The first day of the French Open main draw, Roland Garros Stadium.
The Philippe Chatrier Stadium, with its 15,000 seats, was packed to capacity.
The organizing committee's decision to place Cheng Che in the center field was not without reason.
After the draw results were announced, the price of tickets for this match tripled on the secondary market, with even the cheapest standing tickets being resold for over 200 euros.
Outside the stadium, scalpers walked back and forth holding signs and shouting, "Cheng! Cheng! Anyone want Cheng's tickets!"
A reporter conducted a live broadcast from outside the venue, randomly stopping several audience members and asking, "Who are you here to see?" Eight out of ten people said " Cheng Che," while the remaining two said, "We came with friends, but I also want to see Cheng Che."
A France journalist remarked to the camera:
"It's been a long time since Roland Garros has seen a scene like this. The last time the center court was full on the first day was in the years before Federer retired."
In the domestic broadcast studio, Lin Yan and Zhou Zhou were already in position.
Lin Yan glanced at the audience display on the monitor and took a deep breath.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now broadcasting live from Philippe Chatrier Court. In the first round of the French Open men's singles, Cheng Che will face Argentina player Rojas. Look at the stands, they're packed. Fifteen thousand seats, not a single empty. This is very rare in the first round of the French Open."
Zhou Zhou chimed in, "And look at those support signs in the stands, most of them are in Chinese. Many of them are fans who flew in from China."
Pei Jingshu and Chen Wei sat together in the middle of the audience seats, near the front.
The two were wearing matching white T-shirts with a small tennis racket printed on them and the words: "Cheng Che, Allez!"
They were all wearing matching sun hats with the brims pulled low, and each held a colorful light stick.
How Pei Jingshu managed to win over Chen Wei within two days remains a mystery.
But if you think about it carefully, it's not hard to guess.
Pei Jingshu was already very sociable, and after taking Chen Wei to Galeries Lafayette and spending a sum of money that almost made Chen Wei's eyes pop out, the two of them were already arm in arm when they came out of the mall.
Chen Wei leaned close to Pei Jingshu's ear and started chattering away.
"Let me tell you, today's opponent is Argentina, ranked 67th in the world. He's alright on clay, but not particularly strong. Brother Cheng will beat him easily."
Pei Jingshu nodded, her tone certain. "Definitely. He's the Australian Open Champion."
"That's right," Chen Wei said. "No matter how different clay court is, the foundation is there. Besides, didn't you see Brother Cheng training? His sliding steps are already quite impressive."
Pei Jingshu glanced around the audience, her gaze lingering for a moment.
On the left side of the stands, a group of blonde, blue-eyed girls held up support signs in French.
On the right side of the stands, several Spain- speaking girls were wearing homemade T-shirts with Cheng Che's cartoon image printed on them.
Looking further away, there were several Asia faces, but they were also wearing Cheng Che's support colors.
Pei Jingshu pursed her lips slightly.
" Chen Wei," she whispered, "Those foreign girls are all quite pretty."
Chen Wei followed her gaze and then smiled:
"Of course. There are plenty of good-looking guys among Brother Cheng's fans. You think you're the only one?"
Pei Jingshu pouted and didn't say anything more.
The on-site announcement system came on.
"The first to enter is Matthias Rojas from Argentina."
A round of polite applause rang out from the stands.
Sparse and scattered, not exactly indifferent, but lacking any enthusiasm either.
Rojas walked out of the players' tunnel, wearing a gray-blue jersey, with a serious expression.
He walked to his seat, put down his golf bag, and began to organize his equipment.
He looked up at the empty players' tunnel across the street, and something came to mind.
He just saw Cheng Che in the passageway.
As the two passed each other, he glanced at the other person's face, then looked down at his own racket.
I wish I were that handsome.
He wasn't greedy; he didn't need to grow up to be like Cheng Che, just being about 70-80% like him would be fine.
Then the loudspeaker came on.
"Next to enter is Cheng Che from Xia Country— "
In that instant, the entire Stade Philippe Chatrier seemed to be set ablaze.
Fifteen thousand people stood up at the same time, and cheers surged from all directions, crashing against the stadium walls and echoing across the clay court.
" Cheng Che!!!"
"Cheng Che!!!"
"Aaaaaahh...
Pei Jingshu jumped up from her seat and waved her colorful sticks frantically.
Chen Wei also shouted, her voice so shrill that several France spectators nearby turned around to look.
Cheng Che walked out of the players' tunnel.
He was wearing a white Gucci polo shirt with very thin green-red-green stripes on the collar and cuffs.
She wore dark blue LV athletic shorts, with a very clean cut.
He was wearing a pair of white Nike clay court sneakers with his initials embroidered on the upper.
He wore Rolex on his wrist, the dial reflecting the Paris sunlight.
He has four major endorsement deals.
As he walked out, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the stadium roof, falling on his shoulders.
The red of the clay court clashed with the white of his clothes, creating a scene as clean as a painting.
Then [ Stars Surrounding the Moon ] was triggered.
The cheers from the stands rose even higher.
Some people shouted " Cheng Che," some shouted "Cheng Che," and some shouted "Allez." Various languages were mixed together, but they all referred to the same person.
In the domestic broadcast studio, Lin Yan stared at the screen on the monitor and paused for a moment.
"I've been commentating on tennis for twenty years," he said, his voice carrying a complex emotion. "In the first round on center court, 15,000 people filled the stadium, cheering throughout. Even Federer at his peak didn't have such an extravagance."
Zhou Zhou chimed in from the side:
"And look at the support items in the stands—French, Spain, Chinese, they're all there. This isn't just home-field advantage; this is a global home game."
The live chat exploded.
Holy crap, this is incredible!!! The French Open's center court is packed!!!
I got goosebumps when the whole audience chanted his name.
[He wears all four of the brand's endorsements; he knows how to drive sales.]
[A Gucci polo shirt, LV shorts, Nike shoes, and Rolex watch—I calculated that this outfit costs close to 100,000 yuan.]
He looked so good standing on the red clay in that outfit, it hurt my eyes!
[ Lin Yan said Federer wasn't even this bad during his peak, that's too high a compliment.]
[My Che Baby is now the top player in the tennis world, without a doubt.]
Meanwhile, in Capital City, Yan Ruanning sat on the sofa in her studio, watching the live stream on the projected screen.
Her gaze wasn't on Cheng Che's face, nor on the brand-name clothing he was wearing.
She was looking at his wrist.
She wore Rolex on her left wrist and a thin black braided rope bracelet on her right wrist, so thin that it was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
Yan Ruanning looked down at her wrist.
On her right wrist was a white braided rope bracelet, the same braiding style and thickness, only the color was different.
She smiled slightly, reached out and touched the bracelet, then looked up and continued watching the screen.
Cheng Che walked to his seat, put down his tennis bag, and took out his racket.
He turned around and glanced towards the audience.
Pei Jingshu stood on the stands, waving her confetti at him. He saw her, smiled, and nodded in that direction.
Then he turned back, walked behind the service line, and dribbled the ball twice.
The match has begun.