Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Chapter 85 Next Time for Sure? (Seeking First Subscription!)

The three people stood at the elevator entrance, none of them moving first.

Liu Zhimin lowered her head, her fingers tracing patterns on the phone case.

Xiao Chen's golf bag strap slipped halfway down his shoulder. He reached out and pulled it back, then put his hand in his pocket.

The silence stretched for a few seconds, but no one spoke.

Ningning looked left and right, then sighed. She was really bored here; not only was it a waste of time, but there was also no gossip to be found.

She walked towards the main entrance, turning back to warn, "I'm going to the convenience store first. Get to your business quickly, don't wait until I get back to find you still standing there—and by the way, no asking Unnie to play ball!"

Now, only two people remain in the corridor.

Liu Zhimin remained standing there, idly scrolling through her phone.

Ningning's last sentence was too direct; she exposed every possible hiding place.

"How did you do on the TOEFL?" Liu Zhimin racked her brains to find a topic to talk about.

"It's alright, it should be fine."

Chen Jixian lacked confidence in himself, but had absolute confidence in the system.

Chen Jixian looked at her, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke: "Does Ningning know something?"

His voice was low, as if he were confirming something he was hesitant to say.

Ningning won't even let Liu Zhimin play ball anymore, she must know what happened that night.

Liu Zhimin did not answer immediately.

She lowered her head, gently pinched the fabric at her waist with her fingers, and then looked up at him.

Chen Jixian was stunned for a moment.

He got it!

That night, his sweaty hands lingered on Liu Zhimin's waist for so long that the fabric was rubbed raw.

Liu Zhimin glanced at him, a hint of complaint in her eyes, as if to say, "It's all your fault, you gave yourself away."

Xiao Chen's neck turned a little red. Not knowing what to do, he could only pull the strap of his golf bag up over his shoulder a little more.

He stood before Liu Zhimin, like a fugitive caught red-handed, unable to utter a single word.

Liu Zhimin shifted her gaze from his face to the motion-activated light at the end of the corridor.

"—I don't even know what to say to you."

Xiao Chen lowered his head and said, "I'll definitely be more careful next time."

Her gaze returned to him.

"—There will be a next time?"

Chen Jixian: ————

He said the wrong thing.

But he didn't change his mind, nor would he take back what he said; he was simply looking forward to the next time.

Liu Zhimin had already seen through this little scheme, but she just snorted and didn't pursue it.

"Are you confident about TOPIK? I saw your reply on SNS."

1

"It should be fine."

"My bond with this country has deepened—" she repeated the sentence from the social media post, her voice soft, "What exactly is this bond?"

Chen Jixian leaned against the wall, saying nothing, just looking at her.

There was no sound, no extra movement, just watching her.

Liu Zhimin's heart skipped a beat when he looked at her—she knew what Xiao Chen meant!

Then, a sense of indignation arose.

She couldn't just be stared at like that, unable to say a word.

Liu Zhimin glared back: "The bond has deepened—is it because of Bae—Irene's tuna rice ball?"

"It's not just Joo-hyun noona," Xiao Chen said, counting on his fingers, "There's also Uncle Cui, Old Zhao, Uncle with glasses, Uncle Bald—"

"You've really gone to a lot of trouble, counting all the Koreans you know." Yoo Jimin stared at him.

"There's one more person."

Chen Jixian's voice was not loud.

But he didn't look away.

A blush crept onto Liu Zhimin's face.

She knew that Xiao Chen was watching her and waiting for her to speak.

But she couldn't say it, because saying it would be tantamount to admitting it.

How could a girl admit it!

She had to fight back and deflect the topic away from herself.

Liu Zhimin raised her chin, her tone very light, as if casually asking, "Who is this person? It wouldn't be Zhang Yuanying, would it?"

When she said "Zhang Yuanying," there was a hint of unnaturalness in her voice, and she couldn't help but run her finger across her phone case.

