Chapter 16: The Coach's Shock—The Top-Secret Identity Files!

In an instant, sweat began to pour down the foreheads of the two coaches who were secretly scheming something.

“Hey, coaches, if you’re not going to celebrate, what are you whispering about so secretly?” Wang Xiaoming asked.

Hearing the question, the two cautiously removed Wang Xiaoming’s hand from their shoulders.

Then they hurriedly explained, “N-nothing!”

After that, they prepared to leave, completely abandoning the idea of verifying matters with the school.

But just then, Wang Xiaoming suddenly spoke again, “You two coaches wouldn’t be thinking of calling my school, would you?”

They exchanged a glance, reading the implication in each other’s eyes.

There must be something suspicious about Wang Xiaoming! Otherwise, how could he overhear their hushed conversation?

“N-no, why would we call your school?” Xu Fan quickly denied.

Wang Xiaoming wore a look of regret. “I thought you were calling to share good news, maybe get me some extra scholarship money!”

Upon hearing this, the two coaches finally understood. Since the players in the competition didn’t have phones, Wang Xiaoming had actually come to have them report the good news for him!

With that in mind, they took out their phone and handed it to Wang Xiaoming.

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly what we wanted to do!”

This way, not only could they get the contact information of Wang Xiaoming’s school counselor, but also confirm his identity.

Immediately, they handed the phone over.

Wang Xiaoming quickly dialed his counselor’s number.

As soon as the call connected, the voice on the other end became excited upon hearing Wang Xiaoming’s voice.

“Wow, everyone, come over! Our champion Wang Xiaoming called me!”

Suddenly, with the speakerphone on, Wang Xiaoming and the others heard the noisy voices from the other side.

“Wang Xiaoming, I’m your advanced mathematics teacher, remember me?”

“Wang Xiaoming, I’m your ideological and political theory teacher!”

“I’m your college physics teacher, Wang Xiaoming…”

After a brief exchange of greetings, Wang Xiaoming handed the phone back to the two coaches.

“Coaches, please help me mention the scholarship. I’m a bit shy about bringing it up myself,” Wang Xiaoming whispered.

The two coaches understood immediately and started chatting with the counselor on the other end.

In just a few words, they conveyed Wang Xiaoming’s intentions.

The counselor on the other side laughed heartily.

“Coach, rest assured. Even if Wang Xiaoming didn’t attend the Olympics, that scholarship is his by right!”

“Oh? Seems Wang Xiaoming is quite diligent at school,” Xu Fan asked casually.

“That’s right. Wang Xiaoming is a model student here. His family isn’t well-off, but every summer he takes on part-time jobs!”

“Even on weekends at school, he works part-time!”

“We didn’t know what he was up to before, but now we know he was secretly training with the national team!”

…

After the conversation ended, Wang Xiaoming smiled at the two coaches and returned the phone.

He then busied himself tidying up his things.

At this moment, the head coach breathed a sigh of relief.

“This should be fine now. Wang Xiaoming is a good student, morally upright, hardworking, and even takes on part-time jobs to pay tuition—truly an exemplary college student!”

“It was wrong of us to doubt him so much.”

But Xu Fan shook his head.

“Wu, you forget—the call was made by him. So we can’t be sure if the person on the other end was really the counselor.”

“You...” Seeing Xu Fan’s expression, Coach Wu also shook his head.

“Old Xu, you’re just being paranoid. You see a conspiracy everywhere.”

“Someone as outstanding as Wang Xiaoming couldn’t possibly be suspicious!”

But Xu Fan persisted.

“No, it’s precisely because he’s so outstanding that I’m scared!”

“Enough, we still have a celebration to prepare tonight. Don’t cause trouble!” Coach Wu didn’t want to argue anymore.

Yet Xu Fan was relentless.

“Coach Wu, trust me one more time. Let’s verify this again!”

“Fine, fine, how do you want to verify it?” Coach Wu felt a headache coming on.

Xu Fan immediately brought out their boss’s name.

“Let’s contact the Sports Bureau directly!”

“You... Xu Fan, you were placed here by them. If I contact the Sports Bureau again, isn’t that...”

But faced with Xu Fan’s serious expression, Coach Wu could only comply.

“Alright, this time I’ll put your mind at ease for good. We don’t want your attitude making Wang Xiaoming uncomfortable—he’s our star player!”

Saying that, he picked up his phone and opened the contacts.

He found a familiar number and dialed.

“Hello, leader! Hello, this is Old Wu from the shooting team!” Coach Wu greeted politely.

He then exchanged pleasantries.

“Oh, no particular reason. Gold medals? Yes, our shooting team won five this year. Did you watch the competition?”

“That’s great! Yes, yes, all thanks to Wang Xiaoming!”

“You have to admit, leader, Wang Xiaoming is like a god descended to Earth!”

“Leader, I just don’t understand—who exactly is this Wang Xiaoming...?”

…

Soon, the call ended. Coach Wu’s face grew serious, no longer friendly as before.

“What’s wrong, Wu? What did the leader say?”

Coach Wu slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“The leader said he watched the entire shooting competition!”

“So what about Wang Xiaoming?” Xu Fan quickly asked.

Coach Wu shook his head.

“He’s definitely not an ordinary college student!”

“I know that! But is he really Wang Xiaoming?”

“Of course he is. The leader watched the whole match. If the Wang Xiaoming on TV was planted by him, do you think he wouldn’t know?”

“Then what about Wang Xiaoming’s identity?” Xu Fan sighed in relief but asked again immediately.

This time Coach Wu put a finger to his lips and shushed him.

“I don’t know. The Sports Bureau leader said he doesn’t know either!”

“The Sports Bureau leader doesn’t know? That’s impossible!” Xu Fan was obviously skeptical.

The Sports Bureau is the top authority in Chinese sports.

All matters related to sports must go through them.

Yet now, someone planted from above says they don’t know?

“Well, the leader told me not to pry too much into Wang Xiaoming’s affairs. It’s not our concern.”

“Besides, he told us to cooperate as best we can and not ask further questions!”

Xu Fan was stunned.

Who exactly is this Wang Xiaoming, that even the Sports Bureau leader says this?

But what Coach Wu said next filled him not only with shock but also a hint of fear.

“The leader said everything is arranged by those above. We’re not to ask questions!”

“Arranged by those above the Sports Bureau? Could it be...”

“The leader only hinted at one thing—top secret files.”