Jian Changnian hadn't played tennis in a long time. She twirled the racket in her hand. She was a little nervous in a crowded place, but at this moment she could only adjust her breathing and focus on the opponent's movements.
Now that she was on the field, she still really wanted to win.
"What time is it? You still have time to think about other things? Do you even want to win?"
"Think about it, serve, serve."
Yan Xinyuan, who was watching the game from the entrance, pointed to the left side of the field with a smile: "See that girl in the gray clothes from Chengnan No.1 Middle School? She's as good as two of you. She's much better than your No.2 Middle School."
Song Wei was also puzzled: "Hey, I've played against them before, but I've never heard of such a person in Chengnan."
While watching the match, Yan Xinyuan shook his head and commented: "His physical coordination is good, but his weakness is his explosiveness. As for his technique, there are some traces of imitation of other world-class players. He is outstanding among his peers, but my feeling is that his basic skills are not good and his footwork is not solid. Therefore, his shots lack a bit of refinement. To put it bluntly, he is all show and no substance. He has not learned the essence of the game, which is a pity."
Xie Shi'an, who was in the stands, also became interested. He propped his head up and nudged Cheng Zhen's arm.
"Hey, Orange Juice, isn't that girl on the left, the one in the gray clothes, from your Chengnan No. 1 Middle School? She beat your junior sister so badly she was crying her eyes out, completely helpless."
Seeing that his junior was about to lose the first game, Cheng Zhen was really annoyed: "Go away, it's just one game, we can definitely win the second game!"
After saying that, he glanced at the girl in gray a few more times, wondering to himself, "I've never seen her at school before. Could she be a freshman...?"
Qiao Yuchu and Xie Shian exchanged a glance, one shrugged and the other spread their hands, indicating that they had no choice.
Cheng Zhen was an amateur and couldn't see the disparity in strength on the field, but they knew that they couldn't win even if they played ten more games, let alone one more.
Cheng Zhen and his junior from elementary school are probably heartbroken.
During halftime, Cheng Zhen ran downstairs to bring water to her junior schoolmate.
Jian Changnian also opened a mineral water bottle to replenish her energy. Zhou Mu held a half-full bottle of water but didn't drink it, frequently looking behind her. Cheng Zhen was busy running around for his junior schoolmate, fanning her and handing her snacks.
Zhou Mu twisted the mineral water bottle so hard that it almost bent it crooked.
Jian Changnian couldn't stand it anymore and snatched it away: "Alright, alright, don't waste food if you're not going to drink it."
"Is he... is he still from Chengnan No.1 High School? Why is he running around in Jiangbei, laughing and joking with people?"
Watching his opponent and Cheng Zhen interact shyly and exchange flirtatious glances, Zhou Mu was furious.
Jian Changnian gulped down half a bottle of water and wiped the water stains from the corner of her lips with the back of her hand.
"Can't you tell? It's your senior..."
Before she could finish speaking, Li Jiajia, who had just doubted her abilities, came over and patted her shoulder affectionately.
"Well done, I didn't realize you were so capable."
Jian Changnian turned slightly to the side, her expression unchanged.
"No, the opponents were also very strong. It was just that Zhou Mu and I cooperated well."
Sure enough, Li Jiajia grabbed Zhou Mu's hand again.
"I knew it! One person makes a tree, two people make a forest. Seeing how well you two cooperate, I'm tempted to play doubles."
During the short time the match was going on, Cheng Zhen's eyes were like sharp awls, staring intently at the scene. As soon as the first game ended, he ran off to Jiangbei, which made Li Jiajia a little envious.
"Let me tell you, that girl in the pink dress on the other side is also very strong. Don't give her a chance in the second round, and win against her in one fell swoop."
Zhou Mu rubbed his hands together, eager to get started: "Of course, let's let Jiangbei know who is the number one university in Jiangcheng City."
Li Jiajia looked around, gestured for the two girls to come closer, and lowered her voice, saying, "That girl in the pink dress, the one who wouldn't let go of the senior, her name is Sun Qian. She's dated a lot of guys, some from outside the school, some from within. I heard she's only a sophomore and she's already..."
Li Jiajia hesitated, her face slightly flushed.
They were all teenagers, and Zhou Mu suddenly blushed, covered his mouth, and it took him a while to come to his senses, filled with righteous indignation.
"No way, she's still getting so close to her senior!"
"I heard about this from my cousin who studies in Jiangbei. He's a senior at our school, so he definitely doesn't know the inside story!"
"No, I have to go..." Zhou Mu said, starting to walk out.
Jian Changnian pulled the person back: "I want to go to the toilet, come with me."
"I..." Zhou Mu wanted to say something, but Jian Changnian put his arm around her shoulder and half-dragged, half-pulled her away.
"Hurry, hurry, it's too late."
Li Jiajia's smile grew even brighter as she waved to them from behind.
"Zhou Mu, good luck in the second round. You guys have to teach her a lesson."
***
Watching Jian Changnian and Zhou Mu leave the court, the girl in pink from Jiangbei No. 2 Middle School thought for a moment, whispered something to her teammate, put down her racket, and headed in that direction.
After showering his junior schoolmate with attention, Cheng Zhen returned to the stands to chat with his friends, sighing and lamenting.
"You don't know, I met her at a milk tea shop outside the school. She was working there part-time. Later, I asked the shop manager and found out that she was studying at Jiangbei No. 2 Middle School, from a single-parent family, and her mother was in poor health and had to go to the hospital for dialysis twice a week. She was probably participating in the competition for the prize money."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Yuchu glanced at Xie Shi'an, whose face remained expressionless as he leaned lazily against the railing, listening to his MP3 player.
