Chapter 36: Target 06, The World Youth Championship at Our Doorstep

February 7, 2005. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve.

It is also the first Lunar New Year Su Shen has celebrated since his return.

The atmosphere of the 2005 New Year is thick with tradition, with lanterns and decorations hung everywhere. Although heavy snow is rare in this region, everyone has bundled up in winter clothes. A quick glance reveals children playing outside after school, and Su Shen takes his younger brother to the small convenience store to buy an assortment of firecrackers and fireworks.

Setting off firecrackers.

This is an essential form of entertainment for the New Year in this era.

Few children born in this decade do not play with firecrackers. In an era without smartphones or tablets, this is one of the most popular pastimes for kids.

There are countless friction-ignited firecrackers, throwing-snaps, "double-bang" crackers, and multi-shot varieties. The bolder ones even buy "thunder" crackers to blow up fish in small ponds.

Families also buy a few firework shells to keep at home, waiting until the midnight vigil to take them outside, lighting them up to join the chorus of the neighborhood, painting the night sky in vibrant colors.

In later years, this joy would gradually become a nostalgic memory due to bans on setting off fireworks and firecrackers.

Seeing all this, Su Shen feels a surge of playfulness and buys plenty to relive the experience.

At this time, children are usually relatively "wealthy." Su Shen brought home a "huge sum" of 3,000 yuan, an amount his parents could hardly believe he had earned. He also has a Nokia phone, something they don't even own, leading to a comical scene...

They actually "interrogated" Su Shen, asking if he had gotten involved in something illicit.

Su Shen was almost "beaten into a confession."

It wasn't until Su Shen produced his gold medal to explain everything that the elderly couple felt relieved. They then had Su Shen call Ning Debao, ostensibly to greet the coach, but in reality, to confirm if Su Shen was telling the truth. Once Ning Debao confirmed it, Su Shen's parents finally set their hearts at ease. The way they looked at Su Shen began to brim with pride; his mother even teared up, clutching his hand and repeating, "Our Xiaotian has grown up, our Xiaotian has really grown up."

As for the money, after dinner that very day, Su Shen's father hurried to the credit union to deposit it.

He insisted that the money belonged to Su Shen and should be saved for his future university tuition or wedding.

That was a bit awkward.

But his parents have lived a life of thrift and frugality, and no matter what a 15-year-old kid says, it’s useless, so he just lets them be.

In any case, there will be plenty of ways for him to make money in the future; there is no need to go against his parents' wishes now.

However, these days of being treated as the "family treasure" don't last more than three or four days.

Once those few days pass, Su Shen transitions from being the "precious gem" in his parents' eyes to being someone they start to ignore.

During this time, Su Shen occasionally takes his younger brother to town to find Chen Cai and Lin Yanfang.

Chen Cai, being observant, gives Su Shen a wink and takes the younger brother off to play with firecrackers, specifically creating space for Su Shen and Lin Yanfang to be alone.

Look at that—that is what you call a real buddy.

"Xiaotian, are you truly going to stick to this path as an athlete? This year, you’ve changed so much. You’ve become taller, stronger, and more thoughtful. I’m actually a bit..." Su Shen doesn't let Lin Yanfang finish, because he has heard this before. But last time he didn't understand, and this time he states it directly: "I am still me. With you, I will never change."

Su Shen, in his past life, would never have said such things. The comment makes Lin Yanfang’s face flush bright red, but one can tell she is happy.

"During the break, you can only come out on Sundays during the day. I was thinking... I could come visit you every week." Lin Yanfang seems to feel she was too direct and hurriedly adds, "I don't mean anything else by it, I just want you to take me around Xiangshan City to look at things."

"Sure," Su Shen nods firmly. Looking at her young, fresh-faced appearance, unadorned by makeup, he suddenly says, "It’s just going to be hard on you."

Seeing the look in Su Shen's eyes, Lin Yanfang understands much more. Girls are sensitive, especially regarding emotions, and mature earlier than boys. She immediately grasps Su Shen's feelings.

This is the first time in her memory that Su Shen has expressed himself so clearly.

He can't help it; in his previous life, he was a bit of a "blockhead" when it came to these things, unable to express himself.

Su Shen feels helpless too. Why was he so silly back then?