Chen Jixian was taken aback.

He never expected that Zhang Yuanying's name would suddenly appear here.

Xiao Chen sighed, said nothing, took his phone out of his pocket, and handed it to her.

"You flipped through it too fast that night, you probably didn't see it clearly, let's flip through it again."

Liu Zhimin glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, and then took the phone.

Schneider's English has a touch of Shakespearean flair.

Long, complex clauses, filled with various technical terms between sentences.

She muttered to herself, "Why are Germans so verbose when they write?"

I flipped through a few pages; they were all official business.

The promotion of collaborative products.

Starship's observation.

Coordination of foreign card resources.

Zhang Yuanying is not included.

There are no duo projects.

Liu Zhimin returned the phone to him.

Just as Chen Jixian was about to reach out to take it—she suddenly raised her hand and punched him!

It didn't hurt, but it happened very suddenly.

Chen Jixian was stunned for a moment, not knowing what bad thing he had done, nor why she wanted to hit him.

Liu Zhimin shoved the phone back, and Xiao Chen looked down and saw that it wasn't Schneider's chat window, but Liu Zhimin's chat window.

The cursor was still blinking, hovering over the line of the draft that hadn't been sent: "You need to practice your serve a few more times."

Holy crap.

The draft wasn't deleted!

Chen Jixian raised his head.

Liu Zhimin had already withdrawn her hand, her ears were still red, but her expression remained very composed.

"You say I didn't see it clearly, but it's you who didn't see it clearly, isn't it?" she asked with a light snort.

Chen Jixian rubbed his shoulder, which had just been hit, and couldn't help but smile.

He didn't dare to look that night.

Some time has passed.

Liu Zhimin was still quite busy, while Chen Jixian was still practicing at the ACE Tennis Center.

When Schneider pushed open the glass door, Boss Cui was wiping cups at the front desk.

"Find Chen Jixian, I'm his agent."

Boss Cui glanced at the German's face, draped a towel over his shoulder, and gestured with his chin toward the depths of the venue.

Schneider slowed his pace unconsciously as he walked in.

There was only one person in the museum.

The boy sat on the bench with his back to him, looking down as he removed the sweatband from the handle of the racket.

The movements were slow, circling around slowly, with steady, focused fingers. It didn't look like wrapping a sweatband; it was more like performing a religious ritual.

The evening light slanted down from the high window and fell right on his shoulder.

His sneakers were on the ground, his knees were slightly apart, and his back was covered in sweat.

Schneider stood still.

He had seen this scene before.

Five years ago, in Murcia, Spain.

Twelve-year-old Alcaraz sat on a bench on the clay court in the exact same pose.

After training, he quietly took off his sweatband, circling it round and round, his expression focused as if he weren't a child.

Now, standing in the stadium in Seoul, Schneider felt a strange sense of disorientation.

Chen Jixian was unaware of the footsteps behind him.

He pressed the end of the sweatband tight with his fingers, then picked it up, glanced at it, and placed it on his knee.

Then, pick up another racket.

Schneider walked over and sat down next to Xiao Chen.

"You're in trouble on Korean websites."

He handed the phone over.

The screen displays Gao Donghe's short essay, which has been posted for some time but hasn't been shared many times yet.

However, familiar keywords have begun to appear in the comments section—wildcard, traffic, female idol.

Chen Jixian skimmed through a few pages, finished reading, and returned the phone to Schneider.

"This guy has been playing basketball for sixteen years; he shouldn't be cursing me."

Schneider didn't respond to that sentence.

He knew Chen Jixian was right, but public opinion never cared who should be criticized.

"There's one more thing."

His voice was half a octave lower than before. Chen Jixian noticed and turned to look at him.

"Our verbal agreement with Starship has been leaked. The first show and first championship will promote the cooperation between Jang Won-young and Starship—someone has already posted about it online."

Schneider paused for a moment.

"Zhang Yuanying should know by now as well."

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