Before Cheng Che's competition.
In the courtyard of the Mushroom House, a projector was set up, with the white wall serving as a screen.
The director sat behind the monitor, outwardly calm but inwardly thinking he was a genius.
No guests today, what are we filming?
They took pictures of them watching Cheng Che's match.
It's natural, it's trendy, and you don't have to spend much money.
Teacher He, Teacher Huang, Su Jianqiu, and Liang Shihua moved small stools and sat in front of the projector. Yan Ruanning sat on the far side, holding a glass of water in her hand, but didn't drink it.
"It's starting," Teacher He said.
On the screen, Cheng Che walked out of the player tunnel. The cheers from the stands came through the projector's speakers. They were a little distorted, but you could still hear how enthusiastic they were.
Teacher Huang clicked his tongue twice. "This is more grand than a top celebrity's entrance. This kid is a born star!"
Su Jianqiu didn't speak, but she turned her head to glance at Yan Ruanning.
Yan Ruanning leaned forward slightly, gripping the glass of water in her hand tighter and tighter.
The match begins.
Zhu Junchi serves, Cheng Che receives, and the two engage in a rally at the baseline, the pace quickening.
Teacher He and Teacher Huang were chatting at first, but then they stopped talking.
Although Liang Shihua is an actress, she was also drawn into the tension on stage, her eyes fixed on the curtain.
When the score was 4-5 in the first set, Cheng Che's forehand went out of bounds during a baseline rally.
"Fifteen to forty," the commentator's voice came from the projector. " Zhu Junchi has the score."
Yan Ruanning gripped the hem of her skirt tightly at her knees.
She didn't speak, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Su Jianqiu saw it.
She didn't say anything, but quietly moved her chair two inches closer to Yan Ruanning.
Zhu Junchi then held serve to win the set.
There was a moment of silence in front of the projector.
Teacher He spoke first, "You lost?"
Teacher Huang frowned and comforted her:
"It's alright, tennis is best-of-three, there's still a chance."
Liang Shihua whispered:
"He seems really tired; you can see his breathing is heavy."
Only Yan Ruanning remained silent.
She stared at the boy sitting in the rest area on the screen, his face covered by a towel, so her expression was not visible.
Her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her skirt, until her knuckles turned white.
"He's fine," Su Jianqiu suddenly said from the side, his voice soft but steady. "He was observing during the first game."
Yan Ruanning turned her head to look at her.
Su Jianqiu smiled and said, "Didn't you tell me that he did the same thing when he played against Zhou Kaiyue? He would observe first in the first game and then get serious in the second."
Yan Ruanning didn't reply, but the grip on her skirt loosened slightly.
She understands tennis, but her mind is in turmoil, and she can't concentrate on anything.
On the screen, the second round has begun.
Cheng Che stood up from the rest area and walked back to the baseline.
He moved a little faster than in the first set. Then he served.
First ball, inside corner.
The ball speed was nearly 20 kilometers per hour faster than in the first set.
Zhu Junchi moved two steps to the side and barely managed to block the ball back.
Cheng Che went up to meet the ball and hit a long cross-court shot with his forehand. The ball landed on the sideline, bounced up, and flew out of the barrier.
"Fifteen to zero."
Teacher He suddenly slapped his thigh. "Ouch!"
Teacher Huang opened his mouth, "How come this ball is so fast?"
Su Jianqiu didn't say anything, but the corners of her mouth were already turned up.
The game on the screen is accelerating.
Cheng Che's every shot was relentlessly sharp, leaving Zhu Junchi breathless and his returns becoming increasingly shallow, resulting in more and more mistakes.
The commentator was shouting, the stands were exploding, and the live chat was flooded with comments.
In front of the projection in the Mushroom House, the five people were as quiet as if they had been frozen in place.
Yan Ruanning's breathing finally calmed down.
In the final point of the deciding set, Cheng Che hit an inside ace, the ball hit the service box, bounced up and flew directly towards the advertising board.
Zhu Junchi didn't move. The referee announced the final score.
Six to four, four to six, six to one.
Cheng Che won.
There was a two-second silence in front of the projector, and then Teacher He was the first to applaud.
"Good lad!" Teacher Huang slapped his thigh and stood up. "I knew it! Someone who can get into Peking University can't be bad at basketball!"
Liang Shihua patted her chest. "I didn't even dare to breathe just now."
Su Jianqiu stood up, stretched, and then turned to look at Yan Ruanning: " Xiao Che won, can you finally breathe a sigh of relief? You won't be calling his name tonight, right?"
