Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

"Commercial value?" Ko Dong-hyuk couldn't help but ask.

"That company has a powerful background; the event organizers can't afford to offend them. Besides, J.Chen is very popular in South Korea and has a huge following... Haven't you been back to South Korea in a long time?"

Go Dong-hyuk emptied the calculator and watched the screen reset to zero.

"understood."

He hung up the phone, put it on the bed, and then stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window were the gray streets of Antalya, and the lights of the stadium could be seen in the distance, but there was no hope in sight.

CN player.

ASA.

Wildcard.

He went back to the bedside, picked up his phone, opened the browser, and typed the name into the search bar.

The first search result wasn't a photo of the match, but a high-definition fan-taken picture?

Chen Jixian was drinking water on the sidelines, sunlight shining on his profile, while the comment section was full of heart emojis from young girls.

He scrolled down—

"With that face, Oppa could debut as a celebrity without playing tennis."

"My legs went weak when I saw this face."

"I don't care how well he plays tennis, his face is the champion's."

He stared at those comments, his knuckles turning white.

Scroll down further.

Some people mentioned Bae Joo-hyun and Yoo Jimin, saying that he had been rumored to be dating these two female idols.

A teenage player with zero points is paired with two of South Korea's most popular female idols.

Ko Dong-hyuk has been playing basketball for over a decade, but not a single female idol has ever given him a second glance.

He continued searching.

The teaser poster for the FILA collaboration has popped up, with J.Chen's signed design printed on the T-shirt.

In the comments section, a group of people were guessing who the model was, with some even suggesting, "Could she be a member of some girl group?"

"Yoo Jimin?"

"That's impossible, Xiao Chen can't even reach them."

"That's Bae Joo-hyun?"

"You mean Irene is inferior to Karina? Want to fight again?"

Fila.

A collaboration?

Ko Dong-hyuk's best result was breaking into the ATP top 350, and his best result was the second round of a Challenger tournament.

FILA never even glanced at him.

An 18-year-old youth champion with zero points and zero professional record, yet the co-branded product has already been printed!

Gao Donghe checked again and saw Chen Jixian's competition records.

The Daegu Junior Championship title is a one-off event.

His professional rating is 0, and he has never played a single professional match.

This person is famous not for their academic achievements, but for their scandals and good looks.

They were petitioned by 200,000 people to get out of South Korea, and then forced to apologize in droves.

Ko Dong-hyuk has played tennis his whole life, yet he doesn't even deserve to be cyberbullied.

He opened his ATP page.

647th place.

Top 350 at its peak.

Wrist tendinitis, minor rotator cuff tear, ankle sprain...

These injury records are only a few lines long, but behind each line is a gap of several months that prevented them from playing.

He placed his own webpage side by side with fan-taken photos of Chen Jixian.

One picture shows a body riddled with injuries from playing basketball for over a decade; the other shows a face that was signed by FILA right after its debut.

He opened the fan-taken photo again, scrolled down to the comments section, and looked at the words "legs went weak" and "wet".

What's he angry about? It's less about these fans and more about this appearance-obsessed era.

If looks can get you wildcards, sponsorships, and the favor of female idols, then what value do these honest guys who only know how to play basketball have in this era?

He placed his phone face down on the bed, sat on the edge of the bed for a while, and looked out the window at the gray streets of Antalya...

Go Dong-hyuk picked up his phone, opened social media, and started typing.

……

……

Chen Jixian woke up and stared at the ceiling for a long time.

He had a bunch of weird and wonderful dreams.

In my dream,

He was still in that open space, his hand still on Liu Zhimin's waist, but the T-shirt was gone.

His fingers were pressed directly against her skin, the touch of his palm warm and real.

She turned to look at him, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something...

Then I woke up!

"...We should have had a traditional dish last night."

Xiao Chen pulled back the covers, glanced down at his crotch, and covered his forehead in regret.

He went into the bathroom, turned the tap on full blast, and hot water gushed into the sink. His boxer shorts got wet, he lathered them with soap, scrubbing them repeatedly, staring blankly at the foam.

The scene from the dream was still replaying in his mind—what did Liu Zhimin want to say at that time?

Your hands are so hot.

Not here?

Or,

Go touch your mother!

roll!

I never would have guessed.

Xiao Chen didn't actively think about the details of last night, afraid that he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it—but his body remembered it for him.

He suddenly remembered that when the system was first activated, there was an "Adult Basic Package"?

He doesn't know when he'll be able to use it yet, as he hasn't learned it.

The bathroom door wasn't closed properly.

Shen Xiaoting's voice drifted in: "Doing laundry? What are you doing so early in the morning... Oh~"

Her tone trailed off, clearly indicating that she had already seen what he was washing.

Chen Jixian didn't even look up: "Can you pretend you didn't see that?"

Shen Xiaoting leaned against the door frame, and indeed stopped looking at what he was holding, but she also showed no intention of leaving.

"What did you dream about last night?"

"Nothing was done."

"Didn't do anything?"

"Yes, nothing."

"So this is the retribution for doing nothing?"

Chen Jixian was speechless.

Although she was right.

But it's not that direct.

"Sister Xiaoting," he wrung out his boxer shorts and turned around, "you don't take good enough care of your younger brother."

"How have I not cherished you enough?"

"You're standing right at the bathroom door, watching me make a fool of myself."

"Last time I was taking a shower, you almost walked right in. Why didn't you say you wanted to take care of your older sister?"

"You locked the door!"

Shen Xiaoting glanced at him, then turned and walked towards the kitchen, not continuing the topic.

"There are some side dishes in the fridge, come out and have breakfast quickly."

Xiao Chen hung the clothes to dry, changed into a clean T-shirt, and walked out of the bathroom.

It took less than half an hour to finish a breakfast that everyone had their own thoughts on.

Chen Jixian opened the panel.

Username: Chen Jixian

Age: 18

【Height: 185】

[Technical Attributes]

Serve: 3/11

Serving return: 3/11

Forehand: 3/11

Backhand: 3/11

Chop shot: 4/11

Stable: 2/5

[Body Attributes]

Physical strength: 3/5

Agility: 2/5

Burst: 2/5

Upper body strength: 2/5

Lower limb strength: 2/5

[Mental Attributes]

Prediction: 1

Rhythm: 2

Reaction speed: 4

The system provides more details; for example, an additional line of explanation has been added after the response speed.

Reaction speed is an innate attribute that can be almost entirely controlled through training! Furthermore, to raise any attribute to its maximum level, special attribute points must be used.

"A slice shot level 4?"

"I haven't been practicing defensive shots specifically in the past ten days or so, have I?"

Chen Jixian focused all his energy on physical fitness.

For Xiao Chen, stamina is the most important attribute because his sliding step has been enhanced.

How would you evaluate the skill "Slide Enhancement"?

Using a game as an analogy,

On hard surfaces, there were more invincible frames.

On red clay, there's an extra passive ultimate move.

The only limitation is physical fitness—running around the field, especially when attributes are suppressed, one can only survive and look for opportunities by constantly running.

But this slice shot... he really didn't specifically train for it.

"Could this be a side effect of the Zero-Slice Chop S technique? Has it deepened my understanding of chopping?"

never mind,

forget about it.

Practice your ball skills first.

Chen Jixian hooked the strap of his golf bag and slung it over his shoulder.