Chapter 11: Turning the Tide

Jiang Muye got his confirmed date and turned on his heel, dragging away the teammates who'd been trying to wander over.

Mi Ke sat on her folding stool for over an hour before a boy in a basketball jersey, who'd been watching from nearby for

a long time, finally worked up the nerve to approach.

"Hey, can you really do free sports rehab here? Are you... qualified?"

Mi Ke looked up and offered a gentle smile. "Yes. I'm a sophomore in Sports Human Science. I can't promise to fix

everything, but I can handle most common sports injuries."

"That's great." The boy set his basketball aside and crouched down, pulling off his sock. "I sprained my ankle a week

ago. It's healed, but I still get sharp pains when I run or jump. I've got an important basketball tournament in a

month... Can you help with that?"

Mi Ke stood and grabbed her folding stool. "Come with me to the rehab room. Let's take a look."

They headed to the rehabilitation room. Mi Ke spent nearly half an hour releasing the tight muscles around his ankle,

then guided him through several range-of-motion recovery exercises.

After completing the routine, the boy tested his ankle and exclaimed with delight, "It's actually better! Before, my

right ankle would hurt whenever I rotated it left. Now the pain's gone!"

Mi Ke nodded and sat down at the desk in the rehab room. She jotted something down while continuing to instruct him.

"For the next week, practice the movements I showed you today. After a week, follow this sheet for strength and

stability training. By the end of the month, I guarantee it won't affect your tournament."

The boy took the "exercise prescription" Mi Ke had written and broke into a wide grin. "Thank you so much! What's your

name?"

She looked at him steadily and enunciated each syllable. "Mi. Ke."

Hearing the name, the boy visibly faltered. He stared at Mi Ke for a couple of seconds with a complicated expression.

From the look in his eyes, Mi Ke could tell-he'd heard the rumors about "ugly girl Mi Ke." But there was no malice in

his gaze now.

Quickly recovering, he smiled again, as if he'd convinced himself of something. "Mi Ke, do you come to the sports field

every day? I've got a few teammates with sports injuries too..."

"Not every day," Mi Ke said, lowering her gaze. "I just set up here to practice my rehabilitation techniques. But I

should be around most days this week."

"Great, let's exchange WeChats. I'll spread the word in my dorm when I get back!"

"Sure." Mi Ke pulled out her phone.

After exchanging contacts, the boy left with his basketball, looking relieved. Mi Ke returned to her spot by the track

and set up her sign again.

Over the course of the morning, she treated two more students-a guy with limited shoulder mobility and a girl with

tenosynovitis.

Most sports injuries and joint issues couldn't be resolved in a single session. Both added Mi Ke on WeChat to schedule

follow-up appointments.

To everyone who asked, Mi Ke explained that her motivation for offering free rehabilitation was simply to improve her

professional skills. Helping classmates with their problems at the same time was a win-win.

But in truth, she had a deeper reason.

To overturn her reputation at Hua University, appearance alone wouldn't be enough. She needed more people to interact

with her personally, to understand her, and to benefit from her help.

Someday in the future, everything she was doing today-and the reputation she would build behind it-would prove

invaluable.