The Good Dad System (Arc 9) Chapter 70.1: Run, Boy! (13)
“I see!” Xiao Liu nodded with a smile, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. “Do individual sports and photography enthusiasts like you need to prepare so much equipment and materials?”
Pei Naochun was not thick-skinned enough, and in the end he was unable to confidently say that he had made up a newspaper affiliation. However, since he had just boasted about his son to the audience around him, it would seem strange if he really admitted that he was Pei Xiangdong’s father. So he could only say that he was a personal sports and photography enthusiast.
This is not a lie, it’s just an exaggeration. My son is only good at sports!
“I happened to know some people in the circle, so I asked a few more questions.” He chuckled twice.
Xiao Liu agreed with this statement. When he was filming the CBA and the like, he met quite a few amateur enthusiasts, all of whom were forum masters and Tieba masters, with considerable status in the industry. “So, you mainly film sprinting?”
“…Yeah!” Pei Naochun nodded. Strictly speaking, he was just a fan in the star-chasing circle, and he only worked exclusively for Pei Xiangdong. If someone else is photographed, it is just incidental.
“True, track events have more fans than field events,” Xiao Liu said, speaking eloquently about sports. “It’s just that our province, and even the country, isn’t quite there yet. A sprinter is enough to get everyone’s attention, but I don’t know if these kids can go beyond the province and win glory for our country at world competitions.”
Those who can be selected for the provincial team are basically the best, but if they want to be selected for the national team, they have to be eliminated again. If they can participate in the world competition online, there are very few. Now, among the contestants in a stadium, most of them may withdraw from the field within three years, and the years of hard training will become a bitter or sweet memory.
“Yes.” Pei Naochun vowed, “I believe he can do it.”
Xiao Liu didn’t say anything, just looked at the track. Anyone who has been following the sports section for a long time or has a clear understanding of the domestic sports situation knows that the country has always been quite “dismal” in short-distance events. Whenever they can catch one, they can’t wait to brag about it, saying that this flying man, once he suddenly appeared, has attracted the attention of the whole country. It is precisely because of this that he has accumulated tremendous pressure. This time, his withdrawal caused an uproar.
“Really, look at him, this kid really runs fast.” Although Pei Naochun is a typical son bragging, he is not a blind person. In order to reassure him, Coach Wang calls him almost every day to communicate about Pei Xiangdong’s training and progress. He has also read a lot of information. Coach Wang said that after this year’s national and world competitions, he will take Xiangdong to the national team. Coach Wang was very confident on the phone.
“Okay, then I’ll watch.” Xiao Liu didn’t spoil the fun, just smiled and said, “Let’s wait and see.”
The autumn in Province C is not cold, but rather carries the tail end of summer, which makes the heat last for a long time. The wind is not strong today, and it feels comfortable when it blows over.
Pei Xiangdong had basically finished warming up. He was like a mobile phone that was charged to 100%, unscrupulously increasing the brightness and full of energy. He would jump up and down from time to time to relax his limbs.
“This kid,” Coach Wang said, his hands in his pockets, his eyes never leaving Pei Xiangdong. “He’s not nervous.” Pei Xiangdong, in a sense, was his direct descendant. Unlike the other kids on the team who had been sent in by city teams, discovered by other coaches, and trained from a young age, he was like a rough jade, uncut. Under his careful guidance, he gradually began to shine. Coach Wang, who had always paid close attention to Pei Xiangdong, had noticed that he was not feeling quite right several days ago. He had secretly asked his roommate, Li Zhengping, a few times and finally pieced together the reason.
At that time he shook his head, feeling helpless but also wanting to laugh. Yes, he was just a child after all, and he felt lost because his father was busy and didn’t want him to come to watch his rare official competition. Coach Wang didn’t delay and made a special phone call. Before they said a few words, Pei Naochun agreed immediately. It was only then that he heard from the other party that this silly child hadn’t even said a word to his family.
This morning, not long after arriving at the scene, he found that Pei Xiangdong’s whole state was full of life. Coach Wang just glanced at the stands and soon found the “real culprit” who caused the disturbance in his disciple’s state. Sometimes leading students is like leading his own children. After the child finally got the best performance, Coach Wang began to worry again. Pei Naochun rarely came to watch the game. Would Pei Xiangdong be too nervous or too excited?
Pei Xiangdong certainly didn’t know that the two most important people in his life, one was praising him desperately and the other was worried about him. He only felt that he was in a very good condition, both physically and mentally, and was at his best. He couldn’t wait to run, but it was a pity that today was still the preliminaries.
“Admission.” Staff members with work badges led the way in. Most of the people in the row were strangers. Those who had received professional training had much calmer expressions on their faces, while those who were sent by some school teams looked more at a loss and could be distinguished at a glance.
Pei Xiangdong had no intention of chatting up anyone before the game. He just followed his habit, lightly clenched his fist, and hammered the track. According to Coach Wang, this was probably because he was too immature. After all, the track was not flat, and it would hurt if he hammered too hard. It would even pick up a lot of dust on rainy days. But Pei Xiangdong always felt that it was like communicating with the track. Okay, it was indeed a bit silly.
He had adjusted the starting blocks according to his habit. The starter standing on the platform gave the signal. According to their respective lanes, everyone was ready. All they had to do was squat, bend over in the standard posture, and support themselves with their hands. At this point, all they could see was the track. However, it was not the time to relax their body yet. According to Pei Xiangdong’s simple understanding, they could not let their body and heart “cool down” and had to stay tense, waiting for the final order.
The stadium did not quiet down for this competition. The track and field events next to it were still going on, and other athletes were warming up in the venue. However, everyone on the track was focused and had put aside all noise, just waiting for the sound of the starting gun.
A gunshot rang out, white smoke curled up, and the runners on the track were shot out like arrows from a string.
Professional athletes have all learned to control their physical strength. In a preliminaries where they are sure to qualify, they will never use up all their strength in one go, especially for someone like Pei Xiangdong who is competing in more than one event. This requires Coach Wang to put in a lot of effort.
The sweat he had shed over the past month came into play at this moment. Pei Xiangdong just stared straight ahead. There was no opponent in his group. Two hundred meters was not as good as four hundred meters. He could only sprint in the later stages, so he had to speed up from the beginning.
When going through the bend at high speed, he could clearly feel his body tilting slightly, even feeling like he was going to go off the track, but it was no big deal. Pei Xiangdong kept steady, stepping on the track one step at a time, without even looking to the side, just rushing forward. Today his physical condition was surprisingly good, and he felt relaxed with every step he took. He could already see that he was ahead after only passing most of the bend. When he reached the straight, when everyone could compare on the same level, the person behind Pei Xiangdong had been left several meters behind by him.
Sprinting on a straight road is the most intense and tiring time. The curves have already consumed the physical strength of many people. When speeding up again, you can feel the tension of your heart beating faster. Those who fall behind can clearly see the gap between themselves and the front. If the leader does not want to affect his speed, he must not look back. He can only keep moving forward and crush others with speed.
Pei Xiangdong certainly wouldn’t look back, his eyes would only look forward. Although Coach Wang often said that he had good cornering skills, running on the straight road was the most exciting. He would go all the way to the end, and it would depend on his real ability. There were no other interfering factors, and speed was the only way to win.
He walked along, and although the wind was not strong today, he could still hear the whistling of the wind.
The finish line was right in front of him. He could no longer hear other people’s footsteps. The sounds in his ears were clear and simple – he seemed to be able to hear the alluring music played by his own spikes when they collided with the track. He knew that he was ahead again, he was always ahead.
I don’t look back, not because I’m worried about affecting my speed and performance, but because I know clearly that I am the fastest person on this track and I can win.
The contestants behind him were already quite desperate. This was the situation they feared most after gritting their teeth and trying hard to speed up. They tried their best but couldn’t even close the distance. They could only watch the figure, which was obviously not very tall but was extremely tall at this moment, stretching out his arms and crossing the finish line.
Pei Xiangdong was not exhausted by this run. Even in the most excited moment, he remembered the coach’s repeated instructions to keep his strength. He swung his arms vigorously, turned around and looked at the platform with a smile. A month of training had tanned his originally fair skin. In contrast to his skin color, his teeth were shining white.
“Crack!”
Not long after Pei Xiangdong started running, the sound of taking pictures was heard from the stands. Two SLR cameras were running at the same time, making continuous shutter sounds. The postures of both people looked very serious and focused.
“This kid.” Xiao Liu’s voice was quite complicated, “…is really fast.” If Pei Naochun hadn’t been sitting next to him and hadn’t been very focused when he saw Pei Xiangdong appear, he might have just taken two pictures casually. But even sports enthusiasts were so professional, he couldn’t just sit there and do nothing, so he had to adjust his position to take pictures. Anyway, there was nothing to take pictures of in the preliminaries today, and at worst he could just delete them all tomorrow.
But when the game started, he was really shocked. It was a bit of an exaggeration to say he was shocked, but the young man with a childish look on his face was indeed “far ahead”. He was not on the same level as the others in the group. Even with such a rough estimate, Xiao Liu realized that the other party’s record-breaking fact must be true.
“He has always been fast.” Pei Naochun put down the camera and looked at his son from a distance. He had already left the stage and his figure could no longer be seen, but he knew that the swing of his arm just now must have been for him as a father.
Xiao Liu was looking through the photos. Just after Pei Xiangdong crossed the finish line, he inexplicably did not stop taking pictures. At the last moment, he took another picture, and the result was unexpectedly good.
The boy in the photo is smiling brightly, raising his arms and shouting, full of youthful spirit. Under his feet is the cloth strip that just fell. Also photographed are two other boys who finally reached the finish line. Their faces are covered with sweat, and they are biting their lips as they sprint.
Regardless of whether the protagonist of this photo is famous or not, this should be the best photo he has taken this year. Xiao Liu’s hand stayed on the camera. He inexplicably felt the urge to collect it. Maybe in the future, Pei Xiangdong will really become famous… He suddenly laughed at himself. What was he thinking?
Of course, Xiao Liu didn’t know at that time that the protagonist of the photo would become famous overnight, and the photo he took casually did bring him countless compliments as he thought. But at this time, he was more concerned about another thing: “By the way, brother, how about your photo? Let me appreciate it?” He leaned over.
Pei Naochun skillfully cut away from the scene and held the camera firmly against his chest: “If the photos are just average, I won’t embarrass myself in front of you.”
EmpressYue Corner
Good day everyone, sorry I’ve been MIA. My laptop got an issue that required fixing. I’m fully back so expect weekly updates.
Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 34.1