Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Wednesday afternoon.

Practice room.

Shen Xiaoting leaned against the wall and unscrewed her water glass. The female trainee next door leaned over and shoved her phone screen in front of her face.

"Look at that new guy, he used to be a model! Isn't he handsome?"

A selfie appeared on the screen; the person had light brown hair and a very pointed chin.

Shen Xiaoting glanced at it.

"good."

The female trainee put her phone away and swiped twice:

"Not bad? Your standards are way too high. There are so many men in the company, isn't there a single one you think is handsome?"

Shen Xiaoting did not respond.

I took a sip of water.

A face suddenly flashed through her mind—

He sat on the floor, leaning against the sofa. He looked like he had been pulled out of the water, his eyes glazed over.

Then, that face changed—

He was curled up on the sofa, his phone lying horizontally. His brows were slightly furrowed, he paused to write, his lips were tightly pressed together, and he exuded a hostile aura, making strangers stay away.

the same person.

She swallowed the water.

The female trainee pressed, "Does it or not?"

Shen Xiaoting paused for a moment as she twisted the cup lid.

Then continue twisting.

The female trainee's eyes lit up:

"Really? Who is it? Who is it?"

"...Too young, not my type."

The female trainee scoffed, "How much smaller?"

Five years old.

"Five years is nothing! Younger men are so great, they're obedient and clingy."

Shen Xiaoting did not respond.

The female trainee waited a few seconds, and seeing that she wasn't going to say anything, she clicked her tongue again and looked down to continue scrolling through her phone.

Shen Xiaoting looked at the water in the glass and suddenly remembered that night when Chen Jixian almost opened the door and she hid in the water in the bathtub.

If he gets in... impossible, the door is locked!

She shook her head.

"I've been practicing dance."

The female trainee suddenly exclaimed "Huh?"

She turned the screen towards her:

"Wait, wait, wait, look at this."

"At SM's audition last week, someone took a picture of a stunningly beautiful person who said they were there with a friend and hadn't even registered themselves."

The video shook slightly.

In the crowd, a boy sat in a corner of the waiting area. He wore a black jacket and was looking down at his phone.

Then he looked up at the camera.

His eyebrows were straight and sharp, his nose bridge dropped straight down, and his jawline was clean and crisp. The corners of his eyes were slightly upturned, giving him a slightly impatient look when he looked at people.

Shen Xiaoting was stunned.

The female trainee was still saying:

"Isn't he handsome? I heard he's an international student. Several staff members chased after him offering their business cards, but he didn't take any."

Shen Xiaoting looked at the screen.

Isn't he preparing for the Seoul National University entrance exam?

Don't you come home exhausted every day?

Patting bag, sweat stains, a cut on the back of the hand...

Then, he appeared at the SM audition and was surrounded by people who thought he was a "god-like face," with staff chasing after him to hand him their business cards.

What exactly is he doing?

"What's wrong? Do you know each other?"

Shen Xiaoting looked away from the screen.

"I don't know him."

……

……

Wednesday afternoon.

Ace Tennis.

Chen Jixian was very enthusiastic today, not because he was looking forward to practicing tennis, but because he didn't want to go home.

Going home means facing Shen Xiaoting, facing the foolish thing I did last night, and facing that splash of purple in the bathroom last night.

"Practicing is good."

"I still need to practice!"

Three baskets.

Nearly three hundred tennis balls.

After distributing one basket, they move on to the next. After distributing three baskets, they push the ball-collecting cart and collect the balls all at once.

[The health and wellness package has been discontinued.]

[Activate the battery life extension package.]

The first basket felt slightly cool to the touch.

With the serve compilation delayed, he could only try his best to imitate the serve from his memory.

Toss the ball, swing the racket—the ball goes into the net.

Throw it again, swing it again—out of bounds.

The number of valid attempts is very limited. It takes a dozen or even dozens of balls to qualify for one.

He knew that rushing wouldn't help.

The same applies to the backhand.

When the second basket was halfway full, the payment notice arrived.

[Activate paradigm compilation - serve compilation?]

Price: 150

It would be better if it were Korean won.

