Conquer America, Start with a Boxing Champion

"Why are you here for dinner and buying flowers?"

On the campus of the University of Science and Technology, Zhang Zilin held a bouquet and looked at the pink roses. Her cheeks were also dyed pink. Especially when she was seen by passers-by, the pink on her face became more intense, like rouge. .

"The book says that when visiting friends of the opposite sex, it is basic etiquette to bring a bouquet of flowers."

Link said.

"Then don't buy roses."

Zhang Zilin whispered.

"What?"

"It's okay. I mean it's not convenient to go to the cafeteria with a bouquet. If you want to wait a moment, I'll go back to the dormitory first."

"It's too troublesome to go back, why don't I take it first. This is the souvenir I brought to you when I played in Xichuan. Do you like it?"

Link took the bouquet and handed her the souvenir.

Zhang Zilin opened the paper bag and looked at it. She saw a crystal handicraft. She blushed and said it was very beautiful.

"As long as you like it. This is my first time buying something for a girl. If you have any comments, you can tell me and I will pay attention to it next time I buy gifts."

Link said.

"No, no, it's really beautiful. I like it very much."

Zhang Zilin shook his head, his ponytail swaying, and the blush on his face deepened.

"That's good."

Link nodded.

The two of them walked and chatted about recent developments.

Link said that in addition to practicing boxing, he also practices shot put recently. He will go to South Korea to participate in the Universiade in July and go to Thailand to participate in the World Boxing Championship in August.

Zhang Zilin said that he was really good. She also participated in the Universiade hurdle event trials, but she injured her leg during training last year and her performance dropped too much, so she was not selected.

Link said it was a pity and asked her how the injury on her leg was?

Zhang Zilin said it has improved a lot. After being injured last year, it was difficult to even walk. Now he can practice hurdles, but it is difficult to improve his performance.

The two chatted until they walked to the school cafeteria.

There are more students in the cafeteria.

Because Zhang Zilin is tall and has outstanding appearance, she is a relatively famous beauty in school.

Many people know her.

When everyone saw her and the slender and handsome Link holding a bouquet of roses next to her, there were more ambiguous looks and whispers.

Zhang Zilin felt very stressed as he was being stared at. He wanted to walk faster, but found that Link was walking slower and slower. As he walked, he looked at the environment of the cafeteria and praised the cafeteria of HKUST for being better than the environment of the University of Science and Technology.

Zhang Zilin rolled his eyes at him, obviously the canteen of the University of Physical Education is better, okay?

This guy is deliberately stalling for time and attracting attention.

Zhang Zilin guessed this, but strangely didn't find it annoying.

"Hi, Zi Lin, who is this?"

Zhang Zilin also met several female classmates on the way, and everyone looked at her and Link with ambiguous eyes.

"This is Link, a classmate from Ti University."

Zhang Zilin explained with a blushing face.

"Just classmates?"

"Zilin, you did a good job of keeping things secret. You found a boyfriend without saying anything."

Everyone laughed and joked.

"Hello classmates, Zi Lin didn't lie to you. Zi Lin and I are just ordinary friends for the time being."

Link said.

"Yo? Temporarily?"

"Understood."

"You guys are eating, I won't interrupt your date."

Several people laughed and joked a few words, passing by with a burst of lively laughter.

"I helped you out, but no need to thank you."

Link said.

Zhang Zilin looked at him with a blushing face and walked towards the second floor with long legs.

Link shrugged, followed to the small booth on the second floor, and ordered food, including the braised lion head he wanted to eat.

After dinner, the two watched a newly released Korean movie "If Love Has a Will" at the HKUST Cinema. Zhang Zilin burst into tears, and Link also had the opportunity to put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

If you are in Europe and the United States, when the conversation reaches this stage, you can kiss and go to the hotel in the evening to do your favorite things.

But this is China. In 2003, China's social atmosphere was not fully open. Most people were still very conservative in the relationship between men and women. There were some people who had sex, but they would be considered immoral.

Link said goodbye to Zhang Zilin in front of the University of Science and Technology and took the bus back to the University of Science and Technology.

