***
Because of the tight schedule these past few days, she was unable to go to the hospital to stay with her grandmother in order to ensure she got enough sleep and rest. Fortunately, the medical staff knew about her family situation and took extra care of her grandmother.
Before heading to the competition that day, she made a point of going to a public phone booth in the corridor to call the hospital.
The nurse who answered the phone was someone she knew. She asked if she could take the phone to her grandmother's bedside so she could talk to her.
The nurse picked up her phone.
"Wait a minute, I'll call you back."
A few minutes later, the phone rang again.
The sound of fabric rubbing came through the receiver, along with the nurse's voice-over.
"Yes, that's right. Don't move your hands, I'll hold it for you."
Jian Changnian knew her grandmother was listening, and smiled.
"Grandma, the nurse said you can eat some liquid food now? That's great! You must listen to the doctor in the hospital, take your medicine on time, eat well, and try to recover soon. I'll come see you after the competition."
Grandma mumbled something, which she didn't quite catch, but she heard a "Don't worry."
Jian Changnian laughed: "Hey, don't worry."
"Shi'an, it's time for us to set off."
Jian Changnian looked back.
Sunlight streamed down from the end of the corridor. Qiao Yuchu, carrying a backpack, waved to her from afar, while Xie Shi'an stood beside her with his hands in his pockets.
"They're here."
Jian Changnian covered the receiver and responded, then gave her grandmother a few more instructions before hurriedly hanging up and running to her friends.
***
In the following days of competition, the entire Binhai Provincial Team worked together as one. Under Yan Xinyuan's meticulous tactical arrangements, and with the "1 fixed counterclockwise rotation method" used in the group round-robin to determine the order of matches, teams that had played each other before would not meet again in the first stage. Therefore, they avoided the formidable opponent Yin Jiayi and advanced to the semi-finals of the group stage without any major incidents. Meanwhile, the Zhejiang team was far ahead in the standings and had already secured their place in the finals.
In this situation, today's match against Jiangsu became crucial. If they win, they will secure the second spot in the finals and compete against Zhejiang tomorrow for the only qualifying spot in the Eastern Conference. If they lose, they will be eliminated from the team competition.
Therefore, everyone was on high alert.
The head coach of the Jiangsu team was also Yan Xinyuan's teammate when he was still a professional player. The two met in the corridor before the game, shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.
"What a coincidence! I never thought I'd be your opponent after retiring."
"Who says otherwise? Back when we were on the national team, you cried when you lost to me." Yan Xinyuan said with a forced smile ...0340;
The other person's face was also covered.
"Let's not talk about things from so long ago. After we win the game, I'll treat you to a celebration banquet. You absolutely have to come!"
"Not at all, it's me who's treating you."
...
Although they were both smiling, for some reason, Jian Changnian felt as if sparks were flying everywhere.
The two exchanged a few more words, and seeing that it was getting late, they each led their teams away.
Yan Xinyuan's expression changed the moment he turned around.
"That old bastard's words are full of barbs. Don't hold back today, give them a good beating!"
Everyone responded in unison: "Yes!"
Jian Changnian ran to his side in a few steps and asked curiously.
"Coach Yan, do you have some kind of grudge against him?"
Yan Xinyuan thought about it carefully.
"We don't celebrate holidays, it's just that we used to compete with each other a lot when we were young, we were very competitive, it's a habit."
As they spoke, they had already reached the rest area on the field, and the match was about to begin.
Yan Xinyuan reached out his hand, and the other team members' hands covered it.
He looked at those young faces and spoke with a firm and resounding voice.
"Although I can no longer play on the field, my heart is still with you all. I entrust my unfinished dream to you. Keep going, everyone!"
"Go! Go! Go!"
A deafening roar, like a tsunami.
Their tightly clasped hands loosened.
The veteran stood below the stage, while the young women, carrying his expectations, stepped onto their own battlefield.
The competition has officially begun.
This match was especially important for the entire Binhai Provincial Team. Zhou Mu came to watch the match early and even brought her classmates from her school team to be cheerleaders.
Jian Changnian glanced at the audience and saw Cheng Zhen, Cao Rui, and even Director Luo from the hospital.
