"Me? Forget about it. I'm a leftover woman. My standards are too high. I don't like other people, and no one likes me either."
"How could this be..." Xie Shi'an said in a low voice, his other hand under the table nervously gripping the fabric of his pants.
"I……"
She hesitated for a long time, and before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted.
"Shi'an, I'm not talking to you anymore. The nurse is coming to check on me and told me to get some rest."
Xie Shi'an felt a sudden sense of relief, but looking at the blacked-out screen, he felt a pang of regret for some reason.
She sighed softly and typed in the chat box:
Good night, I hope your surgery goes well tomorrow.
Qiao Yuchu quickly replied to her:
You too, best of luck in tomorrow's game.
After saying that, the profile picture went black.
Xie Shi'an laid his phone down on the table, picked up his chopsticks but had no appetite. Just as he was lost in thought, a head suddenly appeared in front of him.
Jian Changnian rested her hands on the table, her face showing anger.
"Xie Shi'an! How long are you going to finish this meal? Coach Yan sent me to call you to training!"
Xie Shi'an snapped out of his daze, put his phone in his pocket, and lazily put it away.
"Okay, okay, I'll go right away."
Jian Changnian pulled the person up from their seat and ran.
"Hey, hurry up! Why am I so unlucky to be your sparring partner? Let's finish this quickly and go back to sleep. I'm so sleepy."
"Huh? It's not like I'm willing to let you be my sparring partner. You were the one who begged Coach Yan. Hey, you really want to play with me that much? Why didn't you just beg me?"
These words struck a nerve with Jian Changnian, causing the boy's ears to turn red and his temper to flare up completely.
"Who?! Who asked for it! You never play by the rules, you just keep serving me those tricky diagonal shots. Being your sparring partner is exhausting, no wonder nobody wants to play with you. Let me tell you, if you win this time, I'll get some credit for that trophy."
As the two bickered, Xie Shi'an unconsciously put aside the faint sorrow in his heart.
Chapter 50 National Competition (14)
Xie Shi'an stood at the net, panting, holding the racket in her left hand. One was using her dominant hand to receive serves, while the other was using her left hand, which she had only been practicing for a few days. She had played terribly against Jian Changnian during the day, and now it was her turn to be humiliated.
Jian Changnian stood opposite her, a big smile spreading across her face, her tail practically wagging in the air.
"Shi'an, are you sure you can handle this?"
Xie Shi'an was so angry he almost ground his teeth to powder.
"Nonsense, let's go again."
Yan Xinyuan provided technical guidance from the sidelines.
"Hey, right, now that you're left-handed, you need to change your mindset too. Her backhand is your forehand."
"Stop with all that fancy stuff and useless stuff. Just focus on practicing your basic serve return, flat drive, and smash drop shot. You don't need to make your left hand as good as your right. Just make sure you can use it to win in crucial moments."
"Jian Changnian, have you not eaten?! Give him a good beating!"
Upon hearing this, the young man glanced at Xie Shi'an, feeling a pang of pity.
Today's match had already taken a toll on her physical strength, and she didn't even have time to rest when she got back to the training center. She was playing with her left hand and was constantly being pressured by herself, so Xie Shi'an's entire back was soaked with sweat, and her bangs were sticking wet to her forehead. She was panting heavily as she held her racket.
"Coach Yan..." she wanted to suggest that he take a break.
Xie Shi'an swallowed hard and straightened up again.
"I don't need your pity, come again."
Yan Xinyuan didn't mean to put her under such high pressure; it was simply that time was of the essence. She needed to develop muscle memory as quickly as possible within the limited time available so that she could perform well on the field. There was no shortcut to developing muscle memory; she could only train day and night.
Jian Changnian looked at him, then at Xie Shian who was gritting his teeth and persevering, and also picked up his racket with a determined expression. He took a few steps back and served.
Night was falling.
The entire training center gradually fell into darkness, except for the badminton hall, where the sound of shoes scraping against the floor could be heard from time to time.
Yan Xinyuan couldn't stay awake any longer and went back to rest, leaving only the two of them feeding each other the ball.
At first, Xie Shi'an couldn't catch her fierce smashes, but now he can gradually keep up with her rhythm using his left hand.
Jian Changnian stepped back with a crossover step, then suddenly jumped up and smashed the ball. Xie Shi'an neither dodged nor avoided it, but instead swept it back with his left hand.
This time, Jian Changnian was a little confused. The inertia made her run to the left, but the ball actually landed in the right half of the court.
A white feather landed on the ground.
Xie Shi'an finally won a point, a smile appeared on the boy's face, his whole body relaxed, and then everything went black.
