45. Malone

"Longlong, I'm transferring to a behind-the-scenes role!"
On this day, Duan Nanzhou was on the phone with her boyfriend, excitedly sharing the news of her promotion. Nearly four years after graduation, she had finally achieved her initial plan, and her words were filled with pure joy.
"Congratulations, Zhouzhou!" Ma Long congratulated her before suddenly remembering, "Does that mean you won't be able to come to the team often anymore?"
At that moment, Ma Long realized that since his girlfriend would no longer be a front-line reporter, she wouldn't be visiting the national table tennis team for interviews anymore. Wouldn't that mean they would spend even less time together?
Clearly, they both lived in Beijing most of the time, yet they were enduring the feeling of a long-distance relationship. It was truly agonizing!
"Working behind-the-scenes means I won't have to run around everywhere for interviews, so I'll actually have more time to go see you," Duan Nanzhou comforted her boyfriend, though reality didn't seem to be working out quite that way.
After successfully transitioning to her behind-the-scenes role, Duan Nanzhou found that her workload hadn't lessened at all; if anything, it had multiplied. Especially as a newcomer to the position, she had to learn countless things from scratch, keeping her extraordinarily busy.
The only comforting aspect was that her salary had indeed doubled, which gave her a fresh surge of motivation every time she looked at her paycheck.
The person who felt the full brunt of Duan Nanzhou's busy schedule was none other than her boyfriend, Ma Long. The two already didn't see each other often, relying mostly on a few phone calls a day to maintain their online relationship.
After Duan Nanzhou's transition, their communication frequency dropped to once every few days. Ma Long, somewhat neglected by his girlfriend, understood the situation completely and tried to be as mature and sensible as possible. Yet, feeling a bit wronged, he poured even more time into his training every day, afraid that if he had too much idle time, his mind would wander.
Just when he thought that after a period of time, once his girlfriend grew accustomed to her job, they would finally have time to nurture their relationship, he was hit with the news that Duan Nanzhou's broadcasting station required everyone to undertake further studies.
Consequently, Duan Nanzhou and her colleagues took turns participating in exchange programs and studies across various locations both domestically and internationally, with the majority taking place abroad.
Ma Long: It seems my relationship is becoming a bit unstable?
The young couple, forced into a prolonged long-distance relationship, hadn't seen each other in ages. Duan Nanzhou never expected that moving behind the scenes would lead to this kind of situation.
Their schedules always managed to miss each other miraculously. When Duan Nanzhou returned to Beijing for a few days of rest, Ma Long would likely be away competing in tournaments. When Ma Long returned to Beijing for training, Duan Nanzhou would likely be off on training exchanges somewhere else.
"Zhouzhou, I miss you..." Ma Long finally couldn't help but voice his grievances during a phone call after months of not seeing his girlfriend.
"Longlong, I miss you too." Duan Nanzhou was momentarily at a loss. It had been so long since they had seen each other that she felt somewhat dazed, especially since their communication wasn't particularly frequent either. At times, she even felt dizzyingly unsure if she actually still had a boyfriend.
Yet, facing her boyfriend's outpouring of emotion, Duan Nanzhou decisively offered comfort. After all, a relationship still required maintenance, especially given their current situation of being apart and unable to see each other.
Later, the two chatted about random trifles, no longer bringing up work, simply sharing their daily lives and communicating their feelings.
However, Duan Nanzhou never expected that when she finished her work and returned to Beijing this time, Ma Long would give her a major "surprise"!
This time when Duan Nanzhou returned home, their schedules finally aligned. Because it was the end of the year, Ma Long was training in Beijing almost exclusively, which was why he was finally able to catch her.
After tidying up, Duan Nanzhou set off to meet her boyfriend. This date was arranged at the new apartment Ma Long had purchased in Beijing, making it Duan Nanzhou's first time visiting his new home.
Since her boyfriend had mentioned he would only be able to arrive after finishing training, Duan Nanzhou didn't think much of it. She deeply understood and sympathized with an athlete's daily routine, so she didn't mind waiting for a little while.
However, when Duan Nanzhou arrived ahead of time using the spare key Ma Long had given her long ago, she pushed open the door to find the apartment pitch black, accompanied by some rustling sounds from within. It immediately felt somewhat abnormal.
Thinking it couldn't possibly be a burglar or anything of the sort, she searched for the light switch and immediately turned it on. In an instant, she saw a meticulously decorated room and Ma Long kneeling on one knee right in front of her.
At that exact moment, they stared at each other. Duan Nanzhou was somewhat shocked that her boyfriend had suddenly pulled this stunt, while Ma Long, snapping back to reality, immediately began reciting his proposal speech according to plan.
