4 Wang Chuqin

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Men’s Team Training Hall.

Ever since Coach Liu mentioned that Duan Nanzhou would be training with them in the afternoon, the main players had been eager to spar with her again. After all, a month had passed since their first day of sparring, and during that month, Duan Nanzhou’s “legendary stories” in the women’s team had grown increasingly impressive. They had heard Coach Liu and Coach Kong talk about her progress more than once, so naturally, they were keen to spar with her again to feel the difference.

Soon enough, the opportunity arrived.

When Duan Nanzhou arrived at the training hall in the afternoon, accompanied by Liu Guoliang, the two saw the usual troublemakers quietly lining up, their eyes shining with readiness. The sight left them momentarily speechless.

Before Liu Guoliang could even organize anything, the players instinctively formed a queue and arranged the order for sparring with Duan Nanzhou.

Liu Guoliang thought to himself, “This is quite rare.”

Thus, Duan Nanzhou was immediately put on the spot and began several rounds of sparring. As expected from the men’s team, they showed none of the girls’ cuteness.

Throughout these rounds, Duan Nanzhou was very serious. Since everyone else was so earnest and focused, she had to be serious too.

To her opponents, Duan Nanzhou was a formidable player, but to the young male player Wang Chuqin, she sparkled brilliantly.

If at first it was her appearance that drew him in, now it was the combination of beauty and strength that had firmly captured his heart.

At that moment, Wang Chuqin found it impossible to concentrate fully on his own training, as all his attention was drawn to Duan Nanzhou.

His good friend Liu Dingshuo had been observing him for some time, never having seen this side of Wang Chuqin before. After all, Wang Chuqin was a somewhat unconventional youth determined to be the “Bking” during his adolescence, so he never displayed such infatuated expressions.

If it weren’t for the fact that he hadn’t brought his phone to training that day, Liu Dingshuo would have eagerly recorded his friend’s current state, knowing it would be amusing to watch later.

He wasn’t the only one with such thoughts; nearby, Xue Fei was secretly taking photos with his phone.

“Send me a copy,” Liu Dingshuo mouthed silently.

Xue Fei gave him an “OK” sign in response.

“Big head, stop staring!” Seeing a coach coming for inspection, Liu Dingshuo quickly nudged his friend. It was fine to watch for fun, but getting caught wouldn’t be good.

Startled, Wang Chuqin quickly regained his composure and pretended to focus on training, though his mind raced with thoughts about how to get to know Duan Nanzhou better.

Similarly, many of the young men on the team shared Wang Chuqin’s feelings, indicating that his journey was still a long one.

After several rounds, Duan Nanzhou admitted she was exhausted. The men’s team’s main players seemed determined to “break her,” unleashing nearly all their strength, making her feel as if she were some unforgivable criminal.

“Xiao Duan, you should come train with the men’s team more often!” Xu Xin, ever the all-rounder, said after playing with her, feeling like he had improved just from the experience.

“Xiao Duan? What’s that?” Duan Nanzhou was a bit stunned the first time she heard the nickname, then somewhat speechless. She realized that she was now considered the “national team’s primary sparring partner.”

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“Nanzhou, we men’s team really welcome you! Look, every time you come, we can practice with you!” Ma Long gently added, true to his reputation as the team leader, making even the same message sound better.

“Okay, Team Dragon,” Duan Nanzhou replied politely, showing respect.

After a brief exchange, Duan Nanzhou continued her serving practice with the men’s team until dinner time.

Today, she had declined invitations from the Three Musketeers and Xiao Pang, as well as from her good friend Sa Sha and others, waiting until the training hall was nearly empty before preparing to leave.

Except for one.

“Um, hi?” Wang Chuqin, who had been waiting nearby for some time, nervously approached to greet her.

That evening, Wang Chuqin noticed that Duan Nanzhou hadn’t left yet and decided to stay as well, sending away his two close friends who wanted to wait and watch with him.

“Hello, is there something you need?” Duan Nanzhou, crouching to pack her bag, looked up at the young man approaching her.

“I…” Wang Chuqin went blank under her gaze, not knowing what to say.

“What is it?” Duan Nanzhou stood, observing the boy’s increasingly flushed face, as if it might ignite, but he stammered without forming words.

