Tanabata

After becoming a coach, Liu Jianchun's temper became even hotter than before, and she would unconsciously speak in a commanding tone, but she herself never realized it.

After listening to Jian Zhaonan's lengthy "retirement speech", she did not debate with him, but directly expressed her attitude: she disagreed.

Unless he couldn't even stand up and needed a nurse to help him get out of bed, just like the six months after her car accident, she would definitely vote against his retirement resolution.

"How do you know your back injury can't be cured? You haven't even tried it! After the surgery, you found out you really can't recover. You can still say you can't do it then. Why curse yourself in advance?"

When she was anxious, her speech speed would become very fast, and to him it sounded as clear as pearls falling on a jade plate.

He enjoyed her getting anxious and angry about him, and even enjoyed her concern with a hint of reproach. Only at this time could he be sure that she was only thinking about himself and no one else.

He wasn't a masochist, he just wanted to monopolize her full attention.

He picked up a piece of vegetable and put it into her soup spoon. "But... after retiring, you won't have to train every day, and you'll have more opportunities to make money. I'll be responsible for making money, and you'll be responsible for your charity work. Then, you can help more children. Isn't that great?"

He didn't say it clearly, but she could probably guess what he meant.

Since the World Table Tennis Championships, his exposure has continued to increase, and later, this guy has stayed by her side and refused to leave. From the time they met again to now, she has only seen him return to the team for training a few times.

It seems that his desire to retire was not just a casual remark, but something he had planned for a long time.

"I told you, don't worry about me. I can handle the money myself. If I can't even handle this, why would I open a gym? I'll just shut it down."

"It's not that you need it, it's that I want to. I want to protect the person I like, and I want to see you become better. Is even that not possible?" His tone was extremely humble.

She finally softened her heart.

Putting down the soup bowl and putting her arm around his shoulders, she took the initiative to lean against him and cling to him, hugging and coaxing him: "Of course, but I think you can hold on a little longer. People can't give up on themselves too early."

"Okay." His voice was a little hoarse, and if you listened carefully, it sounded like he was crying, but whether it was real crying or not was unclear. He also took the opportunity to act coquettishly, burying his head in the crook of her neck and rubbing it again and again, secretly and greedily sucking in her body fragrance.

He wanted to hug her for a while longer, but considering that she was still sick and it would be better for her to rest early, he reluctantly let go of her hand. After asking her if she wanted to eat more, he cleaned up the dishes and took everything out.

Liu Jianchun caught a bad cold because of recruiting students in the rain, but the rain was not in vain. The next morning, a little boy nicknamed Ma Zi came to report with his luggage on his back.

I don’t know if Dalin was being modest on purpose or if Mazi was really good, but after practicing a few rounds, they ended up in a tie. For a moment, Dalin was extremely embarrassed and felt like he was getting some kind of retribution.

Dalin refused to accept the defeat and insisted that he had deliberately let the newbie win the first few games, insisting on adding a tiebreaker. However, Ma Zifei refused to agree, saying that the rules should be set before the game, and arbitrarily changing them based on the outcome was a desecration of the game. Hearing this, Dalin became even more angry.

He picked up the racket and walked towards Ma Zi aggressively.

Although Ma Zi was skinny, he was much taller than Dalin. He didn't say much, but his eyes were sharp. He watched Dalin walk towards him quietly, without using his weapon, but just stood there calmly: "Are you going to do anything?"

Fighting isn't a competition, so how can you make an agreement before starting? Dalin, of course, didn't bother to pay attention to him.

Ma Zi continued, "The gym isn't a place for fighting. If you want to fight, don't do it here. Let's go downstairs."

Dalin knew that he had betrayed his master and was staying here for the past few days. He was already in the wrong. When he heard Ma Zi's words, he didn't refute them. Instead, he put his racket on the table and said, "Okay, let's go downstairs."

Dalin was about to roll up his sleeves and head out the door when he heard his coach's voice behind him: "What are you doing downstairs? You think embarrassing yourself at home isn't enough, so you're planning to go out on the street and put on a live show for the entire Hai District?"

"You come back here too." Liu Jianchun took a few quick steps and grabbed Ma Zi who was about to leave the door. "Why are you so angry with him? They'll move out in a few days."

When Dalin heard Liu Jianchun's words of comfort to Ma Zi, he felt his face burning, as if he had been slapped. Although he didn't say anything, he looked at Liu Jianchun with a resentful look.

She doesn't indulge anyone: "Dalin, if you can stay, stay. If not, leave early. I'm a human, not a Bodhisattva. I've been good to you, but look at how you treat me. If you want to be an ungrateful person, don't blame me for my harsh words."

Under siege from Mazi and the coach, Dalin packed up his luggage and moved out that night. He would rather stay in a hotel for a few days than suffer humiliation in this place anymore.

In fact, Liu Jianchun felt uncomfortable after scolding Dalin personally, but people have to look forward to it, and the past should be left in the past forever.

