Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 618: Chapter 544: Please Don’t Disgust Me

In the treatment room, Zhao Ruirui leaned against the wall, letting Chen Yu massage her right leg.

She was holding a notebook, scribbling away with a RUSTLE.

"How’s your novel coming along? Can I take a look?" Chen Yu asked casually.

He had only just learned that Zhao Ruirui enjoyed writing in her spare time outside of training.

Zhao Ruirui quickly covered her notebook, shook her head shyly, and explained, "It’s not any good. I’m just messing around."

Chen Yu had only asked offhandedly. Seeing that Zhao Ruirui didn’t want to share, he didn’t press the matter.

’Probably just one of those little love stories young girls write.’

"By the way, Dr. Chen, I never asked... how is my treatment being paid for?" Zhao Ruirui asked cautiously.

For the past few days, she had come to see Chen Yu for treatment almost every day, but the topic of payment had never come up.

At first, she assumed the National Team was paying for it, and she also thought a simple massage wouldn’t be too expensive. But yesterday, she happened to overhear someone in the Olympic Village talking about how expensive Chen Yu’s treatments were. A quick search of the news reports shocked her; she had no idea his services cost so much.

For instance, a single consultation and physical therapy massage could cost several thousand US dollars.

That was tens of thousands of yuan.

And she had been coming for several days straight. Didn’t that mean she had already racked up a bill of one or two hundred thousand yuan?

How much did she even earn in a year?

Even though she was famous now and had commercial endorsements, she still had to split the profits with the National Team, ultimately only keeping thirty percent for herself.

The few hundred thousand yuan she earned in a year probably wasn’t even enough to cover Chen Yu’s massages, let alone surgery or further treatment.

"Our health insurance probably doesn’t cover this, does it?" Zhao Ruirui asked timidly, not daring to look Chen Yu in the eye.

Chen Yu’s hands didn’t stop as he said casually, "Don’t worry, you don’t have to pay for it. I’ll make sure your National Team foots the bill."

Naturally, the National Team would be billed for all treatment costs.

And given Chen Yu’s status and reputation, they wouldn’t dare try to skip out on the bill.

But for this very reason, the men’s basketball team, which had initially planned to have him do some physical therapy to help their veterans maintain their condition before the Olympics began, got cold feet after learning the price and didn’t dare to come.

It was only then that everyone understood just how many resources and how much effort Chen Yu had poured into Liu Xiang.

Zhao Ruirui let out a soft "Oh," the heavy weight in her heart finally lifted.

Before long, the treatment was over.

Tomorrow was their first match against the United States Team. Chen Yu had already told Chen Zhonghe not to let Zhao Ruirui play. She was to rest until the 16th and play in the match against Dominique.

A couple of extra days of rest would do her good.

"Dr. Chen, thank you. I’ll be going now." Zhao Ruirui said her thanks, then hesitated for a moment before asking, "Are you going to the opening ceremony tonight?"

"Of course. I’ll be looking down from above, so I should be able to see you."

Since Chen Yu was in Athens, how could he possibly miss the opening ceremony?

Zhao Ruirui paused for a second before it dawned on her that Chen Yu would surely be sitting in the VIP section.

"Olympics, welcome back to Greece."

Chen Yu actually thought this year’s Olympic slogan was fantastic.

And for this Olympic Games, Greece had pulled out all the stops, wanting to prove themselves to the world.

After all, back in ’96, at the critical juncture of the Centennial Olympics, the hosting rights had been snatched away by the United States with a simple phrase: "We respect the choice of the International Olympic Committee." The Greeks had probably been holding that grudge ever since.

So for this Olympic Games, Greece was truly sparing no effort; one could even say they were mobilizing the entire nation.

Chen Yu had even heard Zascalaki, the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, complain in private that the expenses were enormous. The original budget was 7 billion US dollars, but it had ended up more than doubling to 15 billion US dollars.

The crucial part was that all this money was borrowed.

Chen Yu was a little stunned after hearing that number.

’So reckless with money. Don’t they know that hosting the Olympics is always a losing venture?’

A little after seven in the evening, Chen Yu arrived at the Olympic Stadium and was guided by staff through a special passageway to the VIP section.

One benefit of Chen Yu spending over a year with FIFA was that he got to know a lot of people.

People from various countries’ sports departments, Football Associations, and Olympic Committees, as well as various international sports organizations... After arriving at the VIP section, he scanned the crowd and was surprised to recognize half the people there.

As for the other half, they would take the initiative to come and chat with him upon seeing him.

While he was chatting, a middle-aged man with a side-parted hairstyle squeezed in front of Chen Yu, shook his hand, and then introduced himself with a broad smile.

Li Zhaosheng, from South Korea.

Chen Yu subtly pulled his hand back, didn’t even crack a smile, and turned to leave.

The man didn’t give up. He hurried after him, saying, "Mr. Chen, we heard that the Chinese Football Association and Basketball Association are working with you on the commercial reform of their leagues. As it happens, we have similar ideas and would like to cooperate with you. Rest assured, our terms will be much more generous."

Chen Yu stopped.

Li Zhaosheng’s eyes lit up, thinking Chen Yu had been swayed by his "much more generous terms."

"Mr. Li, is it?"

Only then did Chen Yu properly look Li Zhaosheng over. Then he said, "Today is a good day. So please don’t come here and disgust me, ruining my good mood."

With that, Chen Yu walked straight past him, leaving Li Zhaosheng whose expression changed dramatically, his face gradually turning ashen and grim.

He had been insulted to his face!

Chen Yu couldn’t care less what Li Zhaosheng was thinking. Every time he remembered what happened during the ’02 World Cup, he just felt disgusted.

Sitting in the VIP section, Chen Yu watched the entire opening ceremony.

