This Omega is Sweet and Wild - Chap 84
Chap 84
The list of participants for this year’s World Zhong Meet was reported to the higher-ups, and finally approved by the general manager of the training center. Soon, the list was sent back to each team.
Before the list was officially announced, hundreds of team members were summoned to the square for a summary meeting. The leader of the Sports Bureau went on stage to give a speech. The speech in his hand was three pages long.
“… For this year’s World High School Games, we will try our best to increase the total number of medals without making any mistakes in previous years.
For this year’s new events, we will strive to get the first gold medal!
… ”
On stage, the leader of the Sports Bureau gave an impassioned speech. Below the stage, the athletes were drowsy.
The cold wind was blowing. Everyone shivered and hid in their down jackets, yawning.
Sure enough, no matter when, the leader’s speech was always so boring.
After the leader’s long and boring speech, the coaches of each event led their athletes back to the training center.
The relaxed atmosphere disappeared instantly, because everyone knew that the main event was about to begin.
Dozens of athletes from the swimming team were lined up in two rows by the shore. The girls were on the left, and the boys were on the right. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the thin folder in Coach Yu’s hand.
Four assistant coaches stood behind Coach Yu. The five of them had the same solemn expression.
Coach Yu was the first to speak. “I think you all know the importance of this list.
In my hand are the names of the 32 finalists. The remaining 48 will leave the training center tomorrow and go back to your schools. ”
“I know that when other events announce the list of participants, they choose a gentler way.
For example, for the diving team next door, their assistant coaches will privately inform the athletes who failed to make the cut and ask them to quietly pack their bags and leave.
But I will not do that … “Coach Yu’s eyes were as sharp as knives. They swept across every athlete in front of him.” The competition is like a battlefield. The winner takes all, and the loser takes all. The outcome is often within 0.01 seconds.
The people who are eliminated are not because you are not good enough, but because the people who are left are better than you! ”
The entire team was silent.
Thirty-two out of eighty athletes were left. The probability of elimination was close to two-thirds!
After more than a month of harsh training, all the athletes who had endured until now had hopes and dreams. They wanted to step onto the international stage and touch the distant trophy.
Who would be willing to be eliminated?
Who would be willing to be replaced?
Who would want to be the “not good enough” one?
Everyone held their breaths. Even Li Cheng, who had always been full of confidence, couldn’t help but stand up straight at this moment. His burning eyes fell on the list in Coach Yu’s hands.
Although Zhou Jian had reminded him that Coach Yu was related to X City Sports School and might have stolen his spot, Li Cheng’s results were real. How could he be stolen so easily?
In the preliminaries, he had won first place with a clear advantage in the 200-meter and 100-meter races. He didn’t believe that Coach Yu would pretend that he didn’t see his results!
He waited confidently, waiting to hear his name …
Coach Yu did not waste any more time. She opened the folder and read out the final name list.
According to the rules, the same contestant could only register for two events at most. In the final list, there were contestants who had participated in two events, and there were also contestants who had only participated in one event.
The order announced was that the women’s team would start first, followed by the men’s team, then backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle.
In this way, the list for the men’s freestyle was bound to appear last.
As the names were read out one by one, there were naturally some who were happy and some who were sad.
When the last name of the women’s team was read out, the girls who didn’t make it all shed tears. They didn’t cry out loud because they didn’t want to attract sympathy from others. They could only clench their teeth and hang their heads. However, their trembling shoulders revealed the pain in their hearts.
Seeing the tears in their teammates’ eyes, the other girls who were selected also had tears in their eyes.
Coach Yu didn’t give them time to digest this. She quickly flipped through the folder and read the list for the men’s team.
Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly … Li Cheng had never felt time pass so slowly before.
Those unfamiliar and familiar names fell softly in his ears. One by one, the excited and depressed faces appeared in front of him … Li Cheng clenched his hands into fists behind his back.
Finally, finally, it was the last name list.
The men’s freestyle finalists were finally going to be announced!!
