Luo Xiaoyu's Surprise

If this person had seen the video of Wang Chao at Mingyue Stadium, they might have realized that Wang Chao had said something similar when he was "bullying" Tian Zhengguang back then.

Unfortunately, he hadn't, so he was overjoyed and nodded, saying, "Come on!"

Wang Chao pointed to a table at the far end. "Let's go over there so we don't disturb anyone."

This person was even happier. He had originally been worried about being scolded by the coach for beating up a weaker opponent, but now, by going to that secluded corner, he was truly in the clear.

At this moment, Wang Chao glanced at Jiang Shan from afar. He saw that the scoreboard showed a score of 2:1, with Jiang Shan leading 7:5. Jiang Shan had a clear advantage, and it seemed like victory was only a matter of time.

"Hurry up, what are you dawdling for? Don't look at that kid who's temporarily ahead; the final winner will definitely be Li Fang," the person said impatiently. "I want to finish quickly so I can go back and celebrate with my brother."

Wang Chao smiled.

He felt this match needed a bit of ceremony, and the person's words had just reminded him.

Wang Chao went to a nearby spot and filled a disposable paper cup with scalding hot water. He returned and placed it steadily on a chair. "Let's go."

"What are you doing?" the person asked, puzzled.

Wang Chao replied, "The water is too hot. You can drink it when we're done playing."

The person stared blankly and cursed, "You're crazy."

He didn't understand.

This was a meme from Earth.

This move, this play.

This play was called "Warm Water Slices the Stinky Mouth."

There was no wine here, and this world had nothing to do with Guan Erye. Wang Chao could only use water instead of wine, and this person instead of Hua Xiong, offering a gift with borrowed flowers, a small show of bravado, and a slight expression of ancient sentiment.

A beautiful figure entered the training base.

"Stubborn old man!"

"Stubborn donkey!"

"Can't beat anyone, you can't beat anyone!"

"Hmph! If I don't find any material today, just you wait until I tell Mom!"

Luo Xiaoyu, an intern reporter for the Jiangcheng City Television Sports Channel, muttered to herself as she crept in.

Her feelings were conflicted.

On one hand, she wanted to use her father's influence to get an exclusive interview with the city's football team. On the other hand, she didn't want to be treated as Luo Zhihong's daughter and be taken care of during her work.

Young people about to enter society often had such complex feelings, wanting to prove themselves while not wanting to give up the natural advantages their parents provided.

So, after struggling with her thoughts, Luo Xiaoyu still obediently chose to come to the city's table tennis training base to complete her first news gathering.

But she didn't want to contact her dad directly, because that would mean a group of table tennis players would be waiting obediently in the office for her to interview them.

What would be the point of that?

She decided to conduct a private visit, wanting to see how this team, which her father was so proud of, conducted its daily training when Comrade Luo Zhihong wasn't around.

The base's gatekeeper was easy to talk to. She just sweetly called him "Uncle" and slipped him a pack of cigarettes, and he let her pass.

The auntie at the training hall was also easy to talk to. She simply lied about looking for someone and then gave the name of a player she had specifically remembered, and she easily blended in.

"My dad's base doesn't have good security..." the girl said smugly, thinking she had discovered a flaw.

Little did she know that after she left, security guard Old Li and Auntie Wang immediately reported to Comrade Luo Zhihong, "Director Luo, Director Luo, your daughter has gone in."

Luo Zhihong was quite pleased. He hung up the phone, straightened his back, and looked straight ahead. He wanted his daughter to see how imposing and authoritative he was as the head coach on the court.

Unfortunately, the training base was simply too large. Luo Xiaoyu went to the wrong place from the start and didn't find the official match between Jiang Shan and Li Fang. Instead, she stumbled upon Wang Chao's area.

She saw two people standing by the table from a distance, with no one around them. She also saw a large crowd watching and cheering in the far distance, and her heart immediately felt a sense of comparison.

