16 Gambling scandal ①
◎【修】My time is very precious, one ball costs one hundred.◎
Zhu Qi's roommate always goes out early and comes back late, and it seems that he has been living in the medical room half-way because of an old injury.
It was not until one noon in the second week when Zhu Qi went to the cafeteria to get food that he officially met his roommate, Zu Tianjiao.
When they met for the first time, Zhu Qi knew why her nickname was Maomao.
Her skin was pale and rosy, like a porcelain doll. Her face and eyes were round, her pupils were pale, and she spoke slowly. She wasn't tall, but she had a solid build. She was chubby but not overweight, giving off the vibe of a healthy, athletic girl.
It looks very similar to a Ragdoll cat.
"Baobaosuo, I'm Zu Tianjiao. I saw your stuff in the dormitory just now. Here's it for you." She walked over and handed Zhu Qi a small key. "This is the key to the rooftop. We have direct access to the rooftop from the seventh floor. The captain has a washing machine there, so we can use it directly without having to go upstairs and squeeze with the other team members."
Zhu Qi took it, and Maomao continued, "I have to go get an IV drip tonight, so I might be back late. If you go to bed early, please close the door to your room. I'm afraid I might disturb you."
Zhu Qi looked at her shoulders wrapped in a pile of transparent tape, wrapped in a bag of cool summer drinks that had been frozen into ice cubes, to cool the affected area and relieve the pain, and remembered that she had withdrawn from the World Cup due to injury.
There were no medical ice packs in that era. When Zhu Qi was fourteen years old, she sprained her ankle during a competition. She also used this drink to freeze ice and tied it to her foot. After the ice melted, she felt a little disgusted and gave it to He Qianlu to drink.
At that time, He Qianlu was drinking and cursing, disliking her for not preparing a new one for him.
The cat looked seriously injured and hasn't fully recovered yet.
I guess this is the reason why she failed in the Tokyo World Games.
Zhu Qi has read Maomao's retirement statement.
It was said that because the old injury was too serious and he could not support high-intensity training, he retired due to injury at the age of 24.
But in fact, after Maomao finished playing in the Tokyo World Games, he has been under pressure from all sides of abuse.
I heard that many fans wrote to the General Administration of Sports, expressing their disapproval of Maomao for not winning the gold medal.
At that time, Zhu Qi felt that the girl did not deserve such a crime. After all, injuries are really irreversible for athletes.
Looking at the young girl who was still full of vigor and vitality at this moment, Zhu Qi sighed.
Sports competition is cruel and realistic.
/
After dinner, Zhu Qi returned to the training ground and saw Ah Shui sitting alone in the corner with his head down, packing his basketball bag and wiping away tears.
"Why are you crying?" Zhu Qi walked over.
Ah Shui was startled. When he looked up and saw Zhu Qi, he quickly said, "No, no, it's just that my eyes don't feel well..."
"Forget it." Zhu Qi turned and left.
During the days in Xu Dong's group, Zhu Qi learned that A Shui was from Shanghai Province and his family was in the foreign trade business and was not short of money.
He used Hongguang's top-grade A+ racket, a Wild Hunter sponge that he bought at his own expense, and white and black expansion oil imported from Germany. In an era when everyone was wearing Xuanqi sneakers, he wore expensive Nike fashion brands.
In addition, the national team has a monthly meal allowance of 20 yuan, but she just eats big white steamed buns and pickles every day.
Very weird.
Look at this child crying so sadly, but...what does it have to do with her?
Zhu Qi firmly believed that people can only save themselves and awaken themselves.
Ah Shui looked at Zhu Qi's back pitifully as he walked away, and swallowed back what he wanted to say.
Another female member of the Xu family felt a little sorry and came over: "A Shui, why don't you tell her? I think Coach Xu likes her very much. She's so capable, maybe she'll stand up for you..."
Ah Shui wiped away the tears and lowered his head: "Forget it, he just came here not long ago and we don't have much friendship, there is no need to drag him into this."
"It's not going to work this way..."
"I'll practice hard and try to win. It's okay!" Ah Shui patted his chest and pretended to be strong.
/
Why did A Shui cry? The answer came out during the free training on Saturday afternoon.
Zhu Qi was called away by Xu Dong to get her height and weight measured to prepare the custom-made autumn and winter team uniforms. When she returned, she found Ah Shui was not there. She grabbed a teammate and asked, "Where's Fang Miao?"
The girl whispered, "Jin Lili called her away."
"Jin Lili...?"
"She's a member of the Rice Coaching Group, and she shares a dormitory with Captain Chang Hongxia. She said she needed a sparring partner, and when she saw Ah Shui seemed to be resting, she called her away."
"They're not in the same group. Can't they find someone from their own group to practice with? Coach Xu said she's the only one who can catch my spin, so he asked her to practice with me." Zhu Qi frowned. "Where are they?"
Another girl said, "Over there..." towards the pool table where four or five people were gathered.
Just as Zhu Qi was about to walk there, he was stopped.
"Don't go. She's not actually a sparring partner." The girl struggled for a moment before confessing. "Jin Lili asked her to go gamble on football."
"What betting?"
