Lately, the past few practices have been off, and clearly Zhuo Zhi wasn't the only one who saw it.
Zhihao had quickly realized that for some reason, each team member now had his own training routine that he had to follow, a different training approach than usual.
But the strangest part wasn't the change in the practice strategies, it was the fact that quite a few team members didn't even bother showing up to practice to begin with, and haven't bothered in days.
In fact, half of the team was missing today, including even Jiale.
Zhihao silently watched on the sidelines as Zhuo Zhi worked hard on his racket swings, only stopping him once she realized that he wouldn't be taking a break anytime soon.
"Zhuo Zhi," Zhihao began, making Zhuo Zhi pause midway through a swing. "Do you know where everyone is? And Jiale?"
Zhuo Zhi straightened his back, lowering his racket as he answered. "Siyang is out with Coach right now."
Zhihao slowly nodded, biting her lip. While this explained why the practice routines had changed, it didn't explain why everyone else was missing.
Sighing, Zhuo Zhi set his racket down and turned around to face the girl. "Xinglong is helping out his dad," he added on. "And Lu Xia decided to practice on his own somewhere.
He chuckled lightly, attempting a little humor. "I'm sure Qiao Chen and Baiyang are probably arguing about who can do more pushups somewhere."
Zhihao let out a small laugh. "Yeah that sounds about right," she had to agree. "..but what about Jiale?"
Because her brother was for some reason ignoring her texts, Zhihao had gone straight to Dachi to question him about it, but Dachi had just forced a shrug and told her not to worry about it.
This, of course, only amplified Zhihao's concern.
While Jiale slacked off a lot, it wasn't like him to completely skip a whole day's worth of practice without telling anyone about it at all, especially not Dachi.
Zhuo Zhi furrowed his brows at Zhihao's question, weighing his options. While he had noticed how Jiale and Dachi seemed to be going through a particularly rough patch, he wasn't sure if it was his place to tell Zhihao. But then again, Zhihao was Jiale's sister, and if anyone, she deserved to worry about Jiale and know where he was.
Thinking hard, Zhuo Zhi came to a decision. "I'm not entirely sure where Jiale is, but I may have an idea - I can look for him," he offered. This compromise was the best he could do, with his position as a close friend to both Jiale and Zhihao.
Zhihao frowned slightly at his answer but eventually nodded. "That would be great, thank you."
"Mhm," Zhuo Zhi absentmindedly replied. "We should split up. While I search for Jiale, you should talk to Dachi." Maybe if the two separately spoke to a golden pair, they could help the two reconcile.
Zhihao thought for a moment before nodding once again. "Okay, that sounds like a plan." After all, Dachi had seemed rather tense when she spoke to him earlier, and she was going to talk to him about it anyway. "By the way," she paused. "Are you alright?"
Maybe it was because the whole team felt so off-balanced now, but Zhuo Zhi seemed like he was troubled with something too.
Zhuo Zhi faintly smiled. "Perceptive as always, aren't you," he tilted his head. "It's just Xiǎo Yu. He's failing his classes right now so I told him that he should quit tennis for a while to focus on his grades. He wasn't too happy about that," Zhuo Zhi shrugged. (small)
Zhihao rolled her eyes. That tennis-obsessed brat. "I'll help talk to the kid about this, you can go search for Jiale first."
The corners of Zhuo Zhi's lips curled, amused. "If you insist." It seemed that the two would be helping each other's brothers out.
Zhuo Zhi packed up his things and set off to look for Jiale, waving a small goodbye to Zhihao as he left.
Once Zhuo Zhi was gone, Zhihao took out her phone to text Zhuo Yu.
zhihao:
i heard you're failing
need me to tutor?
A response came through immediately.
smaller zhuo:
Absolutely not.
Did my brother tell you about it?
