Chapter Sixty: Desire to Win

If you can’t win a medal, then don’t compete…?
Li Yan’s words were shameless.
Faced with Li Yan, Rousseau desperately, desperately, desperately wanted to punch him…
At this moment.
On the field.
Rousseau and Li Yan stood face-to-face. Rousseau clenched his fists, his arms trembling, his last shred of reason barely restraining him; he tightened and loosened his fingers repeatedly.
Confronted by Rousseau’s fury, Li Yan remained steadfast—after all, how could a national team coach be intimidated by an athlete?
Seeing the situation unfold, Dong Zijian hurried over and pulled Rousseau away, sensing that if things continued, a scandal might erupt—the athlete might hit the coach, Li Yan might end up with a slap, and Rousseau would only receive a notice to leave the team.
…
“Rousseau, calm down.” Dong Zijian led Rousseau to his office to soothe the young man.
Calm down. Yes, I need to calm down… Rousseau told himself.
His anger stemmed from Li Yan reneging on his word. Although Li Yan hadn’t explicitly said that Rousseau could compete if he ran under twenty-one seconds, wasn’t that what the wager implied?!
“Have some water.” Dong Zijian poured Rousseau a glass.
Rousseau took a sip, and the simple act helped steady his emotions a little.
“Do you want to stay on the national team?” Dong Zijian asked.
Rousseau didn’t answer, just looked at Dong Zijian.
“I know you want to stay,” Dong Zijian said, recognizing the ambition burning in this young man’s eyes. “But truthfully, our country’s sprinting results are below the world average. You’re already an outstanding domestic athlete, but with your current performance, you lack the competitiveness for the Youth East Games’ 200-meter event.”
“I know,” Rousseau replied, frowning. “But I can get faster.”
Though he said it, Rousseau didn’t feel confident.
His status bar showed that his ‘Strength’ had already reached its peak.

He sensed that ‘Agility’ would soon peak as well.
Did this mean, in terms of physical attributes, he wouldn’t improve any further?
But even if he couldn’t win a medal, was he supposed to stop competing altogether… Rousseau wanted to say this, but the words stuck in his throat—he knew it was just stubbornness, since he agreed: if there’s no chance of results or medals, participating seemed pointless.
“Yes, you can get faster,” Dong Zijian said. “Come, let’s do a physical checkup first.”
Dong Zijian took Rousseau for his sixth checkup.
Then, holding the report, he reviewed it with Rousseau: “Your fatigue level has improved a lot, but your muscle strength, reaction time, flexibility—all these metrics are trending downward. It seems your physical condition has reached a peak…”
For a sprinter, peaking at eighteen isn’t surprising—just look at records from the Youth East Games, some even rivaling the Asian Games. After all, the intersection of human speed, agility, and explosive power peaks around eighteen.
Later, those who continue to dominate international sprinting with training and experience beyond eighteen—breaking records and defying competitors—are rare prodigies, like American sprint legend Gatlin, whose peak lasted so long it left rivals in despair.
But perhaps this general rule shouldn’t apply to Rousseau; after all, he’d only trained professionally for three months—was it possible his physical condition had peaked so early?
“…I suppose that’s how it is,” Rousseau said. The ‘Limit’ displayed in his status bar could also be interpreted as ‘Peak.’ For ordinary people, their limit is their lifetime peak.
“So your performance probably won’t improve further…” Dong Zijian said. “The data from your previous five checkups correlated with your performance improvements, so for the next ten days, your results likely won’t advance.”
Rousseau was a bit puzzled—why point this out?
“Your starting technique won’t improve much after ten more days of practice… Well, come with me.”
Dong Zijian led Rousseau downstairs to an audio-visual room, equipped with a large TV screen and papers and pens scattered on tables—clearly a place where the coaching staff often discussed tactics.
Rousseau saw many athletes’ names on the papers, including his own.
“Let’s watch some footage of your races,” Dong Zijian said, tidying up the papers and pens as he handed Rousseau a few sheets and a pen. “Make notes if you have any insights.”
Rousseau picked up the pen blankly.
What?
Watch my own videos?
Sure enough, Dong Zijian inserted a disc, and Rousseau’s race footage appeared on the screen.
It was from the Provincial Games.

Rousseau had used ‘Burst’ twice in succession, running 10.49 seconds and breaking the Provincial Games record.
“When you ran at the Southern Guangdong Provincial Games, your approach was different from your time training with the national team. At 35 and 75 meters, you had two bursts of speed, evident in a sudden increase in stride frequency, while your stride length remained unchanged. This shows you were consciously controlling your performance…”
For the first time, Rousseau analyzed and interpreted his use of ‘technique’ through video, ten brief seconds that, frame by frame, fully reconstructed the physical characteristics of his ‘Burst’ skill.
“Let’s watch some footage from your national team training.” Dong Zijian continued with other videos.
Rousseau watched recordings of himself running over the past few days; Dong Zijian filmed every athlete’s training, including Rousseau’s last 200-meter bet race under twenty-one seconds.
First, the 100-meter footage.
“You only ran a few 100-meter races with the team, but it’s clear your approach differed from before. Both stride frequency and stride length increased gradually, peaking around eighty meters. This technique is quite clever—clearly controlled and intentional,” Dong Zijian remarked.
“Now, the 200 meters.”
He played Rousseau’s formal 200-meter races with the national team.
“Obviously, you’re still using this gradual acceleration technique. On the curve, from the start through the bend, both stride frequency and length ramp up, but you hit a speed limit at the end of the curve, after which your speed declines, though it still fluctuates.
The final straight—eighty meters—is supposed to be your advantage, but because your curve-running technique isn’t fully polished, your speed there is hindered. With better curve technique, your 200 meters would improve significantly, but there isn’t enough time—ten days won’t get you to that level.”
As Rousseau listened and took notes, he realized he wanted to record every word Dong Zijian said, not just on paper but in his heart, for Dong Zijian had precisely dissected the differences and features of his two ‘techniques.’
“The start and the curve—these are the pivotal points for the 200 meters. If you master both skills, you could shave another 0.10 seconds off your time and become competitive for the Youth East Games 200 meters.”
“But there’s not enough time,” Dong Zijian lamented. “So, my advice is to combine the two techniques—after the curve, on the straight, adjust your stride frequency and length, using the same approach as your 100 meters. Under current conditions, this could still improve your results.”
At this, Rousseau finally voiced his first question: “Is the coaching staff planning to let me compete?”