”

The reporters froze for a moment.

Then all their cameras turned toward us.

Su Qing frowned.

“Coach Ma, the result of the match has already been confirmed.”

“Confirmed results can still be changed.”

Coach Ma pointed at me.

“He's wearing height-boosting shoes.”

“Can't you see how thick those soles are?”

“There has to be something inside.”

I lowered my head and looked at my soccer shoes.

The upper had been worn white.

The sole was ordinary turf studs.

There was nothing special about them.

But Coach Ma spoke so loudly that the reporters around us began whispering.

“Let's check.”

“Yeah, check them so everyone's sure.”

“Take the shoes off and have a look.”

Su Qing looked at me.

There was a little panic in her eyes.

She whispered,

“Lin Ye, you don't have to listen to him.”

I crouched down.

The entire area fell silent.

I untied my right shoe.

Then I took it off, turned it over, and held the sole above my head.

The sole was flat.

Most of the studs had been worn down to little bumps.

There was a hole in the middle about the size of a coin, exposing the fabric of the midsole.

No hidden layer.

No height-increasing insert.

Nothing.

“See?” I said.

Coach Ma's expression changed slightly, but he was still stubborn.

“The shoes are fine.”

“But what about his age?”

“Does he even look like a high school student?”

The reporters stirred again.

Some began checking information on their phones.

Others whispered among themselves.

I said nothing.

I began taking off my sock.

Su Qing grabbed my arm.

“Lin Ye—”

I didn't stop.

When the sock peeled away from my heel, the skin and flesh were stuck to the fabric.

The moment it came off, I frowned slightly.

On the outside of my heel were three blood blisters.

Two had burst.

The skin had peeled back, exposing fresh pink flesh underneath.

The outer side of my sole was covered in dark red-purple skin.

Those were old calluses built up from years of constant pressure.

There were layers of calluses beneath the calluses.

I took off my left shoe as well.

Then I put both feet together and raised them toward the cameras.

The mixed interview area became so quiet that I could hear the air conditioner running.

“I run with these tied to my ankles every day.”

I untied the cloth wrapped around my ankle.

The sandbag underneath was revealed.

A long, two-kilogram sandbag filled with fine sand.

It was wrapped in cloth.

The cloth had been soaked through with sweat and had turned almost black.

It gave off a strange smell I couldn't quite describe.

I removed the sandbag and held it in my hand.

Then I extended it toward Coach Ma.

“Feel it.”

“Does it feel like a height-boosting shoe?”

Coach Ma didn't move.

“Lift it.”

“Does it feel like two kilograms?”

His lips moved twice.

No sound came out.

“Now look at my feet.”

I pulled the sandbag back and pointed at the blisters on my soles.

“Can height-boosting shoes do this?”

A reporter beside me instinctively took a step backward.

His camera was still raised, but his hand was trembling slightly.

Another female reporter covered her mouth.

Su Qing stood beside me, still holding up her recorder.

But she didn't ask a single question.

She simply stared at the blood blisters on my feet.

Her eyes had turned red.

Coach Ma stepped backward half a step.

“You…”

“This is self-abuse,” he said.

“It isn't self-abuse.”

I tied the sandbag back around my ankle.

My movements were slow.

When I tightened the cloth, the red mark around my ankle became even deeper.

“There are just too many people like you.”

He opened his mouth.

No words came out.

“You said I was short.”

“You said I couldn't win a high ball.”

“You said there was no need to defend me.”

I looked him straight in the eye.

“In primary school, I played badminton and people said I couldn't even reach the net.”

“In middle school, I played soccer and people said, ‘You're so short. How could you possibly win?’”

“During high school selection, Coach Liu said I was too short to play striker.”

I put my sock back on.

Then I put my shoe back on.

I stood up.

The blisters on the soles of my feet burned painfully against the ground.

But I showed nothing.

“I heard every single one of them.”

The reporters' camera shutters stopped.

Everyone stood there.

Nobody spoke.

“I don't explain myself because explanations are useless.”

I pulled my shoelaces tight and tied them into a double knot.

“You believe what you see.”

“So I'll let you see.”

“The blood blisters on my feet.”

“The sandbags around my ankles.”

“And the three goals I scored.”

I looked at Coach Ma.

“Is there anything else you want to check?”

He said nothing.

His assistant pushed through the crowd and tugged on his arm.

Coach Ma took the opening and walked away.

After taking a few steps, he stopped as if he wanted to turn around and say something.

In the end, he kept walking.

The reporters finally snapped back to reality.

Questions came crashing down like rain.

“How long have you been training with sandbags?”

“Have you always used two-kilogram sandbags?”

“Do you wear them during matches too?”

“Have you ever treated the injuries on your feet?”

I answered only one question.

“If you strapped two-kilogram sandbags to your ankles and played soccer every day, you'd be able to score three goals too.”

Outside the crowd, Coach Liu was standing at the entrance to the hallway.

I didn't know when he had arrived.

He stood there holding the team list.

There was a complicated expression on his face.

I couldn't tell exactly what it meant.

He looked at me.

Said nothing.

Then turned and walked away.

My mother pushed her way through the crowd.

When she saw my feet, tears immediately filled her eyes.

She crouched down and reached out to touch them.

I stepped backward.

“Mom, I'm fine.”

“They're practically rotting.”

“And you still say you're fine?”

“It's not painful.”

“Bullshit.”

I said nothing more.

She remained crouched there.

Her hand hovered in midair.

She didn't dare touch my feet.

My father stood behind her.

His hands were still in his pockets.

But his nose was red.

His eyes were looking somewhere else.

Su Qing walked over and held her phone out to me.

She had taken a photograph.

My two feet side by side.

The blood blisters on the soles.

The sandbags around my ankles.

Everything frozen sharply in the frame.

“Can I publish this?” she asked.

“Publish it.”

She nodded and ran off.

The lights in the mixed interview area were extremely bright.

So bright that I could barely keep my eyes open.

I lowered my head and looked at my feet.

One of the blisters had burst again.

A small patch of red had seeped through my sock.

Three years ago, when I first started training with the sandbags, my ankles were covered in blisters.

I limped everywhere.

My mother asked me what was wrong.

I said I was fine.

She didn't believe me.

That night, while I was asleep, she quietly lifted the blanket.

When she saw the blood on my feet, she sat beside my bed and cried for half the night.

The next day, she still made me put the sandbags back on.

Because she knew—

If I didn't wear them,

no one would ever see me.

(End of Chapter 6)95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJ9FHvXTPh

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