Being Targeted

The atmosphere of the Olympics has long infected the whole of Europe, with people discussing Olympic-related matters in every corner of the streets. But in London, England, the public seems to lack the mood to discuss the Olympics. Three days have passed since the opening ceremony, and England has only secured one gold medal in the equestrian event. Even the perennial powerhouse, the United States, has only won three gold medals.

Leading the gold medal tally is the Chinese team, having already secured ten gold medals. How could the proud British people accept such a result? In their eyes, China is still a backward and ignorant place. How could it be leading the gold medal tally! Especially those racist individuals are particularly unhappy.

When lacking in strength, one can only resort to cheap talk. The British media has once again adopted the 'black China' mode. If there's really nothing to report, they bring up past topics to rehash, and this includes mainstream media. Especially the BBC, The Times, and The Guardian, have always had a tradition of criticizing China. Now, the method comes effortlessly.

The BBC's correspondent stationed in Athens sent back news that he personally bet on, which was immediately sensationalized by the BBC. On the day's list of the top ten funniest Olympic moments, Zhang Guan buying his own victory as an Olympic champion was unexpectedly ranked first.

"Who will be today's top ten Olympic funny moments? Let's unveil it right away!" With a wave of the host's hand, the screen immediately displayed the scene.

"I think he has the ability to win, maybe he can even break the 100-meter world record," Zhang Guan said on TV.

The camera switched to the host, who said, "So who is this 'he' mentioned by our generous bettor? Guan-Zhang? We checked the information at the Olympic Athletes' Information Center."

The screen immediately displayed Zhang Guan's relevant information in the athlete information center system, then the camera zoomed in on the photo, followed by a clip of Zhang Guan being interviewed.

"It's actually the same person! He bet on himself to win! Hahaha... a Chinese person betting on himself to win the Olympic 100-meter sprint! Hahaha..." The host laughed exaggeratedly, with definite elements of performance involved, making the program appear very vulgar, but the audience loved such vulgar programs.

...

In the evening talk show, guests were also discussing this matter.

"Tom, did you know, today I saw a very interesting news. In the men's 100-meter sprint event, a Chinese athlete spent over fifty thousand euros to buy his own victory," the talk show host said.

The guest named Tom exaggeratedly showed a surprised expression and exclaimed, "What did you say? Am I hearing it correctly? Are you sure it's a Chinese athlete, not Maurice Greene? Or Shawn Crawford?"

"Tom, I saw this news too, and I was as surprised as you were. I almost spat out the fried fish in my mouth," another guest said.

"I really can't imagine a Chinese person running on the track with a long braid. I wonder if the braid can reduce wind resistance," Tom said.

"Chinese people no longer keep braids, Tom, your thinking is still stuck a hundred years ago," another guest said.

At this moment, a photo of Zhang Guan appeared on the TV behind the guests, and the host pointed to the photo and said, "Look, this is the Chinese athlete, and next, let's take a look at a previous interview."

On the TV, an interview with Zhang Guan from a few days ago at the betting station was broadcast.

"A few days ago, our reporter accidentally interviewed this Chinese athlete at a betting station in Athens. At that time, the reporter didn't know his identity," the host explained.

"Is this Chinese guy crazy? How could a Chinese person possibly win the Olympic 100-meter sprint! Giving so much money to the bookmakers for nothing! Fifty thousand euros! If each bet was 500 euros, judging from the thickness of the tickets in his hand, it must be more than fifty thousand euros, maybe seventy or eighty thousand euros!" Tom said.

"Tom, you're wrong, I have to correct you. It's possible for Chinese people to win the 100-meter sprint. For example, if this Chinese athlete participates in the women's 100-meter sprint at the Olympics, he would definitely win," another guest said sarcastically.

"Are you sure? I think American female sprinter Marion Jones must run faster than this Chinese guy," Tom shook his head.

The host interjected at this point, "Tom, I have to tell you, Miss Marion Jones's speed really can't match this Chinese guy. This Chinese guy is called Guan-Zhang, or according to the Oriental way, it should be Zhang-Guan. Whatever his name is. He is currently the holder of the Asian 100-meter record and the only Asian to run within 10 seconds. His best historical record is..."

The host opened the documents in his hand and continued, "9.98 seconds!"

"Hahaha, I thought he could run 9.78 seconds! Dreaming of winning the Olympic championship in 9.98 seconds! Does he think it's fifty years ago? I think he should see a psychiatrist and have himself diagnosed with delusions," Tom laughed.

"Tom, you can't blame him. You have to know that China is a poor and backward place. They are much worse off than Britain fifty years ago. Maybe the Chinese people's knowledge of the 100-meter world record is also from fifty years ago!"

...

At this moment, Zhang Guan is in the Olympic Village, unaware of the situation outside.

According to the schedule, in the afternoon, the athletics delegation will arrive in Athens, and Zhang Guan will officially join the team to prepare for the first round of the men's 100-meter sprint four days later.

After lunch, Zhang Guan was preparing to rest in his room when he found two strangers in the living room. One was in his thirties, wearing glasses, and the other was about fifty years old, bald, and short.

They were strangers in the sense that Zhang Guan had only seen them once before, but they had never spoken to each other. These two were officials from the delegation, and Zhang Guan didn't know what specific work they were responsible for.

"You are Zhang Guan, right?" the man with glasses asked.

"Yes," Zhang Guan nodded.

"This is Director Guo," the man with glasses first introduced the bald uncle next to him, then introduced himself, "My surname is Zhao, a staff member of the delegation. We are responsible for disciplinary work in the delegation."

"Director Guo, Mr. Zhao. Do you have something to find me?" Zhang Guan asked.

"Don't be nervous. This time, we mainly came to understand some situations with you." Director Guo said in a friendly tone.

"You two, please go ahead," Zhang Guan said as he sat down.

"Did you go to the betting station before?" Mr. Zhao asked.

Zhang Guan's heart tightened. He wondered how they knew about this matter. But since the other party asked like this, it's obvious they knew some details. Zhang Guan couldn't deny it, so he straightforwardly nodded, "Yes, I went there and bought several lottery tickets."

"Did you bet on yourself to win the gold medal in the men's 100-meter sprint?" Mr. Zhao continued to ask.

"Yes, I did. I bought it for myself, betting on me to win the Olympic gold medal," Zhang Guan replied candidly, still wondering how these two knew such detailed information.

"Very good. It seems you also have a certain ideological consciousness," Mr. Zhao nodded, "Since you have confessed, we will truthfully report the situation where you voluntarily admitted to the wrong facts. We believe that considering your proactive admission of mistakes, your punishment will be reduced."