Rebirth: My dad is too obedient

Chapter 539 We Won't Let Heroes Suffer Injustice
It was almost 6 p.m. in the hotel room.

Xu Chen glanced at his phone, but still hadn't received a message from Coach Cheng Hong or Director Li Yue.

I wonder if the "internal meeting" has reached any conclusion.

Xie Bingran and head coach Sun Mouping were called in for "investigation," but the situation remains unclear.

Although Xu Chen trusted Bing Ge completely and didn't think this kind of thing would disturb Bing Ge's mood, concern can lead to confusion, and Xu Chen couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Today is Xie Bingran's birthday, and Xu Chen also came to attend Bing Ge's "birthday party," but he didn't expect to encounter such a situation.

It was already 6 p.m., and Bing was probably still in the General Administration office chatting about something. The "birthday banquet" that the team had planned for her was probably put on hold for the time being.

Thinking of this, Xu Chen couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

……

In the past hour or two, Xu Chen has also been paying attention to the public opinion on the Internet.

As we discussed in our previous phone conversation with Nie Fei, it's clear that someone is manipulating public opinion behind this incident.

On the sports channels of major portal websites and Tianya Community, the few reposts that Xu Chen had seen before have been deleted, most likely as a result of private communication between Nie Fei or Hua Shaojie.

But not long after, a new article was forwarded, still the same serious article attacking Brother Bing, without changing a single word.

After Xie Bingran won the world championship at the "IAAF Grand Prix Zurich" in April, Bing Ge was already generating a lot of discussion online, after all, she is the "first" person of Asian descent on the track.

Now that the "Asian Athletics Championships" have entered the event warm-up phase, Bing Ge's popularity has already increased, and this wave of public opinion has just happened to coincide with the right time.

Just as Nie Fei said on the phone earlier, if there is someone "manipulating" this behind the scenes, then that person is a formidable expert in public opinion.

By throwing mud at this point, so close to the competition, they've achieved multiple goals at once.

If the matter involves Senior Sister Chen Lan, then in the other party's calculations, they might think that this matter will inevitably interfere with Xie Bingran's mentality in the competition, thereby affecting the competition results.

Perhaps Chen Lan will win the gold medal in the women's 100-meter hurdles at this year's Asian Athletics Championships.

After all, Xie Bingran was the only one in all of Asia standing in front of Chen Lan.

But based on Xu Chen's understanding of Bing Ge, this kind of thing wouldn't affect Bing Ge's mentality during the competition.

As long as she's on the track, her results will remain the same.

If this matter truly involves "Amrex Investment" or competing brands, then ruining Xie Bingran's reputation could indeed discredit "Ranbing Sports" in one fell swoop.

It was an exceptionally precise and ruthless business operation.

This is nothing like the previous smear posts attacking "Ranbing001" and "RanbingX" shoes and their after-sales service.

……

Messages kept flashing in the various QQ groups on my phone.

With the intention of observing and discussing the situation, Xu Chen reluctantly clicked to take a look.

The college's large group chat was already buzzing with discussion.

Perhaps due to her mood and focus, Xu Chen saw mostly negative comments as she traced them with her fingers and glanced around.

I can't believe Xie Bingran is like this! Bullying younger teammates and newcomers is just too much!

Does that mean she also hit someone?

[Are all athletes good people? Our high school's athletes were all bad kids to begin with!]

[What a waste of my affection for her! I even bought her shoes!]

Come to think of it, she does look quite fierce; she doesn't look like someone to mess with.

[Has Bai Miao, the senior student, ever been bullied?]

Yes, Bai Miao is almost a head shorter than Xie Bingran, and she doesn't look as strong either.

If Senior Bai Miao were bullied, she'd probably cry, right?

In fact, similar comments have already appeared on open communities such as Tianya and Mop.

Besides the deliberate guidance of the "masterminds" behind the scenes, there are also genuine "uninformed netizens" who are easily swayed and brainwashed by public opinion.

Within the academy's large group chat, there were naturally some voices supporting Bing Ge.

Xu Chen glanced at the profile pictures a few more times and sure enough, he saw Su Rong's and "Jiangsu-Zhejiang Little Prince" Qian Xin's profile pictures.

Both of them were clearly angry, but they insisted on speaking up for Bing Ge.

Xu Chen glanced at Su Rong's messages and knew that the girl was already emotional, so he quickly left her a message to comfort her:

There's no point in arguing in the group chat.

I'm in Beijing. Director Li Yue is helping to communicate, and the matter will be resolved!
Bing Ge is fine too.

She has an incredibly strong inner strength; she doesn't care about this kind of thing at all.

