129 Cry and Make a Fuss

◎Youth is the purest period of life.◎

The news that Xu Dong and He Qianlu had reunited spread quietly within the national team.

Zhu Qi didn't say a word. Ah Shui actually belonged to the second group who heard about it, but it was not Zhu Qi who told her.

Zhu Qi guessed that Xu Dong took the initiative to talk to Ren Xinhua about this matter, and it was first spread from the coaching staff, and then let the players know.

Xu Dong and He Qianlu are not athletes now and have no competition tasks, so naturally no one will object.

Ren Xinhua saw things so clearly that he probably realized long ago that the two were still thinking about each other, otherwise he would not have called He Qianlu over on Zhu Qi's birthday.

After so much time had passed, the Buddha's hostility towards He Qianlu had dissipated a lot.

Perhaps it's because the times are progressing. In this era just before the millennium, the young people around me are becoming more and more open-minded. At least I didn't get upset when I first saw He Qianlu. Now I can pretend not to see him.

Although Xu Dong hadn't mentioned resigning, he continued to diligently oversee the training sessions for his team, pulling out external match videos for the players to watch. He was even more dedicated than before, fearing that others would think he was slacking off because he was in a relationship and preparing for marriage.

Zhu Qi likes to get up an hour early every day to go to the training hall.

In the first year, only Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou trained in the training hall. After training, they followed the others who got up to go for a morning run.

But after returning from the Tokyo World Games, Xu Dong also began to volunteer to accompany Zhu Qi to work overtime every day, so the two of them would have an hour of alone time to talk about other things.

During this hour, Zhu Qi heard Xu Dong say that when Xu Dong first wanted to reconcile with He Qianlu, he had mentioned this matter to his family, but his family strongly opposed it.

When Xu Dong wanted to be a coach for the national team, he had an argument with his family.

The national team coaches in the 1990s were not as popular as they were more than 20 years later... In fact, they were not very popular around 20 years ago. It seemed that they were of a higher level, but in fact, everyone in the circle knew that those who could coach a provincial team were unwilling to coach the national team.

And the treatment of coaches in the 1990s was even worse than that in the 1920s...

Although it is also within the system, the salary is only 200 yuan more than that of the provincial team.

It's not worth watching at all in the high-consumption capital.

This is similar to the situation of many primary school head teachers and ordinary subject teachers, who earn an extra 200 yuan and worry about 20,000 yuan more, but whoever becomes the head teacher will keep quiet.

Moreover, the national team coach can only rest one day a week and basically has to live in the national team for six days.

If any of his players makes a mistake, the coach will also have to punish them.

A young player on the men's team was repeatedly absent from dorm inspections and was fined 300 yuan. The coach, for failing to supervise the players, was also fined 3,000 yuan, which cost him a month's salary. Furious, the coach filed a petition requesting that the player be suspended as punishment.

Not to mention when there are large-scale competitions, there is not even time to rest.

If the players don't play well, the coaches will be criticized, and some may even resign. It's not a good thing to put on a resume.

Even if there are some subsidies, it is far less popular than going into business in this era, and it is even worse than going to school for further studies, let alone teaching abroad.

Although Zhu Qi was annoyed by those old white people, he had to admit that wages abroad were indeed very high in the 1990s.

The monthly salary is almost equivalent to the annual salary in China. Those who went abroad to coach between the 1990s and 1920s made a lot of money.

At this time, many people even feel that coaching for the national team is not as good as coaching for the provincial team. At least provincial team coaches do not have such great competition pressure, and they are close to home and have various holidays every year.

Although Zhu Qi feels that most of the current coaches have somewhat old-fashioned ideas, Chicheng, who never doubts such people, is willing to stay in the national team to coach during such a difficult time out of his love for this land.

The reason why Xu Dong was willing to come to the national team as a coach was actually very simple. She just didn't want to go home and face the almost oppressive arrangements of her family, forcing her to follow her family's wishes and take the various routes arranged for her by her family.

Get married, have children, raise children, and be a full-time housewife.

Xu Dong said no.

Ever since she became an athlete, she knew she had to walk her own path. Even though she was almost sent back to the provincial team because of premature love, Xu Dong never regretted it.

Once you have made the choice, you won’t think about whether it is right or not.

Now when they heard that Xu Dong had a boyfriend, her family was quite happy. However, when they heard that it was He Qianlu, they became unhappy.

The most important reason is that He Qianlu’s incident in Jerusalem still has not been resolved.