"Whoever loses pays, five yuan per ball." The girl looked at Zhu Qi with a timid look in her eyes. "We've all made a bet with her. She's a senior player, so we can't refuse. You'd better not go over, or she'll definitely ask you to play too. Ah Shui has used up all her living expenses for this month, and only has the last 20 yuan left to make it to the end of the year..."
I see.
No wonder she was secretly wiping away tears yesterday.
"Don't the coaches know?" Zhu Qi thought it was a bit outrageous.
It was the first time she heard that the national team had the custom of betting on football.
He Qianlu didn't tell her either.
It is estimated that this way of playing has only become popular in the past two years.
The girls looked at each other in bewilderment. "We don't dare let the coach know. He's a senior player... and he doesn't gamble that much anyway. Ah Shui gets called on more often, so..."
Zhu Qi asked again: "How much did you bet with her?"
When the others heard this, they all came over and started talking at once.
"I'm one hundred and twenty!"
"I'm ninety."
"I lost a hundred."
"I'm only forty-five. My family's financial situation isn't great, so they don't often ask me to train. They just ask me to help fetch water, get food, hang out clothes, and so on... But Ah Shui earns the most. If you add up all the scattered earnings, it's probably over three hundred..."
“…” Zhu Qi.
Wow.
There's actually such a good "business"? City people really know how to have fun.
Seeing Zhu Qi striding towards the crowd, the other girls looked at each other and followed him.
The score was 1:4, and A Shui was behind.
A ball costs 5 yuan.
That’s the amount of 15 yuan.
The girl on the other side of the table was Jin Lili, about eighteen or nineteen years old, with the most fashionable wool curls on the ends of her hair, looking very fashionable.
Ah Shui ran back and forth on both sides of the table, and was exhausted by Jin Lili's sidespin and backspin shots. Soon the score fell behind by five points.
Some of Jin Lili's balls seemed to have side spin, but when she shook her fingers slightly and then hit them, they became left spin.
When A Shui picks up the board to catch the ball, it will hit the net.
The people watching the game were all Jin Lili's friends. Amidst the cheers from outside the field, A Shui threw more and more balls.
The crowd next to them was even more excited, as the settlement was about to take place.
Amidst the deafening cheers from the side, Ah Shui gritted his teeth and said nothing.
If it doesn’t work this time, try the next ball, change the angle, the hitting position, the landing point…
A Shui tried and explored little by little, trying to find an opportunity to score.
Jin Lili regarded this game as a fun way to tease her teammates, but A Shui regarded it as an opportunity to improve himself.
But there's nothing I can do.
In the sport of table tennis, if there is a one-level difference in skill, beating the opponent is as easy as beating a robot.
Jin Lili has been in the national team for three years and is the successor of the women's team that the current coaching staff is vigorously training. Isn't it easy for her to bully a young player who just came from the second team?
This is clearly asking for money!
But what can she do?
Who dares to tell the coach?
Who dares to resist the team members?
As more and more people gathered around, Zhu Qi's roommate, Maomao, stood nearby and watched for a while.
She also saw Zhu Qi across the table.
As one of the few senior team members present, Maomao is the only one who can help speak.
But after seeing Zhu Qi's gaze, Maomao's eyes dimmed slightly. After wanting to say something but stopping for a moment, he lowered his head and left with his backpack.
Zhu Qi didn't call Maomao to stop him, but continued to watch this "match" of unequal levels.
At this moment, the score difference was 3:10.
The last ball.
It's Jin Lili's.
3:11.
It's over, we can settle the bill.
A Shui has to pay 40 yuan.
But now she only has 20 yuan left. This year is her first time to join the national team, and her salary has not been paid yet...A Shui didn't dare to say that she was bullied by the older players in the team. She could only say that her racket was broken and needed to be replaced with a new one, so she asked her family for 20 yuan temporarily.
There are still more than three months left until the end of the year...how should I spend them?
Jin Lili won 40 yuan today and was very happy. She even walked over to Ah Shui and patted her on the shoulder: "You still can't do it."
Ah Shui had her back to Zhu Qi, and Zhu Qi didn't know what expression she had at that moment.
But... even when the strength was unequal, A Shui did not give up any ball and tried his best to get one more point.
When Jin Lili was clamoring to treat the players in her group to soda, someone stopped her.
"This is the first time I've heard of such a money-making opportunity. I should have played in the World Cup earlier. I want to play, but your pricing is too low. My time is precious. 100 per ball. You! Just you! Come on!"
Zhu Qi pointed at Jin Lili and shook the racket in his hand.
【Author’s words】
At that moment, Ah Shui, who failed to save himself, met a soft-hearted God!
[Heart] Ding Dong! [Heart]
The next chapter is going to be V! It's a big chapter! Four consecutive days of updates! Catch my love! biubiubiu!
I'll maintain a daily update of 6,000 words until completion, aiming for 9 words per day. I'll also be adding updates sporadically! The sequel, "My Table Tennis Playing in the '70s," will begin after this one is finished. These stories share a parallel universe, predating the birth of Bao Mei'er, but are completely separate. Not having read this won't affect your readability. They follow the legendary journeys of another generation of national table tennis pioneers: Bao Bao'er, who helped support the impending fall of Great Xia, and Yi Mei'er, the legendary player who launched the national table tennis server and built the Great Wall of Table Tennis.
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