Rebirth: My dad is too obedient

Chapter 538 Is Brother Bing in trouble?

Thursday, August 2nd, provincial capital airport.

Xu Chen sat alone at the boarding gate, waiting for his flight.

I'm flying to Beijing today to attend Xie Bingran's "birthday party" hosted by the track and field team this evening, so I'm naturally looking forward to it and very happy.

Xu Chen couldn't help but recall Xie Bingran's birthday last year, when the two of them were at the Xie family's old house in Nanhe Village.

Under the cool night sky on the rooftop, under the white moonlight and the white mosquito net, Xu Chen and Xie Bingran shared a small cake.

Back then, Bing Ge didn't even remember her own birthday in advance, and it's estimated that she had hardly celebrated her birthday in the previous ten years or so.

Her group of brothers, including Li Rui and Zhao Feng, were rough-looking men who clearly didn't even think about celebrating birthdays.

Xie Bingran has now joined the national track and field team, so even without Xu Chen, she will still have her coaching staff and teammates to celebrate her birthday.

Thinking about it this way, Xu Chen felt more at ease.

Xu Chen had already asked Coach Cheng Hong, and it turned out that most of the people celebrating Xie Bingran's birthday today were from the Shanghai team, who were very familiar with Bingran both professionally and personally.

For example, Coach Sun Mouping, senior students Bai Miao and Dong Jiajia, Coach Liu Shengnan, and so on.

In addition, there were two or three coaches and players from the provincial team of Brunei Province. Xie Bingran had become familiar with them when she was still on the provincial team, and they happened to be at the training center at this time, so she invited them to come over.

Bing Ge is also the "shy" type, but his "shyness" is naturally different from Su Rong's in its expression.

Today marks her birthday, and tomorrow Xie Bingran will fly to Amman, Jordan, to prepare for the Asian Athletics Championships.

Bai Miao was also a contestant, traveling with Bing Ge.

Meanwhile, Chen Lan, the national team's senior, and her head coach, among others, had already flown to the competition venue in advance...

Xu Chen's flight was delayed by half an hour, but fortunately there was plenty of time today.

He sat at the boarding gate, legs crossed, scrolling through the news.

The Asian Athletics Championships is the highest-level athletics event in Asia.

Although it doesn't receive as much attention as the Asian Games, its track and field events are more professional and important than the Asian Games...

"At the 17th Asian Athletics Championships held in Amman, Jordan, my country sent three athletes, Xie Bingran, Chen Lan, and Bai Miao, to compete in the women's 100-meter hurdles event."

Xie Bingran and Chen Lan are among the most popular contenders for the gold and silver medals at this year's Asian Championships.

Xie Bingran won a gold medal at the Asian Games last year and broke the record. In April of this year, she won a gold medal at the IAAF Grand Prix Zurich, becoming the first Chinese and Asian athlete to win a world championship.

Xie Bingran's gold medal at this year's Amman Asian Championships was hardly in doubt!

"Chen Lan, a national track and field star, won the silver medal in the women's 100-meter hurdles at last year's Asian Games. She is also the second-best female 100-meter hurdles athlete in Asia after Xie Bingran."

It can be said that my country has practically secured both the gold and silver medals.

"Now, the expectation and suspense of the Chinese people is whether young Bai Miao has a chance to win the bronze medal."

Is there a chance that three national flags could be raised simultaneously at the Amman International Stadium in West Asia?

……

……

Around 3 p.m., Xu Chen checked into a hotel near the East Gate of the Temple of Heaven.

It's only about three stars, but it's conveniently located near the General Administration of Sport's "Training Bureau," just a ten- or twenty-minute walk away.

In a city like Beijing where traffic jams are common, the primary consideration is still convenient transportation.

Xu Chen had just sat down in the room when his phone vibrated.

Upon taking it out, I was surprised to find that it was Coach Cheng Hong calling directly from her.

Xu Chen was puzzled and answered the phone.

On the other end of the phone, Cheng Hong's somewhat anxious and impatient voice came through:
"There's been a problem with Brother Bing..."

"..."

Xu Chen's heart tightened:
Are you injured?

This was naturally what Xu Chen had always been most worried about.

