She was initially grateful to someone who came to her rescue, but who knew it would be them?
Kim Nam-ji felt a little embarrassed and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand, bluffing as he spoke.
"What are you looking at?! Who asked you to save them?!"
Xie Shi'an, with his hands in his pockets and an expressionless face, continued walking forward, preparing to cross the road.
"Let's go get something to eat."
Jian Changnian glanced at her a few times, nodded, and followed.
"We're not far from the training center, so be careful."
They actually abandoned themselves?!
Kim Nam-ji yelled, "Hey, can't you see how I am?! How am I going to get back?!"
Xie Shi'an stood under the sidewalk, turned around to look at her, raised his eyebrows, and had a hint of a playful smile in his eyes.
"Didn't you complain that we were meddling in your business?"
"I..." Kim Nam-ji choked up, looking down at himself. His clothes were torn. If he went back like this, everyone would know tomorrow.
The girl pouted, tears welling in her eyes, biting her lip, refusing to utter a single word of surrender.
"Here, put these on."
Jin Nanzhi looked up abruptly and fell into a black vortex. There were no stars in the night, but she saw a vast starry river in Xie Shi'an's eyes.
The boy took off his coat and handed it to her. Although his face was still expressionless, his expression was bright and clear.
Kim Nam-ji slowly reached out and took it; her body heat still lingered on the coat.
Xie Shi'an turned around and continued walking.
Kim Nam-ji hesitated several times, but after watching her back, he still chased after her across the road.
"Hey, are you guys going to the night market? I...I want to go too!"
Jian Changnian looked at her, completely bewildered, still holding a grudge about how the other woman had beaten her to a pulp.
"You're such a weirdo. One minute you say you don't want us to save you, the next you say you can't go back like this. Shi An even lent you her own coat, and now you want to go out for a late-night snack with us. Kim Nam Ji, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Kim Nam-ji pushed her aside and walked ahead.
"I'm hungry, I want to eat, it's that simple!"
"Huh? You're not afraid of running into another pervert, so you're too scared to walk alone and want to come with us, are you?" Jian Changnian ran ahead of her, looked at her, and walked backwards.
"You bean sprout, you defeated opponent, you, you, you... shut up!"
"I won't shut up. I'm going to say it anyway. You're just scared. Even though I can't beat you, I saved your life, hahaha."
For some reason, Jian Changnian felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment at this moment, and kept circling around her.
Kim Nam-ji wanted nothing more than to pounce on her and tear her mouth apart.
Xie Shi'an silently put on her headphones and squeezed between them.
It's so noisy.
***
"Here comes your wonton noodles."
The steaming hot noodle soup was served, with a fried egg on top of the milky white broth, and sprinkled with chopped green onions and cilantro.
Kim Nam-ji swallowed hard and raised his hand.
"Boss, I'll have one too, and a fried egg as well."
Jian Changnian poured in some more vinegar, stirring the noodles in the bowl as she said, "You? You're paying for it yourself."
Kim Nam-ji snorted through her nose and said, "If my wallet hadn't been stolen today, I wouldn't be eating this kind of roadside stall."
"Miss Huanben? You speak very Korean, but you look quite Chinese, with a similar accent, and double eyelids. Hey, are you really Korean?"
As Jian Changnian ate, he observed her, feeling somewhat curious about this famous Korean prodigy.
"Who told you that all Koreans have single eyelids? Besides, my mother is Chinese, and I am of mixed Chinese and Korean descent. I have been taught bilingually since I was a child. I know a lot of things. In addition to Chinese, I also speak English and Japanese. I have even dabbled in piano, dance, art, and music. Badminton is just one of my hobbies."
Kim Nam-ji's personality clearly indicates that she was spoiled by her family. Her clothes and appearance suggest that she comes from a very wealthy family. The fact that she knows so much at such a young age shows that her parents have spent a lot of money and effort on her. She must be the kind of heiress from a chaebol family that is often depicted in dramas.
Xie Shi'an took off his headphones and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Then why didn't you just inherit the family business? What are you doing here in China?"
"I..." Kim Nam-ji choked, just as the noodles were served. She forcefully broke open her chopsticks, took a delicious slurp, and then spoke.
"Of course I'm here to learn! China's badminton is recognized as world-class, and if I'm going to learn, I want to learn the best and the strongest."
Look at her multicolored hair, exaggerated earrings, unique clothes, heavy foundation, and even glitter on the corners of her eyes. She was clearly in closed training, and she's only just come back from outside at this hour.
