Back at Qin Lie's home, Cheng Che took a shower and threw himself onto the bed.
He lay with his eyes closed for a while, then opened the system panel.
[Stamina Trial · Stage two: Breakthrough. Objective: Advance through the qualifiers of a professional tournament to reach the main draw, and secure at least one victory. Current progress: 1/3.]
Two matches left.
There were three rounds of qualifiers, and he had already won one. Two more wins, and he would have his ticket to the main draw.
Cheng Che closed the trial panel and swiped over to his talents.
[Tolerance Makes Greatness (passive): For every ten thousand people who harbor malice or dislike toward the host, the host's overall favorability among the general public increases by 1%. Current malice count: 30,000+. Current public favorability bonus: 3%.]
Cheng Che: "?"
Thirty thousand?
He stared wide-eyed for a long while before he slowly understood.
In other words, as he grew more popular online, more people were hating on him, too.
And every time those people added up to another ten thousand, his public favorability automatically rose by 1%. He already had a 3% bonus.
No wonder his Super Topic had gained more followers.
With mixed feelings, he opened his phone and searched his name on various platforms.
The more he searched, the more amused he became.
Someone claiming to be his "elementary school classmate" said he had been a genius since childhood and could recite pi to a hundred decimal places in third grade.
Someone claiming to be his "middle school deskmate" said he slept only four hours a day and spent the rest of his time grinding practice questions.
Someone else declared with absolute certainty that he was "actually the illegitimate son of a retired athlete who had received secret training since childhood," reasoning, "How else can you explain why he's so good at tennis, too?"
Cheng Che: "..."
He was the son of a breakfast shop owner. Since when had he acquired so many backstories?
He also scrolled through comments from some professional and retired players.
Most were quite fair.
"His technique is beautiful, especially his serve. His toss is consistent, and his kinetic chain is complete. Reaching this level at his age is extremely rare."
"He has good stamina reserves, moves quickly, and stays composed in baseline rallies. But he did pick this up halfway down the road, after all, so the finer details still need polishing."
"If he keeps training, he has a promising future. But it's too early to talk about going pro. Qualifiers and professional matches are two different worlds."
"I've watched his match footage. His greatest strength is his composure. He doesn't panic when he loses a point or get carried away when he wins one. That kind of mental fortitude is rare."
Cheng Che read through them one by one, smiled, and put his phone down.
What they said was all fair enough.
But he did not accept their condescending attitude.
After tomorrow, they would see him in a new light.
He closed his eyes, and his breathing slowly settled.
On the third day, at Court Five of Hang City Sports Center.
It was the largest competition court in the entire tennis center, with room for three thousand spectators.
The qualifiers had originally been scheduled for Court Four, but the organizers had made a last-minute change, moving Cheng Che and Zhou Kaiyue's match to Court Five.
The reason was simple.
Too many people wanted to watch.
Cheng Che had played through the second qualifying round even faster than the first.
His opponent had been a young player from another province with solid fundamentals, but he had been completely unable to keep up with Cheng Che's pace.
Cheng Che had barely moved around, settling the battle with his serve and forehand alone.
Under these circumstances, the "clash of the titans" had become the qualifiers' biggest draw.
Cheng Che sat in the locker room with his eyes closed.
Qin Lie stood beside him, sorting out his rackets while chattering away.
"Sure enough, the organizers put you and Zhou Kaiyue together. Have you watched his match footage? His forehand is fierce, his backhand is a little weaker, but he fights hard on defense. He's the highest-ranked player in these qualifiers. Plenty of people in the tennis world think he's stronger than you."
At this point, Qin Lie laughed himself.
"Those old bastards. Can't they tell you weren't even trying in your first two matches? When you beat Zhang Hao, you barely even ran for the ball. Anyone who isn't blind could see how easy it was for you."
Cheng Che did not open his eyes. He merely murmured an acknowledgment.
Qin Lie continued:
"But guess what those pros are saying? That Zhou Kaiyue is experienced, has a mature playing style, and is better adapted to the rhythm of competition than you. It makes me want to laugh. Experienced? A few years of junior tournaments, and he really thinks he's a veteran."
He took out his phone, swiped a few times, and held it in front of Cheng Che.
"Look. This kid posted on Weibo again today."
Cheng Che opened his eyes and glanced at it.
[Zhou Kaiyue V:
Tomorrow. Court Five.
I'll show everyone that tennis is played, not talked.
Wish me luck. And good luck to a certain "genius," too.]
Cheng Che finished reading without any change in his expression, then closed his eyes again.
"Nervous?" Qin Lie asked.
"No." Cheng Che shook his head.
His phone suddenly lit up.
It was a photo from Yan Ruanning.
