She gritted her teeth and glanced at Yang Li, who was also gritting her teeth and persevering, with sweat and tears dripping onto the track.
Silence fell; no one spoke.
Yan Xinyuan stood with his hands behind his back.
"Fine, nobody's going to say anything, huh? Then we'll add another hundred for each of you."
Yang Li couldn't take the torture anymore. Her palms were being cut by the hard track, causing her excruciating pain. She didn't want anyone else to be punished with her.
With her eyes closed and tears streaming down her face, she cried out, "Coach, it's me—"
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Chun took the opportunity to speak.
"Coach, I started it!"
Yang Li was startled, looked up, and stared at her in disbelief.
"No, coach, it was me. I started it. If you want to fire someone, fire me."
More voices joined in.
"Coach, I was wrong too, I also hit him."
"Coach, please punish me, don't expel them."
Jian Changnian was also about to give up. With her eyes closed, she shouted, "Coach, I deserve the most punishment for losing the game. Please punish me."
...
Yan Xinyuan looked at the young faces in front of him, who were covering for each other and didn't want their friends to leave. He didn't know why, but his eyes also became a little wet.
He took off his coat and put it aside.
"I know everyone is in a bad mood after losing the game today. As the head coach, it is my responsibility not to arrange the tactics well, and it is also my responsibility not to teach you to be united and friendly."
“If the teacher is not strict, it is the teacher’s fault, so I will be punished along with everyone else.”
After he finished speaking, he bent down and did push-ups with them.
Yan Xinyuan was getting old, and after only a few attempts, he could no longer lift his arms with difficulty. A sudden rush of air into his throat caused him to cough again.
Everyone panicked and scrambled to their feet, surrounding him to help him up: "Coach Yan, Coach Yan, please don't do this. We know we were wrong, we'll accept the punishment..."
Yan Xinyuan looked up and shouted, sending everyone back.
"This is an order. Who told you to get up? We are a team. If we make a mistake, we will all be punished. Xie Shi'an—"
Xie Shi'an stood up: "Here."
"You tell us the number. We can rest when we finish two hundred."
"yes!"
Since that night, an unwritten rule has been added to the training regulations of the Binhai Provincial Team:
That is, regardless of winning or losing the game, blaming teammates is prohibited.
We share the joy of victory together, and we also shoulder the burden of defeat together.
After doing two hundred push-ups, everyone helped each other up, their faces red from the wind, panting heavily, tears and snot streaming down their faces.
Yan Xinyuan was the last to stand up and put on his coat.
Coach Liang finished writing the appeal and came over to the playground to take a look, and also invited them to have lunch.
"Everyone has worked hard today. The cafeteria has prepared mutton soup to warm you up."
A small cheer erupted from the crowd, and people walked towards the cafeteria in small groups.
Coach Liang and Yan Xinyuan fell behind.
"Have you finished writing the appeal?"
"It has already been faxed."
"Okay, I'll go call the chief referee too."
"Let's eat first."
Yan Xinyuan smiled and brushed the dust off his clothes.
"Let's go back to the office and eat while we work."
***
During the meal, Jian Changnian kept secretly glancing at Xie Shi'an's back. Several times she wanted to strike up a conversation with her, but she swallowed the words back.
Although she didn't say it, she must have been very upset inside. Otherwise, she wouldn't have pushed herself so hard when she was doing push-ups, doing fifty more than the others. She was just venting her frustration.
After finishing her meal, Jian Changnian returned to her dormitory. After thinking for a moment, she took out the lotus lamp that was locked in the cabinet.
Her roommate, seeing that she seemed about to go out, said, "It's so late, aren't you going to rest?"
Jian Changnian smiled and said, "Yes, something's come up. I'll be right back."
Although they weren't in the same dormitory, they were on the same floor, so Jian Changnian knew her living habits pretty well.
Xie Shi'an would practice for an extra hour or so after each training session. He would go to take a shower as soon as he got back to the dormitory. If nothing unexpected happened, he should be able to wait for her on the way back to the dormitory from the bathhouse at this time.
