16 Wang Chu Qin

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Tokyo.

For certain reasons, this year’s Olympic Games had to limit the number of participants, so the Chinese table tennis team could only send a select group of players to Japan.

As team leader, Liu Guoliang brought the national team with him, fully prepared to give the Japanese a crushing lesson and show them the gulf between them.

To be honest, ever since Duan Nanzhou joined the national team, Liu Guoliang had regarded her as the core of the next generation. Although she had taken part in far fewer competitions than the other members of the team, she had spent more time playing internal matches or observing major tournaments.

Liu Guoliang had always treated Duan Nanzhou as his greatest trump card, and the Tokyo Olympics were the perfect opportunity to unleash her. What was more, she was currently the most reassuring presence in the national team’s Olympic squad.

Duan Nanzhou’s strength lay not only in her unmatched ability, but also in her gift for analyzing situations and playing styles. Helping her teammates steady their minds and break through their opponents was her greatest talent. She was a combination of the ultimate warrior and the ultimate support player, making her position indispensable.

Duan Nanzhou had taken part in a few international matches before, but most of them had been for the ranking points needed to qualify for the Olympics. Although she had already shocked quite a few players from foreign teams, the impact had not yet been truly overwhelming.

This time, therefore, the national team had come with absolute confidence in victory.

However, after their plane landed, Liu Guoliang grabbed Wang Chuqin—the junior who followed Duan Nanzhou everywhere—and sternly warned him, “Be careful out there! Don’t stick so close to her!”

Scolded, Wang Chuqin was deeply unhappy, but he did not dare disobey. Under Liu Guoliang’s warning gaze, he could only maintain a distance from Duan Nanzhou that was as close as possible without actually standing beside her.

At that moment, Wang Chuqin had no idea how many people would try to steal his “wife” from him after the Tokyo Olympics ended. For now, he was still grumbling over the fact that he could not walk alongside Duan Nanzhou.

Duan Nanzhou was not surprised in the slightest. Before they had left, the coaching staff had already warned Wang Chuqin to behave himself, but the boy had stubbornly refused to change. Now he was being forcibly disciplined.

Thus, Duan Nanzhou—the beloved girlfriend—merely shot her boyfriend, who wished he could cling to her every minute of every day, a look that clearly said he deserved it.

Several members of the women’s team nearby laughed at him outright. Keeping such a close watch on her would not stop their Nanzhou from attracting all kinds of fans and admirers. That boy had better pray she continued to like him. If things ever went wrong, he would probably cry himself to death.

The national team’s Olympic squad was still laughing and chatting, appearing utterly relaxed. But once they arrived at the Olympic Village, no one could smile anymore.

“Zhouzhou, the Japanese are so stingy…” Sun Yingsha whispered into Duan Nanzhou’s ear, receiving several approving looks in response.

Sun Yingsha thought in alarm, I whispered it! The coaches shouldn’t have heard me, right?

“Oh, they’re paper beds. How environmentally friendly…” The coaching staff also began making sarcastic remarks.

Overall, however, the person who suffered the most was probably the team’s Little Fatty, Fan Zhendong. He was deeply worried. Would his bed collapse while he slept? Surely the quality could not be that terrible, could it?

“All right, everyone, unpack and get some rest first. We’ll hold a meeting tonight,” Liu Guoliang announced. The athletes needed time to adjust themselves.

Duan Nanzhou was still sharing a suite with her good roommate, Sun Yingsha, though they occupied separate rooms within it. It was a different kind of roommate arrangement.

After finishing unpacking, Duan Nanzhou could not help letting out a long breath. She was exhausted. Then she looked at the several packets of instant noodles she had secretly brought along and hoped the Japanese food would not be too awful. Otherwise, she would not last long.

As a reserve player, Wang Chuqin had already prepared himself for the possibility that he might not compete. After all, the other three men on the team were all exceptionally strong. He had come mainly to learn—and to keep an eye on his girlfriend.

