Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Indoor Track and Field Invitational

Although Rousseau dearly wanted to celebrate, no one else thought a university sports meet championship was worth making a fuss over. Was there any thrill in crushing weak opponents?

After returning to the sports institute, Rousseau intended to go straight home. The coach had specially granted him permission to live either in the dormitory or at his own place. Upon hearing this, Tian Shiwei immediately declared that if owning an apartment in a family housing complex was enough to earn such treatment, he would have his father buy him one at once.

“Besides the house, you’d also need a little sister, and on top of that, an East Asian Youth Games-level championship would do,” Lu Jinrong said, shattering Tian Shiwei’s fantasy. A sister he had; an international title, he did not.

Now that Rousseau was heading home, Tian Shiwei pulled him back.

“Have you noticed that your relationship with Old Zhu has been growing a little cool lately?” Tian Shiwei asked.

“Has it?” Rousseau began to think it over. No, not really. If it had ever been warm, it had not been by much to begin with.

“Never mind, don’t think about it. Ever since that beauty from Hong Kong appeared, the whole atmosphere has been off,” Tian Shiwei said.

Oh? Rousseau considered it, and it did make sense. For example, on the way back today, Zhu Nuo’s mood had been low. When Tian Shiwei suggested going to Rousseau’s place to freeload a meal, Zhu Nuo hadn’t even bothered to respond. Under normal circumstances, that would have been impossible.

“So what now? Sacrificing public duty for private feelings and refusing to work with the King of Lu is obviously impossible. That leaves only one solution: leave it to me, your brother!” Tian Shiwei thumped his chest. “I’ll take that Hong Kong beauty down with righteous resolve, and from then on her identity will be your sister-in-law. Wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?”

“Sure. Go ahead and take her down,” Rousseau agreed.

“You have to help!” Tian Shiwei grabbed him as he tried to leave.

“How am I supposed to help?” Rousseau asked.

“You first say you’ll help, then I’ll think of the rest,” Tian Shiwei said.

That was outright shamelessness... but Rousseau still nodded helplessly. Who told Tian Shiwei to be his only male friend his own age?

“But you and Zheng Ni...?” Rousseau could not help asking.

“That is pure friendship between revolutionary comrades,” Tian Shiwei clarified.

“How are you comrades? One of you does high jump, the other sprints.”

“First we were comrades in resolutely resisting our roommate’s midnight competitions, then comrades in watching kindergarteners in the senior class fall in love, and then there’s...”

“Enough, I don’t want to hear it.”

...

After earning two attribute points at the university sports meet, Rousseau immediately put them into the upper limits of Strength and Agility.

Now the two were both at forty-one out of forty-two, neat and even, full of the pleasing symmetry that made people with obsessive tendencies deeply comfortable.

The improvement of these two attributes would have a very direct effect on Rousseau’s performance.

If Rousseau were better at math, he might even be able to draw a curve of improvement.

The x-axis of that curve would be his attributes, the y-axis his results, and the z-axis the degree of difficulty in improving human sprinting records from eleven seconds to ten, and then by every tenth of a second within ten seconds. In such a coordinate system, everything followed a pattern.

To sum it up in one sentence: the stronger the attributes, the smaller the margin of improvement, but the greater the glory gained.

In three months, Rousseau had more than doubled his attribute values, rising from a complete novice to the domestic championship level in the hundred meters outside ten seconds. If he wanted to enter the world championship realm inside ten seconds, he would probably need to raise his attributes by quite a lot more.

That would require many, many more university sports meets...

Unfortunately, university sports meets were rare and hard to come by. In November, apart from southern coastal cities, no domestic city would be holding a major outdoor athletics meet.

There was indoor competition, though.

“The first stop of the National Indoor Athletics Invitational has been confirmed. It’s at the capital station, at the end of this month, on the 30th,” Lu Jinrong informed Rousseau on the 22nd.

An indoor athletics invitational, as the name suggested, was a competition held inside a stadium.

It was usually staged in winter and generally divided into three or four stops. This year’s first stop was the capital, the second Chengdu, the third Quancheng, and the fourth Fengtian.

The schedule had one meet every ten days, and the event would officially conclude in late December. By the time the invitational ended, there would be only about ten days left until the National Games.

The events included the 60 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, 60-meter hurdles, high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, shot put, and the heptathlon.

As for why there was no 100 meters...

“Because the venue doesn’t have a straightaway long enough for 100 meters,” Lu Jinrong said. “One lap is 200 meters, so the event is the 200 meters—and even that’s different from the outdoor 200 meters. So, are you going to take part?”

An indoor meet was, after all, different from an outdoor one.

Due to the limits of the venue, the 100 meters had been replaced by the 60.

“What’s the difference between 60 meters and 100 meters?” Rousseau asked.

“Run it and you’ll know,” Lu Jinrong said.

...

Indeed.

Run it and you would know.

On the 60-meter track in the sports school’s gymnasium, after Rousseau sprinted from start to finish, he felt vaguely unsatisfied. That was it?

“Generally speaking, sprinters can sustain high-intensity anaerobic exertion for about 80 meters. After 80 meters they reach their limit, and the final 20 meters of a hundred-meter race are mostly held together by inertia. But the 60 meters is different. In the 60 meters, the human body has not yet reached its limit, so everyone’s speed is very fast.

“In this event, shorter athletes have a huge advantage. The current national record holder in the 60 meters is Zhang Zhen, with a time of 6.66 seconds...”

Zhang Zhen.

A little Nezha-like figure floated up in Rousseau’s mind.

“How fast was I just now?” Rousseau asked Lu Jinrong.

“7.10 seconds,” Lu Jinrong said.

“My 100-meter speed is now faster than Zhang Zhen’s... at least about the same. Where’s the problem?” Rousseau asked again.

“Your start and acceleration. Zhang Zhen is shorter than you, so he should reach his mid-race phase sooner than you. That’s a huge advantage in the 60 meters,” Lu Jinrong said.

“I’ll try again.” Rousseau called Tian Shiwei over to help and put on the Glass Crown.

“What are you training?” Tian Shiwei asked.

“The 60 meters. I’m planning to run the indoor 60 at the capital stop,” Rousseau said.

“I want to go too~” Tian Shiwei said at once, then grew worried. “But I’m no good at the 60 meters.”

“It’s fine. We’ll practice first,” Rousseau said.

...

Rousseau: 6.70 seconds.

Tian Shiwei: 7.50 seconds.

The distance between them could still fit every other contestant in the event.

“Are you here to make me practice, or to crush my confidence?” Tian Shiwei cursed as he left in a huff.

...

“Not bad~” Lu Jinrong had lately begun to resemble Rousseau’s dedicated cheerleader. He had not expected Rousseau to understand so quickly. For a man 1.82 meters tall, to run 6.70 seconds in the 60 meters was absolutely an anomaly.

“Still not fast enough...” Rousseau mused.

Of course, he had not gone all out.

Aside from the Eastern Youth Games, Rousseau had used full effort only once. At all other times, with the Glass Crown on, he had held himself back while running.

There would still be the National Games after the indoor invitational.

Rousseau had to think ahead.