I Wasn't Born a Champion - Chapter 5

The sudden voice startled all three of them. Why was Pei Dingshan here?!

Pei Dingshan nodded calmly to them. “My apologies. I happened to overhear.”

Jiang Yuan wanted to say something but hesitated—”Coach, your ‘happening to’ is a bit too convenient.”

Wang Pengfei, standing beside Pei Dingshan, also gave them a smiling greeting and pointed toward the canteen window. Only then did Jiang Yuan and the others realize they were sitting near the coaches’ window.

Pei Dingshan didn’t offer much explanation. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Su Yu again. “How about it? Since you are interested in moving toward professionalization, are you willing to train with me?”

Su Yu stared fixedly at Pei Dingshan. After a long silence, he suddenly asked, “Why me?”

“Because our Brother Pei thinks highly of you!”

Wang Pengfei, standing on the side, was just about to speak when he noticed Pei Dingshan’s eyebrow arch slightly. At a nearly imperceptible shake of Pei Dingshan’s head, Wang Pengfei shut his mouth.

He could see it too. Although this kid Su Yu had the idea of pursuing a professional path, he was actually still hesitating deep down.

Working at the provincial sports team, they saw plenty of kids and parents like this. If you rushed up to this type of child or parent and declared, “Your kid has great talent,” the parents might actually think you’re a fraud, or they might think, “If my kid’s talent is so good, they don’t necessarily have to take the track and field route.”

After all, track and field isn’t exactly the most glamorous or lucrative project in competitive sports. Parents would inevitably shop around to see if a coach from a better, more promising project might scout their child.

As for kids with this mindset, they are usually the sensitive type. You can’t be too eager and say, “I just think you’re great.” You have to settle their hearts bit by bit so they’ll follow you in training.

In short, Wang Pengfei didn’t understand this when he was a student himself, but after seeing enough of it, he had gradually become a bit of a smooth-talker.

He knew Pei Dingshan had immediately sensed Su Yu’s sensitivity, which was why he signaled him not to blurt out the plain truth.

However, Wang Pengfei shook his head inwardly—as coaches, they actually feared sensitive athletes the most. In competitive sports, aside from talent, psychological endurance and the ability to self-regulate are crucial qualities.

For example, setbacks in competition, inability to break through technical barriers in training, failing to adjust one’s competitive state before a race, or having one’s performance suppressed by a strong opponent’s aura.

The psychological issues an athlete faces throughout their career are numerous. That’s why they usually preferred picking kids who seemed rougher and more durable. If an athlete was too sensitive, coaches would be afraid to lecture or scold them, which made things difficult.

In any case, from Wang Pengfei’s perspective, he didn’t like picking kids of Su Yu’s type. They were hard to lead.

Pei Dingshan did indeed sense the faint defensiveness hidden in Su Yu’s question. He replied calmly, “I have a research project that requires the cooperation of a zero-foundation athlete, preferably one with poorer physical conditions.”

“A comparative study on talent selection in competitive sports—exploring the direct impact of physical fitness on athletic performance.”

Wang Pengfei: ???

Wait!

Holy shit. Wang Pengfei felt that after several years in the provincial team, he had become quite the expert at persuading students and parents who wanted to apply for the youth team.

But looking at it now, hah, what expert?

Could his meager level even compare to Brother Pei’s silver tongue?

Detecting Su Yu’s resistance, he immediately pulled a brand-new research project out of thin air, and the project even sounded like a real thing.

Wang Pengfei couldn’t help but applaud Brother Pei in his heart. Professional. Truly professional.

Following Pei Dingshan’s answer, Su Yu’s state—which had been like a bristling kitten—relaxed.

Pei Dingshan then said with a calm expression, “I will formulate a training schedule for you identical to that of a professional athlete. I will refine my project by comparing your athletic performance with a control group.”

The increasingly detailed explanation allowed Su Yu to gradually relax. He stared at Pei Dingshan for a long time, as if confirming something, and finally gave a muffled “Okay.”

He had wondered for a long time why Pei Dingshan chose him.

Was his talent really that good?

…Perhaps choosing him was the only mistake in Pei Dingshan’s coaching career, but fortunately, in his past life, he had rejected Pei Dingshan, sparing the coach’s career a flaw.

