Jian Changnian answered crisply, squeezed through the crowd, and handed the money to the shop owner: "Auntie, two ice creams."
Jian Changnian, who came back carrying ice cream, handed one to each person. Qiao Yuchu, holding her own, asked, "Why aren't you eating any?"
Jian Changnian scratched his head: "I..."
If she buys another one, there will be no discount, and she can't bear to part with it.
Qiao Yuchu handed her hers: "Here, try it. You bite this side; I've never eaten this before."
This was Jian Changnian's first time eating ice cream, and she looked at it longingly, asking, "Can... I eat it?"
"It's okay! We'll eat together. Or are you just looking down on me?"
"No, no." Jian Changnian waved her hands repeatedly, blushing as she took a small bite, the sweet taste melting on her tongue.
"Mmm...it's so cool and sweet."
Just one bite was enough to make her squint her eyes in satisfaction.
"Right, right? Ice cream is only suitable for eating in the dead of winter."
The two were talking, with Xie Shi'an walking ahead carrying an ice cream.
"If we go any later, there won't be any more buses."
"Coming, coming, don't rush me."
***
While Jian Changnian and the others were preparing to return home, Sun Qian was still singing in the karaoke bar.
After the song ended, she checked her watch and said, "Brother, I have to go. There won't be any more buses if I stay any longer."
The man sitting next to her put his arm around her shoulder, a cigarette between his fingers, and reeked of alcohol.
"Hey, let's have another drink together."
Seeing that she had a blank expression and didn't seem interested, the man took out some money from his purse and put it on the table.
"Is this okay? I'll take you home in a bit."
Late at night, Sun Qian came out of the KTV. Someone was already waiting by the roadside. Cheng Zhen saw that she was walking unsteadily, so she quickly ran over to help her steady herself.
"Why did you drink so much?"
"It was a class reunion, and I drank a bit too much."
Sun Qian smiled, her eyes slightly unfocused, and leaned closer to Cheng Zhen: "Thank you for your help."
Cheng Zhen opened the car door for her: "Hey, I came over as soon as I saw your message. I was going back to the training base anyway, so it was on the way."
Once Sun Qian was settled, he told the driver to start the car. Sun Qian glanced at the scarf around his neck and smiled.
"Your scarf is really nice, where did you buy it?"
"A gift from a friend."
Sun Qian gave a meaningful "Oh" and then fell silent, leaning back in her seat and dozing off.
Seeing that she was dressed too lightly and worried that she might catch a cold, Cheng Zhen quietly instructed the driver to turn up the air conditioning and then took off her own coat and covered her with it.
***
Upon returning to the training base, Jian Changnian didn't rest. Instead, he ran 1500 meters on the track, played ball in the training room for a while, and then went back to his dormitory.
My roommates were all asleep, making soft breathing sounds.
Jian Changnian tiptoed to wash up. After washing up, she returned to the dormitory and looked up at the upper bunk. Sun Qian still hadn't returned. It was so late, and she wondered where she was.
She shook her head, left the door open for her, and turned on the desk lamp to sit down and write in her diary.
I spent six yuan on the drink.
I spent a total of three yuan on ice cream for Xie Shi'an and Sister Yu Chu.
The fare was four yuan, leaving eighty-seven yuan.
The ice cream was delicious and sweet. When I make money in the future, I'll treat them to a big meal. Oh, right, and Zhou Mu too.
Once the training camp is over, I can go home to see my grandma. Winter is coming, and her legs will probably start hurting again. I can save this money for her to buy knee braces.
As she wrote this, a smile involuntarily crept onto Jian Changnian's lips. She tucked the remaining money into her diary and then under her pillow.
Sun Qian thought the dormitory door was locked, but it opened with a gentle push. She was a little surprised and saw that the light was still on by Jian Changnian's bed.
"You're still awake?"
Jian Changnian put her finger to her lips to signal her to be quiet: "Shh, I just came back from the training room not long ago. I saw that no one was in your bed, so I thought I'd leave the door open for you."
The dim light seemed to be the only source of warmth on this winter night.
Sun Qian smiled, intending to say something, but her gaze fell on the red scarf hanging by her bedside. Her smile seemed to float on the water, easily dissipated with a gentle touch.
"Thank you."
Jian Changnian lay down on the bed and whispered, "It's okay, we're all in the same dorm. Could you turn off the light for me after you're done tidying up?"
Sun Qian nodded: "Okay, good night."
"Good night."
Chapter 23 Encounter
As the weather gradually gets colder, the year-end assessment for the training team is fast approaching. In the past two weeks, Jian Changnian has been getting up to run as soon as it's dawn and is often the last to leave the training room at night. But whether it's morning training or night training, she often runs into Xie Shi'an.
People who are already excellent work even harder than her, so what reason does Jian Changnian have to be lazy? No matter how hard or tiring the training was, she gritted her teeth and persevered.
She trains hard day and night at the training base during the week, and goes to the Chenxing Club to play on weekends when she has time off, partly for a living and partly for her dream.
Just as Qiao Yuchu said, she didn't have a solid foundation or rich competition experience, so she could only rely on continuous efforts and constantly challenge different opponents to develop muscle memory and eventually accumulate her own valuable experience.
