The Prince's Invitation

In the afternoon, Zhang Guan returned to the Olympic Village. As soon as he got back to his room, he heard a knock on the door. It was Director Ma.

"Zhang Guan, you're going to be very busy next," Director Ma said bluntly as he opened the door. "Director Hou has personally approved you to be the flag bearer for the Olympic closing ceremony, so it looks like you won't be able to leave Athens until the Olympics are over."

Zhang Guan was slightly surprised but quickly calmed down. Given his achievements in this Olympic Games, it was reasonable for him to serve as the flag bearer for the national team at the closing ceremony. It would just take some time to participate in the rehearsal for the closing ceremony.

Director Ma continued, "Also, you need to come with me. Counselor Zhu from the embassy is here to see you. It's difficult for him to come into the athletes' dormitory, so he's waiting for you in the front lounge."

Zhang Guan followed Director Ma to the lounge, where he met Counselor Zhu. After a few polite exchanges, Counselor Zhu got to the point. He took a golden invitation card from his briefcase and opened it. The card was written in both English and Arabic. Zhang Guan naturally didn't recognize the Arabic, and the English was in cursive, making it difficult for him to read.

"Zhang Guan, this is an invitation for you to attend an Olympic party. I'm here not only to give you this invitation but also to encourage you to attend the party," Counselor Zhu said.

Zhang Guan glanced at Coach Ma and then asked, "Isn't it against our national team's policy for athletes to attend such entertainment events?"

"That depends on the specific situation," Director Ma said vaguely, signaling Counselor Zhu to explain further.

Counselor Zhu pointed to a part of the invitation and said, "The person inviting you is not just anyone. He is the crown prince of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. His name is Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum."

Counselor Zhu said this long name without skipping a beat, but Zhang Guan only remembered the words "bin" and "Mohammed."

Counselor Zhu continued, "The name is quite long, so we can just call him Sheikh Rashid. Sheikh Rashid loves sports and has even competed in the Asian Games, where he won a medal. Sheikh Rashid enjoys making friends with champions from different countries. This time, he is hosting a private party and inviting champions from this Olympic Games. It seems he really wants to meet you."

Zhang Guan nodded. The UAE is known as a wealthy country, and Dubai is a globally famous wealthy city. As the crown prince of Dubai, he is undoubtedly among the wealthiest of the wealthy. Given that he is wealthy, anything is possible.

Counselor Zhu handed the invitation back to Zhang Guan and said, "In recent years, our country's demand for oil has increased significantly, and we have been looking for more suppliers to ensure our energy security. Since the Iraq war last year, the international oil allocation has been unstable, and oil has become OPEC's biggest weapon. Our country's economic development relies heavily on oil. Therefore, from a strategic perspective, we hope to strengthen cooperation with the UAE and increase oil imports from there."

"We have been negotiating with the UAE for a long time without making any breakthroughs. Abu Dhabi has been holding out for better terms, and there are many factors involved. As a result, our country has decided to launch a series of public relations activities, targeting not only Abu Dhabi but also Dubai. Dubai controls almost all of the UAE's non-oil trade, and its stance is crucial for Abu Dhabi."

The United Arab Emirates consists of six small emirates, with the largest being Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is also the main oil producer and the emir of Abu Dhabi is the president of the UAE, making him the top leader. Dubai is the second largest emirate. The emir of Dubai is also the vice president and prime minister of the UAE, effectively making him the second in command. Although Dubai does not have as much oil as Abu Dhabi, it controls most of the UAE's foreign trade, especially in non-oil sectors. Middle Eastern oil countries are wealthy, but they rely on imports for many industrial products and essentials. Therefore, controlling foreign trade in Dubai is equivalent to controlling a significant part of the UAE's lifeline.

Counselor Zhu continued, "Sheikh Rashid is a very important figure for our public relations efforts. However, he has been recently preoccupied with various entertainment and sports activities, making it difficult for our people to get in touch with him. Moreover, Dubai has been developing tourism in recent years and is planning to invest billions of dollars in solar energy. Our country's solar companies are also preparing to bid for these projects, but the bidding process is very complex. So, we are eager to establish contact with Sheikh Rashid and understand Dubai's real demands, which would give us an advantage in the bidding process."

