Win the First Victory of His Career

By the end of his speech, Zhou Ming's tone and expression had both become agitated and hurried, clearly colored by strong personal emotions.

Huang Chong was left completely baffled.

What was this rich kid trying to say?

How had merely wanting to become a professional rider, and casually imagining his future cycling career, managed to rile the other man up?

Normally, even if someone could not achieve something themselves, it was only natural to talk big with friends during a casual chat, wasn't it?

"What's wrong with him?"

After Zhou Ming angrily threw down those harsh words and stormed off, Huang Chong first escorted the rather drunk Du Wei back to the luxurious lake-view rooms Zhou Ming had arranged for them. Unable to hold it in, he asked:

"Has he always been this particular?"

Hearing Huang Chong's question, Du Wei gave him a strange look. Then, with something almost like pity on his face, he replied:

"Though it may sound strange, Young Master Zhou isn't angry because you were talking big. He doesn't even know you. He's angry at himself—for not being free."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that he likes cycling no less than you do. But with how overbearing his parents are, they would never let him become a professional rider in this lifetime."

After a brief pause, Du Wei added:

"And not just cycling. As long as it has nothing to do with the family business—or, to put it more bluntly, as long as it isn't something that makes money—his parents would never allow him to make a career of it!"

Du Wei and Zhou Ming had actually attended the same schools from childhood onward. Although Zhou Ming was a year ahead and technically his senior, children in their circle generally knew one another from a young age and were well aware of each other's family situations.

So Du Wei briefly told Huang Chong about Zhou Ming's life.

After hearing it, Huang Chong did not particularly relate. After all, they came from different social classes.

He merely sighed and teased, "So even though you rich kids seem to have everything ordinary people could want—never worrying about food or clothes, buying whatever you like—you're not actually happy either. You're like Jia Baoyu, aren't you?"

Du Wei could not help rolling his eyes at Huang Chong.

But honestly, the description was quite accurate.

Take himself, for example. Though he had little talent for studying, every bit of free time he had growing up had been filled with cram schools and private tutors. He had never had the chance to pursue any personal hobbies.

Wasn't that just like Jia Baoyu, trapped by Grandmother Jia within Rongguo Mansion and denied his freedom?

Of course, ordinary people would find that kind of talk unbearably pretentious.

Wasn't being well-fed and well-clothed enough? Did they want to fly to the heavens too?

For people living in the mud, their lifelong pursuit was often no more than a larger home.

Ideally, they would have a little spare money to buy whatever they wanted at any time, and some savings set aside for sudden illness when they grew old.

At the very least, Huang Chong's parents were ordinary people like that.

Personal hobbies? Dreams in life? Wasn't that all nonsense?

"Hey, hearing you put it that way, I almost feel embarrassed about dropping Young Master Zhou tomorrow.

Who would've thought he was actually pretty pitiful? He finally found a hobby he loved, yet he can only use it to vent his emotions.

The day his parents stop letting him play, those luxury cars will probably all be locked away in storage, left to gather dust and rot.

Pitiful. Truly pitiful!"

"You're confused!"

Du Wei refuted Huang Chong's mercy and warned him sternly:

"Old Huang, I know you're kind. That's one reason I consider you a good brother. But I have to remind you of something.

Kindness has to be used in the right place.

When facing the weak, you can be compassionate. That means you haven't forgotten your conscience.

But when facing a class stronger than yourself, you must put away that hesitation in your heart.

Because the strong only respect those stronger than themselves.

You can give them some face in a race—for instance, by not making them lose too badly. That's called knowing how the world works.

But you must never deliberately lose when you have a sure chance of winning.

Maybe you think I'm exaggerating, but the truth is, whether someone loses on purpose or because they lack the ability, once they lose in competition even once, there's a very real chance they'll never be able to rise again for the rest of their life."

Hearing that, Huang Chong's heart jolted. For some reason, he thought of the 2020 Tour de France.

Before the Stage 20 individual time trial, Roglič, wearing the yellow jersey, had still been fifty-seven seconds ahead of the newly emerged Pogačar.

But after that stage, which decided the final champion, he had been overtaken by 1 minute and 56 seconds. He ultimately lost the general classification by fifty-nine seconds, throwing away the closest—and only—chance of winning the title in his career, leaving behind a lifelong regret.

With hindsight, Roglič had shown no signs of carelessness or underestimating his opponent on Stage 20. Yet the outcome was exactly as Du Wei had said.

After losing that one opportunity, he never had another chance to turn things around.

Huang Chong and Du Wei usually spent their time joking and roughhousing. They rarely spoke from the heart, so Huang Chong understood that Du Wei was only saying these things because of the alcohol.

Still, he was grateful to Du Wei.

They lived in different social classes and saw the world differently.

Many times, Huang Chong's perspective on things truly was narrower and more one-sided than Du Wei's. Having a friend like this to guide him as he grew was a fortunate thing.

"I understand what you mean, Old Du."

In the end, Huang Chong nodded and said nothing more.

After tucking the drunk Du Wei in, adjusting the air conditioner, and placing a glass of water by his bedside, he returned to his own room to rest as soon as possible.

The next morning, 6:25 a.m.

On the lakeside highway not far from the hotel, more than twenty top-tier road bikes and their riders stood ready to go.

At a glance, every bike in the group was a UCI WorldTour machine.

Canyon, Specialized, Trek, Colnago, LOOK, even Bianchi—

Only one Ninth-Generation TCR ADV 3 was mixed among them, looking shabby and utterly out of place. It belonged to Huang Chong.

"The race is about to begin. The rules are simple. I've set up a mid-race aid station twenty-five kilometers ahead.

"If any of you can't keep riding halfway through, you can get water, drinks, steamed buns, and whatever else you need at the aid station.

"As for the fifty-kilometer mark ahead, that's the finish line. Whoever crosses it first is the champion."

Before the start, Zhou Ming swept his gaze over the participants and reiterated the rules.

Aside from himself and the hired companions, most of the rich kids invited to the event had also gotten up to race, giving him plenty of face.

However, many of them looked sleepy and yawned constantly. They had clearly come only to make up the numbers and did not care about the prize money.

Only Du Wei and Huang Chong were in excellent spirits, clearly there to contend for the win.

For Du Wei, the prize money was naturally unimportant, but the prestige of winning was.

"Old Du, I remember that during last year's Qiandao Lake race, you brought me along to compete, and you beat me then.

"Today, we've returned to the old grounds. Even though it's only half the distance, I want to see who comes out on top this time!

"And that includes your brother too!"

Once Du Wei sobered up, he returned to his usual carefree self.

Given his personality, how could he possibly let such provocation go unanswered? He immediately said:

"Zhou, don't get cocky!

"I'm here today to tell you that if I could beat you last year, I can do it again this year.

"Hurry up and start the race. My legs have been itching for action for ages!"

Zhou Ming sneered, then turned to Little Rice Grain, who stood by the roadside checking the time on her phone. When the clock struck 6:30, she sweetly called out to the riders:

"The race begins, big brothers!"

In an instant, the entire peloton shot forward.

Huang Chong followed within the group without rushing to attack, because new system text appeared before his eyes:

[Detected that the host is participating in an amateur group ride. Please win the first victory of your career. Reward: 15 Beginner Optimization Points, Daily Training Gift Pack x1.]