Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Wednesday.

Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding Liu Zhimin, Chen Jixian continued his training methodically.

……

night.

Ace Tennis Center.

Real-world simulation.

Boss Cui plays the hunter.

His forehand backswing was extremely short, deliberately followed by a backhand slice. His serve... well, Old Cui's serve was just so-so.

What Chen Jixian needs to do is to keep Boss Cui at the baseline as much as possible. When facing his slice shots, try not to hit the ball to the outside corner of the baseline.

Old Cui is imitating the "Hunter's" fighting style.

Chen Jixian received the serve and pressed down with his backhand.

Boss Cui was pinned to the baseline and attempted a backhand slice, opening his racket face prematurely.

He caught it—he positioned himself early, met the ball head-on, and sent it flying just off the sideline.

"Again."

Thursday.

Pre-match adjustments.

Serve 50 times to maintain your touch. Maintain a 20-minute forehand and backhand rally to keep the rhythm. Boss Cui sat behind the counter, a cigarette dangling from his lips, but he didn't light it.

I waited until I paid the bill before lighting the cigarette.

……

night.

An open space in the residential area.

Chen Jixian is chopping the ball against the wall.

In my mind, the image of the hunter resurfaced—a short backswing to seize the rising point, swift and concealed. Each backhand slice was deep and low.

The round spots on the wall are a little darker than yesterday.

But not enough.

Far from enough.

A night breeze blew in from the bench, and that faint fragrance wafted over again.

Just like that day.

He caught the ball and turned around.

The girl in 1303.

Today is also a day of low pressure.

She sat motionless on the bench, wrapped in a loose cardigan.

Their eyes met. Chen Jixian nodded, and the girl nodded as well.

Chen Jixian tossed the ball up and slicing it out. The ball hit the wall and bounced back, so he sliced ​​it again. After finishing one set, he stopped to catch his breath.

"That round one, you made it?"

She looked at the round spot on the wall.

"Um."

"How much do you need?"

Chen Jixian glanced at the gray-white old wall:

"I don't know, maybe 3000 times, maybe 10000 times, until I can consistently execute a defensive shot."

She hummed in agreement.

Chen Jixian, continue cutting.

The ball hits the wall, bounces back, and is then sliced.

She asked again:

Didn't I see you yesterday?

"I was too tired yesterday to play."

A night breeze blew across the bench, carrying a faint fragrance.

Chen Jixian sniffed.

The ball went off course, hit the edge of the wall, and bounced away.

Roll to her feet.

Just as Chen Jixian was about to walk over, the girl had already bent down.

Her hands were very white, her knuckles were even, and her nails were neatly trimmed and clean.

She handed the ball to her.

Chen Jixian caught it.

The ball was still slightly warm.

"……Thanks."

She didn't say anything.

Chen Jixian paused for a moment.

"Can you fight?"

Liu Zhimin snapped out of her daze and looked at the racket. The strap on the handle was worn white, but it should still feel good to hold.

"I know a little," she said.

Five minutes later.

Chen Jixian regretted it.

She said she "can hit it a little," which translates to "can hit the ball but doesn't know where to hit it." The problem is—there are no caddies here!

The first ball went up into the air. Chen Jixian looked up for two seconds, and when it came down, it landed five meters to his left.

Chen Jixian retrieves the ball.

It hit the corner of the wall a second time, bounced off, and flew somewhere unknown.

Chen Jixian retrieves the ball.

The third time, the tennis ball shot into the air again, almost getting caught on a street lamp.

He was the one who retrieved the ball.

"Are you trying to launch the ball into the sky and connect it to a satellite?" Chen Jixian finally couldn't help but ask as he picked up the ball for the third time.

Holding her racket, Liu Zhimin said matter-of-factly, "It's the racket's fault."

"This racket costs 50 won, I can't bear to use it!"

"That's the problem with the wall."

"The wall hasn't been moved!"

"The problem is with the ball."

Are you going to talk about Earth's gravity next?

