It’s my life! It’s now or never!
The next day, November 29, 2020, at 5:15 AM, Ding Zhitong was awakened by her phone alarm blaring in her ear.
Gan Yang, who routinely woke up at four or five, was already dressed and ready. He pulled her up, helped her into a quick-dry T-shirt and running shorts, then handed her a glass of orange juice and a banana sandwich. It was too early; the sky outside was still dark. Ding Zhitong was awake, but her stomach wasn’t. She sat at the dining table wearing her glasses, feeling drowsy. She knew that if she didn’t eat a proper breakfast, she’d suffer from low blood sugar. So, with her eyes half-closed, she obediently ate everything. They left the house promptly at 5:30 AM.
They drove out of Dongman and first went to Caohejing to pick up Wang Yi.
This was Dr. Wang’s sixth year running the Shanghai Marathon. She had long since broken the three-hour barrier, with a personal best of 2:55.
Remembering this, Ding Zhitong teased Gan Yang, “Everyone else has been running for over a decade. Why don’t you have any ambition? Why not try to improve your time?”
“Huh?” Gan Yang seemed not to have heard. He repeated, “My goal this time is to run with you and get you under 3:30.”
Ding Zhitong didn’t understand why he was so fixated on her performance, but she knew it wasn’t fair to compare him with Wang Yi.
Wang Yi worked at a university, which gave her ideal conditions. She ran 10 kilometers on the school track every morning and could do several sets of 400-meter interval runs in the afternoon around two or three o’clock. She had maintained a monthly running volume of over 300 kilometers for years. For Gan Yang’s schedule, achieving this would be extremely difficult.
When they arrived at Caohejing, Ding Zhitong realized Wang Yi had also brought someone to participate in the race.
The newcomer handed out business cards as soon as he got in the car. He was a lawyer and, perhaps due to professional habit, chatted with them the whole way. He said he had been running with Wang Yi for half a year to prepare for this race. Unfortunately, his busy work schedule only allowed him to run outdoors three or four times a month, but he had been consistently working out. His trainer had told him that as long as his leg muscles were strong enough, things like cushioning and support in running shoes were irrelevant, and even a marathon wouldn’t be a problem.
Ding Zhitong laughed at hearing such job-threatening talk in front of these two.
Gan Yang still seemed not to have heard, staring out the window, lost in thought.
Wang Yi didn’t argue but encouraged her lawyer friend, saying, “You must finish the race today. As long as you finish, it’ll be your personal best.”
So he was a first-time marathoner, Ding Zhitong thought to herself. The next 42 kilometers would teach him a lesson.
At 6:15 AM, they arrived at Nanjing East Road.
In Shanghai’s late autumn, the sun had not yet risen, and the street lamps were still lit. Yet the pedestrian street was already crowded. It was easy to distinguish runners from pedestrians. The pedestrians wore winter clothes, while the runners were in T-shirts and shorts, gathering together with flags for photos.
Coincidentally, they received a push notification from the event organizers. The headline was simple and direct: Those crazy people are out running again!
Ding Zhitong laughed out loud and showed it to Gan Yang. But he acted like a concerned mother, telling her not to take off her jacket yet, to pin on her number bib properly, and to check the contents of her bag one more time.
Ding Zhitong traveled light, with only a chip and timer in her bag. Gan Yang, on the other hand, packed over a dozen energy gels, salt tablets, and Snickers bars, like a street vendor from the 1980s.
Ding Zhitong asked, “Why are you carrying so much?”
“Two people, two mouths. Better safe than sorry,” Gan Yang explained, truly like an old mother.
Well, if he wanted to carry it, so be it.
Ding Zhitong had a feeling that he seemed doubtful about whether she could finish the race and had made various preparations. Underestimating her, she thought to herself. She wasn’t a novice like the one Wang Yi had brought.
Due to the pandemic, this year’s race only retained the full marathon, didn’t invite international runners, and had far fewer participants than in previous years. They also had three separate starting waves. Masks were mandatory in the starting area, and runners had to stand on blue dots on the ground, maintaining a one-meter distance.
Even so, the scene was still bustling with people.
After verification and check-in, they followed the crowd towards the river. As they walked, they watched the sun slowly rise on the opposite bank, appearing behind the Lujiazui skyline. The sky shed its dark hue, taking on a golden tint, then showing a faint cyan with a few wispy clouds, like fine scratches on glass.
The temperature was still low, only 7°C. Due to a week of continuous rain, the humidity was high, and the ground was damp. Ding Zhitong had already taken off her jacket, wearing only a T-shirt and shorts, but she didn’t feel cold at all. She was fully awake and even a bit excited.
As they warmed up in the starting area, she felt even more amazed—as if by some cosmic coincidence, they were at the Bull Square on the Bund, which also had a bull sculpture. Looking down the race course, all the old bank buildings were visible: American, China Merchants, Communications, Central, Taiwan, McCalley, Huabei, Dutch, Bank of China, Yokohama Specie—foreign-owned and Chinese-owned, all present. This was a place once known as the “Wall Street of the East.”
Twelve years had passed. It seemed they could never go back, yet they had finally returned.
“We’re running a marathon together…” she looked at Gan Yang, realizing how unnecessary her words were only after speaking them.
Indeed, they were running a marathon together.
Gan Yang simply held her hand to avoid getting separated in the crowd and checked her heart rate. “Why is it so high? Already 129 without even running?”
“Is that something I can control?” Ding Zhitong retorted. The atmosphere was intense, and everyone around them was excited. Especially in their C corral, where there were many running clubs with colorful flags flying.
“You’re the definition of getting caught up in the moment,” Gan Yang smiled at her, pressing down the brim of her baseball cap.