“Men’s freestyle 1500m, First Body Affiliated High School, Zhou Jian.
Men’s freestyle 800m, First Body Affiliated High School, Zhou Jian. ”
This answer was within everyone’s expectations. Everyone looked at Zhou Jian with admiration in their eyes.
Li Cheng also applauded along with everyone else and congratulated him in a low voice.
Zhou Jian turned to him. Instead of saying “thank you,” he said “Same to you.”
Li Cheng knew what he meant by “Same to you.”
Next, it was the 400m freestyle. The coaching team selected a swimmer from the Northeast Province.
Then it was the 200m and 100m events that Li Cheng had been looking forward to for a long time.
“Men’s freestyle 200m, Huacheng No. 1 High School, Li Cheng.”
Hearing his name, Li Cheng let out a long sigh of relief. He finally relaxed. He swung his fist in the air. His face was brimming with confidence.
See, Zhou Jian’s worries were groundless. As long as Li Cheng swam well enough, how could Coach Yu give up on Li Cheng and select a swimmer from X City Sports School?
“Men’s freestyle 100m, X City Sports School, Dai Yujing.”
In the next second, the cruel reality was like a heavy punch, ruthlessly hammering Li Cheng’s heart.
Li Cheng was stunned.
His mind was blank. It was as if a huge hole had been opened in his chest. The happiness and pride he felt just a moment ago disappeared in an instant. All that was left was a bottomless pit.
What did he just hear?
What did he just hear?
His main event 100m freestyle had actually been eliminated?!
After he got first place in the preliminaries, he suddenly fell out of the competition!!!
And the person who replaced him was none other than that hairpin from X City!!
Just a second ago, Li Cheng had been smiling. But now, all the blood in his body was frozen.
He stood there in a daze. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him. There were also some sparse discussions surrounding him. It was as if everyone was pointing at him.
Zhou Jian looked at him worriedly and asked in a low voice, “Li Cheng, are you okay?”
Li Cheng’s voice was dry and hoarse. “I’m not okay at all.”
As for the other main character of this “a raccoon swapping the crown prince” game, he was standing there joyfully, accepting the congratulations of the people around him.
The men’s team was filled with restless rustling sounds. But Coach Yu, who was standing at the front of the team, didn’t seem to hear it. He only raised his eyes slightly and glanced at the people who were talking animatedly.
An assistant coach stood up and ordered everyone to keep quiet.
Li Cheng stood in the crowd. His hands were clenched into fists and tightly clutching his pants.
Why … Why?!
The 200-meter and 100-meter events were his main strengths. Why did he have to give up one of the events to someone else?
After the list of all the participants was announced, Coach Yu raised his head from the folder. The deep wrinkles on his face seemed to have been carved into it.
“Okay, the list of all the individual events has been announced.” Her tone was flat, like a robot without any warmth. “Now, those whose names are not called can leave.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a hand suddenly rose from the crowd. It stretched straight into the air, making it impossible for anyone to ignore it.
Everyone looked at the hand.
— — The owner of the hand was Li Cheng.
The Omega boy raised his hand high and looked straight at Coach Yu with a pair of red eyes.
“Coach.” He didn’t care about the gazes of the people around him and said loudly, “I have doubts about the results!”
Zhou Jian pulled him and whispered, “Li Cheng, calm down. Don’t be impulsive!”
The rules of the team were strict. The first rule was to respect the coach and absolutely not contradict him.
The relationship between the coach and the student was like the relationship between the general and the soldier. The soldier couldn’t disobey the general’s orders.
Zhou Jian knew that Li Cheng would definitely have complaints about the results of the announcement, but he never would have thought that this hedgehog-like boy would tear this matter apart in front of everyone.
“…” Coach Yu looked at Li Cheng calmly and spat out a word. “Oh?”
Li Cheng argued, “In the past month or so of special training, my 100-meter performance improved by half a second. In the final selection, I was also the first to touch the wall!
