On the afternoon of February 14, Wang Chao followed the main Chinese Table Tennis contingent onto a bus bound for the airport, preparing to compete in tomorrow's Hong Kong Open.
He quickly boarded and took the inner seat, leaving an empty spot for He Jingping.
This was actually a Chinese Table Tennis tradition. Whenever players traveled for competitions, as long as their supervising coach came along, they would generally try to stay together whether on the bus, on the plane, or when choosing hotel rooms. It made it easier to communicate and discuss tactics at any time.
In any case, there were plenty of seats on the bus. There was no such thing as saving seats.
But to his surprise, He Jingping had yet to get on when Lin Li boarded first. He walked straight up to Wang Chao, gave him a friendly smile, and asked, "Can I sit here?"
Wang Chao was rather surprised, but he could hardly refuse. He could only nod. "Of course."
He thought Lin Li had something to say to him.
But after sitting down beside him, Lin Li leaned back, closed his eyes, and began resting.
Wang Chao was a little bewildered.
It was not until the bus started moving that Lin Li opened his eyes. He first looked around and saw that everyone else was leaning back in their seats and sleeping. Only then did he edge closer to Wang Chao and whisper, "Hey."
Wang Chao turned to look at him.
"Have you watched my matches?" Lin Li asked quietly.
Wang Chao nodded, then thought about it and shook his head.
He nodded because he really had watched them. He shook his head because he had only watched for the spectacle and had not yet carefully analyzed the characteristics of Lin Li's style.