IBABS Chapter 73.2 — Gossip and Public Opinion & Return to Training & Chen Zhi’s Upcoming Comeback

On the internet, new trends came and went.

This time, Su Zhe’s childhood crossdressing incident gradually died down after everyone had their fun discussing and sharing it across the web.

After all, Su Zhe’s current identity was as an athlete. For everyone, his cute childhood crossdressing photos were just a fun little addition to his already impressive achievements.

A user on the Track and Field Kingdom forum put it well. “So what if our Zhe-shao was a cute loli when he was little? He’s still a total beast now, isn’t he?”

The day after the invitational ended, the Chinese track and field team didn’t stay in Japan any longer. They quickly flew back home and continued throwing themselves into intense winter training with the team members.

For Su Zhe, the invitational in Japan had given him an even clearer understanding of his technical flaws and areas for improvement.

In track and field circles, there was a saying: A sprinter who excels in the 100m will never have a bad 60m time.

But when applied to Su Zhe, this saying could be interpreted from another angle. If he could further improve his 60m performance, his 100m results would undoubtedly see significant progress!

This principle could also be applied to his 110m hurdles event.

This time, although he lost to Zhou Tianjue due to multiple factors, the root of his early-race struggle lay in his lack of explosive power and acceleration in the first half.

Explosive power training, starting acceleration training, and adjustments to various technical details that might affect his first-half speed, all sorts of things.

After returning home, Su Yinsheng and the sprint coaching staff made minor adjustments to his training plan based on his performance and actual race results at the Japan Invitational. Similarly, after reviewing race footage of Su Zhe, Zhou Tianjue, and Ye Jun, Lü Fei also made corresponding adjustments to their training plans.

[Next time, I’ll win.]

That conviction carved itself even deeper into Su Zhe’s mind after the Japan Invitational.

The pursuit of speed on the track, and the hunger for victory that came with it, burned brighter than ever in his thoughts.

This desire to stand at the pinnacle of victory had been quietly growing in him since the World Championships. He wanted to win, wanted to achieve faster and better results on even greater stages.

This yearning kept fermenting in his heart, then transformed into motivation for him to intensify his training.

As his daily training progressed, the courses for Camera Presence and Shooting Skills in the system space were completed one after another. The only remaining course was the Comprehensive Physical Enhancement Training assigned by the system.

Coincidentally, on the same day the Japan Indoor Invitational ended, Su Zhe finished the final lesson of his shooting skills training in the system space. Next, after restarting winter training, he would spend a full 6 hours of training time each day in the space, continuously working on training that could improve his attributes.

To further improve his training efficiency, he also gradually moved some of the training plans from the space to his additional daytime training sessions after his regular daily training ended.

Time gradually passed in this state of exhaustion, busyness, and the growing sense of accomplishment that came with constant progress.

Before he knew it, the calendar had flipped from 2019 to 2020, marking the start of the New Year holiday.

Of course, for athletes in the middle of winter training, there was no such thing as a holiday. What holiday? Had they already finished all their training or were they already awesome enough to be world-class?

Even the world’s top athletes would see their performance drop and risk muscle injuries if they slacked off even a little in training!

Were their results anywhere close to those athletes? And they dared to talk about taking a break?

Not to mention, after winter training ended, starting March 1st, the World Indoor Athletics Championships would be held in China!

Having one of the world’s four major track and field events held right at their doorstep made every team member who would participate feel both excited and under considerable pressure.

The Track and Field Administration Center had already given clear instructions about the goals for this competition. For strong events like men’s triple jump and women’s shot put, they should secure at least silver while aiming for gold, or at minimum fight for medals. For weaker events like men’s 60m sprint, while medals weren’t demanded, they must strive to make historic breakthroughs in the competition!

Amid the hectic winter training season, the team still set aside half a day for an in-depth yet straightforward briefing session with all participating athletes and related coaching staff.

At the meeting, Track and Field Administration Center director Sun Zhihai personally attended and once again emphasized the importance of this competition.

