Rebirth: My dad is too obedient

Chapter 548 This unexpected turn of events was too wonderful.
At noon, the working lunch was delivered to the large conference room.

The work meals were prepared by the "Sports Newspaper Group" canteen. They weren't particularly delicious, but they had meat and vegetables, and the ingredients were healthy and guaranteed.

Xu Chen glanced at the time; it was around seven or eight in the morning in Jordan. Thinking Xie Bingran must be up by now, he sent her a message:

Are you going back to China today?

A short while later, I received a reply from Brother Bing:

I'm flying to Paris soon to prepare for a competition.

Xu Chen was taken aback; he hadn't heard Cheng Hong mention this before.
Why so suddenly?

Xie Bingran: [It was changed at the last minute yesterday.]

Coach Sun only received the notification yesterday at noon, and then asked for my opinion...

Xu Chen gasped.

The higher-ups suddenly arranged for Bing Ge to participate in another competition. It seems there are some specific arrangements involved?
……

As expected, Li Xu went out for a while and returned to deliver the news:
"I just received a notification that Xie Bingran will be in Paris on the 15th to participate in the 'World Athletics Diamond League Paris Station' competition."

She wasn't originally registered for this event, but because it was close to the Asian Championships, the coaching staff wanted to ensure Xie Bingran could rest and maintain her form.

We've recently contacted the IAAF again and re-registered for the Paris Diamond League; the entry slots have just been confirmed.

This competition was registered for after communication between the General Administration of Sport and the coaching staff, while also respecting Xie Bingran's personal wishes.

"Why are you in such a hurry to participate in a competition? And there was no prior notice?" someone asked.

Li Xu: "Xie Bingran's withdrawal from the Asian Championships has sparked a lot of malicious speculation."

Besides external public opinion, it has also begun to affect the morale of the national track and field team and even the entire national team.

The arrangement for Xie Bingran to participate in the Paris competition is also to give the message of 'returning to the competition' and to give fans and the public confidence.

This is also to stabilize the morale of the national team and prepare for the Olympics.

Our coverage this time also needs to include this competition.

Peking University professor Li Guangwan thought for a moment and then said:
"This is a good thing. Xie Bingran's return to the competition is a positive sign."

With the addition of some news and public relations efforts, it's possible to reverse some of the public opinion...

If Xie Bingran could also win a gold medal, that would be even better!

Coach Cheng Hong suddenly interjected:
"Yeah! Bing-ge will definitely win the gold medal and slap Chen Lan in the face."

"They got so arrogant after winning the Asian Championships!"

Xu Chen smiled helplessly.

It seems that Chen Lan's sarcastic interview this morning really angered Coach Cheng Hong.

……

……

After lunch, the discussion on the plan continued.

Coach Cheng Hong gave everyone a brief introduction to the background of the World Athletics Diamond League.

This competition was previously part of Xie Bingran's annual competition schedule, so Cheng Hong was already aware of it.

It's actually quite funny when you think about it.

Before Xie Bingran's emergence, the only competitions and events for the "Women's 100-meter Hurdles" were domestic and Asian events.

It was only after Xie Bingran joined the team last year that Coach Cheng Hong and the entire coaching team began to study various international competitions and make a year-round competition plan for Xie Bingran.

The Diamond League is a relatively new event, but it is also a professional tour event officially organized by the IAAF, and it has a huge influence mainly in Europe and America.

Xie Bingran won her first world gold medal at the "International Athletics Grand Prix" in April, and is therefore eligible to register for the "Diamond League"...

Under the guidance of Professor Chen Hui, a group of experts began to adjust and refine the overall public opinion strategy.

But ultimately, there's still a sense of being "held back".

The addition of the "Diamond League" certainly provides an extra boost in terms of media attention, but the core issue remains:
Without involving Chen Lan or creating negative associations with the national track and field team, all the public opinion maintenance efforts planned for Xie Bingran seem like deliberate attempts to "make up for lost ground" and lack persuasiveness.

However, things soon took a dramatic turn that no one had anticipated.

This unexpected event came so suddenly that Xu Chen was completely dumbfounded.

One can only exclaim: This is absolutely brilliant...

……

At 3 p.m., Professor Li Xu returned from outside with a strange expression, cleared his throat, and interrupted the discussion of the group of experts and teachers.

He shared a message that was currently being published on the international internet, which was entirely in English.

After everyone saw it, they were all so surprised and taken aback that they were speechless.
Chen Lan's post-competition doping test came back positive, and her gold medal was disqualified...