Seeing that things were going badly, Jian Changnian threw down his racket, flipped over the net, and swiftly caught the person in his arms, preventing her head from making intimate contact with the floor.
"Shi'an, Shi'an, are you alright?!"
Seeing that her eyes were closed, Jian Changnian became anxious and kept shaking her shoulders and calling her name.
Xie Shi'an struggled to raise one hand and grabbed her arm, saying weakly, "You're not dead... Stop howling."
"Then...can you still walk? I'll help you back to rest."
Xie Shi'an nodded and tried to stand up, but his legs were weak and his muscles ached terribly, so he fell back down.
Xie Shi'an: "..."
This time, however, Jian Changnian didn't laugh at her anymore. Instead, he put her arm on his shoulder and helped her stand up with difficulty.
"Come on, I'll take you back."
"No need, I can do it myself..." Xie Shi'an was about to retort stubbornly when she stepped down the first step of the stadium. The moment her foot touched the ground, a sharp pain shot from her thigh to the top of her head, turning her face green.
Jian Changnian couldn't help but burst out laughing, but when she saw the murderous look in her eyes, she forced the smile back.
"Cough cough... Look, if I hadn't been supporting you, you would have landed on your head long ago. You should be glad that the national team's apartments have elevators. If it were our Binhai provincial team's dorms, we would probably have to climb up on our hands and feet by now."
That's what she said, but when Xie Shi'an was going up the steps of the apartment, she almost stumbled. Fortunately, Jian Changnian supported her so that she didn't fall. She half-dragged and half-pulled her into the elevator.
"Hiss...you're surprisingly heavy."
Perhaps Xie Shi'an was really too tired today, or perhaps the lights in the elevator were too bright. She leaned against the wall, her eyes half-closed, her eyelashes trembling, and her profile had a pale and fragile beauty.
Jian Changnian had a little ulterior motive.
"Are you able to get up tomorrow afternoon?"
She has a semi-final match tomorrow afternoon.
Upon hearing this, Xie Shi'an looked up at her. She had a feeling that this was definitely not an ordinary question.
Sure enough, Jian Changnian continued, "There's probably no one in the infirmary right now. How about I give you a massage and stretch?"
After each physical training session, they would go to the team doctor for a massage to loosen their muscles and joints. If the team doctor was busy, this task would usually be done by Qiao Yuchu, but Qiao Yuchu was not here today.
Xie Shi'an moved his lips: "No..."
Jian Changnian looked at her intently, her gaze filled with nothing but pure, clear concern.
"But how can you play the game tomorrow like this? And it's so late, my roommate is definitely asleep, and there's no one to help me massage it."
Xie Shi'an glanced at the time in the elevator: 1:45 a.m. Well, considering how hard she had worked to coach him until this late.
The elevator has arrived.
Xie Shi'an straightened up, holding onto the handrail.
"Just say you want me to give you a massage."
Jian Changnian put his arm around her and walked towards the dormitory.
"This is called mutual help."
Upon arriving at the dormitory, Xie Shi'an didn't even bother to change his shoes and immediately lay face down on the bed.
"Come on, let's finish this quickly."
The phrase "quick and decisive" seemed completely out of place in bed, and Jian Changnian felt a chill run down her spine.
"Are you really into the game? Let me go wash my hands."
The boy was tall and slender, and his bones and muscles were clearly visible even through his clothes.
Jian Changnian pinched her shoulder, but before she could exert any force, Xie Shi'an suddenly struggled and tried to get up.
She grabbed him and pinned him down: "What are you doing!"
Xie Shi'an buried his head in the pillow again.
"Um...it's a little itchy. I'm not used to it. Usually, it's either the team doctor or Yu Chu who does these things."
Jian Changnian thought to herself: Only Sister Yu Chu would be willing to do this kind of thankless work. She is really good to you.
but.
A strange, enigmatic smile appeared on Jian Changnian's face.
"Shi'an, do you have ticklish spots?"
not good.
Alarm bells rang in Xie Shi'an's mind, and she tried to get up in the next second, but it was too late. Jian Changnian kept tickling her from behind.
Xie Shi'an wriggled around on the bed like a caterpillar, trying to dodge her clutches.
It was rare to see her in such a disheveled state, so Jian Changnian, in a playful mood, leaned forward and started tickling her armpit.
Xie Shi'an rolled away to dodge, picked up a pillow to defend himself, and a flush rose on his usually pale face due to the strenuous exercise.
She snapped angrily, "Jian Changnian, are you ever going to stop?!"
The person being yelled at was suddenly stunned for some reason, perhaps because they had never seen her like this before, or perhaps they had accidentally caught a glimpse of the curves under her neckline.
For some reason, Jian Changnian's heart was pounding.