Chapter 1226: 1224 Sports Meet Scandal (1224 Leak)
Chapter 1226: 1224 Sports Meet Scandal (1224 Leak)
“Make your point clearer, what do you mean by saying that reporting is useless?” Tan Rou said, “Didn’t you get the evidence in the chat group? If you submit the evidence, does nobody care about it?”
Li Li shook her head and said, “I have already sent the video to the organizing committee, and they said they would deal with it as soon as possible, but it’s been nearly three hours and still no statement has been released from the committee. Plus, many athletes with great potential have been injured during the competitions. They reported to the organizing committee, but received no response.”
Lan Ning said, “I’m worried you might also get hit from behind this afternoon, so I came to remind you. Tan Rou, are you still going to participate in the competition this afternoon?”
Zhuang Liu immediately said, “Shouldn’t we just not go? If there’s someone messing around inside, then the race is meaningless. Plus, there’s a chance you might get injured, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
Yet Tan Rou said, “This matter is indeed a bit strange, but now that we are aware, we can’t just ignore it. I’ve trained for this race, and if I don’t run, wouldn’t my training have been in vain?”
Zhuang Liu was still very worried, “Tan Rou, I don’t want you to be in danger.”
Tan Rou squeezed Zhuang Liu’s hand, “I’ll be careful, could you just accompany me in the stands, okay?”
If it weren’t for the fact that Zhuang Liu couldn’t compete, he would have accompanied Tan Rou to run as well.
Tan Rou decided to run because she had trained for it, and also because the sports event was sponsored by their family. Every sponsorship was an investment, and she couldn’t let her family’s business suffer.
After lunch, Tan Rou rested for half an hour and then went to find Tao Zhi. Tao Zhi had just come back from dining with the organizing committee members, still wearing a hint of tipsiness on his face.
“Big brother, I have something to tell you.” Tan Rou said, “You should wash your face first and sober up.”
The tipsiness on Tao Zhi’s face immediately vanished, and he asked, “What’s up?”
“Take a look at this.” Tan Rou showed Tao Zhi the video, “This was recorded by a photographer this morning.”
Tao Zhi could tell at a glance that someone was causing trouble on purpose, “He’s bumping into people.”
Tan Rou nodded and said, “It’s not just him, there are several people causing trouble inside. They specifically target athletes with potential, and several who could have placed were injured by them.”
“Did you report this to the organizing committee?” Tao Zhi asked.
Tan Rou replied, “The committee doesn’t seem to want to deal with it. We reported it this morning, but there has been no response till now.”
“What do you want me to do?” Tao Zhi asked directly.
“You could probe the committee members, see who is behind the troublemaking.” Tan Rou suggested.
Tao Zhi suddenly remembered another matter, “Do you know what the real purpose of holding this sports event is?”
“Hmm?” Tan Rou voiced her confusion, “Isn’t it to satisfy the inspections from authorities?”
In response to the national call, the city held a sports event every year, encouraging people to exercise and improve their physical fitness.
Tao Zhi chuckled, “That’s part of the reason, but not the main one. Haven’t you noticed that there are a lot of participants in this sports event?”
Of course, Tan Rou had noticed. Just their school alone had forcibly included many students. Graduate students usually didn’t need to participate, but this year, all graduate students received invitations, and every department had to have graduate students sign up.
Tan Rou and Li Li were coerced into coming; even if they did not sign up, their professors would find ways to make them come.
“There are indeed lots of participants this year, and there are many like me and Li Li who were pushed by our tutors to join, while there are also quite a few who signed up voluntarily.” Tan Rou said.
“This year, those who achieve results in the sports event will not only receive medals but also some tangible prizes.” Tao Zhi said, “Otherwise, why do you think the organizing committee wanted us as sponsors?”
Tan Rou suddenly realized the issue. While there had been sponsors for the sports event in previous years, this year, there were many sponsors, and the sponsorship amount was very large. The Tao family’s sponsorship was about the same as in previous years, but it only accounted for forty percent of the total sponsorship amount.
To say that holding the sports event was a business deal wasn’t wrong at all.