Snap—
The two hands touched in mid-air and sprang back.
"I'm leaving," Xie Shi'an said.
Jian Changnian didn't say a single unnecessary word, as if she knew she would win.
"good."
***
While Xie Shi'an was engaged in a fierce competition, Qiao Yuchu and Jin Shunqi arrived at the detention center again. They waited from daylight until dusk, but their mother still refused to come out and see them.
Qiao Yuchu had no choice but to hand over the change of clothes she had brought to the prison guard and ask her to take them in to her mother.
"Please tell her to take care of herself and that I will come to see her another day."
The prison guard had no choice but to accept her belongings.
“Your mother said that you should never come here again. Even if she goes to jail, she will never divorce your father.”
The prison guards had already been very tactful in their message; Qiao's mother's original words were even more blunt and unpleasant.
Qiao Yuchu stood there, her eyes slightly red.
Kim Soon-ki gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Let's go see your father first."
Meanwhile, at the hospital, the victim's family also brought in a lawyer. The lawyer's advice was that if they wanted more compensation, they shouldn't give in yet. They should let them stay in custody for a few more days. They said that the Qiao family's daughter would definitely soften and come to beg them again if she couldn't eat or sleep in the detention center. Then they could ask for an exorbitant amount of money, and it would be easier to get it from them.
After listening, the couple looked at each other.
"What if they refuse to give it to us?"
The lawyer gave a mysterious smile.
"Was the old lady cremated?"
The man shook his head.
"That makes things easier. If they don't give us money, we can call on our relatives and friends, give them a tip, bring the old lady along, and make a scene at the entrance of their residential complex. Even if the couple is shameless, their daughter still has to get married, have children, and come out into the world."
The woman shuddered; this was a truly wicked idea.
The man gritted his teeth and readily agreed with the lawyer.
"First, we need the money. If they refuse, we'll do as you say."
***
"Let me go! Let me go!" The security guard thought Yan Xinyuan was a fanatical fan and dragged him out of the stadium before shoving him away.
Yan Xinyuan stumbled and almost fell to the ground, but fortunately Coach Liang caught him.
"Old Yan, Old Yan, are you alright?!"
Yan Xinyuan clutched the spot on his chest where he had undergone a biopsy, gritted his teeth, and after a long while, he finally stood up shakily with his help.
He turned around, and Xie Shi'an's face was clearly reflected on the large screen in the square. After winning the game, the young man was in high spirits. He raised his right hand and made a "1" gesture towards the audience.
"Let's congratulate Xie Shi'an on winning the first game 21-18!"
The audience erupted in cheers.
Zhou Mu jumped the highest, cheering her on with all his might.
"Shi'an!!! Keep it up! You're the best!!!"
On the other side of the field, Yin Jiayi and Jin Nanzhi heard the sudden cheers from the audience and turned around at the same time, smiles appearing on their lips.
Yin Jiayi thought to herself: That's amazing. She can still make a comeback under such extreme pressure. I might have to meet her in the finals again.
Kim Namji looked at his opponent today. Although he was temporarily behind in the score, he was still full of fighting spirit and thought to himself.
"Xie Shi'an has already pulled herself together, so I need to work harder too. I want to meet them at the top."
***
After Anton Sevich took the first game point, Xie Shian fought back and won the game back in one go.
Anton's expression gradually turned grim.
Her fans weren't so excited anymore. Amidst the boos, Zhou Mu and Cheng Zhen cheered for Xie Shi'an louder and louder, encouraging more people to join in waving flags and cheering for the Chinese team.
"Xie Shi'an—"
"come on!!!"
"Team China—"
"come on!!!"
Xie Shi'an looked back. She knew that Coach Yan wouldn't leave and would definitely be watching her silently from the sidelines. Although that person wasn't there, she had said that he would witness every important moment in her life. Maybe he was watching her game on TV right now.
And her grandfather, and her mentor Coach Fang.
“Our Shi’an will definitely be a world champion when he grows up.”
And her friends who traveled from afar to be here for her, and her fans who continued to support her through adversity.
