Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

"No time!"

Huang Chong heard the unyielding tone in Zhou Ming’s voice, but he couldn’t be bothered to coddle the rich kid, so his reply was incredibly blunt.

Zhou Ming’s expression immediately soured when he heard the response.

In his daily life, very few people dared to reject him so decisively.

Seeing that Zhou Ming’s invitation had failed and the atmosphere in the shop had grown chilly, Dewey, who was standing to the side, started frantically winking and shooting glances at Huang Chong.

’Nice one, kid—’

’A job well done!’

’But doing this really showed no respect for the young master’s pride.’

Huang Chong understood Dewey’s signals. After a moment’s thought, he could only smile and explain:

"I really don’t have time tomorrow, Group Leader Zhou. I have to go to Suzhou for my team’s internal training. Next week, our team is participating in the amateur Tour of Tai Lake race in Suzhou. If you don’t believe me, ask Old Du!"

Zhou Ming was furious inside, but he suppressed his anger and turned to the middleman.

Dewey chuckled, knowing it was his turn to play the peacemaker. He immediately tried to smooth things over, saying:

"It’s true, Brother Zhou. You know my buddy’s situation. He wants to be a Professional Cyclist, right? So he joined an amateur team in Hangcheng.

Their team is pretty strict. The captain is a retired member of the provincial team, a former professional!

He already took a day off last week to attend your cycling event. He can’t just keep taking time off, can he?

Brother Zhou, how about you pick another time? As soon as his race in Suzhou is over, I’ll make sure my buddy races you again!"

There was nothing wrong with that explanation. It wasn’t that Huang Chong really wanted to disrespect Zhou Ming; he just disliked the man’s imperious, non-negotiable arrogance right from the start.

He wasn’t some female protagonist in a romance novel, fantasizing about being doted on by a domineering CEO.

However, someone like Zhou Ming, who was used to being on top, was accustomed to others adapting to his schedule, not the other way around.

So, after a brief moment of contemplation, he said something even more outrageous to Huang Chong:

"If you want to be a Professional Cyclist, you at least need to join an official team and get registered as a rider.

How about this: skip the training in Suzhou. Just race me tomorrow, and whether you win or lose, I can arrange for you to join the Hangcheng municipal Road Cyclist team.

As for whether you can join an Intercontinental Team and get registered with the UCI in the future, that’ll be up to your own ability.

Also, since it’s a race, there will naturally be a wager.

If you can beat me, you can pick any team bike from the Tour de France, and I’ll foot the bill. You can choose any configuration you want, with no price limit!

And if you lose, you won’t have to pay any price or compensation!"

Honestly, the benefits Zhou Ming laid out truly left Huang Chong stunned, delighted, and even a little thrilled. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

’What an offer—’

’Just like a domineering CEO, willing to throw money around like it’s nothing just to win back a little face.’

’It was an offer a poor schmuck like him could hardly refuse!’

However, he was a little skeptical whether the guy could actually get him a spot on the municipal team just like that.

No matter how little official support professional road cycling received, which was mainly a matter of resource allocation, any provincial or municipal-level team was bound to have strict requirements.

’No, with Eldest Young Master Zhou’s financial power, getting someone a spot really isn’t hard!’

Huang Chong immediately felt he had underestimated the power of money.

’But whether I could become a key rider on the team, let alone be groomed for success, is another story.

What if the team leadership only accepts me on the surface because of Zhou Ming’s money, but then makes me warm the bench forever? I’d be better off not going at all.

Besides, he only promised to get me onto the municipal team; he never said he’d help me secure a core position—’

Given their superficial relationship, the young master would surely not intervene any further after fulfilling his promise. Therefore, his attempt to "buy his way into the cast" would most likely end in disaster.

Besides, it wasn’t in Huang Chong’s nature to abandon his principles for temporary gain.

He was someone with a "cheat" system, and reaching a professional level was just a final step away. Since he could make it on his own, steadily and honorably, why risk "buying his way in" only to be met with disdain and even isolation for no good reason?

With this in mind, Huang Chong made his decision. He couldn’t accept the offer just for some immediate benefits.