Xu Dong's family couldn't accept it.

But after Zhu Qi gradually came into her own, the process of Zhu Qi training with He Qianlu in the Jianghuai Provincial Team was also recorded, as well as a post-match interview with a reporter, in which the reporter asked Zhu Qi who had helped her the most in her career.

Zhu Qi's response at the time was: "For me, there are three groups of people who have shaped who I am today. The first is my coaches: my provincial team coach He Qianlu, national team coach Xu Dong, and our president Ren Xinhua. The second is my teammates: Zu Tianjiao, Fang Miao, and former women's team captain Chang Hongxia. They know I will become their biggest rival in the future, but they are always willing to guide me and train with me. The third is every opponent I've faced so far. They all have different playing styles, and each one is at the top of their game. Playing against them has helped me grow."

He Qianlu's name has appeared in everyone's ears many times in conjunction with Zhu Qi.

The black water on He Qianlu's body gradually fell off, revealing the red heart inside.

Xu Dong's attitude this time was the same as when she faced the threat from Master Fo that she be sent back to the provincial team and forced to break up with He Qianlu. She told her parents firmly, "I'm informing you, not seeking your opinion. Whether you agree or not, it won't affect my decision."

The relationship between Xu Dong and He Qianlu developed very quickly. They had a past together and now they feel like an old married couple. Everything was happening naturally and smoothly.

Seeing Xu Dong's firm attitude, her family nodded when they saw that He Qianlu had a good reputation in Jianghuai Province in recent years.

The parents of both parties agreed on a time to meet, and then set the date for the wedding banquet and marriage certificate acquisition in December 1999.

The date has been set.

The coaches in the team began to secretly make plans again.

He Qianlu is a coach in Jianghuai Province. After getting married, he should bring Xu Dong with him, right? Living apart is possible when you are in love, but it is naturally not possible after marriage.

In this case, there will be one less coaching position for the women's team.

The coach, who had only thought about getting Zhu Qi into his team before, started to snatch him away openly.

Zhu Qi clearly felt that many coaches of the women's team recently liked to come to her and chat with her for unknown reasons, and then asked her about her physical conditions in a particularly kind manner. They even ran to the players during lunch and chatted with her.

Even Ren Xinhua knew about this plan.

Ren Xinhua actually did not want Xu Dong to leave the team. The national team has always been short of coaches. Many coaches with excellent work abilities would rather stay in their own provincial teams because they are closer to their families and more convenient, and they do not have as much pressure as the national team.

Xu Dong was the coach she had trained with great difficulty. He almost left the team because of He Qianlu back then, and now he was going to leave the team because of He Qianlu again.

Not to mention the Buddha, Ren Xinhua also wanted to point at He Qianlu's nose and scold him.

Thinking of this, Ren Xinhua found someone.

"The last time the coach of the Chaojing team came, he met with me and told me that two of the team's coaches had retired and they were desperately short of people."

Ren Xinhua's words were not too clear, but the coaches of the major provincial teams were actually connected with each other.

If there is a personnel transfer somewhere, we will immediately start looking for ways to "mobilize people".

Everyone fights for good players.

Everyone is vying for a good coach.

But before Ren Xinhua approached Zhu Qi, he had actually spoken with He Qianlu. He asked him, "I wanted you to coach the national team, but you kept saying it was too stressful and you'd rather stay with the provincial team. If you don't want to coach the national team, would you like to find a job in Chaojing? You could even try coaching the Chaojing team. We're all coaches anyway, so it doesn't matter where we work."

Athletes actually have a stubborn nature in their bones, or in simple terms, they are stubborn.

After being demoted, He Qianlu almost quit the entire table tennis circle. If he had not taken over Zhu Qi in the Jianghuai Provincial Team, he might have returned to his hometown and opened a small shop with his parents to make a living.

Xu Dong had struggled in Chaojing for so long and was reluctant to leave, and He Qianlu had also struggled in Jianghuai for a long time and was reluctant to leave either.

Now it depends on who can give up first.

Zhu Qi pouted, "Are you kidding? I also spent a long time with the Jianghuai team, but I had no trouble adapting to the Bayi team. After all, we're all from this country, so it doesn't matter where he works as a grown man. To put it bluntly, he's just stuck in a rut. There are many things he hasn't figured out, and he needs someone to push him. Just like when you asked him to coach in Jianghuai Province, wasn't he very reluctant at the time?"

"So what do you think..."

