Translator: dapotaturs
Release Date: 09/02/2023
After this round of testing, the decision regarding Qiu Wen's change of event to the 400 meters was set. However, what nobody anticipated was that, in addition to Qiu Wen's change, the 400-meter event gained an additional part-time specialized coach.
The efficiency of the administrative staff in the team was impressive. On the same day, this news was posted on the bulletin board of the team. Above the bulletin, there was still a notice about Su Bai retiring and joining the athletics team's logistical department.
Soon enough, on the anonymous forum of the physical training team, a piece of juicy gossip appeared.
Topic: [Has anyone seen this? Qiu Wen switched to train for the 400 meters, and Su Bai went along as his 400 meters coach!!]
This news could be considered the biggest gossip in the team apart from the visit of the national team coaches for guidance these past days. After all, such a peculiar thing, not only recently, but even looking back decades in the provincial team, no one had ever witnessed.
Comment 1: [Friend, you're not being fair. When the 3rd floor was managed solely by Old Sun, didn't you all have a good time?]
Comment 3: [Hahaha, looks like the original poster enjoys the perks of the 3rd-floor chef. But seeing that the 3rd-floor chef comes and goes, I feel a sense of balance now... After all, every time I reach the stairs to the 2nd floor, I can't help but envy it!]
Comment 6: [No, none of you cared at all. Su Bai, a retired 100-meter athlete, switched to being a chef in the kitchen, fine. But how can he transfer to the coaching staff, and that too as a 400 meters coach?!]
Comment 9: [Isn't Qiu Wen switching events strange too? Wasn't he a key player in the 100 meters and 200 meters? I thought he was aiming to break through to the national elite level this year. Why did he suddenly switch to the 400 meters? Doesn't he have to start from scratch? The technical complexity of the 400 meters is higher than that of the 100 meters and 200 meters, right? Isn't this a setback?]
Comment 15: [Since I've seen this post, let me say a few words... coincidentally, I watched Qiu Wen's 400 meters test race these past two days. You might not believe it when I say this, but his first-round test result was 47.58 seconds.]
Comment 17: [??? Friend from the 15th floor, what did you say? What was Qiu Wen's first-round test result???]
Comment 19: [...I don't want to believe this result rationally, but Qiu Wen indeed got transferred to the 400 meters event, so... is it really possible?!]
Comment 27: [This matter is indeed true. Hu Li personally told me. He and Zhang Wei ran the test race with Qiu Wen. After the first round, they were stunned. It was only in the second round that they managed to surpass Qiu Wen because his rhythm got disrupted. Moreover, Hu Li said that in Qiu Wen's test races, all the results that ran under 48 seconds were guided on-site by Su Bai, without exception. Even in today's first round, Wu Shengping from the national team personally guided Qiu Wen before the race, but it wasn't as effective as Su Bai's guidance in the second round later on.]
If it was only about Qiu Wen switching to the 400 meters event, the athletes in the track and field team might have been merely curious and watched from the sidelines. However, the revelation from the 27th floor really surprised everyone in the track and field team.
Could it be that Su Bai is actually more skilled in coaching the 400 meters event than the coaches from the national team?
This thread in the forum gained momentum as athletes chimed in after their training sessions. Eventually, it became one of the few posts in the anonymous forum with over a hundred replies. The post's click count was continuously soaring in the forum's thread list, indicating that many athletes who were quietly reading the post hadn't spoken up yet.
At 9:00 PM, as usual, in the back kitchen of the third floor of the track and field team's cafeteria, Qiu Wen, Wang Shen, and Cui Luoheng gathered together, waiting for Su Bai to prepare a late-night snack for them.
In the kitchen, except for Qiu Wen, neither Wang Shen nor Cui Luoheng seemed very enthusiastic. After all, the announcement that Su Bai would also be Qiu Wen's coach for the 400 meters event had already been posted on the bulletin board. Even if Su Bai could continue as the chef in the cafeteria's third floor kitchen in the short term, what about in the long run?
Once Su Bai starts coaching in the 400 meters event and achieves results with Qiu Wen, it's unlikely that the 400 meters event will only cultivate Qiu Wen. When Su Bai becomes a full-time coach for the track and field team's 400 meters event, can he still juggle being the chef in the kitchen?
In the kitchen, Su Zhe was tidying up the late-night snack he prepared for them – a pot of stewed beef. This was one of the heavier dishes Su Bai had made in a while. The small flame on the stove was simmering, releasing the aroma of the beef through the cracks of the pot lid and along the edges.
