Music to my ears - Zhuo Zhi

Chapter 42 - The Secret to Winning

"Take out some of your workload if you can't handle it! Here, take a break and I'll go get you a first aid kit, I just need to find someone to wait with you here first!"

Dachi frantically whipped his head left and right, searching for someone nearby to keep Jiale company before he left.

A-Mu blinked. Clearly Dachi still hasn't noticed his presence yet, even though he was standing right next to Jiale.

Before Dachi could get the attention of Qiao Chen across the court and make a scene, Jiale rolled his eyes and pushed Dachi's hand off his shoulder.

Dachi turned to face Jiale, confused at the action.

"There's no need for anything, I'm fine." Still avoiding looking directly at Dachi, Jiale made sure to emphasize the last part of his sentence before stalking away.

He was going to prove to Dachi that he could handle his training perfectly fine. He wasn't the same Jiale he used to be, after all.

A-Mu and Dachi's eyes followed Jiale as he walked away. Once Jiale was out of sight, A-Mu turned around to look at Dachi, frowning when he saw the man's face.

"You should probably take a break too. You look really tired."

Dachi stiffened at the sudden voice before relaxing once he realized who it was. A-Mu wasn't wrong, though. Dachi could practically feel his dark eyebags weighing down in his face.

He had been training much more intensely and often since the Guo Zi match, barely giving himself enough time to rest. He had to, as it was his responsibility as vice-captain and half of the Golden Pair to not let his team, or Jiale, down.

Hopefully this way, Jiale would soon be able to rely on him in their future matches. Just be patient with me, Jiale.

Remembering that A-Mu was still by his side, Dachi forced a polite smile. "No, I'm fine, I'll uh go back to training now."

As Dachi left A-Mu's side, he furrowed his brows. Where was he all this time? If only he was here a few seconds earlier..

~~~

Zhuo Zhi quietly stood outside a tennis court's gate, observing as Siyang practiced hitting a tennis ball into a giant hoop with his right hand.

Or rather, Siyang was practicing missing the hoop each time.

Siyang sighed frustratedly through his nose before switching to his left hand.

Unsurprisingly, every single ball Siyang hit flew through the exact center of the hoop, now that he was using his dominant hand.

Zhuo Zhi lightly smiled before calmly walking up behind Siyang. "Coach separated you from the rest of us to train your right hand," he remarked. "Why?"

Siyang stared straight out in front of him. He didn't continue hitting the balls, but didn't turn around to look at Zhuo Zhi either. "Just in case."

"In case of what?" Zhuo Zhi prompted, leaning his head in as he waited for an answer.

Siyang briefly closed his eyes. Leave it to Zhuo Zhi to be difficult now of all times. "In case I have to use my right hand," he vaguely responded, lifting his tennis racket to show that he was done with the already short conversation.