Su Rong typed "typing" for a long time, and finally only replied with a "wailing" emoji.

o (╥﹏╥) o
……

However, the situation is quite different in the high school classmates' group chat.

Almost everyone expressed their trust in Brother Bing and their indignation on his behalf.

After all, they were classmates who had studied and lived together for three years, so their understanding of Xie Bingran was obviously more real and intense.

[Bing Ge is not that kind of person! How can reporters write such nonsense!]

This is outrageous! How could our righteous and loyal Brother Bing possibly bully the weak?!
She hates bullying the weak the most!

"Ice Bro, the War God of No. 1 High School, always takes action to uphold justice!"

This article is utterly slanderous!

……

Xu Chen couldn't help but be moved as he read these messages.

No one in the group specifically tagged Xu Chen, perhaps out of some shared sense of kindness and tacit understanding.

However, his good friend Chen Dahai still sent a message to Xu Chen separately.

He didn't say much, just left a message:
[Go, Mr. Xu! Please tell Brother Bing I'm doing my best!]

……

……

Around seven o'clock, I finally received a message from Coach Cheng Hong:
Are you free now? I'd like to call you; Li Yue is with me too.

Xu Chen naturally made a phone call directly:
Where's Bing-ge?

Cheng Hong: "Brother Bing and Coach Sun are still in the General Administration office and won't be out for a while."

But don't worry, the leaders there are all on our side. Just make sure you get all the details straight.

"it is good……"

Xu Chen paused for a moment before greeting Coach Cheng Hong and Director Li Yue properly.

They quickly got down to business.

Cheng Hong and Li Yue must have been discussing this privately beforehand. Although they answered Xu Chen's call, they continued their previous conversation:

"No wonder Chen Lan flew to the competition venue first; she was taking precautions and hiding there!"
It would be a miracle if there wasn't cooperation!

Li Yue: "Where are those two junior team members who came out to talk nonsense?"
I didn't know either of them before..."

Cheng Hong: "These two kids didn't have very good grades to begin with."

One was just sent back to the provincial team, and the other went to the second team...

Although they are still young, their looks are basically set; they won't have a chance to run away anymore.

……

The two were talking casually when Xu Chen couldn't help but interrupt:
"What's the overall situation right now, leaders?"

Cheng Hong paused for a moment, then awkwardly said, "Sorry."

She originally wanted to tell Xu Chen, but probably lacked confidence in her verbal and logical abilities at the moment, so she let Director Li Yue do it instead.

Li Yue didn't waste any time and focused on the most important things, first synchronizing them with Xu Chen:

"The public outcry is still quite significant. The State Administration of Radio and Television has taken notice and attaches great importance to this matter, and is currently inquiring about and investigating the situation."

Bing and Coach Sun went to the General Administration's office to be questioned first... The General Administration will definitely investigate from multiple angles, so it will take some time.

"The matter also involves Chen Lan. After all, she is a meritorious member of the national team, and she also has Coach Wu and others above her."

The leaders at the General Administration are already contacting Chen Lan and Instructor Wu to understand the situation…”

"Although the investigation and inquiry are still ongoing, judging from the meeting just now, the nature of the case has been largely determined, but further communication from various parties is still needed."

Xu Chen: "What do you mean by 'qualitative'?"

Li Yue: "Two aspects."

First, Bing Ge was wronged.

Based on the current inquiries from various parties, it is certain that there was no bullying of junior players or any bullying of younger players.

Everyone knows Bing Ge's personality; he can be quite impulsive at times.

But the facts and testimonies of many people are right in front of the leaders, and there is absolutely no such thing as so-called domination. This is clear and unambiguous.

There were still some disputes and conflicts.

"Some of the other teammates were being bullied, and Bing-ge stood up for them..."

Xu Chen remained silent.

Just as I predicted, it was correct.

She's still "Brother Bing," a figure of unwavering loyalty in front of outsiders, but there are always times when she can't control her impulses.

Li Yue continued:

"Secondly, we must not wrong the 'heroes' of the team and the country. This was also the internal opinion of the leaders at the meeting this afternoon."

The leader's exact words were, "Xie Bingran has won honor for the team and the country. She is our hero, and we cannot allow heroes to be smeared or wronged."

Although there is still communication with various parties, the internal decision has been basically made, so there is no need to worry too much now.

More detailed investigation results and follow-up measures discussed by all parties will follow.

Xu Chen remained silent, but couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Cheng Hong interjected:

"There are people pulling the strings behind this, including the reporter who published the article..."

Our leader is very angry, and this will definitely be investigated.

He can't escape responsibility for smearing the national team's heroes.

Li Yue: "In short, Mr. Xu doesn't need to worry too much."

