Chapter 142: Trial Match

They only stayed at the store for half an hour.
Yet Rousseau had already drunk nearly ten cups of tea.
Fortunately, they were all drinking the same kind of tea; otherwise, Rousseau might have suspected that Koji Kanno was trying to poison his opponent.
After leaving the store, Ruan Mei repeatedly and sincerely thanked Rousseau for accompanying her through the ordeal, admitting that she would have been scared to death if she had gone alone.
In fact, Ruan Mei's trip to Hiroshima Prefecture, besides taking some photographs for Rousseau, was primarily to give Jinsiji Mimura a status report on the development of the "Rikuo" project. As the holder of the Rikuo insole technology, Jinsiji Mimura had every right to reclaim his patent.
"Is that old man satisfied?" Rousseau asked with a hint of curiosity.
"He said he wants to see whether Rikuo truly delivers the inner essence expected of a genuine pair of gods' running shoes," Ruan Mei replied. "After all, the race is tomorrow."
Oh, Rousseau suddenly understood. So that was it. Tomorrow's race between him and Koji Kanno could also be seen as a showdown between the old and new generations of the gods of running shoes?
He couldn't shake the feeling that ever since arriving in Japan, the entire atmosphere around him had become remarkably "divine."
……
Upon arriving at the hotel designated by the organizers for the athletes, Lu Jinrong was waiting for Rousseau in the lobby. He warned Rousseau not to wander around blindly, reminding him that he was representing Shenzhen and must be careful not to cause trouble.
Although Si Rou held the title of team leader, she acted more like a tour guide. Unlike Dong Zijian, who kept tight control over everyone's outings during the East Asian Games, Lu Jinrong took it upon himself to manage the itineraries of both Rousseau and Tian Shiwei. Being abroad was entirely different from being at home; caution was required in all things.
Rousseau and Tian Shiwei let the warnings go in one ear and out the other—they had always been like that.
Once everyone was gathered, Si Rou led the group to inspect tomorrow's competition venue.
The 100-meter sprint competition would take place entirely within a single day tomorrow.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) mandates a one-day format for tour events. This does not mean all events are completed in a single day, but rather that the competition time for any single event does not exceed one day, typically consisting of preliminaries in the morning and finals in the afternoon.
……
"This is the Hiroshima Stadium where we will be competing the day after tomorrow," Si Rou said, pointing to the somewhat aged, double-decked stadium.
"Although it looks a bit old, this is one of the venues for the Koshien tournament. Every July, spectators from all over Japan come here to cheer for their favorite baseball teams," Si Rou introduced.
Rousseau noticed that promotional banners for the "2005 IAAF World Athletics Tour - Hiroshima International Track and Field Meeting" were already hanging along the exterior of the stadium.
……
Led by Si Rou, Lu Jinrong, Rousseau, and Tian Shiwei entered the Hiroshima City Stadium. The venue was currently sealed off, and entry required proper credentials.
Stepping inside the stadium.
It certainly looked a bit old.
However, the running track was brand new.
Although running tracks are standardized in construction, variations in climate, temperature, and environment have a significant impact on athletes.
After Rousseau stripped off his warm-up suit down to his vest and shorts, his immediate sensation was the chill in the air.
"It's a bit cold," Tian Shiwei remarked.
"Today's temperature is 19 degrees Celsius, tomorrow will be 20, and rain is expected," Lu Jinrong said, having already checked the weather forecast. "Still, it shouldn't reach the threshold for canceling the match."
"That's definitely going to have an impact, right?" Rousseau looked at the fine drizzle drifting through the air. He had never competed in the rain before.
"Since it's raining today as well, we can use this chance to acclimate. Our scheduled slot is from 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM, so we still have ten minutes," Lu Jinrong said.
The organizers had scheduled specific time slots for athletes from various teams to familiarize themselves with the venue.
Right now, a few blonde athletes were on the track doing just that.