Zhang Guan nodded. Given that it's a seller's market, they could refuse to meet under various pretexts, so Zhang Guan asked, "So you want me to use this opportunity to meet Sheikh Rashid? What do I need to do?"

"You just need to attend the party. We will send someone to act as your translator and accompany you to the party. After that, he will find a way to contact the prince. You can just enjoy the party," Counselor Zhu said with a smile.

"So, I'm basically your ticket to the party?" Zhang Guan asked.

"You could say that. You just need to bring our person to the event," Counselor Zhu paused, then continued, "Sheikh Rashid is known to be eccentric. We have tried to arrange meetings with him through official channels many times, but he has always declined with various excuses. So, we have no choice but to approach him in a way that appeals to him."

"Alright, no problem. I will follow the organization's arrangements," Zhang Guan agreed without hesitation.

"Thank you. We'll need to take you out to get a suit. Don't worry about the cost; we will cover it."

…

That day's Olympic events had two major highlights: one was the start of the diving events, another major gold-medal opportunity for the national team; the other was Liu Feiren's debut in the men's 110m hurdles.

Liu Feiren was in the third group and easily won his heat to advance to the second round. Meanwhile, another athlete from the track and field team, Da Shi, was less fortunate and did not make it to the second round.

In other track and field events, pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva won the gold medal and broke the world record again.

Notably, in the men's 200m sprint, Yang Yao made history by advancing to the second round, while 18-year-old Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was eliminated in the first round due to injury, ending his first Olympic journey.

…

The next morning, Zhang Guan was scheduled for an interview with Central TV. These interviews were pre-arranged, and the topics and talking points were already planned. Zhang Guan just needed to follow the script.

After the interview, it was almost lunchtime, and Zhang Guan was about to leave for lunch when Director Ma walked in excitedly.

Director Ma threw several newspapers in front of Zhang Guan and said, "What's going on?"

Zhang Guan picked up one of the newspapers, an English one, with a headline marked by Director Ma. With his level of English, Zhang Guan could barely make it out.

"Olympic Champion Wins Ten Million in Sports Betting Bonus"

Zhang Guan put down the newspaper and said, "Director Ma, you knew about this. I bought some lottery tickets before and bet on myself to win the 100m sprint championship. I almost got in trouble for that."

"I'm not asking about that! I know about the betting, but what's with the ten million? Why is it so much? People have been calling all morning to ask about this, even Director Hou asked about it personally," Director Ma said, taking a deep breath. "It's ten million euros! That's over a hundred million in our currency at the current exchange rate!"

"I bet a lot when I bought the tickets, so the prize was high," Zhang Guan explained. "But it's not actually that much since you have to pay taxes on the winnings."

"One hundred million! I've never seen that much money in my life! If I had known you would win the Olympics, I would have bet a little myself and wouldn't have to worry about retirement," Director Ma said.

"You're still young, Director Ma. You have a long way to go before retirement!" Zhang Guan laughed.

"You! I see now, you're like a monkey causing trouble wherever you go!" Director Ma said helplessly. "Do you know that two hours ago, the US team reported to the IOC, accusing you of making over ten million euros through the competition, claiming you manipulated the competition for profit, violated sports ethics, and asked the IOC to revoke your gold medal."

"What did the IOC say? Are they going to investigate? Do I need to explain?" Zhang Guan asked.

Director Ma shook his head and said, "The IOC isn't stupid. If an athlete intentionally lost a competition for profit, that might be possible, but have you ever heard of an athlete intentionally winning? Winning a competition is only natural, and you even broke a world record. Can world records be deliberately broken? According to the American logic, if winning a gold medal is considered manipulating the competition, then every Olympic champion should be accused of manipulating. So, the fairness committee did not accept the complaint."

"The Americans can't stand losing. Winning a competition and being accused of violating sports ethics and spirit? By that logic, our national soccer team should get an award for sports ethics, as they always lose and definitely demonstrate sports spirit," Zhang Guan joked.

Director Ma didn't respond to the joke and said, "The American team is getting anxious now. The track and field events are already halfway through, and they are still behind on the gold medal tally, so they are starting to play dirty tricks!"