"Should I be glad Coach Yan didn't come in person, or should I regret that he didn't see this scene?" Xie Shi'an coldly curled the corner of his lips, revealing a sarcastic smile.
When Coach Yan was mentioned, Jian Changnian's expression darkened. She knew that Coach Yan despised such despicable and unsportsmanlike things the most, and she also knew that she had disappointed them all.
Seeing the sarcasm in Xie Shi'an's eyes, Jian Changnian couldn't help but tear up again.
She had finally gained Xie Shi'an's approval, and she didn't want her to think that she was a person without any moral bottom line or professional ethics, so she tried her best to explain, but somewhat helplessly.
"I...you believe me, I'll do it this once."
Xie Shi'an turned his face away, forcing himself not to look into her eyes.
"If you don't have money, you can borrow it. Do you think I, Qiao Yuchu, Cheng Zhen, Zhou Mu, Coach Yan, and every brother and sister in the provincial team would not help you?"
These past few days, Jian Changnian has barely slept a wink. All she can think about is money. Her nerves are on edge, ready to snap at any moment. Hearing her talk about these things, all her grievances welled up inside her, and tears streamed down her face as she cried out.
“I borrowed it! I sold everything of value in my house, went door to door in the village to borrow money, and knelt in front of Zhou Mu’s parents to beg them to help me. Do you think I didn’t want to borrow money from you?! Don’t I know that everyone only gets that little bit of allowance each month?! Coach Yan has been helping me ever since I was not in the training team. Don’t I know that?! This isn’t fifty or one hundred, it’s one hundred thousand!”
“If I were the kind of heartless, opportunistic person, I would have cheated them out of the money. But I have a conscience, Xie Shi’an, I have a conscience.”
“Then you can’t…” A complex look flashed in Xie Shi’an’s eyes as he silently clenched his hands.
Jian Changnian choked back tears, and said self-deprecatingly, "I can't do anything, but I can do anything now, as long as I can make money. Don't even mention asking me to play ball with people, even if it's asking me to drink and sleep with people like Sun Qian, I..."
Before he could finish speaking, his collar was grabbed.
Xie Shi'an stared into her eyes, his own eyes slightly red, and said, word by word, "Say it again."
Since meeting her, Xie Shi'an has always presented a cold and indifferent demeanor in front of her. Occasionally, she would say one thing but mean another. Even when she played ball with Qin Yang and the others, it was mostly out of a competitive spirit. She had never been truly angry, let alone grabbed someone by the collar and questioned them.
The two were close together, and there was a height difference between them at that time, so Xie Shi'an lifted her up like a chick.
Her dark pupils reflected her own despondent and resigned state.
Jian Changnian smiled sadly: "I said, as long as I get paid, I'll do anything you ask me to do now."
Xie Shi'an's hand, gripping her collar, trembled slightly. She gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to punch him.
"You're coming back with me right now, for the national competition..."
The mere mention of the national competition completely snaps my mind.
Jian Changnian pushed the person away and screamed through her tears.
"I'm not participating in any national competitions! I'm not playing badminton anymore... All I want to do now is save my grandma. My parents abandoned me when I was little. She picked me up from the garbage dump, took care of me, and protected me. She's my only family in this world. Xie Shi'an, do you even understand that?!"
The sudden exertion caught Xie Shi'an off guard, and he stumbled back a few steps before regaining his balance. Looking at her tearful and hysterical appearance, he felt as if he had returned to the past, to the time when his grandfather had just passed away.
My heart felt like it was being gnawed by millions of ants—a familiar, hidden, and aching pain.
Xie Shi'an silently bit her lower lip. She didn't say anything more, turned around and pressed the down button for the elevator.
The elevator doors closed in front of her, and Jian Changnian burst into tears. When Cao Rui came out to find her, she quickly wiped away her tears.
"I'm going to the bathroom to wash my face, I'll be right back."
Seeing Xie Shi'an run out of the Lifeng Building, Qiao Yuchu, who was waiting by the roadside, immediately went to greet him.
"You came down so quickly?"
She looked behind Xie Shi'an, who was now completely empty: "Where is he?"
Xie Shi'an waved and hailed a taxi without saying a word.
Qiao Yuchu quickly chased after her: "Hey, where are you going?"
Xie Shi'an climbed into the car without looking back: "Let's go home!"
***
Zhou Mu got off the bus and walked towards the school. This road is one of the busiest sections of the city and is next to the bus station. So when the weather is nice and there are many people, there are always people setting up stalls to do business, including some students who do part-time work.
As she walked, vendors approached her.
"Miss, take a look at the crystal hair clips and earrings, they're all freshly arrived."
"Thank you, but no need."
Zhou Mu had no time to think about any of this. He shook his head, avoided the people, and continued walking forward.
She hadn't walked two steps when she came across another stall selling CDs, as well as all sorts of study materials and books. Looking around, the whole street sold everything from clothes and shoes to daily necessities.
For some reason, Zhou Mu suddenly had a flash of inspiration and jumped up.
"I've got it! I've got it!"
As she ran towards the school, she fumbled in her pocket to pull out her phone and call Cheng Zhen.
"Senior Cheng, I've got it! I've got a way to help Chang Nian!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhen jumped up from the sofa: "You're something else, Zhou Mu."
