53 Marlon

[That girlfriend of Ma Long looks like bad news at first glance, tsk tsk tsk.]
[I seriously wonder what Team Captain Long is thinking, finding a woman like this (speechless).]
[Oh my god, this woman has been with so many men?? Can Ma Long even accept that?]
[This has got to be concrete proof, right? These photos and evidence are way too real, isn't Captain Long capable of any judgment at all?]
[Not only does Captain Long lack judgment, but he is also deeply in love. Just look at his subtle posts on Weibo cursing out netizens and you'll know!]
...
[I have to say, student-athletes seem to love this type of woman, and Captain Long is no exception.]
[My rose-tinted glasses for Ma Long are shattered (broken heart).]

All kinds of remarks like this popped up endlessly on the internet. True or false, they all seemed to have turned into undeniable facts.

It wasn't until those netizens who initially stirred up the narrative with their so-called "evidence," along with the sensationalist gossip accounts that just wanted to watch the chaos, were sued in their real names by Duan Nanzhou that the internet fell into a sudden, prolonged silence.

[This woman is so fierce! Must be using Captain Long's connections, right?]
[I'm telling you, Captain Long is blinded by love. With evidence this solid, why isn't he breaking up with her yet?]
...

Of course, there were also some voices questioning and refuting the rumors mixed in, such as:
[Is this even considered solid proof? I feel so sorry for this young lady, getting dragged like this just for dating Ma Long!]
[Seriously, here is this gorgeous beauty who didn't know anything, just trying to have a normal relationship, getting cursed out by these delusional fans.]
[I'm saying, you fans might want to date Ma Long, but you shouldn't go this far. The girl is totally innocent, okay!]

However, there was no denying that Duan Nanzhou's actions did make some cowards quickly delete their posts and shut their mouths, though they naively thought deleting their posts quickly meant they could pretend nothing had happened.

Regarding the online gossip targeting her—especially the most outrageous examples—Duan Nanzhou spent money to hire top-tier, professional lawyers to handle every single one. The core principle was simple: she would not let them off the hook. She wanted them to understand that the internet is not a place where you can say whatever malicious nonsense you want without facing consequences.

Duan Nanzhou's series of actions and her tough stance indeed made quite a few people doubt the reliability of the previous "news." Some even felt they had been led astray and ran to Duan Nanzhou's social media accounts to leave apologies.

A few days after suing those individuals, Duan Nanzhou provided the most comprehensive and factual explanations for the most outrageous black materials circulating online. For instance, those photos of her with various different men turned out to be from her previous days as a journalist interviewing subjects, with other staff members cropped out. Granted, those photos weren't something the average person could easily get their hands on; Duan Nanzhou had spent a tremendous amount of effort tracking them down, which just showed how "impressive" those rumor-mongers really were.

As soon as Duan Nanzhou uploaded her evidence, Ma Long immediately and silently reposted his girlfriend's statement so that more people could see the truth.

Several of his good friends in the national table tennis team, who had been spectating the whole thing, were just about to hit repost when they noticed Ma Long had already beaten them to it. A wave of silent awe washed over them—man, he was fast!

As for why several members of the national table tennis team could get involved and repost without facing restrictions, it was partly because they were all good friends, and partly because the coaching staff—especially Liu Guoliang—basically gave their silent approval, seeing as he had also contributed quite a bit behind the scenes to help Duan Nanzhou with her statement.

Initially, seeing Ma Long rush to repost for his girlfriend at the very first moment, everyone felt that Captain Long must be head-over-heels in love with her. This practically amounted to a public official announcement in front of the entire audience.

Later on, when they saw that one after another, several mainstays of the national table tennis team—along with quite a few coaches, and even Liu Guoliang himself—had also reposted, everyone was utterly stunned. The collective thoughts of the netizens boiled down to these:
Is Ma Long's girlfriend that insanely powerful? Does the entire national table tennis team have her back? Wait, what on earth is the girlfriend's actual identity?

It wasn't until later, when Duan Nanzhou's account received words of encouragement and support from several well-known sports journalists, that the netizens became completely numb. It seemed those rumor-mongers had truly kicked an iron plate this time.

Yet, the support and validation from these figures made netizens nearly convinced that the previous uproar was entirely a series of fabricated rumors, putting an end to their belief in the so-called black materials. Even so, the public's curiosity about Duan Nanzhou's true identity reached an all-time high.

Eventually, through deep digging by netizens and a video released by Liu Guoliang, it was basically confirmed that Duan Nanzhou was formerly a prominent journalist for the CCTV Sports Channel.

As for Liu Guoliang's video, it primarily featured footage from back when Duan Nanzhou was stationed at the national table tennis team for interviews, including a segment where she played table tennis that had once shocked the internal ranks of the national team.

The moment this video dropped, netizens erupted with exclamations of "Holy cow, awesome!", with some even jokingly wondering if playing a mean game of table tennis was a mandatory skill for romantic partners of national table tennis athletes.

