Section 31: Better a Short Pain Than a Long One

Lu Yuan never removed Sima from her "blacklist." The trip to Jimu became an impossible dream, and she severed all contact with her cousin. Lu Ping'an saw his daughter growing melancholy and frail; he guessed that Lu Youyou had "broken up the couple" and torn them apart for good, though he did not know what methods she had used. Lu Yuan refused to say a word. He had called Lu Youyou, but her responses were vague and her mood was deeply despondent, clearly indicating that while the matter was settled, it had come at a hidden and heavy cost. Lu Ping'an hesitated for a long time before deciding not to press her further. He believed time would heal all wounds; for Lu Yuan, there would be a better future, and as for Lu Youyou, he hoped the same for her.

As the days passed and the start of the semester at Haidian University approached, Lu Yuan packed her bags and boarded the train heading north. Unable to set his mind at ease, Lu Ping'an took leave from work to accompany his daughter to Beizhi City. He had intended to have a meal with Lu Youyou, but she coldly and firmly refused, citing closed-door training. Lu Ping'an had no choice but to take his daughter alone. To ease the tension between them, he let her choose the place, and Lu Yuan led him to a halal dumpling house. They ordered thirty dumplings, split into one plate of ten and one of twenty, with fillings of beef and lamb. The skins were thin, the portions generous, and the taste was excellent.

Lu Yuan had little appetite. She bit into half a dumpling, chewed it distractedly, took a sip of dumpling soup, and forced herself to swallow as if taking medicine. She found no flavor in the food, and as she ate, she suddenly burst into tears. Lu Ping'an felt a pang of sorrow; unable to restrain himself, he asked her in a low voice what had happened. Lu Yuan choked, unable to speak, yet stubbornly swallowed every dumpling until none were left, even finishing the soup. She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, stood up, and said to her father, "Please take your time; I have something to attend to and must return to school..." Without waiting for his response, she fled the dumpling house as if escaping.

Lu Ping'an paid the bill and stood on the bustling, crowded street, alone and adrift. His convictions wavered. He made inquiries until he reached Beizhi Foreign Studies University, asking for Lu Youyou's office. A helpful security guard, upon hearing he was the coach's uncle, led him to the track and field team office. They happened to run into the team captain, Xu Zegang, who mentioned that Lu Youyou was training in the gym and pointed the way. Lu Ping'an walked toward the gym and could hear the clanging of equipment from far away. He did not push the door open but circled to the window to peek inside. He saw Lu Youyou doing barbell squats, set after set, teeth gritted and drenched in sweat, as if she were desperately abusing herself to drain every last drop of energy.

Lu Ping'an waited a long time outside the gym before Lu Youyou finally emerged. She had showered, her hair was wet, and her face was etched with exhaustion. Lu Ping'an stepped forward to greet her, but before he could speak, she said, "Uncle... I have some things to do. Let's talk another time..." The word "uncle" was uttered with reluctance, and her tone was blunt, keeping him at a distance. Lu Ping'an even caught a trace of resentment in her eyes. His heart trembled, and he stood frozen, not knowing what to say.

Lu Youyou left him behind and headed for the track. She found Li Xiazhi, who was training alone, and asked her to time her. She ran three consecutive 100-meter hurdles, stumbling onto the plastic track and gasping for air. She ran poorly; her stamina was gone, her form had collapsed, and on the final run, she was so exhausted she could not lift her legs, knocking over three hurdles in a row. Li Xiazhi realized something was wrong. She skipped dinner to ensure Lu Youyou got home safely, then turned and made a frantic, incoherent call to Sima.

Sima listened patiently to her rambling and told her not to worry about Lu Youyou. People must be responsible for their own actions, he said; she was just having a moment of difficulty, and she would be fine in time. Li Xiazhi trusted Sima implicitly; if he said it was fine, then it really was fine. Perhaps it was just that time of the month... Phew, Li Xiazhi thought, she was being disrespectful to her mentor!

Lu Ping'an never did get to have a real conversation with Lu Youyou and embarked on his journey home alone. His heart was heavy. That phone call on New Year's Eve had changed his daughter, and it had changed Lu Youyou. The root of all these problems lay with Sima, but he felt he had done the right thing. Short-term pain was better than long-term suffering; his daughter still had a long road ahead of her.

Winter turned to spring, and the seasons shifted. Sima spent a dull yet fulfilling period at Beizhi Sports University. The single room was comfortable, and the meals provided were nutritious and tasty. However, his "supplies" were running low; he had not expected to have so much time and energy outside of training. His tea was consumed quickly, and the books he had brought were finished just as fast. Before the training camp was even halfway over, he had finished *The Complete Poems of William Blake*, *Pride and Prejudice*, *Wuthering Heights*, *The Moon and Sixpence*, and *Walden and Civil Disobedience*.

Sima called Li Xiazhi and asked her to restock his "supplies." Tea was easy enough—buying from a reputable, expensive brand was a safe bet. As for the books he wanted, asking her to handle that was inconvenient and a bit much to ask. Since he was living and eating at the university, Sima simply asked Zhao Ronghua to help him get a temporary library card, and he began visiting the library every few days. Beizhi Sports University was not just for sports; it also offered programs in Marxism, Chinese literature, and foreign languages. The library, established in 1953, had a vast collection. Sima was like a fish in water, checking out a stack of books to take back to his dorm and read at his leisure.

Zhao Ronghua found this astonishing. Athletes generally had low academic levels and few enjoyed reading; Sima was a total "outlier." Perhaps because of this, he remained outside the "collective" and could not make friends. Of course, Sima did not care; he was happy as long as he had books. Meanwhile, the effects of the closed-door training were evident. Sima's sprinting performance made "leaps and bounds" progress, breaking 10.50 seconds in the 100-meter and 21.35 seconds in the 200-meter, reaching the level of a national-class athlete. What did this mean? He, an "amateur" from the Beizhi Foreign Studies track team, was crushing most of the "professionals" at Beizhi Sports University in the sprints!

Zhao Ronghua thought highly of Sima. Although he was a "maverick" who couldn't be integrated into the existing training system, and the so-called experts kept emphasizing that "talent is the foundation, training is the key"—mostly to assert their own authority—the truth was that running fast was the only thing that mattered. In Zhao Ronghua's view, as long as the talent was strong enough, training was merely "adding flowers to a brocade." Sima was the best example, and he didn't believe the training had actually done much for him.

With the National Track and Field Championships approaching, the closed-door training at Beizhi Sports University was drawing to a close. As was customary, a small-scale internal competition was organized to check the results of the training, gauge the athletes' current standing, and make preliminary predictions for the championship results. The General Administration of Sport took this very seriously. The deputy director led a delegation to inspect the event, accompanied by the director of the Track and Field Management Center and several professional coaches. The school leaders of Beizhi Sports University accompanied them as they watched the meet, puzzled as to why the Administration was making such a fuss.