Chapter Fifty: The Times Have Changed

In Nanjing, there is more than one sports arena called "Oriental," but the most famous is undoubtedly the "Oriental" Complex Arena owned by the Yangtze River Group. After all, the founder of the Yangtze River Group is none other than Su Tianmin, son-in-law of the renowned general Ren Dongfang.

The "Oriental" Complex Arena occupies a vast area, ranking among the largest indoor sports venues in the world. It boasts a volleyball hall capable of accommodating tens of thousands of spectators, which is linked to similarly sized basketball and badminton halls.

Su Tianmin, in his early days of entrepreneurship, indeed received considerable support—some from the highest echelons of the Republic, others from ordinary citizens of old Nanjing. Su Tianmin has never denied the privilege he enjoyed in the beginning, and in turn, he has always sought to give back to the people of this land in his own way.

Tickets for all home games of the Yangtze River Sports Club are the cheapest in the entire Republic. To make this possible, the Yangtze River Group subsidizes the sports facilities department with hundreds of millions each year for maintenance and management.

Thanks to this generosity, the Yangtze River Club's matches consistently achieve the highest attendance nationwide. In Nanjing, watching sports games at leisure has become one of the top choices for ordinary citizens.

With such a strong fan base, the Yangtze River’s athletic programs are immensely popular. The women’s volleyball and men’s basketball games, especially, are so sought-after that tickets are often impossible to get.

As the year draws to a close, despite many people entering a busy period, it remains a common routine in Nanjing to rush to the "Oriental" after work, grab a quick meal, and watch a game.

The women’s volleyball league is now in its final stages. Though the Yangtze River Women’s Volleyball Team leads the scoreboard, the Beihai Rural Commercial Bank Women’s Volleyball Team is close on their heels. Every match is crucial, and any mistake could cost a whole season’s effort.

Head coach Fu Sansheng of the Yangtze River Women’s Volleyball faces mounting pressure—not only must his team maintain their lead in the league, but they also have to go as far as possible in the League Cup.

Yet, despite the stress, Fu Sansheng refuses to change his style. He continues to inspire his players with passionate words and gestures, urging those responsible for the arena to make the atmosphere even more fervent.

In this round, the Yangtze River Women’s Volleyball Team faces the Guangdong Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce Women’s Volleyball Team.

The Guangdong Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce Women’s Volleyball Team is the league’s biggest financial backer. The Chamber, composed of Chaozhou businessmen, wields immense financial power. Though their lack of tradition means their performance isn’t the best, the influx of capital allows them to recruit from across the league and the globe, creating a truly international squad.

After finishing the World Women's Volleyball Grand Prix, Ma Dongmei received an eight-figure annual salary offer from the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce Team. However, she declined outright—she was content in Nanjing and had no intention of leaving. Even though such a contract would be the league’s top-tier, Ma Dongmei cared little for that.

Before the match, both teams were warming up, yet the arena was already packed to capacity. Fans donned the team shirts placed on their seats, turning the entire venue a vibrant red—the same hue as the surging waters after the Nanjing Defense so many years ago.

As the match was about to begin, the arena’s DJ would typically play lively songs to warm up the crowd, but this time, an impassioned symphony suddenly echoed through the "Oriental" Complex Arena.

After a brief introduction, stirring strings followed, joined by the driving beat of rock drums and the electric bass. The fusion of these distinct musical styles brought a fresh and exhilarating experience to everyone present.

Almost instantly, all attention was drawn to the song. Even though it hadn’t yet finished, people could already feel its motivating power—especially Ma Dongmei.

When the weathered yet resonant voice of Zhang Laopao rang out, everyone felt a surge in their minds; the atmosphere in the arena ignited in an instant.

Ma Dongmei had not expected to hear this song in such a setting. Though she had listened to it before, she still felt the blood in her veins boiling with excitement—and that was nothing compared to those who were hearing it for the first time.

The audience was immersed in the musical ambiance, and the players were visibly fired up by the song.

The outcome of the match seemed inevitable: the Yangtze River Women’s Volleyball Team, with their superior strength, unleashed a formidable momentum. Though the Guangdong team fought valiantly, the fierce enthusiasm of the Nanjing crowd overwhelmed them, and they ultimately lost by a score of three to zero.

Ma Dongmei, who played the entire match, transformed into a super spiker, scoring thirty points in total—twenty-one of them from spikes, just two shy of the league’s single-game record.

After the match, many media outlets highlighted Ma Dongmei’s extraordinary performance, while others reported on the song played in the arena before the game.

With both online and traditional media promoting it, the song "Believe in Yourself" began to gain momentum across the music charts, rising at an astonishing speed.

As the song’s popularity soared, Zhang Laopao and composer Wang Lei entered the public eye. Reports surfaced about the song’s rejection as the theme for the Tianhai City National Games, stirring considerable controversy online and among the public.

Young people were drawn to the melody, middle-aged listeners to the lyrics. The song’s passionate tone appealed to a broad age group, and those with athletic backgrounds found its fervor especially moving.

The lively discussion on the internet spread rapidly, with conspiracy theories and exposés proliferating across social networks.

Some passionate netizens even launched fierce attacks on the Tianhai City government’s homepage, declaring that missing such a song was the city’s loss—not that of Zhang Laopao or Wang Lei.

With the advent of the digital era, the Republic’s leadership had realized the dramatic changes ahead and the need to adapt to the rapid flow of information.

Now, the heated online debate about "Believe in Yourself" had caught the attention of relevant authorities, as well as everyone in the Tianhai City government—no one could have foreseen that a single song would leave them so roundly criticized.