Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

"It lurched forward after landing."

"The bounce is too high, it's a bit out of reach with a backhand."

"The ball lingered on the racket face for a bit longer...it felt weird."

Top-hand spin,

Is this Fila's secret weapon?

-

30-15.

Chen Jixian serves.

Ye Haoran once again performed a topspin spin!

"They're here."

This time, Chen Jixian was prepared and positioned himself a little further back. The ball landed and lurched forward.

This time, he hit the ball correctly, but bounced too high, above his shoulders.

30-30.

Chen Jixian frowned: "A DSLR won't work?"

The hitting point for a one-handed backhand is between the waist and hips. When the ball bounces above the shoulder, the player can only hold on to hit it.

The result of trying to hold on is that the racket face can't be pressed down, and the ball flies out of bounds.

"If one hand can't hold it down, then use both!"

Chen Jixian's technical attribute is backhand +2. However, it doesn't specify whether it's a one-handed backhand +2 or a two-handed backhand +2.

They didn't even mention left hand or right hand.

"Not saying it doesn't mean it's illegal!"

Ye Haoran's forehand is here again.

The ball lands, bounces forward, and then rises...

Chen Jixian did not wait this time.

He lowered his center of gravity, gripped the racket with both hands, and went to meet the ball while it was still rising.

The advantage of a two-handed backhand is that you can hit the ball during its rising phase without waiting for it to bounce to its highest point.

"Bang".

The ball slammed back to the baseline at an even faster speed, leaving Ye Haoran no time to react.

40-30.

Red Hair opened his mouth, but no words came out.

The North Face's smile froze on his face.

Chen Jixian breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fila's technique is good, and his forehand has a bit of Nadal's style."

"But he's not even bankrupt Nadal, at most he's... a corrupt Nadal?"

Next ball.

Ye Haoran's forehand is here again.

This time, Chen Jixian anticipated the landing point, positioned himself properly, gripped the racket with both hands, and unleashed another backhand straight shot.

The ball hit the sideline and bounced out.

Keep your hair.

2-0.

Taking advantage of the gap, Chen Jixian pulled up the hem of his short-sleeved shirt and quickly wiped his face.

Then, I glanced at the audience seats.

The North Face Guy stood up.

Chen Jixian was stunned for a moment.

"The match isn't even over yet, and the family and friends have already left?"

The North Face draped his jacket over his shoulders and said something to the Red Hair Guy.

Red-haired Brother hesitated for a moment, then stood up as well. The two of them walked towards the exit, one after the other.

Ye Haoran stood opposite him, holding a racket.

Looking at my friends' backs.

Chen Jixian withdrew his gaze: "It's only 2-0. Your friend couldn't hold on before you?"

……

Fei Le Ge is not Chen Jixian after all; he doesn't have a system, nor does he have Chen Jixian's resilience.

The third game, Ye Haoran's serve.

He glanced at the stands—North Face Bro's seat was empty, and Red Hair Bro's drink was still on the stands.

Two consecutive double faults almost guaranteed Chen Jixian a break of serve.

The fourth game, Chen Jixian's serve.

Love game.

4-0.

……

competition is over.

The scoreboard shows two 6-0s.

Chen Jixian walked to the net and extended his right hand.

Ye Haoran stood opposite him, gripping his racket and staring at the ground. He seemed to have forgotten where he was and what he was supposed to do next.

"Hey!"

Ye Haoran looked up and paused for a moment. He glanced at Chen Jixian's outstretched hand, hesitated for a second, and then took it.

My fingers were ice-cold, and my palms were sweaty. I squeezed for a moment and then let go, as if I'd been burned.

"You read that right, my racket was a gift from a friend, a cheap secondhand item."

Ye Haoran was stunned for a moment.

Then he added:

"But our friendship is above yours."

He's cosplaying as Payne here.

Ye Haoran stood in front of the net, looking at his back, then glanced at the empty stands... His lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Chen Jixian withdrew his hand and turned to walk towards the referee. The middle-aged man on the high chair leaned down, and the two shook hands.

The referee wrote something on the score sheet, handed over the pen, and Chen Jixian confirmed and signed it.

Done.

[Urgent Mission: The Power of Friendship!]

【Finish.】

[Reward: Streamlined design!]

Chen Jixian took a look at the skill and found that it had two effects!

[Effect 1: Activates visual coefficient correction, improving posture score.]

[? ? ? ? (Please investigate on your own).]