Coach Cheng Hong paused for a moment before calming her anxiety and speaking:

"I'm not injured, I'm sorry I panicked."

It's just some public opinion issues...it shouldn't be a big deal, the higher-ups should be handling it."

She paused for a moment.

Xu Chen didn't interrupt, waiting for Coach Cheng Hong to finish speaking:
"I have to go to a meeting. You check the news first, and I'll forward it to you later."

Bing is fine, so there's no need to worry too much.

But she was just called over to the General Administration office, and Coach Sun went with her...

I went to a meeting first, which was probably to discuss this matter, and I also invited Li Yue.

I will keep you informed of any further developments.

......"

Cheng Hong was clearly still somewhat flustered, and her speech was somewhat illogical.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Chen received a news link from Cheng Hong.

After clicking in and taking a look, his expression turned ugly.

The news was published on Sina Sports, and it wasn't a very formal report.

However, the content of this article is clearly malicious:
"What you don't know is that world champion Xie Bingran bullied young players in L?"

"After being complained about by two junior teammates on the track and field team, track and field star Chen Lan privately corroborated this to reporters..."

"Is the moral dilemma of 'athlete' students solely based on academic performance?"

"..."

Xu Chen exhaled a cold breath and sat down in the chair with a gloomy expression.

How could he remain calm when it concerns Brother Bing?
"Brother Bing" has a fiery temper in front of outsiders, but he would never do something like "bullying younger teammates".

Based on Xu Chen's understanding of Xie Bingran, if any of her teammates were bullied, Bingran would be the one to step forward and protect them.

Therefore, this so-called "news report" is bound to be a smear campaign designed to mislead and confuse the public.

It's no wonder Coach Cheng Hong was flustered; the malice in this "report" was far too obvious.

Xu Chen thought about it for a moment and calmed himself down.

He flipped through the so-called "report" again and found that the author's ID seemed somewhat familiar.

I clicked in and took a look, and instantly remembered it.

The reporter who wrote the "dirt" on the quality issues of "Ranbing 001" last month was this very journalist.

This so-called "reporter," who had virtually no official title, was a nominal reporter for a small, unknown sports media outlet in Beijing.

Xu Chen frowned.

So, is this all part of a campaign to smear "Burning Ice Sports," and then extend that smear campaign to Bing Ge (Brother Bing)?
……

Coach Cheng Hong sent several more messages:
[Someone is stirring up trouble behind the scenes. This little news has already been forwarded to several online communities, including Tianya and Mop.]

Li Yue was watching too, and he was furious!

Chen Lan and her two teammates are also involved; it's unclear whether it's an inside job!
The leadership has already arranged to verify this with Chen Lan and a few others.

[I'll delete this message after reading it... I can't say these things to you privately!]

……

Xu Chen looked through the links Cheng Hong had sent again. This malicious article targeting Bing Ge was indeed being forwarded to Tianya, Mop, and even Renren.

As Coach Cheng Hong said, it's clear that someone is stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

A junior reporter from an unknown small media outlet deliberately used a verified "reporter" account to publish an article on "Sina Sports," which appeared to be a legitimate news report.

The rhetoric used was also quite cunning, including the statements of two national team teammates and Chen Lan's corroboration, while the rhetoric was very soft and gentle.

It has clear references and implications, yet it seems like hearsay without any concrete evidence.

The fact that it was shared so quickly suggests that someone is manipulating public opinion behind the scenes...

Xu Chen was pondering this when Nie Fei called:

"Did you see the news?"

Xu Chen: "I saw it. Coach Cheng Hong just sent it to me."

Nie Fei didn't say much else and went straight to the point:
"I've contacted some high-ranking officials at Sina and Tianya that I know to see if I can get it deleted."

However, based on the current rate of reposts, it seems that a media company or public relations firm is behind this...

In this situation, it's difficult to completely remove the manuscript.

She paused:

"With someone clearly orchestrating this, there's likely to be further discussion and discussion..."

Xu Chen: "Do what you can first, don't panic, and don't lose your composure."

Coach Cheng Hong said that because it involves national team members such as Chen Lan and Xie Bingran, the authorities are also investigating.

