Restarting the Round Robin

Wang Chao vaguely sensed that something was wrong. Without another word, he buried his head and started wolfing down the food.

In truth, the four big dishes that looked the best were all traps. The last dish, green peppers with cured pork, was relatively normal. That was probably because stir-fried cured pork needed no seasoning, so even if the Cook wanted to mess it up, he had no chance.

Ten minutes later, Wang Chao had cleaned his heaping plate spotless. He smiled at the Cook as a greeting, not daring to say anything more, then turned and left.

The Cook had been smiling pleasantly, but after Wang Chao had walked a few steps away, his expression turned into a cold snort. He muttered at just the right volume for Wang Chao to hear, "What a hypocrite..."

Wang Chao paused, almost turning around to argue with the Cook for three hundred rounds.

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

"Not only are you ungrateful, you even call me hypocritical?"

"Would you only be happy if I dumped all the food out right in front of you?"

But with the enemy in the shadows and himself in the open, it was not the time for war. In the end, Wang Chao quietly left.

It was not until he returned to the dormitory and got thoroughly mocked by Jiang Shan that he figured out what was going on with the Cook.

That man was a king.

He had once been a national team coach, with students everywhere. Later, for some unknown reason, he had voluntarily applied to leave the national team. He had not even wanted to remain a coach, instead coming to the training base in Jiangcheng City, Northern Hubei Province, to become a Cook.

It was said that when he arrived, even the upper management of the Hubei Provincial Team had been alarmed. They personally came to invite him to coach the provincial team, but he refused.

Afterward, Luo Zhihong, the head coach of the Jiangcheng City Team, had voluntarily offered to step aside and invited him to coach the city team. He refused that too.

He did not want to be a coach, yet he did not want to leave table tennis either. He only wanted to drift through life at the base as a carefree Cook, studying all kinds of recipes while watching the kids play from afar.

The reason he had chosen the Jiangcheng City Team was simple: this was his hometown.

It meant fallen leaves returning to their roots.

"And then us players got stuck suffering for it."

Jiang Shan said bitterly, "His cooking is awful, but he only makes big dishes. At first, lots of people fell for it. As long as someone took one of his dishes, he'd keep watching them and force them to finish it, saying food couldn't be wasted. The moment anyone said his food tasted bad, he'd fly into a rage."

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

Wang Chao was rather puzzled. "I finished everything right in front of him, and he still called me hypocritical."

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

The two stared at each other. After a long while, Wang Chao finally reached a conclusion. "So... he was probably just in a bad mood and looking for someone to vent on?"

Training days were dull yet fulfilling. Before he knew it, another three days had passed.

Wang Chao still had not touched a ball, but his training had changed from shuttle runs to long laps around the court. According to Wang Bin, he would only be allowed to formally practice once he could easily finish five thousand meters.

During that time, Wang Chao saw Tian Zhengguang again.

Tian Zhengguang was lifting weights.

He had been banned from touching a ball for a week and had completely lost any hope of joining the main squad. So he stayed in the gym all week, lifting weights like a madman to vent the resentment in his heart.

When he saw Wang Chao, he was not surprised. He merely stared straight at him until Wang Chao's figure passed the gym entrance and disappeared.

But Wang Chao's attention was not on Tian Zhengguang. It was on the Cook.

At lunch the next day, he once again tried the Cook's new dishes: "XJ Big Plate Chicken" and "Dry Pot Rabbit Cubes."

The former was tough, probably because of the ingredients. He had likely bought an old chicken instead of a broiler chicken.

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

Yet Wang Chao still ate every last bite.

He was not deliberately trying to please the Cook. He truly wanted to eat more meat and seafood to replenish the nutrition he had lacked for over a decade.

His initial goal was to gain fifteen jin first, reaching the standard weight an athlete ought to have.

Based on his experience from his previous life, table tennis placed great importance on stable footwork and explosive physical power. Therefore, being slightly heavier than the standard weight was actually ideal.

At one meter eighty-three, reaching around one hundred and fifty-five jin would be fairly ideal for him.

But the Cook found Wang Chao extremely unpleasant. He felt this newcomer was overly hypocritical and overly good at enduring hardship, actually managing to finish all his food.

Thus, the cleaner Wang Chao ate, the more the Cook felt that he was deeply calculating and must be plotting something.

