Picture Us | Zhuo Zhi

sixteen

y u h a n g m a t c h

Nam smiles to herself as she walks behind the team next to her twin, proudly wearing her team jacket. It's the day of the municipal qualifying of the national tournament, and Yu Qing is going to battle Yu Hang today.

As the game starts, Nam departs from the team to make her way to the stands, knowing a photographer wouldn't be as welcomed standing on the court. She opts to set up her camera in the corner, so she's standing a bit away from the seats. From all her years watching Lu Xia, Nam knows that she gets too antsy if she sits down.

Yan Zhiming is also in the stands, and she sees him sit with Ying, Xiang, and Mu, along with a girl she doesn't recognize. She inwardly sighs as Ying calls her over. You're the one that wanted friends, Nam reminds herself.

"Erm... hi guys," she greets as she walks over.

"Hi Nam!" Ying, Xiang, and Mu greet back. Yan just gives a nod.

"Hi, I'm Xu Xingzi," the new girl introduces. "Qiao Chen was my classmate back in junior high."

"Hi... I'm, um... Lu Nam, Lu Xia's twin, but... uh... most people can call me just 'Nam.'"

"Well, nice to meet you, Nam."

"You too... um, I'm going to head back now," Nam says before she leaves the group.

"Qi Ying?" Xingzi asks.

"Yes?"

"Who is Nam, exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've never met someone so casual for things like this. She wears a team jacket, which I've never heard of a non-player doing, and she doesn't even sit in the cheering section."

"Auntie made her our team's official photographer," Ying answers.

"I don't think Nam is super comfortable with people. I've only seen her talk normally when her brother is around, but even then, it looks like she wishes to be left alone," Mu adds.

"Based on my data," Yan says, "Lu Nam is 100% comfortable with two people we know: Lu Xia and Zhuo Zhi,"

"Why Zhuo Zhi?" Xiang asks.

"Unclear. I don't have enough data on either to draw that conclusion."

-

Nam's excited for the start of the game, because she knows that her twin has never played doubles before. She watches as Lu Xia and Qiao Chen play together for the second doubles, and she's pleasantly surprised at their coordination on the court.

She winces as the boys fail to coordinate on the sidelines, though. Apparently, Xia and Qiao only learned to play together on the midline. Nam sees Jiale hang his head in embarrassment as everyone watches the two struggle.

Nam discreetly snaps her camera as she sees Qiao Chen make goo-goo eyes with... Xu Xingzi? Interesting. Nam laughs as Qiao serves the ball to the back of her twin's head, and Xia exacts his own revenge by hitting the ball to the back of Qiao's head during a rally. Nam giggles to herself as she watches her brother play innocent by trying to hide in his hat.

While it was the solution for the two to be able to play with each other, Nam cringes as she sees the two boys divide the court in half by scraping their rackets on the ground. She knows enough to know that it's a disgraceful way to play doubles. Lu Xia and Qiao Chen were practically just playing singles except for the midline!

Nam does smile, though, as she sees Qiao Chen's special move, a vertical overhand smash. She can't help but laugh to herself when, at the end of the match, Coach Qi pinches both Xia's and Qiao's cheeks, scolding them even though they win their match. She makes sure to take a picture of her twin and Qiao Chen in their little "time out" for their punishment.

Thankfully, the rest of the day is easy for Yu Qing. In the first doubles, Jiale and Dayong win without a problem.

In third singles, Nam can't help but pity the other player that goes against Baiyang. She's amazed by his special move, his snakeball.

In the second singles, Xinglong becomes fierce as soon as he gets a hold of his racket, shouting "Burning!" while furiously returning every ball. Nam watches in awe as his tennis racket seems to be on fire.

For the first singles, Nam is surprised that Zhuo Zhi casually walks onto the court to play instead of their captain, Siyang. I've never really seen either of them play, Nam thinks. She smiles as Zhuo seems to play so nonchalantly, yet still wins. Nam cheers for Yu Wing, happy that they win every single match, moving on with a record of six-to-zero.