Chapter 80: Rebellion

At the press conference for the East Asian Youth Games sprint event, the journalists were dumbfounded.

Among them were veteran sports reporters from major domestic media outlets, each with over a decade of experience, yet even in the course of their careers, it was rare to witness a scene so wild and intense.

An athlete had openly attacked the national team’s head coach.

One word floated into the reporters’ minds: mutiny.

...

Oh... Dong Zijian, who had just been singled out by Lu Suo, felt a dazed realization. Am I the Buddha? No, am I the Tang Monk? Who am I really?

...

“Any other questions?” Lu Suo asked again.

The journalists were silent. The incident had erupted so suddenly that they were still formulating questions that could be reported without crossing the line.

Of course, Lu Suo’s actions today had already crossed every line.

Now, a sense of regret for Lu Suo crept in among the reporters. To offend the national team’s head coach so directly...

“Someone asked me about my plans for the future. Very well, let me make an announcement. As long as Li Yan continues to serve as the national team’s head coach, I will refuse any call-up to the national team,” Lu Suo declared.

Another bombshell.

But after being rocked twice already, the reporters were numb. They etched Lu Suo’s face into their memories.

Now they wanted to ask more—why had Lu Suo never received guidance from the national team, was there a problem with the selection process, did the new head coach responsibility system for the sprints pose risks, and so on.

At this moment, Li Yan finally slammed his hand on the table.

“Lu Suo, what nonsense are you spouting!”

Seeing that Li Yan was about to speak, the reporters perked up, a little imp on each of their shoulders shouting, “Fight, fight!”

Only Guan Zhaoyue frowned deeply, staring at Lu Suo, unable to comprehend how things had come to this.

“Coach Li, do you believe everything Lu Suo just said is nonsense?” a reporter asked.

Li Yan replied, “Yes. Every member of the sprint national team has received diligent guidance from the coaching staff. That’s how Pan Kai achieved his results at the Universiade, and that’s how Lu Suo won gold at the East Asian Youth Games.

The coaches prepare different training plans for each athlete. Lu Suo may not understand the plan we set for him, but his results are the best proof.”

“Lu Suo, do you agree with Coach Li’s statement?” another reporter asked.

“Do results represent everything?” Lu Suo’s expression was laced with mockery. “So, an athlete’s character and dignity are unworthy of attention? Can a national team like this represent our nation’s competitive spirit? I think it’s fine for the head coach to take responsibility, but to run the national team purely for utilitarian purposes is the real problem!”

“We respect the character and dignity of every athlete, but I believe the greatest dignity for an athlete comes from achieving results,” Li Yan explained his own philosophy.

“Why don’t you go say that to the three athletes you forced out of the team?” Lu Suo reached beneath the velvet-draped table and pulled out a stack of documents. “Wang Ning from Hubei, Zhao Le from Henan, Fang Zixing from Hainan—go tell them! Ask the psychiatrists they’ve seen whether they ever found respect or dignity on the national team!”

As he spoke, Lu Suo tossed the documents in front of the reporters.

Li Yan instinctively stood up, trying to catch the papers as they fluttered down like snowflakes, but failed. Lu Suo, ever so considerate, handed one copy directly to him.

Li Yan opened the file and instantly recognized the three familiar faces: Wang Ning, Zhao Le, and Fang Zixing—the three sprinters who had quit the national team.

Dong Zijian, who had leapt up to snatch a file, saw that the pristine white pages were filled with photographs and written testimonies—all firsthand accounts from the three athletes about their experiences in the national team, even including doctors’ diagnoses.

How on earth did Lu Suo get his hands on these?

Dong Zijian realized, from the perspective of the accounts, that Lu Suo must have contacted the three athletes directly. But without the permission of the provincial teams, the athletes would never have dared to hand over such materials to Lu Suo.

Who was backing Lu Suo from behind the scenes?

Dong Zijian stared at Lu Suo in shock.

Meanwhile, as the reporters leafed through the documents, outrage flashed across their faces. The extreme training and psychological torment Li Yan had imposed on the three athletes, as described in their own words, sounded especially harrowing.

And with the medical records included, the evidence of the brutality of Li Yan’s methods became incontrovertible.

“Coach Li Yan, are these materials authentic?” a reporter demanded, or rather, pressed.

Li Yan was left speechless.

The entire press conference fell into silence.

“If there are no further questions, I have finished.” Lu Suo handed the microphone back to the official from the sports bureau and sat down quietly, as if nothing had happened at all.

...

A few coughs sounded—it was the bureau official finally speaking. After clearing his throat, he said, “That concludes today’s press conference. There are indeed some issues within the sprint national team, but the overall direction is correct and the results speak for themselves. We hope everyone will not be swayed by a few comments and publish inaccurate reports.”

Inaccurate... As the reporters glanced at the documents in their hands, all they could do was sigh.

...

“Lu, what was the point of all this?” After the conference, Guan Zhaoyue pulled Lu Suo aside to ask.

After the press conference, the sports bureau official sighed and left, clearly disappointed in Li Yan. Li Yan, following behind, looked ashen, his face the color of raw liver.

Li Yan had, in effect, been slapped repeatedly in public—only he knew how much it hurt.

As Guan Zhaoyue held Lu Suo back, asking, “Why did you do this?” Lu Jinrong, who had been waiting nearby for the conference to end, approached and picked up the conversation.

“This was something Lu Suo and I discussed,” Lu Jinrong said.

“Jinrong, isn’t this approach a bit too radical? Have you planned for the consequences? If Lu Suo ends up missing the Asian Games, it’s not just his loss—it’s the nation’s loss as well!” Guan Zhaoyue said.

Lu Jinrong responded calmly, “It’s all right. There’s still the Southern Guangdong provincial team—the national coach doesn’t control everything. I’m prepared. In the worst-case scenario, we can arrange for Lu Suo to be directly managed by the Field Events Center. He’ll still be able to compete at the Asian Games and the Olympics.”

Hearing this, Lu Suo felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

Lu Suo’s stubbornness had won Lu Jinrong’s wholehearted support.

Lu Jinrong had coordinated with the coaches of the three provincial teams to obtain the evidence that left Li Yan with no room for rebuttal. This was the foundation that gave Lu Suo the confidence to confront Li Yan at the press conference. Now, it remained to be seen what would become of Li Yan.

“It won’t be so easy,” Guan Zhaoyue said, a hint of admiration for Lu Suo’s courage in his tone, but speaking as a journalist, he understood the workings of domestic sports better than anyone. “Li Yan now has two international sprint gold medals as his backing. The bureau won’t terminate his contract just because of this uproar.”

“Then we’ll wait,” Lu Suo replied. “Once I clinch the national title in the 100 meters—at the National Games, or any other event—when I’m always number one, if they want me on the national team, Li Yan will have to go!”

But the key question was: when would Lu Suo claim both the 100 and 200 meter national titles?

“Not long now. Just wait for the National Games,” Lu Suo said.