By the Cheng Che noticed the gazes, the other passengers had already walked over.
There were about five of them, carrying travel bags, holding up their phones, their faces beaming with barely suppressed excitement.
When they reached Cheng Che, the girl with the ponytail at the front took a deep breath and said in Korean, "Excuse me... are you Cheng Che?"
Cheng Che looked up.
He neither denied it nor pretended not to understand. He smiled at them and nodded.
"Yes."
The girl froze for a moment, then suddenly turned around, covered her mouth, and let out a suppressed scream.
The girls behind them also went wild, holding hands and jumping up and down on the spot.
"It really is him!"
"I knew I wasn't mistaken!"
"Oh my god, he's so handsome--"
Cheng Che they calmed down, Cheng Che spoke. He used Korean, and his pronunciation was very natural.
Want to take a photo together?
The girls were all stunned at the same time.
Then he nodded frantically.
"May I?!"
"Really?!"
Thank you! Thank you!
Cheng Che stood up, placed the book on the bench, and took off his mask and hat.
He stood at the edge of Federation Square, with the graffiti wall and the crowds of people behind him, the sunlight falling on his shoulders.
The first girl stood next to him and made a heart shape with her hands.
Her friend raised her phone, her hand trembling slightly, and pressed the shutter several times.
The second girl also joined in, and this time we took two pictures.
The third girl was a little embarrassed and stood a bit further away from him. Cheng Che glanced at her, smiled, and she blushed.
The whole process lasted about two or three minutes.
For Cheng Che, this was just an ordinary fan photo opportunity.
He was greeted by over a hundred people at the airport in Spring City, surrounded by hundreds of fans in Capital City, and chased by a group of girls at the airport in South Korea.
Five people, a small-scale event.
But right now, Melbourne is teeming with reporters.
Preparations for the event at Melbourne Park have begun, with media teams from around the world arriving one after another.
The exposure from the four Grand Slam tournaments is enough to draw the strongest media teams from around the world, even for tennis, a relatively niche sport in China.
There are over a thousand registered journalists alone.
Federation Square is not far from Melbourne Park.
Several teams of reporters were filming outdoor footage in the square; some were recording broadcasts, some were interviewing passersby, and some were shooting establishing shots.
In the corner, two journalists from Europe were setting up their equipment.
One of them glanced in Cheng Che's direction and saw several girls taking pictures of a tall boy. He paused for a moment.
Who is that? A celebrity?
"I don't know. He looks like Asia celebrity."
"He's very handsome. He's probably here to watch the game."
They didn't pay attention and continued adjusting the equipment.
But the Xia Country reporter team is different.
Old Zhou, a reporter from Titan Sports Weekly, was taking photos in the square.
He carried his camera and scanned the area, initially photographing the crowds in the square, then the lens panned towards Cheng Che's direction.
His finger hovered over the shutter button.
That profile. That figure.
He took the camera away from his eyes and squinted at it.
Cheng Che was taking a photo with a South Korea girl. He had just taken off his mask and hat.
Old Zhou stared at it for two seconds, then seemed to be electrocuted.
"Holy shit!"
He took off running, and the photographer shouted after him, "Brother Zhou, what are you doing?" but he didn't hear him.
He crossed the square, pushed through the crowd, and rushed to Cheng Che.
" Cheng Che?!"
Cheng Che had just finished taking a photo with the last girl when he heard someone call his name, so he looked up.
Old Zhou, panting heavily, stared at his face for three seconds, then pulled out a recorder, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.
" Cheng Che! This is Old Zhou, a reporter from Titan Sports Weekly. When did you arrive in Melbourne? Could you say a few words?"
Several South Korea girls nearby were stunned for a moment upon seeing this, then quickly took a few steps back.
Cheng Che looked at Old Zhou, but before he could speak, he felt the atmosphere around him change.
Other teams of reporters also noticed the situation.
First came a few reporters with Asia features, then Europe and Australian reporters. They saw the Xia Country reporters running around, then they saw the young man who had taken off his mask, and then someone recognized him.
"That's Cheng Che?"
Which Cheng Che?
" The Magic City Masters Champion! The one who beat Medvedev!"
"He's here?! Isn't his match next week?"
"Go quickly!"
In just a few seconds, Cheng Che was surrounded.
A dozen or so reporters crowded around, shoving their cameras and microphones at him.
The voice recorders were lined up in a row, and cell phones were also extended.
" Cheng Che, can you tell me your expectations for this Australian Open?"
"You just won the Magic City Masters, how are you doing now?"
Has your coach arrived?
How far do you think you can go at the Australian Open?
"You're the most watched young player in this competition. Are you under a lot of pressure?"
Cheng Che stood in the middle of the crowd, unperturbed.
But he knew this situation couldn't continue.
He glanced around and saw Qin Lie squeezing through the crowd, with Chen Wei following behind, her face full of anxiety.
Qin Lie squeezed next to Cheng Che, using his body to block some of the reporters, and raised his voice:
"Everyone, everyone! Cheng Che just arrived in Melbourne and is still getting used to the venue. The formal interview will be held at the pre-match press conference. I won't say much more today."
The reporters refused to leave and continued to press for answers.
Cheng Che glanced at Qin Lie Qin Lie, who nodded slightly in return.
Cheng Che turned to the reporters, raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling for silence.
The crowd fell silent for a moment.
He looked at the recording pens and cameras in front of him and spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear.
"No need to ask anything else. I'm here for only one purpose—"
He paused for a moment.
"Win the championship."
Then he put on a mask and hat, and, escorted by Qin Lie and Chen Wei, squeezed his way out of the crowd.
The reporters stood still, some still snapping photos, others repeatedly playing the same sentence in their recordings.
Old Zhou from Titan Sports Weekly put away his recorder and took a deep breath.
"That kid," he muttered to himself, "Once this gets out, he'll be making the front page tomorrow."
Federation Square returned to calm.
The group of South Korea girls who had just left stood there, staring blankly at the direction Cheng Che had disappeared in for a long while.
Then one of the girls took out her phone, opened her social media account, and typed a message.
"I ran into Cheng Che at Federation Square in Melbourne today, he's so handsome! He said his goal at the Australian Open is to win the title, and confident men are definitely the most handsome!"
She pressed publish.
Ten minutes later, screenshots of this message appeared on major sports forums in China.
The title consists of only one line.
Cheng Che arrived in Melbourne and declared, "My goal is to win the championship."