After Kim Nam-ji said this, there was a silence on the other end of the phone for a second or two.
Yin Jiayi took a deep breath, as if suppressing her anger.
“If you’re calling to tell me this, then I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”
"Then why do you think I traveled all the way from South Korea to China? Isn't it just to fight you...?"
Before he could finish speaking, a dial tone came through the receiver.
Kim Nam-ji was so angry that he threw his phone down, and his native language came out.
"Damn it, I'm going to go and see what Xie Shi'an is capable of, to beat you up like this."
***
the next day.
Xie Shi'an had been training late into the night and woke up a little late. When he arrived at the training room, a fight had already broken out inside.
The girl had striking long purple hair, tied in a high ponytail, and wore a matching headband. She was chewing gum and stood listlessly on the other side of the net with a racket in her hand, followed by a group of men and women.
"Is this the Binhai team that defeated Jiangsu and Zhejiang to advance as the top team in the East? I thought they were much stronger, but they're nothing special. They don't have a single player who can compete with them."
Jian Changnian lost to her opponent 0-2, completely overwhelmed and falling to the ground, her racket lying beside her.
The tall boy behind the purple-haired girl sneered.
"What do you mean by being the top seed in the East? They just relied on a few 'Tian Ji' horse racing' tactics and foul play to get through the tiebreaker."
“You…” The boy gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.
The Binhai Provincial Team members also gathered around, their faces filled with anger. However, they had not gained any advantage in their previous encounter, and for a moment, no one dared to step forward to fight in the face of the other party's provocation.
Xie Shi'an pushed through the crowd, reached out to Jian Changnian, and pulled her up from the ground.
Upon seeing that it was her, Jian Changnian showed a hint of guilt on her face.
"Shi'an, I'm sorry, I'm not as good as them. The Beijing team is so unreasonable. They came to our training room and insisted on playing some kind of pre-match warm-up game with us. When I refused to play, they called us cowards."
The other teammates chimed in.
"Shi'an, you've finally arrived."
“They’ve gone too far, Shi’an, you have to teach them a lesson.”
"You're Xie Shi'an?" Upon hearing this, the purple-haired girl stepped forward. The two were about the same height, and when their eyes met, she provocatively extended her hand.
"Beijing team, Kim Nam-ji, how about it? Dare to play a match with me?"
Xie Shi'an took a step back, ignoring her handshake, and instead pointed his racket at the door.
"Oh, I understand. Please go back."
Her indifferent demeanor made Kim Nam-ji feel as uncomfortable as if she had swallowed a fly.
"Weren't you so arrogant after beating Yin Jiayi? What, I'm not some national player, and you don't even have the courage to compete with me? Don't worry, it's okay if you lose. It's not being broadcast live, and we won't tell anyone. We won't embarrass you as a rising star in badminton."
Her words were laced with barbs, but Xie Shi'an was no longer the young man who would fight someone over a single word from Qin Yang.
She has grown rapidly during this period and has come to realize that there are more important things than fighting over personal feelings.
The young man coldly raised his eyes, both arrogant and haughty.
...
"I've already played against Yin Jiayi. Who are you, some nobody? If you want to fight, let's meet on the field. Warm-up matches will only waste my time. We need to train now, please leave."
“You—” Kim Nam-ji stepped forward, staring intently at her.
The two were locked in a fierce battle, neither willing to give in.
Her teammate behind her pulled her aside and whispered something.
"The coach said that we can probe each other's strengths and weaknesses, but fighting is not allowed."
Kim Nam-ji then gave up and shook off her teammate's hand.
"Alright, see you on the field. I'll make you regret what you said today. Let's go."
After the group finished showing off and left the training room in a grand manner, Xie Shi'an turned around to look at them.
"Is everything alright?"
"No, it's just that we lost terribly."
Jian Changnian also shook his head.
"I tripped and fell, but it's nothing serious."
Yan Xinyuan also learned about this during lunch.
"Would they dare to come over and provoke us like this without the coach's permission? They're probably just testing our strength."
Jian Changnian poked at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks.
"But we lost all of them. If we played like this in the warm-up matches, how are we supposed to play in the official matches?"
"Some people play well in training matches, but that doesn't mean they can perform well on the court. It's just a warm-up match, and it doesn't prove anything. In fact, I think it's better if they lose. It's not a good thing if people figure you out too early."
