On the podium, Cheng Che received the trophy from the French Open president.
It's silver, very large, and significantly heavier than the one from the Australian Open when you hold it up.
He raised his hands above his head, and the lights from the clay court shone down from the ceiling, making the surface of the trophy shine brightly.
He sang "We Will Rock You" again from the stands, then switched hands to raise his glass and waved it in each of the four directions.
Pei Jingshu jumped and waved colorful sticks in the crowd, while Chen Wei held her hand, afraid she would get lost.
The post-match urine test was quick; the process was completed, and Qin Lie was already waiting for me in the corridor when I came out.
"Beautiful," Qin Lie said, his voice a little tense, "Absolutely beautiful."
Cheng Che glanced at him; Qin Lie's eyes were a little red.
A retired tennis player, who had played for over a decade without achieving much success, switched careers to become an agent.
Then he discovered a high school student and mentored him from the Youth Games to the Australian Open, and from the Australian Open to the French Open.
Today, this person swept aside the world's fourth-ranked player in three sets on clay!
For Qin Lie, this was of great significance.
Qin Lie didn't say anything more, but simply patted him on the shoulder again.
"The press conference is ready. Let's go."
More than two hundred reporters attended the press conference, with a row of cameras and microphones set up.
Cheng Che sat on the stage with the French Open Champion trophy in front of him, and the flashbulbs never stopped from beginning to end.
The reporters asked similar questions: about adapting to clay courts, his performance in the third set, and the significance of this Champion for Xia Country tennis.
Cheng Che answered each question one by one, neither humble nor arrogant, occasionally adding a few technical analyses.
A France journalist asked him if he was confident of achieving a three-peat at Wimbledon. He smiled and said, "I haven't even played on grass yet, let me be happy for a couple of days first."
It was almost 9 p. m. when I got back to the hotel.
Qin Lie followed him upstairs, his phone ringing non-stop the whole way, with WeChat popping up one after another.
He kept his head down, flipping through the pages, a smirk playing on his lips.
" Nike wants to renew the contract, and they've raised the price by 30%," he said, scrolling through his messages. " Rolex also wants to increase their offer, and Gucci and LV both have new proposals. There are a few other new ones too—a Swiss watch brand and a Germany car company—all want to talk to you. I'll go handle those first; you can go and rest for a bit."
Cheng Che hummed in agreement and pushed open the door to the room.
Before she could close the door properly, Pei Jingshu rushed out from inside.
She jumped on him, hanging on him with her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck, like a koala.
Cheng Che was knocked back half a step by her, but he steadied himself, supporting her with one hand and closing the door with the other.
Why are you so excited?
Pei Jingshu tilted her head back, her eyes shining brightly, and said in a coquettish tone:
"You won the championship! I'm so happy!"
She closed her eyes, then suddenly tilted her head back and leaned in.
Cheng Che did not refuse; he lowered his head and his lips touched hers.
A few seconds later, as they separated, Pei Jingshu's eyelashes trembled, and she opened her eyes, her face flushed.
She buried her face in his chest and mumbled, "You seem pretty skilled at this."
Cheng Che smiled but didn't reply.
The phone rang; it was Qin Lie calling.
"I'll go over the endorsement matter with you in person."
"Come here."
After hanging up the phone, he glanced at Pei Jingshu.
She was still clinging to him, her face buried, refusing to look up.
" Qin Lie is coming."
Pei Jingshu got off him, tidied her hair, and the blush on her face hadn't completely faded.
She walked towards the door, took two steps, and then looked back at him.
"I'll go back to my room first. Let me know when you're done."
"Um."
The door closed.
A soft "Yay!" echoed down the corridor, followed by the sound of quick footsteps walking away.
Qin Lie arrived quickly, carrying a tablet. He sat down on the sofa as soon as he entered and spread out the contracts one by one.
Cheng Che sat opposite him, listening to him explain the terms and conditions, nodding occasionally.
Qin Lie spoke faster than usual, and he was in a very excited state. When he talked about Nike's new price quote, he even patted the armrest of the sofa.