Zhihao grinned.
zhihao:
doesn't matter
i know you don't wanna hear the lecture and all
smaller zhuo:
You're right, i don't.
zhihao:
BUT
grades really are important
coming from me
siyang actually threatened to take my brother off the team if he failed another one of his tests a while back, so if anything, your brother is going easy on you
smaller zhuo:
So what, I'm supposed to just stop playing tennis?
zhihao:
not necessarily
but you should definitely prioritize your grades more. actually study.
smaller zhuo:
What's next, you're going to say that I should let my brother tutor me?
zhihao:
absolutely
as much as i hate to say it, and i really hate to say it, zhuo zhi a good tutor
smaller zhuo:
You're just saying that because you have a crush on him
Ew
zhihao:
ha ha.
seriously though, my math grade is now a 76 thanks to your brother
you should really consider getting him to help, if you really want to play tennis again
A minute passed before Zhuo Yu replied again.
smaller zhuo:
Alright
Thanks
I'll think about it
♡ by zhihao
After liking Zhuo Yu's message, Zhihao slid her phone into her back pocket and set off to look for Dachi.
She didn't have to go very far, because she easily found Dachi in the tennis office, poring over a bunch of papers that he had to fill out as temporary captain.
"Dachi," Zhihao greeted the man a second time today as she knocked on the open door.
Dachi briefly glanced up. "Jiale isn't here, if that's what you're wondering," he said, quickly bringing his eyes back down on his papers.
Zhihao smiled. "I'm actually here for you, not Jiale," she invited herself to sit on a couch, making Dachi blink in surprise.
"Dachi," Zhihao turned to face the man, a serious expression on her face. "When was the last time you took a break?"
She stared at the dark rings under the man's eyes, taking in his disheveled appearance.
Dachi self-consciously ran his fingers through his hair, which was stiff and smelly and definitely needed a thorough wash. "I need to finish these papers first," he dodged Zhihao's question, which Zhihao didn't miss.
"That's not what I asked," Zhihao replied, but relented. "Dachi.. You know you can rely on everyone for help when you need it, right?" She creased her forehead, genuinely concerned for the man.
Dachi waved Zhihao's concern off. "I'm fine," he reassured the girl. After all, It was his responsibility as captain to take care of the team, not anyone else's. "You should go back soon and eat something. It's getting late."
Zhihao sighed. Dachi really needed to start taking care of himself better, instead of running around, worrying about everyone else all the time.
"Okay," Zhihao yielded. "But I'm going to get some food, and then I'm going to come back. And when I come back, you're going to stop whatever you're doing and eat."
Dachi protested against this but Zhihao refused to hear him out. "My word is final," Zhihao stated firmly, leaving the room before Dachi could say anything more.
True to her words, Zhihao returned 20 minutes later, after a quick trip to and from a convenience store, with snacks in hand.
"Eat." Zhihao gave Dachi her best glare, making the man immediately hold up his hands in surrender.
"Okay."
~~~
Meanwhile, Zhuo Zhi was strolling around the nearby park when he finally found Jiale on his back, laying on a bench with his face shielded by an opened book on it. Of course, Zhuo Zhi had already known that Jiale would be here.
"Skipping practice, I see." Zhuo Zhi casually walked up to the bench, merely watching with his hands behind his back as Jiale scrambled to get the book off.
Sitting up, Jiale scowled. "So what, you're going to turn me in?"
Zhuo Zhi shrugged. "Not my problem," he responded. It really wasn't his problem.
"Ah." Jiale took this as his sign to settle back down again, once again covering his face with his book.
Once settled, Jiale asked through the book, "Then what are you doing here?"
"Was just walking around," Zhuo Zhi vaguely answered.
"Oh I see, so you're skipping practice too?" Jiale humorlessly teased, making Zhuo Zhi scoff in amusement.
"No, I already finished my practice," Zhuo Zhi replied. It was true, he had finished his practice long before Zhihao had pulled him aside to speak to him about Jiale.
Jiale didn't bother responding, and Zhuo Zhi honestly thought he has fallen asleep when Jiale didn't move at all for a few minutes.
"Do you even want to win?" Zhuo Zhi asked blandly.
Jiale snatched the book off his face at this, outraged at whatever Zhuo Zhi was trying to imply.