She smiled sincerely, nodded slightly to them, and took her racket onto the court.
In the hospital, the caregiver rocked the hospital bed for Grandma.
The old man picked up the remote control with trembling hands, but didn't know how to use it; he pressed the buttons a few times but still couldn't turn on the TV.
The caregiver saw this and came over to help her.
Which channel do you want to watch?
The old man, with a feeding tube inserted into his nose, smiled.
"I want to see my granddaughter's match."
***
In terms of overall strength, although the Jiangsu team has no national team players, its rankings in various categories are among the top in the country.
Their team includes Zhejiang University sports students who have won national honors, as well as current members of the national team. It can be said that their average level is that of the national youth team. The difficulty of competing against such a team is self-evident.
Yan Xinyuan's team formation involved sending Xie Shi'an to the first match, which resulted in a successful first victory and boosted morale.
In the second doubles match, Yang Li and her partner narrowly lost to their opponents.
In the third singles match, Yan Xinyuan glanced at the opponents and then turned his gaze to Jian Changnian.
"Chang Nian, you can go now."
Jian Changnian took a deep breath and stood up.
"good."
The opposing coach patted his player on the shoulder and whispered.
"She's a newcomer with little competition experience. Play freely and don't hold back. Try to wear her down and exhaust her stamina. If you can drag it to the third game, it will be much easier."
...The team members nodded and walked onto the court with their rackets.
Yan Xinyuan was also giving her his final words of advice.
"Veterans have plenty of experience, but they may not be as aggressive and daring as you. Make full use of your strengths, seize opportunities to smash and attack her weak points in defense, and try to win the match in two rounds. Try not to let her drag it to the third game."
Jian Changnian nodded with a serious expression.
The third match.
It's match point. If she can win this match, the Binhai Provincial Team will lead 2-1. In the next doubles match, Xie Shi'an and Qiao Yuchu will be the first to compete, and the qualification for the final will be within reach.
Thinking of this, the girl gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on the racket. She was determined to win this match point for her team.
However, she was at a disadvantage from the start of the match. Her opponent was also very aggressive, taking advantage of her height and constantly pressing down on her head.
Jian Changnian was exhausted from running around and was a little out of breath.
Even after giving it their all, they still lost to their opponent with a score of 15:21.
She took her racket and returned to the rest area.
Yan Xinyuan handed her a bottle of mineral water, looking somewhat disappointed in her.
"Why are you trying to headbutt her? Your advantage lies in hitting diagonal shots!! Don't you understand the importance of playing to your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses?!"
Jian Changnian wiped the water stains from the corner of her lips, her gaze sharp as lightning.
"I understand, Coach Yan. I will definitely play well in this game."
"Go ahead, don't be nervous."
Yan Xinyuan took the bottled water back from her hand.
At the start of the second game, her opponent used the same tactic, constantly hitting high clears to her.
Jian Changnian stepped back with a crossover step, muttering to herself, "Calm down, calm down, she must have a weakness."
As the white meteor was about to fall, she took a step and jumped, her long arms outstretched, her eyes blazing, defending while observing.
There were no weaknesses on the left half, and none on the right, so there was only one option—
A smile appeared on the boy's lips. As her ball lobbed towards him, he quickly rushed to the net and unleashed a straight smash.
The ball's speed was so fast that the opponent didn't even see where it was going to land before the white feather hit the ground.
The electronic scoreboard lights up.
11:9
Jian Changnian was in the lead for the time being and it was time for halftime.
For the opposing Binhai Provincial Team, winning this small point is crucial; otherwise, they will have to give up the entire match.
Jian Changnian knew that she had a heavy responsibility, so she kept taking deep breaths before going on stage.
At this stage of the competition, in addition to testing the players' skills and the coaches' tactical maneuvering, the most important factor is the individual's mental fortitude.
Even Yan Xinyuan could only do his best to help her adjust to this; ultimately, it depended on her own efforts.
Sitting to the side, Xie Shi'an noticed that the woman's hand holding the racket was trembling slightly. After thinking for a moment, she stood up, walked over, and handed her a bottle of water.
The boy only said two words.
"I'm here."