"Sister Xia is currently concentrating on teaching Ah Shui right-handed ball. If I were to join her, it would definitely divert her attention, which would be detrimental to Ah Shui's development. The other coaches don't agree with me, and I don't like them," Zhu Qi said confidently. "If he takes my head coach away, I'll never let him go!"

Ren Xinhua was relieved and gave Zhu Qi full rights. He handed Zhu Qi a note to go out and said, "Then it's up to you."

/

He Qianlu was packing his things in the hotel to return to Jianghuai Province, and Xu Dong was also there to help him pack.

Neither of them spoke, quietly doing their own things.

Xu Dong didn't speak because he was angry with He Qianlu, and He Qianlu didn't speak because he was afraid of making Xu Dong angry.

The only sound in the room was the thumping of things being put away, which made He Qianlu feel a little dazed. Was he being too selfish? He should have accepted Ren Xinhua's advice and stayed in Chaojing.

He Qianlu's departure from Chaojing was not glorious. He always felt that he was expelled from Chaojing at that time.

This kind of thinking has always made He Qianlu maintain his useless self-esteem. Although Xu Dong didn't say anything and didn't talk to him about how reluctant she was to leave the national team, He Qianlu knew that the less Xu Dong said, the more reluctant she was.

"The day after tomorrow is Dragon Boat Festival, and the national team should be organizing zongzi (rice dumplings) making activities," Xu Dong suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence. "A Shui loves sweets the most. Last year, she ate four sweet date zongzi by herself. Bao Bao likes meat zongzi, and Zuo Zuo and You You love to dip their zongzi in sugar..."

She was like a mother, talking about the children she had raised.

He Qianlu watched Xu Dong squatting next to the suitcase and suddenly remembered how he and Xu Dong had done the same thing a few times when they were both national team players. When the team was going out for a match, they would often pack each other's things, with Chang Hongxia and Gao Xiaofeng providing support, their rackets and rubbers together, and even a lot of clothes in the same suitcase.

He Qianlu carried the heavy things, and Xu Dong carried the lighter things.

It was because of this that the coaches discovered that they were in love.

But now they can put both parties' belongings in one suitcase openly, but... He Qianlu feels that she is not that happy.

"Knock, knock, knock." Someone knocked on the hotel door, and Zhu Qi's voice rang out from outside. "Open the door."

He Qianlu sat up from the bed with a "click" and looked at Xu Dong.

The latter knew in his heart that this was most likely a lobbyist hired by Ren Xinhua. The former's face was filled with the expression "Why is this little ancestor here?"

"I hear you talking, open the door for me!" Zhu Qi said again from outside.

"..." He Qianlu.

When Xu Dong walked over and opened the door, he saw Zhu Qi, who was furious and looked like he was about to start a fight. Xu Dong quickly said, "You haven't eaten yet, are you? I'll go get you some stir-fry." Then he quickly left the arena.

"Hey!" He Qianlu muttered softly as he watched his future wife run off. "You two are in cahoots."

As soon as Zhu Qi came in, he threw a piece of paper in front of He Qianlu and said, "Sign it."

The momentum was the same as when He Qianlu asked Zhu Qi to sign the registration form for the Macau Palace World Cup at the food stall, except that the two of them were in different positions today.

This piece of paper contains a transfer application form.

Transferred from the Jianghuai Provincial Team to the Chaojing Team.

He Qianlu's face sank, and he muttered, "Didn't I tell Lao Ren about this? I..."

"You're not right, I have the final say!" Zhu Qi interrupted him. "Who told you to hook up with our Coach Xu? Who told you to go to Chaojing every day? Who told you to keep your relationship with my head coach secret without telling me? I just think our Coach Xu is great, and I can't stand any other coach. If I lose a match because of a coaching change, it's your fault."

"Aren't you being a rogue?!" He Qianlu was anxious.

"Then decide for yourself whether you want to be a 'national sinner'." Zhu Qi folded his arms and sat at the door, looking determined to fight He Qianlu to the end.

Zhu Qi's habit is to use force first and then courtesy. She also knows that Ren Xinhua must have explained all the necessary reasons to He Qianlu. Now He Qianlu is only holding on with his last nerve.

Seeing that his unreasonable behavior had some effect on He Qianlu, Zhu Qi started to play the emotional card again.

"Finally, let's talk about me. You're so unfair! How could you just take my head coach away for no apparent reason? You've gone too far! What will happen to my future competitions, and what will happen to the rest of our team's competitions? I don't care. You have to sign this today!"