"..."

Cheng Hong was stunned for a long time, then smiled disdainfully and said in a low voice:

"No wonder he can run 12.43 seconds..."

Xu Chen remained silent as well.

Yesterday, Chen Lan ran a time of 12.43 seconds, which was a huge breakthrough compared to her previous results.

This result is almost identical to Xie Bingran's 12.42 seconds that broke the Asian Games record last year, and it certainly shows the potential to compete in the Olympic finals.

I never expected it would be for this reason.

Li Xu cleared his throat and spoke again:
"We collected cell phones today, so those of you from news organizations may not have received the latest news."

The drug test results came out this morning local time, and not long ago...

This incident has had a very negative impact and has caused enormous damage to the image of the national track and field team.

The authorities have already communicated with major media outlets and have decided not to proactively report on this matter.

Meanwhile, all news reports about Chen Lan's victory yesterday have begun to be edited out..."

Xu Chen remained silent, actually afraid that he would burst out laughing.

When I was feeling pessimistic, I thought that God would definitely help Bing Ge. I never expected that a fool would commit suicide and then help Bing Ge.

He was still figuring out how to indirectly damage Chen Lan's reputation through the "Sanlu" incident, but he never expected that Chen Lan would expose herself without him even having to lift a finger.

Thankfully, all those local Beijing media outlets that were raving about Chen Lan yesterday have fallen silent today.

Xu Chen pondered for a moment, then took a deep breath.

He leaned close to Cheng Hong and whispered:

"Even if Bingge doesn't participate, she already has the ability to win a gold medal, right?"
Why take that risk?!

Cheng Hong: "She's 26 years old, and this Asian Championships is her last chance to win an Asian gold medal."

If it's the last chance, everyone would probably want to be absolutely certain...

She paused:

"Or perhaps, she wasn't actually that confident."

Loreha, Akabane Kaoru, and Kim Sang-chae are not actually that much different from her.

If her opponents had played even slightly better, she might have lost the gold medal.

Xu Chen smiled and said, "In the end, it still comes down to a matter of strength."

But he couldn't help but wonder if, when it really came to "medicine," it might not be a decision that Chen Lan could make on her own.

The implications behind this are probably too complex to investigate thoroughly.

……

The atmosphere in the meeting room was noticeably strange.

Whispers continued, and the group of experts and teachers were still shocked by the news.

It's truly unbelievable. People are still unwilling to believe that their own athletes would face such a problem.

Subconsciously, one might even feel that the event organizers made a mistake, or that someone was deliberately sabotaging the event.

However, the fact that the event organizers dared to release the information, and that the General Administration of Sport suppressed the news, has already confirmed it.

Li Xu cleared his throat, then looked at Cheng Hong and said:
"Coach Cheng Hong, there are some personal matters that I need your help with privately..."

Cheng Hong was stunned for a moment, but then she got up.

One of Li Xu's secretaries spoke a few words to Cheng Hong in hushed tones before leading her out.

Xu Chen watched as Cheng Hong disappeared through the door, wondering what she was up to.

Li Xu spoke again:

"Therefore... our plan still needs to be adjusted."

Upon hearing this, the group of experts and teachers remained silent and instead sat up straighter.

Li Xu:

"The scandal surrounding the competition that Chen Lan exposed today, and the potential public opinion issues that may follow, are not within the scope of this special working group's discussion."

We will not discuss this matter further, and information related to this matter should not appear in our proposals…

Xu Chen frowned slightly.

The underlying meaning is quite clear: the higher-ups will likely "handle the scandal of Chen Lan's "drug test" in a low-key manner, trying to suppress the news domestically and avoid any public discussion.

Overall, this "cold treatment" by the higher authorities was not to protect Chen Lan, but rather to consider the "big picture".

After all, this scandal will have a huge negative impact on the national track and field team and even the entire national team.

In terms of the overall media and online communication environment in 07, if the authorities wanted to "cool things off," they could still minimize the impact of the public discussion.

If the matter is brought up publicly in China later, if they really want to protect Chen Lan, they can use phrases like "disagreeing with the drug test results," "protesting the event organizers," and "calling for a reinvestigation" to postpone the matter.

In reality, most things, if postponed, will be forgotten once the hype dies down...

However, Xu Chen also speculated that Chen Lan's professional career was probably completely over.

Chen Lan will inevitably face a "ban" in Asia and even abroad.

In April, Xie Bingran participated in the "International Athletics Grand Prix" in Ruishi. At the same time, American athlete Damucelli, who was also participating, was banned for three years due to "drug testing" issues.

