Chapter 17: Show Some Courtesy, Allow Three Days

A complete “rookie” actually wiped out the trainee at the sports school right from the start.

This outcome genuinely took Ma Zhiqiang by surprise.

He had never even considered such a result.

Glancing at Ningde Bao, who wore a smile, Ma Zhiqiang felt somewhat frustrated. It wasn’t personal animosity—just the simple fact that someone had shattered his psychological expectations. Instinctively, people tend to defend their own positions and are reluctant to admit mistakes immediately.

“Stop!”

Everyone halted. After cleaning up the vomit, Ma Zhiqiang hadn’t spoken yet, but he already saw the mixed expressions of surprise, curiosity, and even a bit of admiration among the group towards Su Shen. After all, he was the first to break through the sports school's “rookie initiation” phase.

“What are you all doing? Quiet down,” Ma Zhiqiang said sternly as he approached. Standing at 1.83 meters with the stature of a middle-aged man, he carried a certain authority. The chattering quickly subsided.

“Let’s move on to the next training phase.” Ma Zhiqiang thought, “You might have a good foundation, but you’re no genius. With proper training and a bit more intensity, you’ll definitely be brought down.”

What kind of rookie walks in without facing a reality check? Where would the sports school’s and his own pride be then?

Honestly,

This logic is baffling. Why must a newcomer be “taught a lesson,” and if it fails, it’s a loss of face?

Yet, you can’t deny that this behavior exists not only in this country but worldwide.

The only way to interpret it is—human nature is the same everywhere.

People just like doing this.

A universal “dark amusement” of mankind.

Swinging arms training.

Regular sprints.

Short steps runs.

High knee runs.

Backward kicks.

And so on.

These are all basic drills aimed at “newbies” to familiarize them with the training environment. Generally, this phase lasts a few months to half a year. If someone fails during this period, they can be eliminated.

It’s a preliminary screening.

But... for Su Shen, these drills were completely insufficient. His mastery of the movements was already quite advanced—surpassing the others in proficiency. So the part Ma Zhiqiang expected to be awkward and full of questions simply never appeared. Instead, he noticed that this kid...

Performed with remarkable precision.

That was puzzling.

Even for a rookie starting training, it doesn’t work like this. Just watching him, it felt as if he had been training for a long time already, leaving almost nothing for Ma Zhiqiang to teach. Yes, he was only a junior coach, otherwise, he wouldn’t be assigned to lead this “rookie camp.”

It was basically like “military training for new students.”

Ningde Bao was also curious about how quickly Su Shen would stand out.

This was a necessary process, so she couldn’t be too obvious about it.

...

“Wait, has this kid really never trained before? This is too exaggerated; I find it hard to believe.” When Ma Zhiqiang said this, it meant he had already found no flaw in Su Shen’s performance.

To be honest, if it weren’t for saving face, he could have announced Su Shen’s honorable graduation from the “rookie camp” right then.

But saying that would be embarrassing, so he awkwardly tilted his head and asked Ningde Bao to cover up the situation.

“Really, I have thoroughly verified it. He grew up in Gu Yi Village, attended a junior high school in the town, rarely came to Xiangshan City, and only in the second year of junior high was he discovered by an old friend of mine and accidentally joined the school’s track team,” Ningde Bao explained smoothly, clearly familiar with all the details.

“So, he only began amateur track training in the second year of junior high, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have you checked his age? He might not be tall but could be almost an adult.” This was a common understanding in domestic sports culture—not just in track but elsewhere. It was an unspoken rule known to insiders.

“Don’t worry, I’ve checked everything, including his enrollment records and hospital birth certificates. He’s a clean slate,” Ningde Bao quickly added.

“Then... he really is a moderate-age prodigy,” Ma Zhiqiang reconsidered his impression of Su Shen. At first, Su Shen’s height and physique seemed somewhat at odds with his foundational knowledge.

“Not only that,” Ningde Bao continued, “during training, he quickly grasps professional knowledge and can digest and respond to it, even though he had no prior exposure to track and field.”

“And you know what, Zhiqiang?”

“This kid’s first request when he came was... to read books. A lot of foreign books. I checked; they were all SCI-level sports journals. Can you imagine?” This stunned Ma Zhiqiang completely. Track prodigies aren’t unheard of in such a large country, but unless you’re a super prodigy, it’s rare to see someone like him. Yet...

Few have the intellect and willingness to study, much less to start with such advanced material.

To be honest, Ma Zhiqiang knew a bit about SCI journals, but only superficially—he didn’t even know all the sports journals within.

“So, he’s a learning-oriented young prodigy?” Ma Zhiqiang finally said after a while.

