sparring partner
The moon was shrouded in mist, and the campus lights were dim.
Qu Chi didn't know how long she had been running. She just wanted to get rid of all the thoughts in her mind.
I know very well that those distracting thoughts will make me slower and slower, but why can't I control them?
It is obvious that it is a great thing that Zhou Xinwen has joined this project, so why do I still feel disappointed?
I know very well... that I can't compare to her, but still, I want to persevere?
There doesn't need to be another loser behind every genius.
Qu Chi tried to tell himself calmly.
Give up and accept this failed life calmly.
The runway doesn't need a loser.
In a recent competition, her first-place finish was quite embarrassing. Despite being first in the high school group, her score was even worse than that of a junior high student. You know, the reason sprint events are still strictly categorized below the U18 level is precisely because athletes are still in puberty, and even a one-year difference can mean completely different levels of musculoskeletal ability.
11.77 seconds VS 11.56 seconds.
In the 100-meter race, where milliseconds count as you get closer to the limit, she was 0.21 seconds slower than Zhou Xinwen, who is three years younger than her.
One day, Zhou Xinwen is destined to stand in the most watched arena and compete with her real opponent.
No one will remember the second place. Of course, she is not even qualified to participate in the competition. She is no match for Zhou Xinwen.
A genius's opponent would never be someone like her, someone who even starts to waver in her desire to run.
Qu Chi was exhausted and lay gasping for breath on the rough lawn. The plastic fake grass pricked her back and made her feel extremely uncomfortable, but she really couldn't stand up.
There are no stars in the night sky.
There is only the brightest full moon.
When the stars don't shine, will anyone know that they still exist?
Qu Chi closed his eyes tiredly and used his arms to block the moonlight in front of him.
She just wanted to lie down for a while.
"Hello, classmate."
A clear and gentle male voice sounded in her ears, calling her.
Qu Chi was startled, lowered his arms and half sat up.
Keep some distance.
The young man knelt on one knee on the grass, with the top two buttons of his white shirt undone, revealing his porcelain-white and delicate collarbone, his eyebrows were handsome, his beautiful eyes were lowered, and there was a smile on the corner of his mouth, as gentle as jade.
"Hello."
Qu Chi didn't know why he came and greeted him hesitantly.
The boy handed over a bottle of water. It was so hot, but there wasn't a single drop of water on it. It must have been bought at room temperature.
"Classmate, can I get to know you?"
A pick-up artist?
Qu Chi was stunned at first, then suspected that the other party was trying to sell some summer practice product.
Although she has been training for a long time and seems to be out of touch with the outside world, she has also watched the Internet.
I heard that many schools have assigned summer internship tasks this year, and maybe this person is selling water.
"Sorry, I don't buy it."
The boy was stunned for a moment. Qu Chi had already stood up and prepared to go back to the dormitory. Athletes have a short vacation time, and she has to report back to the provincial team tomorrow.
Since the provincial team had already made arrangements, she didn't need to worry too much about going to school.
Seeing that she was about to leave, the young man stretched out his long arm and grabbed her hand. His cold big hand gripped her wrist, alternating between cold and hot. Qu Chi felt like being stabbed, and he pulled it back with force.
"What are you going to do?!"
The boy immediately raised his hands. He realized his offense and showed weakness to show that he meant no harm.
"I really just want to get to know you. My name is Qin Chengmo."
Qu Chi didn't care what his name was, and said coldly, "I don't like talking to strangers."
Qin Chengmo stood up straight and leaned forward anxiously, but seeing how resistant she was, he didn't dare to get too close, so he stood up stiffly again.
Qu Chi had already turned and left, but Qin Chengmo still caught up with him.
"Classmate Qu Chi, what I want to say is that you look great when you run. I hope one day I can see you running on the track of your dreams."
Qu Chi's heart skipped a beat and a bottle of water was stuffed into his hand.
When I looked up again, Qin Chengmo had already left.
The boy's figure seemed a little gray, but he still had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He strode forward with great speed, as if he was a rejected person who just wanted to escape from the scene in a hurry.
Qu Chi wanted to call out to him and say something, but he opened his mouth and no sound came out.
After a long time, she lowered her head, looked at the bottle of room-temperature mineral water in her hand that she had specially bought, and smiled bitterly.
"Thank you for the water, but...it's unlikely."
The sound was like the wind floating in the air, and no one could hear the girl's self-mockery and hopelessness at this moment.
Qu Chi didn't know why he paid attention to him. Maybe it was because they were classmates.
But can she really reach the competition of her dreams?
Back in the dormitory, Qu Chi took a hot bath.
Sitting back in the chair, two messages from the coach came on the phone.
Coach Wang: [Train well.]
Provincial Team - Coach Yu: [Report to the provincial team tomorrow, don't forget.]
She replied "OK" to each of them, and Coach Yu soon sent another message.
[When you get there tomorrow, come to the coaching office first and I'll talk to you.]
Qu Chi paused, lowered his head, sighed, and held back the bitterness in his heart and the tears in his eyes.
He closed his eyes and replied, "Got it, Coach."
She took a deep breath, not wanting to look at her phone anymore, and stood up, trying to climb the stairs to get to bed.
She had been too indulgent today, and the subsequent night run on the playground was not within her training range. She needed to rest and recover.
In the blink of an eye, she saw the water brought by the male classmate again.
Qu Chi didn't drink a single sip.
As a professional athlete who is about to reach adulthood, she has always paid attention to her diet and never eats or drinks indiscriminately.
The unopened bottle of water was picked up and then, with a thud, thrown into the trash can.
That night, Qu Chi had a dream. In the dream, she ran and ran. The track was much longer than the 100 meters she knew, so she overtook one opponent after another and left everyone far behind.
When he woke up, Qu Chi sat there blankly, rubbing his face fiercely.
How cowardly! Since I can't win in a real competition, I can only win by dreaming, imagining that the runway is extended and will never end as long as I don't win.
…
villa.
Qin Huo was on the phone when he turned around and saw Qin Chengmo walking in with a cold face.
He covered the phone and looked at Qin Chengmo in confusion, but the other party was obviously in a bad mood and did not stop at all.
Cui Liu came down the stairs and saw Qin Chengmo head-on.
"Amo, you're back? Why didn't you say hello in advance? Your dad said you wouldn't be back today. Have you eaten yet?"
Qin Chengmo stopped, raised his eyes, and replied:
"Well, I won't eat anymore."
Then he moved his long legs and left the living room in two steps.
Cui Liu gathered her shawl and asked Qin Huo in confusion, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"
Qin Huo shook his head: "Who cares? You know your son's temper. That's it."
Cui Liu smiled angrily, and Qin Huo turned back to continue the call.
In the room, Qin Chengmo was lying on the bed and took out his cell phone irritably.
How to pursue a sports student?
1. Give her water! It's old-fashioned, but it works, ladies! You shouldn't drink ice water after a workout. Even though athletes tend to be rough, to show your thoughtfulness, you should definitely give her room temperature water. It's so thoughtful, why not just take it?
Qin Chengmo replied coldly: It’s of no use at all, bad review.
Unsave the post.
After a while, he added it back silently.
Maybe, only the first one is inappropriate, and the latter ones may still have some reference value?
School starts the day after tomorrow, and messages in the class group pop up one after another. However, he has blocked the class group, so how could the messages suddenly pop up?
It turns out that someone @ him.
[Brother Qin, Brother Qin, you're not in our class this year?! What's going on?! Brother Qin, what should I do?!]
Qin Chengmo curled the corners of his mouth.
It seems that old man Qin Huo has accomplished something.
Find the class list in the class group file.
Qin Chengmo, Class 16, Senior 3.
Just one person apart.
Quchi, Class 16, Senior 3.
Qin Chengmo took a screenshot, selected all the information from Qu Chi to himself, and blurred out the annoying name in the middle.
Finally, draw a heart.
save.
I really hope tomorrow is the day after tomorrow, time will go faster.
…
…
Time, please go slower.
Qu Chi looked at the finish line. She had never felt that this 100-meter track was so long.
Go a little slower so she can run farther.
Instead of being like now, feeling like I’m bound by a net, and the end is so far away.
That figure is so unsurpassable.
She tried her best, just wanting to go faster and faster, to let her see how far behind she was, to let her see if she really still had a chance to continue running on this track.
Finally, the final moment has arrived.
In the end, she still failed to surpass the girl in front.
"That's a full two body lengths ahead!"
"What a great talent! We can have a talented girl in the 100-meter race!"
"That's close to her personal best. If it were outdoors with a tailwind, it would be a record!"
The excited praise and admiring gazes all fell on the girl in the front.
She was equally excited and ran back to her head coach happily, dancing and talking about something.
The physical fatigue made Qu Chi breathless. She lowered her head and slowly left the red runway.
Early this morning, she went to the coaching staff office and met Zhou Xinwen there.
A girl three years younger than her.
A girl who was two steps faster than her.
That track was too short... She would never be able to surpass that young figure. Last night's dream kept replaying in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she hated herself.
The track could not be extended, just as she could not overtake Zhou Xinwen.
There is no possibility.
She smiled weakly, not even having the energy to look at the electronic timer on the other end.
"Quchi!"
Someone called her name loudly.
Qu Chi looked up and saw that it was the coach waving for her to come over.
When she walked in front of the few people, she couldn't understand the way the coaching staff looked at her, and she was even more confused by Zhou Xinwen's gaze.
Why is she so excited?
"Quchi started very quickly just now, so it is possible that he played a leading role."
Qu Chi raised her head and looked at the coaches who were talking. The coaches were studying the results of their practice match.
Zhou Xinwen said affirmatively, "That's right. During the race just now, I didn't think I couldn't make it. Sister Qu Chi was chasing me very closely, as if I would be caught up if I didn't work hard."
The 100-meter sprint is a challenge to the limits of speed.
Those short ten seconds were just a few breaths for the spectators, but for the contestants, ten seconds were enough for them to experience the ever-changing situation on the field.
Zhou Xinwen was so excited that she almost jumped up.
Her master said that she is very talented and has no rivals in her age group.
However, her performance in the game will be affected by her opponents, and only good opponents can inspire her performance.
This is also the reason why professional athletes need to participate in competitions to maintain their form. Unfortunately, due to her age, most of the competitions she can participate in cannot provide positive stimulation.
Before coming to the provincial team, she and her master were worried about how to solve this problem.
Until the game just now.
Qu Chi was like a wild beast chasing its prey. His excited and tense state stimulated her and made her dare not relax the whole time.
Finally, I experienced the feeling of running freely after a long time.
How could Zhou Xinwen not be excited?
As the person who stimulated her to this state, Qu Chi finally saw the results displayed on the electronic screen.
She is a player who is steadily improving her performance, and this practice match also broke her PB.
11.63.
Once again, he broke through the 12-second mark, or even the 11.70-second mark, which many underage athletes desperately wanted to break.
Of course, in informal competitions, such results will not be recorded.
Qu Chi looked at the first place result, which was 0.2 seconds faster than hers.
Qu Chi suddenly realized what it felt like to be so absurd that it made people laugh.
The feeling of being constrained during the competition was an illusion. She played extremely well and absolutely exerted her full potential.
In other words, she had clearly and completely lost.
Qu Chi accepted everything calmly. Although she hasn't yet entered the adult category this year, she started running formal competitions at the age of fourteen, and she has a solid foundation in basic skills like emotional management.
The coaching staff called her over, obviously not to let her reflect on herself. Qu Chi waited for the coaches to state their purpose.
"From now on, let Qu Chi and Xinwen train together."
Qu Chi raised his head and didn't understand what they said for a moment.
Zhou Xinwen is obviously a key player to be trained.
The provincial team has limited resources, and the resources allocated to U18 players are even more limited, not to mention that they are a women's team. After repeated divisions, the resources available for Zhou Xinwen will definitely be weakened. However, Zhou Xinwen's performance is enough to attract special attention even in the adult group.
Under such circumstances, it was impossible for them to spare the energy to include her in the training list.
So, what is going on?
The coaching staff saw her talent and invested more resources to try to train her?
Head coach Zhou Xinwen's next words shattered her fantasy.
"Well, the effect of Qu Chi on Xinwen still needs to be verified. Xinwen's current mental state is unstable. Players of the same age group are too weak, and the adult group competition is too rushed. Perhaps having more test matches with semi-adult players of similar level like Qu Chi can help Xinwen stabilize her condition."
It’s for Zhou Xinwen.
Quchi was also allocated to her as a resource.
Because her stimulation can bring Zhou Xinwen to a better state, she will be trained as a sparring partner.
Qu Chi remained silent.
Coach Yu wanted to know what Qu Chi thought.
Qu Chi is also an excellent player. In the view of their coaching team, this approach is for Zhou Xinwen's development, but Qu Chi can also improve himself by competing with high-level opponents.
This is an opportunity.
"Qu Chi, do you have anything to say?"
Qu Chi opened his mouth silently and exhaled the air that was stuck in his heart.
She said, "I will obey the coaching staff's arrangements."
Behind the back, neatly trimmed nails pinched out a white crescent on the palm.
This was indeed an opportunity for her to be grateful.
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