Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

"So I hope everyone can view the race rationally and objectively. For now, we shouldn’t have overly high expectations for him!"

As Coach Li’s words fell, the comment and bullet-screen sections were instantly flooded with messages from fellow cycling fans watching the race:

Some believed Huang Chong would definitely win, while others thought Coach Li’s analysis was very reasonable. In any case, the topic’s popularity exploded.

...

「Xianyun Middle School.」

Huang Lingshan, who was in evening study hall, was definitely not going to get any reviewing done today.

Even though the teacher was sitting at the front of the class, she still secretly took out her phone, lowered the brightness, and hid behind a stack of books to watch her older cousin’s race live.

In fact, it wasn’t just her. Many students throughout Xianyun Middle School were following Huang Chong’s race.

As the only celebrity to come out of their small county—even if he was just a cyclist—many people watched Huang Chong’s races with great interest, despite not even understanding the rules.

But these young people were still full of youthful bravado; they didn’t understand the first thing about watching a race rationally.

So when they heard Coach Li say that Huang Chong’s chances of winning were slim, they all turned into keyboard warriors in the comments section to protest.

They didn’t just call him a "clueless ’brick-spert’," they also told him to wait and see his words come back to bite him, and so on.

However, these third-year high school students were ultimately unable to escape the study hall teacher’s precise strike.

Just as they were engrossed, heads down watching the race, the classroom lights went dark. The phones of every student whose seat was illuminated were instantly confiscated, leading to a chorus of wails—

But in reality, after head teacher Chen Juan confiscated the phones from Huang Lingshan and the others, she returned to her office, took out her own phone, and began watching the road race of a student she herself had once taught.

Compared to the high schoolers’ limitations, Huang Xiaocong, who was in the second semester of his freshman year at Xiamen University, was undoubtedly much freer.

Unless they had to attend a school lecture or an extracurricular elective, university students not only had computers but also generally didn’t have evening study halls.

Although Huang Xiaocong’s academic performance was the best of his generation in the Huang Family so far, as Huang Chong’s fame in the cycling world grew, his respect for his older brother certainly grew as well.

Especially since Huang Chong had always been good to him since they were kids, always thinking of him whenever there was something delicious to eat.

For example, last year when Huang Chong was competing all over the country, every time he went to a new place, he would almost always make a point to mail him lots of local specialty foods.

He wouldn’t just buy them for him; he’d buy a lot, telling him to share with his roommates to build good relationships with them and so on.

Of course, he also reminded him that if he got a girlfriend in university, he absolutely had to share with her too!

Unfortunately, although Huang Xiaocong was as handsome and distinguished as his older brother, he was also a complete blockhead when it came to romance.

The beautiful class president had already hinted to him several times about going for a walk on Gulangyu Island or in Zengcuo’an, but he had turned her down every time, saying he had to watch his big brother’s live race—

As a result, his knowledge of road cycling was now indeed on par with some veteran fans.

Race rules, the four-colored leader’s jerseys, the number of champion points for each World Tour race, the core riders of every World Tour team—he knew it all like the back of his hand.

At the same time, thanks to his influence, his university roommates had also become fans of Huang Chong.

Not only did each of them own a road bike, fantasizing that one day they too could break into the World Tour like Huang Chong and bring glory to their country, but they also never missed a single live broadcast of his races.

While other guys’ dorm rooms were gathered around watching R-rated movies, they were gathered around watching road cycling races, drinking Snow beer and eating spicy peanuts and grilled squid skewers. They were truly a breath of fresh air among the dorms at Xiamen University.

"Xiaocong, your big brother is seriously awesome. I’m truly impressed!

He’s a rookie who just got into the World Tour, and not only is he dominating these foreigners, but the team is already putting him in top-tier races this quickly.

If he gets a good result in this race, he’ll definitely get to compete in the Tour of Flanders next, right?

That’s one of the five major classics! Other guys ride in the World Tour for years and might never get to compete in a race of this caliber—"

"Exactly! When your big brother comes back to the country, you have to invite him to our university to give a talk and share what a Professional Cyclist’s daily life is like—"

"I’m so jealous, Xiaocong! With a big brother this awesome, as his younger brother, do you think you can go to France during the summer break and watch his Tour de France race in person?"

Hearing his roommate say this, Huang Xiaocong’s expression froze for a moment.

He had honestly never thought about that before.

But now that it was brought up, he suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

’Yeah, if my big brother becomes a core rider for the team, then it should be no problem for family to go watch a race in person, right? If he arranges it, I might even be able to visit the Bora Team headquarters! A dream come true, nothing less!’

And while he was lost in his daze, one of his roommates directly hugged his thigh and wailed theatrically:

"Godfather, if you go watch the Tour de France in person, you have to take me with you!!"

...