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Time flies, and it was time for He Tiantian to report to the national team.
He Tiantian encountered several familiar faces in the national team.
The Beijing Sports Bureau achieved good results this time, with several promising talents being selected by the national team.
When Xie Feifei saw He Tiantian, she immediately waved and gestured for He Tiantian to sit in a seat next to her.
The athletes' meeting is about to begin. Xie Feifei, Jiao Lihong, and Cai Fenfang don't get along, so they sit a bit far apart. But it would be too lonely for one person to sit alone, so they kept a seat for He Tiantian so the two of them could sit together.
"You're here really early," He Tiantian said with a smile. "How much longer until the meeting?"
This was He Tiantian's first time attending a meeting here, and she took it very seriously, so she came as soon as she received the notification.
“You’ve arrived just in time, a few minutes to spare,” Xie Feifei said. “Your grades are excellent; they’ll probably give you a special mention.”
"Hehe." He Tiantian smiled, "We'll work even harder in the future."
"By the way, Sister He, I remembered what you told me last time. I thought about it carefully when I got back and I think I should read more books. After I retire, I'll go to university." Xie Feifei said. She doesn't have a family background, but she can work hard, get a diploma or a professional degree, find a good job, and do well.
He Tiantian thought for a moment and said, "You'll be an adult soon, so think carefully about your future and make a decision cautiously. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me."
"Yes, thank you, Sister He." Xie Feifei was envious and grateful to He Tiantian, but she wasn't jealous of her.
Sister He's good grades are due to her talent and hard work; she can't be jealous of that. She can catch up with that kind of effort, but talent is something you're born with.
Since that's the case, instead of being jealous, it's better to admire them and befriend them.
Jiao Lihong and Cai Fenfang sat together not far away.
"Lihong, that old woman is here." Cai Fenfang nudged Jiao Lihong, who was looking towards the male team members, with her elbow, reminding her.
Old woman?
Is He Tiantian here?
Jiao Lihong turned around and, following Cai Fenfang's gaze, looked at He Tiantian.
Today, He Tiantian wore a light blue dress, white stiletto sandals, and her hair was loose, black, and smooth.
She wore a platinum necklace and a delicate diamond watch on her wrist, which sparkled along with He Tiantian's arm.
In the last competition, whenever He Tiantian and Jiao Lihong participated at the same time, He Tiantian always came in first and Jiao Lihong came in second.
This greatly annoyed Jiao Lihong.
If it weren't for He Tiantian, she would be the champion, the champion!
Her results were better than those of the 1984 Olympic champion, and she had a good chance of winning the 1988 Olympic gold medal.
But with He Tiantian around, it's like having a mountain pressing down on your head.
"She's here, so I have to go greet her," Jiao Lihong said irritably. "Don't mention that old woman in front of me again; just seeing her makes me annoyed."
Cai Fenfang smiled and said, "Okay, I won't say it anymore. But you see, she and Xie Feifei have a good relationship. Even if we don't talk about them, they might still be talking about us."
Jiao Lihong looked again and indeed saw Xie Feifei and He Tiantian whispering to each other, talking enthusiastically.
Actually, He Tiantian and Xie Feifei were talking about going to university and what major would suit Xie Feifei, but they didn't mention Jiao Lihong at all.
"Hmph!" Jiao Lihong sneered, "They're in cahoots."
“Yeah, let’s ignore them from now on and see how it goes.” Cai Fenfang laughed. “Once we get to the national team, your uncle will still be in charge. He’ll give you more resources in the future. As long as we do well, we’ll definitely be able to surpass He Tiantian.”
Jiao Lihong nodded and said, "Of course. By the way, I was assigned to Coach Wang's team. My uncle said he's the best swimming coach in the country. As for He Tiantian, well, she's still Zhu Zhitao's sidekick."
“Yes, Zhu Zhitao is incompetent and inexperienced, so He Tiantian’s grades won’t improve,” Cai Fenfang said, agreeing with this view.
Cai Fenfang was also quite happy, as she had been assigned to an experienced butterfly coach through Jiao Lihong's connections. She was very confident about future training and competitions.
Some of the older generation of athletes have already retired, while others have seen slow improvement in their performance. Therefore, Head Coach Wu plans to focus his main efforts on the new athletes.
This conference is a mobilization meeting for the new recruits.
The time has come, and everyone has gradually arrived.
Director Jiao and Head Coach Wu were both sitting on the front platform.
After that, Director Jiao gave a rather grand and abstract speech, followed by some inspiring words from Head Coach Wu to encourage everyone.
Afterwards, athletes who had participated in the Olympics were asked to share their feelings and experiences at the time.
He Tiantian completely ignored what the leaders said in the speech, not caring whether she listened or not; but she listened carefully to what the athletes said.
These are all experiences that may be helpful to her in the future.
After the veteran athletes finished speaking, a representative of the newly recruited national team members went up to give a speech.
Originally, Coach Wu wanted He Tiantian to speak on the female athletes' side, but Director Jiao decided to have Jiao Lihong speak instead.
Thinking about their relationship, Head Coach Wu felt quite relieved.
As long as it doesn't affect training and matches, Head Coach Wu turns a blind eye to such favoritism.
After all, he was only responsible for training; other matters were handled by Director Jiao, who coordinated with the higher-ups. If the two didn't get along, his work would be difficult to carry out.
Jiao Lihong went up to speak, and Xie Feifei was taken aback. She looked at He Tiantian, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Sister He, I'm sorry. I heard it was you before, so I didn't think about changing the person."
"Hehe, it doesn't matter. I'm past the age of liking to show off." He Tiantian laughed. "Let her go, it doesn't matter. I just like swimming, not speaking on stage. If she likes speaking on stage, I'll continue being a teacher."
"Haha." Xie Feifei nodded. "Sister He is so humorous."
On stage, Jiao Lihong was in high spirits, a little nervous, but mostly excited.
Her speech was clearly carefully prepared; she had read it several times beforehand.
However, when she inadvertently looked up at the athletes below, her eyes unconsciously drifted towards He Tiantian.
She noticed that He Tiantian wasn't looking this way, nor was she listening attentively; she seemed to be whispering to Xie Feifei with her head down.
This is disrespectful to her.
That's really too much.
Jiao Lihong was flustered and misread two sentences.
"Ahem!" Director Jiao coughed twice to remind his niece not to get distracted.
We can't waste such a great opportunity.
If I achieve good results in the future, getting a job at the sports bureau will be a natural progression. Leaving a bad impression on others will have an impact.
Jiao Lihong quickly composed herself and continued speaking.
After finishing his speech, he stood up and bowed to everyone.
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