Love is as simple as badminton.

Let's keep going from Chapter 59 onwards!

……

The morning sunlight streamed in through the ventilation vents, traversing the stadium and gilding the crystal trophy on the round table beside the court with a golden hue.

The gilded lettering on the base also gleamed in the sunlight: Lin Xiang, Men's Singles Champion of the 79th Freshman Cup of Xiangzhou University.

"That's fine."

On the court, looking at Chen Zaiyou, who was wearing a casual T-shirt, Lin Xiang got into a serve-receiving position: "Let's begin."

"Don't take it so seriously!"

Chen Zaiyou laughed and said, "We're just exchanging ideas today, not competing to see who's better or worse."

That's a bit of an exaggeration—as a top-ten active professional player in the world, Chen Zaiyou could easily take Lin Xiang away if he got serious.

But from this young man, he could already vaguely see a higher potential than his own.

He seems to possess all the qualities a perfect player should have: outstanding talent, superhuman self-discipline, and a tenacious spirit.

The two symbolically played a few balls, followed by a group photo and autographs... Shi Yuqi stayed by the side with a camera the whole time, snapping photos with a wide smile on her face.

Two handsome guys can be photographed in any way, no need to deliberately try to find the right angle.

"How are you feeling?"

"Yes, I can almost see him dominating the badminton world in five or six years."

Chen Zaiyou looked at Wang Tianmao and exclaimed, "Your teaching ability is as seasoned as ever!"

Wang Tianmao smiled and waved his hand: "I just have a pair of eyes that are good at discovering things."

The two chatted for a while longer until the manager quietly reminded Chen Zaiyou that he had to catch a flight. Only then did Chen Zaiyou wave goodbye and leave the amusement park like a child reluctant to part.

"Until we meet again, young man!"

Chen Zaiyou smiled at Lin Xiang from afar, "I hope that next time we meet, it will be on the international stage!"

Lin Xiang nodded: "Mm."

……

As noon approached, the sunlight filtering into the warehouse gradually brightened.

"Hold on! It's the last ball!"

As Shi Yuqi spoke, she passed the last ball in her hand to Lin Xiang.

"Smack!!!"

Lin Xiang smoothly retreated, then launched a Malay attack, ending the training session with a precise shot that landed right on the line.

Today is the third day after the Freshman Cup, and Lin Xiang has resumed his daily training.

In competitive sports, the joy should end the moment of victory. The path of badminton has no true kings, only endless challenges.

Lin Xiang also agreed with what Wang Tianmao said.

But after saying that, he went to play Three Kingdoms Kill, showing no seriousness whatsoever...

"Junior!"

After stringing the balls together, Shi Yuqi picked up her phone, her face beaming: "There's news from the academy!"

"How is it?"

"The dean held a special meeting and approved our formation of a college team to prepare for the college league! Look, the documents are all written!"

Shi Yuqi excitedly handed her phone to Lin Xiang.

"fine."

Lin Xiang read the text on the screen and nodded with a smile.

Although the academy was jokingly referred to as a small, dilapidated institution, it always maintained a pragmatic approach. This document not only gave the green light to the establishment of the academy's team in terms of procedures, but also approved a considerable sum of funding, totaling nearly ten thousand yuan.

And this is just a trial run—if we can achieve good results, such as leading the college into the top eight or top four, there will be even more prize money!

"Time waits for no one, it seems we need to confirm our teammates as soon as possible."

Lin Xiang seemed to be thinking, "We are currently mainly lacking players in doubles events. Even if we can compete in multiple events, we still need at least two men and two women."

The senior student has a lot of experience in both singles and doubles. I think you can give it a try in women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles.

I have a purely singles-oriented style. My teamwork was terrible when I tried mixed doubles and men's doubles before, so I probably won't consider doubles again unless absolutely necessary.

"No problem, you focus on training, I'll take care of pulling people!"

Shi Yuqi raised her chin and smiled, "With your reputation, there will definitely be plenty of people willing to come!"

"I hope so."

Lin Xiang looked at the court and realized that the number of courts needed for training was also a problem; there were still not enough.

Why hasn't the hospital addressed this issue yet...?

The two were packing their things to go to lunch when they saw a familiar figure appear at the door.

"President Deng? What brings you here?"

Shi Yuqi blinked curiously.

In her memory, Deng Ziyang was usually busy with school team matters and rarely appeared in other places.

"I just happened to be passing by."

Deng Ziyang glanced at the warehouse as if nothing had happened.

"The school team has adjusted its training schedule and reduced the amount of badminton association space it uses for training. If you need to use the courts in the future, please go back to those facilities."

Shi Yuqi was taken aback for a moment, then her face lit up with joy: "Thank you, President Deng!"

"No need to thank me, it was mainly your partner who consulted with Instructor Zhang. Well, I was just exercising my voting rights."

Deng Ziyang waved his hand.

"Also, some players have recently withdrawn from the reserve team. To ensure fairness in the competition, the vacant spots will be opened to the entire school through qualifying rounds."

He looked at Lin Xiang with a meaningful gaze.

"If you can do it, then prove it to me. Don't let your supporters down."

"it is good."

Lin Xiang's words were concise and to the point.

"..."

"..."

"I'm leaving. Goodbye."

"Aren't you going to have dinner together, Mr. Deng?"

"No, no, I'm incredibly busy!"

"Haha, okay, goodbye Mr. Deng~"

Shi Yuqi covered her mouth and smiled at Lin Xiang, "Don't take it to heart, President Deng is just all bark and no bite!"

No. Take it to heart.

Lin Xiang replied with a serious expression, "I will not let my supporters down."

"Haha, you're always so serious..."

The girl's laughter stopped abruptly—the junior opened his broad arms and embraced her in his arms, just as she had embraced him that day.

Her mind either didn't process what was happening, or it did, but with no escape from his overwhelming presence, she chose to deliberately shut down. In short, when she reconnected, she was already nestled in her junior's arms.

"Junior, junior!?"

The girl's pupils dilated in shock, her face burning hot like a boiling teapot. "W-what are you doing??"

"It's perfectly normal for good friends to encourage each other with a hug."

The warm breath of Lin Xiang reached my ears.

Unlike his usual serious demeanor, his voice now seemed unusually tense.

"The road ahead is long. Let's keep going, senior."

"Um……"

·

"Meow meow."

"Oh?"

After finishing a game of Three Kingdoms Kill, Wang Tianmao was about to go get lunch. Following Da Xiong's call, he saw Deng Ziyang enter Hao Mao's house.

"What a rare guest!"

Wang Tianmao laughed, "Why did Little Deng suddenly decide to visit this old geezer?"

"Some of my old teammates also know you're here. Everyone's curious why you don't come out of retirement."

Deng Ziyang hesitated, then asked, "Is it because of...the conflict with Instructor Zhang?"

"Hehe, not at all. At our age, why would we care about those things?"

Wang Tianmao shook his head. "On the other hand, when we get to our age, we start to care about things we wouldn't have cared about before."

Deng Ziyang shook his head in confusion: "Could you explain it more clearly?"

"There are only two outcomes in a game: win or lose. The winner tastes glory, and the loser swallows defeat. This statement is absolutely true."

But a game isn't meaningful simply because you win or lose. The meaning lies in the ups and downs of the game itself. Regardless of victory or defeat, we ultimately gain much more from experiencing the process.

In my opinion, that's the true meaning of badminton, and also the meaning of life. If we're always fixated on winning and losing on the court, we won't see the wonders beyond the court.

Wang Tianmao patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

"You'll understand, life is all off the court."

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