No one knew exactly what Su Bai had added to this pot of beef, but the fragrance was captivating. The rich aroma of the beef, occasionally accompanied by a hint of spicy ginger, awakened the senses before the spiciness made the beef's aroma even more irresistible.
Apart from the beef stew, Su Bai had also prepared a small serving of noodles for each of them, seemingly mixed with vegetable juice. The noodles were green and fresh, providing a delightful contrast when added to the clear broth.
Evidently, these noodles were meant to complement the rich beef stew and prevent it from becoming too heavy on the palate.
Ah, but who would ever find fault with the dishes Su Bai prepared?
Everyone was always left wanting more!
Wang Shen watched Su Bai's busy hands and sighed, "Sigh, when it comes to Su Bai's cooking, we end up eating less for a meal!"
Cui Luoheng, sitting beside him, had been feeling down ever since he learned that Su Bai would be coaching Qiu Wen in the 400 meters event. Despite showing up at the third-floor kitchen as usual, his 6'3" tall figure was now slightly hunched, giving the impression that he lacked energy.
Cui Luoheng understood that if Su Bai were to officially become a coach, it would be great for him. But he found it hard to be happy about it. He thought he had gotten used to suppressing his dissatisfaction over eating normally all those years. However, after enjoying the culinary feast Su Bai had brought today, he realized that the thought of going back to his previous life was making him irritable just thinking about it.
Don't want to eat the food prepared by Lao Sun.
Want to eat the delicious food made by Su Bai!
Cui Luoheng sniffed the fragrance coming from the pot while feeling increasingly annoyed. This sense of annoyance persisted until Su Bai had finished preparing the late-night snack and handed it to them. Holding the plate Su Bai had given him, Cui Luoheng's mind seemed to go blank for a moment before he blurted out, "...Su Bai, can you be my coach too?"
...
Huh?
Beside him, Wang Shen nearly choked on the beef he was eating when he heard this. He covered his mouth and burst into laughter, giving Cui Luoheng a thumbs-up. "Ah Heng, you're amazing! You've got quite the imagination!"
Cui Luoheng's thought process was easy to understand – there were only a few athletes under a coach's guidance. If an athlete couldn't settle for anything less than the coach's cooking and wanted a personal arrangement, why not give them special treatment? While this thought process was understandable, it still seemed quite far-fetched. Wang Shen couldn't help but give Cui Luoheng a thumbs-up for his creative thinking.
Not just Wang Shen, after uttering that sentence, Cui Luoheng's face turned bright red. His face, which usually seemed to say "I'm a tough guy," was now flushing red. Without looking back, he carried his plate to the farthest table from Su Bai, set down his plate, and began eating noisily, pretending to ignore his own silly words.
Seeing this, Su Bai realized the reason behind the seemingly gloomy atmosphere of Wang Shen and Cui Luoheng earlier. After thinking for a moment, he explained seriously, "For the time being, I will still continue my duties in the kitchen. At least until the end of this year's outdoor season, I will continue to work in the kitchen."
This was also a cushioning method devised by He Yishen and Zhao Heping. After all, the athletes being taken care of in the third-floor kitchen were the key players of the team this year. Following last year's unsatisfactory results and self-reflection, the team placed great importance on this year's performance. Any factor that might affect the athletes' personal state would be eliminated immediately.
Since Su Bai started working in the kitchen, the condition of the key athletes on the third floor had even alarmed the team. It was evident that Su Bai's role in providing meals held significant importance for these key athletes. In this situation, at least until the end of this year's outdoor season, Su Bai couldn't completely move away from the kitchen. He had to remain here to keep the morale stable.
And there was still at least half a year left!
Finally, Su Bai's words brought a lively atmosphere back to the kitchen.
Wang Shen was the most agile-minded. He realized that with over half a year left, there was obviously room for negotiation. After all, the food Su Bai prepared was something everyone looked forward to in every meal. In this context, since Su Bai was supposed to be transferred to become Qiu Wen's coach, why would Lao He and Lao Zhao still want Su Bai to continue working in the kitchen?
Wang Shen quickly realized that this arrangement was intended to stabilize the mood of the key athletes who dined on the third floor. If it could be stabilized once, there would certainly be an opportunity for the coaching staff to compromise a second time – as long as Su Bai wasn't snatched away by another team!
Thinking of this, Wang Shen suddenly shivered. He thought about the national team coaches who had come to guide them these past few days, and he thought about the severe shortage of talent in the 400-meter event. If Qiu Wen truly became exceptional and was scouted by the national team along with Su Bai...?!
It couldn't be that unfortunate, could it?