Now, the question that once plagued him finally had an answer in Pei Dingshan’s words, and Su Yu’s heart felt as though it had landed on solid ground—Pei Dingshan didn’t pick him because of his talent, but simply because he happened to need a control subject for his research.

For others, this might be a disappointing answer, but for Su Yu, Pei Dingshan’s answer was more in line with objective logic.

Receiving Su Yu’s affirmative reply, Pei Dingshan nodded slightly, making it impossible to tell his mood. After getting Su Yu’s answer, he turned to the nearby Zhou Yuang.

“My project requires a pair for comparison.”

Only this one sentence, but Zhou Yuang, after a brief stun, immediately nodded: “Coach Pei, I’m willing!”

“Mhm.”

Pei Dingshan nodded calmly, leaving only the instruction “Stay behind after morning training,” before turning around to head to the coaches’ breakfast window with Wang Pengfei.

It wasn’t until Pei Dingshan left that Jiang Yuan looked at Su Yu with concern. “Xiao Yu, you…”

Su Yu looked up directly at Jiang Yuan. “Brother, I want to try.”

Since childhood, Su Yu and Jiang Yuan had treated each other like blood brothers. Once the word “Brother” came out, Jiang Yuan lost his strength to argue.

He really didn’t know how to persuade Su Yu while being stared at like that. After all, he had given in to Su Yu in everything since they were kids. He had never said “no” to Su Yu’s requests, so he didn’t know how to make Su Yu give up this idea now…

After Su Yu looked him in the eye and said “Brother, I want to try,” Jiang Yuan was instantly defeated.

Jiang Yuan let out a long sigh. “Fine, fine, fine. Whatever you say. You’re the ancestor, you call the shots—sigh, when we go back after the summer camp, if you get even a little bit sick, my parents are going to give me a mixed-doubles thrashing.”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Should we call Uncle Su and Auntie Lin to let them know first?”

But Su Yu refused. “Let’s talk about it after the camp ends.”

Seeing the Little Ancestor determined to cook the rice before telling anyone, Jiang Yuan could only sigh deeply. “Fine, then I’ll risk my life to accompany the gentleman… But Xiao Yu, let me tell you now, no matter what training you do, your health comes first. If you feel unwell and can’t take it, tell me. That Coach Pei wants to do a control group experiment, but he can’t just ignore whether the control subject lives or dies, right?”

This time, Su Yu nodded and didn’t refuse.

Jiang Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was truly afraid that Su Yu’s stubbornness would flare up and he would insist on training according to the coach’s instructions regardless of his health. If that happened, Jiang Yuan would drag him home himself, even if his Little Ancestor hated him for it.

Once the two were done talking, Zhou Yuang chimed in from the side: “Don’t worry, Yuan-zi. Coach Pei knows what he’s doing.”

Jiang Yuan sighed helplessly. “I’m not worried about Coach Pei. I’m worried about my ancestor being deathly stubborn.”

Hearing this, Su Yu frowned and glanced at Jiang Yuan. After a moment, Su Yu dropped three words: “Not like you.”

Jiang Yuan huffed. “Yes, yes, yes, I’m the most stubborn.”

The three sat back down. Zhou Yuang was still somewhat uncontrollably excited. He hadn’t expected that on the very first day of the summer camp, he would achieve his goal.

He couldn’t help but smile at Su Yu. “Xiao Yu, thanks to you—I have a feeling I’m definitely riding your coattails today!”

After all, it was just being a control subject for an experiment. In this provincial team, it was hard to find athletes with poor health, but candidates with great health were everywhere!

However, Zhou Yuang had a faint suspicion in his heart. He felt that Pei Dingshan’s approach toward Su Yu wasn’t just about finding a control subject.

His observation skills had always been sharp. Furthermore, because his goal for the summer camp was to train under Pei Dingshan, he had been paying attention to the coach during the morning session. If his feeling wasn’t wrong, Pei Dingshan had already taken an interest in Su Yu during that early training phase.

What he had said earlier to Jiang Yuan and Su Yu about Xiao Yu having good talent wasn’t nonsense. Sprinting relies heavily on physical elasticity—better elasticity helps athletes prevent injury and improves running efficiency.

