"I don't need anyone to take care of me."
Her eyes were still red. Having just witnessed everything, Jian Changnian could no longer remain calm and said urgently.
Even if it's you...
After that singles match, Xie Shi'an never spoke to her again, she paused for a moment before speaking.
"You still harbor resentment towards me, but you're injured like this, you need someone to take care of you!"
Xie Shi'an curled his lips in a mocking smile and looked up at her.
"What makes you think you're that considerate person? Stop being so presumptuous."
“I…” Jian Changnian licked her lips, squatted down to be at eye level with her, and tried to take her hand, her tone softening.
“I know I was wrong during the match that day, but I really couldn’t stand by and watch you get injured. The Grand Slam was your dream for many years. I’ve watched you come this far and suffer so much. How could I bear to do this to you…”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and she slowly clenched her hand into her own.
"Shatter your dreams with your own hands."
Xie Shi'an's redness at the corners of her eyes became more and more noticeable. Her eyes were lowered, her eyelashes trembled, and it was unclear what she was thinking.
Her unusual lack of resistance suggested a glimmer of hope. Jian Changnian had imagined a thousand ways to express her feelings—subtle, romantic, gentle, passionate—but none could compare to the surge of emotion in her heart at this moment, so she simply laid it all out.
"This is too cruel to me. I am not a qualified athlete. I have abandoned the professional ethics I have always believed in. I have let down the audience, the fans, and Coach Yan and Coach Wan."
"But Shi'an, I..."
As she spoke, a voice inside Xie Shi'an kept shouting:
Enough! Stop talking! As long as you don't say that, we can still deceive each other and remain just friends.
There is still room for maneuver.
When the moment truly arrived, her eyes reddened, and she pushed her away, saying, "Shut up! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this state now. If it weren't for you, how could I have been thrust into the limelight, afraid to even turn on my phone!"
"Yes, you're impressive. Not only have your skills improved, but you've also become much more shrewd and calculating than before. But when you reported Gao Jian, did you ever think that all I wanted was a peaceful life?"
In his haste, Xie Shi'an pushed her hard, and the push landed squarely on her shoulder, sending a sharp pain through her.
She collapsed to the ground, staring at Xie Shi'an in front of her, her eyes red, like a trapped beast, panting and roaring.
She felt that the knife shouldn't have stabbed her shoulder, but her heart; otherwise, why would her chest hurt so much?
She was in so much pain she could hardly breathe; she felt like she was going to die.
"Shi'an, Shi'an..." She still got up, walked step by step to her side, squatted down, looked into her eyes, held her shoulders, and tried to explain with red eyes, her words incoherent.
"I didn't... I didn't... I'm sorry... I just... I just wanted Gao Jian to pay the price..."
"I didn't know they would... Please, please forgive me? There won't be a next time. I promise I'll discuss everything with you from now on and I'll never act impulsively again."
"Didn't you say in your previous interview that you wouldn't team up with anyone else for doubles? Me too. Once you're healed, we'll come back and play together, just like before..."
She said so much, but Xie Shi'an just watched coldly and pushed her hand away.
“Jian Changnian, people change. I don’t want a partner who might give up at any time on the field, nor can I pretend that these things never happened.”
"You can leave now. Let's pretend we've never met."
She spoke these words very softly, her voice trembling, but to Jian Changnian, they were like a bolt from the blue, utterly condemning her unspoken love.
She was in a daze the whole way and didn't even know how she got back to the training base.
Lü Xiaoting got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Her roommate was peering out the window, where it was pouring rain and the wind was howling.
She rubbed her eyes: "What are you looking at?"
"It looks like someone is running on the playground."
"With this heavy rain, are you crazy?"
She leaned closer for a closer look and realized that this "lunatic" was none other than Jian Changnian. Instantly, most of her drowsiness vanished.
When did she get back?
My roommate looked completely bewildered.
"I don't know. I just got up to close the window and saw it. It's probably been there for a while."
Under the cover of night, the wind and rain raged fiercely.
Her figure swayed as she ran frantically around the entire playground, again and again.
Lü Xiaoting gritted her teeth, picked up her umbrella, and went downstairs.
"I'm going downstairs."
The caregiver had been looking after her for a while and felt sorry for her, being hospitalized alone for such a major operation without anyone to accompany her. But Xie Shi'an was strong; even when the dressing was changing, which was extremely painful, she would only grit her teeth and groan a few times.
She had never seen her cry like this before.
Ever since that girl left, he has been sitting in his wheelchair, tears streaming down his face like broken beads, biting his lip and crying silently, completely unaware that she had come in.
The caregiver poured a glass of warm water and placed it in her hand.
“Child, the person is gone. Look forward to everything. I’m right outside. Call me if you need anything.”
After the caregiver finished speaking, she left and gently closed the door for her. Just as she closed the door, Xie Shi'an bent over deeply, and a suppressed and painful whimper, like that of a small animal, came from the room.
"Jian Changnian, don't run away!" Lü Xiaoting followed closely beside her, holding an umbrella for her. The raindrops were so heavy that she was soon soaked to the bone herself.
