Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Chapter 84 Meeting (Please Subscribe!)

ACE Tennis Court.

in the afternoon.

After finishing his practice, Chen Jixian sat on a bench to rest.

Boss Cui peeked out of the office window, a towel draped over his shoulder and a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"Why do you always find yourself glued to your phone during your breaks lately, waiting for your girlfriend to message you?"

Chen Jixian tied his shoelaces without looking up.

"That's not true."

"That means it exists."

Chen Jixian: ————

Experienced veterans are hard to deal with, but Uncle Cui was wrong; Liu Zhimin wasn't his girlfriend yet.

Chen Jixian opened the software, but there was no reply on Kakao. The last message was still sent to Ningning.

She didn't reply to my messages today. Could you check how she's feeling?

Ningning's reply came much later.

There was only one sentence: "How would I know? Ask her yourself."

Following this was a meme of a cat with a crooked mouth.

Chen Jixian sighed, put his phone on the bench, picked up his water glass and took a sip.

Ningning is holding a grudge.

Last night, he ignored several of Ningning's messages, but today the tables have turned.

Ningning was probably holding her phone when she said to Liu Zhimin, "Look, he's getting anxious," and then the two of them stared at the screen and laughed.

But why didn't Liu Zhimin reply?

My phone got confiscated again?

Not too possible.

So, I'm sorry?

When we went back last night, Liu Zhimin walked ahead the whole time, taking quick steps, and never looked back.

Chen Jixian knew what she was hiding from—under the light, the red ring around the tips of her ears gradually spread to her cheeks.

After Liu Zhimin returns, she will inevitably face Ningning's judgment.

"She probably doesn't know how to face me either, right?"

Chen Jixian can understand.

In fact, he had told himself, "Don't contact her today, let her have some time to process this."

However, every time I open the chat window, I can't help but think of the softness and warmth of her waist.

And in the dream, what she didn't finish saying—was it to tell him to get lost?

That lingering worry, like a cat's claws scratching at his heart, made him restless.

Xiao Chen gritted his teeth.

Type in the dialog box.

"How are you?"

Delete it.

"Why aren't you replying to me again?"

Deleted again.

Every seemingly normal expression of concern was actually a cover-up—he wanted to get closer to Liu Zhimin, to stand behind her once again.

Chen Jixian's only excuse for getting close to her was to show concern for her training and to guide her in serving.

He retyped a line: "You need to practice your serve a few more times."

Chen Jixian stared at the line of text for a while.

Hmm—I dare not send it.

But it wasn't deleted.

Never mind, let's discuss it again.

Chen Jixian put away his phone, zipped up his golf bag, and prepared to go home.

Boss Cui poked his head out of the window again.

"Leaving so early today? Going back to see your girlfriend?"

"Exams, both Korean and TOEFL in April, all coming at once."

Seoul.

SM Entertainment.

Practice room.

Liu Zhimin sat on the floor in the corner, her back against the mirror, her phone resting on her lap.

Having just finished a round of rehearsals, her hair was still wet and her breathing hadn't completely calmed down.

It's been three days.

Chen Jixian sent several messages, but she didn't reply to any of them.

Remember to rest during practice.

"It's windy at night, wear an extra jacket when you go out."

"Happy birthday."

-

-

"What are you doing?"

Each one seemed like a normal greeting, each one from a dignified and upright gentleman.

However, as Liu Zhimin stared at the screen, a knowing glint flashed in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.

This man didn't even want to ask her what she was doing. What he asked was: "Do you still remember the temperature of my fingers on your side?"

Let him hold it in for a little longer.

Anyway, an eighteen-year-old boy will eventually be unable to hold back.

Ningning walked around from the other side of the mirror and saw Liu Zhimin holding her phone with a barely suppressed smile on her lips.

Ningning muttered softly, "If you want a man, go find him. What's the point of staring at the screen?"

Liu Zhimin lowered her voice: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Ningning snorted, sat down next to her, picked up the water bottle and took a sip.

But after a while, she put the water bottle on the ground and turned her head to look at Liu Zhimin.

"They're both like that. One sends a message and pretends not to be waiting for a reply; the other reads the message and pretends not to want to reply."

Liu Zhimin turned her head away from her, her ears already turning pale.

Ningning picked up her phone and muttered, "It's like I'm the one in a relationship."

Liu Zhimin reached out and covered her mouth.

Ningning leaned back and dodged, laughing even more heartily.

"Your face turned red, and you still say no."

My phone lit up briefly; a notification popped up reminding me of a trending post on TheQoo.

Ningning casually clicked on it and glanced at the title.

J.Chen appears at the Korean Language Proficiency Test.

Ningning scrolled down and saw two more screenshots.

The first picture is a fan's comment: "Oppa, are you confident about this exam? Fighting!"

The second image is Xiao Chen's reply, which consists of only one line: "My bond with this country has deepened, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Ningning stared at the word "bond" and slowly turned to look at Liu Zhimin.

Liu Zhimin noticed her gaze and looked over warily: "What are you doing?"

Ningning handed her the phone.

"The bond has deepened—what spell did you cast on him?"

Liu Zhimin stared at the line of text.

My bond with this country has deepened.

Of course she knew what he was talking about.

It's just a polite remark, a costless gesture that paves the way for future gold coin explosions.

But in Liu Zhimin's eyes, the word "bond" became his fingers, pressed against her waist, carrying the warmth of a man's body.

This is the most concrete bond between a foreigner and this country.

"How would I know?" She turned her face away, but her ears betrayed her.

Ningning took her phone back, swiped the screen a couple more times, and said in a light tone, "Our bond has deepened—is it because of the tuna rice balls that Irene-senpai gave us?"

Liu Zhimin frowned and gave Ningning a push.

Ning laughed and rolled to the side.

Liu Zhimin lowered her voice and said, "Stop talking nonsense."

Ningning lay on the yoga mat, propping her chin up as she looked at her: "Hey Irene-senpai, why did you hit me?"

Liu Zhimin glared at her: "As the captain of aespa, I will not allow my members to disrespect their seniors!"

Ningning: ? ? ?

How dare you say that?

For Chen Jixian, April was nothing short of an exam month.

It started with midterms, then a Korean language proficiency test, and finally a TOEFL test.

After finishing the TOEFL exam, it was already noon. Chen Jixian ate something and then went to Uncle Cui's tennis court with his tennis bag.

By the time he finished practicing his last set of serves, it was already dark.

Back on the first floor of his apartment building, the elevator was still descending. Chen Jixian used this time to look for something in his golf bag.

The elevator doors opened.

There were two people standing inside.

Liu Zhimin paused for a moment, then quickly looked away and looked down at her phone.

After she looked away, she couldn't help but glance at Xiao Chen out of the corner of her eye.

"He probably just finished practicing again? His hair is still wet—aren't he afraid of catching a cold!"

Ningning saw Chen Jixian.

The corners of her mouth slowly curled up, giving off an expression that said, "You've finally met your match."

Her meaning was clear:

Didn't you stop replying to my messages a few days ago?

They can't run away now, can they?

"Yo, isn't this Chen, the player who didn't reply to my messages the other day?"

Chen Jixian could only offer a wry smile: "It wasn't intentional. We were practicing that night."

Ningning gave a soft snort and glanced at Liu Zhimin's waist.

Xiao Chen knew that his good deed had been exposed.

Liu Zhimin remained silent the entire time, only her lips twitched slightly. It was as if she had taken the knife for him, or perhaps she thought he deserved it.

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