The Spike

Yu Lin wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at Li Yu with envy in his eyes. "Little Yu, Coach Lia actually praised you just now."

"It was nothing. I practiced it in PE class back when I was in school." After speaking, Li Yu continued bouncing the volleyball in his hands.

"Little Yu, let me show you something cool."

Yu Lin smiled mysteriously. He balanced the volleyball on one finger and swiped the side of the ball with his other hand, making it spin rapidly on his fingertip.

Li Yu watched for a moment, then stopped what he was doing. "That's pretty impressive, but... I can spin a ball too."

As he spoke, Li Yu held up a finger and got his volleyball spinning as well.

Yu Lin's eyes widened. He had been planning to show off in front of Li Yu, but Li Yu could spin a ball too!

"What are you two doing? I told you to practice, and you're over here showing off?" Lia stopped in front of them, wearing a "very friendly" smile.

Yu Lin and Li Yu's expressions both changed. They immediately stopped their balls, then looked awkwardly at each other, wide-eyed and silent, neither daring to say a word.

"Keep practicing. It's not break time yet."

Lia gave a cold snort and turned to check on the other guests.

[Hahaha, Yu Lin and Li Yu, go ahead and keep spinning those balls. One spin and neither of you dares make a sound.]

[Coach Lia is so funny when she talks, hahaha.]

[I could see the panic on both their faces. It was exactly like when I got caught doing something sneaky in class.]

[Sis above, so real. Way too real.]

[To be fair, Yu Lin and Li Yu looked pretty cool spinning the balls just now.]

[Wasn't this supposed to be just for fun? Coach Lia looks so serious.]

[Coach Lia is famous for being strict when training her players, but that just proves how dedicated she is to her work.]

The guests practiced for several hours, with another break of several dozen minutes in between.

Shu Menglan simply braced herself with both hands behind her and sat on the beach without a care for her image, not even bothering about whether sand would get on her pants.

"Mr. Xiang, my reflexes aren't very fast. Later, I'll be counting on you." Shu Menglan sighed.

"It's okay. It's just a game—the important thing is participating." Xiang Zhinan patted Shu Menglan on the shoulder encouragingly.

"I'm still really curious about what reward the production team mentioned." Yu Lin sat down too, turning his head to ask Li Yu.

"You really want to know?"

"Yeah. Aren't you curious?"

"I am."

"Do you think we have a chance at getting first place?"

"I don't know. Chi Yan's group seems pretty strong. But... getting first isn't impossible."

Li Yu looked at Yu Lin. Though his words were uncertain, his eyes were filled with determination.

Yu Lin froze. For some reason, Li Yu's gaze struck straight at his heart.

The numbers of the themed seaside villas represented the groups' rankings. The first match was between Group One and Group Two: Shu Menglan and Xiang Zhinan against Liang Meichen and Xie Jingming.

Before going on the court, Shu Menglan even grabbed Liang Meichen and said, "Ms. Liang, please go easy on us~"

Liang Meichen chuckled. "That won't do. This is a competition."

"Bring it on." Xiang Zhinan looked extremely confident.

Group One served first. Xiang Zhinan made a simple standing float serve from the service line. Xie Jingming reacted quickly and sent the ball straight back. Shu Menglan was closer to the net and instinctively jumped to receive it, but embarrassingly, she did not jump high enough. Fortunately, Xiang Zhinan was behind her and hit the ball back over.

From those exchanges alone, it was clear that the guests' several hours of training had paid off. They could still handle a simple rally.

But when Liang Meichen hit the ball back in the next round, Shu Menglan accidentally touched the net while trying to block it, giving Group Two the round.

In the second round, Xie Jingming put too much force into his serve and sent the ball out of bounds, practically handing Group One a point.

In the deciding round, Shu Menglan was running out of stamina. Liang Meichen's shot flew toward the corner, and before Shu Menglan could get there, the ball had already hit the ground.

In the end, Xie Jingming and Liang Meichen took the win.

Next, Group Two faced Group Three. Chi Yan and Zhou Yanqing worked out regularly, so they had the advantage in terms of stamina alone.

But out of respect for Liang Meichen, they did not play too aggressively, keeping their serves and spikes proper and controlled.

Liang Meichen had just played three rounds, and by the end, her arms were a little sore. Unable to keep up with Xie Jingming's rhythm, she sent two side bumps flying off course.

Unsurprisingly, Chi Yan and Zhou Yanqing won.

Yu Lin stood up too and brushed the sand off himself. "Little Yu, you were right. Chi Yan's group really is strong."

"Yeah, we need to work hard." Li Yu said.

"Don't worry. I promise I'll give it everything I've got. The production team's mysterious grand prize will definitely be ours."

Yu Lin took a deep breath. This was a great chance to show off in front of Li Yu. He absolutely could not mess this up!

Chi Yan and Zhou Yanqing stood on the other side of the net without exchanging a word, looking nothing like teammates.

"Chi Yan, don't go easy on us."

Li Yu looked at Chi Yan with a smile.

"Mm. We won't."

As soon as Chi Yan finished speaking, Lia blew the whistle.

Zhou Yanqing opened with a jump serve. The ball flew incredibly fast and headed straight for the corner, nearly catching Yu Lin off guard.

In his panic, Yu Lin lifted his leg to stop the ball in midair, then passed it to Li Yu. Li Yu coordinated with him and sent the ball back over.

Chi Yan jumped up to spike, but Li Yu reacted quickly and, with a smack, immediately spiked it back at him.

The two groups traded blows, and the onlookers could not tell who would win.

Their nerves were tugged along by the volleyball flying through the air. Whenever someone returned the ball, an involuntary cry of surprise escaped their mouths.

"Holy shit, holy shit, Zhou Yanqing is so good at placing the ball! He hit it straight into that corner—who could possibly receive that?"

"God, Yu Lin runs that fast? He's trying so hard. He'd rather throw himself down than let that ball drop."

"I saw it too. Yu Lin seemed to get a mouthful of sand just now..."

"Chi Yan plays so fiercely! If it were me, I'd have lost who knows how many balls under his hands already..."

"Didn't you notice? Li Yu's reflexes are insanely fast, and he jumps really high too!"

Shu Menglan and the others were beyond excited. This was supposed to be just for fun, yet it somehow made their blood boil.

After playing for quite a while, both groups had won one round each.

The deciding round was the most crucial one. Whoever won it would become the final victor and receive the production team's so-called "surprise reward."

However, aside from Li Yu, the other three did not seem to be playing for any reward at all. In front of Li Yu, none of them were willing to be outdone.

Zhou Yanqing served again in the third round, his expression several degrees more serious. Yu Lin bumped the ball up, and Li Yu hurriedly adjusted his position, running over to hit it back.

Chi Yan crouched sideways and bumped the ball up. Zhou Yanqing turned and made a back pass, sending it toward the opposite corner.

The ball's trajectory was extremely tricky and far from Yu Lin. In his urgency, Yu Lin shouted, "Li Yu!"

Hearing him, Li Yu quickly pinpointed the volleyball's direction. He took two steps to the right to close the distance, swung his arms back, pushed off the ground powerfully, and leaped. His entire body formed an arched curve as he cradled the ball, snapped his wrist, and whipped his arm through in one fluid motion.

With a smack, the returned spike was so fast that Chi Yan and Zhou Yanqing had no time to react. It hit the ground and bounced up, kicking up a cloud of sand.

The entire court fell silent.