Forget it, we can't push our luck. What if those who've been playing tennis since childhood knew that for a mere 150 RMB, they could experience a +11 serve?

They'll just hand you a check and tell you to fill it out however you like.

"activation."

My body was manipulated once again.

Your knees aren't yours, your shoulders aren't yours, your waist and abdomen aren't yours, and your wrists aren't yours either.

Chen Jixian stood on the service line, looking at the opposite service area. He tossed the ball, pushed off the ground, rotated his body, and swung his racket!

"Smack!"

The tennis ball hurtled towards point T like a cannonball.

[Meets the Standard]

[Serving progress: 71/3000]

[Serving translation complete.]

The second one, continue.

The body is recalling – toss the ball a little lower, hit the ball a little higher, flick your wrist out, and shift your weight forward.

Swing the racket.

"Bang."

The ball hit the edge of the T point, bounced up, and flew out, grazing the sideline.

fast!

This isn't his usual soft, weak serve!

The serve bounced slightly.

Then another one.

One more.

My touch was ignited again, and I served five or six balls in a row that met the standard.

His movements became smoother and smoother; he tossed the ball more steadily, hit the ball more accurately, and learned to flick his wrist.

The number of times the standard is met will increase.

When the third basket was finished, he stood there, panting, his palms sweaty.

Three baskets, over 180 balls. The number of valid attempts more than doubled compared to yesterday.

He pushed the ball-collecting cart to retrieve the balls and poured them into the basket. He thought his touch would cool down again and he would have to wait for the next wave of "paradigm compilation" to recover.

Unexpectedly, after only seven or eight failed to meet the standards—

"The feel is back!"

Tossing the ball, turning the body, swinging the racket, hitting the sweet spot—the four movements mesh together like gears, incredibly smoothly.

……

……

Chen Jixian turned off the ball-serving machine.

He pushed the ball-collecting machine around once, collecting the scattered balls into the basket.

The system panel pops up.

[Serve 3000 Training Package]

Current progress: 403/3000

403.

We are still 2600 short of 3000.

5 days remaining.

He stood there, panting. He'd looked up at the ball three hundred times; his neck felt twisted, his cervical spine no longer belonged to him. A dull, aching pain throbbed in his right shoulder, extending all the way to his wrist. His fingers trembled slightly—four hundred serves, and his nerves were still twitching. Sweat stained the collar of his T-shirt, his back was soaked, and his hair clung to his forehead.

"After training every day, I can't help but want to kneel down and kowtow to the battery pack a few times."

Chen Jixian found joy amidst hardship.

He stuffed the racket into his bag and sat down against the wall. The gym was quiet, with only the exhaust fans humming.

After sitting for a while, I took out my phone and opened the Daegu qualifier website.

The official list of winners is displayed on the homepage.

"No?"

Scroll down, and you won't find yourself.

I swiped it again, but still nothing.

His name was on the qualifier list. There were 32 spots, but not all were filled, so there were 15 backups, and Chen Jixian was one of them.

"They've been squeezed out of the main draw roster?"

A 500 million yuan deposit can't stop the rich.

You have to play two more matches in the qualifying rounds; if you win, you advance to the main tournament. If you lose, your 50 yuan registration fee will be wasted, and you'll go home and cry under the covers.

The lights at the front desk were on.

Mr. Cui walked over, carrying the keys.

"Let's go, let's lock the door."

Chen Jixian did not move.

Boss Cui walked over to him and glanced at his neck.

"What's wrong with your neck?"

"fine."

"Go back and rest." Boss Cui shook the keys. "If you get injured and withdraw from the competition, you'll never get your 500 million back."

Chen Jixian nodded

The deposit will not be refunded if you withdraw from the competition.

He remembers.

Chen Jixian stood up, picked up his racket bag, and walked out of the stadium. The Seoul night wind brushed against his face, and the soreness in his neck was relieved a little by the wind.

Come back home.

The pace was slow.

There is one person at home.

Last night, he almost barged into someone's bathroom. This morning, they even left him a soft-boiled egg.

He didn't want to face it, but he knew he couldn't escape it. He went downstairs and looked up at the window.

The lights are on.

She is there.