Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Kim Sung-joon leaned back in his chair.

His voice was calm: "J.Chen is no longer a newcomer to the qualifiers; he has become more consistent and more difficult to deal with."

Kim Sung-jun recalled that the two had run into each other at the Players Service Center after the second round of the qualifiers.

The coach nodded: "You're right, but he still has weaknesses, two fatal weaknesses."

The coach pulled up a game data sheet, and among the dense numbers, he circled a few cells with red boxes.

"His chop shot is inconsistent. After watching a few matches, his touch on the ball is too hard, and the landing point is not deep enough."

"This is your area of ​​expertise—use slices to pressure his baseline and force him to make a mistake on his second shot. You can tough it out on serves and forehands, but as long as the ball lands in the slice area, you just need to press it."

He swiped the screen again, bringing up a post-match report from a South Korean media outlet: "The Boys Who Never Give Up on Every Point."

The coach tapped the screen:

"Many media outlets like to write like this. How can he remain completely unaffected? You should teach him that not every point can be earned."

"Put him to the baseline with slices, and bring him to the net with lobs, make him pay for every point."

Kim Sung-joon looked at the tablet.

Even he, who was usually calm and composed, felt a little unsettled.

Chen Jixian has too many benefits to offer—he's perfect for making a fortune.

Kim Sung-jun nodded:

"I know that South Korea doesn't need a Chinese hero, and we don't need an apology."

"He needs to go to university, I need to eat. If I let him go back to school, I'll use this victory to take his sponsorship and wildcard."

"This is a win-win situation."

……

Thursday morning.

The quarterfinals (round of 8) are underway.

With two 6-0 victories, Chen Jixian sent today's opponent packing.

When shaking hands, he said "Good luck" to the other person, then slung his golf bag over his shoulder and walked out.

then,

Several girls in school uniforms blocked the entrance to the passage.

"Oppa... could you sign your autograph?"

The girls behind them shoved each other and whispered, "He's so tall," "He's even more handsome than in the video," and "You go, you go."

Phone cases, tennis balls, and notebooks were all shoved under his nose. The girl in front of him was so nervous that her hands were shaking. The phone case even had his photo from yesterday printed on it.

Chen Jixian stood there, stunned.

He achieved over a dozen aces a day, dealt with boos from the entire arena, and even said "Noted" under the referee's chair.

But no one taught him how to stay calm and act cool in front of several pretty and cute high school girls.

What should we sign? In Chinese? In Korean? In English?

He stood there empty-handed, as helpless as if he were facing a slice shot for the first time.

He held back for a while,

Ultimately, it boils down to three words:

"...I've never practiced it."

The girls looked at each other, then burst into laughter.

He reluctantly took the pen and signed his first fan signature ever—the crooked three characters "Chen Jixian".

A small tennis ball was added next to it—I thought it looked ugly.

As he handed it back, he couldn't help but add, "I'll practice before the next competition."

The girl took the phone case, stared at the three words, looked up at his face, said "We believe you," then blushed, turned and ran away.

……

……

In the afternoon, an unexpected person arrived.

Boss Cui.

Old Cui looked travel-worn, wearing a gray jacket and carrying a crumpled paper bag.

Upon meeting, he joked, "You're like Jackie Chan now; any news about you can easily make it to the top of Korean trends."

Chen Jixian looked completely bewildered.

He still doesn't know what happened.

Boss Cui took out his phone and searched.

Korean Trend #1: J.Chen_Never Practiced

The girl who got the autograph posted the video online.

The phone case has three crooked characters on it, and next to it is a very ugly little tennis ball.

She captioned the post: "He said he had never practiced before, and then he signed his first autograph in his life."

In less than half an hour, the number of views exceeded 100,000.

Korean websites are buzzing.

That silly tennis ball was even zoomed in on. The accompanying caption read:

"He signed the contract with the hand that held the racket, and that was the first time he knew what vulnerability meant."

The comments were also quite interesting.

"Was this autograph done with a tennis racket?"

"I spend all my limited time practicing."

"This is probably the first time he's had so many people watching him sign autographs; the fact that his hand didn't shake is already a victory."

"This signature clearly shows someone who hasn't practiced it."

"The last time my hand was shaking this much was probably when I was imitating my parent's signature."

Then, a group of girls who never followed sports flocked in.

They said, "This isn't my husband, it's my son."

Boss Cui looked at him:

"You just casually sign your name and you're on the top of the Korean trending list. There are so many celebrities in Seoul who can't even get that ranking by spending money."

Chen Jixian's lips curled up slightly, but he forced it back down.

"It's alright, those girls are quite cute too."

But Boss Cui patted him on the shoulder:

Three days ago, this location was called J.Chen_Out, and 200,000 people petitioned here to get you out of South Korea.

"A day ago, in the same spot, JusticeForJ.Chen was replaced by the same group of people lining up to apologize to you."

"Today, J.Chen_ hasn't practiced this position."

The joy on Chen Jixian's face gradually faded.

Boss Cui locked his phone.

He began:

"In just three days, you've changed three identities while holding the top spot on the Korean trend charts—thug, victim, and new favorite."

"Your signature can make the whole internet laugh, but tomorrow, one mistake from you can bring you back down to earth."

"Apologies can be arranged in a queue, and expressions of sympathy can be expressed in online comments. These things come quickly and go even faster. At the slightest shift in public opinion, they will turn against you."

Chen Jixian nodded.

During the past few days of the competition, he has come to see the true colors of South Korean netizens.

Actually, it's not just South Korea; the Chinese internet is similar.

When things are going well, everyone is doing great; when things are going badly, everyone is gone.

Boss Cui stood up and spoke earnestly:

"It took you so long to climb to this position."

"You earned the qualification by playing every single point, you got the trending topics by bearing the pressure of 200,000 people, and you built this stage yourself."

"Even the TV station came to film this final because of you. Now Kim Sung-joon wants to steal the fruits of your labor—if he beats you in one match, all of this will be his."

Chen Jixian did not answer immediately.

He gently pressed his thumb into the groove on the handle of the racket.

"Then let him give it a try."

Boss Cui took out a cigarette but didn't smoke it.

He suddenly slapped his forehead: "Oh right, I found you a sparring partner. A local coach in Daegu, he's been a pro for several years, his style is similar to Kim Sung-jun's, his cutting is particularly steady."

After giving his instructions, Boss Cui was about to leave.

I bought the tickets a long time ago; I didn't plan to stay long when I came.

"Uncle Cui, you came all the way from Seoul just to say these few words?" Chen Jixian was slightly taken aback.

Boss Cui simply said, "I'm afraid you won't take it seriously over the phone."

With his back to Chen Jixian, he waved his hand as if to say, "Go back to practicing."

Chen Jixian stood there, watching the gray figure disappear into the crowd on the street.

From Seoul to Daegu,

The high-speed train takes a little over an hour.

Two train tickets,

Just so I could tell him face-to-face, "This is a stage you built bit by bit; don't let others reap the rewards!"