36 Malone

After leaving the General Administration of Sport, Duan Nanzhou returned to the office building to begin organizing the materials for her latest assignment. Due to the trust she had earned and her proven performance, this interview was almost entirely entrusted to her. Aside from a few staff members assisting, Duan Nanzhou handled everything else herself.

Consequently, Duan Nanzhou had been working at a breakneck pace for some time. She turned down every invitation, finally managing to complete everything just before the deadline and releasing the interview on schedule. Exhausted, she only wanted a good sleep and to be left alone; she silenced her phone and tossed it aside, completely ignoring it.

This left poor Ma Long, who had gone to great lengths to obtain her contact information, in a state of growing despair. After finally summoning the courage to reach out and introduce himself, he was met only with the silence of unanswered calls.

His two brothers, standing nearby, watched him with concern. Seeing that he remained silent, they realized something was wrong—had she not picked up?

"Maybe Nanzhou just doesn't answer calls from unfamiliar numbers?" Xu Xin suggested cautiously.

"That's right! Why don't you try one or two more times? Then she'll know it's someone she knows calling!" Zhang Jike added.

Ma Long looked at them with a mix of heartbreak and skepticism, but he chose to believe them and dialed twice more. Still, there was no answer.

The scene fell silent: Ma Long in heartbroken silence, and his two brothers in a silence spent pondering how to comfort him.

"Long, maybe she's just busy! Just like when we're in training—it's normal to miss calls!" Xu Xin insisted confidently, and Zhang Jike nodded heavily in agreement.

"Exactly! Maybe she'll call you back once she's free!"

Ma Long knew his friends were just trying to comfort him, but that couldn't mend the broken heart of the boy from Anshan. In the days that followed, he carried a small sliver of hope that "she might call back" through his daily training. However, as the days passed, that hope dwindled. Duan Nanzhou never called back, and Ma Long grew increasingly dejected.

***

Meanwhile, Duan Nanzhou simply felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people trying to reach her every day, especially from unknown numbers. She rarely answered them. If someone genuinely needed her or knew her, they would send a text explaining who they were, at which point she would save the number.

Ma Long’s call logs had long since been pushed down the list. Duan Nanzhou had no interest in checking who had called, especially since Ma Long had reached out to her work number—a line she paid little attention to. People in her professional circle were generally aware of her habits and would text in advance to ensure she wouldn't miss their calls.

And so, a beautiful misunderstanding was born. Ma Long would never receive that callback, no matter how long he waited.

After wrapping up the major interview with the national table tennis team, the first semester of her senior year was drawing to a close. With no more exams to worry about, she happily packed her bags and headed home to enjoy her final winter break.

Duan Nanzhou’s parents were overjoyed to see their daughter. Although they lived in Beijing and she attended school there, she was usually so busy with her studies that she rarely came home. Her parents missed her dearly, and seeing her return as soon as the break began made them want to give her the world.

"Mom, Dad, don't go to too much trouble. We could just go out to eat!" Duan Nanzhou said, lounging lazily on the sofa while watching television and calling out to her parents in the kitchen.

"Niuniu, just keep watching your show!" her mother’s voice called back.

"Niuniu, your mother and I are making you a feast! Just wait a little longer!" her father added.

"Alright, then! I'll be waiting for that feast!" Duan Nanzhou didn't quite understand her parents' obsession with cooking, but since they insisted, she was happy to enjoy it.

Just then, her private phone chimed with a text. She reluctantly picked it up to check. As expected, it was Chen Qi. *Ugh, I don't want to reply.*

When she first started working with the team, she had only provided her work number. However, after Zhang Yining discovered she had another phone, she had been coerced by the "Big Devil" into explaining the two-phone setup and exchanging private numbers.

Zhang Yining: *Very satisfied. Can't I have a private number for my relationship with Nanzhou?*

Unexpectedly, Chen Qi happened to walk by and witness this. Lacking any sense of social boundaries, he insisted on adding her private number too. To save face, Duan Nanzhou didn't refuse him at the time.

To her dismay, the "God of Killing" began a campaign of daily text messages and calls. Previously, he often couldn't get through to her work number, and her replies had been professional and distant. Now that he had her private number, she had no excuse to avoid him. She was forced to respond daily, and Chen Qi made no secret of his feelings for her.

