Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Chapter 58 A Good Beginning and a Good Ending

The game ended quickly.

In the sixth game, Kim Sung-jun's serve was completely crushed by Love Game.

In the following rounds, he offered almost no resistance.

It's not that we don't want to fight, it's that the arsenal has been emptied.

Chen Jixian held serve in the seventh game and broke serve again in the eighth game to win the first set.

6-2.

In the second set, Kim Sung-jun's serve speed seemed to get slower and slower with each game.

Chen Jixian held serve, broke serve, held serve again, broke serve again.

On the final ball, Kim Sung-jun's return shot went out of bounds, making it 6-0.

"Game, set and match, Chen. Six two, six love."

The match is over!

6-2

6-0

[Special Mission: Champion!]

Status: Completed

[Reward: Zero-Style Chop S]

Chen Jixian frowned.

What does this S mean?

He glanced at the skills:

[Your slice shot has less than a 5% chance of causing the tennis ball to bounce back. It has less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of achieving a true zero-shot slice.]

Each time a Zero-Slice Chop is executed (S), the actual Zero-Slice Chop will enter cooldown (CD).

The higher the chopping attribute, the higher the probability.

Xiao Chen was taken aback.

His slice shot is only 3.

This really depends on the heavens.

and also,

Does this "S" mean it's for special supply to mainland China?

Forget it.

He shook his head, walked to the net, and shook hands with Kim Sung-joon.

Kim Sung-joon's hands were cold, and his lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Chen Jixian remained silent to avoid being labeled by netizens as the second Lee Dong-hoon.

The stands erupted in chaos.

Cheers rolled from the third row backwards and from the left to the right, a cacophony of inflatable sticks and whistles.

The sign that read "It's not just the ATP that deserves to win" was held the highest, rustling loudly in the sunlight.

Several girls in school uniforms in the front row were jumping around, holding each other's arms. One of them had tears in her eyes and was calling out "Xiao Chen".

A few shouts in Korean came from a corner of the stands. The voices were rough, and the person seemed to be an old fan.

What is he shouting?

Chen Jixian didn't understand.

Someone held an old tennis ball above their head and waved it at him.

Chen Jixian: ? ? ?

What are you doing?

I don't understand.

Xiao Chen tilted his head, stood still with his racket in hand, his expression a mix of confusion and amusement, like a cat being watched by a crowd.

"They're asking for autographed balls," a voice came from behind, speaking in English.

Chen Jixian turned his head to the side.

At some point, Kenji Sato walked to the sidelines, carrying his briefcase.

He didn't seem like a spectator who had just finished watching the final; he seemed more like a staff member who happened to be passing by.

"A signed ball?"

"Should we bring this to the finals?"

"What if I don't win?"

Chen Jixian looked bewildered. In the past month, he had watched a lot of competition videos, but he had never seen the world after the finals.

Kenji Sato took several spare balls from the staff and handed them to Jixian Chen.

He pointed to the stands:

"Hit a few balls into the stands, get them signed. Don't swing your arm, use your wrist."

"Shoot in those directions—the places where they shout your name the loudest, especially the side where they're holding up signs."

You will need them in the future.

Chen Jixian blinked, then crookedly signed his name on the tennis ball.

then,

He turned to the side, twisted his waist, and flicked his wrist—the ball flew to the third row and landed in the hands of a boy wearing glasses.

The boy caught the ball, glanced down at the autograph, and then suddenly raised it above his head—like he was holding a trophy!

The cardboard was shaking so badly in his other hand it was almost falling apart!

Chen Jixian took a few more pills.

Wherever the ball landed, a wave of cheers erupted until he hit the last ball.

"good."

"You learn very quickly."

Sato watched from the side, a subtle smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

Then, he shook his head and left the arena.

He had not originally planned to show up, or to prepare for a more formal contact.

Kenji Sato intervened today solely to protect the group's core assets.

Top-tier athletes must learn how to connect with fans.

That's right,

In his and James's eyes, Chen Jixian is already an asset belonging to the ATP.

The awards ceremony was brief and chaotic.

