Dai Li felt embarrassed. He had wanted to encourage Sijie Yang to be positive, which was why he had given him a passionate lecture about dreams. However, Sijie Yang's dream was not to become an excellent athlete, but a photographer. Dai Li had encouraged him to pursue his dream, which would mean giving up his athletic career.
I am a coach, I can't believe I just persuaded a super talented athlete to change his career path! Dai Li was regretful. He wanted to take back what he had said. But when Dai Li looked at Sijie Yang, he had different thoughts.
Your twenties are a time when a person is passionate about making their dreams come true. This is an age full of passion, but also irrationality. Young people tend to do what they want without second thought. This is a time when men can actually chase their dreams.
When you reach my age and have a stable job, you will have to work hard to survive, and in some cases even leave your dream behind. And when you get older and have family to raise, you will be responsible for more things. You might have to give up all your dreams. When you have a thirty-year loan on a house, you will never talk about your dreams anymore!
A man who doesn't try to make his dreams come true when he is young will be full of regret when he is older. Thinking of this, Dai Li looked at Sijie Yang with a complex look.
As a coach, Dai Li surely didn't want to let Sijie Yang give up his sprinting career. It was a coach's responsibility to train his or her athletes. Sijie Yang was born to be a sprinter. It would be a pity if he gave it up.
But at the same time, Dai Li knew it would be suck to be asked to do things you hate. Even though Sijie Yang could achieve something in the future and become a champion, he might not feel happy about it at all.
He shouldn't waste his youth on something he is not interested in at all! After all, you can only be young once… Dai Li sighed. He didn't want Sijie Yang to live in regret the rest of his life.
Finally, Dai Li said, "Sijie Yang, it's your life. You have to walk your own path. You have to make your own choice."
Dai Li stopped, then continued, "If you don't want to continue practicing sprinting, you can leave; but if you want to stay, I hope you will practice hard just like the others, and treat this as your career, not just something your dad told you to do.
"You are only nineteen; you are still young. But youth goes by quickly. You should make the most of it, not do something you hate everyday." Dai Li stopped, then smiled and said, "You are the owner of your youth."
The next day, Sijie Yang didn't show up to the training ground. Dai Li asked the others about it, only to find out that Sijie Yang had sent a leave application form to the team.
Dai Li felt remorseful, and even a bit hurt. He had a feeling that he had lost the jackpot because Sijie Yang was truly too talented for him to have given up.
Dai Li didn't know whether he was making the right decision or not. Maybe Sijie Yang would feel regret if he failed to become a good photographer. He might even think that had he continued pursuing being an athlete, he would have become one of the top sprinters in the world.
This is your own choice. The road ahead of you, whether it is good or bad, is a path you must walk yourself. All I can do is make a wish and hope that you find success no matter what road you choose. Dai Li calmed down and went back to work.
As Dai Li was training athletes on the training ground, Doctor Mao walked towards them.
Doctor Mao greeted Dai Li, then asked, "Coach Li, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"What is it?" Dai Li asked.
"Professor Fang would like to see you in his office and discuss the training issues lately," Doctor Mao replied.
The Professor Fang Doctor Mao spoke of was the boss of the Sports Department in Tsinghua University. He had made a great contribution to sports, and was a well-known person.
"Sure, just let me get changed." Dai Li pointed to his soaked training t-shirt. He couldn't take a shower at the moment, so changing his shirt was the least he could do.
Dai Li changed shirts and followed Doctor Mao to Professor Fang's office. To his surprise, there were two people sitting in the room.
One of them was Professor Fang. Dai Li had seen what he looked like when he had been looking at information about the Tsinghua Sports Department. He recognized him immediately.
Next to Professor Fang sat a man in his fifties. He had grey hair and big shiny eyes. He looked very wise. You could tell that he paid attention to his skincare; despite his wrinkles, there was a shade of healthy pink on his face.
An attractive old guy! Dai Li was impressed by his appearance. He was comparable to one of those middle-aged celebrities. In Tsinghua University, there were more scholars than dogs. Dai Li had seen numerous guys who looked smart, but none of them could be compared to this old man.
He looks so familiar! I think I have seen him before. He might be another professor here, Dai Li thought.
As Dai Li was glancing at them, they were glancing at him as well. They were surprised, as Dai Li was much younger than they had thought he would be.
Doctor Mao was the first one to speak. "Professor Fang, Academician Yang, this is Coach Dai Li."
Oh my God! That guy is an academician! How impressive is that! Dai Li thought. He greeted them, saying, "Professor Fang, Academician Yang, how are you?"
"Good," Professor Fang nodded. "Coach Li, I know this is the first time we have met, but I assume you have heard of me?"
Dai Li smiled and nodded, "Of course. You are the first one I knew when I came here."
Professor Fang looked satisfied. He pointed at Academician Yang and introduced him, saying, "Academician Yang is the father of Sijie Yang."
This handsome old guy is Sijie Yang's father? No wonder Sijie Yang is handsome. Gosh, what kind of genes run in their family? I assume his father looked better at Sijie Yang's age. Anyhow, why is Sijie Yang's father here? His father asked him to practice sprinting, but now he has quit. Oh shoot. His father might be mad at me…
Dai Li suddenly understood what was going on. He stared at Doctor Mao.
Discuss the training issues lately? That was just an excuse! You should have told me the truth! Why are you giving me a hard time? Dai Li thought.
Doctor Mao stared right back at Dai Li back. The look on his face made it seem like he was blaming Dai Li for the trouble he had brought to their team.