She knew that true masters were usually solitary.

Only the weak fought in the middle of crowded streets, while masters chose secluded places to fight their decisive battles, like the peak of the Forbidden City.

Why the peak of the Forbidden City? Because it was a place most people couldn't reach, so regardless of victory or defeat, it wouldn't be known to outsiders.

So... these two people must be masters, right?

Although Luo Xiaoyu knew nothing about table tennis, living in a table tennis powerhouse with a father who was the head coach meant that even through osmosis, she knew some of the lore.

For example... there was never a shortage of world champions in the table tennis team, and countless "sweeping monks" and "librarians" filled every table tennis base.

So she reasonably guessed that she had stumbled upon a secret battle between masters?

She tiptoed closer and heard one of them speaking, sounding very arrogant.

"Wang Chao, what's up? You don't like what I'm saying, do you?"

"Just because you beat Tian Zhengguang and then Gao Ming, you really think you're a professional player?"

"Have you ever attended a sports school?"

"Have you ever practiced hitting two thousand balls in a day?"

"Do you know how many different stances there are for just a forehand loop?"

"You don't know anything!"

Wang Chao was getting annoyed.

Of course, he understood what the man was saying. The biggest gap between a top amateur and a professional player wasn't their actual combat ability at this stage, but their fundamental skills.

Chinese table tennis players' fundamental skills were solid to the point of being abnormal.

When the young players from Sakura Country started competing, they were practicing fundamentals.

When the young players from Kimchi Country entered the World Championships, they were practicing fundamentals.

When the young players from Europe competed in the European Championships, they were still practicing fundamentals.

Others said, "Fame comes early," but Chinese coaches said, "Lay a solid foundation."

In a sense, before Chinese table tennis players even leave school, they don't really practice "techniques"; they major in "internal energy."

Because of this, many sports school students would be caught off guard when facing top amateurs, as amateurs were practical fighters. They didn't play by the rules, and their weird serves and strange stances, though not standard or scientific, could confuse their opponents.

Once the opponent was confused, the ball would naturally be hit with many flaws.

However, once these formally trained players from table tennis schools entered professional competitions and built their own systems under the guidance of coaches, they could grow rapidly in the shortest amount of time, becoming transcendent existences that amateurs could never hope to reach in their lifetimes.

This often led to a strange phenomenon on the international stage. Our young players' results in youth championships like U13, U15, and U17 were always mediocre, and they were often defeated by young players from Sakura Country, Kimchi Country, and Beer Country.

But once these players were selected for the national team, in just a year or two, they would undergo a complete transformation and become top powerhouses standing at the pinnacle of the world.

This caused many foreign counterparts to exclaim: The Chinese national team's coaching staff is too terrifying!

But in reality?

While the coaching staff was indeed terrifying, in the final analysis, it was our players themselves who possessed unparalleled and solid fundamental skills.

In their youth, when you saw two players competing evenly, you might think they started at the same point, but in reality, their cores were worlds apart.

—These concepts had long been deeply ingrained in the minds of every professional table tennis player.

So much so that even a world-class coach like Wang Chao, upon his transmigration, fell into the old trap of fixed thinking, believing that because he was older and his foundation wasn't solid, he couldn't be an athlete.

He had originally intended to become a coach, but after being provoked by his three companions, he suddenly realized his mistake and decided to give playing a try.

[You're right about everything, but I know it all. Why should I listen to you babble?]

Wang Chao urged, "If you don't serve soon, I'm leaving."

Actually, what he wanted to say was, "If you don't serve soon, my cup of water will get cold."

Li Shaoqin was also a bit annoyed.

You're an amateur, you don't know anything, and I'm here explaining common knowledge to you. Can't you just listen properly? Why do you have to put on such an arrogant air?

Fine. I'll shave your head later and show you that it's not that easy to get into the main team.

He then noticed the racket in Wang Chao's hand and chuckled again.

He said, "There's a problem with your racket too."