The bathhouse was next to the water room on the first floor. Jian Changnian only realized when she went downstairs that it had started snowing outside. The north wind was howling, and snowflakes drifted in and landed on her.
Jian Changnian stepped into the corridor, hugged her arms, and paced back and forth to keep warm.
After a short while, footsteps came from behind. Jian Changnian turned around and saw Xie Shi'an with her long hair down, carrying a bag in her hand and wearing slippers as she walked out. The steam from the bathtub blurred her face.
Jian Changnian quickly went to greet him: "Shi'an."
Xie Shi stopped in his tracks, his expression indifferent.
"Is there something you need?"
"No... I just wanted to apologize to you. I didn't perform well today..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was coldly interrupted.
"If that's what you wanted to say, then there's no need. I didn't have high hopes to begin with. I'll just focus on playing my best in the next match."
Although the girl said that, her eyes didn't lie; she was clearly a little sad when she lost the game.
Jian Changnian looked somber, forced a smile, and handed over the lotus lantern hidden behind his back.
"I know it's no use saying anything now, but I want you to feel a little happier."
Xie Shi'an was taken aback when he saw what was in her hand.
"you……"
Seeing that she didn't answer for a long time and looked somewhat incredulous, Jian Changnian grabbed her right hand, which was not holding anything, and put it into her palm.
"I originally planned to surprise you when we win the championship, but now it seems like..."
Jian Changnian smiled, sniffed, and let go of her hand.
"...I wish you good luck in your individual projects."
After she finished speaking, she turned and left.
Xie Shi'an stared blankly at the lotus lantern in her hand. She didn't need to look at the seal on the back; she only needed one glance to know that anything her grandfather made was genuine, not a fake.
The young man's expression shifted slightly, and his voice trembled a little.
"Where...where did you get this?"
Jian Changnian turned around and smiled.
"I traded it for the jade pendant I was wearing."
Since she had a valuable jade pendant, why didn't she take it out and exchange it for money when her grandmother was hospitalized?
Jian Changnian noticed her confusion and said, "When I was very young, about three or four years old, I was playing with some friends at the reservoir near my house when I accidentally fell into the water. This jade pendant was left behind by the uncle who saved me. After he rescued me, he left without leaving his name. My grandmother said we should keep this jade safe, because maybe one day he would come back to get it. But no one has come looking for it all these years."
So that's how it is.
The things left behind by her savior must have been of great significance to her; she couldn't bear to exchange the jade for money, but she was willing to exchange it for her lotus lantern.
A genuine sense of gratitude welled up in Xie Shi'an's eyes.
"Thanks."
Jian Changnian scratched his head, and seeing her like this, he smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
"You're welcome. You've helped me a lot too, and Grandpa's belongings must be important to you as well."
She glanced at the sky outside; the snow was falling even harder.
Xie Shi'an was dressed very lightly, and his hair was half-dry.
"Do you... want to come back to the dorm with me? It's really cold outside."
Xie Shi'an nodded, quickly followed her, and blurted out without thinking.
"Once we win the championship, I'll give you the prize money, and then you can go and redeem Yu..."
He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.
Even if they win the individual event, they won't win the team event, so how can they talk about prize money? It's definitely not enough to redeem a piece of jade.
The boy lowered his eyes, realizing he had spoken out of turn.
"I'm sorry... wait until I've saved enough money."
Jian Changnian quickly waved her hand: "No, no, no, it's me who should be paying you back..."
As night deepened, the two walked and talked, and the short walk from the bathhouse to the dormitory felt like an eternity.
"Shi'an, do you really want to win?"
"Yes, my grandfather also likes to play badminton. He was my first badminton coach. I want to play for him and let him know that I have been doing what I love and am good at all these years and have never given up."
"Then Shi'an, wait for me. Give me a little more time. Next year, I will definitely give you a championship."
"Tsk, what a boastful statement."
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Jian Changnian started shouting.
"Really, I'm serious, we're definitely going to win the championship next year, not just the national championship, but also the Uber Cup, the Asian Championship, and there's the Olympics next year too!"
"The Olympics? It's like a bird falling into a scale, not knowing its own weight."