Wang Chuqin, Duan Nanzhou’s First and Foremost Protector, felt immense pressure. Whether it was the competition or guarding his girlfriend, there was especially no room for mistakes at the Olympics, where so many athletes had gathered. There were bound to be plenty of handsome men around. He absolutely could not finish competing only to discover that he had gained several new rivals in love.

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…

The national team’s Olympic squad had arrived in Tokyo several days early, hoping to adjust themselves as thoroughly as possible before the official competitions began. After all, Japan was hosting these Games, and practically the entire Chinese delegation was determined to give everything they had. They could not afford to lose either the matches or their dignity.

Yet after arriving, Duan Nanzhou’s mood plummeted when the accommodation and food arrangements were revealed. The Japanese truly could not manage a single decent thing.

Although she was somewhat particular about such matters, Duan Nanzhou’s patience was still fairly strong. All she could say was that her displeasure would be vented during the matches. Her opponents were about to have a very bad time.

And there was more bad news to come.

The table tennis teams from every country arrived in Tokyo and visited the competition venue to familiarize themselves with it. Before long, everyone discovered that the table tennis venue for these Olympics was thirty percent smaller than usual. The impact of that change was enormous.

Although every country raised objections and voiced complaints, the Tokyo Olympic committee simply brushed them aside with evasive responses. In short, the venue could not be changed. Everyone would just have to adapt.

In the eyes of the Chinese team, however, this was practically a modification aimed directly at them. Who did not know about Xu Xin’s style of play? The Giant Python had practically transformed table tennis into badminton. A larger venue suited him far better, and the reduced space would unquestionably affect his performance.

Once they realized this, the entire Olympic squad fell somewhat silent and dejected. The coaching staff in particular looked as if their hair might turn white overnight. The pressure was enormous. They would have to return immediately and discuss countermeasures.

This alteration had thoroughly disrupted the Olympic strategy manual Duan Nanzhou had prepared beforehand. Some countries were simply too underhanded.

That evening, the national team’s Olympic squad immediately held a meeting. They brainstormed every possible scenario and response. After all, asking Xu Xin to completely change his playing style was impossible.

Duan Nanzhou did not say a word throughout the meeting. She merely sat in a corner, listening quietly and taking notes.

To prevent the athletes from becoming too stressed, Liu Guoliang sent several of them back to rest after the meeting had gone on for a while. Once everyone else had left, only Liu Guoliang, Qin Zhijian, Li Sun, Ma Lin, and Duan Nanzhou remained in the conference room.

“Nanzhou, why don’t you go back and rest too?” Liu Guoliang had noticed that she had remained silent throughout the meeting. Considering how particular she was and how poor the conditions were here, he guessed that her state of mind was probably not very good. It would be better not to put too much pressure on her.

“No need. I’ll think about it a little longer.”

Duan Nanzhou rejected the suggestion and began writing and sketching on her tablet. The conference room fell silent as everyone sank into thought.

About half an hour later, Duan Nanzhou looked over her notes and nodded in satisfaction. Then she spoke.

“Since they’ve made the venue smaller, we’ll do this…”

After nearly an hour of discussion, the worry vanished from the coaches’ faces. Their eyes shone as they looked at Duan Nanzhou, as though silently exclaiming, What kind of genius is this?

If it had been appropriate, they probably would have grabbed her by the head, kissed her soundly, and praised her brilliant mind.

Duan Nanzhou: Hard pass.

Her revised strategy took everyone into account, but it focused primarily on Xu Xin. The basic idea was to rein in his style of play slightly without affecting his performance or habits too much.

Duan Nanzhou had trained with Xu Xin in this style before. After analyzing each player’s techniques, she had proposed several innovative or unconventional approaches, which had been kept in reserve as special skills.

Who could have imagined that they would come in handy at the Tokyo Olympics?

Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen had also practiced quite a few of Duan Nanzhou’s “strange ideas” for mixed doubles. This time, they would certainly catch their opponents off guard.

The coaching staff’s plan, however, was to have them use their usual style during the early games and save the new tactics as a contingency measure.

From then on, the national team’s Olympic squad held several more meetings and reformulated their Olympic strategy. Everyone felt less tense and more confident as they waited for the competitions to begin.

Before that, of course, they had to attend the opening ceremony as members of the Chinese delegation.

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The Chinese athletes’ matching uniforms were elegant and attractive, and the national table tennis squad once again had the rare pleasure of seeing Duan Nanzhou in a skirt.

“Beautiful!” Liu Shiwen, Sun Yingsha, and Chen Meng all gave her a thumbs-up, while silently marveling:

How could her legs be so slender, straight, and fair?

“Am I the most beautiful?” Duan Nanzhou, who had long since grown close to everyone, had abandoned her former aloof persona and shamelessly pressed them for an answer.

“Of course!” Wang Chuqin immediately replied from the side, nodding emphatically.

“Big Head, is there anything in your eyes besides Nanzhou anymore?” Ma Long teased. His junior really was completely obsessed with Duan Nanzhou. In that enormous head of his, half the space was probably occupied by table tennis and the other half by Duan Nanzhou.

Fan Zhendong, standing nearby, could not understand Wang Chuqin at all. He only wondered whether his good friend had been bewitched. After all, as the mixed-doubles teammate who had partnered with Duan Nanzhou more often than Wang Chuqin, Fan Zhendong’s opinion of her was simple:

Demoness! Great demoness! The greatest demoness of them all!

Whenever he remembered the days he had trained with her and been brutally beaten and “educated,” Fan Zhendong felt tears welling in his eyes. In his heart, Duan Nanzhou was even more terrifying than the national team’s former Three Musketeers.

The result, however, was that Little Fatty’s technique had improved by leaps and bounds. That did not change the fact that he was unwilling to face either training sessions with Duan Nanzhou or another mixed-doubles partnership with her.

The laughter and chatter of the national team came to an abrupt halt when they saw the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.

Everyone was thinking the same thing:

What kind of hellish opening ceremony is this? Just as expected of the Japanese!

When the performances ended and the athletes were about to enter the stadium, they had still not recovered. Only after the coaching staff reminded them did they adjust their expressions and follow the delegation out with smiles on their faces.

Their inner complaints, however, continued without pause:

Garbage. Absolute garbage! This opening ceremony must have received the lowest score in history—without question!

The spectators watching were also largely silent, alternating between complaints and speechlessness. What on earth had they endured just to watch the Chinese team enter? It was unbelievably dreadful.

As a result, videos and discussions about the bizarre opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics immediately became popular on short-video platforms. Topics concerning the appearance of the Chinese athletes were mixed in as well.

Because of various circumstances surrounding the Games, many people were working from home, so the Olympics brought a welcome sense of novelty. More people across China were following the competitions than usual. With the added promotion from short-video platforms, even more viewers began paying attention to the Tokyo Olympics. As one of the Games’ most popular events, table tennis naturally remained a major focus of public interest.

However, many people’s memories still lingered on the era of the national team’s Three Musketeers, or on players such as Zhang Yining and Wang Nan. When they saw the “newcomers” competing at these Olympics, they were bewildered. Some even seriously doubted how such young athletes had qualified for the Games.

As a result, discussions about the national table tennis team’s Olympic squad exploded online.

Duan Nanzhou drew particular attention. As the team’s beauty representative, her appearance was beyond dispute—she was attractive enough to become a celebrity idol. Combined with her youth and limited experience in public competitions, this made her the target of the greatest suspicion. Many people believed she was all style and no substance. Looking good was not enough to earn someone a direct ticket to the Olympics, was it?

In the competitions that followed, however, Duan Nanzhou’s performance silenced countless detractors and skeptics. She made the entire world understand what the nightmare of the table tennis world would look like for the next several years.

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