Supposedly for the next match, the Golden Partners were chosen to play. However, Da Yong wasn't still there, and Jia Li could only watch her brother from afar, who was helplessly dragging himself to the court. Coach Qi Na had then assigned Qiao Chen as a substitute for Da Yong's place, letting him partner with Jia Le at the last minute.
Qiao Chen and Jia Le as partners? How is this going to end well?
She scoffed as she saw the two going against You Shi Xing and Yue Yang, who looked confident in defeating them as they were only a temporary group. She diverted her gaze to her brother, who appeared nervous and uneasy since it was the same players who defeated them last year because he and Da Yong were separated. And now, they were separated once again as they faced Xing Yao's Golden Partners this year.
Jia Li reached for her phone, absentmindedly calling Da Yong out of worry for Jia Le. "Chi Dayong, where are you? Is there something wrong? The match is about to start." She immediately told him once the call was answered.
"I'm sorry, Jia Li." She heard him apologize in a disheartened voice. "I met a struggling pregnant woman along the way and when I helped her, I sprained my wrist. I'm now in the hospital waiting for the doctor to finish checking up on her. He advised me to stay since I didn't know any of her family members' contacts."
If there was one thing that Jia Li knew about Da Yong, that would be his honesty. And she sighed in relief, knowing that he was alright and that he had a good reason why he couldn't come.
"It's alright." She reassured him, watching as the game commenced. "Have your wrist checked too, yeah?"
He chuckled, "I'll try to catch up later in Jia Le's match."
Jia Li hung up in a hurry, watching at how Xing Yao seemed to be toying with Jia Le and Qiao Chen. If Qiao Chen was attempting to perform his 'Vertical Smash', You Shi Xing was always on guard to return those smashes. And if Jia Le was the best in their team in playing tennis with acrobatics, Yue Yang seemed to be better, which was obvious based on how it frightened Jia Le. Unlike the exemplary coordination of Xing Yao's Golden Partners, Jia Le and Qiao Chen's teamwork were all over the place. It was evident how the two did not fully trust each other, which was quite understandable, considering how they were just paired up right before the match.
All in all, the situation was apparently unfavorable for Yu Qing.
As Jia Li lowered her camera, her eyes squinted at Qiao Chen, who appeared distracted, frequently checking his arm that was wearing an arm guard.
Huh? That's Da Chi's arm guard. Why is Qiao Chen wearing it?
Like his sister, Jia Le also squinted at Qiao Chen, embarrassed at how he was oblivious to the people watching him as he kept muttering to himself whilst checking his arm. He walked to his temporary partner, reprimanding him in a lower voice. Qiao Chen only ignored that and showed something to Jia Le. Curious at what they were doing, Jia Li furrowed her eyebrows, wondering why Jia Le was suddenly raising Qiao Chen's arm in weird positions.
They look stupid doing like that in the middle of the court as if Qiao Chen is twirling Jia Le in a dance.
However, their previous actions might have done something because the two suddenly positioned themselves with the 'Australian Formation', earning a point for Yu Qing. Not bad. She grinned and raised her camera to capture them.
But she spoke too soon because Xing Yao instantly broke through the formation.
Out of strategies to defeat their opponents, Jia Li watched in awe, completely perplexed as Jia Le and Qiao Chen switched places in the middle of the game, making Jia Le run to the back whilst Qiao Chen to the front. It was there that she realized, her brother had taken Da Yong's role, taking the lead and controlling their teamwork in a better pace — just like how Da Yong usually did.
She smiled, proud of how her brother had come to understand Da Yong's role in their partnership. She watched him struggle very hard, completely not used being the supporter. He had given up his acrobatic-tennis, which served as his full strength as it was his role in the front just for Qiao Chen to flexibly perform his 'Vertical 'Smash'. Add to that, he also imitated Da Yong's technique which was the 'Moon Valley', letting them tie at the score of 4-4.
"How's Jia Le?" A sudden figure panted beside her. She turned to see Da Yong breathing heavily as if he had just ran a marathon, yet watching straight ahead at the occurring game.
"Chi Dayong!" Jia Li smiled widely and gave him a warm hug, happy that he was able to come.
Da Yong chuckled at her, giving her a brief hug then ruffled her hair, "What did I miss?"
"You should have seen Jia Le copying your moves!" She began babbling the recent parts of the game earlier, surprising him at how talkative she was. "...And Qiao Chen kept glancing at your arm guard in the middle of the game, which really made him look stupid. And then they suddenly formed the 'Australian Formation', and then..."
He only laughed harder, messing her hair again before focusing his gaze back on the two. As if they had sensed his presence, Qiao Chen and Jia Le turned to their direction, and the three extended their arms straight in front of them as if fist bumping with each other. Jia Li couldn't resist the growing smile on her lips as everyone's attention flew to them. It felt relieving and strong as if the ones playing below for Yu Qing wasn't a team of doubles, but rather a team of three players.
The game continued further, with Yu Qing in the lead as their opponents started showing tiredness. Because of this, Qiao Chen and Jia Le switched places again, putting Jia Le's strength into good use. You Shi Xing began fighting back aggressively alone as Yue Yang recharged. Jia Li anticipated as Qiao Chen fell into You Shi Xing's trap by jumping high to smash the ball. However, she gasped when Qiao Chen faked that move, letting You Shi Xing fall into their trap as Jia Le suddenly appeared from behind, performing the 'Moon Valley' with a mixture of acrobatics and ended the game with Yu Qing declared as the winner.
As the four shook hands, Da Yong excused himself and jogged to the court. Jia Li documented how he opened his arms wide as Jia Le jumped onto him, yelling Da Yong's name, and pulled Qiao Chen and the others after a moment.
And my brother denies that they don't act like a divorced couple? A married couple then.
YOU ARE READING
𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝 ➝ Zhuo Zhi
FanfictionIn every tennis game Jia Li had witnessed, she believed that whenever a ball comes bouncing to your court, all you had to do was return it. But after transferring to Yu Qing for her last two years of High School, Jia Li realized there's more to it i...
