Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

The day after his orientation banquet, Huang Chong had to say a final goodbye to Dewey. He was moving into the dorms at the Cycling Management Center, where he would eat in the cafeteria and begin his secluded training.

Moving was easy for him. For one, he didn’t have much luggage. Plus, with his system’s storage space, he didn’t even need Dewey to give him a ride.

Before he left, however, Dewey asked him to stop by the bike shop, saying he had a gift for him.

When Huang Chong arrived, he found that besides Dewey giving him his back pay, two top-of-the-line, World Tour Level road bikes were displayed right in the middle of the shop.

One was a white Lightning S-works Tarmac SL7.

The other was a black Lightning S-Works Shiv TT.

With this black-and-white pair holding court, it was like having the same race setups as members of the World Tour Teams Quick Step and Bora.

"What’s going on, Old Du? Don’t tell me the gift you mentioned is this pair of top-of-the-line road and TT bikes from Lightning."

Huang Chong had already guessed the answer, but he still asked, his face a picture of disbelief.

He wasn’t surprised or happy—he was mortified. Accepting such an extravagant gift from a friend felt incredibly awkward. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

After all, as a master mechanic, he could tell at a glance that both bikes were decked out with top-of-the-line components.

They were incredibly expensive, costing nearly 200,000 RMB combined.

"Honestly, Old Du, I can’t accept such an extravagant gift. That’s 200,000! Are you nuts? If Wu Fang finds out you’re throwing money around like this, she’ll never approve."

"Cut the crap. Hurry up and hand over your Giant TCR ADV 3, ninth generation."

Dewey waved his hand dismissively and replied with a grand air,

"We already agreed. You leave your original race bike with me as the shop’s prized showpiece, and I give you a TT bike you can use for future training and races. Perfectly reasonable, right?

And let me give you a fair warning, brother. You’d better take this TT bike I’m giving you and make a name for yourself at the Tour de France. If you don’t make this ninth-gen TCR a priceless collector’s item, I’ll have your hide."

Huang Chong seized on a key part of his friend’s speech. He frowned and asked,

"You’re giving me the TT bike? Then what about this SL7?"

"Who else? It’s from Eldest Young Master Zhou, the guy who lost to you. If he hadn’t already picked out the Lightning SL7 and locked in the model, I was planning to get you the Colnago TT bike that Pogačar rides."

Huang Chong was completely stunned. He never thought Zhou Ming would take his promise so seriously that he’d actually send over a top-tier, World Tour Level road bike.

Honestly, he’d never taken the bet seriously, assuming the other guy was just running his mouth.

After all, knowing the massive skill gap between them, agreeing to the bet in the first place had felt a little dishonorable.

But Zhou Ming had actually followed through on his word after the race. It made Huang Chong revise his opinion of the rich kid, at least a little.

Sure, Zhou Ming had an arrogant personality, spoke with conceited swagger, and loved to argue over details, but he was a man of his word. And he was definitely generous.

"Did he say anything else? I really didn’t take the bet seriously. How about you help me contact him and have him take the bike back—"

Before Huang Chong could finish, Dewey clapped him on the shoulder, cutting him off.

"Brother, just take it. It’s a gesture of goodwill from Eldest Young Master Zhou.

He’s got a fiery temper and speaks his mind, but he’s not a bad guy at heart. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be his business partner.

You beat him fair and square, and he accepted the loss completely. This is his way of apologizing for mocking you before.

Besides, his family is ridiculously wealthy. A high-end race bike like this is an unattainable luxury for most people, but to him, it’s just a toy.

Look at his entourage. Every single one of them is riding a road bike worth over a hundred thousand, and he bought them all.

Especially that Little Mili. All she does all day is flirt and show off; she barely even rides.

But Zhou Ming got her a custom-painted Pinarello with a Princeton wheelset that costs tens of thousands more than this bike of yours!

So don’t worry about saving money for him.

If you really try to return it, he’ll probably get angry. He’ll think you’re insulting his character, and you’ll never hear the end of it."

At this, Dewey paused for a moment before adding,

"He’s giving you this bike to honor the bet, but it’s also his way of entrusting his own cycling dreams to you.

If you hadn’t gotten into the provincial team on your own merits, he was genuinely planning to spend money and pull some strings to get you onto the city team!"

Hearing this, Huang Chong didn’t know what else to say. He could only nod.

"Alright. When you have a chance, please thank Young Master Zhou for me. And tell him I’ll cherish this Lightning SL7 and ride it well. I’ll do my best to win a few professional championships on it before the SL8 comes out."

With that said, Huang Chong found some measuring tools in Dewey’s shop. Using his own bike fit data, he adjusted the seat height, stem, and other settings on both race bikes to his preferred position.

Finally, with his new black-and-white duo in tow, he said a final goodbye to his good friend, as well as the other shop mechanic, Liu Chaoyang.

Of course, as he left, he didn’t forget to leave behind his Giant TCR ADV 3, ninth generation—a bike he’d ridden for less than two months—for Dewey.

...

The Cycling Management Center was structured much like a sports academy.

After showing his credentials to enter the facility, a member of the logistics staff led Huang Chong to his dorm room and briefed him on his future daily schedule.

Since it was his first day, he didn’t have to attend training.

However, after settling in, he was told to bring his TT bike to the cycling training hall at three in the afternoon. Someone was waiting there to test his individual time trial ability.

When Director Zhang had conducted his physical assessment, they hadn’t done an ITT test, because Huang Chong had already surpassed the evaluation criteria using just a standard road bike.

He arrived right on time and found the training hall completely empty, save for a single, tall, slender figure waiting for him. Her back was to him, her hair tied in a neat, high ponytail, and she was dressed in a full Li-Ning tracksuit.

"Hello, are you the one in charge of my ITT test?"

Huang Chong asked as he wheeled his bike over.

Hearing his voice, the young woman turned to face him.

But that simple, ordinary turn left Huang Chong momentarily stunned.

Her actual appearance was nothing like the image he had conjured in his mind from seeing her back.

He had assumed the person in charge of a professional assessment would be a middle-aged woman, but she was surprisingly young, looking to be about his age.

Even more striking, she was stunningly beautiful, wearing no makeup whatsoever.

Her eyebrows were untrimmed and her lips were bare, to say nothing of foundation or contouring, yet her features were exceptionally delicate and defined.

As for her demeanor, she lacked the soft grace typical of most Jiangnan women; there was none of that perfumed delicacy about her.

Perhaps because she was an athlete, she stood tall with a dignified posture, looking poised and self-assured. Her skin was clear, and she radiated an aura of health and vitality.

Then, the young woman spoke. Her voice was as clear as a wind chime, and her tone was friendly, completely lacking the sternness he expected from an assessor. She replied, "Yes. I’m Chen Junyi. You must be Huang Chong, correct?

Director Zhang has put me in charge of your specialized individual training for the next few months. I’ll be your Data Analyst and nutritionist.

First, you’ll complete a 30-kilometer ITT. Based on your performance, I’ll fine-tune your daily training program going forward."

Hearing her answer, Huang Chong couldn’t help but marvel internally.

’She’s so young, yet she’s already holding multiple roles—my Data Analyst and my nutritionist...’

’The provincial team really is on another level. They’ve got talented people everywhere!’