Chapter 26: Recommending Jiang Hong to the Provincial Team!

"I'm exhausted. I had no idea the club president was so heavy!" Li Hua grumbled, rubbing his arms with his fists.

Jiang Hong glanced at him and teased, "Hua, if you spent two hours a day running, you wouldn't be this weak!"

Li Hua bristled at the remark. "Slander! Naked slander! I'm as solid as a rock!"

They finally reached the dormitory door. As soon as he pushed it open, a loud *bang* echoed through the room.

"Pop!"

Jiang Hong watched the confetti from the party popper settle on his clothes, his mouth twitching. The next second, the other two roommates swarmed him.

"Old Jiang, what a surprise, right?"
"We heard you won the championship! Let me touch the trophy!"

Jiang Hong looked at them, puzzled. They weren't even in the tennis club; how did they know he had won? He turned his gaze toward the chubby guy behind him. Li Hua gave a sheepish grin and explained, "You brought honor to Room 403, so we had to celebrate!"

*As expected of this loudmouth,* Jiang Hong thought.

"I don't have the trophy on me," Jiang Hong said, seeing the two of them eager to get their hands on it.

"Huh?" They looked confused.

Jiang Hong explained that since the champion's name had to be engraved on the trophy, he didn't even know where it ended up. After the match, it had been sent to an advertising agency for the engraving.

"Ah? That’s no fun! We were hoping to see it!" They both looked disappointed.

"By the way, Old Jiang, now that the tournament is over, can you join us for group activities again? It’s been ages since we gamed together!"
"Exactly! Let's celebrate your win by pulling an all-nighter!"

Jiang Hong declined with a smile. "I'll pass. I played five matches in two days; I’m exhausted and need some rest."

They didn't push him further. "Hua, log in!"
"Coming!"

In his previous life, Jiang Hong used to hit the internet cafes right after work. But as job pressure mounted, his game library grew, yet he found less and less time to open it. With a sigh, he climbed into bed.

The system had already notified him that his task was complete after the match, but he hadn't had the chance to claim the reward.

"Panel."
"Claim reward."

Jiang Hong whispered in his mind, and the system's voice chimed in his ears.

[Ding! Host has completed the suggestion. Based on the match difficulty, evaluated at two stars, the host receives the following rewards: An 8-language proficiency pack and immunity to athletic stimulants (limited to sports doping immunity; therapeutic effects remain unaffected).]

Jiang Hong's eyes lit up. While these didn't directly boost his tennis skills, they were incredibly useful. Tennis was a global sport, and athletes traveled constantly; winners were expected to give interviews. With his current English level, he doubted he could even understand the reporters.

He looked through the language pack: it covered English, German, French, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish, enough to bring him to a level of fluent communication and writing.

The second reward was even more critical. Immunity to stimulants meant he was immune to both their effects and their detection. Top-tier athletes were subject to rigorous testing, especially Chinese athletes like him. Take the sprinter Usain Bolt, for example—he was tested over 200 times in a single year, sometimes nearly every two days, even being woken up in the middle of the night. It was one of the reasons he eventually retired. Before Jiang Hong had transmigrated, several top-ranked tennis stars had been embroiled in doping scandals, whether due to accidental contamination or intentional use, causing massive damage to their reputations. Athletes often couldn't even eat out for fear of tainted meat. Most importantly, many stimulants were actually common medical drugs. The system had thoughtfully provided a patch for that.

Jiang Hong nodded in satisfaction. "Looks like I won't have to live on bland food anymore."

***

"Hey, what's so great about a runner-up trophy?" Lin Yu sneered at Wang Cheng.

Wang Cheng glanced at him. "It's still better than someone who didn't even make the semifinals."

Lin Yu flushed instantly. For an amateur tournament, failing to reach the final four was embarrassing. "I only missed the semis because I ran into Jiang Hong early! If it were you, you wouldn't have made it either!"

Wang Cheng chuckled at Lin Yu's defensiveness. "Alright, let's get back to the team, or the coach is going to lose his mind."

"He's going to lose his mind regardless when he sees our results," Lin Yu muttered.

They returned to the team soon after.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Be natural when you swing! Are your arms broken, or are they just that stiff?" Coach Li was already shouting at the new recruits.

Wang Cheng and Lin Yu exchanged a look. *What’s done is done.*

They lowered their heads and walked up to the coach.

"Coach, we're back."

Coach Li glanced at them. "Go train. Do you want me to applaud you for playing in an amateur tournament?"

He knew about their match. Lin Yu braced himself and said, "Coach, we lost."

"Hmm!" The coach nodded reflexively, then his eyes widened as he turned around. "What? You lost?"

Wang Cheng nodded. "That's right."

Coach Li exploded, entering full-rage mode. "I tell you to practice, but you're always looking to slack off! Now you've been beaten by some amateur? You should be ashamed!"

Spittle flew, but neither dared to speak. After a while, the coach seemed to run out of steam. "You've clearly gotten too complacent. Starting tomorrow, we're increasing the training load. Five kilometers to start, get your stamina back!"

Normally, there was no training after a tournament, but the poor performance changed that. Lin Yu headed off to run, but Wang Cheng lingered, his expression hardening.

"Coach, I have something to tell you."
"What is it?" the coach's voice was cold.
"I'd like to recommend someone to you."
"The one who beat you and Lin Yu?" Coach Li had already guessed it.
"Yes! Jiang Hong is truly incredible. Neither Lin Yu nor I were his match."
"How old is he?"
"Seventeen, almost eighteen. He has incredible talent!"
"No. He's too old," Coach Li rejected him immediately. "And what do you know about talent? If he were that talented, he'd be playing professionally by now. You two were just weak, that’s all!" He snorted.

"Coach..." Wang Cheng tried to argue, but he was cut off.

"Enough. Get to training. Who's the coach here, you or me?"

Seeing the coach's dark expression, Wang Cheng didn't dare say more and went to run his laps. In the provincial team, the coach held their futures in his hands.

Coach Li had his reasons for not accepting Jiang Hong. If he were that good at his age, he would have been scouted already; his potential was clearly limited. Tennis was a niche sport with few resources, yet it was expensive to maintain. Taking in an outsider would only drain resources from his own pupils. With no chance at the Olympics or the National Games, why let an outsider take a spot? He wouldn't prioritize an outsider over his own students. Besides, he wasn't even sure of the boy's skill; he might have just gotten lucky. Why do something with no benefit and all risk?