Restarting the Grand Cycle

Wang Chao vaguely sensed something was wrong and, without a word, began to eat ravenously.

In fact, the four most impressive-looking dishes were all quite disappointing. The last dish, stir-fried preserved meat with green peppers, was the most normal. This was probably because stir-fried preserved meat didn't require any seasoning, leaving the cook no opportunity to mess up even if he wanted to.

Ten minutes later, Wang Chao had completely cleaned his plate. He smiled at the cook as a form of greeting, but didn't dare say anything more, turning to leave.

The cook, who had been smiling amiably, changed his expression to a cold snort after Wang Chao had walked a few steps. He muttered just loud enough for Wang Chao to hear, "Hypocritical fellow..."

Wang Chao's footsteps faltered, and he almost wanted to turn back and argue with the cook for three hundred rounds.

"Do you know that all your dishes are traps? I forced myself to finish them because I was afraid you'd be upset."

"Instead of being grateful, you're calling me hypocritical?"

"Do you want me to dump all the food in front of you before you'll be happy?"

But for now, the enemy knew their position while they were exposed, so it wasn't wise to start a conflict. Thus, Wang Chao eventually left quietly.

It wasn't until he returned to the dormitory and was ridiculed by Jiang Shan that he finally understood the cook's situation.

He was a legend.

Once a national team coach, with countless disciples, something happened that caused him to voluntarily leave the national team. He didn't even want to be a coach anymore and had come to the training base in Jiang City, Hubei Province, to become a cook.

It was said that when he arrived, even the high-ranking officials of the Hubei provincial team were alarmed and personally invited him to coach the provincial team, but he refused.

Subsequently, Luo Zhihong, the head coach of the Jiang City team, voluntarily offered to step down and invited him to coach the city team, but he also refused.

He didn't want to be a coach, but he didn't want to leave table tennis either. He just wanted to drift through life at the base as a carefree cook, researching recipes while watching the young players from afar.

The reason he chose the Jiang City team was simple: it was his hometown.

It was a case of returning to one's roots.

"And then, we players became his victims,"

Jiang Shan said with a grimace, "His cooking is terrible, but he insists on making elaborate dishes. At first, many people fell for it. Whenever someone ate his food, he'd stare at them and force them to finish it, saying they shouldn't waste food. If anyone said his food was bad, he'd fly into a rage."

"But I didn't say his food was bad today,"

Wang Chao was quite puzzled. "I finished it all in front of him, and yet he called me hypocritical."

"That's because... you really are hypocritical..." Jiang Shan quipped. "I don't even know how you managed to finish it."

The two looked at each other, and after a long while, Wang Chao concluded, "So... he was probably just in a bad mood and looking for someone to take it out on?"

The training days were monotonous yet fulfilling. Unknowingly, another three days passed.

Wang Chao still hadn't touched a ball. The training had shifted from shuttle runs to long-distance laps around the field. According to Wang Bin, he would only be allowed to practice formally once he could comfortably run 5,000 meters.

During this time, Wang Chao met Tian Zhengguang again.

Tian Zhengguang was lifting weights.

He had been banned from touching a ball for a week and had completely lost hope of entering the main team. So, he had spent the entire week in the gym, lifting weights furiously to vent his frustration.

He wasn't surprised to see Wang Chao, but his eyes were fixed on him until Wang Chao's figure passed the gym entrance and disappeared.

Wang Chao's attention, however, was not on Tian Zhengguang but on the cook.

The next day at lunch in the mess hall, he once again challenged the cook's new dishes, "XJ Big Plate Chicken" and "Dry Pot Rabbit Cubes."

The meat in the former was very tough, likely due to the ingredients; they must have bought old chickens instead of broiler chickens.

The latter had a slightly strong gamey smell, probably because they forgot to marinate it with cooking wine, ginger, and scallions before stir-frying.

But Wang Chao still ate it all.

It wasn't that he was deliberately trying to please the cook; he genuinely wanted to eat more meat and fish to supplement the nutrition he had missed for over a decade.

His initial goal was to gain fifteen pounds and reach the standard weight for an athlete.

Based on his experience from his previous life, table tennis relies heavily on a stable lower body and explosive power. Therefore, being slightly heavier than the standard weight was actually ideal.

With his height of 1.83 meters, gaining weight to around 155 pounds would be ideal.

However, the cook found him unbearable, thinking this newcomer was too hypocritical and too tolerant, managing to finish his dishes.

The cleaner Wang Chao ate, the more the cook suspected him of having ulterior motives and being calculating.