One of our top leaders personally led a communication team to investigate and resolve this matter.

But it will take some time, as it involves a lot of internal and external communication.

Xu Chen thought for a moment:
"Public opinion is still getting out of control, after all, there has been no official statement to 'set the record straight'."

Li Yue: "We all know this internally, but things can't be rushed."

We still have to wait for the official investigation report...

Furthermore, the top leader specifically instructed that attention should be paid to resolving public opinion issues going forward.

Xu Chen carefully considered his words and tentatively asked:

"There must be someone pulling the strings behind this, right?"
Does anyone have a conclusion?

How did Senior Sister Chen Lan get involved...?

Xu Chen's purpose in asking this question was naturally to find out who was behind it all.

Even if you have a clear suspicion, it's best to have an investigation to confirm it.

While Nie Fei was trying to find out more information, Director Li Yue would undoubtedly be a more important source of information.

Li Yue and Cheng Hong both fell silent for a moment, seemingly hesitant about whether they should speak to Xu Chen.

Xu Chen did not press further, knowing that some information might not be convenient to disclose completely.

On the other end of the phone, Li Yue spoke first:

"There's nothing I can't say, Mr. Xu is one of us..."

The situation regarding Chen Lan is still being confirmed. Whether it was her personal behavior or involved Coach Wu or the team is still under investigation.

However, the undeniable fact is that Chen Lan and her two younger teammates were already on the same team before joining the national team.

Xu Chen naturally understood that the phrase "in the same team" meant that they all belonged to the so-called "Beijing faction".

That would be a clearly defined "small group".

Li Yue paused for a moment, then continued:

"The statements of those two teammates are nothing; the main thing is that Chen Lan came forward to corroborate them, which sparked widespread discussion."

After all, Chen Lan is an Asian Games silver medalist and can be considered a star athlete on the team...

There's no definitive conclusion yet, but Chen Lan suspects she was being used.

Seeing that a topic had been found, Xu Chen interjected:

"Who is using you?"

Li Yue: "It's hard to say yet, the higher-ups are still inquiring and investigating."

However, this matter clearly involved internal and external cooperation.

There are media outlets and journalists outside, as well as a bunch of people cooperating with the hype.

Inside... it's Chen Lan and those two junior team members.

Coach Cheng Hong seemed to have thought of something, and sighed, saying:

"Chen Lan is not young anymore..."

Li Yue: "Huh?"

Cheng Hong: "If Bing Ge hadn't come out at last year's Asian Games, that gold medal would have belonged to Chen Lan."

In the original plan, she was supposed to succeed Feng Youping.

This year's Asian Championships may be Chen Lan's last chance to win an Asian gold medal.

Li Yue remained silent, naturally understanding what Cheng Hong meant.

If Xie Bingran's competitive form is affected at this year's Asian Athletics Championships, or if she doesn't participate at all, then the gold medal will belong to Chen Lan.

In this light, Chen Lan's mindset becomes a little easier to understand.

After years of waiting, Chen Lan finally saw the retirement of "Number One Sister" Feng Youping, and she also ushered in her peak competitive state. Who knew that Bing Ge, a genius, would suddenly appear out of nowhere?
They were already at the top level of competition in Asia, but they were stopped by Xie Bingran who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

If this is the only chance she might have to win an "Asian gold medal," would that be enough to motivate her?
But the same question remains: in addition to the testimonies of the two junior team members and Chen Lan's corroboration, there is also the cooperation of external media and public opinion.

There must be other influencing forces behind this.

According to Xu Chen and Nie Fei's previous analysis, there may be two other parties involved in this operation.

One side is the so-called "Beijing faction," which is the group that hopes Chen Lan will succeed Feng Youping and win the Asian gold medal.

It may seem like just a gold medal, but behind it lies a complex web of factors, including resource allocation within the system, career advancement, and the balance of face and substance.

Besides Chen Lan herself, it's hard to guarantee that there are other stakeholders behind her who might be dissatisfied or even have ulterior motives.

Secondly, there are the investors or competing brands of "Ranbing Sports".

After all, the act of smearing Xie Bingran can be seen as a direct attempt to undermine "Ranbing Sports".

Director Li Yue is a wise man, and he had already thought of this.

He paused, then asked over the phone:
"Mr. Xu, do you think this matter might be related to 'Ranbing Sports'?"

Before Xu Chen could speak, Cheng Hong asked:

"What does this have to do with 'Burning Ice Sports'?"

Li Yue paused:
“The Anta product that Chen Lan endorses is a direct competitor to Mr. Xu’s ‘Ranbing 001’.”

……

(End of this chapter)