A day later, when Weng Pei and Luo Yan arrived at the Doraemon basketball court at Lixiang Villa, they were left speechless with amazement.
“It’s Hao…” Luo Yan put her arm around Weng Pei’s shoulder and muttered with a smile.
Lu Yu led two people inside. On the Doraemon basketball court, not only Chu Feiyu was standing there, but also Sun Meng, who was leaning against the window enjoying the breeze.
The windows of the basketball court were wide open, and birdsong could be heard. The birdsong in spring wasn't noisy; it mingled with the wind, heralding the verdant greenery.
They all knew each other and greeted each other.
Seeing that Chu Feiyu wasn't in a hurry to argue, Weng Pei knew that Lu Yu had already done a good job with Chu Feiyu and went straight to the point. "How to decide on tactics is your coach's business. I'm here this time just to correct your bad habits."
"..."
Chu Feiyu huffed and puffed, but ultimately said nothing. She knew that Weng Pei had only come because of Lu Yu's sake, traveling a long way specifically to solve her own problem. Being teased by Weng Pei was nothing, so she simply endured it.
Lu Yu nudged Weng Pei with her elbow and said, "You two start warming up. Yan Jie, Sun Meng, and I will watch."
Chu Feiyu and Weng Pei practiced one-on-one offense and defense. As expected, Chu Feiyu was completely suppressed by Weng Pei. After several rounds, Weng Pei did not say a word and passed Chu Feiyu three times in a row.
Chu Feiyu grew increasingly anxious as the game progressed. She realized then that her ability to steal the ball from Weng Pei in the previous match wasn't due to superior skill, but rather because Weng Pei had to simultaneously organize the attack and provide support, creating openings for Chu Feiyu. Now, without her teammates' distraction, in a true one-on-one situation, Chu Feiyu was being utterly dominated by Weng Pei.
Weng Pei dribbled the ball twice, then suddenly stopped and called out to Lu Yu, "Xiao Yu, come over and help me out."
Lu Yu understood Weng Pei's meaning: first, suppress Chu Feiyu's resentment, and now it was time to adjust the passing strategy, which naturally required Lu Yu's positioning as the receiver.
"Chu Feiyu, when you push the ball, don't try to counteract your running speed."
"Relax your arms, you're twisting your muscles!"
"Lu Yu is the receiver, and she's moving too. You just need to know her position. She'll go to meet the ball."
"Your attention should be on the position of the opposing player, and whether the pass is likely to be intercepted."
Weng Pei's words hit the nail on the head.
The on-field battles never stopped, the sound of sneakers scraping the ground echoed the birdsong outside the window.
Luo Yan stood beside Sun Meng and said softly, "That's just Xiao Pei's temper. She always has to tease interesting people like that. She doesn't really mean any harm."
"I know, thank you for coming." Sun Meng didn't say much, but her words were sincere.
"Are you fully recovered?"
"Are you fully recovered?"
The two of them asked the same question at the same time.
Sun Meng smiled and replied, "It wasn't a big deal, just a sprained muscle. These days of rest might endanger the whole team."
“The league is important, but it’s not the whole story of an athletic career,” Luo Yan comforted her.
Sun Meng showed great respect for Luo Yan and the others; the existence of the golden generation had inspired many of the youth training players from that time, and her words were full of concern. "And you? Can you still play in the Olympics?"
Luo Yan watched the training session gradually improve from afar and said expressionlessly, "We can play, but we'll definitely need a lot of pain-relieving injections in the second half of the Olympics. This is our last chance, and I'm going to give it my all."
Sun Meng had watched a documentary about the women's basketball team's training. The pain of the injection piercing into the bone could make the athletes grit their teeth and groan as they persevered. After receiving the injection, the towel they bit down on left clear, deep teeth marks, and their eyeballs were bloodshot, as if they had been squeezed out by the pain.
But for many athletes, all they can do is silently count down the recovery periods in the long corridors, dragging their sore and weak legs, which may be even more terrifying and heart-wrenching.
Sun Meng opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Luo Yan advised, "You also need to be careful on the field. The human body is a process of change. You can't go on the field too aggressively right away, or you'll get injured, which would be a real shame."
Sun Meng said, "After the game, the coach also criticized me. I was indeed too hasty. I should have trusted my teammates and not always thought about scoring by myself."
"Yes, Xiao Pei has helped Chu Feiyu find her feel for running and passing. Actually, the key to this feel is the difference in speed. As long as Chu Feiyu practices enough, this won't be a problem in the future." Luo Yan didn't continue the previous topic. Looking at Chu Feiyu's arm as she pushed the ball out, she could roughly tell that the progress on the field was good.
Two consecutive afternoons of intensive training transformed Chu Feiyu, making her movements—running, passing, shooting, receiving the ball, and passing back—natural and precise.
This relieved Coach Wang greatly. He had been quite worried about Chu Feiyu's special training, but upon hearing that it was Weng Pei, the league's best shooting guard, who would be providing individual training, he immediately agreed.
Now that they see tangible results, they smile broadly and focus all their energy on outside offensive tactics.
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