After all, with the authorities involved, Director Li Yue's department will also manage public opinion regarding the athletes.

At the same time, just as Li Yue said before, the higher-ups will definitely protect Brother Bing..."

Nie Fei: "This matter, and the one involving 'Burning Ice' earlier, seems to involve the same group of people with the same motives." She paused: "The investors in 'Amrex,' or perhaps the competitor Anta..."

Amway's attempt to invest in and acquire us failed, and Anta now has another product line that directly competes with us.

This is because the previous smear campaign failed, so now they're resorting to a 'drastic measure' to directly damage Bing Ge's reputation.

We were always on guard against more smear campaigns against the product, but we never expected them to smear Brother Bing instead.

There's probably a media expert behind this, who's ruined Bing Ge's reputation and damaged the brand image of "Ranbing".

That's definitely a ruthless move..."

Xu Chen thought for a moment:
"It may not be as simple as just 'Amrex' and 'Anta,' after all, it involves Chen Lan and two other athletes."

It's probably the result of a combined effort from several parties..."

Nie Fei was silent for a moment, and then she immediately understood what Xu Chen meant.

Xu Chen pieced together some details about the track and field team from snippets of conversation between Xie Bingran, Coach Cheng Hong, and Director Li Yue.

These matters may still be related to "Burning Ice," and Xu Chen has discussed this with Nie Fei privately.

Nie Fei was originally in the sports industry, and when she was with Nike, she had worked with some national teams and players. She had heard about and knew some of the inside stories.

Examples include the power struggle between the "Beijing faction" and the "Shanghai faction," the competition between coach Sun Mouping and a certain big-name coach in Beijing, and Xie Bingran's disruption of Chen Lan's original plan to succeed Feng Youping.

If the so-called "evidence" presented by Chen Lan in that "report" is true, then it might indeed be related to Chen Lan.

After Feng Youping, the gold medalist at the previous Asian Games, retired, Chen Lan was originally supposed to "take over" and become the number one in Asia.

Feng Youping and Chen Lan both belonged to the Beijing Track and Field Team in their local areas and were under the same head coach.

That head coach was a big name in the track and field coaching world, on par with Sun Mouping from Shanghai, one from the south and one from the north.

However, Xie Bingran suddenly appeared and stole all of this away.

At the same time, Chen Lan also became the spokesperson for the direct competitor "Anta xRun", which is very likely related to the competitor Anta and the capital provider "Amrex Investment".

The direction of the matter seems quite clear.

Nie Fei spoke again:

"Privately, I still contacted the media to see if I could work to mitigate the impact of the incident."

Additionally, is there anything the official team behind "Burning Ice" should do now?

Xu Chen considered it for a moment:

"Burning Ice Sports official website: Hold back and do nothing for now."

Getting involved now might backfire and give others something to talk about.

We should wait and see what Director Li Yue says. Since he says the higher-ups are already investigating and coordinating, let's wait and see before making a judgment.

He paused:

"In short, don't panic."

Director Li Yue had told me privately that no matter what kind of faction or people Xie Bingran was involved in—the so-called "Beijing faction" or "Shanghai faction"—or any trouble she encountered outside, the higher-ups would ultimately protect her.

Being an 'Asian champion' isn't unusual, but Xie Bingran is now a 'world champion,' and her importance is on a completely different level."

……

……

After hanging up Nie Fei's call, Xu Chen's phone vibrated repeatedly, revealing messages from Su Rong and Wu Feifei.

The two of them naturally saw Bing Ge's "news" and came to ask Xu Chen about the situation.

The two little girls were clearly frightened and extremely anxious.

Xu Chen first reassured her, saying things like "Don't panic," "The team is working on it," and "Director Li Yue is helping with communication."

Wu Feifei added another question:
How is Bing Ge doing? Will he be affected?

Xu Chen: [Bing-ge is fine. You all know her personality; she won't be affected by something like this.]

……

After calming others down, Xu Chen himself was still somewhat anxious.

He paced around the hotel room for a while, constantly checking his phone, but still received no reply from Coach Cheng Hong.

A short while later, Hua Shaojie called.

