Chapter 76

In the afternoon, Zhang Guan returned to the Olympic Village. As soon as he got back to his room, he heard a knock on the door. It was Director Ma.

"Zhang Guan, you're going to be busy from now on," Director Ma said straightforwardly. "Director Hou has personally approved you as the flag bearer for the Olympic closing ceremony. It looks like you won't be able to leave Athens until the Olympics are over."

Zhang Guan was slightly surprised, but he quickly calmed down. Given his achievements at this Olympic Games, it was reasonable for him to serve as the flag bearer for the national team. It was just that the rehearsals for the closing ceremony would take up some time.

Director Ma continued, "Additionally, you need to come with me. Counselor Zhu from the embassy has come to see you specifically. It's not easy to enter the athletes' dormitory, so he's waiting for you in the lounge."

Zhang Guan followed Director Ma to the lounge and met Counselor Zhu. After a few polite exchanges, Counselor Zhu got to the point. He took out a golden invitation from his briefcase, which was written in English and Arabic. Zhang Guan, who didn't recognize the Arabic, found it difficult to read the handwritten English.

"Zhang Guan, this is an invitation to an Olympic party. I'm here not only to hand you this invitation but also to hope that you will attend the party," Counselor Zhu said.

Zhang Guan looked at Coach Ma and then asked, "Isn't our national team against athletes participating in such entertainment activities?"

"It depends on the specific situation," Director Ma said vaguely, gesturing for Counselor Zhu to explain.

Counselor Zhu pointed to a part of the invitation and said, "The person who sent you this invitation is no ordinary person. He is the eldest son of the King of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. His name is Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum."

Counselor Zhu said the long name without hesitation, but Zhang Guan only remembered the words "bin" and "Mohammed."

Counselor Zhu continued, "His name is too long, so we can call him Sheikh Rashid. This Sheikh Rashid is a sports enthusiast. He has even participated in the Asian Games and won a medal. Sheikh Rashid enjoys making friends with champions from various countries. This time, he has organized a private party, inviting all the champions of this Olympic Games. It seems he is very eager to meet you."

Zhang Guan nodded. The UAE is a wealthy country in the Middle East, and Dubai is a world-famous wealthy city. As the crown prince of Dubai, he must be extremely wealthy. If he is wealthy, then anything is possible.

Counselor Zhu handed the invitation back to Zhang Guan and said, "In recent years, our country's demand for oil has increased significantly. We have been looking for more suppliers to ensure our energy security. After the Iraq War last year, the international oil allocation has been unstable. Oil has become the biggest weapon of OPEC, and our country's economic development requires a large amount of oil. Therefore, strategically, we hope to strengthen our cooperation with the UAE and increase oil imports from there."

"However, our negotiations with the UAE have not made much progress. Abu Dhabi has been holding out for a higher price, and there are many factors involved. Therefore, the country has decided to launch a series of public relations activities. The main targets are not only Abu Dhabi but also the Emirate of Dubai. Dubai controls almost all non-oil trade in the UAE, and its intentions are very important to Abu Dhabi."

The UAE is composed of six small emirates, the largest of which is Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is also the main oil-producing area of the UAE, and its ruler is the president of the UAE, the top leader of the country.

Dubai is the second-largest emirate in the UAE. Its ruler is the vice president and prime minister of the UAE, the second-in-command. Although Dubai does not have as much oil as Abu Dhabi, it controls the UAE's foreign trade, especially non-oil trade. The Middle Eastern oil countries, although wealthy, need to import many industrial products and daily necessities. Therefore, Dubai, which controls foreign trade, undoubtedly controls a significant part of the UAE's lifeline.

Counselor Zhu continued, "As the crown prince of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid is also an important target for our public relations. However, the prince has been enthusiastic about various entertainment and sports activities, and our people have not found an opportunity to meet him. Additionally, Dubai has been developing tourism in recent years and plans to strengthen the use of photovoltaic energy, with an expected investment of several billion dollars. Our country's photovoltaic companies are also preparing to bid, but the bidding process is quite complex. Therefore, we urgently hope to meet Sheikh Rashid and understand the real needs and bottom line of the Dubai people, which would be advantageous for the bidding process."

Zhang Guan nodded. After all, it's a seller's market, and if they don't want to meet, there's nothing he can do. He then asked, "So you want me to meet Sheikh Rashid through this party? What do I need to do?"

"You just need to attend the party. We will send someone as your interpreter to attend the party with you. After that, they will find a way to meet the prince. You can enjoy your party with peace of mind," Counselor Zhu said with a smile.

"Do you mean I'm your ticket to the party?" Zhang Guan asked.

