Mr. Kane Got Blacklisted

Stella was shocked. She had talked to Keegan about this before, but he never mentioned his role in helping her. She always thought her salary was recovered because the organizers were reasonable and knew it wasn't her fault. Now, looking back, she realized how naive that was.

For such a big event, why would the organizers care about a small etiquette girl like her? They wouldn't care about right or wrong; they'd just choose the easiest way to handle the situation.

It turned out Keegan had helped her... It was him all along...

"Keegan is really smart. He had his eye on you even back then," Alexis said with a sigh, but Stella smiled, "Brother, I'm sure Keegan had no selfish motives when he helped me. He would've helped anyone in that situation."

Keegan never called her or mentioned it, and even years later, when she brought it up, he didn't take credit for it. She was confident his help was purely out of kindness.

Alexis laughed, "Selfish or not, it doesn't matter. The red string of fate between you two is as strong as steel. You're destined to be together."

Stella couldn't agree more.

If they hadn't been separated by mistake, they would've been childhood sweethearts. But even after all the twists and turns, fate still brought them together.

Meanwhile, Joe started his run strong, with Keegan nearly two kilometers behind. But in the second lap, Joe slowed down while Keegan kept a steady pace. By the end of the second lap, the gap had shrunk to less than a kilometer.

As Stella handed Keegan an energy bar, she felt a pang of concern seeing his sweaty face.

Keegan took the bar, tapped it on his palm, and bit into it as he continued running.

It wasn't even 10 a.m., but the sun was already scorching. Alexis, always one to enjoy life, had someone set up a sunshade over their heads and was lounging under it, sipping watermelon juice.

By the third lap, the distance between Joe and Keegan was just a few hundred meters.

Alexis suddenly sat up, removing his sunglasses, "Keegan is going to overtake him."

With two kilometers left, Joe's energy was almost gone. Though he loved running, he had never run 20 kilometers before, usually stopping at 10.

After passing 10 kilometers, he could barely maintain his pace. At 15 kilometers, his lungs burned with every breath, and his legs felt like they were weighed down with lead, too heavy to lift. But with Keegan still close behind, Joe pushed himself to keep going. He thought if he just kept this pace, he could win.

But he never imagined Keegan could speed up in the last two kilometers.

When Joe saw Keegan pass him, he was stunned.

He wanted to speed up too, but at this point, he could barely move forward, and he felt like giving up.

Sweat dripped from his hair, stinging his eyes, and he felt on the verge of tears.

Just then, he heard Stella's voice.

She called his name, encouraging him. He turned his head and saw Alexis driving her in a trolley, keeping pace with him. Alexis also cheered him on, "It's just the last stretch, keep going!"

Joe was surprised, and his mindset shifted. Instead of feeling like he'd already lost and should give up, he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his idols. At the very least, he had to finish the race.

He gritted his teeth and kept running, even though his legs felt like lead.

Joe lost to Keegan by six minutes.

When he crossed the finish line, Keegan had already recovered a bit.

As Joe stumbled to the finish, his legs gave out, and he wanted to collapse on the ground. But Keegan helped him up, "Stand and rest. Sit down after a while."

He handed Joe a bottle of room temperature water, "Drink it slowly, in small sips."

Joe felt embarrassed. He had been upset about losing and underestimating Keegan, but now, with Keegan showing concern, he felt foolish.

He took the water from Keegan, panting, and drank quietly.

Stella handed Keegan another bottle of water and asked softly, "How are you?"

Keegan shook his head, "I'm fine."

He was tired, for sure. He hadn't run a half marathon in a long time.

He glanced at Joe, who looked defeated, like he was about to cry.

Joe had been so excited to meet his idol before, but now he was too downcast to even talk to Alexis.

"Let's go take a break and then have dinner together later."

Joe looked up, "Are you going to humiliate me just because you won?"

Keegan smiled, "I'll introduce you to Alexis."

Joe was surprised, "But I lost."

Keegan nodded, "So you can't join the team, but you can still meet him." He paused, "Or do you not want to?"

"Of course I do!" Joe quickly agreed, then, feeling a bit embarrassed, added, "I didn't expect you to be so strong at your age. I admit, you're amazing." Keegan paused, "What age?"

Joe was about to say Keegan was in

his 40s, but when he saw Stella behind Keegan frantically signaling him, he quickly changed his tune, "Brother, you look as young as me today. My friend even thought you were born in the 2000s like us."

Keegan looked pleased, "Let's go."

Even though he didn't get into the team, Joe was thrilled to meet Alexis. After dinner, they took@grâup photo together on the way back to school, Keegan noticed Joe smiling at the photo and asked, "Do you remember what you promised me?"

"Yes, I remember. No more of these competitions, study hard, and make progress every day." Joe hesitated, "My mom didn't ask you to talk to me like this, did she?" Keegan didn't answer but asked, "How did it feel to run a half marathon?"

Joe said, "It was tough. The further I went, the more it felt like I was dying. I wanted to give up every second, but finishing felt like an accomplishment."

Keegan smiled, "It's easy to enjoy

something, but what matters is

sticking with it for the long term!!!

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Think about whether you just like the excitement of racing, or if you truly want to succeed in it and make it a lifelong career."

Joe was taken aback. A lifelong career... He had never thought about it that way. The excitement was one thing, but it wasn't just that. He genuinely loved cars and the roar of the engines. Joe sighed, "Honestly, my parents chose my major for me. I don't like it; it's boring."

Because he didn't like it, he didn't care.

Keegan was silent for a moment, then delivered the blow, "How long does it take to change majors at your school? Or how long to get a double degree?"