𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝 ➝ Zhuo Zhi

16: Nerve-Racking Accidents

"S-Senior!"

Jia Li quickly stood up to greet the person. Beads of sweat were trickling down from his forehead. His face contorted in a serious facade, eyebrows crossed and lips in its usual scowl. He huffed and adjusted the strap of his tennis bag, "It's late already, why are you still here?"

"I'm waiting for m- Seniors Jia Le and Da Chi." She quickly covered up her slip. "I was supposed to go home with them."

A click of tongue was heard, and he nodded at the direction behind him, "They're with the others by the vending machine. Go now before I leave you here alone."

She immediately grabbed her things and scurried away, muttering a small thanks, not bothering to glance back.

Senior Bai Yang is a bit scary.

When she arrived by the vending machine, she saw only her brother and Da Yong resting on a bench. Jia Le noticed her approaching figure and grinned, "Hey, Little sis! What do you think of our game today?"

"It was okay." Jia Li shrugged.

Jia Le stared at her indignantly, "Just okay?" He began waving his arms as he boasted his moves, "Did you even see how high I jumped? Or even hit back the ball backwards? Or how I twirled my racket even during the game? Or-"

"I think she gets it now, Jia Le." Da Yong chuckled.

His partner huffed and crossed his arms, pouting at his sister, "Such supportive sister I have."

"My pleasure." She curt, annoying her brother more before placing an arm around their shoulders. "Anyways, let's go eat now. I'm starving. Jia Le's treat!"

"Why is it always me?" Jia Le cried, chasing his sister, who ran off, leaving Da Yong laughing at their silliness.

-☆-

Yu Qing versus Yu Feng High School's match arrived earlier than expected. From what Jia Li had heard over dinner, Yu Feng was the disqualified school from last year's tournament. It was quite surprising how lucky they were to beat one of the strongest schools, which meant they weren't an easy opponent. So, Jia Li was eager to watch this match.

In setting up her camera, she noticed Xing Zi heading to where the Yu Feng's students were, realizing that she was a part of that school. Down below, she watched as Xing Long and Zhuo Zhi were the second doubles players. Despite how serious their opponents looked, both remained calm and smiling.

The game started when Xing Long did the first serve. Yu Qing was able to score the first few points, erupting cheers from the stands. However, in the middle of the game, Jia Li noticed Yu Feng's Captain, Xu Zi Ping leaving, rendering Yu Qing's players speechless at why he left at such an important game. The tables then turned before their captain came back, and it was now Yu Feng who was earning points.

Did he mean it? Did he mean to leave to pressure his team?

Worry drew on Xing Long's face whereas Zhuo Zhi remained calm, passing an encouraging smile to his partner. When the ball flew back to their court, Zhuo Zhi dragged one leg back along with his arm holding the racket, adding more spin to the ball in its spinning direction. It slid down to the other court and didn't bounced back, much to Yu Feng's astonishment.

"The 'Shallows-Return'," Jia Li whispered to herself in awe. He's indeed Yu Qing's second trump card, reversing the situation by simply using that move.

Their opponents became worried and Jia Li noticed how one of them began adjusting his wristband higher on his arm. He's definitely planning to do something. The atmosphere was tensed as the match became neck-to-neck — a perfect balance between two strong schools. It's surely not because of luck that they won in their last match.