Chapter 159: Night in Budapest

Running the 200 meters in under 20 seconds.
What kind of achievement is that?
Surrounding this question, netizens engaged in fierce discussions on the mainland forum Cape Pavilion.
The pro-camp put forward the following data:
The champion of the 200-meter event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics clocked 20.09 seconds.
The champion's time for the 200 meters at the 2003 World Athletics Championships was 20.30 seconds.
This proved that Rousseau, capable of running the 200 meters in 20 seconds, already possessed the strength to win gold at the World Championships and the Olympics.
The opposition countered that both of those were "off-years" for the Olympics and World Championships. Why not mention the 2004 Athens Olympics, where the United States team swept the gold, silver, and bronze medals in the 200 meters? Champion Crawford had run an astonishing 19.79 seconds.
And what about that bronze-tier tour in Budapest? Rousseau had only finished second, with Usain ahead of him at 19.98 seconds.
These posts were rich in detail and supported by solid arguments.
They provided a group of casual onlookers with a crash course in competitive knowledge regarding the 200 meters.
Originally, the content on the Cape Pavilion forum was polarized between basketball and football. Over the past few months, however, posts concerning track and field, especially sprinting, had been surging. With high gold content in their substance, the three major sports now formed a tripartite balance of power.
This wave of enthusiasm had previously only been seen when Liu Yu won the Olympic gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles.
As the most rapid online medium for disseminating information, the internet had felt the era-defining wave brought by Rousseau, acting like the cicada that senses the autumn wind before the leaves even stir.
Physical media, however, always lagged a step behind. Aside from extensive coverage by the Shenzhen Daily, other newspapers and magazines paid little attention to Rousseau breaking the 20-second barrier in the 200 meters. After all, it was only a bronze-tier meeting, and Rousseau had only placed second.
Sports enthusiasts following Rousseau's results online now began to dream of the future: at the upcoming Helsinki World Athletics Championships in July, could Rousseau win a gold medal for the mainland that they had never secured before?
...
"An interesting trend in public opinion," Li Yan commented.
...
With the conclusion of the 200-meter event, the Shenzhen Three Swordsmen's trip to Budapest came to a complete end.
Next up was the Grand Prix in Mexico on the 23rd.
Mexico was so close to the United States.
And the U.S. sprinting team was immensely powerful.
Therefore, whether in the 100 meters or the 200 meters, they would undoubtedly encounter more elite, world-class competitors there, something Rousseau was very much looking forward to.
...
Since there was a ten-day interval between the two competitions, Juno proposed staying in Budapest for a day to look around. Tian Shiwei responded immediately, and Rousseau, after hesitating and consulting Lu Jinrong, agreed as well.
Lu Jinrong also felt that Rousseau's recent competition schedule had been far too intense. No one else participated in every single monthly bronze and silver tour event without missing a single one the way Rousseau did; he needed to relax.
Thus, on the day before April 15th, the Three Swordsmen went on a rare sightseeing tour of Budapest.
As for Lu Jinrong, he went to a department store to buy cosmetics for his wife and the female coaches at the sports academy. To Lu Jinrong, traveling was a form of torture; he would rather return to Shenzhen without stopping. Once he had free time, he would be swamped with various chores—the agony of a middle-aged man with a family and an established career.
...
"If the two of you think I'm a third wheel, just say so," Tian Shiwei said to the other two at the Fisherman's Bastion, a must-visit destination in Budapest. "I won't mind. I'll just jump right off here."
The Fisherman's Bastion was one of Budapest's most acclaimed structures, offering a panoramic bird's-eye view of the city's breathtaking scenery.
"Oh, please don't die..." Juno said offhandedly, pointing out the shimmering Danube River—glinting under the sunlight like a golden dragon—as well as the Matthias Church, which was pristine white overall yet crowned with striking orange-red spires that gave it a refreshingly quaint aesthetic.
"I knew you guys couldn't bear to lose me," Tian Shiwei ran over and hooked his arm around Rousseau's neck. "When you two actually get married and go on your honeymoon, you absolutely must take me along~ I can sleep on the other bed in your room."
"Have you considered jumping off here after all? The feng shui looks quite good," Juno said earnestly.
"I was just joking~" Tian Shiwei said with a smile.
"Me too~" Juno replied, smiling as well.
...
After leaving the Fisherman's Bastion, the trio headed to the Great Market Hall of Budapest.
This was a massive food emporium.
"Massive," that is, relatively speaking by European standards.
Rousseau felt that the interior area and capacity of this three-story Gothic market building were roughly equivalent to the morning market at Daqiaotou that he used to frequent—perhaps even a bit smaller.
Still, there were indeed plenty of exotic and distinctive foods here.
Take foie gras, for instance; the price here was half of what it was in the United States or the United Kingdom. Quan suggested they buy more, but neither Juno nor Tian Shiwei particularly liked foie gras, finding it a bit too greasy.
Rousseau took a small bite and agreed it was overly rich, but he still bought a pack for Lu Xiaoyu.
Everyone quite enjoyed the Csabai red sausages sold there. Quan remarked that Russian sausages were better than Hungarian ones, though the Hungarian ones were not bad either.
Next, they tasted a very potent brandy. No one liked it, but Tian Shiwei bought a bottle for Lu Jinrong, who enjoyed drinking.
They also ate traditional Hungarian goulash and chicken paprikash. Later on, Rousseau bought several large jars of chili paste, which came in various flavors—the spicy one tasted somewhat like Lao Gan Ma, while the sweet and smoked variants were quite bizarre.
So by the time they returned to the hotel that evening, they could be said to have returned with full hands.
...
Lu Jinrong looked delighted upon receiving a bottle of fruit brandy.
...
Back in his hotel room that evening, Rousseau reflected on the day. He hadn't thought about training at all.
It truly had allowed him to relax significantly.
Yet, when left alone, Usain's figure resurfaced in his mind's eye.
The last person Rousseau had been so 'fascinated' by was Powell.
After a moment of thought, Rousseau opened his status bar and added the name 'Usain Bolt' to his list of 'Reflected Parallels'.
Immediately, a line of numbers began to materialize.
Rousseau's pupils constricted.
...
Juno was texting Zheng Ni.
Thanks to China Mobile, Juno could communicate tactical intelligence with Zheng Ni in real time even while abroad.
*'Right, go into his room to take a shower, and say the shower in your room is broken. Then claim you didn't bring a towel and ask him to bring one in, or pretend you twisted your ankle and ask him to help you walk. Did you remember that?'*
Juno mentally rehearsed these tactical steps.
...
Knock, knock.
Juno knocked on Rousseau's door.
She waited for a moment.
No response.
Just then, Lu Jinrong happened to walk past and told Juno, "Rousseau went to find Usain."
"Why did he go find Usain?" Juno asked in surprise.
"He said he wanted to exchange some running experience with Usain." Though Lu Jinrong said this, he figured that with Rousseau's level of English, they could probably only exchange vibes.
...
*'What should we do?'* Juno asked.
*'Go to the front desk and get a replacement room card.'* Zheng Ni replied.
...
That night,
Rousseau was in Usain's room.
Juno was in Rousseau's room.
Juno's own room remained empty.