[I'm totally in love with this woman, she is way too badass!]
[After watching her introduction and the interview clips, I can only imagine how long Captain Long must have chased after her.]
[Reporter Duan is simply too stellar. If I were Ma Long, I'd fall for her too.]
[So it's certain why Ma Long is being so fiercely protective—otherwise, what would he do if his girlfriend ran away? (dog head)]
[True, his girlfriend was almost driven away by netizens. No wonder Captain Long acted so tough this time; he completely shed his "little soft milk-dragon" image!]
[You bet. I even heard the two of them broke up for a period of time. During those days, Captain Long was depressed to the absolute extreme. Good thing he managed to win her back later.]
[Hey, user above, spill the details! I want to hear more!]
[There was a period like that?]
[Yeah, when I was traveling abroad before, I think I bumped into Reporter Duan. I just checked my old photos and realized it! At the time, I just thought she was a beauty and couldn't help staring for a bit, and later when we crossed paths again on a few more tours, I couldn't resist snapping a picture (sorry, sorry, I know candid photo-taking is bad). But I have to add, there were tons of handsome guys chasing after her trying to strike up a conversation back then too (dog head for self-preservation).]
[Bold guess: that must have been during their breakup period when Reporter Duan went abroad to clear her mind. Who would have thought she'd have handsome guys accompanying her all the way? That explains all those so-called photos.]
[What's wrong with talking to handsome guys after a breakup? Even if they were dating, it's totally fine, okay! That bunch of fans acted like vicious mothers-in-law, practically wanting to strip Reporter Duan of a layer of skin, thinking that would somehow let them end up with Ma Long!]
[Who doesn't love a stunning beauty? Especially someone as gorgeous and accomplished as Reporter Duan. Captain Long truly struck gold!]

...

Ever since the matter was clarified, the direction of online discussions gradually grew more absurd, shifting from apologies to wild gossip about the two of them.

Meanwhile, Ma Long found reading the comments immensely entertaining. Whenever he saw remarks praising how well-matched the two of them looked, he would nod in satisfaction, but whenever he encountered comments casting covetous eyes at Duan Nanzhou, he would shake his head in annoyance.

Watching her boyfriend act like such a dorky goofball, Duan Nanzhou didn't even know what to say. How was it that Ma Long ended up having the most dramatic emotional rollercoaster throughout this entire ordeal?

Once the issue was resolved, however, Duan Nanzhou was able to return to a relatively peaceful life. Even though the internet remained lively, it hardly impacted her real life anymore—at least until the mentor who had originally brought her into the industry reached out to her again.

"Teacher?" Duan Nanzhou was very surprised to receive a call from her former mentor because, as far as she knew, during the previous internal office politics at the station, he had simply grown utterly sick of it, found an excuse to resign, and returned to his hometown to start his retirement life.

That had been one of the major catalysts prompting Duan Nanzhou to choose to resign and leave as well. If even the guiding light felt the moral climate was too rotten and walked away directly, why should she bother staying behind?

"Nanzhou, my girl, do you have any thoughts about coming back?" Old Jiang went straight to the point, direct and crisp.

"Aren't you retired? What's this? Did you go back to the station again?" Duan Nanzhou was astonished, considering that when Old Jiang left, his patience had been virtually exhausted and his heart filled with disappointment.

"Well... it's a long story. Let's set a time to meet and chat in person!" Old Jiang said after a brief silence on the other end.

Thus, Duan Nanzhou, who had been an "unemployed vagrant" for quite a while, accepted the meeting and ended up stepping back into the workforce as a working professional.

The more Duan Nanzhou thought about it after returning, the more suspicious it felt. Had she just been mentally manipulated? Otherwise, how did she manage to lose her wonderful life of leisure and end up back at work?

As it turned out, following that intense power struggle at the station, neither faction had managed to reap any benefits. Moreover, because their maneuvers had been too drastic and outrageous, they had been subjected to a massive official rectification. The consequence was that a batch of people left, leaving the station in a state of a flock without a leader.

Consequently, Old Jiang had been earnestly and repeatedly invited to return to the station, though he had turned them down every time—until they offered him their utmost sincerity and comprehensive reform plans, allowing him the creative freedom to operate without being constrained by the old bureaucratic red tape. Only then did Old Jiang feel a spark of temptation.

After all, if he hadn't been deeply disillusioned, Old Jiang wouldn't have left so lightly, and if he hadn't retained a genuine passion for the work, he wouldn't have stuck with it for so long. The station's willingness to implement major reforms this time was something he had begged for in vain for years; a part of him that still held unfulfilled ambitions and ideals suddenly hesitated and yearned for it.

In the end, under a black-and-white contract, this gesture of utmost sincerity was sealed, and Old Jiang was reinstated. Naturally, the very first person he sought upon his return was his favorite protege. Furthermore, many of Duan Nanzhou's past ideas had coincided precisely with his own, and he had always held her in exceptionally high regard.

And so, Duan Nanzhou was "hoodwinked" back into the fold, though she naturally negotiated for herself the maximum degree of benefit and freedom.

Moreover, Duan Nanzhou skipped multiple levels in a single bound this time, landing in a fairly prominent position within the station and instantly achieving a massive leap forward in her career. Yet, because her competence was so overwhelming and monstrous, even though this promotion defied conventional norms, practically no one dared to raise any objections. Even those who harbored secret grievances were completely subdued once Duan Nanzhou officially took office, recognizing that such sheer working capacity was something seniority alone could never buy.

As for little Ma, upon learning the news that his girlfriend was returning to work, he was caught in a mixture of joy and anxiety. He was joyful because his girlfriend's life would become more enriched, but anxious because once she got busy with work, the two of them wouldn't have time for dates.

Consequently, figuring out how to carve out every possible scrap of free time to see his girlfriend without compromising his training schedule became little Ma's greatest dilemma at the moment.