Xie Shi paused for a moment, then said softly.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. See you the day after tomorrow. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2021-10-29 20:14:58 and 2021-10-31 19:55:47!
Thank you to the little angels who threw rockets: New Technique and Last Time I Was Sleeping (2 each); Mia and Zowen (1 each);
Thank you to the little angel who threw the grenade: Bai Shifan (1);
Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: Q, Stranger (2); Star, Mu Zi 2598, 53488711, Park Chae-young's wife, New Technique, me eyeing you, Violation Girl for Life, Kidnapper's Dog, 48078768, Magical Girl Cersei, 48318414 (1);
Thank you to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: 34263353 120 bottles; 48318414 60 bottles; 52895417 40 bottles; L1215. 27 bottles; Q, Little Kitten's Silly, Graduation and Retirement 20 bottles; Mu Qing'an 16 bottles; Ruochen 15 bottles; Stranger. 12 bottles; Night, 55437511, Civil Affairs Orange, 53519566, Xiao Mo 10 bottles; Schrödinger 8 bottles; Star, 515, kurisu, Lin Yan's Mechanical Stick, Last Time I Slept or Last Time, Xun'an 5 bottles; Is Ling Not Zero, Laughing Pig 4 bottles; Lu Lin is a der, Morning Light Night, Mu Zi 2598 3 bottles; Little Horse, Confused State___, Yu Hua Hua Xia, Evil Dragon Roaring 2 bottles; Luo Sheng, Bamboo Wind, 52870144 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 17 Acquaintances
A few days later, Jian Changnian picked up the package Zhou Mu had sent and brought it back to her dormitory. As soon as she opened it, Sun Qian surrounded her.
"Wow, this scarf is so pretty, it must be hand-knitted."
"Yes, it was a gift from a friend."
After Jian Changnian took out the scarf, a note fell out of the bag. She picked it up and saw that it was Zhou Mu's handwriting.
"Here's the red one, and he gets the blue and white striped one. Please, my dear friend, Zhou Mu."
He even drew a funny face at the end.
Jian Changnian smiled knowingly, put the scarf away, and planned to go to the swimming base after training in the afternoon.
After training ended at seven o'clock in the afternoon, Jian Changnian rushed back to the dormitory to get her scarf without even having lunch. She accidentally bumped into Sun Qian when she left.
"Hey, where are you going? Want to go eat together?"
Jian Changnian turned around and waved: "Sorry, I have something to do. You go first, I'll go later."
***
"Hello, I'm looking for Cheng Zhen from the training team." Jian Changnian gently knocked on the glass of the guardhouse, and the old man poked his head out.
"Who are you? We don't accept visitors during closed training."
Jian Changnian smiled and stood on tiptoe, peering through the window of the guardhouse.
“I’m from the badminton training base next door. I’m Cheng Zhen’s friend. I won’t go in. I’ll just drop him off and leave.”
The security guard, seeing that she was well-behaved and polite, picked up the phone and said, "Alright, alright, I'll call her for you."
A moment later, Cheng Zhen ran out.
"It's you! What brings you here? I thought it was Shi'an..."
The boy had probably just finished training; water droplets still clung to his hair. He ran out wearing shorts and flip-flops, shirtless.
The boy had a very well-defined physique, and his skin was so white it seemed to glow.
Jian Changnian instinctively took a step back, keeping a meter's distance from him, and handed him the bag, her eyes looking elsewhere, her face slightly flushed.
"Um... Zhou... Zhou Mu asked me to give this to you."
"Huh?" Cheng Zhen was still in a daze when several boys jumped out from behind him. They looked like his teammates and snatched the bag away.
"Wow, it's a scarf! You've got something going on here!"
Cheng Zhen snapped out of her daze and hurriedly tried to grab it, saying, "Give it to me! No, don't talk nonsense!"
The scene of several shirtless boys fighting was rather amusing. Jian Changnian slightly curved the corners of her lips, glanced at Cheng Zhen, and asked with some curiosity.
Aren't you cold?
Cheng Zhen, belatedly realizing something was amiss, grabbed the towel hanging around her teammate's neck and wrapped it around her upper body.
"It's alright, we're used to winter swimming, it's not cold."
Several teammates were still examining the scarves in the bag.
"Let's see."
"It's hand-woven."
"This color is really beautiful."
Cheng Zhen snatched the scarf back and hugged it to her chest.
"What are you looking at? This is for me, don't look!"
Jian Changnian couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Alright, I'll be leaving now that I've delivered the things. Zhou Mu knitted this for a long time, so you must wear it."
Sun Qian pushed open the dormitory window and looked into the distance. She could see two people chatting and laughing at the entrance of the swimming training base across the street.