But Duan Nanzhou had absolutely no interest in him. To her, Chen Qi was just a middle-aged, slightly out-of-shape coach who had overseen a few of her sessions, as well as a man obsessed with showing off his daughter. Even now that he was younger, she felt nothing for him.

Since he was only making small talk and hadn't made a formal declaration, she couldn't find a reason to reject him, which only made the situation more annoying.

As for Fang Bo, whom Zhang Jike had gossiped about, that was a pure misunderstanding. Fang Bo was only sixteen at the time. When Duan Nanzhou interviewed him, she had spoken with a tone of someone coaxing a child, even though she was only eighteen herself.

Perhaps her gentle tone and thoughtful content had touched a nerve, letting Fang Bo—who was still struggling in the second team—catch a glimpse of a "maternal aura." After the interview, he wanted her contact information, treating her like an older sister figure he could confide in.

Duan Nanzhou, seeing how "fragile" Fang Bo was, would reply to his messages with comfort. However, the kid seemed to have genuinely cast her in the role of a "mom" or "big sister," constantly starting conversations with "Sister Nanzhou" before launching into complaints and rants.

Duan Nanzhou: *Speechless.*

Still, the most annoying part was dealing with Chen Qi’s daily messages. She hadn't figured out a way to make him stop.

Back at the national training base, Ma Long was lost in a melancholic training session when he heard his teammates, Chen Qi and Zhang Yining, talking. They were talking about Duan Nanzhou!

Because they were speaking in low voices and were some distance away, they didn't avoid him. Ma Long strained his ears, trying to catch every word.

The bits he heard were disjointed, but after piecing them together, he reached one conclusion: Chen Qi was really pursuing Nanzhou! He couldn't quite tell what Nanzhou’s thoughts were—surely she wasn't going to agree?

In reality, Zhang Yining was acting on behalf of her "little sister," trying to persuade Chen Qi to stop messaging Duan Nanzhou so often and subtly expressing that Nanzhou wasn't interested in dating. This was the best solution Duan Nanzhou could think of. She didn't want to make things awkward, as she would have many future interactions with the national team, so she had asked Zhang Yining to intervene.

The loyal Zhang Yining agreed immediately—partly because she felt none of these boys were "good enough" for Duan Nanzhou—and went straight to talk to Chen Qi.

After listening, Chen Qi understood where Duan Nanzhou stood. Though he didn't want to give up completely, he significantly reduced the frequency of his messages and began discussing table tennis instead. This forced Duan Nanzhou to reply; she couldn't be impolite when the topic was professional. She would respond intermittently, maintaining a purely functional exchange.

Duan Nanzhou breathed a sigh of relief. This had temporarily solved the problem, preventing it from further impacting her life.

With that resolved, she began the busy but peaceful final period of her senior year, spending her days rushing around for her graduation interviews.

As for Ma Long, ever since he had "secretly" overheard that conversation, he had been restless and moody.

Although he had managed to get his number into her contact list after his friends helped him realize she ignored unknown numbers, he had sent one text introducing himself and then... nothing. The message thread had remained frozen at:

*[Hello Nanzhou, this is Ma Long. This is my number (smile)]*
*[Hello Ma Long, number saved (handshake)]*
*[Okay.]*

With no progress to speak of, and the news that Chen Qi might be chatting with her daily, Ma Long was frantic but had no idea how to proceed.

Eventually, egged on by his two friends, he prepared to take the first step, hoping to start a daily conversation with her. But he got stuck on the very first hurdle: he had no idea what topic to start with.

"Just talk to her about table tennis! Start with work, then slowly lead into life, right?" Xu Xin was exasperated. Where was his friend’s usual wit?

"Okay, I'll try..." Ma Long replied uncertainly, and then carefully sent:

*[Hello Nanzhou, are you free to chat? I’d like to discuss some things about table tennis with you?]*

Xu Xin and Zhang Jike watched the message go out and nearly collapsed. This boy really didn't know how to talk! Who would respond to that? They glared at their friend in frustration.

Sure enough, Ma Long, waiting expectantly for a reply, received only this:

*[Sorry, Ma Long, I’m busy with my graduation interviews lately. Let’s talk when I’m free.]*

And just like that, the first step taken by the boy from Anshan was forcefully pushed back.