Not daring to relax for even a moment, Jian Changnian's performance finally improved, from the bottom of Group D to Group C, and then to the point where he seemed to be making it into Group B. Even Coach Liang was secretly thinking when writing down the training results that this kid's performance was like a rocket.
Yan Xinyuan, holding a pipe, said, "It's not just Jian Changnian; Xie Shi'an and Qiao Yuchu have both improved since that incident."
“Especially Xie Shi’an, you see, usually if someone asks her a question, she won’t even bother to answer it.”
Coach Liang laughed heartily: "That's true. For professional players, pride is acceptable, but arrogance is not. Only by remaining humble can one see one's own shortcomings and the strengths of one's opponents, and learn from their strengths to make up for one's weaknesses."
The birch trees outside the window have all lost their leaves.
Yan Xinyuan looked at the young faces in the training room and said, "The year-end assessment is coming soon. I wonder how many of us will be able to stay."
Coach Liang: "In my opinion, the ones you've chosen are mostly secure."
Yan Xinyuan sighed and said, "It's really not easy for them to get this far. If possible, I hope they can all stay."
In just over two months, the number of people who joined the team has dwindled to less than half. Almost every day, people are leaving due to health or family reasons.
Those who remained were truly the ones who survived the great wave.
To Yan Xinyuan's surprise, Sun Qian and Zhao Qidong also persevered.
Sun Qian's performance was quite good, and she was promoted to Group B, while Zhao Qidong had been struggling in Group C.
Coach Liang: "The men's team is doing okay, but some of the original provincial teams will probably be eliminated. The women's team, however, will face much greater competition."
There are ten official team members for both the men's and women's teams. Xie Shi'an and Qiao Yuchu are undoubtedly qualified, their strength is undeniable. Among the remaining young players are former members of the second team, as well as rising stars like Sun Qian and Jian Changnian.
Yan Xinyuan smiled, his gaze deep, and blew his whistle.
"Pressure? That's right, pressure is a good thing. Start training me to withstand pressure from the beginning of the training camp. When we face strong opponents on the field, we will be able to withstand the pressure and not panic. Everyone, get ready, assemble."
***
"Starting next week, we will conduct a week-long year-end assessment. The assessment will consist of 1v1 combat training, divided into male and female groups. Opponents will be drawn by lot. It will be a best-of-three series. One point will be awarded for each win, and two points for each match. Losers will not receive any points. By Friday afternoon, the top ten players in each category will be selected for the Binhai Provincial Team, and the rest..."
"I hope everyone can achieve results that satisfy them."
Yan Xinyuan paused for a moment, and before he could finish speaking, the expressions of the people below had already become serious.
Jian Changnian counted on her fingers the opponents she could defeat and found that they were all in a precarious situation, not to mention Xie Shi'an above her.
She was somewhat desperate: "What if I draw Xie Shi'an?"
Sun Qian stood next to her and whispered, "What can we do? Just fight as hard as we can. If we're lucky enough to win a game, it's still a win."
Jian Changnian glanced at Xie Shian standing in front of her. She had played ball with Xie Shian at least a few times, but she still had no idea about Xie Shian's strength. Xie Shian was like an unfathomable ancient well, and she could not see the depth of her. Every time she played ball with Xie Shian, she would have a new feeling. The only constant feeling was that Xie Shian's strength was terrifying.
Trying to get points from her is extremely difficult; it's better to think about how to deal with other people and pray that you don't get drawn against her.
But things often turn out exactly as you fear. On Monday, in the first round of the draw, Jian Changnian drew Xie Shi'an.
She stared incredulously at the note in her hand, then at Xie Shi'an warming up beside her. She swallowed hard, picked up her racket, and struggled to walk onto the court.
The match was a foregone conclusion, with Xie Shi'an giving her no chance to counterattack and securing a 2-0 victory.
Jian Changnian returned to the rest area in frustration.
Sun Qian patted her shoulder to comfort her: "It's okay, it's okay, it's just the first game."
Qiao Yuchu sat on the ground and handed Xie Shi'an a bottle of water: "Hey, was it really necessary to be so ruthless? Look how badly you beat him..."
Jian Changnian kept her head down and looked sullen after losing the game.
Xie Shi'an glanced at it, took the mineral water bottle, unscrewed it, and took a sip: "Who can I blame if I'm not as skilled as others?"
Qiao Yuchu wanted to say something more, but the assistant coach called her name, and she quickly grabbed her racket and ran over.
"Next match: Qiao Yuchu vs. Sun Qian. The match begins."
***
After a day of training matches, Jian Changnian only managed to score two points in each game, currently ranking twenty-first on the leaderboard, third from the bottom.
Although Sun Qian lost the match against Qiao Yuchu, she won a small point. She won the next two matches and rose to seventeenth place. With four days of competition left, she has a good chance of breaking into the top ten if she works hard.
Xie Shi'an and Qiao Yuchu are practically guaranteed a spot in the top ten.
Jian Changnian looked at the whiteboard in front of the training room and lowered her head in frustration.
Coach Liang blew his whistle, signaling the end of today's competition and that there would be no more training sessions; everyone could rest on their own.
The crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only Jian Changnian behind.