This was also an excellent opportunity to observe competitors.
Lu Jinrong pointed out the athletes and introduced them to Rousseau and Tian Shiwei.
"Peter Gige from the United States, Léon Ribel from France, Figo Coro from Italy..."
According to Lu Jinrong's introductions, all three were seasoned veterans in their thirties. At their peak, their personal bests had broken the 10.10-second barrier. They had experienced past glories, and while their current times certainly fell short of their prime, it was something of an anomaly that they were still competing without having retired.
"Those three... do they share a coach?" Rousseau noticed an interesting detail. If all three were acclimating to the track at the same time, it stood to reason they shared a coach.
"Hmm... I hadn't noticed, but you're probably right," Lu Jinrong replied.
"Is it really that tough? Three athletes sharing a single coach?" Tian Shiwei sighed.
"What's this? You and Rousseau only have me as your coach—do you feel hard done by?" Lu Jinrong glared at him.
"Coach, that's not what I meant. My loyalty to you shines as bright as the sun and the moon, and can be verified by heaven and earth!" Tian Shiwei blurted out immediately.
During this exchange, the trial session on the track concluded.
As Rousseau and Tian Shiwei walked toward the track, the three foreigners were walking off it. Rousseau couldn't tell which was which, as they were all tall and blonde, but one of them slapped Rousseau on the backside and said, "Hey~ Asian boy~"
Rousseau stopped dead in his tracks and grabbed the man by the collar: "Looking for a beating, are you?!"
The blonde man hurriedly waved his hands with a smile and said, "I am sorry~"
Seeing this, Lu Jinrong rushed over to separate Rousseau and the foreigner.
The foreigner's coach also hurried over to apologize.
Si Rou blushed slightly, finding it rather awkward to translate the coach's words.
"I'm sorry, he's a fucking homosexual idiot."
The coach spoke in English. He was also a white man, looking somewhat like the down-and-out middle-aged men commonly seen in American television dramas. He wore a whistle around his neck, his hair was disheveled from the rain, and his face bore the helpless expression of someone overwhelmed by the pressures of life.
The coach introduced himself as Bruce Lee. Lu Jinrong decided to address him simply as "Lee" and warned him to keep his athlete under control, or he would file a formal complaint with the IAAF.
Lee apologized repeatedly before leading his athlete away.
……
It wasn't that Rousseau had never encountered homosexuals growing up; he respected everyone's sexual orientation, but harassing others made someone a scum of society, and Rousseau detested such behavior intensely. Since they were competitors, they would settle things on the track.
This minor incident did nothing to dampen Rousseau's mood.
Lu Jinrong clicked his stopwatch, having Rousseau and Tian Shiwei run a few sprints.
Rousseau's times remained stable, fluctuating around 10.15 seconds. The rainy weather had indeed taken a toll; otherwise, even without wearing his glass crown, he should have been able to clock 10.12 or 10.13 seconds.
As for Tian Shiwei, his times hovered around 10.30 seconds. With sufficient effort in the tour events, he still had a realistic shot at qualifying for the Golden Grand Prix starting in July.
……
After Rousseau and Tian Shiwei finished their trial runs, Lu Jinrong reintroduced their competitors to them.
Because this was a bronze-level meet, the field lacked heavy-hitting contenders.
Lu Jinrong had chosen Hiroshima as their first stop precisely to secure a victory for Rousseau, offering an early sweet treat to appease the Shenzhen sports authorities.
"You need to watch out for Lee's three athletes, but their times aren't as good as yours. If they were five years younger, they might have been able to contend with you for the gold," Lu Jinrong said. "The only person you truly need to be wary of is Koji Kanno from Japan."
Lu Jinrong briefed Rousseau on Koji Kanno. "At the 1998 Asian Games, he ran a 10.00 seconds. Although it was later officially corrected to 10.05 seconds, he remains the Asian sprinter who has come closest to breaking the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters."