35. Ma Long

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The General Administration of Sport.

Duan Nanzhou’s interview assignment had taken her all the way to the athletes’ home ground. As Liu Guoliang put it, the players had such demanding training schedules that they could only spare time between sessions for interviews.

To make things more convenient, Liu Guoliang had cordially invited Duan Nanzhou and the rest of the staff to stay at the General Administration for several days. They could observe the athletes’ training and daily lives firsthand, which would allow them to conduct the interviews more effectively.

Duan Nanzhou, however, could only think: There was really no need for her to look any further. She knew this training life all too well.

Even so, she responsibly toured the training hall with the other staff members and prepared a personalized interview for each athlete.

Duan Nanzhou began with the leading members of the men’s team. It was still the era of the Two Wangs and One Ma, and the players were all brimming with youthful confidence. Duan Nanzhou, however, was more accustomed to seeing them later in life—as coaches, weary and speechless, offering every sort of encouragement and consolation. Seeing the young men who had once patiently instructed her now still looking like boys was more than a little strange.

She was fairly familiar with them, though, and understood their personalities well enough. Her questions were therefore pointed and focused. Wang Hao, Ma Lin, and the others could not help feeling puzzled. Was this reporter really that familiar with them? Why were her questions about their playing styles so precise? And how did she manage to be equally pointed when asking about their private lives and rumored romances? It made no sense at all.

Duan Nanzhou merely maintained a solemn expression on the surface. Everyone loved gossip, after all. When she had been a coach, it would not have been appropriate to pry too much. Now that the opportunity had been delivered right to her door, how could she possibly refuse?

When it was time to interview the leading members of the women’s team, they too were old acquaintances of Duan Nanzhou’s. In particular, the two reigning queens had once been her esteemed seniors. This time, however, it was Duan Nanzhou’s turn to tease them.

Because she was not yet familiar with everyone, her early interviews were fairly formal. But after spending more time at the Chinese national table tennis training base, everyone gradually grew accustomed to her, and her interviews became a little more “audacious.” Almost the entire team was asked one bit of gossip or another.

The “simple-minded” ones generally finished their interviews without noticing anything amiss. Xu Xin and Ma Long were the most famous examples. The sharper players, meanwhile, noticed that something was off during the interviews, but Duan Nanzhou’s questions and guidance were so comfortable, and they had grown so familiar with her, that they simply followed her lead and answered.

Zhang Yining and Wang Nan, the two reigning queens, were especially taken with Duan Nanzhou. It was as though they had known her forever. The more they looked at this little sister of theirs, the more they liked her.

After the Olympics, Wang Nan had already decided to retire and was preparing for her wedding. Because she felt such an immediate connection with Duan Nanzhou, she even wanted to ask her to be a bridesmaid.

But the wedding arrangements had been in progress for a long time, and everything had already been organized. Afraid that Wang Nan would have to go through the trouble of rearranging everything for her sake, Duan Nanzhou declined the special request and simply attended the ceremony to offer her heartfelt blessings.

Zhang Yining, meanwhile, had already wanted to leave the team before the Olympics. She had only been persuaded to stay a little longer. Now that she had encountered someone so compatible in Duan Nanzhou, she followed her everywhere, accompanying her to all sorts of interviews and filling her in on everyone’s background.

Every time, Duan Nanzhou wondered whether Zhang Yining had secretly planted a tracking device on her. How else could she find her wherever she went? Did she possess some kind of Zhang-Yining-attractor?

The entire Chinese team teased Zhang Yining about having found her soulmate. Why else would she spend every day with Duan Nanzhou?

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Several of the coaches, Liu Guoliang among them, even thought of asking Duan Nanzhou to persuade Zhang Yining not to retire so early. She was still on the rise!

Entrusted with this task, Duan Nanzhou nervously rubbed the tip of her nose. After all, she herself had once chosen to retire without hesitation while still at the height of her ascent. All she wanted to say was that she completely understood Zhang Yining. If she tried to persuade her, Zhang Yining would probably retire even sooner.

…

“Long, haven’t you had your interview yet?” Xu Xin came over to ask his good friend Ma Long, puzzled.

“No. Why?” The little horse from Anshan, who had been working hard at training, had no idea what was going on. He only knew that everyone on the national team had been taking turns giving interviews lately. Since the coaches had not summoned him yet, it probably was not his turn.

Jike and I have already finished ours. Why haven’t they called you yet? At this rate, those guys are going to steal Nanzhou away!” Xu Xin was practically frantic. Looking at his completely unconcerned friend, he felt as though he could shake some sense into him.

“What? What does that have to do with me?” Ma Long stared blankly at him. He had never even met the woman. How had she suddenly become his girlfriend? And since when had Big Snake become so familiar with the reporter that he was calling her Nanzhou?

“You really don’t get it, do you? I guarantee you’ll like her. Nanzhou is incredibly beautiful!” As a straightforward man, Xu Xin had eyes only for his own Yao Yan, but even he could not deny Reporter Duan’s beauty.

“Exactly, Long. I’ve noticed quite a few people on the team secretly preparing to pursue Reporter Duan.” Zhang Jike had just arrived and immediately joined the conversation. “And I heard that…”

At that point, Zhang Jike lowered his voice. Xu Xin and Ma Long leaned closer, eager to hear.

“Fang Bo and Chen Qi both seem to be interested in her!”

“Seriously!?” Xu Xin’s astonished reaction made Zhang Jike burst out laughing. As expected, gossip was no fun if he was the only one shocked. Everyone’s reactions were the best part.

“That can’t be right, can it? Doesn’t Chen Qi already have a girlfriend?” Naive as ever, Ma Long could not understand. Had his information fallen behind?

“They broke up ages ago!” Xu Xin knew even this piece of gossip. He shot his clueless friend a disdainful look. Did the man do anything besides train all day?

“Exactly. So, Long, you’d better hurry! Otherwise you’ll fall behind, and by then there’ll be no girlfriend left for you!”

“But what does that have to do with me?” The little horse remained utterly bewildered. He had not even met her. Why were his two good friends insisting on pairing him up with her?

If this continued, stubborn little Ma Long’s rebellious streak was bound to emerge. He would not go. He absolutely would not get together with some reporter named Duan! He clenched his fist and swore it to himself.

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With his friends’ persuasion only strengthening his resolve, Ma Long became more and more determined. No one could force the little horse from Anshan to do anything!

That was, until Liu Guoliang notified him that he was to prepare for his interview.

“Hello, Ma Long! I’m reporter Duan Nanzhou. I’m delighted that the time ahead belongs to the two of us.”

Duan Nanzhou’s professional smile appeared right on schedule. Looking at Captain Long across from her, she felt an inexplicable sense of warmth. In her previous life, Captain Long had treated her like a kind and affectionate uncle. In this life, seeing him once again made her instinctively regard him with the respect due to an elder.

At that moment, Ma Long stared fixedly at Duan Nanzhou’s face. His mind registered only fragments:

Hello, Ma Long… something-something… Duan Nanzhou… something-something… belongs to the two of us…

The rest of the interview was much the same. Ma Long followed Duan Nanzhou’s questions as though he had no mind of his own, answering nearly everything she asked.

The staff members who had been accompanying Duan Nanzhou watched Ma Long stare at her without once looking away and secretly struggled not to laugh. Plenty of athletes had kept their eyes on Duan Nanzhou throughout the interviews, but only this one had been so direct, so utterly undisguised—and so adorably foolish.

The cameraman had the hardest time holding in his laughter. Carrying the camera and filming Ma Long from the front, he had the clearest view of the young man’s reactions. When Duan Nanzhou moved beyond the formal questions and began asking about his daily life and personality, Ma Long’s ears turned scarlet, as though they might bleed. Yet he continued answering honestly, wearing a foolish, bashful smile.

Duan Nanzhou was having far too much fun. After all, when someone who had once been a respected elder suddenly became a child who answered every question without hesitation, how could she not keep asking? She nearly wanted to uncover every last secret he possessed.

Only when one of the staff members quietly tugged at the corner of her clothes did Duan Nanzhou realize that she might have gone a little too far. The problem was that Ma Long was being so cooperative, and she had not noticed how many questions she was piling on. She quickly began wrapping things up, laying the groundwork for the conclusion and bringing the interview to an end.

Across from her, Ma Long was embarrassed and shy, yet still reluctant for the interview to finish. Its abrupt ending left him somewhat dazed. He had noticed, however, that someone had signaled Duan Nanzhou to stop. Thus, the pouting Captain Long secretly glared at the staff member who had tugged at her clothes, a young man named Xu.

Xu: ???

In reality, Ma Long’s interview had already been the longest of anyone outside the principal players—longer even than Xu Xin and Zhang Jike’s interviews combined.

But Ma Long was not satisfied. He could only leave with lingering regret, replaying the interview over and over in his mind. Afterward, he even began secretly asking around to find out where Duan Nanzhou would be each day.

Unfortunately, by the time his interview was over, Duan Nanzhou’s assignment was nearly finished as well. She left after only a few more days.

Ma Long’s little feelings had barely begun before everything was over. He had not even managed to get her contact information. He spent the following days looking utterly dejected.

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