Jian Changnian smiled and said, "It's me. I'm not asleep yet."
"Oh my, you busy man, you finally remembered to call me after more than half a month. Have you made some new friends? I always hear the laughter of new people, but I never see the tears of old friends." Zhou Mu's tone was unusually reproachful, deliberately putting on airs.
"What nonsense! I just haven't had time. It's only because of the typhoon today that the afternoon outdoor training was canceled, which is why I had some free time." Jian Changnian couldn't help but chuckle as she shifted to a more comfortable position against the wall and continued talking to her.
Are you that busy?
"Yeah, I get up at 6:30 in the morning, start training at 7:00, rest from 1:00 to 2:00 in the afternoon, and then train until the evening after lunch. When I get back, all I want to do is fall asleep."
Jian Changnian chatted on and on about some things related to life and training.
"By the way, did you visit my grandma when you went home? Her health..."
Zhou Mu hid under the covers, reading a novel with a flashlight on, while chatting with her.
"Don't worry, Grandma can walk again now. Oh, by the way, she asked me to bring you some of your favorite pickled vegetables. I'll send them to you another day."
Jian Changnian quickly refused, asking her to help keep it a secret from her grandmother and to go home to visit the elderly woman, as she already felt very guilty.
"No need, Grandma's pickled vegetables are quite delicious. You can keep them to eat with rice. The food in the cafeteria all tastes the same anyway."
Zhou Mu chuckled and said, "Then I won't be polite. I'll eat half and leave the other half for you."
"By the way, have you seen Senior Cheng?" Zhou Mu asked in a low voice.
Jian Changnian shook her head: "Although the swimming team is right next door, they are all in closed training and cannot go out without permission."
"I see..." Zhou Mu's voice betrayed his disappointment, but then his eyes lit up again.
"Since I can't go out freely, can't I come see you this weekend and hang out with you?"
Jian Changnian almost choked on her own saliva. How could this person be so unpredictable!
"No, no, no, please don't come..."
She hadn't figured out how to bring up Sun Qian's matter with Zhou Mu yet. What if the two of them bumped into each other? Wouldn't it be like enemies meeting again, their eyes blazing with hatred?
Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Mu interrupted her.
"I don't care. People in prison can still visit each other. Your training team can't be worse off than being in prison, can it?"
Before Jian Changnian could say anything more, Zhou Mu didn't give her a chance to refute. All she heard was a commotion, followed by a beeping sound.
"Okay, I'm not talking to you anymore, the dorm supervisor is coming to check the rooms! See you on Saturday!"
Jian Changnian held the receiver, dumbfounded. Well, it would have been better not to make this call at all.
***
Counting the days, it has been more than half a month since they came to the training camp. Yan Xinyuan has come up with all sorts of tricks to torment them and never holds back. Although the training is very tough, the results are obvious to all. At least Jian Changnian has gone from not being able to run 3,000 meters at the beginning to being able to do it with ease now.
However, her performance in the weekly sparring matches every Friday was still not very good. There was a whiteboard at the entrance of the training room that recorded how many matches each person had won since joining the training team, including the score difference, all of which were clearly recorded.
Jian Changnian's ranking has been hovering around the bottom one or two. Yan Xinyuan said that there will be a monthly assessment, which includes physical fitness and combat performance. Those who fail the assessment will be eliminated. Next Friday is the assessment day, and his own performance is as "stable" as ever.
Before entering the training room, Jian Changnian glanced at the whiteboard by the door, her smile somewhat bitter.
Before coming to the training camp, she was still smug about winning a point against Xie Shi'an in the gymnasium. Now she realized that it was just luck. Because with her current grades, she couldn't be assigned to Xie Shi'an's group at all. Even in Group D, which had the worst overall performance, she would be at the bottom.
She didn't understand why, despite putting in a hundred times the effort to train hard and often practicing alone until late at night, she was still not as good as others. Did she really not have the talent to play ball?
In such an environment, the self-confidence that people have worked so hard to build will be destroyed little by little.
Another ball landed and went out of bounds.
Because the Group D match was played last, the teammates who had finished their game early and had nothing else to do gathered around to watch the excitement, booing loudly.
Yan Xinyuan frowned and whistled.
"Jian Changnian, do you even know how to play ball?! How did I teach you guys? Playing ball is like playing Go, you have to think three steps ahead for every move you make. Do you think you can hit that ball like that?! I can tell even with my toes that it will definitely go out of bounds! If you serve that kind of lousy ball again, you can pack your bags and go home!"
He was always strict and unapproachable during training.
Jian Changnian's face flushed red. He took a deep breath, adjusted his breathing, picked up his racket, and assumed a defensive stance.
The more she tried to play well, the worse she played.
Zhao Qidong across from him grinned and made faces.
"Hey, bean sprout, are you any good? It's the second game already. I don't remember you winning any games this week. How about I give you a few points?"
"Stop talking nonsense, are we still going to fight or not?" Jian Changnian gritted his teeth and glanced at the crowd of onlookers. Most of the training team had come, crowding the already cramped venue.
As she played, people were pointing and whispering from the sidelines.
"Hey, that ball, no, it should be a flat drive to the net."
"Footwork, pay attention to your footwork! Go ahead and swat him! What are you afraid of!"
"Backcourt, backcourt, he's going to hit a high clear!"