After an outpouring of sincere emotions, Ma Long delivered the final line:
"Zhouzhou, will you marry me?"
Duan Nanzhou was utterly bewildered. Marry him? Marry him for what? Why was Ma Long acting so abruptly? Especially since this was their very first meeting after not seeing each other for several months, and he chose to pull a stunt like this.
Duan Nanzhou's failure to respond immediately left Ma Long feeling somewhat disappointed. Yet, he knew that staging this so abruptly meant rejection was a distinct possibility.
"Longlong, why is this so sudden?" Duan Nanzhou felt that although her relationship with Ma Long was going well, she truly had no thoughts of entering marriage just yet, nor was she going to agree to it purely to save face for Ma Long.
Seeing that his girlfriend had no intention of agreeing, Ma Long silently stood up, trying to pretend nothing had happened, though a thread of awkwardness lingered heavily between them.
Later on, Ma Long offered explanations, admitting that he had been terrified of the impact the long-distance relationship was having on their bond, which drove him to impulsively propose and wish for marriage.
However, the ultimate outcome of that day ended on a somewhat sour note. Deep down, both of them knew that a tiny thorn had now embedded itself in their relationship.
Still, Duan Nanzhou knew her own heart very well. Initially, her attraction to Ma Long had simply been because of his striking looks. Later, as they got together, her affection grew gradually. Even though they had been together for nearly three years now, she still didn't feel any urge to step into marriage.
Ma Long could feel the rationality and detachment in Duan Nanzhou at that moment. Even though he understood his own immaturity, he still felt somewhat hurt, with the lingering sensation that Duan Nanzhou simply didn't love him enough.
Yet Duan Nanzhou was well aware of what she wanted, so she didn't dwell too much on Ma Long's proposal, nor did she feel it severely impacted their romantic relationship. After all, they still had a future ahead of them.
Thus, the proposal incident simply faded away as both of them tacitly chose to move past it.
As the year 2014 arrived, with a wave of athletes preparing for retirement, Ma Long grew increasingly busy, gradually taking on the heavy responsibilities of the national team's frontline core.
Duan Nanzhou, on the other hand, had stabilized in her career, gaining more leisure to enjoy her life as well as more opportunities to visit her boyfriend and see him more often.
Virtually every weekend, as long as Ma Long was training at the Beijing General Administration, Duan Nanzhou would head over to the team to see him. Knowing how busy his training was, she would simply sit quietly by his side.
Ma Long was overjoyed by his girlfriend's visits, but seeing her come all this way every time while he remained too busy with training to properly accompany her left him feeling somewhat guilty. He wanted to tell her not to tire herself out by coming to see him every week, yet he was afraid she might overthink it. Furthermore, he desperately wanted to spend more time with her, so in the end, he kept silent.
"Zhouzhou, isn't it exhausting and boring to come see me every week?" Ma Long asked, gently swaying his girlfriend's hand as he finally couldn't hold back the question.
"It's fine. Isn't love all about mutual accommodation? Besides, I want to see you too!" Duan Nanzhou remained nonchalant about it. From her perspective, visiting her boyfriend brought happiness to both of them, so why not?
"Thank you, Zhouzhou!" Ma Long suddenly stopped and pulled his girlfriend into an embrace, wishing to express his gratitude for her understanding and support as an athlete, as well as her forgiveness for his inadequacy as a boyfriend.
Duan Nanzhou felt that her boyfriend must have been overthinking things again to suddenly turn so sentimental, but she still gently wrapped her arms around him in return.
...
Days passed in peaceful routine, and the couple's relationship grew steadily better, evolving increasingly into the warm, ordinary daily life of a young married couple.
Both of them had already met each other's parents. Both families were exceptionally pleasant, holding no objections toward the young couple and looking upon their relationship with great favor.
Therefore, waiting for the two to enter into marriage was merely a matter of time. Perhaps if Ma Long were to propose once more right now, Duan Nanzhou might just agree.
With their relationship progressing smoothly, both of their careers were flourishing as well. Duan Nanzhou was steadily climbing the ladder, commanding a handsome salary at a young age, while Ma Long was right in the upward trajectory of his career. His skills were sharpening and stabilizing by the day as he shouldered the heavy responsibilities of the national table tennis team, beginning to capture honors across major tournaments one after another.
Yet, a peaceful life always seemed destined for some dramatic twists; otherwise, how could it match the perpetually eventful life Duan Nanzhou seemed fated to experience in this lifetime?
"Ma Long? Why aren't you answering your phone?"