A cry.

"Also, do you think I care about you and insist on you coming to Chaojing? I just can't bear to leave Coach Xu. Look at you, don't you think about whether Coach Xu is willing to leave Chaojing? She's lived here for so long. If she goes to Jianghuai with you, she'll be so far away from her friends in her hometown. Can she adapt to life in Jianghuai?"

Second disturbance.

"Coach Xu has worked so hard for the national team for so long, and she definitely won't be able to accept you giving up your career. She's not the type to be a housewife, either. What do you plan to have her do when you get to Jianghuai? Now Coach Xu is quitting. I don't have a head coach, and neither do the rest of Xu Dong's team. Coach Xu can't assign tasks properly. I'm not satisfied, the other players are not satisfied, and Coach Xu isn't that satisfied either. But you're the only one who's satisfied. How could you do this?"

Three hangings.

Ren Xinhua persuaded He Qianlu to stay only by using the needs of the national team.

But Zhu Qi's focus is on the future development of himself and Xu Dong.

He Qianlu suddenly felt that the last tense muscle in his body seemed to loosen.

Until the end, Zhu Qi's words, "Don't try to fool me with the excuse that you're reluctant to give up your job in the Jianghuai Provincial Team. You need to be tough like a man and get up from where you fell. Otherwise, why would Coach Xu choose you for the second time when you look like a loser?"

Negotiation experts, start!

When Xu Dong came back with three dishes and a soup, He Qianlu had already signed the transfer application form.

She laughed and said, "Oh, why do you agree to this?"

He Qianlu said with a bitter face: "If I don't sign, I will be sorry for the country, sorry for the people, and sorry for you. I dare not not sign."

Now Zhu Qi is satisfied.

What's the big deal about not having a coach? Just get one yourself.

She folded the application form to bring He Qianlu back to Beijing, put it in her arms, sat down at the table in the hotel room, and announced.

“I’m hungry!”

Xu Dong immediately started to get busy, opening the plastic box, arranging the chopsticks, pouring water, and serving the dishes to Zhu Qi.

Two adults and a young man sat around a table and ate face to face like a family of three.

He Qianlu sat opposite, taking a mouthful of rice from his bowl and sighing, "This damn girl is really difficult to deal with. I'm so annoyed."

Xu Dong didn't understand him at all, so he whispered to Zhu Qi, "Don't look at him grumbling like that, he's actually quite happy inside, he just can't let it go."

"I know." Zhu Qi blinked.

Man, this is useless self-esteem.

/

In fact, it would not be so fast to transfer He Qianlu from Jianghuai to Chaojing team.

The Chaojing team has a new coach, but Jianghuai Province has lost a coach. Someone must be found to replace He Qianlu before he can leave his original position.

After the New Year of 2000, earth-shaking changes took place in all aspects of the country.

The Internet is like a spider web that covers the sky and earth, spreading everywhere silently.

Mobile phones have also evolved from big brothers and Nokias to very trendy flip-top color screens.

Internet cafes once became the favorite place for young people, and more and more young people were walking on the streets wearing more fashionable clothes.

For the table tennis team, it was also a year of human resource turmoil.

There were two premature love incidents that were once considered scandals in the national team: He Qianlu and Xu Dong, and Fat Tiger and Tang Tang.

They actually got their marriage certificate and held their wedding banquet in the same year.

Afterwards, a reporter asked Ren Xinhua whether the national team would adjust its control over the players in this regard since the two couples they had previously separated had finally gotten together.

But Ren Xinhua's attitude remains firm. Active players are not allowed to fall in love early.

But these two couples also made many young players' suppressed hearts stir again...

Zhu Qi didn't think much of it when the person who had always been around him suddenly got married, but A Shui was deeply touched.

"I want to be a bridesmaid!"

A Shui kept pulling Xu Dong and making trouble.

"I haven't been one yet, I want to be a bridesmaid! Let me be one, ahhhh——"

During the transition from 1999 to the millennium.

A string of crackling firecrackers rang out at the door of a large hotel next to the national team.

The entrance was filled with the country's most famous coaches and players. All the members of the Dream Team wore red flowers and gathered under the balloon arch, shouting loudly and scattering golden flowers.

The best men were several coaching friends of He Qianlu in the provincial team, as well as Daxiong from the men's team.

There are two bridesmaids, Zhu Qi and A Shui.

Because Gao Xiaofeng was married, he could only stand outside as a guest and make trouble.

Chang Hongxia has never liked wearing skirts since she was a child, so she politely declined when she heard that the bridesmaid wanted to wear one.

That day was a happy event for the entire national team.

Even Lulu and Caribou came.

The most formal dress for Pakistani girls is sari, which is quite in their national style. The long orange veil wraps the beautiful body of women, the hair is wrapped in a beautiful headscarf, and a silver pendant is worn on the chest.

It looks exotic and very beautiful.

As a witness to the love of the two newlyweds, Ren Xinhua made everyone put aside the past incident of breaking up the couple and expressed their blessings to He Qianlu and Xu Dong.

"All the hardships in the past have ended, and what awaits them in the future is happiness. I hope they will be happy every day in the future."

Everyone applauded and cheered again, and even the Buddha came on stage and said a few words, taking advantage of this day to tease He Qianlu.

"To be honest, at first, I really looked down on this guy. I thought Xu Dong from our women's team was a good person, a good player, and had a good personality. Everything about her was good, and this guy was far behind. So, I'm here today as a member of her family. Let me tell you this: if you dare to treat our Xu Dong badly in the future, I'll break your legs."

There was another burst of laughter from the audience.

The two bridesmaids on stage wore pink, wide-sleeved tulle gowns with a nipped-in waist that resembled a cheongsam. Their hems were draped with pink tassels, hugging their slender legs. Their faces were painted with delicate, yet subtle, makeup that didn't overpower the bride.

Because Zhu Qi and A Shui both have short hair, the makeup artist gave them both a wig that fell to their chests.

Two young girls stood on the left and right of Xu Dong, who was wearing a white gauze dress. The groomsmen opposite were "teased" by the host on the stage and had to play various interesting and entertaining games.

The videotape recording the wedding scene was made into a video version and uploaded to the video website with the largest traffic many years later. It was called by many people as "the first marriage of national table tennis."

In fact, Zhu Qi rarely wears makeup or skirts.

I'm used to wearing shorts, and wearing a skirt gives me a... very strange feeling, as if there's a draft somewhere.

But A Shui said that she looked particularly beautiful today, and looked like a daughter of a wealthy family, full of noble airs.

Zhu Qi felt that the description of Ah Shui was too abstract, and the term "rich lady" had nothing to do with her.

But from Song Linzhou's perspective, he understood what Ah Shui meant by this description.

She looked like the bright moon hanging in the clouds at dawn, radiant and dazzling. The pink dress she wore made her skin appear to have a beautiful rosy hue.

Zhu Qi looked very happy that day, smiling more than Song Linzhou had smiled since he met Zhu Qi combined.

Zhu Qi had always been like a female warrior charging into battle, remaining calm even when confronted by her biological father. But today, watching He Qianlu and Xu Dong kiss each other's foreheads amidst the clamor, she burst into laughter.

A very strange feeling of youth lingered in Song Linzhou's heart. He felt that Zhu Qi today looked more like a young woman of her age, full of vitality and joy.

He Qianlu was urged by several groomsmen to kiss Xu Dong on the forehead, and his whole body turned red.

Ah Shui refused to give in and clapped his hands beside him: "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

A group of people in the audience burst into laughter.

Xu Dong covered his face and pinched Ah Shui. Ah Shui smiled and hid behind Zhu Qi. Zhu Qi deliberately covered Ah Shui's eyes and muttered, "Not suitable for children, not suitable for children."

Several people were making a scene on the stage.

Youth is the purest period in life.

Countless young people do what they want to do most without any scruples, without considering the consequences or caring about the future.

Many fairy tales end with the marriage of the princess and the prince, but only those who have actually entered into marriage know that there is endless family gossip afterwards.

Zhu Qi didn’t know whether Xu Dong and He Qianlu’s future life would be better than living alone in their previous lives, but she only knew that on that day both of them had waited for the person they most wanted to spend the rest of their lives with.

Song Linzhou murmured, "This is the first time I've seen her so happy."

"Yeah, when Coach Xu got married, she jumped up and down like a monkey." Qin Xiaoba followed up.

Song Linzhou was stunned for a moment, then turned around and asked Qin Xiaoba, "Who are you talking about?"

Qin Xiaoba turned around to look at him and asked, "Who are you talking about?"

The two looked at each other and tacitly did not respond.

The crackling sound of firecrackers ends and we welcome the New Year.

After the snow melted in Beijing, the millennium bell rang.