"Xie Shi'an, keep it up!!! You're my favorite Chinese athlete!!!"
"I've been watching your matches since the national competition. It hasn't been easy for you to get here. Promise me you won't have any regrets, okay?!"
"Thank you, Shi'an! I also love playing badminton, and I want to be a professional player like you in the future!"
A cacophony of sounds, a sea of red.
Xie Shi'an slowly curved her lips into a smile, as if there were invisible hands behind her pushing her forward.
On the only way to the competition venue, someone was still waiting for her.
Jian Changnian smiled and reached out her hand.
"Can I skip cleaning tonight?"
The two hands touched lightly in the air.
Xie Shi'an left without looking back.
"Of course, I promise."
The second game officially began, and Xie Shi'an continued the style of the previous game. She no longer considered defense. Where Anton's ball would land, she only had one thought in her mind: to kill her until she begged for mercy.
The way she held the racket made it seem as if she were wielding a deadly sword, unstoppable and invincible.
Under relentless pressure, Anton suffered repeated defeats.
Commentator Zhao Zhao said, "Anton was careless on that shot! Xie Shi'an scores another point."
"We can see that under Xie Shi'an's extremely fast ball speed, Anton seems to be somewhat unable to cope."
"Xie Shi'an's shot was beautiful! It perfectly replicated her 'backhand grab' move when she faced Yin Jiayi in the National Tournament. Congratulations to Xie Shi'an for winning this match 2-0!"
The scoreboard lit up the moment the commentator's voice fell to the ground.
The crowd cheered.
"China!"
"China!"
"China!"
The boy bowed his head and kissed the red flag on his chest deeply.
Countless media outlets pressed their shutters at that moment.
Zhou Mu, standing in the stands, was in tears, frantically pinching Cheng Zhen's thigh: "Orange Juice, she did it! She defeated Anton Sevich! That's Anton, the world's third-ranked Anton..."
Cheng Zhen was being pinched so hard she was wincing in pain, feeling like she was in unbearable agony.
"Ahhh, I know, but could you please let go first?!"
Jian Changnian stood on the sidelines, watching her wave to the audience, and for some reason, her eyes also welled up with tears.
She stood there like a ray of light, drawing her closer and closer. Finally, she couldn't resist anymore and rushed over to hug her.
"Waaah, I was so worried about your condition before, I was so anxious that I couldn't eat or sleep. I don't know why watching you play was more nerve-wracking than when I went up to play myself, but...waaah, you still did it."
Xie Shi'an was taken aback, feeling that she was being a bit pretentious, especially crying in front of so many people. It was a little funny but also heartwarming.
The boy held a racket in one hand and used the other hand, which was holding the back of her clothes, to slowly lower it and gently hug her back.
The two shared their first real hug.
The commentator laughed as he watched the footage transmitted back from the live broadcast.
"How would you rate her performance in today's match, Senior Jiang?"
Jiang Yunli smiled slightly and said only four words.
"The King Returns."
***
Xie Shi'an's luck in the draw wasn't particularly good, as evidenced by her being drawn into the lower half of the bracket, especially considering she had to play two matches today. However, with the experience and momentum from the first match, the second match against the Thai prodigy Natiya was pretty much a foregone conclusion. She went all out and swept through the competition, securing a 2-0 victory and earning points. She also avenged her previous defeat, making it a double celebration.
After a day of competition, Yin Jiayi and Jin Nanzhi advanced to the next round with scores of 2-0 and 2-1 respectively.
Jian Changnian and Xie Shian packed their things and came out through the athletes' passage.
She was gesturing as she walked.
"Wow, that headbutt you used on Anton was so cool! I can never learn it!"
After a long day of competition, Xie Shi'an was a little tired and listless.
"Because you're stupid."
“You…” Jian Changnian was furious and was about to pounce on her and choke her, but then he suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, didn't Anton just come over to shake your hand? What did you say to her? I saw her face turn green all of a sudden, and she left in a huff."
Xie Shi'an replied without turning his head.
“I said—FUCKYOU.”