Xie Shi'an shook his head and continued eating his noodles.
"If you don't study hard, no matter how well the teacher teaches, it's useless."
"Who said I..." Kim Nam-ji held her chopsticks indignantly, about to retort, when she looked at them and suddenly her eyes lit up.
"Wait a minute, you guys sneaked out during the closed training too."
Before he could finish speaking...
Jian Changnian choked hard on the wonton.
"No, we just came out for a meal."
"I don't care. I heard that Coach Yan of the Binhai team is very strict with the team. I'm going to tell him tomorrow that you guys sneaked out and are eating junk food!"
"You, you, you...you're like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, you don't appreciate kindness!" Jian Changnian held the chopsticks, his hands trembling like leaves, his face showing a look of wanting to cry but having no tears.
Xie Shi'an, however, remained calm and ate his noodles slowly and deliberately.
"Hey, I wonder if the heavier penalty is for sneaking out to eat, or for going out drinking late at night?"
Upon hearing this, Kim Nam-ji's expression changed, and he immediately grabbed his clothes and sniffed them hard.
"That's not right, I didn't drink any alcohol. Could it have been at the karaoke bar?"
Hearing her muttering, Jian Changnian chuckled and was the first to stick out her little finger.
"Alright, let's make up. Let's keep this a secret between the three of us. Anyway, it won't do anyone any good if we tell anyone."
Jin Nanzhi looked at her, then at Xie Shi'an, his lips pursed, and reluctantly extended his little finger, hooking it gently with hers.
"Pinky promise, no take-backs! If anyone tells, I'll... I'll beat you all to death!" Miss Jin, feigning power, sneered at Xie Shi'an, who was quietly eating.
Xie Shi'an reached out and symbolically touched hands with them; the three of them smiled at each other.
Because of an unexpected turn of events, three future world champions quietly forged a seed of friendship at a night market stall in Beijing in the early hours of the morning.
On the way back, Kim Nam-ji finally remembered tomorrow's, or rather, today's match.
Having eaten and drunk her fill, she was in a great mood and skipped and hopped to step on Xie Shi'an's shadow as he walked ahead.
"Hey, if you hadn't saved me, wouldn't you have been the champion?"
Xie Shi'an walked with his hands in his pockets, without turning his head.
"We are just rivals, not enemies."
Chapter 53 National Competition (17)
Even though he went to bed late, Xie Shi'an didn't stay in bed. Instead, he arrived at the venue early to prepare for the competition.
After she and Yan Xinyuan played some warm-up balls, Jin Nanzhi arrived, pretended to walk up and shake her hand, and winked.
"Beijing team, Kim Nam-ji."
“Binhai Team, Xie Shi’an.” She withdrew her hand expressionlessly.
Kim Nam-ji curled her lips, thinking to herself: Keep pretending.
"I won't hold back in today's match."
Even though you saved me last night.
Xie Shi'an understood the unfinished sentence she had spoken and nodded.
"Me too."
Yan Xinyuan stood to the side, and for some reason, he felt that something was amiss, with undercurrents running deep.
These brats must have been fighting behind his back, right?
He frowned, about to speak, when Jian Changnian came over and pulled him away.
"Coach Yan, the match is about to start, we should go down now."
Yan Xinyuan then gave up and gave some instructions.
"Play well, follow my advice, seek progress steadily, and achieve victory through surprise."
Xie Shi'an nodded, indicating that he understood.
The director switched the camera from the scene to the commentary booth, where a familiar face was sitting next to the male commentator.
"Today we have invited world champion Jiang Yunli to our studio. Come on, Senior Jiang, please say hello to everyone."
Jiang Yunli smiled and waved at the camera.
"Hello, viewers, good afternoon. I am Jiang Yunli."
"Forget about being a senior, we're about the same age and we even played ball together before."
The male commentator was also a professional player before retiring and becoming a commentator for a TV sports channel.
Upon hearing this, the man smiled, a nostalgic expression on his face.
"It's been ten years since we partnered up for mixed doubles, time really flies. I see you still have a plaster on your hand. You came here today despite being sick. Are you feeling better now? I think the audience is also very concerned about this."
Jiang Yunli generously showed her hands to the camera, her face showing no regret, but rather an open and honest demeanor.
"There's nothing seriously wrong, as long as I don't do strenuous exercise. The main thing is that I really wanted to come and watch this game."