The two women were locked in a fierce battle, and Xie Shi'an, watching from the sidelines, kept his eyes glued to them.
In the upcoming singles competition, she will likely face Yin Jiayi. In any case, it would be good to get familiar with her playing style in advance.
Qiao... Yu Chu pulled her aside and waved her hand in front of her eyes.
"Stop looking, the doubles match is about to start, the referee wants us to go get ready."
Xie Shi'an snapped out of his daze, picked up his racket, and walked with the others to the other side of the court, still looking back with reluctance.
The match was still going on. Even though Jian Changnian had given it his all, he lost the match without any suspense. When the ball hit the ground, the scoreboard lit up.
12:21
Yin Jiayi wins.
She was panting heavily, her hands resting on her knees.
Yin Jiayi relaxed, picked up her racket, and came over to shake hands with her.
"It's okay, you've already done very well. Keep up the good work in the next games."
"Thanks."
Jian Changnian gave a wry smile, nodded slightly, shook hands with the person, and then took his racket and left the court.
The first singles match is over.
Qiao Yuchu glanced over there when she had a spare moment. Jian Changnian was sitting in the rest area with a towel draped over his head, looking dejected.
She picked up her racket, eager to try.
"So, should we win this back?"
Xie Shi'an's lips curled into a confident smile.
"Let's finish this quickly, 2-0."
***
After losing the first point, the second doubles match became especially important. Fortunately, Xie Shi'an and Qiao Yuchu lived up to expectations and won a big point for the team.
The third singles match.
Yan Xinyuan sent out Wang Bingbing, one of the stronger players on his team, while Zhejiang team also sent out their seeded player. The two sides fought fiercely, and it took three games to determine the winner.
Wang Bingbing narrowly won 2-1, securing another crucial point.
"It's match point. If we can't win the doubles match next time, Zhejiang team will lose today, so Yin Jiayi will definitely play."
Yan Xinyuan stood in the rest area, surrounded by his teammates. He calmly and quietly analyzed the situation on the field and made tactical arrangements.
Xie Shi'an glanced at the person opposite him: "Coach Yan, I..."
She wanted to go up and touch Yin Jiayi.
Yan Xinyuan shook his head: "Let Yang Li and the others go up and practice. You prepare for the next singles match."
"But..." Xie Shi'an argued vehemently, his racket already eager to be used.
"This point is also very important to us!"
Yan Xinyuan frowned. During training or competitions, he always showed his uncompromising side.
"Follow the coach's instructions on the field! If you do it again, get off the field!"
Seeing him get angry, everyone shrank back and dared not utter a sound.
Only Xie Shi'an stood there unmoved, his back ramrod straight, gritting his teeth and staring at the other person, both of them with bloodshot eyes.
There was quite a commotion over there, and Yin Jiayi, who was drinking water, looked up.
"Wow, you dare to talk back to the coach, you've got guts."
Just as Yan Xinyuan knew that the Zhejiang team had Yin Jiayi and devised tactics to counter her, the Zhejiang team's head coach also had a pretty good grasp of their situation.
"That's Xie Shi'an, the runner-up in the women's doubles at the last national competition. She started playing tennis at a very young age and is known as a genius girl and a training match demon in Jiangcheng. Oh, and she even beat Qin Yang, although it was in a ring match, and the police still came knocking on her door in the end."
Yin Jiayi smiled with interest. Although she trained abroad for many years, everyone in the national team knew what kind of person Qin Yang was. Being able to beat him meant he was a ruthless person.
"So, he's a troublemaker."
"That's right, they get punished every few days."
Yin Jiayi made no secret of her admiration and interest in Xie Shi'an.
"Coach, I want to play against her."
"It won't work today. The starting lineup has already been submitted. I don't know why they arranged their lineup like this today. According to my pre-match prediction, Xie Shi'an should be their key player. You should prepare well for the next match. There will be other opportunities in the future."
Hearing him say that, Yin Jiayi could only nod listlessly.
"Alright then, I'm going to the competition."
***
Seeing that neither of them would give in, Coach Liang quickly pulled the two apart.
"Hey, be mindful of your image, don't let outsiders laugh at us!"
Qiao Yuchu also tugged at Xie Shi'an and whispered, "Shi'an..."
Xie Shi'an then pursed his lips and reluctantly apologized.
"I'm sorry, Coach Yan, I'm going to prepare for the match."
Coach Liang also pulled the person away.
"Alright, alright, why are you getting angry with a kid? Besides, it's your fault for not letting others compete."
"I...I had my own tactical plan!" Yan Xinyuan almost choked on his own blood, but he knew now was not the time to lose his temper, so he simply shrugged.