While inquiring about Bing Ge's situation, Xu Chen first offered some reassurance.

After hearing the arrangements from "Burning Ice Sports," Hua Shaojie spoke up:
"Then I'll call Sister Fei to get some information."

I also know some media friends in Beijing. I'll contact Sister Fei and see if there's anything we can do.

Xu Chen: "Okay. As for 'Chenfeng Technology,' let's hold back for now!"

Hua Shaojie: "'Chenfeng' is doing well, unlike 'Ranbing' which is all online operations."

'Chenfeng' relies on offline store channels, so it should not be greatly affected by online public opinion.

Guo Liang and I will keep a close eye on things, and we'll keep Xiao Xu informed as soon as we see anything.

……

He Dachang from Jeep also sent a message to Xu Chen.

Pang Ming and He Dachang naturally also paid attention to the public opinion issues surrounding the "spokesperson".

He Dachang contacted Director Li Yue immediately, but had not yet received any reply from Li Yue, so he asked Xu Chen.

Xu Chen could only offer some reassurance, saying that Director Li Yue was in a meeting and would notify him later.

On the other hand, Kuang Lili, the marketing director of "Youlemei", was clearly more anxious and contacted Gu Xinxin first.

Gu Xinxin inquired about Xu Chen's situation and then urgently started a conference call.

The situation at "Youlemei" is indeed more urgent, mainly because the product launch is scheduled for August 8th, and Xie Bingran's advertisements and print ads for "Youlemei" will also be launched across all channels.

Although Kuang Lili was anxious, she was still a mature professional and spoke calmly as she discussed solutions with Xu Chen.

Xu Chen: "We can only wait for Director Li Yue's reply."

However, we need to make a contingency plan, which means postponing the launch and promotion of 'Youlemei'.

After hesitating for a long time, Kuang Lili replied:
"Okay! I'll discuss this with General Manager Li internally first!"

……

Regarding the Kunlun Mountain mineral water company, Vice President Gong Ming directly contacted Nie Fei to inquire about the situation, since he and Nie Fei were former colleagues and were quite familiar with each other.

Nie Fei could only offer some temporary reassurance before exchanging information with Xu Chen.

In addition, a batch of promotional materials for "Kunlun Mountain" that Tang Xiaowei was working on was also temporarily suspended by the client.

Xu Chen thought for a moment and replied to Nie Fei:

"Actually, it shouldn't be a big problem for 'Kunlun Mountain'. They've already completed their IPO and on-the-ground promotion. This time, they're just trying to ride on the popularity of Bing Ge's competition."

Let's put it aside for now..."

There are also two international brands endorsed by Xie Bingran, "Louis Vuitton" and "Omega", but we didn't get any inquiries from "Dongchen Advertising".

After all, Dongchen Advertising was almost entirely uninvolved in the collaboration between the two companies.

However, it's likely that the brand had already taken notice of the public opinion and inquired with Director Li Yue.

……

My phone kept vibrating.

Xu Chen glanced at the screen and saw that the QQ groups were constantly flashing and sending messages.

You know what it is without even clicking on it.

……

In the group chat of the Shanghai company, several young people forwarded a bunch of links, and everyone was indignant.

Seeing that these discussions were useless except for venting emotions, "Sister Fei" replied in the group:

This matter is off-limits for further discussion.

@Jiang Yuze, let's work on a major project to address public opinion issues. We'll have a meeting later to discuss the measures.

Meanwhile, we await further instructions from Mr. Xu and are ready to coordinate at any time!

……

Xu Chen sat on the single sofa and exhaled a breath of stale air.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the sofa armrest, pondering the whole story in his mind.

The accusations against Brother Bing can definitely be cleared, which is based on my trust in him.

Given Bingge's current track performance, it's impossible for the higher-ups not to "protect" her.

Faced with an Olympic gold medal that is about to "make history," all the so-called struggles between this faction and that faction must give way.

Chen Lan or the other children got involved in this mess because they couldn't see the situation clearly.

Just wait patiently.

The only problem is that Mr. Xu may need to do some things, both overtly and covertly, to clean up the mess in the aftermath of the public opinion crisis.

……

(End of this chapter)