Why didn’t I get the 100-meter spot?! ”
The team members were silent at first, but then they began to talk. Everyone was actually very curious. With Li Cheng’s ability, it was easy for him to get the two spots. Why did Coach Yu give the 100-meter spot to another athlete?
Almost everyone had heard about the “X City Sports School’s guaranteed spot,” and the current situation proved that this was true.
The X City athlete who was being talked about blushed. He was questioned in front of everyone, so of course he had to defend himself. “Li Cheng, what do you mean?
Do you think you’re the only one who’s good?
Your performance is indeed outstanding, but my average time is only 0.05 seconds away from yours!
Also, I participated in the World Club when I was in junior high school. I have experience in international competitions, but the highest you’ve ever participated in is a provincial competition! ”
What he said was true. If he had to explain it based on experience, his reason would be valid.
However, Li Cheng sneered. “Since you have experience and you’re a veteran, then how many medals did you get in the last competition?”
Dai Yujing was speechless.
The World Club was held every four years. The last time he participated, he was still in the third year of junior high school. The competition wasn’t fierce, so he went with his teammates to participate in the competition, and then … he got fourth place.
It wouldn’t have been a big deal if his ranking was lower, but he got fourth place!
The difference between fourth place and third place was very small, but it was this small difference that prevented him from getting a medal.
He held back his anger and wanted to avenge his shame in this competition. He had expressed his determination to Coach Yu many times in private. Finally, he got the chance to return to the field in this competition.
Coach Yu calmly listened to their quarrel and asked, “Li Cheng, are you questioning my allocation of the spots?”
Li Cheng was like a small animal in a difficult situation. Even though he knew the road ahead was dangerous, he still kept moving forward.
He looked at Coach Yu aggressively and didn’t back down. “You just said that the competition is like a battlefield. The winner takes all. Everything depends on the results. Are my results not good enough?”
“Of course your results are good enough.”
Coach Yu nodded. “You have the greatest potential among all the students I’ve coached.”
“Since my results are good enough, why did I give the 100 spots to X City Sports School?”
He was too stupid and too straightforward. He didn’t even think about the consequences of his words.
He knew that he had challenged Coach Yu’s authority in front of everyone. This kind of behavior seriously violated the rules of the team. If it was reported, he would probably be expelled from the team!
If he was smart enough, he would have tolerated it and at least kept a spot in the competition. But if he did that, he wouldn’t be Li Cheng anymore.
Li Cheng hoped that the swimming pool he loved would always be clean, and the water would always be clear.
He was idealistic like that, but was idealism wrong?
Zhou Jian looked at him worriedly. He wanted to say something several times, but he gave up in the end … because Zhou Jian found that he was too weak compared to Li Cheng.
He thought about it from another perspective. If he were in Li Cheng’s situation, would he dare to question the coach face to face?
No, he wouldn’t dare.
If his spot was taken away, he would use a more “tactful” method. He would tell his personal coach about it, and let his personal coach “talk” with Coach Yu in private.
He didn’t have the courage to do what Li Cheng did.
In the face of Li Cheng’s straightforward questioning, unexpectedly, Coach Yu did not show the slightest bit of anger from embarrassment on his face.
“Since we’ve talked about it like this, why don’t we talk about it openly?”
Coach Yu put her hands behind her back and looked around at all the athletes. She said in a flat tone, “I already know what you’ve been talking about me in private.
But I always thought that those rumors were too absurd and didn’t need to be explained. But now it seems that if I don’t explain it clearly, I’m afraid that you little bastards will only think nonsense with your melon-seed-sized brains!
Li Cheng, did you hear that I have a mentorship with the coach of X City Sports School? That’s why I gave them guaranteed spots every year, right?
So you think that I took away the spot that should belong to you and gave it to Dai Yujing? ”
Li Cheng: “… Yes.”
Instead, Dai Yujing shouted, “What the f * ck?
Is that true???? ”
He wasn’t the only one who was shocked. Even his schoolmates were surprised. Their expressions didn’t seem to be fake. It was as if this was the first time they had heard about it.
