"Fifteen to zero."
For the second point, Cheng Che served an inside shot.
Khachanov received the serve and launched an attack, unleashing a powerful forehand cross-court shot.
Cheng Che ran over and used his DSLR to hit a backspin shot.
The ball landed in front of the net.
Khachanov rushed up and lobbed the ball high.
Cheng Che retreated to the backcourt and unleashed a powerful cross-court shot with his forehand.
The ball landed in the corner of Khachanov's backhand side.
"Thirty to zero."
In the third point, Cheng Che fired a shot straight at him.
Khachanov hastily blocked the shot, and the ball landed in the midfield. Cheng Che moved to the net and volleyed with his backhand.
"Forty to zero."
For the fourth point, Cheng Che served a shot to the outside corner. Khachanov didn't react.
" Cheng Che holds serve. Two to two."
Khachanov stood behind the baseline, looking down at his hands.
His hands were shaking.
In the previous game, he clearly found a breakthrough, but Cheng Che's four serves told him: what you found was just an illusion.
In the fourth game, Cheng Che positioned himself at the receiving position, lowering his center of gravity even further.
His eyes were fixed only on the ball, the racket, and Khachanov's movements.
Khachanov's stance, center of gravity, and the orientation of his racket were all laid out before him like an enlarged blueprint.
He scored four consecutive points, successfully breaking back from behind.
Cheng Che breaks through, making it 3-2.
Lin Yan's voice rose again:
" Cheng Che broke back immediately! He didn't give Khachanov any chance to breathe! That's the adaptability of a top player!"
The comments section took another turn.
[They've broken through! Cheng Che's ability to adjust is terrifying!]
[ Khachanov was just enjoying his victory when he was immediately defeated.]
That's the difference.
In the fifth game, Cheng Che held serve, making it 4-2.
The sixth game, Khachanov's serve.
His mentality wavered. He made a double fault, a forehand shot that went out of bounds, and a backhand shot that went into the net.
He bounced the ball twice more than usual before serving, which is a sign of anxiety.
Cheng Che scored four consecutive points, breaking serve again.
Cheng Che breaks serve. Five to two.
The comments section went crazy.
[ Khachanov has collapsed!]
[After losing four games in a row, he was devastated.]
Cheng Che's reaping this wave was too ruthless.
In the seventh game, Cheng Che served to win the match.
He scored four consecutive points. The last shot was an ace from the outside corner.
Khachanov stood behind the baseline, watching the ball hit the service area, bounce, and fly towards the advertising boards.
He didn't move. He looked down at his racket, then walked to the net and shook hands with Cheng Che.
"I can't return your serve," he said. "Next time, let's play on the grass."
Cheng Che nodded. "We'll talk about it next time."
Khachanov released his grip and turned to leave. His steps were slow, and his shoulders were much lower than at the start of the match.
Lin Yan stood up from his chair, his voice filled with barely suppressed emotion:
Cheng Che defeated the tournament's second seed, world number four Khachanov, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the final! He will face world number three Zverev in the final. This is Cheng Che Che's first time reaching Master final in his career!
The screen was filled with comments.
[Finals!!! He made it to the finals!!!]
[ Khachanov was much stronger than his previous opponents, but Cheng Che still won.]
[Playing against the world's third-ranked player in the finals—that's incredibly impressive!]
[He fought his way from the qualifiers to the finals, playing seven matches and only losing one set]
[ Champion! Cheng Che is going to win the Champion again!]
Su Miaoyin stood up from the stands.
She watched the white figure packing up his racket on the court, a wide smile playing on her lips.
Cheng Che returned to the locker room, put away his racket, and sat down in a chair.
He opened the system panel.
[ Stamina Trial Fourth Stage: Two Crowns in Tandem. Mission Objective: Win one Champion in both running and tennis. Current Progress: Tennis 0/1, Running 0/1.]
He turned off the panel and picked up his phone.
Qin Lie was already waiting outside, holding information about his opponent in the finals.
"Next round, the Germany. World No. 3. This year's US Open semifinalist."
Cheng Che glanced down at the name. He folded the document and put it in his bag.
"Let's go," he said, "Let's go back and watch the recording."
Qin Lie nodded. The two left the changing room and walked down the corridor towards the parking lot.
At the end of the corridor, the young stagehand stood in the same old spot again.
He saw Cheng Che walking over, but this time he didn't shout encouragement or give a thumbs up.
He simply smiled at Cheng Che and nodded vigorously.
Cheng Che nodded at him.
Then he pushed open the door and went out.
