Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

"My foul mouth!"

Chen Jixian hung up the phone, stood under the ginkgo tree, and gently slapped himself.

Aka asked him how long he had been training.

He almost said one month, but luckily he reacted quickly and changed it to one year.

Alcaraz, across the entire Eurasian continent, says, "I'll be waiting for you on the tour."

His tone was very confident, as if he were giving a weather forecast.

But the more genuine this trust became, the more he felt like an imposter.

The talent that Aka saw was a product of the system's enhancement, not his true potential.

"A tournament tour? Is that something I can just play in whenever I want?"

Xiao Chen thought about it.

He defeated a professional player in a month, if he can secure more funding...

Maybe,

No need to wait too long, Ak?

The phone rang again.

A +86 phone number?

As soon as a Spanish call ended, a new call popped up on the screen.

He's in Seoul, and usually not many people contact him, but today it suddenly became an international hotline.

Spain, separated by Eurasia, came up and said, "I'll be waiting for you on the tour."

Domestically, separated by the Yellow Sea, it's still unclear what they're planning to do.

Chen Jixian looked at the number and pressed the answer button.

"Hey, is this Xiao Chen?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was calm and unhurried, with a slight accent.

His Mandarin wasn't perfect, but every word he spoke carried an air of pretension.

"I am Guo Aihua, from the Provincial Chaoyue Sports Agency—your uncle keeps mentioning you to me."

He paused for a moment, as if giving the other person time to react.

"I have people around me who are watching your matches in South Korea. You played very well and brought glory to your hometown."

Like an elder casually commenting on a younger person's achievements at the dinner table, it's subtle and never goes too far.

Chen Jixian did not respond.

He doesn't understand.

Does having rumors with two Korean female idols bring honor to his hometown?

The voice on the other end of the phone was unhurried, each word seemingly giving him time to applaud.

But Chen Jixian didn't want to applaud.

Uncle?

They have eyes on the top of their heads, and when they meet during the New Year, they just nod once, but they don't receive a single penny of lucky money.

They don't usually keep in touch, and even his father only says "your uncle is busy" when he mentions it.

A relative you don't usually see suddenly becomes a familiar person you "always mention" on a stranger's phone call.

He didn't quite believe it.

And then there's the phrase, "brought honor to our hometown."

The other person praised him.

But the way he praised her made Xiao Chen feel uneasy.

He couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

The other party was simply stating a fact—and after stating it, they waited for him to respond.

He didn't want to answer.

According to the normal script, he should have taken the initiative to ask, "Is there something you need?"

But he didn't want to ask!

He had a feeling that asking was like opening the door, an invitation, or telling the other person that they could continue.

He didn't want the other person to continue.

"Um."

At last,

He only made that one sound.

No need to say thank you

Without asking their purpose,

Not taking a step forward.

Just one word, hanging there.

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

It was very short, less than a second.

Then Guo Aihua laughed, a very soft whisper, as if she had been amused by a clueless child.

"Little Chen..."

Chen Jixian,

Instinctively, I pressed the record button.

Guo Aihua cleared her throat.

"You've been playing in competitions for a while now, so there are some things you might not know."

"According to domestic regulations, athletes who want to represent the country must complete the registration process through a legitimate domestic agency."

"You should know this, right?"

Is that true?

Chen Jixian shook his head: "I haven't heard of it."

"So I'm telling you now."

"Beyond Sports is a long-term partner of the Tennis Association, so it's better to handle your registration through us."

Chen Jixian was silent for two seconds.

He held the phone in one hand and his backpack strap in the other, his gaze fixed on the traffic in the distance.

"Mr. Guo, I've already signed the contract. I can't afford the penalty for breach of contract, and I have no plans to switch to another company."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, but they quickly resumed speaking, their tone a few degrees firmer than before:

"Xiao Chen, you may not have understood what I meant."

"It's not a matter of whether you want to sign or not, it's a necessary procedure. Without domestic registration, it will be difficult to enter the national team in the future."

"You can't participate in domestic competitions either... I'm not kidding you."

Domestic competition?

ATP500?

Shanghai Masters Tournament?

There's something else... Wait a minute!

"Mr. Guo, haven't all domestic competitions been suspended?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Guo Aihua probably didn't expect that this young man would directly undermine him.

The silence lasted only a second, but something changed in that second.

"Most events have been cancelled, but the National Games are different; preparations for the National Games are still underway."

"This is the highest-level comprehensive competition in the country. So many people in the province are eyeing this spot, and even pulling strings everywhere might not get them a chance!"

Chen Jixian listened without reacting.

The National Games, from training to the end of the competition, takes at least a month and a half. How many competitions can he play and how much prize money can he earn?

I lost out.

To please the leader?

"Thank you, but I'm not interested."

He meant no provocation; he was simply stating a fact.

It's like when someone asks him if he wants some kimchi, he says no, thank you.

But for Guo Aihua, this is not kimchi.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

It was longer than any previous silence.

Chen Jixian could hear the other person's breathing once, twice, and then the sound suddenly stopped on the third time.

"Not interested?"

Guo Aihua repeated the four words as if it were the first time she had heard this way of speaking.

His voice was no longer aloof; the suppressed gentleness was slowly cracking, revealing the cold hardness beneath.

"Xiao Chen, you think this is just your business? Huh? You play tennis, and it's just your business?"

Chen Jixian was dumbfounded.

Playing tennis,

This isn't just my problem?

Or, to put it another way, if you don't succeed, whether you get a full meal or go hungry is your own problem; but once you succeed, it becomes everyone's problem?

Guo Aihua's accent became increasingly heavy, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth.

Do you think your points and rankings are more important than provincial honors?

"Without the investment from the province over the years, and without grassroots coaches mentoring promising young players one by one, would you be where you are today?"

"Did you spring from a crack in a rock? Do you think you could have gotten this far on your own?"

Chen Jixian smiled.

MD!

This old man, half-buried in the ground, actually wants to have a passionate political debate with him?

"Hey Guo, you keep talking about the province—are you from the province?"

"You fucking out-of-towner, do you even deserve to represent our province?"

Where were you when we were being called "outsider"? I was fighting it out outside, and you jumped out and said you were from the province?

"You're just a lackey of a lousy agency, trying to intimidate me with your provincial connections. Who do you think you are?"

He didn't wait for the other side to retaliate with insults.

They continued to hurl insults at each other.

"You said so much money was invested, where is it?"

"How much of those funds were spent on the field, how much on grassroots coaches, and how much ended up in your pockets?"

"If I've spent a single penny of that money, I'll take responsibility. If I haven't, your embezzlement is your problem, don't use my name to cover up the shortfall!"

hang up the phone.

Block them.

What utter bullshit!

Do you really think that just because you're waving the banner of authority, others will give way to you and you can act like a boss?

Chen Jixian leaned against the ginkgo tree at the entrance of the convenience store, took out his phone's contacts, and found that name.

Kenji Sato.