The result of being willing to spend money was that this opening ceremony was truly spectacular. The fourth act, the ’Wheel of History’, in particular, momentarily gave Chen Yu the illusion of being back in college, flipping through a world history textbook for an elective course.

When the double helix rose and the segment ended, Chen Yu couldn’t help but applaud along with the crowd.

It was from the heart.

In terms of the opening ceremony alone, while it might not have completely surpassed all previous Olympics, it had clearly set a new high bar.

As he was clapping, his phone vibrated.

He pulled it out and saw it was a text message from Steve Nash.

Steve Nash, the All-Star point guard, had finally made his decision and was landing in Portland.

Since the market opened last month, Nash was the only big-name free agent who had been dragging his feet without committing to a team.

Chen Yu was very clear on the details of the process.

As early as mid-season, the Mavericks had wanted to extend Nash’s contract ahead of time.

They had offered a multi-year contract with a 12 percent salary increase.

But the problem was, Nash’s salary the previous year was just over 5 million. Even with a 50 percent raise, how much would that really be?

That offer naturally went nowhere.

Then, during the off-season, reporters revealed that the Mavericks’ management had only offered Nash a 3+1, four-year contract.

The amount was around 40 million over four years.

Nash still wasn’t satisfied. He wanted a longer contract—five or six years.

But the Mavericks were reluctant, because Nash was already over 30 this year. Such a long contract could very well end up being a bust.

Most importantly, Nash actually wanted to stay with the Mavericks.

But wants were one thing; money was also important.

So, at this very moment, Paul Allen, the NBA’s number one big spender, entered the scene. To win Nash over, he directly threw a six-year, 81 million dollar max contract at him.

The starting salary was 10.5 million, with a 10 percent annual increase.

The main message was that money was no object.

Considering Nash was already 31, he could play out this contract and retire on the spot.

The temptation was undeniably huge.

Moreover, the Pioneer’s lobbying team kept repeating one thing: with the Mavericks, you’ll always be Nowitzki’s little brother, but in Portland, it’s different. You’ll be the core of the team, the true leader.

In any case, whether it was because of the money or some other reason, after dragging it out for so long, Nash finally chose to leave.

He probably figured that since his children were about to be born—twins, no less—and since it would be hard to win a championship with either the Mavericks or the Pioneer, he might as well go to the Pioneer and earn some milk money for the kids.

The Mavericks naturally couldn’t offer that kind of contract and could only watch Nash leave.

Chen Yu texted back, "Congratulations."

The Pioneer, that young army, finally had a commanding general to lead them.

Chen Yu was really looking forward to seeing what kind of results the Pioneer could achieve next season under Nash’s leadership, running D’Antoni’s Run-TMC offense.

The grand opening ceremony ended, and the Olympic Games officially began.

Both the 110-meter hurdles and Bolt’s men’s 200-meter race weren’t scheduled to start until the 24th.

The next day, being in Athens, Chen Yu inevitably went around to watch various events.

At ten o’clock that morning, Chen Yu rushed to the aquatic center to watch Phelps’s race.

His event for the day was the men’s 400-meter individual medley.

Before the race, Phelps had actually sent Chen Yu a text asking if he had time to come watch him compete in person.

Chen Yu said he did.

Also, Chen Yu’s credentials were of the highest level, giving him unrestricted access to all venues, even the athletes’ preparation areas.

But thinking that Phelps was busy preparing, Chen Yu didn’t plan to disturb him and found himself a seat by the side of the pool.

The first preliminary heat starting at 10 AM was the men’s 400-meter individual medley.

Chen Yu spotted the uniquely-built Phelps at a glance.

These past few days, he had been following doctor’s orders, taking three hours for recreation every day. According to Bowman, Phelps’s mood had improved a lot.

He also heard that Phelps had been getting close to a female swimmer named Klochkova.

Of course, it was only an improvement. Chen Yu wasn’t actually sure if his psychological problems could be completely resolved in the end.

Fortunately, his self-control was incredibly strong, so there was no need to worry about it affecting his performance for the time being.

Even if there was an effect, it would only be a positive one.

Amidst the cheers of the American spectators in the stands, Phelps, standing before the pool, waved in response. His gaze swept across the stands, and he recognized Chen Yu at once.

His eyes lit up, and he immediately waved in Chen Yu’s direction.

Bowman didn’t know, but he himself knew very well that the three hours of daily recreation had genuinely improved his mood a great deal.

A good mood also brought back his passion for competition.

Cracking his neck, Phelps stepped onto the starting block.

At the sound of the tone, Phelps dove into the pool like a torpedo.

This was the first time Chen Yu had ever seen Phelps swim.

It was a stunning sight.

Over the past few days, Chen Yu had spent a lot of time with Phelps, helping him adjust his physical condition, so it was fair to say he was very familiar with Phelps’s physical gifts.

Not to mention his unique body proportions, his large feet were also extraordinary. The tops of his feet could bend more than a normal person’s; he had even shown Chen Yu the trick of bending his instep and touching his shins with his toes.

Long-term training and natural talent had also given him an astonishing lung capacity of 15,000 ml.

The lactic acid index Bowman had mentioned was also real, which gave him incredible endurance.

You could say he was born to swim.

From the moment he hit the water, Phelps maintained the lead.

With a time of 4:13.29, Phelps climbed out of the pool looking like he hadn’t even exerted much effort, easily advancing to the finals.

And at 7:30 that evening, in the same place, during the men’s 400-meter medley final, Phelps took a commanding lead from the start, finishing with a time of 4:08.26—more than 3 seconds ahead of second place—to easily claim the gold medal and break the world record.

On the very first day of the Olympics, the kid had already won a gold medal.

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