58 Lin Gaoyuan

"I want to break up with you!"

A tentative and childish voice suddenly rang in Duan Nanzhou's ear, startling her out of her daze.

Lifting her eyes to look at the little brat in front of her, Duan Nanzhou propped her chin on her hand and replied lazily, "Okay."

"You!"

The person opposite seemed utterly incredulous, pointing a finger at Duan Nanzhou for a long time without managing to utter another word. With no choice left, he resentfully took it back.

"Well, then I'm not breaking up!"

With that, he turned and ran off, leaving Duan Nanzhou completely baffled. Oh well, she might as well go back to daydreaming.

Waking up once again after having already lived for two or three months, Duan Nanzhou still felt somewhat unaccustomed to it. How on earth did she end up with a quick-travel script?!

When she first woke up and discovered that she was actually in the Guangdong Provincial Table Tennis Team, Duan Nanzhou had almost coughed up a mouthful of old blood. Table tennis again? This was already the third lifetime since she started her quick-travel lifestyle, so why couldn't she ever escape table tennis?

However, Duan Nanzhou refused to accept her fate. She felt she could still salvage the situation, especially after probing the attitudes of several coaches. She found that the "her" who had arrived beforehand, despite being in the provincial team, possessed only moderate talent combined with extreme diligence—which was the absolute limit of what could have brought her this far. Advancing any further was practically impossible!

Armed with this information, Duan Nanzhou contentedly embraced a state of lazy resignation. Especially since her family in this lifetime placed no demands on her whatsoever; as long as she didn't commit any crimes, they were more than happy to provide her with food and shelter.

Following this recent arrival, Duan Nanzhou had basically confirmed that every new body came with the exact same appearance and name. Furthermore, before her consciousness arrived, these bodies seemed to operate according to some sort of randomized programmed routine. To put it simply, they lacked genuine human warmth and flexibility. Once she arrived, the body seemed to truly come to life, ready to embark on a new existence.

Still, her family background varied every single time. The only constants were her continuously enhanced top-tier athletic talent, alongside the accumulated knowledge and capabilities piled up over several lifetimes.

This time around, Duan Nanzhou was a quintessential native Guangdong younger sister, with an older brother more than a decade her senior. Because of the vast age gap—and the fact that Duan's older brother had always been groomed like the heir to a major family—the two weren't particularly close. Duan Big Brother treated this sister, who was over ten years younger, more like a daughter: he was accommodating and considerate, but not particularly affectionate.

As for this lifetime's family background, while not exceedingly prominent, they certainly weren't short of money. The family owned a chain of teahouses, making them comfortably well-off.

However, Duan's mother and father were always extremely busy, spending practically the entire day immersed in the teahouse business. Duan's older brother rarely went to the teahouses, but having just graduated and started his own business, he was similarly rushed off his feet.

With only a housekeeper at home, she rarely saw her parents, let alone her older brother. The previously programmed "Duan Nanzhou" had felt too bored staying home every day under such circumstances, which was why she went to play table tennis and got selected for the provincial team.

Yet after Duan Nanzhou arrived, she had no lingering table tennis dreams. Wasn't what she pursued in past lives enough already? Her family placed no demands on her; as long as she lived a good life, that was enough.

Therefore, based on this reality, Duan Nanzhou resolutely chose to slack off, waiting until she reached the appropriate age to quietly retire from the sport. Besides, that time was fast approaching; she was already a fourteen-year-old junior high school sophomore. If one couldn't make it into the national team by this age, one's career prospects had basically reached their ceiling.

Thus, Duan Nanzhou continued to put up a facade of having insufficient talent and a surplus of hard work whenever she clocked in at the provincial team. As for her actual table tennis skills? Probably only Duan Nanzhou herself knew the truth. One lifetime as a professional athlete plus professional coach, another lifetime as a sports-related professional plus exclusive athletic sparring partner—so right now, table tennis was merely a toy for Duan Nanzhou to play tricks with effortlessly.

Speaking of this, Duan Nanzhou also discovered her own golden finger: with every fresh start, her athletic sense followed her like a shadow. In short, even if she had never touched a table tennis table in this lifetime, the moment she picked up a racket, she would instantly return to the peak condition of her past training. This bug was simply too much of a cheat! But she loved it!

Thinking this, the cool girl Duan Nanzhou patted her own hands in immense satisfaction.

That way, pretending to play at an ordinary, mediocre level was as easy as pie!

"Alright, today's training is over. Everyone dismissed!"

A coach's loud voice echoed from afar. Hearing it, Duan Nanzhou grabbed her bag and ran off, completely ignoring the people behind her who wanted to call her back, and headed straight home.

Along the way, Duan Nanzhou finally remembered the little brat who wanted to "break up" with her this afternoon, and could not help but be amused.

Speaking of this matter, right after Duan Nanzhou first arrived, she discovered that there were actually several adolescent boys in this wretched team "pursuing" her. Being right at the age where they loved to put on airs, and with Duan Nanzhou's undeniable beauty, they ended up pestering her day in and day out.

The main issue was that they were mostly all in the same provincial team, attended roughly the same school, and some were even in the exact same class, making them intensely annoying.

With her thoroughly adult mindset, Duan Nanzhou simply could not comprehend this group of little brats, and her usual rejection methods had zero effect on them. Utterly plagued by the nuisance, Duan Nanzhou finally asked them in exasperation what on earth it would take for them to stop following her around.

"You go out with me!"

Or alternatively,

"If you really have a boyfriend, don't worry, I'm not the type to play the third wheel!"

Little boys at that age—disliked by both people and dogs alike—were strangely obsessed with so-called "loyalty" and a stubborn sense of "morality."

Hearing their responses, Duan Nanzhou rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. She truly despised this bunch of pretentious little boys!

The very next day, Duan Nanzhou spotted a familiar face in the provincial team and couldn't help staring at him continuously, making the poor little boy so uncomfortable he didn't know where to look.

"Nanzhou, why do you keep staring at Lin Gaoyuan?" Xiao Li, a good friend Duan Nanzhou had made in the provincial team, couldn't help waving a hand to break Duan Nanzhou's staring contest.

"Could it be that you've taken a fancy to him?" Naturally, teenage boys and girls only ever had these things on their minds.

"Muzi, how come it feels like I haven't seen him in ages?" Duan Nanzhou truly hadn't expected to run into an old acquaintance here, even if it was a one-sided acquaintance on her part.

"You mean Lin Gaoyuan? He went to a tournament! I heard the national team has their eye on him, so he should be leaving soon. Must be nice!" Who in the provincial team didn't want to enter the national team? But many people's talent stopped right there, and being able to just muddle along in the provincial team was already decent enough.

"Besides, we weren't even that close with him before, were we?"

What Xiao Li said was true. Even within the provincial team, the men's and women's teams mostly trained separately, and though they occasionally practiced together, it was rare.

"Uh-huh, nothing much then. Muzi, let's go train!" Duan Nanzhou clapped her hands and pulled her friend toward the training area. Sure enough, classmate Xiao Li was instantly derailed and forgot all about the incident.

However, Duan Nanzhou felt this was a golden opportunity—a chance to deal with that bunch of annoying pests. Besides, she was relatively familiar with Lin Gaoyuan anyway; in her past life, he had been a cool boy dedicated to acting like a Boss King, yet Duan Nanzhou had partnered with him before and knew he wasn't a bad guy—just occasionally a bit obnoxious and overly theatrical, but overall dependable.

Even in this shrunken version of him now, his core personality probably hadn't changed much. Furthermore, she had to admit that seeing someone she had known and been familiar with before provided immense peace of mind to Duan Nanzhou, so she decided to enlist this kid's help!

Unexpectedly, just as she was pondering how to bring it up during the day, the moment training ended that afternoon, Duan Nanzhou found herself cornered yet again.

Smile. Stay calm.

Duan Nanzhou consoled herself internally as she looked at the boy standing before her.

"Can I help you?"

"Zhouzhou, can I take you to the movies tomorrow?"

The provincial team's daily training had concluded. Although quite a few people had already left, a fair number of athletes were still lingering in the venue. Hearing the commotion, they couldn't help wandering over to watch the fun, and upon realizing the central figure was Duan Nanzhou, they grew even more excited.

Ever since Duan Nanzhou first entered the provincial team, she had attracted widespread attention simply because of her looks. After all, even children possessed a concept of beauty and ugliness, and since the provincial team was mostly made up of teenagers in their early teens, they were far more susceptible to such fascinations.

"Sorry, I'm busy."

Duan Nanzhou was thoroughly impatient; it seemed she needed to bring up the matter of quitting the provincial team sooner rather than later.

And since when were they close enough for him to call her Zhouzhou?

"Then how about the day after tomorrow? Three days from now? There's got to be a time when you're free!" The little boy refused to give up; he was the type who repeatedly failed yet persistently fought on.

"I'm busy every day."

"What on earth are you so busy with?" The number of people peeking over was growing steadily. Since the little boy was right at the age where saving face mattered above all else, he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Duan Nanzhou was left speechless; Duan Nanzhou wanted to hit someone; Duan Nanzhou closed her eyes and willed herself to remain calm.

Mainly because Duan Nanzhou had already rejected him numerous times, and she had made herself crystal clear, yet it yielded zero results. Consequently, Duan Nanzhou didn't even want to waste her breath anymore.

Never mind, stay calm. Violence was not the solution; if those parents came knocking, it would be troublesome.

With that thought, Duan Nanzhou looked up and flashed her standard smile. Spotting Lin Gaoyuan nearby who was also covertly observing the scene, she raised a hand to summon him over.

Lin Gaoyuan, who had been sneaking glances, froze. Was she calling him?

He looked back over his left shoulder, then back over his right shoulder—there seemed to be only him standing in this direction?

Seeing Duan Nanzhou nod as if confirming his suspicion—yes, I mean you—Lin Gaoyuan walked over in absolute bewilderment.

Duan Nanzhou reached out and slung an arm around Lin Gaoyuan's shoulder. At this age, Lin Gaoyuan hadn't undergone his major growth spurt yet, so he was roughly the same height as Duan Nanzhou. She addressed the little boy standing before them:

"I'm going on a date with my boyfriend. What, do you want to tag along too?"

Her words landed like a bolt from the blue.

"You...?"

"Me...? Mmph mph..." Lin Gaoyuan, wanting to say something, had barely made a sound before his mouth was instantly clamped shut by the hand Duan Nanzhou had draped over his shoulder.

Witnessing this intimate display, the little boy—completely stripped of his pride—turned around and fled in defeat.

While the onlookers were still processing the scene, Duan Nanzhou maintained this posture and "forcefully escorted" Lin Gaoyuan out of the venue. Only after putting a considerable distance between them and the hall did she finally let go.

Regaining his ability to speak, Lin Gaoyuan let out a long sigh of relief.

"Since when am I your boyfriend?"

Lin Gaoyuan felt embarrassed, flustered, and yet tinged with a faint sense of anticipation. After all, he wasn't the only teenager paying attention to pretty girls; while he hadn't foolishly pestered or chased after anyone, he certainly harbored a strong crush. He simply hadn't expected such a massive surprise to drop out of nowhere!

"Just now," Duan Nanzhou replied nonchalantly.

"I-I-I... I haven't agreed yet!" Lin Gaoyuan stammered, flustered and anxious.

"Well, do you agree now?"

"I agree..."

With her paying zero heed to convention, Lin Gaoyuan felt deeply unsatisfied, yet his reply was painfully honest.

"Splendid!"

Duan Nanzhou was thoroughly pleased. On one hand, it instantly eliminated her troubles; on the other hand, Lin Gaoyuan was an acquaintance who was about to enter the national team anyway. Coupled with her ongoing plans to quit the provincial team, it looked like trouble would soon be far away from her.

She simply had to make use of this kid for a while. Originally, Duan Nanzhou had contemplated whether she should clarify that she was just asking him to put on an act, but she worried this kid might let his ego get the better of him and refuse her. Besides, it wouldn't be for much longer anyway, so she might as well let nature take its course.

From then on, Duan Nanzhou genuinely began "dating" Lin Gaoyuan. Their main activities consisted of the following: going shopping and ordering him to carry her bags, heading to the library together to supervise his studying, and keeping a close watch on his training regimen.

After nearly a month of this, Lin Gaoyuan hadn't even managed to touch the tip of her fingers. Was this anything like what he had imagined dating to be? Why did he feel more like Duan Nanzhou's little lackey and errand boy?

Young Lin Gaoyuan couldn't wrap his head around it. After all, this was his "first love," and he possessed zero experience!

To this, Duan Nanzhou would only say that reality was precisely as he perceived it. She had zero interest in such little boys; she was simply employing Lin Gaoyuan as a personal lackey.

Besides, hadn't she also supervised his studies and athletic training? Look, under her demonic supervision, both Lin Gaoyuan's academic performance and his table tennis skills had noticeably improved!

Moreover, what else was a student supposed to do if not study hard?

Consequently, a deeply suspicious Lin Gaoyuan tortuously consulted his good buddy about how dating was supposed to work, and following his buddy's terrible advice, decided to test whether Duan Nanzhou genuinely liked him by running up to declare that "he wanted to break up."

Fundamentally, he had been hoping to hear words of retention and pleading. He never expected a crisp "Okay," which directly scared him out of his wits.

This "first love" of his was truly fragile indeed!