Chapter 2011 Bad News

In the blink of an eye, it was late August.

"Today is the men's 110-meter hurdles. Do you want to go watch?"

Father Zhao asked Zhao Fusheng.

"Me?"

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Forget it, I won't go."

A performance with a predetermined outcome—Zhao Fusheng felt it didn't matter whether he watched or not.

"Why not go? Let me tell you, Liu Xiang has a good chance of defending his title this year."

Father Zhao said happily: "Come on, let your mom stay home with the kids and the baby, and you come with me."

"No, I still have things to do at the company."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to his father: "How about this: have Mom go with you, and when you're done, you can tell me all about it, okay?"

"Alright."

Seeing how insistent he was, Father Zhao didn't press further and nodded in agreement.

Watching his father leave, Zhao Fusheng felt a wave of helplessness.

He wondered how furious his father would be when he saw that fellow Liu withdraw from the race.

After all, that guy carried the hopes of over a billion people.

As they say, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

When you place all your hopes on someone, and they have always lived up to your expectations, only to raise the white flag at the most critical moment—

What does that feel like?

Many Chinese track and field fans finally experienced that at the Beijing Olympics.

That day, Zhao Fusheng stayed in his office the whole time, reviewing documents and meeting with Zheng Yao and Dong Chenxi.

In the afternoon, Zheng Yao walked into Zhao Fusheng's office with a strange expression.

"You were actually right!"

Zheng Yao said bluntly: "That Liu Xiang really is injured."

"Alas, what a pity for a good athlete."

Zhao Fusheng sighed and shook his head.

To be fair, Liu Xiang was indeed a talented and capable athlete. The blame for his failure shouldn't fall solely on him.

When an athlete's mind is no longer on the field but off it, a decline in performance is inevitable.

Not to mention, several prodigies from China's swimming and diving teams, both male and female, faced similar situations and eventually faded into obscurity.

Zhao Fusheng couldn't judge who was right or wrong in all this.

Although he wanted to join the public in blaming these people for wasting their talent on commercials and variety shows, ultimately falling from the champion's podium—

The problem was, Zhao Fusheng knew he had no right to do so.

People only see the glory of Chinese athletes winning championships, but they don't know the difficult circumstances these athletes face after retirement.

Those with good luck might land decent jobs.

Those with bad luck might not even have basic security.

Under such circumstances, Zhao Fusheng actually found it quite normal for athletes to try to earn more money while they were still successful.

After all, even when they filmed commercials or appeared on variety shows, they had to hand over a portion of their income to the national team as a training fee.

The same went for Liu Xiang.

After he became famous, he bore the hopes of many and was entangled with multiple interests.

That was the real reason his injury was concealed.

The interests of sponsors and his behind-the-scenes team—in the face of these, the future of an athlete like him was no longer a concern.

So Zhao Fusheng truly sympathized with him.

Of course, sympathy was one thing; Zhao Fusheng's own interests were another matter entirely.

In Zhao Fusheng's eyes, he couldn't sacrifice his own interests out of sympathy for Liu Xiang.

That was why he had announced in advance the termination of the advertising contracts between Future Advertising and Liu Xiang.

His goal was naturally to prevent his company from being implicated in the Olympic incident.

As it turned out, Zhao Fusheng was right.

Liu Xiang did withdraw from the race!

"During the preliminary heat, he only ran a few steps before falling to the ground, then limped off the track and announced his withdrawal."

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Zheng Yao said slowly: "The public opinion has exploded. Our advertisers have been calling to express their gratitude."

"Hah, weren't they the ones cursing us back then?"

Zhao Fusheng said with a cold laugh.

Back when Future Advertising was terminating its cooperation agreement with Liu Xiang, those people were furious, and some even specifically asked to have a serious talk with Zhao Fusheng.

And now, they were all dumbfounded!

Holy crap!

He actually withdrew! Withdrew!

In front of the whole nation, they watched him withdraw!

Thinking about it, Zhao Fusheng felt deeply helpless.

The inertia of history—it really leaves one with no recourse.

No matter how you try to dodge it, it's hard to escape.

"Those companies directly renewed their advertising contracts for another year." Zheng Yao said with a smile: "This time, they're all completely convinced."

This was the truth. For those advertisers, Zhao Fusheng's early termination of the contracts saved them from reputational losses and financial losses.

Just these two points alone were enough to make them deeply grateful to Zhao Fusheng.

"At least they know what's good for them."

