Chapter 6: Duan Yucheng's First Feelings

 

"Nothing much, just asking."

Luo Na tilted her head to look at Duan Yucheng. The thinking of young people these days was truly unfathomable.

"His 100-meter time... let me think..."

Luo Na looked up at the sky, recalling that Wu Ze's 100-meter record should have been set in his last race before retirement.

"I remember now—10.27 seconds."

Duan Yucheng's eyes widened.

"Electronic timing?!"

"Yes."

"..."

Seeing Duan Yucheng's expression, Luo Na laughed. "What's wrong? Doesn't look like it? Coach Wu is very strong." Without real skill, how could he have been recruited as a coach at A University with that bad temper?

Duan Yucheng's best 100-meter time was 11.3 seconds—almost a full second slower than Wu Ze.

What does a second mean in a 100-meter race?

In 1912, American Lippincott set a 10.6-second record.

In 2009, Jamaican Bolt broke the record at 9.58 seconds.

One second. Ninety-seven years.

Duan Yucheng snorted twice, pouting as he looked aside.

"Alright, class is starting." Luo Na had everyone form two rows and run a lap around the field to warm up. She pointed at Duan Yucheng. "You lead the way."

Duan Yucheng started leading the class, but before they'd even gone 200 meters, some students couldn't keep up. The first to let out a desperate wail was Jia Shili, who had enrolled in the track and field class with Shi Yin. Jia Shili was about the same height as Duan Yucheng but weighed twice as much. The short 200 meters had already left him drenched in sweat.

"Duan! Can't you at least consider the average level of everyone else?!"

Duan Yucheng was still thinking about that 10.27-second goal when he heard the voice and turned around. Jia Shili's body was covered in fat, and the whole line had contorted behind him. He quickly apologized. "Sorry, I didn't notice." He thought he was already running slowly enough.

After one lap, Jia Shili collapsed to the ground, covered in cold sweat, looking utterly spent.

Duan Yucheng's breathing had barely changed. He went over and supported Jia Shili's shoulder, worriedly asking, "Are you alright? It's only 400 meters. How did you get like this?"

Jia Shili weakly replied, "I can't go on. I'm afraid I'm going to die here today. Cheng, I still have some leftover jerky in my room..."

Duan Yucheng asked, "Is it for me?"

Jia Shili glared at him. "Of course not!"

Duan Yucheng let go, and Jia Shili collapsed back to the ground like a deflated ball. Shi Yin clapped and laughed behind them. Jia Shili squinted his narrow eyes and said to her, "Goddess, you can have all my jerky."

Shi Yin said, "You should keep it for yourself."

Perhaps the overall atmosphere was too tragic. Luo Na took pity on them and said, "Go sit in the shade and rest for a while."

The students rushed into the stands and sat down one after another.

Luo Na chatted with them.

"What do you know about track and field? Which event do you like the most?"

"I like the 100 meters!" a boy said.

"Yes, yes, the 100 meters, and the relays!"

"The 200 meters is pretty exciting too."

"And the 110-meter hurdles!"

Luo Na nodded. "It seems like most people like sprints. Are there any field event fans?"

Little Duan raised his hand. "Here."

Luo Na said, "Okay, then let me tell you about our class. Overall, it's relatively easy and simple. We don't have a set teaching plan. Whatever you want to learn, whatever you're interested in, I'll teach that first. The minority follows the majority, so you can discuss it."

Jia Shili asked, "Which event is the easiest?"

Luo Na said, "Eating dried meat is the easiest."

Everyone laughed.

Shi Yin quietly approached Duan Yucheng and said, "You like high jump, right? Do you want to choose high jump?"

Duan Yucheng didn't speak, and Jia Shili, who was eavesdropping, shuddered.

"High jump? You might as well make me jump off a building!"

Shi Yin punched him hard. Duan Yucheng laughed. "You want to choose high jump? Do you dare to do a Fosbury Flop?"

Shi Yin said, "Of course I dare. What's there to be afraid of?"

Jia Shili said, "Miss Shi, please consider the objective conditions before you speak. Fosbury Flop? Are you going to do it with your mouth?"

Shi Yin angrily said, "Why are you everywhere! Go away! You're so annoying!"

Duan Yucheng said, "Forget it, don't choose high jump—it's hard to learn. Let's do sprinting instead." As he spoke, his eyes involuntarily drifted into the distance. The weather was hot, and Luo Na had finished the mineral water Wu Ze had bought for her before class and was buying a new one from the vending machine outside the stadium. Duan Yucheng said thoughtfully, "How about we practice the 100 meters?"

Two minutes later, Luo Na returned yawning.

"Have you come to a decision?"

Everyone answered in unison.