By the third day, when Wang Chao went to the cook's window to get his food, the cook's hand trembled, and he employed a traditional technique of master chefs, flipping half a ladle of Dry Pot Bullfrog out. Only a few pieces landed on Wang Chao's plate.

Wang Chao chuckled helplessly.

He simply didn't leave and stood at the serving window with his plate, smiling and saying, "Old timer, since no one else is here, why don't we chat?"

The cook's face stiffened, and his eyes widened as he cursed, "Get lost!"

Wang Chao left dejectedly, with Jiang Shan looking confused in the distance.

He couldn't understand what Wang Chao was trying to achieve by persistently bothering the cook.

"Brother, you don't seriously think that if you keep pestering him, he'll take you as a disciple, do you?"

Jiang Shan advised him, "Do you know how many people at our base have tried to probe him, both openly and secretly, using countless methods and strategies, but no one has ever managed to get him to budge?"

Wang Chao asked, "What about you? Have you tried?"

"Of course I tried, after all, he's a national team coach..."

Jiang Shan said aspirationally, "If I became his disciple, then Luo Jiu would be my senior brother. How much face would that give me..."

Wang Chao had heard of Luo Jiu and knew he was one of the five main players on China's current national men's table tennis team. He was 26 years old and one of the most popular representatives of the modern penhold, two-winged loop style.

But he only learned today that Luo Jiu was actually the disciple of that chef.

However, he truly had no intention of seeking apprenticeship when he went to find the chef.

No matter how strong the chef was, he was still just a retired national team coach.

Wang Chao himself, in his previous life, was almost universally recognized as the number one coach in the world.

He didn't believe anyone was qualified to teach him how to play.

He went to find the chef simply because he felt an instinctive connection to the words "national team coach."

Although he couldn't guess why the chef had voluntarily resigned, he could roughly understand the chef's state of mind.

He felt empathy and wanted to connect, that was all.

"It was just my wishful thinking. With my current status, how could he possibly open up to me?"

Wang Chao sighed inwardly, "Oh well, I won't bother him anymore."

On the fourth day after joining the team, at 7:30 in the morning, head coach Wang Bin and three team coaches appeared on the court simultaneously, making everyone feel that something was unusual.

"Some things have happened recently. First, Tian Zhengguang was penalized, and then Wang Chao joined the team. Considering the changes in the players' strength, we have made a decision."

Wang Bin announced, "The results of the internal grand loop from a few days ago are void. Today, we will conduct a new internal grand loop assessment."

Tian Qi added, "The top three finishers in this assessment will directly participate in the promotion-relegation matches. There will be no changes for any reason."

The entire stadium erupted at that moment.

Everyone knew that Jiang Shan and Tian Ye were certain to be in the top three.

So, in reality, the only variable was the newcomer Wang Chao.

If the newcomer's stamina held up, he would be the definite first place. But if his stamina gave out midway, then this time, for the sake of their own destinies, no one would be willing to give him time to rest.

In the crowd, Zhao Ge and Li Mu looked at each other, a glimmer of hope reignited in their eyes.

They both felt they had a chance.

But then Wang Bin said something else, "After careful consideration, we have made another decision."

He paused and looked at Wang Chao, "That is... in order to truly select the three strongest players in the team, we have decided to lift Tian Zhengguang's subsequent punishment and allow him to participate in this grand loop as well."

The noise in the stadium reached its peak at this moment.

Wang Bin stared intently at Wang Chao, wanting to see his reaction.

He actually didn't want to let Tian Zhengguang back, but he really couldn't refuse coach Tian Qi's earnest plea from yesterday.

He felt a bit guilty and carefully recalled the excuses he had tried to think of last night. If Wang Chao protested, he would use those words.

But Wang Chao just smiled calmly.

He had already guessed it.

Yes, he had long suspected that the coaching staff would give Tian Zhengguang another chance.

It wasn't just for coach Tian Qi's sake.

It was because Tian Zhengguang's age was really getting up there...

Although table tennis was known as a long-lasting sport worldwide, in China, due to the intense competition, the prime age for athletes was actually only a few years. Tian Zhengguang couldn't afford to wait any longer.

Whether it was China in his previous life or China now, it was fundamentally a society based on personal connections.

He had seen many such things in his past life, and they were no longer surprising.

"Alright, since no one has any objections, that's the decision."

Wang Bin quietly breathed a sigh of relief, "I announce that the internal grand loop for the seventeen players officially begins now."

Tian Qi followed up, "The first match is Wang Chao versus Tian Zhengguang."