𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝 ➝ Zhuo Zhi

60: New Beginnings

"Are you sure he's going this way?"

"What if he refuses to come here?"

"What if he gets mad at us for not practicing today?"

"When is he not mad at you guys?"

"You guys are too loud!"

"I think I hear him coming!"

"Shut up already!"

All eyes stared at the front door that opened, revealing Qi Ying, who accompanied Si Yang, who had just recently come back from Germany for his left arm's treatment. Just yesterday, Qiao Chen and Bai Yang had spilled the beans to the team that their captain was coming back according to Hu Liang Liang and Jing Wu. So right now, everyone was hiding in cramped spaces in order to surprise Si Yang with a little bit of effort that the team had combined together.

Qi Ying led Si Yang inside the empty office, whose eyes roamed around the area, searching for any sight of his teammates. "Qi Ying, are you sure they're all here?" He didn't notice Qi Ying silently walking away and turned around, halting his words as he saw no one behind him. "Qi-"

Da Yong then pressed the remote, making the flatscreen television turn on and began playing a video. Si Yang's attention was caught by the loud thwacks that echoed throughout the entire room. He walked towards the center of the room, eyes zeroing at what was being shown in the television.

Yu Qing's Tennis Journey to the Nationals.

Si Yang then became curious as compiled videos of the team's matches surfaced. Nostalgia washed over him, blinking away the slight tears that threatened to fall from his eyes, which Jia Li made sure to capture with her camera through a video.

Each of their winning matches were shown, from their matches against Yu Huang up until the recent one with Hai Guang. Even Lu Xia's match against Tian Zi Long was shown. Jia Li could still vividly remember how nerve-racking that day was.

When Lu Xia performed a different style of his 'Twist' serve, he panted heavily with a relieved smile on his face. "You should know this move. And even if I have failed it a hundred times, I am still going to try it in the further matches." Then, he fell to the ground backwards, his racket clattering on the court.

Everyone gasped as the ball flew straight onto Hai Guang's court, sliding across it instead of bouncing back up, which made Tian Zi Long stare at Lu Xia in shock and disbelief.

"Yu Qing wins! The final score is 7-5!"

Jia Li could still feel her eardrums bursting from the loud cheers around her as their stands erupted, roaring happily at how Yu Qing had defeated one of their most formidable opponents. Even other schools who came to watch, stood up and clapped for Yu Qing as the team ran to the court, gathering around Lu Xia and began tossing him up high in the air except for Zhuo Zhi, who just grinned at them and Xing Long, who proudly waved their banner. Coach Qi Na remained standing at the side with a proud smile on her face and Jia Li didn't miss the opportunity to capture those sweet moments.

And that evening, they were each awarded with medals and declared as the Provincial Champions with a gold trophy. Da Yong raised it proudly in the air as their hands piled up against each other with Si Yang watching live through Zhuo Zhi's phone.

"We are the Provincial Champions! And in the next step, the National Champions!"

The video ended with the group's photo with Coach Qi Na, which they impatiently stole from Jia Li's memory card.

She heard Si Yang exhale with a chuckle, "What a childish bunch."

But they're like your children after all. Jia Li wanted to tell him.