Chapter 166 - 163: The Way to Start a Happy Day

Chapter 166: Chapter 163: The Way to Start a Happy Day

Sometimes, what wakes you up isn’t necessarily the warm morning sun.

Instead...

It’s another kind of sun entirely.

Liu Yiyi hadn’t slept well last night. After all, a certain someone’s behavior after drinking was simply... beyond words. People could be truly contradictory sometimes. She’d get annoyed if he was too fast, but anxious if he was too slow.

This was exactly why Liu Yiyi didn’t spend extended periods with Su Yunzhou. First, she worried about his physical health. Second, she worried about her own. After all, even a plowed field needed time to recover; otherwise, organic soil wouldn’t be organic anymore.

Finally, with a high-pitched cry of pleasure, their morning workout came to an end.

Looking refreshed and energized, Su Yunzhou gazed down at the exhausted beauty curled up like a kitten. "I’ll drive you over later," he said.

"Mhm," a weak, breathy voice replied.

At 8:30 a.m.

The two of them finally headed out the door. With Su Yunzhou’s exceptional driving skills, the morning rush hour didn’t mean squat. At exactly 8:55 a.m., they arrived outside her former company’s building.

Having recovered somewhat, Liu Yiyi offered him a sweet smile. "See you later."

"Yeah!" Su Yunzhou chuckled. "See you where?"

She wondered where indeed. Looking at the increasingly bold and brazen man, Liu Yiyi shook her head helplessly and turned to leave.

Su Yunzhou also drove off, heading toward the climbing center. By the time he arrived, the other athletes had already started their training. Even from outside, the fiery intensity of their workout was audible. With the major competition rapidly approaching, the psychological pressure on the athletes was immense.

Su Yunzhou strolled inside casually. The sharp-eyed Yan Peisheng immediately walked over to greet him with a bright smile, then said something that nearly made the other athletes’ eyes pop out of their heads.

"Su! You’re here so early!

"Have you had breakfast? If not, I’ll have the kitchen whip something up."

Su Yunzhou shook his head. The morning had been too rushed; while his "little brother" had gotten its fill, his actual stomach was still running on empty.

"Come on, let’s go to my office for some tea," Yan Peisheng said. "I’ll have the kitchen bring breakfast over."

With that, the two men sauntered off toward the office. They left behind a group of athletes who were too shell-shocked to even find the words to describe their feelings.

What in the world was wrong with the famously ruthless and iron-jawed Yan Peisheng? Was he losing his mind? It was almost ten o’clock! How was that early?! And he was actually concerned about whether the guy had eaten breakfast! The athletes thought about their own treatment—if they made even the slightest mistake, they would be cursed out mercilessly. They couldn’t help but wonder why there was such a massive gap in how people were treated.

While eating breakfast, the two discussed the upcoming training schedule. Su Yunzhou listened as he ate, occasionally offering his own suggestions.

"Coach Yan, what I need right now is recovery training. I’ll just practice one of the three events each day..."

"No problem, no problem at all. I’ll arrange it right away." Knowing the young man’s true strength, Yan Peisheng naturally had no objections.

"Oh, right!" Su Yunzhou suddenly remembered. "Coach Yan, yesterday you mentioned that you wanted me to be the finale performance for the opening ceremony?"

At the mention of this, Yan Peisheng’s expression became incredibly animated. The other day, he had gone to the leadership to discuss this very matter. Naturally, the director’s first reaction had been to refuse. However, when Yan Peisheng pulled out Su Yunzhou’s scores for the three climbing events, everything changed.

After the director verified the unbelievable results, his wrinkled face broke into a smile as satisfied as a man who had gone at it seven times the night before. Then, the two of them schemed. Chuckling wickedly, they decided to give Su Yunzhou the finale spot. They wanted to see the expressions on those foreigners’ faces when they realized the opening ceremony’s guest performer was stepping onto the competition wall the very next day—only to absolutely obliterate them.

Yan Peisheng enthusiastically embellished his efforts. "That’s right! I fought hard to secure the finale spot for you. See how reliable I am? By the way, what are you planning to perform?"

Su Yunzhou considered it for a moment. "A piano solo of *March of the Steel Torrent*."

"Oh? Nice!" Yan Peisheng clapped his hands together. "That’s a great piece! But wait, you know how to play the piano?"

Su Yunzhou chuckled. "Heh! I know a thing or two!"

After eating his fill, they drank tea for another half hour.

Seeing that it was almost eleven o’clock, Yan Peisheng finally led Su Yunzhou to the training ground. The athletes present all knew about this wildcard entry who was receiving special treatment. One by one, they cast curious glances his way, wanting to see what exactly made him so special.

But... Su Yunzhou’s performance left them feeling... a bit bewildered.

After strapping into his safety harness, the man simply stood at the base of the lead climbing wall and began to think deeply—or rather, space out. He really just stood there in complete silence.

In reality, as Su Yunzhou stared at the individual handholds and footholds on the wall, his mind was busy calculating over a dozen different routes. With the help of Tong, he had mastered Master Level climbing techniques. What he needed to do now was overcome the only one of his shortcomings.

Lead climbing and bouldering.

Unlike speed climbing, where the holds were in fixed positions, these two events were highly variable. Therefore, when athletes competed in these two disciplines, it wasn’t just a physical challenge—it was a mental battle. Since every athlete’s physique was different, their optimal routes would also differ vastly. And what Su Yunzhou needed to do was adapt to all competition-standard climbing walls.

However, in the eyes of the other athletes, his current posture just looked like he was being pretentious.

Someone muttered in a low voice, "What exactly is he doing?"

"How should I know! Maybe it’s some new training method?"

"What kind of method is this? He’s been standing there for over ten minutes. Is he meditating?"

Standing not too far away, Ning Xiangwu and Lin Wei were just as curious. They acknowledged the wildcard athlete’s strength, to be sure, but his style of doing things was completely baffling.

Lin Wei glanced at his old rival, Yan Peisheng, who was grinning from ear to ear. For the past two days, the man had been smiling like a barren tree bursting into bloom. Yet, when asked why, he refused to say a word. Right now, just seeing him smile was annoying.

Lin Wei curled his lip. "Stop looking. Let’s focus on our own training..."