Chapter 137: Technique: Mutual Reflection
The moment Lu Suo crossed the finish line, his teammates rushed toward him in a frenzy. The four of them embraced, shouting and cheering in wild excitement. Lu Jinrong watched the scene with a look of quiet satisfaction.
Seeing this, Guan Zhaoyue sighed with emotion, “Like a giant roc rising on the wind, soaring ninety thousand miles!”
“That’s a good line,” Lu Jinrong remarked.
...
Soon, the electronic screen at the venue displayed the results of the race:
‘Nanyue Team, 39.12 seconds.
Shanghai Team, 40.41 seconds.
...’
Immediately, the stadium’s broadcast system announced, “Congratulations to the Nanyue Team for breaking the National Games 4x100m relay record with a time of 39.12 seconds.”
This announcement added fuel to an already blazing atmosphere. Looking at the four young Nanyue athletes stepping onto the podium, the crowd cheered and applauded fervently. In such an environment, the standard background music for the medal ceremony could no longer satisfy the restless hearts of the four young athletes.
Facing the thousands of excited spectators, Tian Shiwei felt his spirit surging. He opened his mouth and roared, “Facing the ten thousand waves with pride...”
Lin Lishuo and Qian Feng instinctively chimed in, “Our passion burns like the red sun...”
They were starting their own victory anthem. Lu Suo, watching his three teammates singing at the top of their lungs, couldn’t help but join the chorus, “Hearts made of iron, bones like refined steel...”
Other medalists nearby who could hear them, along with segments of the audience, began to join in: “With a spirit vast as the ocean, and vision reaching a thousand miles...”
More and more people joined the chorus. The song “A Man Should Be Self-Reliant” mysteriously echoed throughout the Galaxy Gymnasium at that very moment. It was a hymn sung by the hometown crowd for the Nanyue team’s athletes.
For this moment, the center of the world seemed to rest upon those four young men who had created a miracle. Standing on the track, they felt as if they were at the center of the universe, with all glory and pride swirling toward them, coalescing into a brilliant golden crown above their heads.
...
“You run fast, really fast,” Liu Yu said to Lu Suo, who was standing on the champion’s podium beside him. “Do you have a secret?”
“The secret is to wear a red uniform; red makes you go three times as fast,” Lu Suo joked.
Liu Yu looked down at his own green uniform and exclaimed, “So that’s why!”
“I’m just joking,” Lu Suo said.
“Of course, I’ve watched Gundam too,” Liu Yu replied.
...
The scene of Lu Suo and Liu Yu whispering on the podiums was broadcast to millions of homes, and everyone was incredibly curious about what they were saying. During a later television interview, the host brought up the question to Liu Yu.
Liu Yu answered honestly, “I was asking Lu Suo how to run faster.”
“And what did he say?” the host asked, deeply interested.
“He told me to wear red clothes,” Liu Yu said.
...
Now.
Tian Shiwei finally had a gold medal of his own. Though, it was still a 4x100m relay gold. Consequently, Tian Shiwei still coveted Lu Suo’s 400m and 200m National Games gold medals—he had already secured the 100m gold.
“Most people collect gold medals, but you collect other people’s gold medals. Is this some kind of weird quirk?” Lu Suo couldn’t help but ask.
“With monsters like you guys around, do I even have a chance to win an individual gold?” Tian Shiwei said. “But we’re brothers, what’s yours is mine. After I retire, I can tell people that I had a hand in all these gold medals.”
“Retire?” This was the second time Lu Suo had heard that word from Tian Shiwei.
“Yeah,” Tian Shiwei nodded. “You guessed it. After helping my best buddy achieve a grand slam in the National Games sprints, I’m going to retire with honor.”
At that moment, the back row of the bus fell into silence.
“But you didn’t say that before,” Lu Suo said.
“I lied to you. I didn’t want to distract you from your races,” Tian Shiwei said. “I already told the coach.”
“But your times are still improving. How could the coach agree?” Lu Suo asked, confused.
“Old Lu, there’s more to this world than just sprinting; it’s a big place,” Tian Shiwei said. “Even a layabout rich kid like me has to go back and get trained in managing the family business, lest I squander it all later.”
“You’re going back to inherit the family fortune?” Lu Suo was even more confused. “With your Ivy League-educated older brother and your sister who finished her MBA at fifteen, how could it ever come down to you?”
Lu Suo had naturally heard about Tian Shiwei’s family. Compared to his siblings, Tian Shiwei could only be described as a... well, a playboy.
Tian Shiwei felt a bit embarrassed at being exposed and decided to just give up. “Old Lu, why are you so annoying? Do you really have to make me say it’s because I’ve been left so far behind by you guys that I don’t want to train anymore? I want to be number one too, but I don’t see any hope!”
After Tian Shiwei finished speaking, Lu Suo fell silent.
“You’re about to head off to the Golden Grand Prix, while I have to stay in the country and be crushed repeatedly by Pan Kai and the others. What’s the point?” Tian Shiwei shook his head with a bitter smile. “It’s meaningless. I don’t like losing.”
Indeed.
Nobody likes to lose.
If competition wasn’t a mandatory path in life for him, then choosing another road was perfectly normal.
“...Are you content with this?” Lu Suo asked after a long silence.
Tian Shiwei, usually so talkative, was silent now.
He stared out the bus window at the passing streetscape, vibrant and illuminated with dazzling lights. They had entered the downtown area of Pengcheng. While children of similar backgrounds spent their lives in luxury and nightlife, Tian Shiwei had been living like an ascetic at the sports academy.
His father’s original plan was simple: since the boy had athletic talent and didn’t care for his studies, he should be sent to train in sports to keep him from idling away his time—the same logic used for sending a kid to the military.
Five years had passed. It was almost the sixth year.
How many six-year periods are there in a lifetime, especially in one’s youth?
Watching Tian Shiwei’s silence, Lu Suo felt he could understand his feelings.
“How about you come to the Golden Grand Prix with me?” Lu Suo asked.
“As your agent?” Tian Shiwei countered. “Was that why you told Ruan Mei that I was your agent, for this very day?”
Right, Tian Shiwei’s results weren’t even among the best in the country, let alone abroad.
“That’s not what I meant. I meant something else~” Lu Suo smiled.
...
Breaking the 4x100m record had earned Lu Suo a new skill.
Since the 4x100m was a team event, what kind of skill could it be?
It was called ‘Reflection.’
‘Reflection’ was less of a skill and more of a roster.
Lu Suo could write the names of three teammates he wanted to participate in the 4x100m relay with him into his status bar. The closer his relationship with these teammates, the more they could share in Lu Suo’s own ‘Status.’
The description of ‘Reflection’ in the status bar was vague.
What did it mean to share the same ‘Status’?
Lu Suo didn’t know yet.
But on the bus ride back, he already had his choice.
On the first line for a teammate, Lu Suo wrote the name: ‘Tian Shiwei.’
...
While the rest of the team celebrated, Tian Shiwei returned to his dorm alone.
Since Lu Suo had moved into his new home, he had rarely stayed here.
Tian Shiwei remembered how he used to loathe Lu Suo living with him. Returning now, he felt only emptiness, loneliness, and a sense of longing.
He lay on his bed and drifted into sleep, tears silently rolling down his cheeks in his dreams.
...
Early the next morning.
When Tian Shiwei woke up, he saw three numbers appearing in the corner of his vision.