Bao Xiaohu and Jiang Weixing saw him coming back and laughed at him for being too reserved. They should attack hard and capture the opponent's fortress as soon as possible.

Link ignored the two of them and picked up a brush to practice calligraphy.

Practicing calligraphy can not only make your handwriting more beautiful, but also practice your wrist flexibility and endurance.

He has recently been practicing five thousand Chinese characters every day, and his calligraphy has gradually become impressive.

When he was training at the boxing club the next day, Zhang Zilin came over to watch and brought him a sports T-shirt. He tried it on and it fit just right.

In the following period, Link practiced boxing every morning and shot put every afternoon. On weekends, he would go to the University of Science and Technology to accompany Zhang Zilin around the streets. Zhang Zilin would also come to the University of Science and Technology to see him when he was free.

The relationship between the two gradually became closer.

We used to go shopping side by side, but now we go shopping hand in hand.

Link also kissed the girl at the right time and place, and the girl accepted it shyly, but stopped him from further offending him.

Link is not discouraged. His current focus is still on boxing training and throwing training.

After a period of training, his strength became stronger and his hands became more explosive. He could clean and jerk a 100kg barbell 50 times in one breath, which was equivalent to his level when he participated in the American Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Because the school does not have a boxing weight testing machine, he can only estimate that the current maximum explosive force of the right fist is about 600 kilograms, and the maximum explosive force of the left fist barely reaches 500 kilograms. In the middleweight class, this boxing weight is at the top level.

The training of the shot put event is also improving steadily. The current best result is 18.72 meters, which is getting closer and closer to the Asian record.

The only thing that makes him dissatisfied now is the lack of money.

Boxing training is very expensive. Money is needed to buy equipment, clothes, nutritional supplements, physical therapy and health care, etc.

Of the 35,000 in prize money from the last boxing championship, 10,000 was sent home, and most of the rest was spent during this period.

Nowadays, he is not used to the life without a car, a house and a woman.

In July, the World University Games is about to begin, and Link will also leave for South Korea with the Universiade track and field team.

Before leaving, Link and Zhang Zilin had a date by the Lotus Pavilion in the Summer Palace.

"You've been fine at home recently, why don't we go to South Korea to watch the Universiade together?"

Link said, leaning against the guardrail of the stone pavilion and looking at the quiet lotus pond.

"I'm not an athlete, so what are I going to do?"

Zhang Zilin stood side by side with him, holding a cup of milk tea in his hand.

"I asked the team leader if I could bring my family members with me."

"Family members? Who are your family members?"

Zhang Zilin asked shyly.

"Of course it's you."

Link put his arms around her slender waist, and the scent of the girl wafted over her.

"Don't move."

Zhang Zilin looked around and saw no one else before allowing him to put his hand on her waist.

"The team leader said that bringing family members can stimulate the fighting spirit of the athletes. Originally, with my ability, I could get a bronze medal. If you go to the scene to cheer me on, I can get the gold medal."

Link said.

"real?"

Zhang Zilin smiled sweetly.

"Of course, if you want to go, it's still not too late to buy a ticket, and you can get a visa on arrival."

Link encouraged.

Zhang Zilin thought for a moment, shook her head, and said that she was going to attend a model training class during the summer vacation, and she was going to sign up for the New Silk Road Model Competition.

"Modeling contest? Are you planning to be a model?"

"Yes, the New Silk Road Model Contest is very famous in the fashion circle. Chen Juanhong, Qu Ying, and Ma Yanli are all famous models from the New Silk Road. What do you think of me being a model?"

Zhang Zilin looked at him and asked.

"It's not bad. Modeling is also a promising career, just like being an actor or singer."

Link said.

"Yes, many of the models who came out of New Silk Road later became actors. But at this stage, I just want to train well and strive to get a good ranking in the model competition. I will talk about the rest later."

Zhang Zilin said while drinking iced milk tea.

Link said nothing more and looked down at the girl, "What does milk tea taste like?"

"Cherry flavor, do you want to try it?"