She paused, her eyes peeking out from above her mask curving slightly: "Yes, it's the problem of Earth's gravity; it's too strong today."

Chen Jixian took a deep breath.

He struck a pose:

"Don't be nervous, just serve normally."

"I'm not nervous."

Chen Jixian: ...

She's shameless...she has such a strong mentality!

Too,

I'm not afraid of being attacked online.

The next ten minutes broke Chen Jixian's record for the amount of exercise he had done in his seventeen years of life.

You can never predict Liu Zhimin's shot trajectory. Sometimes it goes left, sometimes right. Sometimes it's too close to clear the net, and sometimes it's too far to fly over his head.

He dashed left and right, running forward and backward, his shoes screeching on the cement floor.

"Can you hit it this way?" He caught a ball that was almost out of bounds, panting heavily.

"I tried my best."

"You called that 'as much as possible'? The angle at which that ball flew was even more outrageous than my historical record."

"Then your history grades must be terrible."

Chen Jixian choked for a moment: "...Could you please stop arguing with me while you're playing ball?"

"You started it."

Another ball flew over.

Still tricky.

Chen Jixian's T-shirt was soaked through. Sweat dripped down his chin from his forehead.

His mind was a complete mess.

Did I really just counter with a +2?

Is the system based on a percentage system?

Kim Sung-jun is invincible!

Who does Federer think he is!

Karina is the best!

She swung the racket again.

The shot was surprisingly steady. Chen Jixian caught it and gently returned it. The ball wasn't fast, and the landing point was perfect—

Her most comfortable position.

She swung her racket.

The tennis ball flew wildly again.

"How did you manage to swing your racket to the right and make the ball fly to the left?" He stood on the far left of the open space, watching the ball fall far into the grass.

Liu Zhimin gripped her racket, her shoulders slightly hunched.

She wanted to say "slip of the hand" or "the wind was too strong," but after opening her mouth, she closed it again.

She simply looked at Chen Jixian.

He stood by the edge of the streetlight's glow, his hair soaked with sweat and sticking out in a messy, unruly manner.

The T-shirt collar was askew to one side, and his face had a "Why am I here?" expression?

He looked like a golden retriever, having been walked for three kilometers without catching the frisbee.

She burst out laughing.

I couldn't resist.

Her shoulders were shaking, and even her mask was moving. Liu Zhimin laughed as she bent over.

Finally, he simply put the racket on the ground, put his hands on his knees, and burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry..." she said, waving her hand with a smile. "I didn't... I just..."

He stood still.

This person was just denying and shifting the blame, but suddenly he laughed like this, which startled him.

Then, he smiled too.

"Alright then." He walked over and picked up the racket. "At least you're happy now."

Liu Zhimin slowly stopped laughing and looked up at him. She was still wearing her mask, but her eyes sparkled with laughter.

It looks like a handful of stars were broken inside.

She hesitated for a moment.

Then, the mask was removed, revealing a face that appears on countless phone wallpapers and magazine covers.

Karina!

Chen Jixian sighed.

He regretted playing tennis with Yoo Ji-min and being so happy today.

because,

If he "knows" or is even "friends" Liu Zhimin, Chen Jixian would feel burdened by a moral pressure.

He wanted to stand up for his friend!

When he posted about Bae Joo-hyun, it was just a relationship between a fan and a female idol.

They didn't know each other!

but now,

He was Liu Zhimin's "friend".

Chen Jixian's reaction surprised Liu Zhimin.

She has seen many kinds of reactions—those who are stunned, those whose eyes light up, and those who suppress their excitement and pretend to be calm.

What about him?

She let out a soft sigh, like someone who's finally able to catch their breath after a long day, sitting on the sofa.

A string in her heart went taut.

"Why aren't you surprised at all when you see me?" Liu Zhimin asked.

Chen Jixian looked at her.

"What's the surprise? Haven't you given me enough surprises tonight?"

