Chapter 18: Going to the Library with the Coach (Extra Chapter Added~ Please Vote~~~)

Returning to the dormitory, Su Shen quickly bonded with his roommates.

He was already familiar with their temperaments and personalities. Although few of them would eventually achieve notable results in training, they were all young and carefree, so no one minded much.

Especially the story of Su Shen and the so-called "Brutal New Recruits Camp" quickly spread throughout the moderately sized sports school. The roommates were proud to know such a celebrity, which naturally warmed their feelings toward him.

"I’m Chen Huazhen, from Jiangmen, 14 years old."

"I'm Zhang Tian, from Ruizhou, 13 years old."

"I'm Zhang Xingxing, from Tuocheng, 15 years old."

...

Looking around, Su Shen realized he was actually one of the oldest among them. It seemed the sports school started training quite early. Nearly everyone in the dorm was younger than him. It looked like Ningde Bao had taken care of him by assigning older roommates; otherwise, he might have had to endure another round of the “Dormitory Newcomer Culture Campaign.” That would have been too troublesome.

Su Shen was here to train and had no time to waste on meaningless distractions.

The sports school held training sessions both in the morning and afternoon, with academic classes interspersed. Evenings were usually for self-study. But “self-study” was really just free time to relax and play; you wouldn’t expect these kids to hit the books after a full day of training.

Su Shen had been through a similar stage once.

But this time, he had many things to do and no time for idle distractions. So, to the stunned faces of his dorm mates, he placed a thick stack of books on the table, turned on a small desk lamp—and actually started studying.

This scared the kids half to death.

They thought it was just a show at first, but the next day he kept at it without missing a beat.

He studied English from the few English magazines he had, and also researched and wrote down his training insights and some technical materials he planned to submit in the future.

Everyone glanced at one another, unsure how to react.

Luckily, Su Shen told them to just play on their own and not worry about him. He usually enjoyed reading and writing, which put everyone’s minds at ease.

Otherwise, it would have been terrifying. How could anyone object to studying in a sports school?

They were students too, after all.

The next evening, Ningde Bao actually brought a batch of publications Su Shen had requested. Though worn, they were still usable. The kids took a curious look and immediately felt overwhelmed.

They were all in English.

At that time, English education was not as widespread, and even the city’s key high schools barely had a high proficiency level. Not to mention these sports school students.

Suddenly, everyone regarded Su Shen as a kind of “immortal,” with a mixture of admiration and respect.

Ningde Bao, meanwhile, casually picked up Su Shen’s notebook and stared blankly for three seconds. Even she couldn’t remain calm.

This...

He was directly researching running methods and techniques?

Though at first it seemed far-fetched, the more she looked, the more it seemed quite impressive.

What kind of prodigy was this?

A scientific athlete?

Ningde Bao couldn’t find the right term. In all her years in the field, she had never encountered anyone like him.

This wasn’t mere self-entertainment but genuine research. Why?

Because many parts were beyond her understanding.

Especially the sections involving direct physics and mathematical formulas; they left her dizzy. In a way, she felt similar to these sports school kids when faced with this content.

SCI materials, including these, were like unreadable scriptures.

After a while, she found it difficult to keep up.

“Xiao Tian, when did you start developing this habit?” Ningde Bao finally suppressed her surprise and asked.

“I’ve had it since I started running. I believe sports is a science, so it needs recording and research. Our domestic knowledge is too scarce—many things are copied blindly or even outdated knowledge presented as new. Look, Coach Ning, see this, this, and this? These are things long abandoned or even denied years ago,” Su Shen said, showing her his notes, leaving Ningde Bao astonished.

“Also, I think most writers here are academic types who don’t have much practical sports experience or high-level competition background. Their articles often lack substance,” Su Shen added.

Don’t think Ningde Bao was unqualified; she was a bona fide university graduate from a sports university and a veteran of the 1978 college entrance exam reforms. She was among the most educated female coaches domestically. If not for youth and insufficient seniority, she should have reached higher positions.

Yet even she struggled to comprehend Su Shen’s work.

Not knowing English only widened the gap between domestic sports teachers and cutting-edge foreign knowledge, preventing immediate translation and learning of overseas research.

After all, foreign countries were still more professional and scientific in this domain. Sprinting was an extremely precise discipline; without West African ancestry, the only way forward was through scientific systems and technical projects.

Ningde Bao took a deep breath and looked at Su Shen, seeming to understand something.

Even if this kid never became an athlete, he could be the country’s most needed specialist in sports science projects. Perhaps his talent in this area was even more terrifying.

Starting to write in the second year of junior high, just by reading newspapers, magazines, and news, he had already figured out so much.

If this isn’t genius, what is?