"Sprinting!"

"Okay, let's start with sprinting." Luo Na looked up at the sky. "It's too hot today, so let's talk about theory first."

Jia Shili smiled with satisfaction, like a Buddha, when he heard that today was just a theory class.

Luo Na asked, "The 100-meter sprint has always been the most watched event in track and field. Does anyone know what the current 100-meter record is?"

This kind of basic trivia was no challenge for the top students in the School of Economics and Management. One boy answered quickly. "9.58 seconds! It was set by Bolt in Berlin in 2009!"

Luo Na said, "That's right. The 100-meter record has gone through three eras: 11 seconds, 10 seconds, and 9 seconds. Now, Chinese sprinting is improving rapidly, and some athletes can run under 10 seconds, but compared with the world's top level, there's still a long way to go."

Luo Na briefly gave an overview of sprinting's development and some important competitions, then moved on to the specific teaching phase.

"A sprint can be divided into five parts: the start, acceleration after the start, the middle section, the curve section, and the finish line. Let's start by understanding the start." She finished speaking and glanced at Duan Yucheng, who was sitting at the very edge. With a single look, Duan Yucheng immediately understood and stepped forward.

Luo Na pulled a key from her pocket and tossed it to him.

"Get a starting block."

Duan Yucheng ran to the equipment room.

Jia Shili clicked his tongue twice and whispered to Shi Yin, "Athletes are so efficient. Look how obedient he is."

Shi Yin pouted and secretly glanced at Luo Na.

When women look at each other, there's always a hint of comparison. Shi Yin considered herself to be in excellent shape; her features were more refined than Luo Na's, but her figure was still somewhat inferior. Luo Na was very tall, with long legs, a shapely figure, an upright posture, and bright eyes. She looked different from the other girls on campus—completely unpretentious, wearing only a plain T-shirt, without makeup, and walking with strides larger than the boys'.

Yet this woman, who should have been carefree, had a captivating charm the longer you looked at her. This was thanks to her beautiful hair. Luo Na's hair was long, thick, and voluminous, shimmering with a light brown sheen in the sunlight. Casually curled and tied up, it exuded a relaxed and languid beauty.

Luo Na had a friendly demeanor, but being a former athlete, her eyes still held a direct and sharp edge. Overall, she was a very beautiful woman, and she looked mature—completely different from students who had just entered university.

Duan Yucheng quickly returned with the starting blocks. Luo Na casually pointed, and Duan Yucheng bent down to set them up.

"In the 100-meter event, the start is crucial, especially for Asian athletes who tend to be weaker in the later stages," Luo Na said.

After preparing, Duan Yucheng consciously went to the starting blocks and began demonstrating the movements as Luo Na explained.

"The purpose of the start is to quickly move out of a stationary state, creating conditions for subsequent acceleration. The starting motion has evolved significantly, and now the crouch start is basically used worldwide. This starting motion shortens the distance the center of gravity moves, which is very beneficial in the 100-meter race."

Luo Na glanced at Duan Yucheng, who crouched down, stretched slightly, and assumed a standard starting posture.

Luo Na continued, "Once you're ready on the track, when you hear the referee's 'Ready' command—"

She paused. Duan Yucheng took a deep breath, raised his hips, shifted his center of gravity upward, and smoothly propelled himself forward.

The students below opened their mouths slightly, unconsciously drawn to this movement.

More than a hundred years have passed since American track and field athlete Thomas Burke won the 100-meter championship at the 1896 Athens Olympics with a near-crouch start. Through the tireless efforts of countless athletes, coaches, and researchers, this starting posture is now like a meticulously crafted work of art—both solid and beautiful.

For many students sitting below, this was the first time they had seen such a professional starting motion up close, a completely different experience from watching it on television. They could clearly see Duan Yucheng's muscle definition, his veins, his hair, even his neatly trimmed nails and the beads of sweat sliding down his cheeks.

Several of Duan Yucheng's classmates even gently covered their mouths.

They knew from the beginning that Duan Yucheng was a handsome young man, but his presence on the track was completely different from that in the classroom. Only here could they truly feel that Duan Yucheng's body had been honed—not just through running, playing ball, or going to the gym, but sculpted through relentless, sun-and-rain training.

Luo Na squatted down beside Duan Yucheng, pointing to his legs and explaining. "Generally speaking, in the starting position, the best starting effect is achieved when the front knee angle is between 92° and 105° and the rear knee angle is between 115° and 138°. Depending on individual ability, everyone's starting reaction time varies greatly. Excellent athletes typically have a starting reaction time between 0.1 and 0.18 seconds."

Luo Na stood up, clapped her hands casually, and Duan Yucheng instantly sprinted forward, running about ten meters before slowly stopping.