Yan Ruanning nodded subconsciously. "Yes, it's good that we won--"
She abruptly turned to look at Su Jianqiu, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
Su Jianqiu had already turned and run away.
"Don't run!" Yan Ruanning stood up and chased after her. " Su Jianqiu, you stop right there! I'll do your makeup! I'll make you look beautiful on camera!"
"You won't change! You vicious woman! You'll live a lonely life forever!"
"Stop right there!"
The two figures ran further and further away in the courtyard.
Teacher He and Teacher Huang exchanged a glance and smiled.
The projector screen in the Mushroom House went dark; Cheng Che had won.
Meanwhile, a thousand miles away on the beach, a girl is jumping up from a deck chair, almost spilling the coconut juice next to her.
"Good!"
Several people on the beach nearby turned to look at her, and she quickly covered her mouth, squatted back on the deck chair, her face flushed red.
Mother Su sat beside her, holding a glass of coconut juice, and slowly took a sip.
She glanced at her daughter and sighed inwardly.
This girl has been on vacation for five days, and she's been glued to her phone every single day.
Did she think the mother wouldn't notice?
I laughed so hard my eyes disappeared while watching the live stream, and I even said I was "watching a funny video."
" Qingyue." Mother Su put down the coconut juice.
"Hmm?" Su Qingyue didn't look up, her finger swiping across the screen, probably reading the post-match comments.
"Your classmate... Cheng Che, right? He's pretty good at basketball."
"Yeah, he's really good." Su Qingyue replied casually, then realized something was wrong and looked up sharply, "Mom, how do you know he—"
"How would I know his name?" Mother Su smiled. "Your father and I hear you shouting ' Cheng Che, keep going!' in your dreams every night."
Su Qingyue's face instantly turned red to the roots of her neck.
"Mom!"
"Alright, I won't say anymore." Mother Su stood up and brushed the sand off her skirt. "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Qingyue, being so close to the water, might just get some moonlight."
Su Qingyue opened her mouth, but said nothing.
She looked down at the boy surrounded by people on the screen, feeling a mix of bittersweet emotions.
Being in a good position.
Unfortunately, her pavilion was too far away from him.
Hang City.
Cheng Che was sitting in the back seat of Qin Lie's car, and had just fastened his seatbelt when his phone rang.
The screen displays "Mom".
"Hello, Mom."
" Cheche! We just watched your match!" Jiang Xue's voice was several octaves higher than usual. "I was so scared when you lost the first set, but then your dad said it was okay, it was okay, and it really was! Son, how are you so good! Those balls were so fast!"
"Mom, did you watch my live stream?"
"Look! Your dad's still standing there, keeping track of the scores in a notebook!"
Cheng Che smiled, then remembered something. "By the way, Mom, have you discussed what I told you last time with Dad?"
"What's up?"
"That storefront. I looked at a few listings for shops in Spring City online, the prices aren't too expensive. If you like it, you can sign the contract first. I have the money."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.
" Cheche," Jiang Xue's voice suddenly softened, "You really want us to rest?"
"Yes. Selling breakfast is too tiring, you should take a break."
Jiang Xue did not speak immediately.
Cheng Che heard the sound of papers being turned over on the other end of the phone; they were probably looking at the shop information he had sent earlier.
After a while, Jiang Xue said:
"Well... I'll talk to your dad about it. Don't worry about this for now, just focus on the game."
"Mom, I'm not worried. I just think you should take a break."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
"Okay." Jiang Xue's voice was a little muffled. "You too. Don't just focus on playing ball, remember to eat."
"OK."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Xue put her phone on the coffee table and turned to look at Cheng Jianguo.
Cheng Jianguo was sitting on the sofa with a breakfast shop's purchase order spread out in front of him, holding a pen in his hand, but he didn't write a single word for a long time.
He overheard most of what his son was saying and knows what he was talking about.
" Old Cheng," Jiang Xue sat down next to him, "You're saying, are we really quitting?"
Cheng Jianguo put down his pen, leaned back on the sofa, and stared at the ceiling for a while.
"Whether I do it or not, let's not talk about that now," he suddenly said. "I want to go to Hang City."
Jiang Xue was taken aback. "Go to Hang City?"
"Watch our son's match." Cheng Jianguo sat up straight, his tone unusually serious. " Cheche is playing in the main draw, a national competition. We've hardly ever been to a big city in our lives, let alone watched any tennis matches. Our son made it in; as his parents, how could we not go and see him?"
Jiang Xue hesitated for a moment:
"But... I heard that having family members present can put pressure on the child. What if it affects his performance..."
Cheng Jianguo rolled his eyes at her. "Idiot, we'll disguise ourselves. There are so many people in the audience, who would be able to tell?"