Moreover, his thirst for knowledge was extraordinary—an immense advantage other sports school kids lacked.

A rural boy using his New Year’s money and pocket cash to buy secondhand magazines?

Back when Ningde Bao was in junior high, the first thing she did with money was buy snacks.

Swallowing slightly, Ningde Bao said, “May I borrow some to read, Xiao Tian?”

“Of course, Coach Ning. Take whatever you want. If you don’t understand something, you can ask me,” Su Shen replied.

At that moment, he almost slipped into the role of “Professor Su,” forgetting he was just a 15-year-old boy now. But his serious studying left him little time to think before speaking.

Ningde Bao didn’t mind. She was a university graduate who had studied relevant subjects, but there was so little domestic material available, and her poor English meant she hadn’t pushed further.

Now, seeing Su Shen’s notes—even though he wrote them somewhat chaotically and only selected the easiest topics—she still recognized value.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have borrowed them.

This was also a strategic move by Su Shen. Since he was still young with few achievements and hadn’t entered university, it was extremely difficult to publish in domestic sports journals.

If Ningde Bao, a university graduate, helped, it would be much easier.

He could co-publish with her as second author, gradually build his reputation, and then explode with publications after entering university.

All this was to help Chinese sports catch the fast track. Ningde Bao, please forgive me, he silently repented.

...

After three days, Ningde Bao came to fetch him. Ma Zhiqiang had no choice but to declare Su Shen had “graduated” from the new recruits camp, ready for the next phase.

Everyone was stunned.

Seeing Su Shen’s expression, their views varied widely.

The sports school was small and closed-off; this “explosive news” would spread across the school within hours.

The boy who broke the shortest “new recruits” record would definitely become widely known.

But athletics, unlike basketball or football, thrives on youth and is a shorter career. So becoming famous early wasn’t a bad thing.

That was the mainstream opinion now.

Ningde Bao also wanted to test Su Shen’s “stress tolerance.”

The mentor and student played all kinds of tricks on each other, no wonder they would “achieve mutual greatness” in the future.

What Ma Zhiqiang didn’t know was that Ningde Bao had started coming to the library at night to study Su Shen’s so-called “insights.” The sports school’s library was mostly for show; Ningde Bao dared say maybe not a single student had voluntarily entered it in a whole year.

Ningde Bao herself had a strong thirst for knowledge but was limited by the lack of available resources and her poor English.

Still, she was a female university student and, in 2004’s terms, definitely a “high-level intellectual.”

Plus, she was young and energetic.

So evenings of self-study became joint sessions of learning and improvement.

Though middle-aged and lacking energy to learn a new language, she gradually became fascinated by Su Shen’s writings and his consciously translated materials.

...

Honestly, having a disciple good at English was such a blessing!

She could improve her professional knowledge and learn cutting-edge sports systems.

It was priceless.

Compared to this, dealing with magazines was trivial. She could also find ways to get school subsidies and reimbursements.

Suddenly, Su Shen ignited Ningde Bao’s passion for learning. They began long days of training and nights of study.

Because she could improve herself, Ningde Bao clearly paid more attention to the books Su Shen wanted.

She even started placing many first-hand journals in front of her.

Of course, Su Shen had to work harder, explaining key points to Ningde Bao so she would willingly continue helping him acquire books.

This amazed everyone in the sports school.

Even the principal was alarmed and came for a surprise inspection, only to find everything exactly as rumored.

These two were simply extraordinary.

But since it was academic work, the principal had no objections and even handed Ningde Bao a key to the library.

This was his way of showing strong support for their professional attitude and dedication.

Seeing this, Su Shen knew his plan had succeeded. Now he only needed to slowly publish his “research results.”

He deliberately chose topics that didn’t require extensive personal experiments.

When the time was right, he would use Ningde Bao’s university graduate identity to launch his first shot in sports science.

...

Arriving at the athletic field.

Indeed, fame was a double-edged sword. Graduating from the “new recruits camp” in just three days inevitably attracted a lot of attention.

Everyone wanted to see what the so-called “genius” looked like.

But upon seeing him...

Many senior sports school students were deeply disappointed.

His height and physique alone made them feel he was mismatched and below standard.

Yet Su Shen didn’t care about their judgments. He focused on quickly improving his performance. Even the best sports school in Xiangshan City was only a temporary stop; he didn’t intend to stay until adulthood.

So he paid no mind to their strange looks.

Having lived a past life, Su Shen’s confidence was beyond their imagination.

His first major obstacle to conquer was breaking the 11-second barrier.

P.S.: Let’s have a little motivation event—if this reaches 200 to 300 recommendation votes, how about an extra chapter?

If you want to see more of Su Shen, please, kind readers, lend a hand and cast some votes.

The kid needs his milk~