Chapter 118: Proof
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Mr. Zhu went back to where he had come from. Dai Li was still thinking about that golden shopping card. To him, it was definitely a huge amount of money; it was more than his annual income. He could enjoy his life with that much money.
But he also knew he had done the right thing. It would not be right to take the card.
"Well, I never thought my father would want to buy your support, but what surprised me even more was that you rejected his money!" Haiquan Fang laughed.
"What do you mean?" asked Li.
"My father always does this. He hopes that everyone will listen to him, and in his mind, money is the best way to persuade people to work for him," Haiquan said with scorn.
"It really works, though. You know, I was considering keeping the card," Li said, giving Haiquan a slap on his shoulder. "Alright, cut the crap. Back to your training!"
The assistant gave a pile of documents to Manager Fang. "Manager, please sign these files."
"Put them here." Manager Fang was focused on his financial statements. He did not raise his head.
"Manager Fang, there is another thing that I think you might be interested in. Coach Li from the youth team rejected the 68,888 yuan golden shopping card," said the assistant.
"Rejected?" Manager Fang finally raised his head, showing some interest. "He cannot be earning that much money being a coach. I would bet his annual income is less than that. He really rejected my offer? Huh, interesting. Seems as if I looked down upon him. Alright, let it be!"
To Li, the gift had been an episode in his life. Soon he forgot about it, and returned to focusing on his training. Haiquan Fang had made huge progress. He outperformed his other teammates after only two weeks of training. After a month, he had obtained an adult athletes' ability.
During the process, Haiquan gave Li more and more respect. He could clearly feel his competence skyrocket, more so than with any other coach.
Because he had a rich father, Haiquan had taken advantage of the opportunity to receive good training. He had not only been taught by Hanbei Provincial coaches, but also coaches from national teams. Yet as far back as he could recall, none of them had ever helped him improve this rapidly.
To Haiquan's surprise, Li was also good at massaging. Every time Li finished massaging him, Haiquan got most of his energy back. One time during Haiquan's training, he had been distracted for a second, and sprained his ankle. Haiquan had planned to pause and ask for a doctor, but Li instead gave him a massage for half an hour, and he recovered. After that, Haiquan admired Li from the bottom of his heart.
Li was satisfied with Haiquan. Haiquan was took training quite seriously. He did not show any arrogance like many rich children. Instead, he worked even harder than the others, even if he was exhausted and still struggling. Li used to think that rich kids like Haiquan would not be able to bear such hardship, but he had been touched by Haiquan's persistence and passion. As time went by, the two began cooperating better and better.
One day during the break, Haiquan was sitting on the corner, resting.
"Haiquan, how do you feel? Still good? I have increased your training intensity again." As he spoke, Li sat down beside Haiquan.
"I'm fine, I can do this," said Haiquan firmly.
"To be honest, your workload has reached an adult level, in fact even higher than some adults." Li paused to think, then continued, "Feel free to let me know if you cannot bear it. We can make some adjustments.
"
"It is just an adult level, I can do more than this. I want to try the same workload the national team gives to its athletes," said Haiquan.
"The national team's workload is much more than this. The better the athletes, the higher the workload. Take Feixiang Lin for example, his training intensity is considered 'hell mode,'" said Li.
"You must be joking, coach, I don't believe you!" said Haiquan. "I'm 16 now, not a kid anymore. Tell me the truth."
"This is the truth! You know, this time last year I was Lin's fitness coach at the Beikou training center! You don't believe me? Here, let me show you a picture!" Li took out his old phone and showed Haiquan the group pictures he had taken with Feixiang Lin.
The pictures were Li's best show-off tools. Previously, when he had been on the shot put team, he had showed those pictures to his team and everyone worshipped him. Today he was taking out the pictures again.
"It is really him! Hey coach, I never thought you were so good!" Haiquan was astonished. He now looked at Li in a different way.
"Of course! If I did not have sufficient competence, how could I have coached Lin! Believe it or not, my work is well above average on the national team," said Li confidently.
"I believe you." Haiquan was thoroughly convinced of Li's words. He was still focusing on the group picture.
"The celebrity effect is so good! No wonder people always show off their group pictures with celebrities. It works." Li was joyful. He told Haiquan, "Well, so far you are performing beyond my expectations. I suggest you continue your current workload for a while and forget about the national team's workload. You are not ready for that."
"I have to persist for my mom!" said Haiquan.
"Your father doesn't support you, but your mom does, hm?" asked Li casually.
Haiquan nodded, then recalled, " When I was in grade 4 of primary school, one day in PE class we practiced long jump, and I got first place. No one jumped as far as I did. My PE teacher said I was talented in this activity, then taught me some professional actions. After that, I was addicted to long jumping. I wanted to be a top-level athlete.
"My father was busying working. He was always on business trips or socializing. Everyday when I got up, he had already left. Every night after I fell asleep, he would finally come back home. Even though we lived in the same house, I could go without seeing him for weeks.
"My mom knew that I loved long jumping, so she invited several coaches to teach me. She employed a dietitian, found someone to dig a sandpit, built me a fitness room; she even requested a coach from the national team to guide me."
"Your mom loves you so much!" Li said this, but he was secretly thinking about how nice it must be to be rich.
Haiquan continued, "The first several years my father did not say much about my hobby. But later, as I grew up, he disagreed. He thought that I had been wasting my time doing the wrong things, and that I should focus on studying. He wanted to send me to the UK. But I did not want to go abroad, I wanted to stay for my hobby. My father thought it was all my mom's fault, and that she had spoiled me too much. For that shxt reason, he had a big argument with my mom."
"So you want to prove yourself?" Li sensed what Haiquan was getting at.
"Right! I want to prove that I'm not kidding, and that I'm taking it seriously! I want to be a professional long jumper, and I will be the best long jumper! I will teach my father a lesson: that my mom is always right, and she has been helping me the whole time to achieve my dream! A dream that he has no idea about!" Haiquan was speaking in an agitated tone. His eyes were shining with fierceness.
Li was touched. He was moved by Haiquan's words. This boy's persistence was not only because of his dream, but also for his mom. He was trying his best to prove that his mom was a wonderful mom, as opposed to someone who only expressed their love through money.
"I trust you. You will make it!" Li stood up and patted Haiquan's shoulder. "Keep working hard like this. At the end of this month there will be a provincial youth athletes game. The number of participants is limited, but I plan to submit your name. Win the championship and shock your father. Good luck!"