The girls on the side were laughing among themselves for the glance of Qin Yu. Guo Youling suddenly looked at He Jin, who’s a couple of seats away, “Isn’t Qin Yu looking at you? Senior He, are you coming to watch the match because of Qin Yu?”
The other people laughed. He Jin had already heard from Tongxuan about this rumor, and knew that they were kidding. However, he did feel something inside, of course, he felt embarrassed when he heard that, and he tried to object, “well, no, I just have nothing else to do, that’s why I’m here.”
Seeing how serious he looked, the girls stopped laughing.
Tongxuan, however, knew that something else was going on. When they went out for a coffee, He Jin had admitted that he had a good relationship with Qin Yu, and there’s nothing special about coming to watch a friendly match…Tongxuan whispered, “I never saw you coming to watch a match. Did you change?”
He Jin tried hard to utter a smile to Tongxuan. Well, yes, his life has changed a lot. He remembered on the first day of school, when he first saw Qin Yu, there was also a competition organized by the tennis club. Qin Yu and his teammates were in a rush to the tennis court, and when he got out from his foyer, He Jin accidentally knocked out the lunchbox on his hand…at that time, He Jin even thought that such activities had nothing to do with him.
Nowadays, he was playing a couple game with Fire. In reality, he is learning tennis with Qin Yu, he tried drinking and staying up, he even started to have feelings for the same sex…he once thought that he could just let his emotions run wild, yet he somehow held himself back.
Tongxuan opened a bag of potato chips and handed it to He Jin, which he refused. Hou Dongyan was looking at Tongxuan, begging for it, Tongxuan rolled her eyes and passed it to Hou Dongyan.
The players from the two Universities shook their hands before the match started. There were first two singles matches, and in the first one, Guo Youling’s boyfriend, Zhao Xibai was in it. The girls were cheering and screaming. The happy atmosphere indulged He Jin to cheer along with them.
Yan University’s tennis club is not as famous as the one of Hua University. In Hua University, quite many new members were recruited. Also, the club leader, Jiang Baijian intended to hand over his responsibilities to the new club members from the first year. Therefore, no one knew for sure which side would win.
On the first match, Zhao Xibai led a new guy from the first year to play doubles, and they won by 6:4. On the second match, two new guys from Hua University played. In the face of the experienced members from Yan University, they lost, but they still performed relatively well.
After the doubles were finished, the next one to come was the singles. Qin Yu was the first one to play, and everyone started cheering again. Even the cheerleaders from the other University were staring at him. This made the girls from the Hua University laugh.
Qin Yu went to do some warm-up exercises. This time, he didn’t look at the audience, but he entirely focused on the other party.
“Zhang Xiao!” Guo Youling yelled the name at once, and explained to the others, “he’s the tennis club leader of Yan University, he’s in his third year now…”
The other girl said, “they’re something, they even let their leader come to fight Qin Yu!”
He Jin was puzzled, “what? Is he really that good?”
Then, He Jin looked at the guy called Zhang Xiao. He wasn’t as tall as Qin Yu, less than 180cm. He’s not that strong either, although quite good-looking. However, when he showed up, the girls immediately waved their pompoms and yelled his name with joy.
Guo Youling said, “I have heard that Zhao Xibai is the only one in Yan University, who has the strength to compete with our best one. He seems to be really quick…Oh, right, Qin Yu’s is, of course, our best one!”
Unlike what’s usually shown on cartoons, when the two parties would talk for some time before the game started. When the referee waved his flag, the game was about to begin.
Qin Yu was the first one to act. He shot the ball, which went straight above the net, and instantly buckled back the ball shot by Zhang Xiao!
Referee, “1:0!”
It went quiet for two seconds. Then, people started to scream. He Jin heard someone behind him yell, “What a great shot over the net! Amazing!” Qin Yu was apparently taking his lead. Zhang Xiao was quick, but still not as fast as Qin Yu.
Without waiting for the audience to finish screaming, the players returned to their positions and started the second round. Zhang Xiao didn’t fall into the same trick this time, yet Qin Yu didn’t let him go either. He played a cut ball and continued to score!
After the two scores, the atmosphere was pushed to the maximum.
Zhao Xibai was taking a bag of drinks for his girlfriend, while seeing the heightened atmosphere, he shook his head and said, “see how manipulative he is!”
When the girls took the drinks from Zhao Xibai, one of them said, “you’ve done a great job too.”
Seeing that there’s no seat for him, he chose to squat, “it’s only you who praised me, it’s not enough.”
Guo Youling said, “then we’ll praise you one by one.”
Zhao Xibai, “being handsome is better than receiving compliments!”
The group laughed, Guo Youling said, “in fact, leader Jiang is quite popular too! Is he going to play today?”
Zhao Xibai, “if Qin Yu wins, we’ll let a new guy go and try, if not. He’ll continue.”
Tongxuan, “can you still change players?”
Zhao Xibai, “it’s a friendly match so…”
During the conversation, Qin Yu had already led the match by scoring 6:2. People saw him slamming his palm with Zhang Xiao when they passed by each other. They were more like friends. Someone who didn’t know what was going on, asked, “Oh, do they know each other?”