"Give me the pipe, I'm going out for a smoke to clear my head, out of sight, out of mind."
Smoking is prohibited in the venue, and Coach Liang, fearing that people might crave a cigarette, had taken his pipe to himself early on.
"Why would you need a tobacco pipe?"
"Didn't you tell me to calm down? Don't worry, I'll definitely be back before the next match."
"Really—" Coach Liang sighed helplessly, and had no choice but to return the pipe to him, muttering as he watched the man's retreating figure.
"I think you're not much different from Shi'an. You're both so old and still cause so much worry."
The fourth doubles match.
Because Yin Jiayi was on the court, the two rookies from the Binhai Provincial Team were no match for her and were quickly defeated.
After the match, the two walked dejectedly to Yan Xinyuan.
"I'm sorry, Coach Yan, we failed to get this crucial point."
Yan Xinyuan patted them on the shoulder and comforted them.
"It's okay, there's still one more game."
He entrusted Xie Shi'an with the task of covering everything.
In this match, she was facing a player from the national youth team who had returned to his hometown specifically for this national competition. Players who are eighteen or nineteen years old and can stay in the national youth team are all top talents, and their strength is beyond doubt. Therefore, even though the two of them had just been arguing heatedly, Yan Xinyuan still gave her some advice before she went on the field.
"Now you understand why I arranged it this way, right? There are many new members in our team this year, and the only ones with experience in major competitions are you and Yu Chu. I can't possibly reveal all my cards to others at once."
Yan Xinyuan noticed that her collar had accidentally gotten caught in her neck, so he gently turned it out for her and smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes on her shoulders.
His movements were gentle and slow, like a loving elder giving instructions.
"I'm entrusting you with the responsibility of covering for the team, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just perform at about 40% or 50% of your usual practice level."
The last time someone helped her with her clothes before a competition was before she was six years old. At that moment, Xie Shi'an didn't know if it was her imagination or what, but she always felt that Yan Xinyuan looked at her as if he were looking at his own child, with such expectation, yet not wanting her to feel any pressure.
After this realization came to mind, the iceberg of family affection that had been frozen in my heart for so long began to crack slightly.
Xie Shi'an nodded without saying anything, but his expression became noticeably serious. He picked up his racket and strode confidently onto the court.
She displayed a strong offensive attitude from the start of the game, gaining control within just a few minutes and relentlessly attacking her opponents. After demonstrating extraordinary dominance on the field, her defense was also watertight, and the Zhejiang team players on the opposing team gradually looked grim.
Xie Shi'an easily won a small round.
In the second game, she finally remembered what Yan Xinyuan had told her: to conserve her strength. She deliberately slowed down the pace, giving her opponent a chance to breathe. After seizing the opportunity, the Zhejiang team members launched a fierce counterattack.
Xie Shi'an fought and retreated simultaneously. Although the game looked close, both coaches could see that she was actually in complete control.
"At first, I thought Xie Shi'an was like Qin Yang, but I didn't expect her to play so well. Judging from her ball control, she's probably out of the running." The Zhejiang team's head coach sighed repeatedly as he watched.
Yan Xinyuan had a completely used expression on his face, and would occasionally give a token clap when Xie Shi'an made a good shot.
Because he knew that Xie Shi'an's strength was far more than that.
In the second game, despite her deliberate intention to throw the game, she still won by a narrow margin of two points, securing the first victory for the Binhai Provincial Team.
Her teammates all ran up to her and cheered, but Jian Changnian sat alone in the corner, looking a little lonely as she watched their backs.
Although the match was over, she couldn't stop thinking about the scene of her match against Yin Jiayi.
Since officially joining the provincial team, she has regained her confidence. In training matches, she can compete with everyone except Xie Shi'an. When she is in good form, she can even beat some boys. But today, she lost too quickly to Yin Jiayi and was decisively defeated 2-0. If she could have tied the score, she would feel a little better.
Jian Changnian lowered her head and sighed deeply. Before she could raise her head, her eyes were covered.
A familiar voice came from behind.
"Ding ding ding—Guess who I am?"
A smile appeared on Jian Changnian's lips as he pulled her hand away.
"Stop pretending. I could recognize your voice even if it turned to ashes."
Zhou Mu ran down from the audience seats and hung on her neck from behind through the railing.
"This isn't fun at all! Can't you just cooperate a little?"
Jian Changnian turned to look at her: "Weren't you supposed to be having tutoring today? What brings you here?"
"This is your first official match, so of course I had to come and watch."
When the competition was mentioned, Jian Changnian's face showed some disappointment.
She knew that Zhou Mu and the others came to cheer her on, but she disappointed them.
"I didn't play well today."