"Of course I want to win!" Jiale exclaimed indignantly. "When have I ever not wanted to win?"
Zhuo Zhi blinked. So Jiale was awake. "It doesn't seem like it to me. If you really want to win, you have to actually put in the effort."
"Easy for you to say," Jiale mumbled under his breath. "Darn genius."
Zhuo Zhi tilted his head, unbothered by Jiale's comment. "How are you supposed to win if you skip practice?" he continued to bluntly emphasize his point.
Jiale groaned. "It's just one practice that I skip and you start coming after me, I swear!"
Zhuo Zhi suppressed a grin. "Like I said, you need to put in the effort. You really could be using this time to work on your stamina instead of skipping practice."
Jiale just pouted. "I know, I know. Can't you be a little nicer about it though?"
Zhuo Zhi snorted. At least Jiale knew that he had work to do though. That was the first step. Considering that his job was done, Zhuo Zhi switched subjects.
"By the way, you should really respond to Zhihao soon, she was asking about where you are."
Jiale jolted off the bench, jumping to his feet. "Shoot! I forgot my phone in my locker! I'll talk to you later," Jiale called out to Zhuo Zhi as he sprinted across the park, heading back to the school.
Zhuo Zhi just shook his head as he watched Jiale run away. He deserves it, for skipping, Zhuo Zhi smiled.
He sent a quick text out to Zhihao.
Zhuo Zhi:
So turns out, your idiot brother forgot his phone in his locker.
A reply came through not even 5 seconds later.
Stalker:
wait seriously
that idiot i'm going to kill him
thanks
Zhuo Zhi:
👍.
Stalker:
btw, your brother should be asking for your help w tutoring sometime soon
i think
Zhuo Zhi.
Thanks.
Stalker:
👍
Zhuo Zhi just grinned at his phone, sliding it into a pocket before leaving the park as well, except heading home instead of to the school.
Maybe things with Xiǎo Yu will be solved now, Zhuo Zhi thought to himself. (small)
It was just as Zhihao said, when Zhuo Zhi returned home. A few hours after an awkward dinner, Zhuo Yu came into Zhuo Zhi's room, sheepishly asking for his help on a math sheet.
Zhuo Zhi was more than happy to help his little brother out, and even decided to hold back on a long lecture this time, an action that was considerably generous of him.
Welp, that was one problem solved, and one less thing on Zhuo Zhi's plate.
~~~
No one thought much of it when Xinglong invited the team over to his family's restaurant for dinner the next day, telling the group chat that he had an announcement to make.
For all they knew, maybe Xinglong had gotten a new recipe for a meal and wanted the team to try it out.
No one had thought that Xinglong's highly anticipated announcement would be his quitting of the team, nor would it have ever crossed anyone's mind.
Sure, Xinglong was having a hard time keeping up with practice lately, juggling his time at his restaurant with one hand and helping his father with the other. It was understandable that the man had to skip some practices here and there, with everything that was going on in his plate.
But to quit, entirely?
Xinglong was the most hard-working and dedicated person the team knew. He would never just give up on something, or even someone, that he was passionate about.
So when Xinglong declared to the team that he was truly quitting the team, for good, the team was shocked, to say the least.
Although Qiao Chen tried his best to convince Xinglong to change his decision, the man's mind was set up, determined to quit once and for all.
"I've been losing all of my matches recently, bringing you guys down." Xinglong cast his eyes down at the table, avoiding the desperate gazes of his close friends. "I don't want to be a burden to you guys."
Zhuo Zhi didn't miss the pointed look Jiale gave Dachi, at this sentence.
"You know what, maybe we should all just quit!" Jiale grinned mirthlessly, looking around at his teammates surrounding him. "Quit together as a team!"
Zhuo Zhi frowned. This dinner was not going well already, and Jiale really wasn't helping with his rambling. At this rate, he wouldn't be enjoying his roast goose today.
Zhuo Zhi was about to speak up when Siyang did it before he could.
