Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Chen Jixian walked out of the players' service center and took out his mobile phone.

Book a hotel.

He looked around, but the cheap guesthouses were gone.

Even if there's someone else's hair on the pillow, even if the smoke detector isn't working, even if the kettle has boiled underwear, the price advantage is still there.

If you don't come

There are plenty of people coming.

He gritted his teeth and booked a restaurant that was significantly more expensive than yesterday.

"Just consider it... a reward for myself, since I've made it to the main competition," Chen Jixian comforted himself.

My phone vibrated right after I made the payment.

This is not a bank deduction notification.

Bae Joo-hyun.

The screen displayed only two words: "You won?"

He leaned against the wall at the entrance of the service center and typed: "Yeah, won both rounds, just signed the main tournament."

She replied quickly: "Have you booked your accommodation?"

Chen Jixian stared at the screen, stunned for a moment. Without asking about the score or the opponent, he went straight to his lodgings.

"It's booked."

Send me the address.

He wanted to refuse.

He and Bae Joo-hyun are not related, yet she has already done so much for him, teaching him how to stretch his legs, arranging for a coach to evaluate him, and even bringing him tuna rice balls today.

The other side sent another message:

"I'm going that way anyway."

Chen Jixian looked at these three words and his lips twitched.

She dropped me off at the stadium on her way at noon and at the hotel on her way in the evening. Daegu isn't exactly a small city, so this was a lot of convenient directions for her.

A few months ago, he said in the chat, "I'm going to work as a laborer," and she replied, "Good luck with your work, and remember to come back when you're done."

Now, Bae Joo-hyun is driving over to pick him up—she's really watching him go to work as a laborer.

He didn't expose him, but sent over the hotel address.

"I'll be there in ten minutes. Wait for me by the roadside."

He stood by the roadside for a few minutes, looked down at himself, and saw that he was wearing the same T-shirt he hadn't changed out of after the game, with sweat stains around the collar.

He thought for a moment, then zipped his jacket up to his chin, but it didn't make a difference.

My phone vibrated:

"arrive."

A white sedan slowed down and pulled over, its hazard lights flashing twice.

"Get in the car."

The car was quiet.

Bae Joo-hyun still wore light makeup, her hair was tied in a low ponytail, and she wore a white T-shirt with a dark gray cardigan over it.

She glanced at Chen Jixian, then at the road ahead, shifted gears, and the car glided forward.

"seat belt."

He bent down and buttoned it up.

"How many days off did you take?"

Five days.

"Can the school approve it?"

"ITF junior competitions award points, which are used for applying to American universities." Chen Jixian leaned back in his chair, glancing out the window. "That's not a lie."

"What about the exam?"

"What?"

"You'll have a mock exam at the end of the month. You're playing in the competition here. Will you be able to keep up when you go back?" she asked.

Chen Jixian was stunned for a moment.

She took care of his accommodation, his leave requests, and his mock exams, asking him even more detailed questions than his mother.

But his biological mother wouldn't respect him that much. If he dared to ask for leave to play in a competition, his biological mother would throw a pair of slippers at him.

"...Luckily, I have a decent foundation. I'll just go back and do a couple of practice tests and come back."

A strange thought popped into Chen Jixian's mind: He was in this car, being managed by her, but he didn't feel annoyed at all.

This must be...

It's a matter of appearance!

"How many matches did I play today?" she asked, her tone not like she was asking a question.

"We won both the morning and afternoon matches."

"Is there a prize for winning so much?"

"Only the champion receives a subsidy because there's no money."

Bae Joo-hyun didn't say anything.

How much is the registration fee?

"Five hundred thousand."

She was silent for a moment, probably going through the accounts in her mind.

When is the final?

"...Next Sunday."

She was silent for a moment, probably mentally going through the accounts.

"Registration fee: 500,000. Eight nights' accommodation: another 500,000. Round-trip train tickets, meals." She paused, "You've lost almost a million on this trip."

Chen Jixian did not respond.

She knew what one million Korean won meant to a high school senior, and so did he.

Chen Jixian looked out the window at the traffic merging into the intersection: "If we win the championship, we can make up for the deficit."

He said this without the slightest hesitation.

It's as natural as saying "Let's go practice tonight".

Bae Joo-hyun didn't ask any more questions.

Arrived.

She turned the steering wheel and drove onto the narrow road in front of the hotel, slowing down.

The car stopped, but the engine wasn't turned off. The hazard lights started flashing again, one after another, casting a yellow light on the car window.

"Hey bricklayer, you've arrived."

Chen Jixian was speechless.

He unbuckled his seatbelt, turned around to pull the golf bag from the back seat, but the strap got stuck again.

Bae Joo-hyun turned to the side, reached out and pushed the bottom of the golf bag to help him get it out.

"Get some rest, you have a match tomorrow."

Her voice was very soft.

Chen Jixian got out of the car carrying his golf bag and then closed the door. He looked down and glanced at her through the car window.

