Xie Shi'an shook his head.
"No, I have too many enemies. It's better for her to stay away from me."
Kim Namji looked at her, who seemed a little down because of the competition defeat, and smacked his lips twice.
"Tsk, this is not like you. The Xie Shi'an I remember is invincible on the field, full of vigor and spirit, and also very unconventional and brave in private."
Xie Shi'an was startled, and the fork in his hand fell into the instant noodle cup.
Kim Nam-ji shrugged and blinked twice. His words, meant to comfort someone, sounded more like a challenge.
"To be honest, you are the person I most want to beat besides Yin Jiayi. I trained hard for three months and flew all the way from Seoul to Shanghai. Don't let me down."
Xie Shi'an smiled and picked up the fork again.
"Is it for me? I think it's for our captain."
These words instantly made Kim Nam-ji bristle. His ears turned red, and he slammed his hand on the table, bluffing as he spoke.
"You...you can't talk nonsense! Who...who did this for her! I came here because I want to win the championship, okay?!"
Xie Shi'an drawled out an "Oh".
"I didn't say anything, why are you blushing?"
"..."
Kim Nam-ji, expressionless, picked up the instant noodle cup and was about to pour it over her head when Xie Shi-an coughed lightly and quietly moved away.
"Calm down, calm down."
The streets of Shanghai are lined with plane trees, and the buildings along the streets are mostly French-style villas, full of medieval romantic charm.
In the quiet of the night, under the sycamore trees, on a bench by the street, a couple kissed with their backs to them.
Kim Nam-ji stared at them for a moment, then looked away, sighed imperceptibly, and put down the instant noodle cup in his hand.
Looking at her, Xie Shi'an confirmed his guess.
"So you really like our captain?"
"Is it strange?" Kim Nam-ji gave a wry smile.
Xie Shi'an shook his head.
"Not surprising."
Putting yourself in her shoes, what attracted her to Yin Jiayi was probably not just her world number two ranking and her amazing tennis skills, but also the hand Yin Jiayi extended to her when she was isolated and helpless in a foreign land.
For drowning victims, a straw thrown to them by a bystander may be their only salvation and hope.
Xie Shi'an understood this feeling all too well.
Hearing her say that, a hint of surprise flashed in Kim Nam-ji's eyes. He picked up the can and gently touched it to the soda she had placed on the table.
"I thought you would think I'm a pervert."
Xie Shi'an picked up the can and took a sip, thinking to himself.
"Then I'm a pervert too."
You can't tell your family, and you definitely can't tell your teammates, but you can tell your opponent, Xie Shi'an.
Kim Nam-ji held the can and muttered to himself.
"As the youngest child in the family, I've never been unable to get anything I wanted growing up. Even when I wanted to become a professional gamer, they were extremely against it, but I still managed to get my way by threatening to go on a hunger strike. But there's only one thing—"
Kim Nam-ji gave a wry smile.
“I know that no matter how much I throw a tantrum, cry, or threaten to hang myself, it won’t work. Yin Jiayi won’t fall for it; she’ll just find me annoying.”
"She doesn't care about my family's money either. In her eyes, a medal is more valuable. I can only keep working hard, improving, and getting closer to her little by little so that she can see me."
"I wanted to defeat her, partly out of a strong desire to win, and partly to prove to her that I've grown up, I'm not a child anymore, that I have the strength to stand shoulder to shoulder with her, and that I also have..."
She paused for a moment, then gripped the can tightly.
"Her right to pursue it."
"After all, you can only strive for what you want, right? And the strong often have a better chance of winning."
Kim Nam-ji downed the soda in one gulp, and as if he had made a major decision, placed the empty bottle lightly on the table.
"Moreover, I've already decided that once I win the championship, I'll confess my feelings to her."
Xie Shi'an looked at her, his eyes revealing a hint of appreciation, a touch of surprise, and a dash of envy.
Aren't you afraid of being rejected after confessing your feelings?
"So what? You can fail exams, you can fail at job hunting, you can even fail at playing ball. It's just confessing your feelings, it's no different. If I don't tell her, she will never know that I once liked her so passionately and sincerely."
Xie Shi'an lowered his eyes and said softly.
"To be honest, I'm a little envious of you."
I admire her courage to openly express her feelings; she is the truly fearless and courageous person who goes forward without hesitation.