She thought about it and decided not to tell Cheng Zhen the fact that his junior schoolmate was bound to lose.
Even after Zhou Mu came out of the restroom, she was still somewhat indignant.
Why did you stop me from going to see Senior Cheng?
"Would he believe you if you told him? Besides, since Li Jiajia already knew all this, why didn't she tell Cheng Zhen herself? And such hearsay might not even be true..."
Perhaps it's true that you can't talk about someone behind their back, because Jian Changnian hadn't walked far when she looked up and bumped into the female protagonist of the controversy.
When the girl noticed that they had noticed her, she slowly walked forward, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, her head bowed low, her voice barely audible: "Um... my name is Sun Qian, I'm a member of the school team at Jiangbei No. 2 Middle School..."
Upon seeing her, Zhou Mu was not at all in a good mood.
"I know your name is Sun Qian, you're already quite famous, okay? Just let us go, don't pay any attention to her."
Seeing that they were about to leave, Sun Qian became anxious and stepped forward to block their way. Without thinking, she blurted out.
"Can you lose this match to me?"
"What?!" Zhou Mu's eyes widened in surprise.
"Are you out of your mind? Why should we lose to you?!"
"I...I know you guys are strong. Even if my teammates and I were together, we still couldn't beat you."
She seemed to be speaking to Zhou Mu, but her eyes were actually fixed on Jian Changnian. She knew that Jian Changnian was the key to victory, as the team relied heavily on his smashes for points. Seeing that he hadn't said a word since the beginning, she seemed like an easy person to talk to, which is why she grabbed Jian Changnian's sleeve and pleaded.
"But I have a reason why I absolutely must win, I'm begging you..."
"What reason do you have to win? You just want to show off in front of Senior Cheng!"
When the opponent offered to let them win the game, and after hearing Li Jiajia's words, Zhou Mu was furious. Although she wouldn't resort to violence, she didn't want to stay there for another second. She felt it was bad luck to say another word to Sun Qian, so she grabbed Jian Changnian and started to leave.
"Forget about it! We're not going to throw the game! See you on the field!"
"I really have a reason to win, I...I need the money...But for you, isn't this just a meaningless competition? What's wrong with losing to me?" Seeing them about to leave again, Sun Qian rushed forward to block their path. The first part of her words was feigned, pleading in a low voice, with tears welling up in her eyes. The second part of her words was completely self-righteous.
Jian Changnian was completely dumbfounded.
Zhou Mu reacted quickly, shoving the person away: "I think you shouldn't be playing badminton, you should be an actor!"
Because of the event held at Jiangbei No. 2 Middle School today, there were quite a lot of people in the gymnasium. People were coming and going in the corridor outside the restrooms, and many students' eyes were drawn to this shout.
Someone whispered, "Isn't that Sun Qian from our school?"
"Is that the badminton team from Chengnan No.1 Middle School on the other side? Weren't they just playing a match?"
"Hey, I think the guys from the south of the city are pretty strong, they're probably going to win."
"Why is Sun Qian crying? It's just a match. Did she get bullied?"
Seeing that the people around her were talking increasingly outrageous, Zhou Mu's face turned red, and she shouted, "What bullying? We didn't even acknowledge her! She was the one who pounced on me and my friend, demanding that we give her..."
Before she could finish speaking, Sun Qian rushed over again, grabbed her arm, and burst into tears.
"I know I can't beat you, but I still want to be friends with you. If you don't want to, fine, but why the sarcasm..."
Zhou Mu was caught off guard by the collision, stumbled, and angrily tried to shake off this clingy person.
"I'm telling you, you're really good at twisting the truth, it's a real shame you're not an actor!"
Before she could raise her hand, Sun Qian had already fallen to the ground, crying so pitifully that her face was streaked with tears.
"What are you doing! Sun Qian! Are you alright?!"
As soon as Zhou Mu finished speaking, a white figure rushed over. Cheng Zhen pushed through the crowd, ran to Sun Qian's side, and squatted down with a concerned expression.
Sun Qian shook her head and wiped away two tears.
"No... Senior... I'm fine."
Cheng Zhen didn't glance at them once from beginning to end, but carefully helped Sun Qian up.
"It's good that you're alright. The competition is about to start. Let me help you back."
"You..." Zhou Mu was anxious, angry, and a little aggrieved, and was about to speak up to defend herself.
Jian Changnian tugged hard on her arm, signaling her to be quiet.
Cheng Zhen clearly believed that girl, and nothing they said mattered.
Although she was somewhat resentful, it wasn't because of this.
Jian Changnian thought for a moment, and then said as they were about to leave, "What do you take this competition for? If you don't want to win, what's the point?"
***
At the start of the second game, Jian Changnian showed no mercy and scored frequently, shutting out his opponent to reach the halftime break.
Jian Changnian's excellent ball skills also earned a lot of applause. Compared to their jubilation, Sun Qian's side was shrouded in gloom.
Even her own teammates were complaining about her.
"I told you long ago that if we couldn't win, we should just surrender, but you insisted on fighting. Now look what happened, I'm losing face along with you."
Sun Qian's eyes welled up with tears, and she bit her lip, remaining silent.
Cheng Zhen on stage was furious; she was practically ready to beat her chest and rush up to help her.
"Isn't she...isn't this bullying? I just saw them arguing at the bathroom door, and Sun Qian even fell to the ground. Is it worth it for a thousand yuan?!"
Xie Shi'an said indifferently, "I think you're a well-fed man who doesn't know the hunger of a starving man. Besides, how can it be called bullying if you're not as skilled as others?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Cheng Zhen looked over in a flash, her eyes lighting up as if she had found a savior.