Volume 1, Chapter 37: A Breakthrough in the Interview

Indeed, looking at Susan’s playful, knowing eyes and Wang Yining’s expectant face, Jiang Ming sighed inwardly. It seemed he was truly at a loss when it came to this woman.

"Good luck to him. Freestyle is his specialty; he’s young and has a fighting spirit. Given time, I might not be able to beat him. I wish him the best."

This was the longest sentence Jiang Ming had spoken to a camera in the five days since the competition began.

Susan was satisfied. She retracted her microphone and offered a polite word of thanks, while Wang Yining gave Jiang Ming a big hug, his gratitude clear without a word.

Immediately after, Jiang Ming made an excuse about an upcoming final and hurried away, leaving Wang Yining to continue the interview.

The next race Jiang Ming went to prepare for was the men’s 200-meter individual medley final. Without a doubt, the gold medal would be his. However, his winning time was still a distance from his personal best.

Susan knew that athletes followed periodized training principles. Regardless of how they performed in daily practice, they needed competitions to adjust their state, and this was a gradual process. To ensure they reached their peak for the most important events, top athletes might even intentionally suppress their performance in earlier races to delay their best form.

After the race, Jiang Ming passed the media section. Aside from formulaically letting photographers take two shots of him holding his gold medal and flowers, he was still eager to leave. Susan had long since forgotten the inexplicable trace of sourness from the night before. This was Jiang Ming’s first individual gold of the tournament, and she was determined not to miss the chance for an interview. She grabbed her cameraman colleague and sprinted forward to catch up.

"Jiang Ming, congratulations! Can you spare a moment for an interview?" Susan asked, breathless as she pursued him.

Jiang Ming didn’t stop immediately, but his pace slowed noticeably.

"Just two questions. You don't have any more races tonight, so it won't take too long!"

Other media personnel from Jiangzhou, well-acquainted with Jiang Ming’s temperament, had given up long ago, but Susan was relentless, refusing to let go.

Jiang Ming sighed inwardly and finally stopped. He knew how stubborn Susan was; if he didn’t stop, she might actually follow him all the way to the locker room.

"Reporter Susan, make it quick. As you said, two questions."

"Jiang Ming, congratulations on your win today! In the men’s individual medley, you have no rivals in the province. I wonder, for the upcoming National Championships, do you feel just as relaxed?"

Jiang Ming was surprised that Susan didn't ask about his average race time. Many reporters obsessed over PBs, SBs, and record-breaking, unaware that athletes were more concerned with the mobilization and adjustment of their physical state.

"In competitive sports, there is no 'relaxed.' You can never predict if an opponent will suddenly appear in front of you, so you must try your best to maintain peak condition. Of course, depending on the training phase, what constitutes 'peak' varies."

Jiang Ming paused for two seconds, signaling he had finished answering. Then, he added almost commandingly, "The second one?"

Susan’s lips twitched slightly. This guy really didn't like to give an inch—two questions meant two questions; he wouldn't gift her a single extra word.

"Your schedule these past two days has been very dense. The overall arrangement of this tournament is quite tight; does it feel unfriendly to an all-rounder like you?"

"This competition’s schedule is modeled after the National Championships, and the National Championships are modeled after the Olympics. The goal is to force athletes to maintain competitive form during back-to-back events. However, the specific events one participates in differ from one competition to another."

Jiang Ming stopped there, leaving plenty of room for interpretation. He expressed a positive attitude of respecting the rules and adapting rather than complaining, while also acknowledging the selfless spirit of obeying team arrangements.

For instance, his remark about different events implied that in international competitions, his participation was determined by the national team’s overall strategic optimization. In provincial and national events, he would swim the anchor leg (freestyle) for the 4x100m mixed-gender relay. But for world-class events, the national team currently preferred a "male-male-female-female" sequence, assigning men to the backstroke and breaststroke, and women to the butterfly and freestyle.