Zhao Xibai, “Yeah, they used to go to the same high school.”
Tongxuan, “which school are they from?”
Zhao Xibai, “it seems to be a bilingual one.”
Tongxuan, “Shuncheng Bilingual School in A City?”
Zhao Xibai, “Yes, that one!”
Hou Dongyan interfered, “what sort of school is it? I’ve only heard of Fourth High School and Supplementary High School in A City.”
Tongxuan, “well, this is the best private high school in A city…”
Someone sighed, “Wow, then how much is the tutorial fees? Hundreds of thousands I suppose? How rich Qin Yu is!”
Guo Youling and her friends, who were once invited to a dinner in Hujing District, were looking at each other strangely, implying that they had already known about this…
He Jin once again focused on Qin Yu. At this time, it was already the fourth round. They had similar strengths, and Zhang Xiao only lost a bit in the beginning, and he’s trying hard to chase back now.
He Jin put all of his attention on Qin Yu; it’s like his soul was attached to Zhang Xiao who’s facing him – looking at him jump and run, hit the ball, every single action of his was moving him…
He was dying to stand right in front of Qin Yu, so that he could play with him. But, he knew clearly that he wasn’t that good. Also, knowing how many people were fond of Qin Yu, and how many friends he had, together with the fact that Qin Yu has been acting coldly to him, he felt increasingly frustrated and inferior…
At this moment, Zhang Xiao quickly scored a goal, and He Jin, who had been substituting the opponent’s role, felt that Qin Yu might not be able to take the ball. But while he was looking at Qin Yu turning his ankle, then jumped up, he was so nervous that he instantly stood up!
Sure enough, Qin Yu depended on his body and his arms to get the ball, but he fell on the ground. When his arms were rubbing against the floor, nobody dared to utter a sound.
The referee immediately ordered a pause and asked about how Qin Yu was. At the same time, two other people from the tennis club went forward and wanted to support him, yet Qin Yu stood up immediately. He didn’t look too much in pain, but the bloody wound on his arms was shocking.
The hygienist quickly sterilized him with a disinfectant spray and made a simple wrap of the wound. After a few minutes, the referee raised the flag to signal that the match could continue.
Guo Youling, “my God, it looks like a serious wound. Is it really okay to continue?”
Zhao Xibai, “I’m guessing that it’s just a bruise…”
The other person said, “but it’s on his right arm, won’t it affect his performance?”
The girls dared not look any further. They covered their mouths, and they’d rather let Qin Yu give up the match, instead of seeing him continue to play with the injury. But Qin Yu is not a person who gives up, Zhao Xibai said, “well, Qin Yu is one of the people that I’ve seen who insist on winning. He never gives up on anything.”
Hou Dongyan praised, “this is so macho! Bravo!”
He Jin, who was paying all of his attention to Qin Yu, just remembered to sit down when someone pulled his sleeves. He was sweating.
It was Tongxuan who pulled him. Actually, when He Jin stood up after Qin Yu fell, Tongxuan caught the nervous look on He Jin’s face immediately. His worried look, his tightened fists, and his urge to move forward…
He Jin had changed, he’s no longer the person who didn’t care about students’ club, he’s not someone who would kill time by watching matches either. It’s something inner, Tongxuan couldn’t feel it that much when He Jin said he wanted to hug her…but now, she did feel it much more strongly.
Especially at that moment, when he was looking at Qin Yu, it was a genuinely caring and focused way of look. It’s unlike the usual way which a guy looks at another guy.
After He Jin sat down, he still looked uneasy. He frowned tightly, and it made Tongxuan have a weird thought, “He Jin…could he be homosexual?”
The people continued to watch the match nervously. Zhang Xiao didn’t make things easier for Qin Yu because of his new injury. The game was even extended. In the end, Qin Yu won by 7:5.
When the match ended, Qin Yu and Zhang Xiao shook their hands in front of the net. The two people were chatting and laughing. Zhang Xiao even asked about the wound of Qin Yu. Qin Yu showed him that he’s alright. They seemed really different from how they reacted on the match.
When Qin Yu came off the court, he raised his head again, and he seemingly looked at the side of He Jin. He Jin wasn’t sure whether he was looking at him. But this time, he stood up out of instinct, and greeted several people before leaving the stage.
Tongxuan, “Oh…was Qin Yu looking at…He Jin?”
Guo Youling, “if he’s not looking at him, then why did he leave?”
The other girls, “…”
He Jin wanted to go down and see Qin Yu’s arm, whether it’s out of a friend’s concern, or a better friend’s care…if he ever was.
He had to go from the back, if he wanted to reach the court from the stage. However, since it’s still in the match, only staff could enter.
When He Jin was going down, Qin Yu stepped out from the court and circled along the hollow iron fence. He saw that He Jin was approaching to himself. People were not paying attention to the match anymore. They were all looking at Qin Yu.
He Jin hadn’t expected Qin Yu would step out first. Both met outside the iron fences. He Jin was a bit stunned and hurriedly asked, “is your arm alright?”
Qin Yu was standing there, he looked as if he was answering, and he smiled, “here you are.”