On the TV, a host was jabbering in Japanese, reporting the weather forecast.
Standing by the window, Chen Yu glanced out at the low-hanging, gloomy clouds.
The air was heavy with moisture as a torrential downpour raged outside.
Nearby, Liu Xiang was on a mat, stretching his muscles.
On a sofa to the side, Sun Haiping was on his phone, arranging for an indoor training facility. After a while, he hung up and said excitedly, "I found one! There’s a high school’s indoor training hall eight kilometers from here. We can borrow it, but the track is only 80 meters long. It’ll have to do."
"Dr. Chen, let’s head out now."
Today was May 4th. Tomorrow, the Mito leg of the Asian Grand Prix would be held, which was a prelude to the World Athletics Grand Prix in Osaka.
The three of them had arrived in Mito yesterday. To their surprise, a weak tropical storm had hit the area today, bringing a considerable downpour.
The outdoor training grounds were unusable, so they had to find an indoor facility on short notice.
Chen Yu stared at the gloomy sky without saying a word.
Finding a training hall was the easy part. With a little effort, they could always find one, or they could coordinate with the event organizers. The real trouble was tomorrow’s race.
According to the weather forecast, the rain would continue all night and only lighten up tomorrow.
If the rain did lighten to a drizzle tomorrow, the track would still be affected.
Even if it stopped raining tomorrow, after a full night of rain, the track would definitely be slick.
Actually, a slick track was one thing, but the main problem was the wind.
Mito was a coastal city. Today, there was a fierce storm with wind speeds reaching 29 meters per second—that was nearly a level 11 gale.
Even if the rain stopped tomorrow, how much could the wind speed decrease? Even a level 4 or 5 wind would have a huge impact on the race.
"Stop looking." After careful consideration, Chen Yu made his decision. He turned to Sun Haiping and said, "Let’s withdraw. We’ll go straight to Osaka."
He was giving up on the Mito leg entirely.
Gambling on the wind dying down tomorrow was risky. Even if they won that bet, they’d still have to deal with tailwinds and headwinds. With a wind speed over 2 meters per second, any record-breaking time wouldn’t be ratified.
For Liu Xiang, there was no point in competing in Mito anymore.
Under these circumstances, it was better to just withdraw and focus on preparing for Osaka.
"Withdraw?" Sun Haiping’s eyes widened.
This was an international competition! They were representing their country. How could they just give up like that?
"Dr. Chen, you can’t be serious. The race is tomorrow. How can we withdraw?" he pleaded urgently.
Liu Xiang, still on his mat, was also a bit stunned. He instinctively wanted to say something, but after glancing at the raging storm outside, he swallowed his words.
Chen Yu said, "There’s nothing we can’t give up. Our goal was always the Osaka meet. The Mito leg was just for Liu Xiang to get back into form. Since the conditions aren’t suitable, forcing him to compete will only have a negative impact. Even if he wins, what’s the point?"
For Liu Xiang, winning an Asian Grand Prix event should be a walk in the park.
Sun Haiping’s eyes widened. "Winning has no meaning?"
’Never mind the prize money, which Chen Yu would make up for anyway. This was still a championship title, an honor!’
Chen Yu said, "I’m not saying winning has no meaning, but we have to make choices based on the situation. Not all championship titles are created equal; their value is different."
Competitive sports can be that cruel sometimes. Even at the Olympics, winning a gold medal in a minor event can go completely unnoticed.
And by the same token, ten ordinary championship wins can’t compare to a single one that breaks a world record.
Sun Haiping opened his mouth, but he didn’t know how to refute that. After a moment, he said, "Well, it’s not my decision to make anyway."
Chen Yu didn’t waste any words. He pulled out his phone and said, "I’ll call Director Yu."
He was referring to Yu Weili, the team leader for this trip to Japan and the Director of the National Team Management Department at the Athletics Management Center.
Sun Haiping sighed silently and called Liu Xiang over to start packing.
’Chen Yu was someone who dealt directly with Yuan Weimin. What grounds did Yu Weili have to object?’
In fact, Sun Haiping was quite curious himself. What kind of agreement had Chen Yu reached with Yuan Weimin? How did he get so much authority from the Sports Bureau that he could have Liu Xiang withdraw from so many competitions on a whim?
The call worked, of course. The next morning, the group boarded a flight to Osaka.
Just as Chen Yu had predicted, the sky in Mito was overcast, with a light rain drifting down. More importantly, there was a level 4 wind.
Under these conditions, Liu Xiang’s performance in the afternoon finals would have definitely been affected.
Compared to Mito, the weather in Osaka was much better.
The only thing was, the morning temperature was still a bit cool, dropping to around 15 degrees Celsius.
On the 6th, the entire Chinese Athletics Team also arrived in Osaka.
At the training facility provided by the local organizers, Liu Xiang met up with the rest of the Chinese Athletics Team.
Especially Shi Dongpeng.
The two shared a fierce hug as soon as they saw each other.
"Man, all that beef you’ve been eating in the United States these past two years has really paid off. You’ve gotten so much stronger. Look at these arms—hard as a rock!" Shi Dongpeng said, squeezing Liu Xiang’s arm.
To the touch, his muscles were clearly defined. His body fat percentage seemed frighteningly low.
Liu Xiang smiled with a touch of pride. "It has nothing to do with beef. It’s mainly the supplements. That stuff really works."