He had once seen a research conclusion stating that for the 100m sprint, among the various muscle strength contributions, elastic strength had the highest percentage. An athlete with good physical elasticity definitely possesses a very important talent.

In short, Zhou Yuang suspected that Pei Dingshan chose Su Yu for more than just a research project.

He didn’t quite understand why Pei Dingshan said what he did, but since the coach had put it that way, he wouldn’t argue with him.

Su Yu didn’t take Zhou Yuang’s words to heart. He knew that even if he had rejected Pei Dingshan, Pei Dingshan would have taken Zhou Yuang under his wing eventually.

He didn’t want Zhou Yuang to credit him with merit that didn’t belong to him.

“Coach Pei was interested in you from the start.”

Looking at the serious expression on Su Yu’s icy face, Zhou Yuang couldn’t help but chuckle. He reached out and rubbed Su Yu’s head before he could react. “Hehe, our Little Ancestor is right! What kind of person am I, Zhou Yuang? A top-tier genius! I definitely didn’t need to ride anyone’s coattails to be accepted by Pei Dingshan!”

Su Yu looked at Zhou Yuang’s joking manner, pursed his lips, and said no more.

Although he had unexpectedly agreed to Pei Dingshan, after doing so, he felt a surge of irritable anxiety—he didn’t know if, after making a choice different from his past life, he could truly endure the high-intensity sports training.

Did he really have the ability, like the Zhou Yuang of his past life, to follow Pei Dingshan step by step to the peak?

He wanted to try, but he felt uneasy about the results of trying.

Beside him, Jiang Yuan saw Su Yu’s hesitation. He reached out to rub Su Yu’s head and said with a smile, “Don’t be afraid. Since you’ve agreed, just give it a try.”

Pausing, Jiang Yuan seemed to think of something and laughed again. “I’ll accompany you too!”

Su Yu was stunned.

He heard Jiang Yuan rub his chin and say, “Didn’t they say there’s a trial race on the third day of camp? I’ll work hard then and try to sweep the high jump and long jump. Maybe some coach will come and pick me up then too?”

“Hehe, our dorm will be amazing then—the only dorm in the entire camp where everyone has extra training!”

At this point, seeing Su Yu staring at him, Jiang Yuan laughed bashfully. “Cough, that’s just a goal for now. Who knows if it’ll happen. If it doesn’t, Xiao Yu, you can’t laugh at me.”

Seeing Jiang Yuan scratching his head in embarrassment, Su Yu paused and then seriously told him again: “You can.”

Jiang Yuan smiled. “Alright, then I’ll take my Little Ancestor’s auspicious words!”

After breakfast, Pei Dingshan and Wang Pengfei returned to the coaching staff office of the provincial sports team.

In the office, Wang Chang’an, the head of the sprinting group, saw them enter and waved them over. “Xiao Pei, I heard you’ve found a good prospect? Which one? Is it that Zhou Yuang?”

Pei Dingshan shook his head. “No.”

Wang Chang’an was surprised. “Not Zhou Yuang? Then who?”

Pei Dingshan uttered the name that left Wang Chang’an utterly shocked: “Su Yu.”

“Su Yu?!”

Wang Chang’an said in disbelief, “The one with the poor health, whose parents specifically called to ask us to look after him so he could just exercise a bit during the summer camp? That Su Yu?!”

Nearby, Wang Pengfei laughed. “Hey, Second Uncle, you remember Su Yu quite well?”

Wang Chang’an gave Wang Pengfei a glare and ignored him, looking back at Pei Dingshan. “Xiao Pei, are you serious?”

Pei Dingshan nodded. “Yes.”

Wang Chang’an: “You think more highly of him than Zhou Yuang?!”

“Yes.”

“Hiss…”

Wang Chang’an took a sharp breath. “But that kid doesn’t have a shred of foundation…”

Pei Dingshan remained very calm. “There is an opening trial race the day after tomorrow, and a closing trial race in 40 days. In 40 days, everything will be clear.”

Wang Chang’an froze for a moment, then clapped his hands and laughed. “You kid… the way you put it, I’m actually starting to look forward to the closing trial race in 40 days!”

“Oh, right, there’s an opening trial race too, right? Then the day after tomorrow, I’ll go take a look and see what exactly is so special about this kid Su Yu!”