Kim Nam-ji smiled, jumped off the chair, and winked at her.
"If you succeed in confessing your feelings, then it's not too late for you to envy me. Okay, I'm not talking to you anymore. I have to go back to training. I still want to get revenge for the arrow that hit me in the national competition. Defeating both of you in one go would be a real success. Just thinking about it is exhilarating."
"Eh."
Xie Shi'an called out to her, raised the soda can, and hurled it at her from a distance.
"Then I wish you success in your confession, and also..."
"Thank you for the grilled sausage."
The boy paused for a moment, but still managed to say thank you in full.
Kim Nam-ji smiled brightly, waved to her, and then ran away like a gust of wind.
Chapter 72 The Journey
"Alright, that's all for tonight's training. Everyone go back and get some rest. Good luck in tomorrow's match!"
Wan Jing blew his whistle, and everyone stopped what they were doing and went back to the rest area to pack up their things.
"Hey, I'm heading back now. You're cleaning the training room again today." The teammate said goodbye to Jian Changnian, picked up his bag, and left.
The duty roster was clearly written on the blackboard, with two people per group and one group per day, but she had already cleaned the training room for two whole days by herself.
As a substitute, she dared not speak out against her anger. She had to train during the day and stay late at night to clean up. She worked until late every night, and her back ached from exhaustion. It was even harder than when she was training with the provincial team in Binhai.
After everyone left, the training room quickly became empty.
Jian Changnian sighed at the air, resignedly picked up the cleaning tools, and was halfway through mopping the floor when a shadow fell in front of her, stepping on the floor she had just mopped.
She looked up impatiently.
"Who is it? They haven't grown—"
He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.
Xie Shi'an stood in front of her, a golf bag slung over one shoulder and one hand in his pocket. His face was expressionless, but his tone was clearly displeased.
"Did they make you stay and clean again?"
When Jian Changnian saw her return, she was overjoyed and didn't complain about being tired.
"Yeah, being a substitute means you still have to do some work. Have you eaten? I saved some for you from the cafeteria..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xie Shi'an kicked the bucket away.
"I didn't do any work when I was a substitute."
Jian Changnian's face scrunched up like a bitter gourd.
"How can I compare to you? You were a key player as soon as you joined the team. Besides, Coach Fang and Coach Yan would never let you do any work."
That seems to make sense. She's only been a substitute for a few days, and the coaches she's worked with have all been very kind to her. As for her teammates, she's the kind of person who retaliates in kind and never holds a grudge, so there aren't many people in the Binhai provincial team who dare to mess with her.
In her entire career, she has received far more disdain and harsh words than she has heard in these few days in Shanghai.
Jian Changnian was bullied like this, and it must be partly her fault. After all, you always pick on the weak, right?
Xie Shi'an pursed his lips, took off the tennis bag from his shoulder, took out a racket from it, and tossed it to her.
"Let's play ball. Starting tomorrow, you won't have to clean anymore, I promise."
"Oh my god, don't throw it around! The racket is so expensive!!"
Jian Changnian threw down the mop, clumsily caught the racket, listened to her words, and felt that something was wrong. She carefully considered it again, and then looked up to see her resolute eyes.
Xie Shi'an's dejected air vanished instantly; this was the first time in many days that she had taken the initiative to invite him to play ball.
Jian Changnian was overjoyed.
“Shi’an, you…”
Xie Shi'an nodded, his expression somewhat stern, but there was also a hint of determination in his eyes.
"Tomorrow's opponent is Anton Swieck, and I need to win, and I must win 2-0 to have a chance to advance to the next round."
Seeing her renewed fighting spirit, Jian Changnian's lips curled into a bright smile.
"Okay, then I'll be your sparring partner!"
Xie Shi'an walked up to her with his racket, a sharp glint in his eyes.
“I will treat you like Anton Switch and will not show any mercy.”
Jian Changnian raised his head, rubbing his hands together, eager to try.
"I couldn't be happier. I haven't played a practice match for days, and I'm itching to play. I, Anton Swievic from China, will definitely beat you to a pulp."
Xie Shi'an chuckled and served a net shot with a tricky angle.
"Wait until you win before you start talking big."
The clock on the wall ticked away, second by second.
The moon gradually sank in the west.