“I’m sure all of you are far more prepared for this event than an old man like me, but I’m going to nag you all one more time. This Indoor Championships will be held in N City. Soon, the media will launch a full-scale promotional campaign. At that time, how many expectant eyes will be watching you at the venue? Are you willing to see their disappointed faces at the scene?”

Sun Zhihai paused, then continued earnestly, “I believe in all of you, and I hope you can give your best performance on the field! Let those world-class athletes who come to compete in our country see that China’s track and field has a bright future!”

After the New Year’s holiday, just as Sun Zhihai said, domestic media began large-scale promotion of the upcoming event, one of the “Big Four” in global athletics.

After the official media’s educational bombardment, many ordinary people who didn’t usually follow track and field events also learned about the importance of this competition. Soon, casual conversations everywhere began touching on the four-day competition set to take place in N City.

While the event organizers worked tirelessly on preparations and promotions, the track and field team athletes didn’t dare to slack off even slightly in their training under the pressure of this important event.

For Su Zhe, this first major competition of the new season after winter training brought both pressure and motivation. The pressure came from the event itself, but so did the motivation. He wanted to achieve another breakthrough in his results at this event!

After returning from the Japan Invitational, his desire for competition had never really faded from his heart.

Objectively, his training results had been steadily improving, yet at the end of each session, he still felt that pure training alone couldn’t bring out his absolute best.

Deep down, he had a growing suspicion that his next breakthrough might only come in actual competition. This thought made him feel a subtle sense of restlessness, sometimes even throwing off his balance during training.

This state made Su Zhe worry about himself a little.

Su Yinsheng naturally noticed Su Zhe’s condition, and after communicating with him, he rather casually agreed with his thinking.

“Actually, you’re not wrong. We’ve talked about this before. Some athletes are training types, while others are big competition types.” Su Yinsheng crossed his arms over his chest. “Your condition is undoubtedly that of a standard competition-type athlete. Using competition as training will also be normal for you during the season. It’s normal for athletes like you to feel restless when there are no competitions. Even if your training results are good enough, lacking the stimulation of competition will make you feel like something’s off everywhere.”

After summarizing the reasons for Su Zhe’s condition, Su Yinsheng waved his hand casually. “What you’re experiencing is just the competitive adrenaline junkie in you, but it’s not really a big deal. What you need to do is channel that eagerness into control. Remind yourself that every day of training now is laying a good foundation for your breakthroughs in future competitions.”

“Anyway, don’t overthink things. Managing your mental state is still one of the important lessons you need to master right now.”

Facing his father’s lecture, Su Zhe thought carefully and nodded seriously.

Indeed, just as his old man said, only by building a solid foundation in training could he continuously achieve the performance breakthroughs and even victories he craved in competition.

After steadying his mindset again, Su Zhe also breathed a slight sigh of relief with gratitude. Although he was much better compared to the beginning, he still lacked some sensitivity and maturity when it came to handling the psychological shifts during competitions and training.

Fortunately, whenever his mental state wavered or his focus drifted, there were always people around him who could remind him in time, helping him avoid the instability that came from a fluctuating mindset.

He still needed to work harder, whether in physical training or psychological training!

With this thought, Su Zhe once again threw himself wholeheartedly into winter training before the Lunar New Year.

And just as the Lunar New Year approached, Chen Zhi’s long-silent Weibo suddenly had a new post. “Thank you everyone for your concern. I’m back. Rejoining the team tomorrow. @Chinese Track and Field Team, @Su Zhe, everyone, see you tomorrow.”

Author’s Note:
Strange Conversation Time
Su Zhe: 0.0 Boss, do you have any interesting photos in your phone gallery?
Shao Xingchen: (trying to stay calm) …No.
Su Zhe: …0.0 Then why is it locked?
Shao Xingchen: (continuing to stay calm) …Because there are my childhood nude photos inside.
Su Zhe: …???!!! (shocked)
Caicai watching from afar, also shocked: =口= Kid, are you really going this far just to fool Zhe baby???