"Disguise?"
"Wearing a hat and sunglasses, sitting in a crowd, who would recognize you?"
Jiang Xue thought about it and realized that what he said seemed to make sense.
She thought about her son alone in Hang City, wondering if he was eating and sleeping well, and how much pressure he was under during the competition. As she thought about it, her hesitation subsided.
"And... what about the shop?"
"We'll talk about the shop when we get back." Cheng Jianguo stood up, patted his pants, and said, "Let's check the high-speed rail tickets first. We need to book them in advance for next week's game."
Jiang Xue opened her phone and took out the ticketing app. Cheng Jianguo leaned over, and the two of them squeezed together to look at the screen.
"It's too early, we won't make it."
"It's too late, it'll be evening by the time we arrive."
"This one's fine, it's in the morning, so we can have lunch when we get there."
"OK."
After booking the tickets, Jiang Xue put down her phone and suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, I need to buy a hat. I can't let anyone recognize me."
Cheng Jianguo scoffed, "What's the point of buying anything? I have an old pair of sunglasses, you can wear those."
"Your sunglasses look like aviator sunglasses; you look like a blind person wearing them."
"So what? Can't blind people watch the game?"
Jiang Xue glared at him, then said nothing more.
On the other end, Cheng Che had just hung up the phone when another call came in.
The screen displays " Guo Xin ".
"Hello."
"Damn Cheng Che! You're amazing!" Guo Xin's voice boomed from the receiver. "Do you know how panicked I was after losing the first game? I even posted on my WeChat Moments cursing that Zhu Junchi! Then you hit four aces and stunned him, so I quickly deleted the post! But all my classmates saw it! They're all asking me what happened!"
Cheng Che moved his phone away a little. "Why did you post something on your WeChat Moments to insult people?"
"I'm so angry! That old bastard won the first game and still acted all high and mighty with me! I don't care if he's arrogant or not!" Guo Xin took a breath. "By the way, I bought a high-speed rail ticket to Hang City for next week. Save me a good seat."
"You bought the tickets before asking me?"
"Of course. Can you really stop me from going?"
Cheng Che laughed, "Come on. I'll show you my skills then."
Stop joking, or you'll crash and burn next time.
"A jinx."
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Che put it away, and Qin Lie glanced back at him from the driver's seat:
Many people want you to be their spokesperson.
"Endorsement?"
"It's mainly about the racket. They watched your match and noticed you were using an old racket. There were two companies, one domestic and one Japan. The domestic one wanted to sign you for three years, while the Japan one only wanted a single-match contract. Both wanted to provide you with a new racket for free, paying you per match, without needing a long-term contract."
Cheng Che thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Let me win the Champion first. It's just a junior tournament."
Qin Lie nodded. "Indeed. This level is too low. To really increase their value, they need to compete internationally."
Cheng Che didn't reply. He was thinking about something else.
He was used to using the Old Sturdy Tennis Racket.
The feel, weight, and elasticity of the racket face are all just right.
Replacing it with a new one doesn't necessarily mean it will work better.
Besides, the endorsement fee certainly isn't expensive; how much is a junior Champion worth?
It'll be more meaningful to talk about these things after we win an international Champion.
He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat.
I started reviewing today's game in my mind.
Zhu Junchi's tactic is to stall and wear down the rhythm.
He did indeed succeed, forcing Cheng Che into a very uncomfortable rhythm in the first set.
But after Cheng Che sped up in the second set, all of Zhu Junchi's changes were shattered.
Because Cheng Che accelerated too quickly, Zhu Junchi didn't have time to change his rhythm.
Swift and powerful.
That's the answer for today.
With extremely fast pace and powerful returns, disrupt the opponent's rhythm, drag them into a stamina quagmire, and wear them down.
Zhu Junchi has played basketball for ten years and has good physical reserves, but he was still worn down to the point where his legs were shaking.
Because he couldn't keep up with Cheng Che's speed, he had to chase with all his might for every shot and run desperately for every ball.
Cheng Che possesses both Enduring Progress Without Fail and ever-present, Ever-Full Power Reserves.
Even after accelerating, its range and power delivery will not decrease.
That's the scariest part.
Qin Lie started the car and drove out of the stadium parking lot.
"I'll send you the information on our next opponent later," Qin Lie said. "Unlike Zhu Junchi, he excels at defense and Never Tires from Running on the court."
Cheng Che opened his eyes and looked at the streetlights rushing past outside the window.
" Never Tires from Running?" he said softly, a slow smile spreading across his face.
Let's see who dies first.