Zhang Zilin asked, holding up the milk tea cup.

Link shook his head, lowered his head and kissed her lips, which indeed tasted like cherry.

The girl was attacked by a sneak attack, shyly hitting his chest, and then submissively accepted his kiss.

——

On Friday, Link flew to Seoul with the Chinese delegation for the Universiade, and took a flight to Daegu in the southeast the next morning.

Daegu is the third largest city in South Korea, adjacent to the Korean Strait and across the sea from Kyushu Island in Japan.

On July 21, the 22nd Universiade officially kicked off in Daegu, South Korea. There are 173 participating countries and regions, 4,460 participating athletes, and more than 6,000 media reporters and officials.

There are 13 major events in this Universiade, including track and field, basketball, fencing, gymnastics, swimming, diving, water polo, tennis, volleyball, football, taekwondo, judo and archery. These 13 major events include 186 minor events.

There are 336 people in the Huaxia University Sports Delegation, including 229 college athletes from 45 domestic universities, 108 male athletes, 121 female athletes, and 107 officials.

The athletes Link knows include Jiang Weixing from the same dormitory, Tian Liang from the diving team, Dong Hui from the gymnastics team, Luo Xuejuan from the swimming team, and others. Their overall strength is pretty good.

There are 45 college athletes participating in the shot put throwing event, coming from 32 countries. The only one on the Chinese team is Link.

The main reason is that the Chinese team lacks talents in the men's shot put event. Among college athletes, only Link can throw more than 18 meters. The others are all around 17 meters, so Link is under greater pressure.

The shot put preliminaries were held on July 23 at the Daegu General Gymnasium, which is also the main venue of this Universiade.

The first round of preliminaries is also a knockout round. 45 people participated in the competition. Each person threw 3 times. The top eight athletes entered the next round.

Link appeared 13th in the first round. When he appeared, there was a burst of discussion in the audience. The reason was that compared with his peers, his figure was too 'slender' and he did not look like a throwing athlete. .

Even the athletes competing with him looked at him like this.

Link didn't care about the eyes of the people around him. He did a few warm-up exercises on the sidelines and then walked to the throwing area with a 7.26kg shot put.

The first throw was 16.52 meters.

This result is relatively average, and not many people paid attention to it after the results came out.

The second throw was 18.92 meters.

Wow! Suddenly there was a loud noise all around.

18.92 meters ranks first among the athletes currently competing.

The person who achieved this result is a Chinese athlete who does not look strong.

When Link was linked to this result, the audience and athletes at the scene all looked over. The media reporters who were originally scattered in various corners of the stadium looking for news materials also rushed over and pointed their cameras at Link.

The third throw was 18.78 meters.

He failed to break the second throw record, so Link's score in the first round of qualifying was 18.92 meters.

Link's name immediately appeared on the big screen at the scene. He is from China Kyoto Sports University. His best score in the first round was 18.92 meters, temporarily ranking first in the rankings.

"Link, that's great. As long as you can maintain this score, you will definitely get a medal. This is a track and field medal. It's so rare."

After coming off the field, shot put coach Li Yabing rushed over and patted his shoulder excitedly.

"Lao Li, please be gentle. Link still wants to compete, so don't break his arm."

Ms. Li Zhichun, the leader of the track and field team, smiled beside her.

"Haha, Link, how do you feel? Do you have the confidence to break into the top three in the finals?"

Li Yabing smiled.

"Link, prepare well. If you can break into the top three, you will be a great contributor to our track and field team."

Team leader Li Zhichun smiled.

"Okay, I'll try my best."

Link said.

At the end of the first round, American University of Southern California athlete Parker O'Brien ranked first with 19.35 meters.

Ryan Kruse, an athlete from the University of Munich in Germany, ranked second with 19.08 meters.

Link is temporarily ranked third.

The fourth Polish athlete Tomas Majewski, 18.89 meters, is only 3 centimeters behind Link.

In addition, students from Russia, Japan, Ukraine and other countries entered the top eight.

If Link wants to keep the top three and get a medal, he still needs some strength and luck.