Section 16: Not Sharing the Golden Needle Technique with Others

The athletics team’s testing concluded just before nightfall. Xu Zegang kept Zuo Lin, Sima, and a girl named Li Xiazhi. She was Lu Youyou’s junior and had won the girls’ 100-meter hurdles championship at the Beijing-Zhishi City Middle School Athletics Meet, far ahead of the competition—truly formidable. Xu Zegang invited the three to dinner at the cafeteria, informing them that they had passed the test. From now on, they would train with the team. After a month, they would undergo an assessment, and if they passed, they would officially join the athletics team, enjoying the benefits afforded to high-level athletes according to regulations.

The athletics team trained three to five days a week, from 6:00 to 6:30 in the morning and from 16:30 to 18:30 in the afternoon. Zuo Lin and Sima trained under Coach Tu, while the girls’ 100-meter hurdles lacked a dedicated coach, so Li Xiazhi temporarily followed Lu Youyou’s guidance. Talent in sprinting was only the foundation; scientific training was the key, especially for Sima. Lu Youyou privately held high hopes for him, believing that his performance would improve significantly within a month.

The next day was Sunday. Xu Zegang specifically went to the English Department to greet Zhang Chengxi in advance, explaining that Zuo Lin and Sima would be attending athletics team training and might request leave in the afternoon, hoping the counselor could make some accommodations. Zhang Chengxi had already heard about this and smiled as he agreed. He too hoped the English Department could produce an official member of the athletics team, someone who might represent the school at the Capital Universities Sports Meeting, the National University Single-Event Championships, or even the National College Games. If they could shine, it would also be his achievement.

The recruitment process for the sports team was like “sifting sand through waves,” with only a handful passing the test. Zuo Lin and Sima quickly became the topic of discussion among the English Department freshmen. Everyone knew Zuo Lin well—he was the sports representative and naturally fast. But who was Sima? Which dormitory was he in? The news spread swiftly: Sima’s surname was “Si,” given name “Ma.” He was the top humanities scorer in the Changzhou City college entrance exam, a day student, quiet and mysterious, keeping to himself and rarely interacting with others. His sprinting was excellent, on par with Zuo Lin. He was about to join the school athletics team training, and the team captain, Xu Zegang, had even come to the English Department on Sunday to excuse them. The counselor had personally confirmed it—there was no mistake!

Monday morning training began promptly, with Zuo Lin and Sima arriving at the gym to meet Coach Tu and several senior team members. Zuo Lin had already inquired: the head coach of the school athletics team was Zhang Chongqing, and the men’s sprint coach was Tu Jianguo. Under Coach Tu’s guidance were four athletes, one of whom was a level-two athlete, specializing in both 100 and 200 meters, and was his strongest “rival.”

Coach Tu sized up the new “prospects” with a glance, gave a few brief instructions, and told them to follow the official team members’ training. They began with an eight-minute warm-up, followed by flexibility exercises, and then a steady 400-meter run. He watched coldly. Zuo Lin was professionally trained and exercised with skill and precision. Sima, however, was a complete novice, learning on the spot with utterly uncoordinated movements. When the morning training ended and the athletes headed to the small cafeteria for breakfast, Coach Tu stopped Sima and handed him a mimeographed training manual, telling him to study it carefully and quickly grasp the basic knowledge required for the athletics team’s training.

The reason Coach Tu regarded Sima differently was because Xu Zegang had specifically asked him to look after the newcomer, though this care was limited. Sima’s foundation was too weak to keep up with the training pace, making him a burden in Coach Tu’s eyes. His bonuses were calculated based on competition results, and with the heavy demands of daily training, he had no time to waste on Sima. As for Sima’s times—12.10 seconds in the 100 meters and 24.35 in the 200 meters—while decent, they hardly impressed Coach Tu. Even if Sima joined the team, it would take two or three years of training before he could achieve results, and the chances of success seemed slim. Coach Tu had seen many “talent-type” athletes who, despite their gifts, couldn’t endure hardship and eventually stalled without progressing. Without progress, there were no bonuses to be earned. Without bonuses, how would he make a living?

Classes started at 8 a.m., and Sima arrived just on time. The moment he stepped into the classroom, countless eyes turned to him, and some mischievous students even applauded enthusiastically. Sima remained composed, smiling gently as he looked for an empty seat. Zuo Lin stood and invited him to sit beside him. Once seated, Sima quietly asked what had happened. Zuo Lin explained everything: in everyone’s eyes, their participation in training was a source of pride for the English Department, a cause for honor and encouragement. Sima pondered this, reflecting on how simple university students of that era were, placing such great importance on “bringing glory” and yet doing so with such ease.

At 16:30 in the afternoon, Zuo Lin and Sima continued their athletics training. They began again with an eight-minute warm-up, followed by specialized drills: crouched starts, four sets of 30 meters, drills during movement, three sets of 60 meters, sprint training with two sets of 100 meters, and finally a slow 200-meter jog to relax the body. The official team members had just finished summer training and were in a recovery phase, so the pace was slow, and the intensity moderate. Sima could barely keep up. As for the technical details, merely observing wasn’t enough; he was completely lost in the process.

Zuo Lin felt a bit sorry for Sima. Coach Tu clearly intended to “let him fend for himself.” He considered whether to warn Sima to slip Coach Tu a bribe, but then thought better of it. After all, Sima was also his “rival.” No, a pair of embroidered mandarin ducks should not share their precious threads!

After training ended, Sima did not leave. He called Lu Youyou to ask if she was available to meet and discuss something. The phone number was provided by Lu Yuan; it was no surprise they shared the same surname “Lu.” After Lu Yuan enrolled at Haidian University, Lu Youyou had even treated her to a meal. When Lu Yuan mentioned Sima, Lu Youyou was excited and recalled every detail clearly. Having been through similar experiences, she suspected they might be “dating” and decided to check him out for Lu Yuan. The outcome was unexpected: Sima looked decent, possessed sprinting talent, and was a “rough gem” with a bright future. As for his character, that was still unclear.

Lu Youyou and Sima arranged to meet at the school cafeteria.

The cafeteria’s dinner hours were from 16:50 to 18:50. Learning that Sima hadn’t eaten yet, Lu Youyou told him to get his food first and eat while they talked. Sima said he was a day student and planned to eat on the way home later. Lu Youyou nodded without pressing further and asked what he needed. Sima took out the mimeographed manual Coach Tu had given him and explained that his foundation was weak and he couldn’t keep up with the team’s training. He hoped the senior could recommend a private coach for supplementary lessons. Lu Youyou flipped through the manual; it was indeed the team’s training guide, though it had been revised several times over the years and was somewhat outdated. Coach Tu hadn’t deliberately “let him slack off”—he was probably waiting for Sima to come to him for guidance, but Sima had chosen to seek help elsewhere, turning to her instead.