Unbeknownst to Jian Changnian, she continued walking without stopping, her face wet with either rain or tears, her eyes as still as death.
Lu Xiaoting angrily pulled her aside.
"Enough! Stop running! So what if you got dumped?! I shouldn't have told you!"
Since returning from the hospital, Jian Changnian has been running on the track, lap after lap. She can only run forward, keep running forward, letting exhaustion take over her body and mind. She dares not stop, because as soon as she stops, she will think of Xie Shi'an and the words she just said to her.
She was distracted and was suddenly pulled, causing her to fall to the ground. She then got up with red eyes.
Lü Xiaoting followed behind. In such heavy rain, after several laps, she was already exhausted. She was panting heavily with her hands on her knees. Just as I was about to go over and help her, she suddenly looked up.
Jian Changnian sprinted straight toward the outdoor swimming pool.
Before she could scream, she only saw a splash of water, and by the time she reached the edge of the pool, her head was already out of sight.
After that night, Jian Changnian was ill for a long time. Her running around the playground for half the night in the storm and jumping into the swimming pool became the "glorious deeds" of the entire training base.
When Wan Jing came to the hospital to see her, perhaps fearing that she might do something foolish again, he surprisingly did not scold her.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Jian Changnian smiled and spoke up.
"Don't worry, I accept the team's arrangements and I won't go looking for her again."
She used to be happy when she was happy and unhappy when she was unhappy; she wore her emotions on her sleeve and was a very frank and open-minded person. But now, her smile is just a facade, like a mask. The girl has grown up overnight.
Wan Jing didn't know whether to be happy or sad. He sighed and placed the nutritional supplements he was holding on her bedside table.
"Take good care of your injury and try to return to the team as soon as possible."
"Eh."
The day after Jian Changnian returned to the team after recovering from her illness, there was a training match.
In the locker room.
Lu Xiaoting watched as she took off the bracelet from her wrist. She remembered that it was a birthday gift from Xie Shi'an, and Jian Changnian had bragged about it to them for a long time.
Over the years, she has never taken off this bracelet during competitions. Like Coach Yan's photo, it has become her talisman and lucky charm.
"Are you... really determined to let her go?"
Jian Changnian stared at the bracelet for a long time before finally choosing to put it deep inside the wardrobe.
"You said that day, 'So what if I got dumped? It's not that serious.' Actually, I never dated her. I never even said 'I like you.'"
"There's a question that's been trending online lately: which is more regrettable, never having had something or having had it and then losing it?"
"I thought and thought, but I still couldn't find the answer to the question. They are both regrets, so why should I compare them?"
Having worn something for several years suddenly removed, perhaps feeling uncomfortable with her wrist empty, Jian Changnian took off another wristband and put it on. She turned around and smiled at her.
"Let's go, the competition is about to begin."
***
Chien Chang-nien has been discharged from the hospital and resumed competition and training. The Badminton World Federation has also released its decision on Gao Jian and Choi Hye-hee. Gao Jian has not only been banned for life, but has also been arrested and imprisoned for two years.
However, Choi Hye-hee escaped a calamity by only being banned for five years due to her nationality and other reasons.
Although Jian Changnian was very dissatisfied with the outcome, she did not want to put Xie Shi'an in the spotlight any longer, so she decided to consider the matter closed for the time being.
When she first joined the Binhai Provincial Team, she was a bit introverted. She spent many years by Xie Shi'an's side, gradually becoming more cheerful, like a little sun warming her.
After this incident, he reverted to his old self overnight, becoming even more reserved than before, preferring solitude, and smiling less.
Xie Shi'an has been staying in the hospital. The recovery process is more difficult and longer than she imagined. There is the rejection reaction of the artificial knee, the anti-infection after surgery, and the healing of the wound. From only being able to sit in a wheelchair to slowly being able to walk with crutches, winter has arrived.
With the national competition about to begin, this is the first time she has missed the competition since her debut, and she can only watch the competition from the television.
Jian Changnian led the Binhai Provincial Team to stand out among 34 teams nationwide, winning the championship with a 17-game winning streak, and also winning the individual singles gold medal.
After the competition, when reporters interviewed her, another person's name was always mentioned in any occasion where she was present.
"I heard that Xie Shi'an's injury is too serious and he can no longer play. Is this true?"
Will she choose to retire?
"Hsieh Shih-an hasn't made a public appearance in a long time. Have you seen her recently?"
Are you satisfied with the outcome of the case against Gao Jian?
What exactly is your relationship with contestant Xie Shi'an?
...
Upon hearing this, Xie Shi'an picked up the remote control and slammed the TV off.
This year, she still didn't go home for the Spring Festival, nor did she receive that familiar "Happy New Year" greeting.
Only Zhou Mu called her.
"You really... don't want to see her again? Even if you can't be friends... you've been friends for so many years."
It wasn't that I was unwilling, but that I couldn't. She was at the peak of her career, with a bright future ahead of her, and how could I hold her back at this time?