"Be careful on the road, drive slowly."

Bae Joo-hyun nodded. The car window rolled up, the white sedan turned on its turn signal, and glided back into the lane.

He stood still.

Watching the taillights disappear into the night.

The fluorescent lights in the hotel lobby had a bluish-white tint. The receptionist glanced up at him, then at the door, but said nothing.

Chen Jixian took the room key and took the elevator upstairs.

"It's so clean! No wonder it cost 12!"

The door opened, he leaned his golf bag against the corner, threw his duffel bag on the bed, and then collapsed onto it. There was a water stain on the ceiling, shaped like Jeju Island.

His phone lit up; the guys at the stadium were asking him in a group chat what time the game would be tomorrow.

He replied, "The draw results aren't out yet," plugged his phone into the charger, and rolled over.

[Warning: Abnormal mood swings detected. Rest and temporary avoidance of social media are recommended.]

Chen Jixian snorted.

He's in an incredibly good mood right now. Not only was he picked up and dropped off by a young lady, but he also gained a new skill that makes him so happy he wants to sing.

I slept without any dreams.

The next morning, his phone vibrated and woke him up.

It's not an alarm clock.

The application form is ready.

The official tournament website has released the match schedule for the main tournament.

Chen Jixian lay on his pillow and swiped the screen to see his own name—J. Chen, lower half of the bracket.

My first opponent was a name I'd never heard of before—a wildcard player from Seoul, Lee Dong-hoon.

Scrolling up, Kim Sung-joon was in the upper half of the draw, separated from him by an entire draw sheet.

We won't meet before the final.

We'll definitely meet in the finals.

He held his phone to his chest, stared at the water stain on the ceiling, and took a deep breath.

"That's good, it gives me more time to adapt to my abilities and develop my mindset."

Just as I was about to get up and wash up, my phone vibrated again.

This time it's not a signing ceremony.

It's Liu Zhimin.

Article 1: "???"

Second question: "You were with Irene yesterday???"

The word "senior" is not added.

The next three, four, and five are memes, featuring both humans and dogs. The sixth is a screenshot of Ryoma Echizen looking dumbfounded.

Ryoma Echizen is quite busy.

Article 7 is a link.

Chen Jixian clicked on the link.

A forum post.

The title is in bold red and followed by a "HOT" label:

[Shocking] Irene secretly meets with a male high school student? Food delivery at the stadium + late-night hotel pick-up!

Chen Jixian: ? ? ?

Where is there a late night?

Genius wiped the black!

First photo: Noon, by the sports field.

Bae Joo-hyun handed him a bag of tuna rice balls. The sunlight was beautiful, and both of their faces were clearly captured in the photos.

Second photo: Evening, at the hotel entrance.

He looked at the back seat, Bae Joo-hyun's body leaning over from the driver's seat, one hand on his shoulder.

Their faces were very close, their noses almost touching, as if they were whispering in each other's ears.

Chen Jixian was stunned: "How is that possible? I don't remember anything like this!"

wrong.

He remembered.

At that moment, his golf bag strap got stuck, and Bae Joo-hyun helped push it out.

Fuck!

The license plate was enlarged; it was the same number as the one from the night before.

Chen Jixian slid down.

"Did they kiss?"

"Why do SM idols all seem to prefer using cars for business?"

"Morning at the stadium, afternoon at the hotel? Spending the whole day together??"

"Wait a minute, this guy looks so young..."

"This guy is pretty good-looking, but the way he looks at the camera is a bit impatient, just like that annoying school heartthrob from the class next door..."

"Isn't Irene going through a period of controversy? Why is she still going abroad at this time?"

In the comments section, someone took screenshots frame by frame—her fingers were clenched, as if she were gently pinching the back of his hand.

He happened to turn around at that moment—from the angle of the shot, their faces were almost touching, with only a few centimeters between their noses.

The moment their eyes met, the image froze.

The caption reads: "Late at night, at the hotel entrance. She personally escorted me from the stadium to the hotel."

He exited the post and opened Liu Zhimin's message.

She gave me a ride since she was going that way.

Liu Zhimin replied instantly:

"You conveniently drove me from the stadium to the hotel, from noon until night. You've taken a pretty good route."

Before he could reply, she sent another message: "Never mind that for now, look at the top comments."

Chen Jixian reopened the post.

Top comment:

[+1273, -89] Irene's older sister's image has collapsed, right? She's already dating high school students while still in the controversy period?

Second most popular comment:

【+892, -156】Food delivered in the morning, hotel delivery in the evening, is this just on the way? This must be a sugar daddy arrangement, lol

Chen Jixian stared at the words "sugar baby" and the light from the screen hurt his eyes.

He closed the post.

I opened the search bar, entered my name, and found nothing.

There are no schools.

Without SNS,

The only information available on the official tournament website is the player's profile page—a passport photo with the following text: J.Chen/CHN.

The storm only affected her.