A few days later, a friendly match between several clubs was held in Liu Jianchun's newly opened stadium.

It is called a competition, but it is also a gathering of old friends of the coaches. There are friends from the provincial team, retired seniors from the national team, and even active players who come to join in the fun.

During a casual chat, Liu Jianchun learned that the team's direct competition was about to begin, leading directly to the Olympics, and the champion would directly secure a place in the next Olympics.

Compared with major competitions, the direct-to-final competition is even more valuable than other world-class commercial competitions, and the competitive pressure is self-evident.

After Liu Jianchun heard about this, he spent the whole day thinking about what Jian Zhaonan should do.

Can he still train with his back injury?

But if I don’t train, what will happen in the direct competition?

That night, she saw Jian Zhaonan's car upstairs and took the initiative to go downstairs to greet him. She was about to ask about the direct-to-race, but Jian Zhaonan stopped her.

"There's something in the trunk, can you help me get it?"

She opened the trunk without knowing why, and was stunned by the roses covering the entire trunk. On top of the roses were three bags and two gift boxes.

She was still in shock when Jian Zhaonan got out of the car and walked over to her: "Do you like it?"

"I didn't know what you liked, so I bought a few classic and value-preserving ones." Seeing that she didn't move, he raised his hand and gently pushed her back, "Why don't you open it and take a look?"

She was no stranger to receiving gifts. What Xie Yu used to do most was to buy her gifts to cheer her up after he cheated on her. But it had indeed been a long time since she had touched such luxurious things.

She opened the gift boxes, one contained a dress and the other contained high heels, with thin leather soles and stiletto heels, which looked uncomfortable to walk in.

She turned her head and smiled bitterly: "I don't wear high heels."

He subconsciously frowned because he had seen her wearing it with his own eyes, when she was dating Xie Yu.

I could wear it before to please Xie Yu, but now I can’t wear it for him?

"Today is Chinese Valentine's Day, I want to see you wear it on a date with me."

She was a little embarrassed, but she agreed: "It's ugly for me to walk in high heels."

As long as she agreed, he didn't care whether it was ugly or not. Even if her appearance was as ugly as a man in a TV show who was dressed as a woman for the first time, he didn't care: "If you don't know how to wear it, I can hold you when we walk."

"It's so embarrassing that you carry me wherever I go." She blushed instantly when she thought of that scene.

He pinched her blushing cheeks and said, "Then let's go to a place where there is no one."

As soon as he finished speaking, he picked up her skirt and shoes with one hand, closed the trunk, and pushed her into the car.

He didn't tell her where they were going, but just took her out of the city. She took advantage of the time on the way to change her clothes in the more spacious back seat.

He took her to the river.

The tall buildings on the opposite bank were still brightly lit, and the lights spilled into the river, turning into stars.

Just like the galaxy on earth.

She sat in the car and looked into the distance, but what she saw was not the beauty of the night view, but the workers who were still working overtime in the office building on the opposite bank.

You are still working overtime at this time. What time will you get home?

Seeing her staring out the window in a daze, he didn't have the heart to disturb her. After she came to her senses, he said, "I was planning to take you to a restaurant for a midnight snack, but you said you were afraid of being embarrassed, so I had to bring you here for a walk. Not many people come here, and I don't have to worry about being seen."

She thought about it and felt that it might be nice to feel the night breeze.

She got out of the car before him, walked to the river bank, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath of fresh air.

In an instant, all her worries were thrown behind her mind, and even the compassion she had just felt for those working overtime disappeared completely.

He quietly walked up behind her and put his arm around her waist: "How is it here?"

She was still enjoying it with her eyes closed: "Very good..."

He tightened his grip on her waist, almost pressing against her body: "I don't think it's good enough. We're too rushed today. If we had time to prepare in advance, we should set off some fireworks here. That would be more romantic." As he spoke, he gestured to her the location and explained what the effect of the fireworks show should be like, or rather, the environmental conditions here were not good enough, and they should find a wider river channel and a more beautiful background.

She subconsciously thought he was so childish. He was so old, why was he still doing these nonsense? But then she thought again, this was his first time being in love, and he had accumulated romantic fantasies for many years, waiting for this day for his dream to come true.

She did not refute, but just listened quietly to him painting a rosy picture for her. As for whether it would come true, she didn't care at all.

There is nothing wrong with drawing pie in the sky. For this kind of flashy romance, it is enough to just talk about it and experience the happiness brought by the fantasy. If she really wants to make it come true, she will feel more stressed and worry that she will not be able to provide him with enough emotional value at that time - because she really doesn't like formalism.

Her stomach made an inopportune hungry sound. To hide her embarrassment, she looked at him aggrievedly: "It seems we might as well go for a midnight snack."

He was silent for a moment.

"There's fried chicken on the bus, would you like some?"

She nodded repeatedly.

They were supposed to be a perfect couple walking hand in hand under the moonlight, with the night wind lifting the hem of her skirt and stealing a hint of her body fragrance... In the end, the two of them were sitting in the car eating KFC.