When Wang Chao went to the Cook's serving window again on the third day, the Cook's hand trembled. He actually performed the traditional secret art of kitchen masters, shaking half a ladle of Dry Pot Bullfrog right back into the pan. Only three measly pieces landed on Wang Chao's tray.

Wang Chao laughed helplessly.

He simply did not leave. Holding his tray, he stood at the window and said with a smile, "Old Master, no one else is coming to your window anyway. How about we have a chat?"

The Cook's face darkened, and he glared. "Get lost!"

Wang Chao slunk away dejectedly, while Jiang Shan stood in the distance with a bewildered expression.

He could not understand what Wang Chao was up to.

"Bro, don't tell me you think that if you keep pestering him like this, he'll take you as his disciple?"

Jiang Shan tried to persuade him. "Do you know how many people at our base have openly and secretly tested him? They've come up with countless methods and used countless schemes, but no one has been able to make him relent."

Wang Chao asked, "What about you? Did you try?"

"Of course I did. He was a national team coach, after all..."

Jiang Shan said wistfully, "If I became his disciple, then Luo Jiu would be my senior brother. Just think how impressive that would sound..."

Wang Chao had heard Luo Jiu's name before. He knew that Luo Jiu was one of the five main players on China's current national men's table tennis team. At twenty-six, he was also one of the representatives of the currently popular shakehand, two-sided looping style.

But only today did he learn that Luo Jiu was actually the Cook's disciple.

Still, he had absolutely no intention of asking the Cook to take him as a disciple.

No matter how formidable the Cook was, he was still only a retired national team coach.

Wang Chao himself had been almost universally acknowledged as the world's number one legendary coach in his previous life.

He did not think anyone was qualified to teach him how to play.

He had gone to see the Cook only because the words "national team coach" instinctively gave him a sense of familiarity.

Though he could not guess why the Cook had voluntarily resigned, he could more or less understand the Cook's state of mind.

He empathized with him and wanted to talk. That was all.

I was being wishful. With my current status, how could he possibly open up to me?

Wang Chao sighed inwardly. Fine. I won't bother him anymore.

On the fourth day after joining the team, at seven thirty in the morning, head coach Wang Bin and the three team coaches appeared on the court at the same time, making everyone sense that something was unusual.

"Some things have happened recently. First, Tian Zhengguang was punished, then Wang Chao joined the team. Considering that the players' strengths have changed, we've made a decision."

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

Tian Qi added, "The top three in this assessment will go directly to the promotion and relegation matches. There will be no further changes for any reason."

The entire hall erupted.

Everyone knew Jiang Shan and Tian Ye would definitely rank among the top three.

So in truth, the only uncertainty was Wang Chao, the newcomer.

If the newcomer's stamina held up, he would unquestionably take first place. But if his stamina gave out midway, then this time, with their futures on the line, no one would be willing to give him time to rest.

Among the crowd, Zhao Ge and Li Mu looked at each other, hope rekindling in their eyes.

They both felt they had a chance.

But then Wang Bin added, "After careful consideration, we've made another decision."

He paused and looked at Wang Chao. "That is... in order to truly select the three strongest people on the team, we've decided to waive Tian Zhengguang's remaining punishment and allow him to participate in this round robin as well."

The uproar in the hall reached its peak.

Wang Bin watched Wang Chao carefully, wanting to see how he would react.

He had not actually wanted to let Tian Zhengguang back in. But Tian Qi had pleaded so desperately yesterday that he truly could not refuse.

He felt somewhat guilty and carefully recalled the explanation he had worked so hard to prepare last night. If Wang Chao protested, he would say those words.

But Wang Chao merely smiled, completely calm.

He had already guessed it.

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

It was not merely because of Coach Tian Qi's influence.

It was because Tian Zhengguang was truly getting a little too old...

Although table tennis was considered a sport of longevity worldwide, in China, because the competition was so fierce, an athlete's prime only lasted a few years. Tian Zhengguang could not wait any longer.

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

He had seen many things like this in his previous life. It was no longer surprising to him.

"Good. Since no one has any objections, it's decided."

Wang Bin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "I announce that the internal round robin among seventeen players officially begins now."

Tian Qi immediately followed up, "First match: Wang Chao versus Tian Zhengguang."