Chapter 130: The Light of Juno

January 17, 6:30 PM.

The National Games women's high jump final was held at the Galaxy Gymnasium. Lu Su, acting as a spectator, watched the competition between Zhu Nuo and Zheng Ni.

Zhu Nuo’s main rivals included Gu Xuezhu from the Capital team, Jing Biwei from Zhejiang province, and Ren Xuan from the military team. Gu Xuezhu, in particular, was a veteran powerhouse in the domestic circuit.

Right now, Zheng Ni had failed her attempt at 1.86 meters. Zhu Nuo was chasing Gu Xuezhu’s mark of 1.92 meters.

The run-up. The turn. The bar fell.

Zhu Nuo landed on the sponge mat along with the crossbar. It was her second failed attempt at 1.92 meters. Only one chance remained.

Zhu Nuo lay on the sponge mat for about a dozen seconds, only jumping up when the referee came to warn her that she would be penalized for a technical foul if she did not get up.

She scanned the arena and saw her coach, her teammates who had already secured their results, and further away, Lu Su and Tian Shiwei cheering for her. These two sprinters hadn't been able to enter the competition area, so they were shouting "Go, Zhu Nuo!" from the stands.

"I saw that light again!" Zhu Nuo shouted toward Lu Su. Even though they were far apart and Lu Su surely couldn't hear her, she pointed toward the sky.

"Go for it!" Lu Su cupped his hands around his mouth. Zhu Nuo couldn't hear him either, but he also pointed a finger toward the sky.

Both knew exactly what the other was saying.

Zhu Nuo ran over to her coach to share her idea. Coach Li Na looked at her prize pupil and made a decision. Zhu Nuo watched as her coach made the request to the referee; the referee looked surprised and double-checked, then the coach looked back at Zhu Nuo...

It was exactly the same scene as at the East Asian Youth Games. But back then, Zhu Nuo had failed. What about this time?

Zhu Nuo nodded to Coach Li Na without hesitation. The bar was raised to 1.93 meters. Three months later, Zhu Nuo was challenging this height again. Coincidentally, the women's high jump record for the National Games was also 1.92 meters. Gu Xuezhu had already equaled it. Zhu Nuo was aiming to surpass her.

Zhu Nuo took a deep breath. The run-up. The turn. The jump.

In that moment, Lu Su felt as if he truly saw a light flickering upon her.

...

"Congratulations to Zhu Nuo from Guangdong province for winning the women's high jump gold medal at these National Games and breaking the record!"

...

This was Guangdong province’s seventh gold medal of the games. Watching Zhu Nuo step onto the podium, Tian Shiwei was moved to tears. He hugged Lu Su and said, "Zhu won!"

"Yeah, Zhu Nuo won..." Lu Su patted Tian Shiwei on the back. The people around them gave these two large young men incredulous looks. How could guys so sturdy be... gay?

...

On the bus back to Pengcheng on the evening of the 17th, Lu Su and Tian Shiwei presented a cake to Zhu Nuo. It was a massive, three-tiered cake that had cost Lu Su over a thousand yuan. Zhu Nuo beamed with joy when she saw it.

Then, Tian Shiwei, feeling mischievous, grabbed a handful of cake and smeared it on Zhu Nuo’s face. Zhu Nuo, refusing to lose, grabbed a handful and slammed it onto Tian Shiwei’s head. Thus, a cake war broke out, and neither the coaches nor the athletes on the bus were spared.

Lu Su had already asked the driver to pull over ahead of time. It wasn't until the driver had finished two cigarettes that the battle finally ended.

The coaches were furious and punished Zhu Nuo and Tian Shiwei by forcing them to clean the bus before they could eat. Zhu Nuo and Tian Shiwei began scrubbing the bus as soon as they returned to the sports institute. Out of loyalty, Lu Su couldn't stay out of it, though the rest of the sprint team soon came over to help.

Lu Jinrong, thinking that Tian Shiwei had another competition the next day, had intended to help too, but seeing the sprinters laughing and working quickly, he decided not to intervene.

"Old Zhu, this celebration is one you’ll remember for the rest of your life, right?" Tian Shiwei laughed while scrubbing.

"I’ll remember you forever!" replied the champion, Zhu Nuo, who was busy wiping the floor.

...

January 18.

The 100-meter final was set for 6:30 PM. The National Games had reached their third day, with a total of 58 gold medals decided. Guangdong province had secured 8, a fruitful harvest.

The broadcast for the 100-meter final was being prepared. The host and the expert were chatting.

"...Guangdong is a powerhouse in sports and is expected to finish at the top of the gold medal count this time. The Guangdong athletes in this session show two characteristics: first, our top-tier athletes in national sports are even sharper, such as in diving, table tennis, and even in our non-traditional strength of sprinting, where stars like Lu Su have emerged. Second, we have some disciplines with strong professional development, such as basketball, soccer, golf, rock climbing, and skateboarding..." the expert explained.

"What is your take on Lu Su? As far as I know, he has registered for the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 4x100m. In which event do you think he has the advantage?" the host asked.

"The 100m is the showdown between Lu Su and Pan Kai. I believe many viewers have been looking forward to this for a long time. It will determine who is the domestic sprint king—a true battle of champions." The expert’s tone rose with excitement. He continued his analysis, "In the 200m, Lu Su’s rival is still Pan Kai; both have shown a massive gap in performance compared to other domestic runners... In the 400m, Lu Su’s opponent is Xiao Qiang from the Liaoning team... As for the 4x100m, the Shanghai and Sichuan teams are very strong; I’m not particularly optimistic about our Guangdong team."

"So, in all these events, Lu Su has a chance to win gold, or at the very least, a very high probability of medaling?" The host arrived at a conclusion that even surprised him.

"Yes," the expert said. "Lu Su is a rare all-around talent in sprinting. There’s a saying online that Lu Su is a 'hexagonal all-around warrior,' referring to his mastery of the indoor 60m, 200m, 400m, and the outdoor 100m, 200m, and 400m."

"I know that Lu Su just finished a clean sweep at the indoor invitational. Let’s make a bold assumption: what if Lu Su manages to take home three gold medals at these National Games...?" the host asked.

"Then he is the king of domestic track and field sprinting. Of course, we must exclude the 110m hurdles from this, as we have Liu Yu, and I believe the hurdles are quite distinct from other events," the expert said.

"Then we truly must look forward to the birth of a legend," the host said excitedly. "Let’s see how a professional athlete who has only been training for half a year claims the highest honor in domestic sprinting."

...

As for Lu Su, he was currently undergoing a drug test.