The person who was praised smiled a little shyly: "I'll go and persuade my classmates. Um... I also wanted to ask you if you'd be willing to help..."
Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Zhen immediately agreed.
"Of course! Shi'an's friends are my friends! Don't worry about the swimming team, I'll get them involved!"
Zhou Mu smiled sincerely: "Thank you, Senior Cheng."
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Zhen ran back to her bedroom. She first emptied her schoolbag, then packed a few toys in it, only to find it was already full.
He shook his head: "No, it's a bit too small."
Cheng Zhen thought for a moment, then pulled out a suitcase from under the bed, opened it, and stuffed it with all sorts of unused comic books, CDs, game discs, and so on.
As Zhou Mu walked towards the dormitory building, he sent messages in his class group and the badminton team group.
"Dear classmates and seniors, good afternoon. I am Zhou Mu from Class 3, Grade 11. I have no choice but to ask you for help. My friend Jian Changnian is a member of the Binhai Provincial Badminton Team. She comes from a poor family and has lived with her grandmother since she was a child. She worked hard to get into the Binhai Provincial Team. With the National Competition just around the corner, her grandmother was seriously injured in a sudden car accident and is now bedridden. The perpetrator fled the scene and is missing. The surgery alone will cost 100,000 yuan, which is beyond the means of our poor family. I beg you kind people to help her so that she can fulfill her dream and reunite with her family."
Zhou Mu continued typing: "If any of you have any unwanted items, please send them to room 208 in the girls' dormitory. My friends and I would be extremely grateful!"
Her message went unanswered in several groups, as if it had sunk without a trace.
Zhou Mu sighed and continued walking forward, when her phone suddenly vibrated. She looked down and saw it was Li Jiajia in the school team group chat, asking:
Do you want any unused plush toys?
Zhou Mu quickly typed a reply: "Yes, yes, clean ones are fine."
A while later, someone else replied; it was the senior who had gone to the Morning Star Club with them last time.
"I have some study guides here, but I haven't done any of them."
Zhou Mu smiled and quickly replied, "Sure, thank you, senior."
"Where are you? I can't go into the girls' dormitory."
"I'll be waiting for you downstairs in the dormitory."
"Okay, I'll be there soon."
Zhou Mu waited downstairs in the dormitory for a while when her senior ran over with his backpack on and put it in front of her.
"Here, all of these are for you."
Zhou Mu opened it and was shocked; it was full of books.
The senior scratched his head and smiled: "It's a bit heavy, can you carry it? I didn't think too much about it, I just felt I should help you guys when I saw the message, so I brought it all over."
Zhou Mu tried to lift it; although it was a bit heavy, she should be able to move it.
"It's okay, I can carry it. Thank you, senior. Don't you need any of these?"
"I'm preparing for the art college entrance exam, so there's no point in keeping it. I hope it can help you."
As the senior turned to leave, she called out to his retreating figure, "By the way, senior, could you please tell your brothers that they can send over any unwanted items they have?"
The senior turned around and gave her an "OK" sign.
After she finally managed to carry the books upstairs, she took out her phone and saw that the group messages had exploded, with 99 messages popping up constantly, and she couldn't keep up with them all.
She scrolled down one by one.
"There are some unused items in girls' dormitory 407. I'll bring them over to you in a bit."
"Wait for me, wait for me, 309 is also available."
"What about the boys?"
Before she could reply, a helpful girl chimed in.
"Take it to the dormitory supervisor and ask her to bring it up for you."
Holding her phone, Zhou Mu's eyes reddened slightly as she faced the overwhelming kindness from strangers. "Thank goodness, Chang Nian, Grandma is saved."
***
After packing his things, Cheng Zhen called a few of his brothers.
"Stop talking nonsense, just tell me if you'll help or not."
The boy on the phone said lazily, "One hundred thousand? That's too much..."
"Who asked you for money? Bring me any unwanted toys, game consoles, CDs, books, or anything else you have at home. I'll sell them at the flea market later."
"Okay, okay, you're just junk, huh? Well, I have plenty of that at home."
"Get lost! At least make sure it's clean, usable, and sellable."
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Zhen looked at the suitcase full of unused items and roughly estimated their value in her mind. It was at most a drop in the bucket, but it was better than nothing. She wondered how Zhou Mu's efforts to mobilize him were going.
He thought for a moment, then picked up his car keys from the bedside table, put them in his pocket, changed his clothes, and went out.
Cheng's mother brought the dishes out of the kitchen: "Hey, it's almost time to eat, where have you been again?"
Cheng Zhen waved her hand: "I have something to do. You guys eat first, I'll be back in a bit."
He rode the motorcycle straight to a nearby repair shop, which also deals in used motorcycles.
Cheng Zhen jumped out of the car and tossed the keys to her boss.
"Let's keep yesterday's price, we're not waiting any longer."
The boss looked at his brand-new car, which he had just picked up not long ago, and was also a little surprised: "Are you sure? You only had it for a few months. If you're not in a hurry, I'll ask around to see if there are any better prices."
Cheng Zhen touched the front of the motorcycle, his eyes filled with longing. This motorcycle was a gift from his father for his eighteenth birthday.
"It's confirmed. Call the buyer over, and we'll pay in person."