"Something like that! You just need to bring our person into the party," Counselor Zhu paused and then continued, "Sheikh Rashid has a very peculiar personality. We have tried to meet him through formal channels multiple times, but he has always refused for various reasons. So we can only meet him by appealing to his interests."

"Alright, no problem, I'll follow the organization's arrangements," Zhang Guan agreed without hesitation.

"Thank you. Then you need to come with me again. We need to get you a suit. Don't worry about the cost; we will take care of it."

...

The Olympic events of the day had two highlights. One was the start of the diving competition, another major event for the national team to win gold medals. The other highlight was the appearance of Liu Fei in the men's 110-meter hurdles.

Liu Fei was in the third group and easily won the group, advancing to the second round. However, another athlete from the track and field team, Da Shi, was less fortunate and did not advance to the second round.

In other track and field events, the pole vault queen, Yelena Isinbayeva, successfully won the gold medal and broke the world record again.

Notably, in the men's 200-meter sprint, Yang Yao made a historic breakthrough by advancing to the second round. However, the 18-year-old Jamaican young talent, Usain Bolt, was eliminated in the first round due to an injury, ending his first Olympic journey.

...

The next morning, Zhang Guan would be interviewed by the national television. These interviews are usually scripted in advance, and Zhang Guan just needed to read from the script.

After the interview, it was already close to noon. Zhang Guan was about to leave for lunch when Director Ma came in excitedly.

Director Ma threw several newspapers in front of Zhang Guan and said, "What's this all about?"

Zhang Guan picked up a newspaper. It was an English newspaper, but one of the headlines had been marked by Director Ma. With his level of English, he could barely understand it.

"Olympic Champion Wins Millions in Gambling Prize"

Zhang Guan put down the newspaper and said, "Director Ma, you knew about this before, right? I bought some sports lottery tickets, betting on myself winning the 100-meter sprint. I almost got punished for it."

"That's not what I'm asking about! I know you bought lottery tickets, but what's this about a million? Why a million? I've already received several calls this morning, even from Director Hou himself," Director Ma said, taking a deep breath. "That's a million euros, which is over a hundred million yuan at the current exchange rate!"

"When I bought the lottery tickets, I bought a lot, so the prize money is higher," Zhang Guan continued. "Actually, it's not that much, as the prize money is subject to taxes."

"A hundred million! I've never seen so much money in my life! If I had known you would win the Olympic gold, I would have bought some too, and I wouldn't have to worry about retirement," Director Ma said.

"Director Ma, you're still young, and retirement is a long way off!" Zhang Guan said with a smile.

"You! I can see you're a troublemaker, always causing a stir wherever you go!" Director Ma said helplessly. "Do you know that just two hours ago, the U.S. team reported to the IOC, accusing you of making over a million euros through the competition, suspecting you of match-fixing. They claim you violated sportsmanship and sports ethics and are demanding that the IOC revoke your gold medal."

"What did the IOC say? Are they going to investigate? Do I need to explain myself?" Zhang Guan asked.

Director Ma shook his head and said, "The IOC isn't stupid. If an athlete intentionally loses a match to make money through gambling, that's possible. But have you ever heard of an athlete intentionally winning a match? Winning a match is a natural thing, and you broke the world record. Can a world record be broken intentionally? If we follow the Americans' logic, every Olympic champion is intentionally fixing the match. So the Fair Play Committee did not accept the complaint."

"The Americans can't handle losing. Winning a match is being accused of violating sportsmanship and sports ethics. Following this logic, we should give the Chinese national football team a sportsmanship and ethics award, as they always lose matches, which shows their sportsmanship and ethics," Zhang Guan said with a smile.

Director Ma didn't respond but said, "The U.S. team is indeed getting desperate. The track and field events are halfway through, and they are still behind in the gold medal count. So they are starting to play dirty tricks!"

---

Chapter 2 is here, please give me a recommendation. At 250,000 words, I've been writing about men all along. How about a girl tomorrow? Thanks to the readers: Cha Zai An, i Yu Sheng Qing Duo Zhi Jiao, Yi Sheng Zui Ai De Ren Mei Le, Xin Wei Xue, 9922392, Tian Ze Long Wang, _Xiu Shu Bao Tu_, Jue Dui Gu Hu Ji, Quan 18, Shang Hua Pin Yu, Shuai Si De Nian, Freehire, Bu Nong Bu Ni, Zhu Luo Yan, Yue Zhi Feng Hen, Da 1 Cheng, Gigiliu5277, Wu Ming Hero, Xing Xue Rou, Wei Ai? Jessica, Shuai Si De Nian, Ma Lin 2013, Jing. Zhe, Kuang Feng Pang Xiang, Wo Bu Xi Mei Huai, Jin Xi Yuan, for their support!