Chen Jixian blinked.

What?

"I didn't understand."

He stared at the two effects, looking at them carefully two or three more times before he slowly came to understand them.

Effect 1: Makes your playing posture look better; even a golden retriever's scooping of the ball looks beautiful.

The rest, you'll have to figure it out yourself.

This is human language.

Chen Jixian checked the time and thought it was still early.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Liu Zhimin.

"We won."

After sending the message, I put my phone back in my pocket, took a few steps, and then took it out to look at it again.

No reply.

Chen Jixian bought a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

My phone vibrated.

"What's the score?"

Chen Jixian's lips twitched slightly.

He deliberately waited a few seconds before typing.

"6-0, 6-0".

This time the return was even slower.

His phone lit up again after he finished drinking half a bottle of water.

Liu Zhimin: "Have you become addicted to hitting children?"

Chen Jixian's lips twitched.

Grandma, can't you say anything nice?

Xiao Chen leaned against the wall and typed: "Just tell me, is it 6-2 this time?"

There was silence on the other end again.

He stared at the screen for more than ten seconds, just about to put his phone back in his pocket, when a message came in.

"good."

Chen Jixian smiled.

Okay.

For her to say it already deserves high marks.

He leaned against the wall in the corridor and chatted with her intermittently.

She replies slowly, sometimes only once every three or four minutes. I don't know what she's busy with, but she replies to every single one.

About half an hour later, he glanced at the time and thought it was about time.

"I've gone to sign in."

Yoo Jimin:

"By the way, I checked, the prize money for the Daegu competition is 500 million won."

Chen Jixian typed:

"That's not a prize money, it's a champion's bonus; the runner-up doesn't even get that."

"What's the difference?"

"...not much difference."

Liu Zhimin typed: "If you win, shouldn't I, as the dog trainer, also get some credit?"

She still insists on being a dog trainer.

Chen Jixian was too lazy to correct him: "Fine, if I get it, I'll treat you to soup and rice."

"You stingy bastard, give me some barbecue!"

"……OK."

Put your phone away.

He couldn't help but do the math; the older guys at the gym were joking that if he won, he'd have to treat them to barbecue. Liu Zhimin also said he should treat them to barbecue.

Do Koreans really like barbecue that much?

He slung his racket bag and luggage over his shoulder, threw the plastic bottle into the trash can, and then turned to go to the players' service center to prepare for the match check-in.

Player Services Center.

The queue at the window wasn't long, just three or four people, all of whom had just finished the qualifying rounds today.

Some people were still wiping away sweat, while others had already changed their clothes and were completely dry.

Chen Jixian was at the very back of the line.

The boy in front of him finished signing and left. The window became empty, and he took a step forward.

Another person came over from the side.

He was carrying a sports bag and wearing a gray hoodie. His face was very ordinary, the kind you wouldn't notice in a crowd.

The system made a change.

【￥#￥@￥】

The man glanced at Chen Jixian, then at the window, but didn't move.

Chen Jixian didn't move either.

Two people are standing in front of the window at the same time.

The staff member looked up: "Who goes first?"

Just as Chen Jixian was about to speak, the other person spoke.

"He was here first."

His voice was calm, devoid of emotion.

Chen Jixian was taken aback for a moment, but without being polite, he handed over his passport.

The staff member flipped through the list and found his name: "J. Chen? The 6-0 match, the one with the 6-0 score?"

"Um."

Sign here.

As Chen Jixian was signing, the man put down his golf bag and looked down at his phone.

But he had a feeling.

The man was looking at him too.

"Okay, come back tomorrow morning to see the form." The staff member pushed his documents over.

Chen Jixian picked up the documents and turned to leave.

He walked past that person and glanced down at the golf bag on the ground.

A gold-colored, slightly worn "2019 Changwon M15" keychain hung from the zipper.

M15

The champion receives a professional prize of $150.

The system has finally loaded:

[Enemy Unit: Kim Sung-jun]

[Technical Attributes]

Forehand: 2

Chop shot: 3

[Body Attributes]

Stamina: 2

Agility: 2

Lower limb strength: 2

Chen Jixian was stunned for a moment.

He had watched this person's match videos; the ball speed wasn't fast, but the rhythm was anything but slow.

He had no recollection of Kim Sung-joon's face in the video.

It's not that he has a bad memory, but rather that when that person was playing, he was only focused on the opponent's ball.

"...So, you are the 'Hunter'."