Moreover, if he went back on his word to Zhang Yi and quit the Windward Team, that would be a truly despicable thing to do.

Zhang Yi had been good to him, not to mention Wang Qiang and the other two who had recommended him for the team.

Without their initial guidance and training together, he never would have been able to trigger so many system quests in such a short time, optimizing his physical talents to a world-class level.

So, after a moment of deliberation, Huang Chong simply smiled and shook his head.

"Young Master Zhou, I admit your offer is quite tempting.

But if I remember correctly, I believe you once said that a Professional Cyclist ultimately relies on his own two legs.

If I were to accept your offer, knowing your character, you would definitely keep your promise and get me onto the municipal team.

But then, in your heart, you’d inevitably see me as just another sycophant trying to take a shortcut, and you’d look down on me from the bottom of your heart.

As for that Tour de France bike you mentioned, heheh, it’s true I can’t afford one myself. But you should probably ask Old Du what my position is here in his shop.

Besides, even if I’m short on cash for now, is Old Du really lacking that little bit of money?

To be honest, he’s offered more than once to gift me a great bike from a World Tour team to help me train more effectively.

I just felt that since I haven’t become a Professional Cyclist yet, I’m not qualified to accept such a significant gesture of kindness from a friend!"

Having said his piece, Huang Chong said no more and headed straight home.

He had to catch an early high-speed train to Suzhou that evening. After all, he needed to get an early start for team training the next day, or he’d be baked alive by the sun.

After Huang Chong left, Zhou Ming stood rooted to the spot for a long time, unable to snap out of his daze.

He couldn’t find a single reason to be angry at the other man’s tactful refusal.

First, the guy had been completely honest.

Second, Huang Chong hadn’t just spoken from his own perspective; he had also considered Zhou Ming’s.

Indeed, the offer he had just made was almost subconscious, not the result of deep deliberation.

But if Huang Chong had actually accepted his proposal, Zhou Ming, upon later reflection, might very well have looked down on him from the bottom of his heart, just as the other man had predicted.

’So you realized your dream and became a Professional Cyclist, achieving something I couldn’t. So what?

In the end, don’t you still have to bow your head to a person of my wealthy class?’

Zhou Ming might not have had such a vulgar thought at that very moment.

But this was indeed the most common kind of personal sacrifice that the ordinary class had to make when trying to integrate into the high-income echelon.

At least, he was surrounded by far too many people like that.

Seeing Zhou Ming frozen in place with a dazed look, Dewey assumed the young master had been stunned into a stupor by his buddy’s repeated rejections. He quickly clapped him on the shoulder and said with a comforting smile:

"Brother Zhou, don’t be angry. My buddy is just a straightforward guy who hasn’t seen much of the world. He doesn’t really get social niceties. You’re the bigger person; don’t stoop to his level.

It’s just a race, right? When he gets back from Suzhou, I’ll definitely have him race you again. It’s just a matter of a few days sooner or later.

How about this? As his friend, let me apologize to you on his behalf.

You haven’t had dinner yet, have you? Just name the place, my treat. How about it?"

Hearing this, Zhou Ming turned and gave Dewey a serious look before asking in return:

"Old Du, do you really think it’s a bad thing for a cyclist to be straightforward and ignorant of social niceties?"

Dewey was completely dumbfounded by the question.

’What kind of question was that—’

Before he could formulate a response, Zhou Ming spoke again with a sigh.

"Let’s skip dinner. Just finish assembling my Cervelo S5 as soon as you can.

As for the race, forget it. I’m planning to take my own team to compete in Suzhou."

With that, Zhou Ming waved his hand and started to leave the shop. But before he walked out the door, he turned back and couldn’t help but add:

"Also, I’m not mad at your buddy. Quite the opposite, I actually admire him.

I hope he really can make it to the grand tours and the five monuments.

In any case, when we’re watching the races live in the future, having someone we know speeding along those courses would give us true cycling enthusiasts something to talk about over dinner.

After all, since Ji Cheng, our country hasn’t had a Road Cyclist on those courses for a very long time!"