"Back when I was playing basketball, I barely made any money all year round. Now, one endorsement deal of yours is worth what I could earn in decades," Qin Lie remarked, then shook his head. "Comparisons are odious."
Meanwhile, on the internet in Xia Country, the trending topics have exploded.
# Cheng Che # is listed first, followed by a red "Explosive" sign. Five out of French Open top ten are related to him.
The supertopic was filled with jubilation, and posts were being posted at breakneck speed.
[ French Open Champion!!! Two Grand Slam titles now!!!]
From the Australian Open to the French Open, from hard courts to clay, he only needed one year.
[I cried, I really cried. At the beginning of the year, when he won the Australian Open, I said it was history, and now the French Open is here too.]
[He said this wasn't the end, just the beginning. I thought he was just being polite, but it turned out to be a foreshadowing.]
[I took a GIF of that three consecutive high-pressure shots in the third set and watched it thirty times.]
[I saved Zverev's expression when he was beaten to the point of questioning his existence as an emoji.]
I got goosebumps all over when the whole audience sang "We Will Rock You".
[The moment he waved towards the stands, I screamed so hard my neighbor was banging on the wall.]
[Now I understand why some people are switching allegiances; Cheng Che is so satisfying, he keeps winning!]
[Sisters who came from other circles back then, you guys have such good taste!]
The four brands they endorsed posted updates almost simultaneously.
LV posted a photo of him raising a trophy, with the caption, "The elegance of Champion is never limited to the venue."
Nike posted a clip of that three consecutive high-pressure shots in the third set, captioned "Domination on clay."
Rolex posted a close-up photo of the watch dial on his wrist, with the caption "Precision, in any situation."
Gucci posted a screenshot of him wearing a polo shirt during a match, captioned "Intelligence and beauty also hold true on clay."
All four companies held giveaways, and the comments section was flooded with "Congratulations" and "Pick me!"
The Europe episode of " Walking the Flower Road Together " is about to air, and the production team released a teaser with the caption, " Cheng Che in Paris, see you soon."
Someone in the comments section said, "You guys are really timely in riding this wave of popularity," to which the production team replied with a smiley face.
The crew of " The Realm and Old Friends " was even more lively.
Director Zhou posted. "Congratulations Cheng Che. You won on clay too, amazing!"
Zhao Yiming retweeted an official post from the French Open, adding only two words: "Awesome."
Ning Qing's studio account reposted the official French Open victory poster, adding a clapping emoji.
The atmosphere among the male celebrities' fan groups is quite subtle.
A fan of Gu Yan posted a screenshot of Cheng Che winning the French Open in the supertopic, with the caption. "Sisters, I think I've switched my allegiance."
No one cursed at her.
The other one replied:
"I climbed up last week. It's so great to be a fan of Cheng Che. He keeps winning, he won the Australian Open, he won the French Open. I never have to worry when I watch his matches."
The third person added:
"The guy I used to be a fan of, I was always worried about his career collapsing, and I was constantly fighting back against his haters and controlling the comments. After Cheng Che, I don't even need to go to the anti-haters group anymore, he just proves them wrong himself."
"For fans who want to keep winning, being a fan of Cheng Che is pure bliss."
"And not only does he win, he's handsome, talented, and well-educated. Sometimes I feel like being a fan of him is too much of a bargain; he does the work of several idols from other groups all by himself."
"Stop talking, I'm already looking at Wimbledon."
Pei Jingshu returned to her room, closed the door, leaned against the door panel, and covered her mouth, laughing for a while.
The "hehehe" laughter leaked out from between his fingers, and he couldn't stop it.
Then she took out her phone, opened the social media platform in Xia Country, and wanted to see how her fans in China were praising Cheng Che.
As I scrolled through the pages, one post stood out with a very high number of upvotes.
The title is. " Cheng Che wins the French Open, but do you remember who he gave his first on-screen kiss to?"
Pei Jingshu's fingers stopped.
She clicked on it, and the accompanying picture was a still from a movie.
Cheng Che wore a dark blue robe, and Ning Qing wore a light pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). The two stood under the pear tree, their lips pressed together.
Pei Jingshu stared at the picture for three seconds.
Then she narrowed her eyes and muttered something.
"Hateful."