The Xiangshan City Sports School only allows students out during the day on Sundays. If one takes the bus, it's impossible to make the round trip in time. That means Lin Yanfang would have to endure the hardship of sitting on a long-distance bus for several hours to get there, and then several hours back again.

In Su Shen's memory, during this period, they met once a week, and after he joined the provincial team, it was once a month. Because he couldn't leave, she was always the one to take the initiative to find him.

She would take the five o'clock morning bus, and after they met, she would take the bus back by herself.

Honestly.

If you meet a girl like this, never let go. Because in this world, you likely won't meet another one.

"No, it's okay." Lin Yanfang, touched by the emotion in Su Shen's eyes, watches him silently before New Year's Eve.

"Xiaofang." Seeing someone set off a fountain firework that scatters in the sky, Su Shen suddenly speaks...

"Hmm?" Lin Yanfang looks up at his face.

"Wait for me," Su Shen says.

"I will run for the whole world for you."

*Biu~*

Amidst the sound of surrounding fireworks, Lin Yanfang looks at Su Shen, pauses for a moment, and then slowly breaks into a smile.

She nods gently.

...

February 8, 2005. New Year's Eve. After the reunion dinner, everyone watches the Spring Festival Gala at home as usual. In this era, not many people go out on New Year's Eve; almost everyone sits at home watching the program with their families.

From the opening dance to the Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva, to the romantic songs, and finally the classic "Unforgettable Tonight," the returned Su Shen finally understands... what you watch on the Spring Festival Gala has never been the program itself.

It is the companionship of a reunion.

Receiving his long-lost red envelope money and setting off the fireworks he had prepared with his family, his second 2004, according to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, comes to an end.

...

After the Lantern Festival, Su Shen packs his bags and returns to the Xiangshan City Sports School.

During this time, Ning Debao has completed her latest research paper on the "Six-Second Law"—"An Analysis of the Characteristics of the Six-Second Law and the Reasons for the Lag in Chinese Sprinting." As soon as Su Shen arrives at school, he is roped in to help Ning Debao with the final proofreading and references.

...

"I think we could insert a table here, separating the data from the university group and the National Games group you surveyed." Su Shen didn't know that upon arrival, before he could even catch his breath, he would be put to work as "manual labor." However, in the spirit of providing more theoretical foundations for the Chinese track and field world, he quickly offers his suggestions after reviewing the text: "It's best to clarify in the table the positive and negative values for performance, maximum speed, the time to reach maximum speed, and finally add a 30-meter positive/negative value and margin of error, as well as the 6-second positive/negative value and margin of error. Such a table would be clearer than text and easier for people to understand."

Accessibility is a powerful weapon for rapid dissemination.

Ning Debao considers this for a moment and nods. Only then does she look up at Su Shen, observing him carefully, and says, "You’ve kept in good shape. It seems I won't need to give you such a long recovery time. You wouldn't believe it, but Zhou Bing actually gained nearly ten pounds over the New Year, and it's all pure fat. If he can't lose it, he won't be participating in upcoming competitions; I'll cancel his spot! We'll talk when he manages to lose it."

Judging by Ning Debao's tone, Brother Zhou Bing must have enjoyed his holiday meals quite a bit.

In 2005, as a sports school student, there are several provincial competitions to prepare for.

First is the Guangdong Youth Championships, then the Guangdong Track and Field Championships, and finally the Guangdong Track and Field Open.

These are the three provincial competitions Su Shen needs to prepare for.

As for national and world-level events, Su Shen is not yet qualified, not even for the World Junior Championships.

His primary goal is to make it into the provincial team first.

In his previous life, he wasn't recruited into the Guangdong track and field team until December 2006. Now, he intends to pull that date forward as much as possible.

If he does that, he can still make it in time for the World Junior Championships being held on home soil next year.

He missed it in his past life, but this time, Su Shen doesn't want to miss such a great opportunity.

He wants to challenge all the powerful enemies and young geniuses in the home-turf competition.

As he likes to say—

"I prefer to train through competition."

Yes, that is the type of athlete Su Shen is; he has always preferred competition.

Therefore, he does not intend to miss any of the three major provincial competitions this time.

Although "training through competition" is currently considered a "highly unreasonable" method, Su Shen knows very well...

This.

This is his best training rhythm.