Lu Zhilan is a tennis prodigy and Lu Xia's older cousin. Zhilan was expected to become a professional athlete until a career threatening injury. With no other choice, she's forced to go to Germany for surgery and rehabilitation. She's been there for...
"What's going on here?" Zhilan asked as she watched all the boys with spray bottles and towels.
Xinglong stood up. "We're competing."
"For what exactly?"
"It's motivation. Good morning." Ziping said as he walked into the dining hall.
"Good morning. Motivation for what?"
"Losers will eat rice and egg."
She let out a snicker. "Yeah, that's definitely one way of getting them to do things."
He smiled and laughed.
"I'll leave you to it. I'll be in the kitchen." She walked through the door and got a drink of water.
She heard the door open again and looked over to see Zhuo Zhi.
"Good morning, Zhilan." He greeted politely.
"Good morning. Having fun?"
He just shrugged. "I'm fine as long as we're all training."
"Hmm."
"You must miss it, right?"
She tilted her head. "What?"
"Training for a match. Playing. You must miss it."
Zhilan made a sound of agreement. "It's definitely missing in my routine."
"Is your knee finally recovered for you to play again?" Zhuo Zhi asked.
She simply shrugged and sipped her water to dodge his question.
He scoffed lightly while she just looked at him innocently.
"Okay, let's get started." Xing Zi and Qi Ying walked in.
"Oh, we were looking for you! Great timing."
Zhilan turned to them and grinned. "I had a bit of an early start. Shall we?"
The girls immediately dived into cooking breakfast.
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Zhilan stood in Lu Xia's court and watched as he warmed up for practice.
"I believe you've seen your cousin play recently. What do you think of him?"
She turned to Coach Qi. "He has improved a lot. I imagine your guidance must have had something to do with it."
The coach smiled. "Not just me. The whole team has taught him a lot."
They stood in silence for a moment. "Tell me, what about you?"
Zhilan furrowed her eyebrows. "Me?"
Coach Qi laughed. "You were hospitalized for your ACL. Aren't you healed and ready to get back on a court?"
"Did Siyang tell you about that?"
She raised an eyebrow at her. "Your uncle told me. What does Siyang have to do with it?"
"Oh. Right. My uncle. I thought Siyang mentioned it. We were in the same hospital for treatment."
She nodded in understanding. "That's quite a coincidence. However, you didn't answer my question. Are you ready to play again?"
Zhilan hummed. "I started training again after I got cleared. Zhiming actually helped me with the training plan."
"That's great news. Have you signed up for any matches yet? There are plenty of local competitions going on for female tennis athletes."
"Not quite. I still want to train a bit longer. I want to be at my best."
Coach Qi sighed. "That is understandable, but I think you should go ahead and play. If you start, it may help you to move forward and improve."
She bit her lip in thought. "I suppose you have a point. I'll think about it some more."
"I'll be happy to look at the current competitions and show them to you. You can choose which one you'd like to sign up for when you want to."
"Thank you very much, Coach Qi."
The woman smiled at her. "If you need anything, you can come to me. I'll be more than happy to guide you."
Zhilan nodded and walked off to buy some water. As she did, a shadow loomed over her. She turned around and it was Baiyang.
"Hello."
He nodded at her.
The vending machine dropped a water bottle and she handed it over to him. "Here. You can take it."
He blinked and slowly took it from her hand. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. How are you?" She asked as she bought another water.
Baiyang took a gulp of water. "I'm fine. I better keep going with the program. Thanks again."
He ran off and she just looked in his direction. She shrugged, knowing that he was a guy of little words.
She bought another one and sipped it. She went back to see that Siyang had the team gathered around.
"Pair up. The training schedule is on the board for reference."
Instead of watching Lu Xia again, she watched Dayong and Jiale play with Xinglong and Zhuo Zhi. She never had a preference for doubles, but found watching them very interesting. The golden partners scored a point with Dachi's moon volley.
As she watched, she thought back to what Coach Qi had said. Even Zhuo Zhi's words passed through her mind. She let out a deep breath and then made a beeline for her room. She dug through her bag for some workout clothing that she packed in case she wanted to exercise.
She changed and slung her tennis bag over her shoulder.
"Zhilan? What are you doing?" Qi Ying asked curiously when she saw her.
"I am going to play tennis. Want to come watch?" She asked.
She smiled. "Okay, I'll go get Xing Zi."
She went back to Lu Xia's court again. She pulled out her racket and a tennis ball. She hit the ball in his direction and he immediately hit it away. A-Mu, who was also there, let out a startled sound and looked over at her.
"I'm interrupting your training. I want to play a match."
Lu Xia looked at her with a smile and laughed.
Author's Note
Well, there you go. A little tease of what's gonna happen next. - Violet