As Wang Shen ate the fragrant pot of beef stew with vegetable noodles, he prayed in his heart that he wouldn't jinx things.
After Qiu Wen, Wang Shen, and Cui Luoheng finished their late-night snack and helped Su Bai clean up the kitchen, the four of them left the kitchen together and returned to the athletes' dormitory building.
Once Su Bai returned to his room, he headed to the bathroom to freshen up. When he was finally alone, his mischievous system, which had been quiet all day, began sending a series of notifications.
【【Ding!
Target mission: Guide secondary-associated user Qiu Wen to smoothly transition into the 400-meter sprint event.
Mission status: Completed.
Mission rewards:(Selectable Skills)
1. Optimal Potential Project Observation: Can be used on non-associated users to observe the target's optimal potential project and potential score. Cooldown time of 10 minutes, consuming 10 reputation points per use.
2. Dynamic Physical State Analysis: Can only be used on associated users. Binding with the 1st associated user requires consuming 10 reputation points. Afterwards, when binding athletes, the consumed reputation points will double. After binding, it is possible to observe related dynamic data such as the athlete's fatigue, energy, stamina, and determination values during sports activities.
3. Athlete Training Status Prediction: Can only be used on associated users. Based on the athlete's current training status and training plan, analyze and predict the athlete's training effectiveness for the next period. 】】
This was the first time Su Bai encountered selectable mission rewards. Each of these rewards had its own use, but upon careful consideration, Su Bai realized that there were temporary alternatives for the 1st and 3rd rewards within the system. For instance, the 1st reward could be achieved by finding a way to bind the desired observed athlete as a level 2 associated user, while the 3rd reward was available through the simulated athletes in the system's training space.
However, the 2nd reward provided dynamic data with a wealth of information, all of which were crucial for devising an athlete's training plan.
Considering he had just been entrusted with the responsibility of coaching Qiu Wen in the 400-meter event today, Su Bai no longer hesitated and directly chose the 2nd skill as his reward.
After receiving the completion notification for the target mission, the system quickly displayed two additional prompts: one was for achieving achievement rewards by completing daily missions for 15 days in a row, and the other was regarding skill points satisfying the requirements to upgrade Basic Culinary Skills.
What left Su Bai speechless was that the first achievement reward for completing tasks consecutively unlocked a peculiar feature called 'Perfect Maintenance Aura Lv1'. The prompt for this feature indicated that once obtained, it would automatically activate and provide the host with 24/7 uninterrupted body maintenance, allowing the host to be in a perfect idol-like state at all times.
...
...
???
Even Su Bai couldn't help but wonder why the system suddenly remembered it's an idol system in this kind of situation. After inwardly complaining about it, he brushed that odd feature aside and decided to contribute his accumulated skill points to upgrade his Basic Culinary Skill to Level 3.
After upgrading his Basic Culinary Skill, the unusually busy prompts from the system resounded once again.
【Ding, as the host has filled the points for Basic Skill Level 3 for the first time, a special reward is given. Basic Culinary Skill Level 3 has been promoted to Culinary Skill Level 1.】
With this system announcement, the Basic Culinary Skill disappeared and transformed into the 【Culinary Skill】, currently at Level 1.
Culinary Skill also enhanced his sensory perception of cooking, the appearance, aroma, and taste of his dishes. Besides these familiar enhancements, Su Bai noticed a significant difference between Culinary Skill and Basic Culinary Skill.
In the Basic Culinary Skill stage, there was a chance for associated users to gain minimal special effects when they ate his cooked dishes. However, after upgrading his skill to Culinary Skill Level 1, the effects embedded in his dishes were enhanced. Level 2 associated users had a higher probability of experiencing the full effects of his dishes, while Level 1 associated users had a slightly lower probability. Moreover, even non-associated users had a chance to gain certain special auxiliary effects from his dishes, with the effectiveness depending purely on luck.
...........................
After contemplating the situation, Su Bai realized that even though there was a limitation on the number of associated users he could have, as long as he continued cooking for the athletes on the third floor, there would always be individuals who could benefit from the enhancements to their training or other states. This would undoubtedly assist and elevate the training of the entire provincial team.
Looking at the skill that the quirky system had given him, Su Bai couldn't help but smile helplessly. This eccentric system had given him quite the challenge.
The next morning, when Su Bai arrived at the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the athletes, he found that Sun Xiangdong was already there, and to his surprise, Wang Wu from the second floor kitchen was also present.
"Hey, Wang Ge, what are you doing here?"