Furthermore, whether one could achieve ideal results when competing in too many events on a single day depended on the person and their current state. Therefore, it was normal to forgo individual events occasionally to preserve strength for relay team events.

Susan understood these subtexts and would incorporate them as voice-overs during the post-production editing. But for now, he simply nodded politely and stopped looking at the camera.

Susan understood that he didn't want to be interviewed anymore. Although they were somewhat familiar with each other in private, he remained cold and aloof in front of the lens. Still, getting the man who usually only said "thank you" to agree to a solo interview and answer two questions was already progress. One shouldn't push too hard.

After finishing the interview, Susan returned to the Jiangzhou TV station’s booth, where Deputy Station Head Li Xin was looking excited.

"Not bad, Xiao Su. You actually got Jiang Ming to do a solo interview. That’s rare!"

"The content isn't much, just a few sentences. And his expression was... a bit too cold."

"That’s already a breakthrough. It seems sending you to do the swimming column was a wise decision! In past news reports, Jiang Ming’s individual events only featured footage of him during the race or on the podium. Include whatever you got today. It doesn't matter if he’s cold—the face is handsome, and the words are logical."

"Yes, you are wise, sir."

...

After the final three events concluded, everyone packed up and left. Susan was familiar with the layout of the venue, so she found a quiet corner to edit on the spot.

Looking at the stern-faced Jiang Ming on the screen, the phrase "because it’s you" from a few days ago surfaced in her mind.

Every time she thought of it, her heart skipped a beat.

Susan patted her cheeks to keep herself clear-headed and continued editing.

Jiang Ming, having just come out of the locker room, walked quietly behind her and caught the scene. Staring at himself on the screen, he said softly:

"Am I that scary? Enough to make you self-flagellate?"

At the sound of his voice, Susan jumped.

"Big brother, are you part cat? You don't make a sound at all!"

"It’s just that you were too focused."

Susan wanted to say that it was indeed hard to stay focused when staring at such a stunning face, and self-flagellation was the least of it. But the words died on her lips, turning into: "Yeah, we each have our own focus. Jiang Ming, you’re really photogenic. You should do more interviews in the future—give us a bit more, won't you?"

Susan tilted her head, looking at Jiang Ming expectantly, only to receive a cold reply.

"Don't push your luck."

"How about just a little bit more, then?"

Jiang Ming rolled his eyes at Susan, hoisted his gym bag onto his shoulder, and walked straight away.

Susan called out to his retreating back:

"Come on, you’re very logical when you speak; you’re the kind of interviewee we reporters love. Really, think about it..."

Jiang Ming didn't look back, but the corners of his mouth lifted of their own accord.

...

On the sixth day of the competition, both Jiang Ming and Lin Tingyuan had many races. In the morning, Lin Tingyuan had the 100m butterfly preliminaries, while Jiang Ming had the 50m freestyle preliminaries. In the evening, both advanced to the finals in first place.

Although their results were ideal, Jiang Ming’s spirit was not as sharp as before due to the dense schedule and the number of events he had participated in.

After the race, Susan saw him massaging his wrist as he left. Her heart tightened, and ignoring the prodding of Deputy Station Head Li beside her, she let Jiang Ming go, making excuses to her superior like "it’s not a final, no need to be demanding."

After many days of working together, Susan knew clearly that on any day Jiang Ming had a race, he would be the last person to leave the locker room. Therefore, after finishing her work and packing her gear, she slipped toward the locker room area and lingered.

Watching Wang Guolai, Wang Yining, and others leave one by one, hearing them mention that Jiang Ming was still inside, and thinking of his earlier fatigue, Susan waited until there was no movement in the locker room and not a soul in the hallway. Then, steeling her nerves, she marched straight to the door of Jiang Ming’s private changing room.

She thought: *Anyway, it’s not the first time I’ve barged into the men’s locker room. And in Jiang Ming’s eyes, I’ve never been one to follow the rules anyway.*