Jian Changnian felt as if a thousand flies were buzzing in her ears, her head was ringing, and on top of that, Zhao Qidong kept making faces, sticking out his tongue and sticking out his butt on the other side, doing all sorts of little things to disrupt her thinking and tactics.
The more she reminded herself not to be distracted by these external factors, the more she cared about their opinions.
After falling again while saving the ball, Jian Changnian's eyes reddened. She stood up and looked at Yan Xinyuan with a pleading look: "Coach, I can't play like this."
Yan Xinyuan sat motionless in his chair, not even flinching.
"What's this? You can't handle being surrounded by a few dozen people? In a real competition, with hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people, even a single cough from one person can create a deafening roar. Would you tell the coach then that you can't play?"
Jian Changnian pointed at Zhao Qidong: "But his funny faces bothered me."
Zhao Qidong shrugged indifferently.
"My nose is itchy. The rules don't say you can't pick your nose, right?"
The crowd burst into laughter.
Yan Xinyuan remained seated, his expression even colder and more stern.
"Do you expect every opponent you face in the future to be like the assistant coach, just standing there receiving serves? Let me tell you, there are all sorts of birds in a big forest, and there are many more who are worse than this! If you're not going to play, then get out!"
Although she knew that Yan Xinyuan was always strict during training, Jian Changnian still felt a little wronged to be scolded in front of everyone. Her eyes reddened slightly, and she sniffed to force back her tears.
She lost that match without any surprise.
After the fight, Sun Qian came over to comfort her: "Are you alright?"
Jian Changnian was sitting on the steps in front of the training room, her head buried in her thoughts, repeatedly replaying the scene of the competition in her mind. She looked up, saw it was her, and smiled slightly at her.
"fine."
Sun Qian handed her a bottle of mineral water: "Although Zhao Qidong was also assigned to Group D, he is a veteran player after all, and his strength is still very strong."
Jian Changnian never expected that it would be her who would comfort her. Just over half a month ago, Sun Qian was her defeated opponent, but after this period of intensive training, Sun Qian has made rapid progress and her performance has risen to the middle of Group D.
As Jian Changnian thought about this, she felt increasingly uneasy.
"Everyone else is making progress, only me..."
Sun Qian patted her on the shoulder and said, "Coach Yan also said that your foundation is a bit weak. I have played in the school team for a few years. After a while, when your foundation is solid, your performance will improve."
Jian Changnian smiled wryly, unscrewed the mineral water bottle, took a sip, and was clearly in low spirits, not wanting to continue the conversation.
Sun Qian was quite tactful and changed the subject.
"By the way, Coach Yan gave everyone a day off tomorrow. Why don't we take this opportunity to go out and have some fun and relax?"
Jian Changnian shook his head: "We still play like this every day during training, how can we dare to relax?"
"Alright then, I'll be going now." Sun Qian carried a shoulder bag and wore light makeup, looking like she was heading home.
Jian Changnian waved goodbye to her: "Goodbye."
For Jian Changnian, the only happy thing today was that she no longer had to worry about Zhou Mu running into Sun Qian when he came over tomorrow.
In the dormitory, Qiao Yuchu was also packing her things.
"I'm going home tomorrow, why don't you come back with me?"
Xie Shi'an shook his head: "No, what would I do if you three were reunited?"
"What's the big deal? You used to often eat at my house when you were a kid."
Xie Shi'an sat on the edge of the bed, watching her walk around the dormitory trying on clothes, busy as a bee.
"That was when I was a child, I didn't understand."
"Oh yeah, she used to call me 'sister' all the time when we were little, but now she's turned her back on me." Qiao Yuchu picked up a red sweater and paired it with a skirt, then stood in front of the mirror, trying it on.
Xie Shi'an nodded: "This one is fine, it looks good."
Qiao Yuchu looked at herself in the mirror. She had put on light makeup because she had a dinner party that evening. The red sweater made her look even better, and she was very pleased with herself.
"Okay, I'll listen to you. I'm leaving now—" Qiao Yuchu drawled out, and before leaving, she came over to pinch her cheek.
"If you get bored, go play with Orange Juice next door, or go to the park to play ball or chess, or come to my house. Just one thing: be careful and don't cause trouble."
Xie Shi'an pushed the person aside with a hint of disdain: "I know, I know, let's go."
As the door closed, silence fell, and Xie Shi'an's smile faded, replaced by a hint of melancholy in his eyes.
***
the next day.
As soon as Zhou Mu arrived, he saw her squatting by the roadside, looking sullen.
She walked over and patted Jian Changnian on the shoulder: "What's wrong with you?"
When Jian Changnian saw that it was her, a smile appeared on her face, and she stood up.
"No, I was just waiting for you."
Zhou Mu looked up at the training base gate with curiosity: "Wow, can I go in and have a look?"
"Wait a minute, let me ask the gatekeeper." Jian Changnian ran over, said a few words to the old man guarding the gate, signed the visitor list, and then ran back.
"Come on, I'll show you around."
Jian Changnian rarely goes out for walks because she is usually busy with training. Today, she accompanied Zhou Mu for a walk and discovered that the training base is quite large.
The cement road leading in from the entrance extends all the way to the training building. Evergreen pines and cypresses are planted along the roadside, and the sides of the building are covered with ivy, which has turned yellow this season, with fallen leaves covering the ground.
Next to the training building is their usual canteen, and behind it is a large playground.
As for the dormitory, it wasn't convenient to take her there because she had other roommates.