The photo showed the stands at Court Five.
A dense crowd had already filled more than half the seats.
Taken from high up, the photo showed people encircling the entire court, as though someone had colored in the stands with a pen.
A line of text followed underneath:
[So many people, but I'm in my seat.]
Looking at that line, Cheng Che's lips curved slightly.
He typed.
[Okay. I'm coming out.]
He put his phone away, stood up, and picked up his racket.
Qin Lie patted his shoulder. "Go on. Treat it as a warm-up."
Without a word, Cheng Che pulled open the locker room door.
The announcement was already playing.
"Players Cheng Che and Zhou Kaiyue, please report to Court Five to prepare."
Cheng Che walked down the players' tunnel.
The lights grew brighter, and the roar outside grew louder.
The instant he stepped out of the tunnel, it felt as though someone had yanked him from the quiet seabed straight up to the surface.
Court Five was packed.
Nearly all three thousand seats were filled.
The densely packed heads in the stands shimmered with a haze of heat beneath the sunlight.
Those hands holding phones, those hands holding banners, those faces flushed with excitement were like a sea churned by the wind.
At the commentary desk, the two commentators were already having trouble staying in their seats.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I can hardly believe my eyes right now. This is only a tennis qualifier for the National Youth Games, but look at this turnout... my goodness, Court Five is almost full!"
"That's right. We were just saying backstage that you don't often see a scene like this even at the highest-level domestic tennis tournaments. Most of today's spectators are young women, and many have brought professional camera equipment. The atmosphere is truly electric."
"Partly because of Cheng Che's tremendous popularity, but also because today's matchup really does have plenty to offer. On one side, we have the experienced young player Zhou Kaiyue. On the other, Cheng Che, the all-round genius who appeared out of nowhere. Two completely different paths in tennis meet today on Court Five."
"Who will have the last laugh? Let's wait and see."
Cheng Che walked onto the court.
The moment he appeared, the stands erupted.
"Ahhh! Cheng Che! Cheng Che's here!"
"Hubby, look at me! Just one glance!"
"He's so tall! Even taller than on the livestream! His legs are so long!"
"Did he just smile? I'm dying!"
"Keep it down! The match hasn't even started yet! ...Ah, he looked this way!"
Wave after wave of noise surged up, like boiling water poured into a pan of oil.
In the front rows, a few minor influencers who had come to ride the hype had originally just set up their phones to take some casual footage.
But the moment Cheng Che stepped onto the court, they all forgot to focus their cameras.
"Oh my god..." murmured a girl with long, chestnut-dyed curls, nearly letting her phone slip from her hand. "Those proportions, that face... is he even real?"
Her companion in a slip dress swallowed, her voice changing.
"I came here to ride the hype, but now I think I'm done for. Who could withstand this?"
"Don't even. I made eye contact with him for a second just now, and my knees went weak."
"Are you sure he was looking at you? I distinctly felt he was looking at me."
"Stop fighting. He was looking at the camera!"
Zhou Kaiyue stood on the other side of the court, looking rather grim.
He had known plenty of people would turn up, but he had never imagined there would be this damn many.
Much less that ninety percent of them would be here for Cheng Che.
Those girls held up their phones, screaming and cheering, their eyes filled with nothing but that shining boy.
And he was like a practice partner dragged in at the last minute to serve as a backdrop.
He gritted his teeth.
The guy really was fucking handsome.
Even he thought the kid across from him was devastatingly good-looking.
As though he carried his own light, as though he had been born to stand at the center of a crowd.
But this was a match.
Tennis did not care about faces.
Zhou Kaiyue tightened his grip on his racket and suppressed all those distracting thoughts.
He was a professional player who had competed in countless matches.
He knew that only hands and feet, only ball and racket, could truly decide victory or defeat.
Maybe he just has a good serve. His other techniques might not be up to scratch, Zhou Kaiyue told himself. His opponents in the first two rounds were too weak. His serve alone was enough. But I'm different. I'll return his serves and drag him into extended rallies. Then he'll show his true colors.
He took a deep breath and rolled his neck a couple of times.
Cheng Che raised his head and looked at Zhou Kaiyue across the court.
In that instant, Zhou Kaiyue felt as though something had locked onto him.
The boy was clearly standing just as he had been a moment ago, yet he seemed to have suddenly become someone else.
As ferocious as a tiger on the hunt.
The surrounding clamor seemed to pass through a layer of water, turning muffled and distant.
And in Cheng Che's eyes, only the net, the boundary lines, and the person named Zhou Kaiyue remained.
He spoke a single word in his mind.
Activate.
[Total Concentration activated.]
Cheng Che looked at Zhou Kaiyue and said inwardly, I'm going to knock you back to reality.