After sending back all the journalists, Zhongyi Xu breathed a sigh of relief. Finally the crisis was defused. He took out his phone and noticed that there were several unanswered calls.

It was Donglai Huo calling. I didn't tell the national team anything about this press conference, Huo must have been worrying about this. Coach Xu smiled. He dialed the caller.

He only had to wait two seconds for someone to pick up. Huo immediately answered the phone. Apparently he had been waiting beside his phone the entire time.

"Xu, it took forever to hear back from you! Why did you hold this conference all of a sudden? That was a surprise!" Huo complained.

"You know, it was sudden for me, too. Who could predict that this would happen? I was unprepared and had no choice. The only thing I could do was hold this briefing to clarify everything." Xu paused, then continued, "The reason why I didn't warn you before was because I didn't want to cause more trouble and make the situation even worse. I was busy enough dealing with the scoop."

Huo understood Xu's reasoning. He was indicating that there was someone who had done harm to Feifei Yu secretly.

"Xu, I will investigate the whole thing and find out where the problem came from." Huo sighed, then continued, "You have no idea what happened today. It was quite risky. The leaders.h.i.+p in the swimming center were discussing just a few seconds ago whether they should ask Feifei Yu to leave the national team for this excuse."

"What? Are you going to fire Feifei?" Xu became serious.

"Don't yell at me, I did nothing. There were some people arguing that because Feifei hasn't done well recently, she shouldn't take up more training resources." Huo lowered his voice. "You know people in this department always hold different views than others. They only care about their own benefits. You used to teach on the national training team. You know how it goes."

Xu gave snorted in contempt. He asked, "Then what is your final result? Are you going to fire Feifei?"

"Of course not," Huo said. "But your press conference was held just in time. Seeing that she has lost more than 15 pounds, Director Hongjun Zhuge from the swimming center has instructed that Feifei will go to Australia for training in March with the other national teammates. So don't you worry about her, just let her return to the national team as soon as possible after the Spring Festival."

After ending the conversation with Huo, Coach Xu surprisingly found out that his forehead was sweating. Coach Xu knew what "training resources" meant to professional athletes on the national team, especially to those who were already at the top. If they didn't make the best use of training resources, or they didn't have access to resources, they would gradually be eliminated. Even though they were offered the best, they could only maintain their current condition. They were never allowed to be lazy.

I never thought that things would turn out this way. Luckily the press conference was held in time. Actually, no. I should thank Feifei for her timely weight loss. If it wasn't for Dai Li's slimming exercise, Feifei would have been fired, and her career would be destroyed. I misunderstood Li.

Qian Liu peeled an apple and gave it to her husband, Coach Xu. Xu looked unhappy.

"Why are you unhappy? Haven't Feifei's problems been solved?" Liu asked her husband.

"I did something wrong. I mistook Dai Li for a fraud," Coach Xu answered.

"Dai Li?" Liu recalled. "Was he the coach who helped Feifei lose weight?"

"He was. I embarra.s.sed him by scolding him to his face the first time we met. Now thinking back, I feel ashamed." Xu took a big bite of the apple.

"Then why don't you apologize to him?" Liu said as she began peeling another apple. "Are you worried about embarra.s.sing yourself?"

Coach Xu shook his head. "This has nothing to do with that. You have no idea how serious it was. Feifei was about to be fired."

He told Liu everything. Liu was astonished after hearing the whole story. "How could the situation be that serious? You are lucky to have met Dai Li, you owe him a lot. You really should go thank him."

"Li helped us so much, I would thank him for sure. But I'm now worrying about something else. Do you think Feifei will gain weight in the future?" Coach Xu asked.

"Feifei is a teenager, it would be normal if she gained weight again," Liu answered honestly.

"If she gained weight in the future, we would need Dai Li again, right?" asked Coach Xu.

"Yes," Liu nodded with agreement. But she didn't understand Xu's point. "What are you trying to say?"

"I want to recruit Li," Coach Xu said. "I think Li is a man with capacity. He will not want to stay in the Sport University forever. I want to recruit him to our team. In the case that Feifei needs further a.s.sistance, he could help her right when she needs it."

"That sounds good. But it won't be easy. The treatment towards contract workers on our national Sport team is not as good as what they have in the university. If he wanted to be formally employed, we would have to follow "talent introduction" procedures. It will be difficult," said Liu.

"You are right. Networking is going to be very important." Coach Xu sighed. " I hope my name still means something."

Liu smiled coyly and said, "Did you mention that Coach Li helped Feifei lose weight simply by using a slimming exercise? What kind of exercise could be that effective? Would you mind teaching me, too? I also want to lose weight!"

"Slimming exercise? I do not think it's the exercise that helped the situation. You know what? This afternoon I practiced several times under Feifei's guidance, but I didn't lose any weight at all!" Coach Xu shook his head. "I say that the exercise is only a disguise. Li must have some secret skills. Everybody has secrets, and if he doesn't want to tell me I won't force him to give it away. No matter what he does, as long as he does no harm to Feifei, I will allow him to keep doing so."

Coach Xu booked a room in the dining hall in the sports team training center to treat Dai Li.

"Li, my little brother, I never thought that your broadcasting gymnastics—I mean, slimming exercise, would be that effective. I failed to see such greatness in a person like you. I apologize." Coach Xu raised his gla.s.s and drank up.

After drinking several cups of wine, Coach Xu turned into another person. He kept calling Dai Li his "little brother," even though he was old enough to be Li's father, which made Li a little embarra.s.sed. Dai Li could tell that Coach Xu was a good man. He was straightforward, especially when he was drinking.

Coach Xu said, " My little brother, I owe you so much. Next time, if you need me, feel free to tell me. If I can help, I will try my best. That's not fanfare, I mean what I say..."

"Alright, alright, Coach Xu, stop there, you are about to be drunk." Feifei Yu turned to Dai Li. "Brother Li, don't believe him. He always brags once he gets drunk."

"I'm not bragging! And I'm not drunk! I can't guarantee elsewhere, but in Qingcheng City, I have some connections!" Coach Xu looked at Li, rolled his eyes, then suddenly asked Li, "I say, brother, are you still a contract worker in the sports university?"

"Yes, I came here last September. I have been working here less than a year. If I had a chance in the future, I would try to get some type of organized personnel," said Li.

"Coach Xu, would it be possible for you to solve his problem?" asked Feifei Yu.

"I can't help if it's the sports university's organized personnel." Xu paused with a smile, then continued, "But if it's our provincial sport team's personnel, I could try. My brother, would you like to come to our team?"

"Coach Xu, are you talking about being an official employee for the provincial sport team?" Dai Li asked Xu looking for confirmation.

"Yes. But I can't guarantee that right now. I'm saying that there are some possibilities." Coach Xu picked at some food and said, "I recall that your major is athletic training, which fits our requirement. You also have working experience in the sports university. You can ask Coach Chen to write you a recommendation letter, and I will recommend you myself. Then it would be possible for you to be recruited."

"Really? Thank you so much, Coach Xu! Here's a toast to you!" Li immediately raised his gla.s.s.

If he could coach on the provincial sport team, even if it was a contract position, Li would not refuse it. Although working for the sports team meant more work, less salary, and no summer or winter vacations, it also meant that he would train professional athletes, which was way better than training college students in the sports university. In this case, Li would gain more experience and upgrade faster.

This dinner held by Coach Xu was a "thank you" dinner for Dai Li, but because Xu had promised to help him find a formal organized position, which was equivalent to a secure job, Li felt grateful for Xu.