Everyone exclaimed and burst into applause.

Luo Na tilted her head at Duan Yucheng. "Go back."

Duan Yucheng rejoined the team, and this time even Jia Shili, who had no interest in sports, was infected. He moved next to him and said excitedly, "Damn, bro, you're so cool! That move is just as powerful as singing love songs while holding a guitar."

Shi Yin said disdainfully, "Could you be any more cheesy?"

Duan Yucheng wiped his sweat, and Shi Yin said, "I used to see athletes start like that on TV, and I always thought they would just fall to the ground."

Duan Yucheng said, "No, if you fall, it's because you're using the wrong way to generate force."

Shi Yin said, "Can you teach me?"

Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Jia Shili immediately raised his hand.

"Me too! I want to learn too!"

Shi Yin glared at him, and Duan Yucheng said, "Sure, but I'm not a sprinter. If you really need someone, I can help you find one."

Jia Shili said, "No, no, no! Your skills are enough!"

---

After class, Duan Yucheng didn't leave immediately but stayed to help Luo Na clean the equipment room.

Luo Na swept the floor while Duan Yucheng wiped down all the equipment with a rag. Afterward, the two sat on a mat to rest. Suddenly, Duan Yucheng remembered something and said, "Wait for me." He dashed outside to the vending machine and bought two bottles of mineral water. Standing at the equipment room door, he called to Luo Na, "Don't move, don't move!"

Luo Na asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Duan Yucheng tossed the water bottles, which Luo Na caught steadily. Duan Yucheng grinned.

Luo Na was confused.

"What's wrong with you? Are you crazy?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Duan Yucheng sat down next to her. Luo Na laughed. "Generation gap. I can't understand the world of young people anymore."

Duan Yucheng asked, "How old are you, Sister?"

Luo Na corrected him. "I'm a coach."

"How old are you, Coach?"

"Eighteen."

"..."

Luo Na finished her water, screwed on the cap, and said, "Let's go back."

Duan Yucheng jumped off the mat and followed behind Luo Na. As Luo Na locked the door, some dust fell in. Duan Yucheng blinked, feeling a little itchy, and started rubbing his eyes.

"Dust got in?" Luo Na put away her keys and swatted Duan Yucheng's hand away. "Don't move. Squat down a little."

"Will you help me?" Duan Yucheng bent down slightly and whispered, "Then be gentle."

Luo Na said, "I'll definitely be gentle."

The sun was shining brightly, the sky was perfect, and just as Duan Yucheng was squinting, waiting for Luo Na's gentle treatment, he suddenly felt a cool sensation on his head. Luo Na had unscrewed a mineral water bottle and poured it over his face.

"Ouch!" Duan Yucheng yelled, shaking his head wildly like a puppy, and when he looked up again, his eyes were inexplicably fine.

The culprit had already run far away, and Luo Na was laughing so hard she was bent over on the campus path.

Duan Yucheng, his face dripping wet, yelled at her, "Hey—!"

She waved her hand and called out from afar, "Go back! It's too hot today, don't run!" Then she laughed and left.

The trees lining the road were a delicate, gentle green, with sunlight filtering lightly through them. Duan Yucheng stood there, watching Luo Na walk away, her footsteps echoing in the dappled shadows. Once she was completely out of sight, Duan Yucheng scratched his head vigorously and squatted down on the spot.

Water droplets clung to his face, falling one by one onto the scorching asphalt. Each drop sounded like a woman's laughter.

Duan Yucheng felt his ears burning.

Something was wrong. It shouldn't be this hot. He should be able to handle this temperature.

The sun overhead was almost blindingly bright, and cicadas were frantically flapping their wings as if having a seizure.

He covered his eyes with his large hands, on the verge of tears.

"What's going on..."

The boy's voice was still immature, soft and magnetic, like a complaint but more like a pout, echoing in the quiet afternoon on campus.

Thoughts:

It marks a turning point in Duan Yucheng's relationship with his coach, Luo Na. This sports romance novel follows Duan Yucheng, a talented college athlete with an 11.3-second 100-meter personal best, as he navigates his athletic career and budding feelings for his track coach.

This chapter reveals important context: Coach Wu Ze, who appears to have a difficult personality, was actually an elite sprinter with a 10.27-second 100-meter record—putting him among China's top athletes. This revelation adds depth to Duan Yucheng's training environment and gives him a new benchmark to aspire to.

The classroom dynamics are established through Jia Shili (the comic relief character who can barely run 400 meters) and Shi Yin (who has a crush on Duan Yucheng). The contrast between Duan Yucheng's athletic prowess and his classmates' struggles highlights his dedication to the sport.