“Let me see yours…” Ding Zhitong, not to be outdone, checked his heart rate and threw his words back at him, “Aren’t you the same? Already 120 without running. Let’s see you control it.”
Moreover, his resting heart rate was lower than hers, and usually only around 120 when running.
Gan Yang, embarrassed, cleared his throat and assumed the role of an old master again, earnestly advising her: “When we start, make sure to keep your pace in check. Your goal is 3:30, so maintain a five-minute per-kilometer pace throughout. If you feel you still have energy in the last kilometer, then consider speeding up. Don’t get caught up in the rhythm at the beginning, don’t go too fast, understand?”
Ding Zhitong was about to say that this wasn’t her first time, but the starting gun had already fired. The sides of the race course lit up with large, fluorescent letters: GO! GO! GO! The loudspeakers blasted that familiar song—Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life.”
The Shanghai Marathon used this BGM for the start every year. Ding Zhitong had heard it many times on live streams and twice already for the first two waves, but experiencing it in person, when it was her turn, was completely different.
Her blood was boiling, and she forgot all about keeping her pace in check.
She understood the logic—consuming too much energy in the first half would cause problems in the second half—but she felt that this was an exceptionally good day: clear skies, a gentle breeze, and clean and crisp air. Surely she could achieve a good result.
Gan Yang was supposed to pace her from the front, but now he was running behind her, reminding her to constantly monitor her physical state and not to go too fast.
But even after 25 kilometers, Ding Zhitong still felt great. She chatted incessantly, telling him, “See, I don’t even feel tired… Listen to me talk without panting…”
Gan Yang knew her training condition best and was just waiting for her to hit the wall.
Sure enough, at the 35-kilometer mark, that familiar feeling finally emerged. She had to slow down, watching the 3:30 pacers pass her from behind.
In the last seven kilometers, she felt close to cramping several times and had to stop in advance to stretch. She told Gan Yang, “Go on, catch up with the 3:30 rabbit!”
Gan Yang laughed and asked, “Why would I chase the 3:30 rabbit? We agreed I’m staying with you. If we can’t make it, we’ll just run slowly.”
Ding Zhitong was still unwilling to give up. She sprayed a lot of Yunnan Baiyao and continued. After the last turnaround, running along the Xuhui Riverside towards the West Bund Art Center, she finally managed to overtake the pacer she had been chasing after the 40-kilometer mark.
The finish line was near. They could already see the erected finish banner and hear the music of “We Are the Champions.” Suddenly, Gan Yang sped up, overtaking her.
Ding Zhitong had no energy left for a final sprint. She could only watch his back getting further away, running while rummaging for something in his bag.
Didn’t he say he wasn’t going for a time? Didn’t he say he’d stay with me? She cursed inwardly, then watched as he crossed the finish line, turned around, and knelt on one knee.
It was unexpected, yet somehow seemed inevitable.
She immediately guessed what was about to happen. Her physical strength was nearly depleted, with only willpower remaining, yet she felt a lightness that came after pushing past her limits. In those last few hundred meters, she looked at him, running towards him. Time seemed infinitely stretched as if traversing twelve years of springs, autumns, winters, and summers. She ran through the snow of Ithaca, the spring days of New York, the rainy season of Vietnam, and now the autumn sunshine of Shanghai.
Tears welled up, blurring her vision. In the end, all she could see was a figure with arms outstretched towards her.
It wasn’t until she reached him that she realized he was crying too, holding a ring, looking a bit foolish. But she knew that the scenes that had flashed before her eyes, he had seen them too. In this world, no third person could share their feelings.
“Tongtong,” he knelt there and said to her, “…”
The surroundings were noisy, and she still had some ringing in her ears, so she couldn’t hear clearly. Nearby staff came to hurry them, telling them to quickly leave the finish area.
She pulled him up, and he embraced her. They both blurted out almost simultaneously:
“Will you marry me? Me.”
“Do you want to run with me? The kind that lasts a lifetime.”
(End of main text)
**The protagonists’ career timeline**
2008-2009, during the financial crisis.
Ding Zhitong joined M Bank’s New York IBD Product Group as an analyst, participating in the XP Energy project (reference case: Chesapeake Energy).
Gan Yang was working hard to pay off debts.
2009-2010, as the financial industry recovered.
Ding Zhitong transferred to the Industry Group as an analyst. Feng Sheng graduated with an MBA and joined a hedge fund.
2010-2012, China’s industrial adjustment, and low-end manufacturing moved overseas. Global capital was optimistic about the Chinese market, but Wall Street also began a trend of shorting Chinese concept stocks.
Ding Zhitong went to M Bank’s Hong Kong IBD Industry Group, was promoted to manager, and participated in the “street vendor goods” website project (I won’t mention the reference case, after all, it hasn’t gone bankrupt yet???).
Gan Yang invested in LT Group, moved manufacturing to Southeast Asia, co-founded a laboratory with a university, and upgraded the remaining domestic operations to focus on R&D and design.
Song Mingmei and Deng Baiting’s company had an opportunity to go public, but it was delayed for a year due to the short-selling of Chinese concept stocks.
“China expert” Bian Benjamin was sued for fraud.
2013-2016, foreign capital influx, 2015 A-share stock market crash. Ding Zhitong was promoted to Vice President in M Bank’s Hong Kong IBD Industry Group. Ex-husband Feng Sheng was under investigation.
2016-2019, China’s consumption upgrade, the emergence of the urban new middle class, and booming industries such as e-commerce and fitness.
Ding Zhitong was promoted to Director of M Bank’s Hong Kong IBD Industry Group, working on a series of sports-related projects.
Gan Yang began planning a corporate transformation, venturing into investment. The two reunited due to projects in the same field.