"Those balls, flying into the sky, hitting the corner of the wall, almost getting stuck on the streetlights... they were all surprises."

She paused for a moment, then looked a little embarrassed: "That's because... I haven't played for a while."

"I can tell."

Liu Zhimin glared at him, wanting to say something, but he was telling the truth. It was her first time playing tennis in recent years, and her performance was indeed difficult to watch.

There's no way to refute it.

She suddenly remembered something.

I ran my finger lightly along the edge of the mask.

"Have you...read those posts?"

Chen Jixian was slightly taken aback.

"That's right, those who say I have bad character and don't respect my seniors."

"...I've seen it."

Her fingers stopped—he had seen it.

Those screenshots, those insults, that truck… he knew everything! She suddenly didn’t know how to continue asking.

"Then..." Liu Zhimin paused, "You don't like me, is it because of those things?"

She asked very softly, as if she wanted to know the answer, but was also afraid that the answer wouldn't be the one she wanted to hear.

A pair of eyes, shimmering with starlight, looked at him without flinching, but their eyelashes twitched slightly.

Her gaze wasn't intense.

Chen Jixian, however, found it hard to bear.

"no."

"What is that?"

"I'm not interested in male idols," Chen Jixian said, looking at her. "Besides, can't I even say something about an ugly guy with a surgically enhanced face?"

She paused for a moment, then couldn't help but smile.

He didn't dislike her because of those posts; he even thought the seniors were a little ugly.

She laughed, then quickly stopped and straightened her face.

"Then why didn't you look happy at all when you saw me?" Liu Zhimin asked.

"It's not that I don't like you, it's just that I wasn't surprised... I recognized you a long time ago."

She froze for a moment.

"The day I picked up the wrong package, in the hallway." He paused. "You were wearing a mask, but I recognized you."

She looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"But I don't want to admit it."

Why?

"I admit it, so I'm now involved with you." He scratched his head. "You're in a lot of trouble right now, and I've got enough trouble myself."

Her lips twitched slightly beneath her mask. It was hard to tell if it was a sigh of relief or something else.

He glanced at her and added, "Besides, that shot you just made almost sent me to my death. It's such a loss to know you."

She paused for a moment, stunned.

Then he puffed out his cheeks and rolled his eyes.

"Then why are you admitting it now!"

"Didn't you take off your mask?"

"..."

She glared at him.

The "I'm just telling the truth" expression on his face was exactly the same as when he said "plastic surgery face" earlier.

She wanted to get angry, but couldn't find the right thing to say. Finally, she pulled her mask up a little, revealing only her eyes, which were still rolling back.

"Fine, let's continue pretending we don't know each other."

"It's too late."

"Why is it too late?"

"You've already laughed, and I've laughed too." He looked at her. "There's no going back."

The tips of her ears above her mask were slightly red.

He saw it.

She didn't say anything, but pulled her mask up a little, though it didn't cover her ears.

"Who laughed?" she said.

"you."

"I wasn't laughing!"

Your shoulders were shaking just now.

"..." She glared at him.

He wanted to say, "Your mask is moving around," but he didn't—

The tips of her ears were still red.

He looked away and bent down to pick up the ball.

"Will you come again tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'm leaving the day after tomorrow morning and won't be coming in the evening."

She hummed in agreement.

I ran my finger along the edge of the mask.

"Then...when will you be back?"

She regretted asking as soon as she did.

That's gone too far.

She, a female idol, asked a high school senior when he would be coming back.

Her lips moved beneath her mask, as if she wanted to add "just asking," but then felt that adding it would only make things stranger!

The tips of her ears turned a little redder.

He didn't seem to mind: "If I lose quickly, I'll be back the day after tomorrow. If I keep winning, I'll be back by next Sunday."

Liu Zhimin looked at him.

He gave a half-joking snort: "With your skills, you'll definitely be back tomorrow."

He glanced at her.

The eyes above her mask curved slightly.

A breeze blew in from the bench, carrying a faint fragrance.