Although they only met once that morning, Xie Shi'an remembered one detail: Kim Nam-ji was holding the racket in his left hand.
You're saying she's left-handed?
Jian Changnian nodded.
"Yeah, she's left-handed, so I was a bit confused when we started playing against her. Her shots are unpredictable and hard to find the landing point."
“When you serve a left-handed ball, the backhand side is the opponent’s forehand area. It takes some time to get used to thinking in reverse,” Yan Xinyuan said.
Xie Shi'an put down his chopsticks, and the two of them stared at him expectantly.
"Is there any way to solve this problem?"
Yan Xinyuan stretched out his chopsticks and picked up a chicken leg for each of them.
"Let's eat first. It'll be difficult in the short term. Right now, Shi An should be the Beijing team's main research target. I will also look for her videos to study. I just hope that you won't encounter her too early in the singles draw."
While team matches can be tactically mitigated, there's really not much that can be done in singles. Fortunately, Xie Shi'an and Jin Nanzhi were placed in different halves of the draw, while unfortunately Jian Changnian was in the same group as her.
Looking at the group assignment results in her hand, Jian Changnian felt like crying, unsure whether it was a stroke of luck or misfortune.
This was her first time participating in the national singles competition, and she was facing some truly monstrous opponents.
Xie Shi'an walked past her with the note in his hand.
"What, are you scared?"
Jian Changnian followed with her racket, snorting.
"Who's afraid? I'll defeat you fair and square."
"Tch, just don't cry if you lose."
"Who's crying? Who's crying?!"
Jian Changnian hopped after them, the setting sun casting long, long shadows of their backs.
***
Being placed in the same group meant that a battle was inevitable, and the two eventually met in the quarterfinals.
Whoever wins this match will advance to the semifinals.
The roar of the audience ignited her passion, and Jian Changnian, racket in hand, was eager to try her hand at the game.
"It seems like we haven't officially faced each other yet, not counting the training camp. To be honest, I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
Xie Shi'an nodded dismissively.
"You lost during the training camp, and the result will be the same now."
Jian Changnian recalled what she had said the first time they played ball together in the park.
"We have to fight whether we win or lose. After thinking it over so much, we might as well just give up."
Xie Shi'an smiled slightly.
"Let's begin, and finish this quickly."
The commentator's face also appeared on the big screen, speaking with great enthusiasm.
"Today's quarterfinal match can be described as an internal battle within the Binhai Provincial Team. As we all know, Xie Shi'an defeated Yin Jiayi 2-1 in the previous Eastern Division final. He can be considered the team's top seed and a rising star in badminton."
"Jian Changnian is also a newcomer player who has performed well in previous competitions, especially in the last round of 16, where he upset Hong Kong's seeded player Cheng Yizhou 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals."
"What kind of sparks will fly when these two people collide? Let's wait and see!"
Chapter 49 National Competition (13)
The two players are on the same team, with the same coach and similar training methods, and their playing styles are quite similar to some extent.
Especially since they knew each other very well, Xie Shi'an could guess what kind of ball she would serve even with her eyes closed, and Jian Changnian could see through her feints quite well. Therefore, at the beginning, the game was fairly even.
Wan Jing also came to watch the game today and stood chatting with Yan Xinyuan outside the venue.
"Hey senior, what kind of luck did you get this time? Where did you find these two promising talents? Hey, why don't you give me one? If Xie Shi'an isn't an option, Jian Changnian would be fine too. It's better than staying in that godforsaken place, Jiangcheng."
Yan Xinyuan spat at him.
"Go away, go away, let me tell you, don't even think about it. If you want people, go find them yourself."
Wan Jing sighed and said, "The Beijing team does have a promising talent, but unfortunately..."
He's a South Korean player; he'll be going back sooner or later.
Yan Xinyuan knew who he was talking about. He was just wondering who to ask for the videotape, and now that he had mentioned it, it was like finding a needle in a haystack.
"Hey, videotapes, videotapes of Kim Nam-ji's matches, get me two sets."
Upon hearing this, Wan Jing turned to leave.
"Are you out of your mind? I'm a member of the referee team. No matter who wins for your Binhai Province team, you'll always run into Kim Nam-ji. I'm giving you the videotape now, I..."
Yan Xinyuan grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving.