"Bro, our captain said you're pretty good. You can come try riding with our team."
"But you rode a hundred kilometers with us today. Will you have the energy for the Tour of Zhejiang Western Sky Road tomorrow?"
"If you're physically wiped, I can talk to our captain and schedule you for the next team ride."
...
Dewey had been gaming from last night until noon today, then slept from the afternoon until just now. As he looked at a string of WeChat messages on Huang Chong's phone from a friend named Wang Qiang, he yawned and started complaining:
"What the hell is this?
A team ride?
The Tour of Zhejiang Western Sky Road?
Is Old Huang trying to join a team or something?"
He turned to look at Huang Chong, who was in the kitchen making a low-fat potato salad wrap, and continued to wonder,
'This guy actually went behind my back to try out for a team?
But with his current skill level, a professional team wouldn't even look at him, right?'
He got up from the sofa, walked to the kitchen with Huang Chong's phone, and, sporting a pair of heavy dark circles under his eyes, held the phone out to his friend and said directly:
"Some guy named Wang Qiang sent you a WeChat message. He's asking if you'll have the energy for the Tour of Zhejiang Western Sky Road tomorrow!"
Huang Chong, busy making the wrap, didn't have a free hand to take the phone. He didn't seem to care that Dewey had read his messages and simply asked:
"What else did they say?"
Seeing his calm expression, Dewey couldn't help but purse his lips and intentionally leave out some details.
"He said the team captain thinks your cycling ability is 'decent,' and you can come try riding with them.
You little punk, did you go try out for a professional team today? And did a hundred-kilometer test ride?"
Dewey, completely clueless, had gotten the wrong idea and started analyzing the situation on his own:
"If you ask me, with your current skill level, a professional team probably wouldn't be interested, right?
Even though our country is a latecomer in the world of professional road cycling, just starting out, if you want to be a Professional Cyclist, your Power-to-Weight Ratio needs to be at least 5.0+.
But you're not even at 3.0!"
Hearing his abilities being doubted, Huang Chong couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Actually, after receiving the system's reward tonight, he had already put all his Basic Optimization Value points into his FTP Power, which had now successfully broken the 200W mark.
Although there was still a considerable gap to reach the threshold of a Professional Cyclist, blowing Dewey away would be a piece of cake.
And if he were to drop his weight to 65kg, his current Power-to-Weight Ratio would actually reach 3.0.
He wasn't as pathetic as Dewey made him out to be.
"It's not what you think. I was just riding on the greenway and ran into a group of cyclists from an amateur team.
I rode a hundred kilometers with them today. They thought I was pretty good, so they asked if I wanted to join their team.
Of course I'm fine with it. I have to join a team sooner or later anyway. Even though it's an amateur team, I'm still a ways off from the professional level, right?
I can use this time to transition, get used to team riding with them!"
After explaining, Huang Chong continued, speaking to Dewey:
"Can you reply for me? Just say I'm physically fine and can join the Tour of Zhejiang Western Sky Road tomorrow. Tell him to send me the team's meeting point for the start.
Oh, and speaking of which, I have to tell you, I'm taking a day off tomorrow. I won't be at the shop.
Don't you let Master Liu take a day off, otherwise there'll be no technicians at the shop, and we'll have to close for the day!
If he wants to take a day off later, I'll cover his shift!"
"Don't worry about the shop. Before you became a technician, wasn't Old Liu doing just fine?
That guy's got money on the brain. He wishes he could work 365 days a year just to milk me for overtime pay."
Dewey looked unconcerned. Then, his eyes landed on the whole-wheat wrap on the cutting board. A sly grin spread across his face, replaced by a fawning expression as he interjected:
"Old Huang, how about you let me have this wrap to tide me over?
All I've had to eat today was the sandwich you made this morning.
See? I was literally starved awake. You can just make yourself another one."
Hearing this, Huang Chong's face darkened.
He had been cycling for three hours and hadn't eaten anything since. He was starving.
This guy was actually trying to steal his diet food, and even seemed addicted to it.
He snapped irritably:
"Did you game yourself stupid? Can't you just order takeout?!"
"No, no, no, bro. Takeout is unhealthy.
But this wrap of yours is different. You can tell from the color it's whole-wheat. So healthy, green, and nutritious—
Quick, let me test it for poison for you!"
In the end, Huang Chong gave the wrap to Dewey and made another one for himself.
The infuriating part was that after devouring it, Dewey didn't forget to push his luck:
"So good! Old Huang, I never knew diet food could be this delicious.
When did you learn to cook like this? How come I never knew?!
By the way, why don't I have Wu Fang come eat with us for a while? Since you're making diet food every day anyway, you can just make an extra portion for her. It'll save her from eating that crappy boiled stuff all the time.
She can't lose any weight, and all day long she's just causing trouble for me. It's so annoying!"
Of course, Huang Chong wasn't going to take on that job.
How could he not know? Wu Fang's inability to lose weight had nothing to do with boiled vegetables and everything to do with her inability to control her mouth and secretly eating snacks.
No wonder she couldn't lose weight.
He changed the subject directly:
"Did you reply to the message for me or not? Don't mess up my big plans. Whether or not I can become a Professional Cyclist, this next step is crucial!"
Hearing this, Dewey scoffed dismissively and said nonchalantly:
"Already did. It's just an amateur team, what's the difference between them and Zhou Ming's crappy cycling group?
Aren't there a dime a dozen of these unofficial teams in Hangcheng?
And what's with this 'come try riding with us' stuff? Acting like they're a professional team!
You're taking it way too seriously.
If you ask me, you'd be better off joining Zhou Ming's cycling group. Besides, didn't you say before that you were going to crush him in front of all his vulgar, materialistic Riding Beauties?
What, don't tell me you forgot about that?
I'm warning you, after the Tour de France is over, you have to join Zhou Ming's cycling event with me.
I'm counting on you to be my super domestique and take that rich kid down a peg!"
"They don't conflict. I'll definitely go with you to take that rich kid down a peg.
But I'm not joining Zhou Ming's group. That guy is just selling dog meat under a sheep's head. What a joke of a cycling group.
He only started that organization to build his own personal harem.
That circle is too messy, a real cesspool. I don't want to catch anything!"
"Hey, Old Huang, don't say that. There aren't many people in his group who are serious about riding, but that doesn't mean there aren't other things to ride, right?
And let's be real, the team you want to join now definitely doesn't have as many girls as his group, right?
You've been single for so long, aren't you planning on finding a girlfriend?
Even if you're not looking for a girlfriend, you've got to let off some steam, right?
I've heard, you know, that if athletes don't get some release for a long time, they can get sick from holding it in.
You want to be a Professional Cyclist, don't you? That makes you an athlete, right? Hahaha!"
"Get lost!"
Huang Chong heard this and knew Dewey's twisted sense of humor was kicking in. He didn't have the energy to bicker with him anymore.
He was a man; of course he would look for a partner.
But Zhou Ming's group was a gathering place for materialists. How could he find a life partner there?
Besides, those kinds of women were the most likely to write dramatic "essays" on Xiaohongshu and Weibo. The last thing he needed was to get a reputation as a scumbag before he even made a name for himself in the professional cycling world. That would be completely fucked.
After all, in this day and age, it was common for athletes to have their careers ruined by relationship problems.
So for Huang Chong, when it came to finding a partner, he was definitely going to look for a normal, reliable woman.
He couldn't be bothered to deal with Dewey's incessant pestering anymore. He snatched his phone back, grabbed his newly made whole-wheat wrap and freshly squeezed vegetable juice, and went to the dining area to eat dinner while reviewing the chat history from Wang Qiang.
In the last part of the conversation, he saw the starting point for the ride that Wang Qiang had sent him:
The entrance of the Lin'an District Museum!