Chapter 472: Hero or Public Enemy

Chapter 472: Hero or Public Enemy

Clang!

Meng Fan dropped the U-shaped decoration he had caught onto the ground, the sound it made the only noise besides the two cries at the scene, and it jolted the others present back to reality.

"Meng Fan?"

"Meng Fan!"

"How did he—"

"Why him of all people!"

"Oh my god, that's incredible!"

"That thing must have been really heavy, right?"

"What do I do? I think I'm starting to like him!"

"I want to cry! I was just cursing at him!"

"Was he really unable to understand what we were saying to him earlier?"

"Bastard! Why is he so good? He could have just ignored it, wuwuwu!"

"Don't be fooled by him, he's putting on an act!"

"Yeah, he must be acting!"

"Think about it—he was smiling even when we were cursing him out just now. Shows how calculating he is! Maybe he even planned for that thing to fall!"

"But—but his hand is bleeding!"

"It's a trick, definitely a trick! Chinese people are masters of schemes; we shouldn't be deceived!"

"Exactly, exactly! He's playing for sympathy!"

"Brother... why would he want sympathy? It's not like he needs our approval. And besides, his injury might affect the competition... right?"

"Shut up!"

"Damn it!"

Meng Fan's hand was indeed bleeding. The U-shaped decoration was heavy to begin with, and falling from such a height—even with Meng Fan's strength, he couldn't catch it effortlessly and steadily. He did catch it, but it slipped. Normally, contact with the edges wouldn't be a problem, but the slip and scrape made things worse, slicing a large gash right across his right palm. As he dropped the decoration to the ground, blood splattered along with it.

"Team doctor!"

The teammate closest to Meng Fan spotted the blood and immediately shouted, "Meng Fan is bleeding!"

The team doctor's heart skipped a beat as he rushed over. Fortunately, they had already unloaded their luggage and the medical kit was with them; otherwise, he would have had to stop the bleeding with bare hands.

After a quick on-site treatment, they hurriedly sent him to the hospital. Everything moved so fast that the airport staff barely had time to react.

"Is it serious?"

Xiao Yunlin grabbed the team doctor and asked. This incident was too sudden, truly startling him.

The team doctor said, "From what I saw during the initial treatment, it's not too serious. I also asked the local doctors—no damage to bones or nerve tissue. It just needs stitches. But he'll definitely need some rest; he probably won't be able to compete this time."

Xiao Yunlin smiled bitterly, "Forget the competition! As long as he's okay! I'm just worried this injury might affect the dexterity of his hand. Forget the competition for now—he also uses his hand for painting! If he can't compete and his normal work is affected too..."

The team doctor looked at him with newfound respect and gave Xiao Yunlin a thumbs-up.

Thinking about it, if it didn't affect his painting, then naturally it wouldn't affect the competition. But the fact that his first concern wasn't the competition results but the hand itself definitely earned him goodwill from the medical staff.

"It's not a big deal, don't worry. I'm going in now."

Even though it was just a simple stitching procedure, he was still uneasy, so he planned to monitor the entire process.

Everything went smoothly, as the team doctor had said. Though it was a stitching procedure, it only took about half an hour, most of which was spent on preparation.

From the time they left the airport to the end of the stitching, the outside world had already become quite lively.

Besides the Chinese team members, there were other Chinese people at the airport. Many had been filming with their phones—some to capture Meng Fan and the judo team, others out of indignation at the protests against Meng Fan, wanting to upload the footage online for public judgment, or perhaps just out of sheer curiosity.

Thus, many phones captured the moment the U-shaped decoration fell and Meng Fan stepped forward. Such a big event was sure to be shared on WeChat Moments, Weibo, and other websites.

Of course, many South Koreans also filmed it, and some shared the videos.

#MengFanInjured#

#MengFanFacesProtestsInBusan#

#MengFanSmilesThroughProtests#

#MengFanActsHeroically#

#BusanAirportAccident#

#HeroOrPublicEnemy#

And so on—a series of topics instantly became trending, not only on domestic sites like Weibo but also sparking heated discussions on foreign websites.

"What's there to protest about? The whole world knows the whole story of Meng Fan challenging South Korea's martial arts scene. Who else would you provoke but Meng Fan? Serves the South Korean martial arts world right for losing face, and serves South Korean wrestling and judo right for getting zero medals at the Kyoto Olympics!"

"What are they protesting? That Meng Fan beat them too badly? Asking him to go easy this time?"

"My dream smile is so beautiful, I could cry!"

"Haha, I can clearly feel the hearts of South Korean girls melting under Iron God's smile!"

"Awesome! No amount of protest can withstand that male charm!"

"Damn! I thought only South Korean phones exploded, but it turns out airport ceiling decorations can fall off anytime too!"

"He caught something that big! Iron God is truly amazing!"

"Even after all that protest and boycott, he still saved them! Meng Fan, are you a reincarnated bodhisattva?"

"You idiot, why did you run over from so far away? Now look, your hand is injured! You might not feel the pain, but we do!"

"He never got hurt during the challenge or the competition, but he gets injured off the field. Busan, you really did it!"

"We admit he's a soft-hearted show-off! But when people say he's putting on a show, I really can't stand it anymore! If that's the case, I have every reason to believe that thing falling was all planned to harm Meng Fan!"

Yes, in South Korea, there was also a trending topic—#MengFanPuttingOnAShow#. The most infuriating and ridiculous part was that many people actually believed it.

Not only was the internet buzzing, but when Meng Fan finished his stitches and left the hospital, he was met at the door by a swarm of reporters, including South Korean journalists, foreign correspondents stationed in South Korea, and many sports reporters who had come for the Masters tournament.

"Meng Fan, how is your hand? Can you still compete?"

"Mr. Meng, do you have anything to say about the protests and boycotts?"

"Meng Fan from China, everyone knows you have a complicated history and grudges here. And right there at the protest scene, why did you risk yourself to save those two people who were protesting against you?"

"Meng Fan, the internet is now debating whether you're a public enemy or a hero. What do you think about that?"

(End of chapter)