When Cheng Che pushed open the side door of the venue, he immediately saw two people standing at the bottom of the steps.
Jiang Xue was wearing a dark red coat, her hair was neatly combed, and she wore a pair of freshly polished black leather shoes.
Cheng Jianguo stood next to her, wearing a dark blue jacket and carrying a bulging plastic bag, which looked like it was stuffed with a lot of things.
Cheng Che paused for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise:
"Dad. Mom."
Jiang Xue looked up and her eyes reddened the moment she saw him.
She strode up to him, grabbed his arm, and looked him up and down.
"You've lost weight," she said. "You've lost weight again. Have you not been eating properly?"
"I haven't lost weight," Cheng Che said. "I've been eating well every day."
"You always say you haven't lost weight." Jiang Xue reached out and pinched his arm, then pinched it again. "You have lost weight. Your dad didn't believe me. I told him to come to Magic City to see, but he insisted on not coming, afraid it would affect your competition. I said you're about to win the championship, of course Mom will come."
Cheng Che grinned foolishly upon hearing this and said, "Don't worry, I'll win the Champion easily."
Cheng Jianguo coughed and handed over the plastic bag.
"I brought you some food. Your mom's braised beef, and some fresh flower cakes from Spring City. The kind you loved to eat when you were little."
Cheng Che took the bag and glanced down at it.
Inside were two food storage containers, with sticky notes on the lids that read "Refrigerate" and "Eat as soon as possible."
He picked up the bag and looked up at his parents.
He was half a head taller than Cheng Jianguo and a head taller than Jiang Xue.
The three of them standing together looked like an elongated family portrait.
"Son," Jiang Xue looked at him, her eyes shining, "Mom is so proud of you."
Cheng Che's throat moved.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but before he could speak—
" Cheng Che--!"
A voice came from the side of the venue.
It was lighthearted, cheerful, and quite loud.
All three people turned their heads at the same time.
Su Miaoyin ran out of the side door of the venue, wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt and white shorts, her hair tied in a bun, and a pair of canvas shoes.
Her face held the excitement of having just watched a thrilling match; the corners of her mouth were upturned, and her steps were light and quick.
She ran halfway and saw two people standing next to Cheng Che.
Su Miaoyin slowed her pace.
She glanced at the middle-aged woman, then at the middle-aged man, and finally at Cheng Che.
The three people have very similar facial features.
The middle-aged woman's eyebrows and eyes were almost identical to Cheng Che's, and the middle-aged man's nose was exactly the same as Cheng Che's.
The smile on her face froze.
Cheng Che glanced at her, then at his parents.
The air went silent for a moment.
"These are my parents," he said.
Su Miaoyin's face instantly turned red.
It started burning from the base of my ears all the way down to my neck.
She didn't know where to put her hands; she first clenched them in front of her, then put them behind her back, and then put them back in front of her.
Hello, Uncle. Hello, Auntie.
Her voice was a half-tone higher than usual, and each word seemed to be squeezed out of her throat, with a noticeable stutter.
Jiang Xue released Cheng Che's arm.
She looked at Su Miaoyin.
Then her eyes lit up.
"This girl..." Jiang Xue took half a step forward, her gaze darting back and forth across Su Miaoyin's face twice. "Are you Cheng Che's?"
"Fellow student," Su Miaoyin said, "I'm his senior from Peking University, in the music club. I... I just came to watch the competition."
Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, until the last few words were almost inaudible.
Jiang Xue, however, didn't care about any of that.
She looked at Su Miaoyin's face—delicate features, fair skin, and a tall figure—and became more and more satisfied.
She reached out and took Su Miaoyin's hand.
"You're so handsome," Jiang Xue said, her voice brimming with barely suppressed joy. "Auntie was just wondering if Cheng Che had anyone to take care of him here. Now that I see you, I'm relieved."
Jiang Xue grasped Su Miaoyin's hand, and her body temperature rose another degree.
She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say, so she could only look to Cheng Che for help.
Cheng Che shrugged, indicating that he was also helpless.
Cheng Jianguo, who was standing nearby, slowly turned his head and met Qin Lie's gaze, who was standing a few steps away.
Qin Lie leaned against the car door, arms crossed, watching Cheng Che being sandwiched between two women, and his lips twitched.
Cheng Jianguo took two steps toward him, lowered his voice, and spoke with an indescribable complexity.
" Old Qin."
"Um."
"This kid," Cheng Jianguo glanced at Su Miaoyin, then at Cheng Che, "Just how many female confidantes does he have?"