The award presenter was a gray-haired Korean man who smiled particularly hard when he shook hands with Chen Jixian.

Chen Jixian accepted the trophy, raised it slightly, and the stands erupted in cheers once again.

Kim Sung-joon stood beside him, his face expressionless.

After the awards ceremony, reporters were already waiting at the entrance.

Previously, it was a mixed force of self-media and formal media; now it is entirely composed of formal media.

"J.Chen, congratulations on winning the championship. You played very aggressively in the last game today. How would you rate your performance from the qualifiers until now?"

Chen Jixian switched the trophy to the other hand:

"good.

"I lost two games in the first round of the qualifiers. And in today's final, I lost two more. So, I guess you could say I started well and finished well?"

A reporter from Yonhap News Agency picked up the conversation:

"In a pre-match interview, Kim Sung-jun mentioned that system-certified tennis and personal tennis experience are completely different."

"Now that you've responded to that with the score, is there anything you'd like to add?"

Chen Jixian tilted his head slightly.

「资格赛第一轮，6-2和6-0。今天决赛，也是6-2和6-0。」

He looked at the camera.

Their tone was relaxed, as if they were discussing what to eat for lunch.

"There doesn't seem to be much difference between system-based tennis and individual tennis?"

Someone nearby chuckled.

More reporters were taking notes with their heads down, the sounds of keyboards and pens scratching across paper blending together.

A cameraman carrying a SPOTV turned and exchanged a glance with his colleague next to him. That glance, translated, meant:

"We've got to be on the headlines tonight."

The Chinese reporter handed the recorder forward and asked in Chinese:

"What are your plans next? Many people are watching to see what you'll do next."

Chen Jixian thought for a moment and then tucked the trophy under his arm.

His eyes showed no hesitation, as if he were giving an answer he had already thought of.

"take an exam.

"TOPIK, TOEFL, and midterm exams."

"My mom called me last time and asked, 'Weren't you supposed to be attending cram school in Seoul? How come you're attending a Korean cram school?'"

Several reporters who understood Chinese laughed. After the translator explained in a low voice, the laughter spread throughout the interview area.

The SPOTV cameraman was carrying his equipment while shaking his head, but the camera was still steadily pointed at his face.

"So next..." He switched the trophy to his other hand, "I have to go back and apologize."

……

This post-match interview has sparked another heated debate online.

[Trending Search]

Korean trend number one: #J.Chen_No difference#

Han Qu Second: #Kim Sung-jun_System Tennis#

Hanqu Third: #J.Chen_TOPIK#

Hanqu Fourth: #TutoringClasses_Hanqu#

The two interview clips were displayed side-by-side at the top of the trending searches.

On the left is Kim Sung-jun, with a polite smile: "System-certified tennis and personal tennis experience are completely different."

On the right is Chen Jixian, tilting his head, his tone as if discussing a meal: "Systematic tennis and individual tennis, it seems there's not much difference?"

热评第一：「所谓体系的网球，就是6-2、6-0。个人的网球，也是6-2、6-0。区别在哪？没找到。」（点讚破五万）

The second most popular comment: "Hilarious! Kim Sung-jun's system tennis and Park Joon-ho's individual tennis have achieved a perfect unity in terms of scores."

(Park Joon-ho is his opponent in the first round of the qualifiers)

The third most popular comment: "Kim, the ATP system that you are so proud of is no different from the first round of qualifying in his eyes."

【TOPIK (Korean Trend)】

The trending topic "J.Chen_TOPIK" presents a completely different picture.

"He beat them 6-0 in Daegu, and then said he needed to go back to prepare for his midterms?"

"I don't know whether to admire his tennis or his mental fortitude."

"What's his TOPIK level? Has anyone found out?"

[Kim Sung-joon's comment section]

Kim Sung-jun's SNS comment section has been flooded with "systematic tennis".

There were no insults, only sarcasm; each comment was like a soft knife.

"Chengjun, how come your 'system tennis' got swept 6-0 by 'individual tennis'?"

"Remember to bring a calculator next time you do an interview, so you can calculate how many games the system is behind the individual."