Not only was Su Bai surprised, but Sun Xiangdong and Wang Wu were also taken aback.
Wang Wu smiled at Su Bai, saying, "Little Bai, aren't you supposed to be coaching Qiu Wen for the 400 meters? Lao Sun was worried that he might be overwhelmed, so he asked me to come up and help for the time being."
Su Bai hesitated, understanding that Sun Xiangdong and Wang Wu were trying to help by giving him more time to focus on coaching.
Seeing Su Bai's hesitation, Sun Xiangdong smiled and waved his hand. "I discussed your situation with Lao He and Lao Zhao last night. You've been doing a great job in the kitchen recently, and the athletes really enjoy the food you cook. However, now that you have coaching responsibilities, the workload in the kitchen can't remain as heavy as before."
"We talked about it, and Wang Wu here will help cover for you temporarily. You'll still be responsible for preparing some colorful dishes on the third floor, but the quantity you need to handle will be reduced. This way, you can have a lighter load, and the athletes on the third floor can still enjoy your cooking. It's a win-win situation."
Su Bai hesitated for a moment. "But the second-floor kitchen is also short-staffed..." Otherwise, Sun Xiangdong wouldn't have considered hiring more people.
Sun Xiangdong smiled and shrugged. "Well, hiring another person isn't a big deal. As long as you can really help Qiu Wen excel in the 400 meters, Lao He and the others will be thrilled!"
The task arrangement for Su Bai in the kitchen was eventually settled after a full day of emergency coordination. During breakfast, when the athletes saw Wang Wu in the kitchen, they were momentarily nervous. However, when they realized that their beloved and adorable chef at Window 3, Su Bai, was also there, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Sun Xiangdong was straightforward and posted a notice in the canteen, informing everyone about Su Bai's new work arrangement.
After a night of worrying about Su Bai moving to the third floor, the athletes were initially concerned. However, with this arrangement, although their chances of getting Su Bai's dishes decreased slightly, they could still have a chance to enjoy his cooking. So, for the time being, the situation was settled amicably.
After dealing with the breakfast rush, Su Bai left the kitchen and headed to the coaching office, where he found his mentor, Zhao Heping.
Zhao Heping was already waiting for Su Bai. After all, Qiu Wen was officially transitioning to the 400 meters event, and there was an upcoming task at hand, the National Athletics Grand Prix's regional competition, as mentioned by He Yishen. The Grand Prix was considered a higher-level track and field event in the country, with several different regional competitions held each year. National athletes could choose to participate in the regional competitions they were interested in.
For most domestic athletes, the regional competitions of the National Athletics Grand Prix were the main opportunities to improve their records and achievements. This was especially true for the 400 meters event, where Chinese athletes hadn't even reached a competitive level on the Asian stage, let alone the world stage. Therefore, the 400 meters athletes in China relied heavily on these Grand Prix regional competitions to showcase their abilities and achievements.
As He Yishen had made clear yesterday, if Qiu Wen could make it to the finals of the Grand Prix regional competition, he would become the sole focus of the team's 400 meters event.
However, entering the finals was not an unlimited opportunity. According to the team's plan, after this year's outdoor track and field season, based on Qiu Wen's performance throughout the year, there was a high probability that he would be removed from the list of key athletes.
Therefore, if Qiu Wen wanted to retain his status as a key athlete, he needed to achieve a breakthrough and reach the finals of the Grand Prix regional competition in his first year of transitioning to the 400 meters event, which was within this season.
For a athlete like Qiu Wen who had never trained in the 400 meters event before, the requirement for achieving this goal was indeed quite demanding. However, Qiu Wen was not like other athletes. He had managed to run a time of 47.58 seconds in his initial 400 meters test. In the domestic Grand Prix regional competitions, as long as Qiu Wen could run a time within 48 seconds, making it to the finals was a strong possibility.
Additionally, Qiu Wen had a foundation as a professional sprinter with training in the 100 meters and 200 meters events. While the 400 meters event was complex and its pacing required skill, with his prior experience in the shorter sprints, proper training could potentially lead him to the finals.
Currently, Zhao Heping and Su Bai's task was to develop a solid training plan for Qiu Wen to help him transition into a qualified 400 meters athlete.
Meanwhile, as Zhao Heping and Su Bai were working on the training plan for Qiu Wen, a post appeared on an online forum called "Athletics Kingdom."
Topic: 【You all know that sprinter Qiu Wen who runs the 100 and 200 meters in China, right? Just got news, he's switching to the 400 meters!】
This post immediately sparked a wave of public discourse on the Track and Field Athletics Kingdom forum.
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