Zhao Fusheng snorted coldly.

In his view, if these people still didn't know what was good for them, then don't blame him for being rude and turning around to help their competitors with advertising planning.

"Fortunately, we ended the contracts. The internet is already in an uproar with criticism."

Zheng Yao said with lingering fear.

Zhao Fusheng sighed and said nothing more.

In this game, there were actually no winners.

Of course, the teams behind Liu Xiang had undoubtedly profited.

"Alright, we won't make any comments on this matter, understand?" Zhao Fusheng, well-versed in the principle of quitting while ahead, said to Zheng Yao.

Zheng Yao nodded: "I understand."

After a few more words, Zhao Fusheng left the company and went home.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw the old man sitting there fuming with anger.

"Good thing you didn't go; if you had, you'd be furious!"

Father Zhao, seeing Zhao Fusheng come in, couldn't help complaining: "Tell me, a perfectly good race, why did he withdraw? Even if he just walked to the finish line, that would have been fine!"

Zhao Fusheng frowned: "Dad, an athlete's injury isn't something you can just tough out. Think about it—he even got a cortisone shot, and it still hurt so much he couldn't go on. How painful must that be?"

Father Zhao was taken aback, opened his mouth, but said nothing more.

He had to admit that Zhao Fusheng's words were correct.

What he could think of, wouldn't Liu Xiang himself know?

If there had been even the slightest chance to persevere, wouldn't he have done so?

But the fact was, after Liu Xiang fell to the ground, he really couldn't continue.

The injury couldn't be faked.

The only thing that could be faked was the injury report.

In other words, his injury had actually been very serious even before the Olympics.

However, constrained by the pressure from his coach, his support team, and the various interests tied to him, Liu Xiang had no choice but to conceal it.

The result of doing so was that in the end, he ended up hurting himself.

The decline of Liu Xiang's athletic career began from this point.

"So, do you think Liu Xiang is finished this time?" Father Zhao hesitated for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng. Clearly, he still cared about Liu Xiang.

After all, Liu Xiang was still the pride of the yellow race.

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and shook his head: "Not necessarily, but such a serious injury will definitely affect his athletic career. I reckon it won't be easy for him to return to his peak."

It wasn't just not easy; in fact, starting from 2008, Liu Xiang had already begun his decline.

The peak of his athletic career was forever frozen at the Athens Olympics.

Zhao Fusheng admitted that Liu Xiang was an excellent track and field athlete—gifted, capable, and accomplished.

But taking an athlete or a sport as proof of the rise of an entire Asia or the yellow race was itself a joke.

It was precisely because of this mindset that, driven by interests, talented athletes like Liu Xiang were destroyed.

In Zhao Fusheng's eyes, this was a joke.

Of course, for some people, Liu Xiang was a stepping stone to promotion and wealth, a ladder for their career advancement.

Different life goals naturally lead to different pursuits.

"Alas..."

Hearing his son's words, Father Zhao let out a heavy sigh, clearly in low spirits.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly.

There was nothing he could do about this matter. Whatever he said about Liu Xiang's situation wouldn't be appropriate, after all, Liu Xiang was being criticized by the whole country. Even if he mobilized Future Group's connections to help him, it wouldn't be of much use.

The public had to vent their anger first.

Besides, for no reason, why would Zhao Fusheng help Liu Xiang?

You gain some, you lose some—Zhao Fusheng understood this principle better than anyone.

Everyone has to pay the price for their choices and bear the corresponding responsibilities.

Although Liu Xiang ruined his athletic career because of this incident, he also got what he deserved.

Since that was the case, Zhao Fusheng naturally wouldn't meddle.

"Dad, don't worry about other people's lives."

Zhao Fusheng glanced at his father and said with a smile: "Although Liu Xiang is injured, he has his team of doctors and coaches. They'll surely handle these matters. Maybe he'll win the championship at the next Olympics."

"That's true."

Father Zhao nodded: "He's still very capable. It's just that injuries are troubling him now, forcing him to withdraw. Next time, he'll definitely succeed!"

"Yes, yes, you're right." Zhao Fusheng quickly nodded.

No matter what kind of trouble Liu Xiang would stir up at the London Olympics four years later, the priority was to pacify his father for now.

As for what would happen four years later, who knew?

Besides, even if Liu Xiang withdrew again, Zhao Fusheng would still find a way to comfort his father.

He just hoped that Liu Xiang wouldn't repeat the same mistake and disappoint those who supported him.