Although he returned to competition three years later, he had already passed his peak competitive period.

If Chen Lan is banned for three years, she will be almost thirty years old when she comes out, making it almost impossible for her to return to the track.

When she returns to China, she will inevitably face internal disciplinary action from the track and field team and the General Administration of Sport.

After all, this is a serious violation of principles and will have a severe negative impact on the overall image of the national team internationally.

Chen Lan may gradually fade out of the national team, but other overt impacts are still difficult to predict.

After all, Chen Lan has made contributions and worked hard, and she also has the support of the Beijing team and other people who are protecting her. Perhaps they will provide her with a stable landing plan.

But Xu Chen couldn't help but sneer inwardly; the Sanlu scandal was already on the verge of collapse.

As someone who recommended "tainted milk powder," one will inevitably face public backlash; it's just hard to predict the extent of the backlash.

……

Li Xu cleared his throat again, straightened his expression, and said:
"Now conveying the leader's latest instructions:"
The public opinion issue surrounding Xie Bingran is being addressed in accordance with the previously announced "Plan One".

Let the truth be revealed and Xie Bingran's innocence be cleared.

Let's stick to the facts and focus on the objective evidence; there's no need to deliberately consider the impact on other athletes.

As soon as he finished speaking, a murmur immediately broke out from the audience.

Xu Chen was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but feel a surge of surprise.

"No need to consider the impact on other athletes" means that there is no need to consider the impact on Chen Lan.

Then Chen Lan's domineering behavior towards other team members can be truly exposed.

Li Xu paused, glanced at his notebook, and continued:

"The following are the exact words spoken by the leader during the meeting, which are also shared with everyone:"
The image of unity and friendship within the national track and field team was already tarnished the moment Chen Lan and others deliberately smeared Xie Bingran.

It is a verified fact that some senior athletes bully junior athletes, and this is something the track and field team cannot avoid and must face.

We need to look back and look ahead!

The image of the national track and field team in the future will depend on the team's self-reflection, internal correction, self-repair, and self-adjustment.

At the same time, the image of the national track and field team also needs the support of athletes like Xie Bingran who have achieved results and have a positive image.

Xie Bingran is the ace of the national track and field team and its face; restoring her image is of paramount importance at this moment…

Li Xu's message instantly changed the atmosphere in the conference room.

They were gloomy and surprised in the morning, with furrowed brows, but now they are all eager to try.

Professor Li Guangwan took off his reading glasses:
"The decision is clear, so let's get to work!"

Chen Hui then spoke up:

"Xie Bingran has a match on the 15th, so there aren't many days left."

We need to get started as soon as possible, confirm the plan today, and perhaps start disseminating it tomorrow.

This way, on the day of Xie Bingran's match on the 15th, it can serve as a perfect catalyst for public opinion!

Li Guangwan nodded:
"It's not just the tipping point; the tipping point is the end!"
The goal is to completely reverse public opinion by the time Xie Bingran wins the match on the 15th!

……

……

The meeting room was filled with smoke and a heated discussion broke out again.

A short while later, Coach Cheng Hong returned from outside.

Only then did everyone realize that she, as the "team leader and coach," had just gone to make a phone call with Dong Jiajia and several other team members.

Whether it is implemented according to "Plan One" or "Plan Two", there will be some news material that requires the assistance of Dong Jiajia and her team members.

Of course, the feelings of the younger team members still needed to be taken into account, so Coach Cheng Hong communicated with them privately first.

Upon hearing that it was to help Bing Ge "clear his name," these young team members agreed without hesitation.

……

……

That night.

When Xu Chen returned to his hotel room, it was already past ten o'clock at night.

Having been a "workaholic" in his previous life, this little bit of staying up late is nothing to Xu Chen.

However, many of today's "experts" are "high-ranking leaders" within the system and public institutions, and they probably haven't been subjected to such turmoil for many years.

After taking a shower and changing into comfortable pajamas, Xu Chen turned on her computer.

I browsed through all the sports-related news on mainstream media and portal websites.

As expected, reports about Chen Lan winning the gold medal yesterday have been quietly removed.

However, a considerable amount of discussion content has been preserved in user-oriented communities such as Tianya and Mop.

Xu Chen then specifically searched for information related to Chen Lan's "drug testing," but found nothing.

It seems that this news was indeed completely "frozen" in China first.

Xu Chen opened a can of iced cola, took a small sip, and breathed out a comfortable sigh.

……

……

(End of this chapter)