If they were acting … then their acting was too good.
Coach Yu nodded. “Their coach is indeed a former student of mine.”
This was completely self-destructing!
However, Coach Yu didn’t finish his sentence. “Not only him, but the coach of the Affiliated High School of Sports Studies was also my former student.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Zhou Jian again.
Zhou Jian, who had been accidentally implicated: “…???”
“It’s not just the two of them who are related to me. There’s also the principal of XX Sports School, who used to be my leader. The dean of OO Sports School, who used to be my teammate. The coach of DD Sports School, who used to be my colleague …” She listed the names of many schools in one breath. Among the students who were named, there were those who were selected and those who were not. However, everyone looked confused. They had never heard of this layer of history.
Coach Yu said, “Now you think that this circle is very big. It’s so big that every year there are new athletes, and every year there are people who retire. When you go out to participate in competitions, you will always see new faces.
But when you reach my age and reach my position, you will realize that this circle is actually very small. You will see familiar faces everywhere. If I had to give ‘special treatment’ to every familiar face, then I wouldn’t be a coach on the national team. I might as well be a swimming teacher for infants. ”
“…”
“What’s wrong?” Coach Yu frowned and looked at them. “Isn’t my joke funny? Why aren’t you laughing?”
Everyone: “…”
In other words, the “guaranteed entry” that had been spreading like wildfire before was just a rumor?
Thinking about it carefully, X City Sports School was originally a strong swimming school. They had produced many champions. It was not impossible for the athletes to get on the list based on their own abilities.
But …
Li Cheng’s mind was shaken. He hesitated for a moment. “I’m sorry, Coach Yu. I shouldn’t have recklessly guessed your relationship with X City Sports School.
Now I believe that you are not biased when it comes to the candidates, but I still don’t understand why you only gave me one spot. ”
Coach Yu gave him a deep look. “When did I say that you’re the only one who can participate in the competition?”
Li Cheng was stunned.
“… What?”
He was not the only one who didn’t react. The other athletes who were watching the show were also stunned.
Coach Yu was tired. She didn’t like to waste her breath. Other than scolding people during training, this was the first time she had spoken so much.
She took the cup of hot water from her teaching assistant and threw the list in her hands into her arms. She signaled with her eyes for her to continue reading.
Thus, the teaching assistant obediently opened the list and read aloud under the gazes of nearly a hundred people.
“— — New event this year: Mixed Gender 4×100. Competitors: Girls’ Backstroke, … Boys’ Breaststroke, … Girls’ Butterfly, … Boys’ Freestyle, Huacheng No. 1 High School, Li Cheng.”
Everyone: “!!!”
Li Cheng: “!!!”
Li Cheng was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
The mixed gender was a new event that had quietly emerged in recent years. It was rarely seen in international competitions.
Who would have thought that this year’s World Society Championships would add the mixed gender to the schedule?!
Li Cheng recalled the meeting he had with the leaders just now.
When the leaders mentioned “strive for a gold medal in a new event,” could it be that they were referring to the mixed gender?
The first gold medal in every new event was often far more extraordinary than the usual. It was like the “First Clear of a Dungeon” in a game. It was an absolute glory.
Li Cheng wasn’t familiar with the women’s team, but the breaststroke swimmer sent by the men’s team was indeed an elite breaststroke swimmer. Furthermore, Li Cheng had an absolute advantage in the 100m freestyle. There was no doubt that the combination of these four people was a “trump card” sent out after careful consideration!
Coach Yu’s ambition was clear. She was aiming for the championship!
Because each swimmer could only sign up for two events, in order to conserve energy, these four swimmers had only qualified for one event.
Everyone finally understood what Coach Yu was planning.
However, this matter did not “end here” — —
The teaching assistant cleared her throat and read the last sentence on the list.
“— — Captain of the World Society Championships swimming team, Huacheng No. 1 High School, Li Cheng!”