“Yes. That’s why I’m optimistic about his prospects. He should have no problem joining the provincial team,” Ningde Bao concluded.

“Making the provincial team is definitely worth focusing on,” Ma Zhiqiang said, calming down. He had been a little “resentful” earlier, but now knowing how highly Ningde Bao regarded Su Shen, his attitude shifted. He began considering whether Su Shen could bring benefits to the school.

After all, Xiangshan City in Guangdong Province was just an ordinary city. There were many cities far more developed. Being the best in Xiangshan was one thing; being average in the entire province was another.

So having another athlete enter the provincial team would significantly influence the school’s funding and policy support.

“Now I understand. You didn’t send him here to do the ‘rookie initiation’ with me; you sent him to overshadow me. Ning Jie, you could have at least given me a heads-up,” Ma Zhiqiang smiled bitterly. It seemed this newly transferred female coach was no pushover.

“That won’t do. Rules are rules. I need your approval as Coach Ma. I don’t want to use connections. Everything must be by the book,” Ningde Bao said, realizing that Su Shen’s first training left Ma Zhiqiang speechless. She knew this kid might be even better than she had imagined.

Her mood naturally brightened.

What was supposed to take at least a month for rookie training now looked like it could be shortened further.

She wanted to move Su Shen into advanced training areas as soon as possible.

For athletes, the golden age is extremely short—at least it looked that way now. Remember, Su Shen had announced his retirement back in 2017 and never expected to get this far. With Zhang Peimeng and others switching to other projects early on, you can imagine how brief the professional careers in domestic track and field have been.

Having found a prodigy, it was best not to delay and quickly push him to higher levels of training and study.

That was Ningde Bao’s thinking.

After all, in China, specialized training generally starts at 13 years old; by 15, it’s considered somewhat late.

Ningde Bao had decided to take full charge of Su Shen, so everything needed to move swiftly.

...

“All right, but Ning Jie, you have to give me some face. You can’t just tell him now that he’s free to leave. If I have nothing to teach him, this kid won’t just walk away humbly,” Ma Zhiqiang said. He hadn’t expected to handle someone like this. Although Su Shen’s absolute speed was only middle-upper among all athletes at the sports school, breaking 11 seconds was common enough for the age group.

Breaking 11 seconds marked the point where professional athletes competed on ability, talent, training, and luck.

But his fundamentals were solid... Ma Zhiqiang even suspected that Yang Yongqiang, a professional from another city’s sports school, had trained him. Otherwise, why would he be so standard?

This entire “rookie drill” was something Su Shen had done earlier just to adapt physically. He no longer needed it, which explained his familiarity.

It had been over half a year; he wasn’t here to slack off.

The sooner this “rookie camp” ended and real sports school training began, the better.

“You’d better hurry. I’m taking him to the Pearl River Delta invitational in two months,” Ningde Bao said, once again surprising Ma Zhiqiang.

Two months? That’s hardly any time.

Normally, the “rookie camp” wouldn’t even be over in two months.

“Isn’t that a bit too rushed?” Ma Zhiqiang asked.

“No,” Ningde Bao replied. “He already qualifies for the invitational. Now it’s about gaining competition experience alongside training. A good seedling needs special treatment; time waits for no one.”

“All right, if you’re so optimistic, don’t blame me for speaking up,” Ma Zhiqiang said. “Young prodigies sometimes peak early and then plateau or decline. You know Ishizuka Yusuke from Japan, born in ’87? I heard he’s made no progress in domestic competitions over the past six months—actually, he’s regressed. This happens often.”

Ma Zhiqiang was telling the truth. Many young prodigies worldwide debut at their peak and then start to decline.

Ishizuka Yusuke was a typical example.

But Ningde Bao waved it off. “If you don’t push him through the bottleneck, how will you know if he’s the next Ishizuka Yusuke? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I only have him and one female teammate not yet enrolled. Not many people, and energy to spare.”

“Fine, Ning Jie, give me three days. That’s enough, right?” Ma Zhiqiang said. “Any shorter and I really lose face. This would be the fastest record in our school’s history—much faster than the previous half-month.”

“Okay, three days,” Ningde Bao agreed.

“I’ll take him then.”

...

“What do you think Coach Ma and Coach Ning are talking about? They’ve been talking for so long and keep looking our way.”

“Who knows? Probably thinking we aren’t doing the moves right.”

“They must be scheming ways to torture us again. This place is unbearable.” The one who vomited earlier seemed to have lost confidence and was close to giving up.

But that was normal—many come into sports and quit due to the pressure.

Only Su Shen knew he wouldn’t be here for long.

PS: New book watering—everyone, please support! Next week, there will be more updates and recommendations.

If you like Su Shen, show some love. I love you all~~~٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶~