151 Shared Fate
◎Then why did Ren Xinhua always keep watching him train?◎
After the training ended in the evening, when everyone was about to go to the cafeteria, Zhu Qi found a time when no one was in the training hall and pulled Qin Xiaoba aside.
When Qin Xiaoba was dragged out by Zhu Qi by the collar, sweat broke out on his head.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? I haven't been lazy recently! I've practiced the steps, the fixed points, and the physical training. I even won all three actual combat trainings at night..." Qin Xiaoba kept chattering and spoke first.
Every time Zhu Qi pulled himself up like this, the next step would be to scold himself.
Qin Xiaoba felt that he had been performing quite well recently. Even Coach Gao was very satisfied with him, and he hadn't made any mistakes...
Zhu Qi carefully examined Qin Xiaoba's expression. He didn't look like he was lying. If he was really training normally as Qin Xiaoba said, he should be commended.
Then why did Ren Xinhua always keep an eye on him during training?
Having been in the national team for so long, Zhu Qi has always been the focus of Ren Xinhua. He feels that Ren Xinhua will not pay attention to a player alone for no reason, unless this player is the one he is planning to train vigorously but has problems with his condition.
But looking at Qin Xiaoba's expression, he doesn't seem to be lying. He must have really put his heart into it, so he is so justified.
Zhu Qi reached out and pinched the pimpled flesh on Qin Xiaoba's shoulder, feeling that it was much harder than before, and stronger from top to bottom than last year.
He does look a bit manly.
Qin Xiaoba didn't know what he had done wrong, and said aggrievedly: "I'm 24 years old, can you please stop pulling my collar all the time?"
"My aunt called me yesterday and said that you didn't send home your January salary. What happened?" Zhu Qi thought of this and asked coldly.
"I, I..." Qin Xiaoba suddenly panicked visibly, then whispered, "My expenses have been a bit high recently..."
Zhu Qi thought Qin Xiaoba had resumed his extravagant lifestyle of changing socks once a day, but when he looked down, he saw that Qin Xiaoba's shoes had been scrubbed to a pale gray, the edges so frayed that the pattern was gone. Not to mention the socks underneath, the cotton threads had all ripped apart, leaving them completely flat.
Most importantly…
Zhu Qi had seen this pair of shoes on Song Linzhou's feet!
"Why are you wearing his shoes?" Zhu Qi was shocked.
Zhu Qi and A Shui often change clothes, mainly because A Shui is more clean and likes to spray some perfume on his clothes, so he smells good every day.
But do these boys also like to exchange clothes with each other? How gay...
"Oh, Brother Da Ling complained that these shoes were too loose for his feet. My feet are one size bigger than his and they are just right for him. It would be a pity to throw them away, so he wore them once and then gave them to me." Qin Xiaoba shook his feet and didn't take it seriously.
Athletes have high requirements for shoes and require them to cover the feet properly.
When Zhu Qi was at the club, there were brands that would custom-make shoes for athletes based on their feet. But now, after all, those conditions are gone, so all you can do is choose the right size, wear it for a few days, and replace it when it gets too loose.
The jumping pile step requires very high steps and is also very damaging to the shoes.
Zhu Qi usually changes his shoes once a month, otherwise the tread on the soles will wear out and make him slip easily, causing greater damage to his feet.
Looking at Qin Xiaoba's shoes, he has been wearing them for at least half a year.
Zhu Qi recalled that during a match earlier this year, Qin Xiaoba's golf bag strap fell off three times. When reporters filmed him, they even made some teasing remarks, to which Qin Xiaoba jokingly remarked that he was "thrifty and frugal."
This doesn't look like a "big expense".
Zhu Qi felt uneasy, wondering if he had picked up some bad habits.
"Where did you spend your money?" Zhu Qi's face darkened.
"I, I invested!" Qin Xiaoba straightened his neck, with an attitude of "I'm grown up, don't bother me."
"Are you sick? Why didn't you tell me about your investment? What did you invest in? Who did you invest with? What if you can't get your money back? Are you looking for death?"
"Oh, why do you worry so much? I'm already so old..."
"You're already 24, and I don't want to beat you up, so don't force me to do it."
"I, I invested in the computer mall owned by Old Fang." Qin Xiaoba scratched his head and confessed honestly. "Her family was short of money a while ago, so I helped them out a bit. She said it was my investment, and that her mother would give me a share of the profits every month based on my investment ratio or something like that. I didn't understand."
Zhu Qi felt relieved and rolled his eyes at him. "Why didn't you just say it earlier? Why are you hesitating so much?"
No wonder Ah Shui suddenly managed to collect enough compensation...
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Qi felt something was wrong. Seeing that Qin Xiaoba's state did not seem like a simple investment, he asked again: "How much did you give?"
Qin Xiaoba hummed softly, but Zhu Qi caught the key word and widened his eyes. "All? Did you give all your money to Ah Shui?"
"Hmm..." Qin Xiaoba spoke even softer.
"How much?"
"About 600,000, 700,000, or 800,000... Oh, I can't remember exactly. I only have a little over 1,000 in my pocket right now, which is enough for me to spend... After the World Games, I'll send money home."
“…” Zhu Qi.
Seeing that his elder sister stopped talking and kept staring at him with her big round eyes, Qin Xiaoba was frightened.
"I've confessed everything, what else do you want?" Qin Xiaoba felt his hair stand on end and his voice trembled.
Although Zhu Qi and Maomao also planned to raise this much money for A Shui at that time, they and Maomao had already saved a lot of money.
These six or seven hundred thousand are nothing to the two of them.
But Qin Xiaoba was seriously injured and had to spend all his money.
Zhu Qi reached out, pinched Qin Xiaoba's chin, and forced him to look directly into his eyes: "You don't have any inappropriate thoughts about Ah Shui, right?"
Qin Xiaoba's cheeks were puffed up by the pinching, and his eyes widened instantly. "What could I care about? Are you kidding? She and I are just good friends. We grew up together, so we can be considered half-family. If Big Antelope, Bear, and Cat need me, I'll also—that's it! You don't know me yet, I'm just naturally warm-hearted... And what time is it now? The World Games will be in five months. If two key players are sent back to the provincial team at this time, it would be like an 8.0 magnitude earthquake for the national team. I can't be a national sinner..."
Seeing Qin Xiaoba being so frank, Zhu Qi breathed a sigh of relief: "It's all right as long as you know."
She had no opinion on A Shui and Qin Xiaoba. If Qin Xiaoba was not an athlete, he could date whoever he wanted.
But at this point in time...it's definitely not possible!
Qin Xiaoba muttered, "What a waste of worry..."
"What did you say?!"
"Oh, I think you might as well worry about yourself instead of me. How long has it been since you and Big Ling last played mixed doubles? I've seen you two train, and your technique has become distorted. Hehe, my all-powerful sister, you'll get old one day too... Be careful, or the kids on your women's team will come back and seize the reins and beat you to death on the beach. Lao Fang and I are determined to secure this mixed doubles spot!"
"You still have the right to control me? Are you worthy? Get out of here." Zhu Qi kicked him lightly on the butt.
Qin Xiaoba covered his butt and ran back to the dormitory building humming.
Although Zhu Qi scolded him, he felt relieved when he saw that Qin Xiaoba was still the same carefree and heartless person as usual.
But Zhu Qi didn't react. When Qin Xiaoba talked about the price of being sent back to the provincial team for having a relationship, he seemed to be deliberately emphasizing it to himself.
As soon as he entered the dormitory, Qin Xiaoba went to Song Linzhou's bed, looked at the ceiling and sighed without saying a word.
Song Linzhou had just returned from a shower, with a steaming hot towel still hanging around his neck. Seeing Qin Xiaoba, he said with amusement, "What's wrong with you? Sentimental little boy?"
Big Bear peeked out and shook his head repeatedly: "Look at how miserable he is. He must have been scolded by his sister again."
"Oh..." Qin Xiaoba sighed again.
Song Linzhou knew that Qin Xiaoba was short of money recently, so he walked to the wardrobe in his room, opened the door, took out a new box from underneath and handed it to Qin Xiaoba.
Qin Xiaoba glanced at it and asked, "What?"
Seeing the logo on the box, Qin Xiaoba sat up from the bed with a thud: "Shoes?"
"Throw away those 'old cloth shoes' of yours. The soles are almost falling off, and your feet are still pretty bad looking." Song Linzhou tossed the box to him and said casually. "I bought two pairs at the store last time, and these are too small to fit. You can keep them and try them on."
Qin Xiaoba knew at a glance that Song Linzhou was lying to him. How could he know that the shoes didn't fit him without even opening the shoe box?
During this period, Qin Xiaoba was living in a tight spot. Song Linzhou would occasionally give him some "help", buying him double the amount of sportswear, socks, and sneakers.
Qin Xiaoba's ankles aren't very good because he's been practicing jumping stances since he was a kid. Unlike Zhu Qi, however, Zhu Qi's ankles are always injured on his right foot because he prefers to use his right foot for power, while Qin Xiaoba often twists his left foot because he's used to stepping with it.
Recently, his shoes no longer fit, so Qin Xiaoba started applying plasters on his feet.
Qin Xiaoba was so touched that he hugged Song Linzhou: "You are more like my brother than my sister~"
"Your sister must be so sad to hear what you said. She cares so much about you. You should be content..." Song Linzhou glanced at him and felt that people's personalities were indeed contagious. Qin Xiaoba was now acting like Ah Shui, just like she always acted like a spoiled child with Zhu Qi.
"I know she's good to me, but she's also very strict with me!" Qin Xiaoba sighed. "Once she gets angry, no one cares. If I break the rules... she'll definitely be the first to report me to the coaching staff. Then, within a minute, she'll call the old man and tell him to return to the Bayi team and reflect on his actions..."
"That's right." Song Linzhou smiled. He took out a sewing box from his golf bag and threw it to him, saying, "Sew up your torn bag. I'll buy you a new one next month when I go out."
Qin Xiaoba took it, took out a needle from it, took the ball of thread and threaded the needle, sewed up the strap of the ball bag that had broken three times, and wrapped it around the bag again.
Song Linzhou thought of something and pulled up a stool to sit nearby. He also used a needle to cut a pair of brand new white socks, then pieced them together to create a new pair. However, he made a separate cloth pocket for the right ankle and sewed a snap button on the outside.
Song Linzhou had a simple idea. In this way, he could put a cooling patch on the outside of the socks.
Nowadays, cooling patches can easily cause rashes if applied directly to the skin. Many people prefer to apply them through a layer of cloth, which can reduce swelling without hurting the skin.
The two of them sat face to face, threading their needles non-stop.
Suddenly there was a feeling of being connected...
/
More than a year has passed since the end of A Shui's mother's lawsuit.
The computer city is now operating normally. In order to prevent inferior products from being sold as good ones, A Shui's mother does all the purchasing herself, and then supervises people to assemble the finished computers and sell them to the distributors below.
Although the initial profits were weak, Zhu Qi felt that A Shui's perseverance must have been inherited from his mother. Building a new brand and industry from scratch is not easy for anyone.
Now is the explosive period of the computer industry, and various counterfeit and copycat software are emerging in an endless stream.
Many young people don’t know that at the beginning of the millennium, it was common to see all kinds of high-end and low-end imitations being sold at high prices under the name of counterfeit goods, taking advantage of the fact that many people in China had never seen them.
When Apple phones were first introduced to China, illegal and black phones were almost everywhere on the streets.
It is very common that some mobile phones have an Apple logo on the back with a piece missing, but when they are turned on, they run the Android system.
Zhu Qi has always felt that the widespread availability of high-quality imitations during this period has left Chinese brands in a difficult position for over two decades. No matter what they buy, people have to wonder if it's genuine.
What's more, because A Shui's mother was previously involved in a compensation dispute, her reputation in the circle is extremely bad, and it is not easy to regain the trust of her peers and start a business again.
Ah Shui was actually worried about her mother's career, and Zhu Qi comforted her: "Everything is difficult at the beginning. When people are at their lowest point, they should be confident and bold to move forward, because then no matter which step you take, it will be a step upward."
Although it was difficult at the beginning, fortunately we have now broken even and are beginning to generate monthly profits.
As for Qin Xiaoba's investment in A Shui's computer city... since this guy said it so frankly and with a clear conscience, Zhu Qi felt that he should still believe Qin Xiaoba.
When it comes to investment, there will definitely be gains and losses. It’s enough for him to have a rough idea of it.
However, because Qin Xiaoba was short of money in the past two years, he knew how to make the most of every penny, which made Zhu Qi very satisfied.
The next day, Qin Xiaoba brought a box of "oddly shaped" stitched socks and handed them to Zhu Qi, saying, "These socks have a small mesh pocket where you can put a heat patch. They're specially made to treat your feet..."
Zhu Qi was also wondering, as he had never seen any brand produce such "humanized" sports socks.
But Qin Xiaoba refused to talk about it and just said that he "bought" it by chance when he passed by a store.
Zhu Qi didn't ask any further questions and just put it on.
The national team was still operating normally every day, randomly pairing up in doubles and conducting cross-training according to the coach's arrangements.
Every day, everyone looked at the countdown board showing how many days were left until the Riyadh World Games. The numbers on it were getting smaller day by day, and everyone put aside all trivial matters except training.
But unexpectedly, a call from the Public Security Bureau came to A Shui's mobile phone.
At that time, Zhu Qi and Maomao had finished washing up and were lying down on their beds in the dormitory.
A Shui was also half asleep when he received the call. After the call was connected, the other party only said one sentence.
That’s right—A Shui’s father has been contacted.
A Shui's mother went to where A Shui's father was at the moment, and she and A Shui's grandparents were making a big fuss at the other police station.
During this period, the families of both sides have been at loggerheads.
Basically, we quarrel as soon as we meet.
What's even more outrageous is that A Shui's grandparents have always claimed that they have never seen A Shui's father, but in fact, the house rented by A Shui's father is in the same community as his grandparents, only three minutes' walk away.
A Shui's father claimed that he and A Shui's mother had divorced, and after the division of property, he did not think he had any marital debts to repay together with A Shui's mother.
A Shui's mother no longer had any feelings for this man, but after being deeply deceived, she was unable to control her emotions and started arguing with A Shui's father in the police station.
The police finally controlled both parties and made this call to A Shui.
After a year and a half, thanks to the police's intervention, A Shui finally heard the man's voice.
"Miaomiao, I'm your father..." The man's voice was a little weak. There was no guilt or embarrassment in his voice. Instead, it was unusually calm.
It was so bland that it made Ah Shui furious.
At this moment, A Shui finally understood why Zhu Qi wanted to change her mother's nature when she was six years old.
That means completely cutting off contact with my father's family!
Now A Shui also wants to do this!
But there is no way. I am now 24 years old, and all relevant documents have the name Fang Miao written on them. If I change my name now, all previous documents will have to be changed, which is too troublesome.
Hearing this voice, Ah Shui instantly woke up.
When I think about my mother who lost a lot of weight due to divorce during this period.
And friends who are worried about me because of their family matters.
For a long time, only by practicing hard could he stop thinking about his parents' divorce. A Shui's anger was like a volcano about to erupt.
She held the phone tightly and roared like a vicious little beast.
"Shut up! You're not my father! I'm not your daughter! You're just a fraud! Give my mom back! Give her back!!"
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