Both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh.
Yan Xinyuan cannot guide any of them, which would be extremely unfair to the other one.
The old man looked left and right, then picked up the towel and walked over to Qiao Yuchu.
"Here, wipe your sweat, and do your best in the next game."
"Thank you, Coach Yan."
Qiao Yuchu took it, forced a smile, and then cheered herself up and went on stage.
Yin Jiayi observed the situation on the sidelines.
"She's making really fast progress."
Xie Shi'an knew who she was talking about.
For some reason, she suddenly felt a bit annoyed and didn't want to sit there any longer, facing this bloody competition that tore apart all reality.
The boy got up and walked outside.
The referee blew his whistle and raised a red card.
"Jian Changnian, number 075, committed a second service violation. Number 058 gets a point, but is also given a red card and is immediately disqualified from the match."
The referee's cold, detached words carried weight.
The score on the scoreboard is now 15:18.
Jian Changnian is currently in the lead.
Qiao Yuchu gritted her teeth, her eyes slightly red.
"Jian Changnian, what are you doing! If I don't give you a good beating, who will I be letting down!"
She always had a gentle and mild demeanor, never raising her voice, let alone yelling at her.
The boy panicked and became incoherent.
“I… Sister Yu Chu…”
This opportunity is extremely important for Qiao Yuchu. The World Championships are held every two years, and she is still young, but Qiao Yuchu is already 26 years old.
"Don't call me 'sister'! On the field, there are only opponents!"
Jian Changnian looked into her eyes, and her nose tingled with emotion.
Qiao Yuchu nodded and solemnly called her name again.
"Chang Nian, I want to have a fair fight with you."
Even if she loses, she wants to lose with her head held high.
The boy sniffed, gripped his racket tighter, and a fighting spirit suddenly appeared in his eyes. His entire demeanor was noticeably different from before.
She nodded slowly but solemnly.
"good."
A smile finally appeared on Qiao Yuchu's face.
The competition has resumed.
Xie Shi'an has already walked out of the venue.
Yin Jiayi also came out.
“You know what? I watched every single one of your matches in the selection tournament, and you swept them all 2-0. It was even more efficient than in the national competition. Sometimes I’m glad that we’re teammates this time instead of opponents.”
Xie Shi'an glanced over indifferently.
"Who knows? What if we end up in the same group? I won't hold back."
"Well, no matter what, at least the Chinese team has a guaranteed gold medal in both team and individual events."
Yin Jiayi's expression was also somewhat somber. After Jiang Yunli's retirement, there weren't many people in the national team who could take on important responsibilities, so she naturally became the captain. There were still some responsibilities that she had to shoulder.
"After all... this year's opponents are very strong."
A mischievous smile appeared on the boy's lips.
"You seem to be really looking forward to this year's World Championships."
For some reason, Yin Jiayi choked for a moment, and her expression became slightly unnatural, but she quickly recovered and reached out her hand to her.
"With world-class top players gathering together, which professional player wouldn't be excited? In any case—"
Welcome to our team.
***
2:0 does not mean 2:1, meaning they lost the game.
Qiao Yuchu couldn't win even a single game against her, even after Jian Changnian made frequent mistakes and was penalized with two red cards.
As soon as the competition ended, she went over to comfort her.
Qiao Yuchu smiled, her expression unchanged.
"Finally finished, I can rest for a few days now."
Jian Changnian's throat was so tight that she couldn't utter a single word.
Yan Xinyuan walked over and patted her on the shoulder.
"You've worked hard. Let's all have dinner together tonight."
Qiao Yuchu nodded.
"Coach Yan, you guys go ahead, I'm going to the restroom."
"Sister Yu Chu, you and I..."
Jian Changnian chased after him for a few steps, but someone grabbed her arm.
Yan Xinyuan shook his head.
"Let her be alone for a while."
After Qiao Yuchu finished using the restroom, she was about to leave the stall when she suddenly heard the sound of flushing water outside. Several people were laughing and joking, and their voices sounded familiar; they must have been opponents she had played against in previous competitions.
"Did you guys watch the match just now? Qiao Yuchu actually lost to a rookie player, and from her own team no less! That's so embarrassing if word gets out."
“I could tell during the national competition that our Guangxi team and their Binhai province team were in the same competition area. If it weren’t for Xie Shi’an, how could they have made it to the finals?”
"I think, let alone Xie Shi'an, even a world champion couldn't carry her. Look at them, how bad their doubles results are, they didn't even make it to the semifinals of the qualifiers. And look at Xie Shi'an, she went to singles and shut out all her opponents to get a spot in the main draw."
"A partner who's only holding you back, why don't you run away already!"
The group burst into laughter again.
"Who knows? Are you done washing up? Come on, let's go eat."
Qiao Yuchu's hand slipped off the doorknob. She tried to convince herself not to care about the gossip, but as soon as she curved her lips into a smile, tears streamed down her face.
The restroom fell silent again.
She walked out of the cubicle, looking utterly dejected, turned on the tap, and kept splashing water on her face.
After saying goodbye to Yin Jiayi, Xie Shi'an heard from Coach Yan that she had gone to the restroom, so he waited at the door.
Two songs later, she finally came out.
Xie Shi'an took off his headphones and walked over.
Qiao Yuchu's face was wet, and water droplets clung to her eyelashes.
She wiped her face casually.
"Oh, it's nothing, I just washed my face because it was too hot."
Xie Shi'an took out a tissue from his backpack and handed it to him.
"Give."
"Thank you." When Qiao Yuchu saw her, she remembered what those people had said earlier. She wondered how long the woman had been waiting and how much she had taken in. She asked casually.
"Have you been waiting long?"
Xie Shi'an shook his head.
"I just arrived a little while ago, and Coach Yan said we should go out for a meal, so I came to call you."
Qiao Yuchu gave a wry smile; she had absolutely no appetite right now.
"You guys go ahead, I want to go back and rest first."
"Yu Chu!" The boy chased after her for a few steps and called out to her.
"Is it because of... the competition?"
Qiao Yuchu forced a smile, but anyone could see the sadness hidden beneath it.
"No, winning and losing is normal."
"It's okay if I don't get selected this time. The national team should recruit new players after the World Championships. If I get selected then, I can participate without any problem..."
Before Xie Shi'an could finish speaking, Qiao Yuchu suddenly turned her head. She felt wronged and sad, and the words that came out of her mouth were somewhat sharp.
"Do you think everyone is like you, where people keep urging you to join the national team even though you don't want to, and they even prepare a contract for you?"
The boy lowered his eyes, looking somewhat hurt.
"That's not what I meant, I meant..."
Her words were interrupted once again.
Qiao Yuchu turned around and continued walking forward.
"No need, I'm really fine. Focus on preparing for your singles match."
When facing his beloved, the young man was never good with words or at trying to keep her, watching her departing figure.
>
For the first time, Xie Shi'an felt powerless.
***