"I heard you and Dachi played against Xing Yao recently?" Siyang directly questioned Jiale. He was going have to speak to Xinglong about his quitting, but Siyang put the matter aside for later.
At these words, Jiale dropped his head, almost tasting the bitter defeat he had faced. "We lost to them," Jiale answered in a dejected tone.
Siyang was about to reprimand the pair for playing in an unauthorized match while he was absent, but snapped his mouth shut on second thought. It was no good to speak about it now, since everyone was already in low spirits at Xinglong's news anyway.
Seeing how Jiale and Dachi were doing their best to avoid each other's gaze now, Xinglong took it upon himself to explain what had gone on a few days ago. Xinglong briefly recapped how he, Lu Xia, and the golden pair had managed to encounter, and then lose, to Xing Yao's doubles team.
"It's because of me that we lost," Dachi suddenly turned to Jiale. He didn't want to keep playing this game of silent treatment. "I should've been there for you during the match but I wasn't. I'm sorry," he sullenly apologized.
Jiale pushed his chair back, suddenly losing his appetite. "See, you always do this." He accused Dachi quietly, standing up. "You always blame yourself, putting the burden on your shoulders!"
Jiale exhaled sharply. There was no point in staying here anymore, this dinner was completely ruined and unsalvageable.
He threw one last look around at the gloomy faces around him, before storming his way out of the restaurant.
A beat of deafening silence passed before Dachi set down his chopsticks, sick of picking at his food. It wasn't like he was going to eat anyway. "I'm going to go home now," Dachi said to no one in particular, getting up from his seat.
The team nodded their awkward goodbyes and as the night dragged on, each person eventually bid their good nights too, until Siyang and Zhuo Zhi were the only ones left.
Xinglong had slipped away to the back of the restaurant a while ago, so he could help out his father and be safe from all of the drama. And so he wouldn't have to look at his friends in the eyes right now either.
Sighing, Zhuo Zhi scraped his chair back, done with the pleasantries as well. "Well, I'll leave you to it," he half-smiled at Siyang, who was still seated at the front of the table. "I get the feeling that I'll have a more fulfilling dinner at home."
Siyang gave a small nod, deep in thought. "Alright, see you tomorrow," he acknowledged the other man.
Zhuo Zhi tilted his head in Siyang's direction before heading out, leaving the man all alone.
With Xinglong's sudden resignation and now the tensions between the golden pair, things for Yu Qing's tennis team really weren't looking good.
Siyang had to find a solution, and he had to find it fast.
~~~
A/N: For a first week, school has been pretty hectic lately, but school today was cancelled bc of the hurricane. So, I decided to take advantage of the day off to write lmao (bruh I worked on this from 9pm to nearly 2am..). Hope y'all are safe tho
Also I haven't been writing much this week either cause I've been trying to balance with school, my homework, having a good (ish) sleep schedule, and doing regular exercise. Rip. I haven't been doing workouts either anymore :') And I hate economics and personal finance with a passion. If only it wasn't mandatory for seniors... at least my orchestra and creative writing classes are fun tho. And at least ap stats isn't so bad, yet. :/
Anyway back to chapter, disclaimer I bs'ed the this chapter once again based on vague memories so uh. Yeah. If you don't remember some of these scenes or lines happening, or that my scenes are in the wrong order, it's probs cause they really didn't happen and/or are in fact in the wrong order. I am so sorry about that lmao. I'm not allowed to watch tv on schooldays and weekdays rip so I can't rewatch anything rn
Also I honestly just forgot the beginning reasons as to why the golden pair started fighting in the first place. Something about Jiale slacking off but then also Jiale getting mad at Dachi for not being tougher and 'sharing the burden' or something, which is sort of kind of hypocritical? Idk I was confused on what to write about for the dinner blow up so I just.. wrote whatever lol
Plus, there's a lot going on in this chapter because I'm trying to condense a lot of scenes so that you guys don't have to read 10 chapters of content straight from the show, like I had previous planned, so sorry for the crammed plot here
- Apple <3