The girl pursed her lips and closed the window again.
***
"Hey, are you coming to the club this week?"
Xie Shi'an, with headphones around his neck, used his racket to scoop up the badminton shuttlecock and replied while listening to the voice on the receiver.
"They're in closed training."
The boy on the other end of the line sounded rather lazy.
"A few really talented guys came to the club this week and they're looking for sparring partners. I was thinking, this job would suit you."
Qiao Yuchu watched as she stopped moving and didn't serve.
"What's wrong?"
"We'll see. If I have time off this week, I can come over and have some fun," Xie Shi'an replied after hanging up the phone.
"Cao Rui asked me if I wanted to go to the club this week."
"Did your dad ask you for money again?"
Xie Shi'an responded indifferently, "Yeah, I ignored him."
In his early years, Xie Shi'an was still in school and didn't have much income, so he could only work as a sparring partner at clubs or teach elementary school students to play ball to earn a living. That's when he met Cao Rui.
When her gambling-addicted father was mentioned, Qiao Yuchu was also quite annoyed.
“Last time you said you were in the hospital after a car accident, and when you went to check, you found him playing cards and drinking at home. And the time before that, loan sharks came to your door looking for you. Shi’an, I’m telling you, you can’t be soft-hearted and give him money again.”
Over the long years, Xie Shi'an has repeatedly rekindled her hopes for the role of a father, only to have them dashed time and time again. She is no longer the little girl who would cry in the street because he didn't want her. Now, Xie Shi'an is immune to all poisons and her heart is as hard as iron.
"I know, I just want to play ball." Xie Shi'an raised his hand and sent her a cross-court shot.
"It's a bit boring here."
Qiao Yu smiled and caught the ball, then flicked it back to her.
"It's clearly because your skills are too good that you're blaming others."
***
Yan Xinyuan hadn't planned to take a break this week, but a group of people kept complaining that the training was too tough. He thought about it and agreed that a balance between work and rest is the most scientific way to train. So, he generously granted everyone a half-day off on Saturday afternoon.
During the morning training, Jian Changnian noticed that he was covering his mouth with his fist and coughing from time to time.
After training ended, Jian Changnian ran over and asked, "Coach Yan, are you feeling unwell?"
Yan Xinyuan coughed twice more, his voice a little hoarse: "It's nothing... cough cough... I guess it's just the change of seasons and I've caught a cold. I'm giving you guys the afternoon off, so I'll go to the clinic to get some medicine."
"You should go to the hospital to get it checked out; I've heard you coughing for several days now."
"Cough cough... It's an old problem." Yan Xinyuan smiled again as he looked at her worried expression.
"Alright, I know my own body. You have the afternoon off, you can go home and see your grandma, and come back tomorrow."
Jian Changnian then smiled again and nodded emphatically.
"Okay, thank you, Coach Yan! I'll be going now."
She dashed back to her dorm, packed her things, and after thinking for a moment, went to the public phone in the corridor to call Zhou Mu.
"Hey, it's me. I have half a day off this week. Want to go home together? What? You're not going home?" Jian Changnian's voice was full of excitement when she mentioned going home, but she was a little disappointed when she heard that she wasn't going home.
"I'm going to the club with one of the seniors from our school team this week, do you want to come along?"
Although she had never been to the club, she had heard that playing there was very expensive.
Jian Changnian shook her head: "No, I'm going home to see my grandma."
Zhou Mu was aware of her concerns: "Don't rush to refuse. This club is owned by my senior's friend. We can play for free. In addition, their club is currently recruiting sparring partners and has also started offering badminton courses for elementary school students. They are also looking for part-time instructors."
Jian Changnian's heart skipped a beat: "Does the part-time job require attending classes every day?"
"No, both sparring and part-time jobs are paid by the hour."
Zhou Mu sensed her interest and coaxed her further, "Hey, what kind of place was that KTV you went to before? You might as well do something you're good at, and earn some money to supplement your family's income. I didn't know about this before, but now you might miss this opportunity."
Jian Changnian still hesitated: "I...can I do it?"
"Why don't you give it a try? You're just teaching elementary school students anyway, so you can easily impress them with your skills."
This was such a rare opportunity, and I even had an acquaintance act as a go-between.
Jian Changnian steeled her heart and agreed.
"Okay, where's the address?"
"Take bus 605 and get off at Huifeng Road intersection. I'll wait for you there."
"Okay, see you there."
"See you there."
***
Chenxing Badminton Club.
While changing clothes in the dressing room, Xie Shi'an chatted casually with Qiao Yuchu.
"You finally get a holiday and you're not going home. Won't your auntie scold you?"