Speaking of supplements, Shi Dongpeng naturally knew about them. He also used things like taurine, whey protein, and creatine according to his training plan.
"Liu Xiang, are you sure there are no problems with these supplements you’re talking about?" Shi Dongpeng asked cautiously.
’Even an athlete of Montgomery’s caliber ruined his reputation in the end.’
Liu Xiang shook his head. "There shouldn’t be any problem. I’m just using normal supplements, not stuff like steroids."
Shi Dongpeng nodded. "That’s good."
Then, he asked about the withdrawal from the Mito meet.
"It was Doctor Chen’s decision. He wants me to focus on preparing for the Osaka meet and make a real run at the Olympic record." Liu Xiang glanced into the distance.
Yu Weili and the head athletics coach, Feng Shuyong, were standing with Chen Yu, talking. He couldn’t tell what they were discussing.
"The Olympic record, 12.95? You can break 13 seconds now?" Shi Dongpeng was so startled he almost screamed.
Liu Xiang nodded. "I can do it in training, but who knows what will happen on race day."
Shi Dongpeng stared at Liu Xiang for a long moment before giving a wry smile. "That’s still incredible, you know? I could train myself to death and never break 13 seconds."
Even in training, Shi Dongpeng had never broken the 13-second barrier.
"You’ve really changed since you went to the United States. The gap between us is just getting wider and wider," Shi Dongpeng said with a sigh.
There was a time when he and Liu Xiang were neck and neck, the leading figures in China’s 110m hurdles.
But what happened? After Liu Xiang went to the United States to train with Chen Yu, his times skyrocketed as if he were strapped to a rocket, leaving Shi Dongpeng far behind.
Of course, he felt a sense of frustration, but Shi Dongpeng couldn’t bring himself to be jealous. He could feel that there was still a gap in talent between himself and Liu Xiang.
And that small gap was an insurmountable chasm. Even if he trained with Chen Yu in the United States just like Liu Xiang, it wouldn’t be enough.
"Liu Xiang, if you really break the Olympic record this time, that’ll be legendary. Believe it or not, your name will be known all over China instantly," Shi Dongpeng said, giving him a thumbs-up.
In track and field, breaking an Olympic record was even more incredible than winning an Olympic gold medal. The significance it represented was immense.
It was far more significant than simply winning a medal for the first time.
A flicker of melancholy crossed Liu Xiang’s eyes. In a complicated tone, he said, "I hope so. But training is just training. When you’re actually on the track, you never know what might happen. I’m just really afraid of letting them down, especially Doctor Chen."
Only Liu Xiang himself knew just how much time and energy Chen Yu had invested in him.
Shi Dongpeng didn’t notice the apprehension in Liu Xiang’s voice. He just said excitedly, "Two more days. Train hard. I’ll be waiting to see you break that Olympic record."
While the two athletes were talking, Chen Yu wrapped up his conversation with Yu Weili and Feng Shuyong.
They had just been discussing some details. Yu Weili didn’t say much about the withdrawal from the Mito meet.
It was Sun Haiping who, after Director Yu had walked away, couldn’t help but say, "Dr. Chen, I’m still a little worried. Aren’t we setting our goal too high?"
The goal was to break the Olympic record, but anything could happen in a competition. What if he didn’t succeed?
"Coach Sun, I don’t know whether to call you overly cautious or just humble. You know perfectly well what Liu Xiang is capable of in training. As long as he performs at his best, forget the Olympic record—even the world record is within his reach," Chen Yu said with a laugh.
It’s not like he hadn’t broken it before.
Sun Haiping gave a wry smile. "That’s different. It was only training, after all."
Training is done in a comfortable environment. A real race, however, is constrained by the schedule, a noisy atmosphere, and the performance of his competitors. When you combine all those factors and the pressure, there’s no telling how much of his true strength he’ll be able to unleash.
Seeing Sun Haiping’s reaction, Chen Yu frowned slightly. "Is there something wrong with Liu Xiang’s mentality?"
Although Chen Yu monitored Liu Xiang’s training progress, he couldn’t be with him twenty-four hours a day like a full-time coach such as Sun Haiping, who could notice any change in Liu Xiang’s condition at a moment’s notice.
Sun Haiping glanced at Liu Xiang, who was talking with Shi Dongpeng in the distance, and said, "Well, how should I put this... I feel like the kid is under a lot of pressure."
After all, the goal Chen Yu had set for him was incredibly high.
And since he had skipped quite a few competitions, Sun Haiping felt that he hadn’t built up enough confidence.
Ultimately, the high-set goal was creating pressure from all sides.
Chen Yu’s gaze fell on Liu Xiang in the distance. After a moment, he smiled. "It’s fine. I believe in him. By the way, I remember you once told me that his senior from sports school, Tan Chunhua, once described him as a ’canny operator.’ I even had someone look into what that term means."
"When said to someone’s face, it’s meant as a compliment, describing someone who is clever and sharp. I believe that’s what Tan Chunhua meant."
"Therefore, he knows exactly what he needs and what his goal is. People like that are mentally stronger. For them, pressure can sometimes be a source of motivation."
"As for your concerns about his condition, how about this: the day before the race, I’ll have another chat with him and assess his psychological state."
Sun Haiping paused for a second. Only then did he remember that Chen Yu also understood psychology; he was practically a psychologist.

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