“I want to introduce myself. My name is Wang Chuqin. I’m a member of the first team now, and I hope we can communicate more and play together in the future.” Despite his nervousness, Wang Chuqin expressed himself clearly, eyes filled with hopeful anticipation.

“Hello, I’m Duan Nanzhou. I know who you are. Let’s definitely keep in touch!” Her words surprised and delighted Wang Chuqin—she actually knew him.

With so many people on the national team and limited interaction between the men’s and women’s teams, it was remarkable that Duan Nanzhou recognized him. This suggested that he was no longer just a face in the crowd to her—a promising start.

If Duan Nanzhou had known his thoughts, she would have told him he was overthinking. After all, she had only been here a few days but had already memorized nearly everyone on the national team and could match faces to names—her way of adapting to a new, long-term environment.

“Let’s go. It’s late; why haven’t you eaten yet?” Duan Nanzhou glanced at the silent Wang Chuqin standing there and took the initiative to leave, inviting him to join her and casually starting a conversation to ease the awkwardness of walking together.

“I… I’m not hungry yet.” Wang Chuqin was too embarrassed to admit he had been waiting for her and hadn’t eaten.

“With so much training, you need to replenish your energy. Let’s eat together, though the cafeteria probably won’t have much left now.” Originally, Duan Nanzhou hadn’t planned to eat in the cafeteria, but she still politely offered.

Wang Chuqin, pleasantly surprised, quickly nodded.

“Great! We can ask the chef to make something special for us. Come on, I’ll take you there!”

“Sounds perfect! I’m really lucky tonight!” Every word Duan Nanzhou spoke made Wang Chuqin’s mind run wild with interpretations.

After all, adolescent boys tend to overanalyze every word from someone they like, let alone these somewhat ambiguous phrases. His smile lifted his cheekbones high.

So, during dinner, they ate while chatting about everyday life. Even casual topics made Wang Chuqin feel content.

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After Duan Nanzhou politely declined Wang Chuqin’s offer to walk her back to the dorm and watched him leave, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Though she had no problem with socializing—having dealt with many clients in her previous life—she still disliked conversations with strangers or acquaintances, especially since she usually kept to herself. Such unexpected chats made her uncomfortable.

Besides, she had already noticed something: did this Wang Chuqin like her?

Duan Nanzhou didn’t want to dwell on it, but her observations suggested it was very possible. She was somewhat sensitive in this area but had no romantic intentions, planning only to treat him as an ordinary teammate for casual interaction and playing together.

While Duan Nanzhou coldly contemplated cutting off the young man’s feelings, Wang Chuqin was already lost in a pink-hued daydream.

When Duan Nanzhou returned to her dorm, she found her good friend Sa Sha sitting cross-armed on her bed, waiting, with a fierce expression.

How could Sun Yingsha not be angry? She had missed a meal with Duan Nanzhou, and now someone else was trying to take her place.

There were no secrets on the national team; word spread quickly that Duan Nanzhou had dined with Wang Chuqin that evening. Gossip was powerful.

Sun Yingsha’s jealousy was palpable—no matter the gender, everyone seemed to want to get close to her “Zhou Zhou,” as she affectionately called Duan Nanzhou, her best friend.

Her suspicion was fueled by the fact that several members from both men’s and women’s teams had recently approached her, eager to learn about Duan Nanzhou, get to know her, exchange contact details, or directly ask to be friends.

Sun Yingsha’s sense of crisis soared. Previously, she only guarded against the men’s team; now, she had to be wary of both men and women!

“Sa Sha, I brought you something delicious,” Duan Nanzhou said, sensing the tension and quickly resorting to her method of soothing her friend.

“I even asked the chef to prepare a special dish for you, your favorite. Come try it!”

Duan Nanzhou always knew how to calm Sun Yingsha instantly and put her at ease.

Sun Yingsha happily ate the “love food” her good friend had brought back, and the invisible crisis passed.

Of course, it came at the cost of Duan Nanzhou’s usually untouchable little face. Did you see the radiant smile on Sun Yingsha’s face after being successfully spoiled?

That was the taste of victory.

However, that night marked the end of the matter. Sun Yingsha had firmly labeled the men’s team player Wang Chuqin as having ill intentions and deliberately prevented him from approaching Duan Nanzhou again.

Naturally, this was exactly what Duan Nanzhou hoped for, so she went along with it.

The only unfortunate part was the young man’s heart, which was left full of confusion and sorrow, spending his days with a long face.