"Mom, Dad, brother, sister—why are you here?"
Ronaldo, lying in the hospital bed, still didn't fully understand his condition.
It wasn't until his family arrived that he realized how serious things were.
He turned to Deng Kai: "Kai… do I have some kind of terminal illness?"
The moment he said that, Cristiano Ronaldo's family burst into tears. His mother and sister hugged each other and cried uncontrollably.
The atmosphere instantly became heavy as hell.
Deng Kai's attempts to comfort them were completely useless.
Finally, the doctor arrived with Trigueira.
At Deng Kai's insistence, everything about Ronaldo's condition was explained clearly in front of him.
The cause was accidental—the violent collision had triggered cardiac arrest and also fractured his ribs.
Thanks to Deng Kai's timely CPR, Ronaldo suffered no lasting damage.
Of course, the doctor suspected that the rib fracture might not have been caused by the collision, but by Deng Kai pressing too hard during CPR.
That kind of thing can happen, especially with thinner patients.
But honestly, better a broken rib than a dead man.
At Deng Kai's request, the hospital conducted a more detailed examination.
They discovered Ronaldo had a minor issue—tachycardia—which hadn't been detected before.
It wasn't serious, just a small problem.
Like when people get a "sinus arrhythmia" result during a check-up—doctors usually say it's nothing.
Ronaldo's condition was similar and wouldn't affect his career.
In fact, regular exercise could even help.
But… doctors always talk about worst-case scenarios.
If your eye hurts, it might go away on its own—but the doctor will mention "risk of retinal detachment."
If you feel short of breath, it might be nothing—but the doctor will throw in possibilities from bronchitis to lung cancer.
Are doctors being irresponsible?
Not really.
They just don't want to take unnecessary risks, so they avoid making absolute judgments.
But while doctors avoid responsibility, the pressure shifts onto the patient.
And that pressure can create new problems.
Statistics show that 95% of anxiety disorder patients believe they have serious or terminal illnesses.
Some even develop anxiety after visiting a doctor.
Anyone who's been sick knows—physical pain is one thing, but mental stress can be even worse.
In comparison, traditional Chinese medicine focuses more on emotional reassurance as well.
The reason this matters is because the doctor pointed out—
In extreme cases, tachycardia could cause an incident like today again.
Actually, not just extreme.
For normal people, it's extremely rare—almost negligible.
But Ronaldo isn't normal.
He's destined to become a professional footballer.
Football pushes both aerobic and anaerobic limits.
There are constant collisions, intense physical battles, and falls.
That increases the risk significantly.
Still rare—but now it goes from "once in fifty years" to "maybe once in ten years."
That's already dangerous enough.
A similar case happened later with Danish midfielder Eriksen—he collapsed during a match for the same reason. He survived thanks to emergency treatment, but his career changed dramatically.
"So now, we need to decide one thing—whether Ronaldo should undergo surgery to completely fix this issue," the doctor concluded.
"I'm not doing it!" Ronaldo immediately refused, shaking his head wildly.
The fear came afterward.
At first, he seemed calm.
But once he understood everything—and saw how Deng Kai had saved him—he realized he had no memory of that moment.
That terrified him.
He didn't dare close his eyes, afraid he might never wake up again.
Surgery meant general anesthesia.
What if the dosage was wrong?
What if he never woke up?
All kinds of thoughts flooded his mind.
Most of them were unrealistic—but fear doesn't care about logic.
You can't calm someone who just died once.
He simply couldn't accept it.
"If I have surgery, what happens to the team? We'll lose," Ronaldo tried to justify himself.
"The team can accept losing," Trigueira said firmly. "Your health matters more."
"It's just U17. I can carry the team myself," Deng Kai said casually. "You go get the surgery. When you come back in one or two months, we'll jump straight to U19."
"Winning or losing U17 doesn't matter."
"You don't seriously think the Portuguese U15 League title means anything, do you?"
"In the future, no one will even mention it in your career records."
"Not the youth league, not even the European Youth Championship."
"The professional stage—that's where everything begins."
"Before that, you still have time to prepare. But once it starts, you won't get this kind of chance again."
"You don't want to suddenly need surgery when we're about to win the Champions League, right?"
"If you don't do it now, then you owe me a Champions League title. Got it?"
Ronaldo was momentarily stunned by Deng Kai's shameless logic: "Haha! If I get the surgery now, can you guarantee me a Champions League trophy?"
Deng Kai raised three fingers: "No problem."
Ronaldo squinted: "Wait—your thumb and index finger aren't even touching. That's not OK. Why the hell are your thumb and little finger touching? Are you messing with me?"
Deng Kai smirked: "That's a swear gesture where I'm from. More reliable than OK. If you don't understand, ask—don't pretend. OK?"
Ronaldo waved him off impatiently: "Get lost! Let's see you win the league first. If you can't even do that, I'll be waiting till you die of old age for that Champions League!"
Ronaldo's mother smacked him: "Don't say such unlucky things!"
Ronaldo covered his face, half-laughing, half-crying.
Deng Kai and Trigueira then left the room, giving the family space.
The doctor began contacting specialists, planning surgery within a week.
The heart would recover quickly—likely fully healed within two weeks after surgery.
But the rib fracture would take about three months.
So realistically, full recovery would take around half a year.
Trigueira said it wasn't a problem.
He could even let Ronaldo rest for a full year if needed.
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