Love is as simple as badminton.

Chapter 47 Fight to the very last moment!

Dinner time —

I was so stupid, really.

I only knew that Lin Xiang was stronger than me, and that it would take me a lot of hits to beat him. I didn't expect that even if he hit me a lot of hits, he could still defeat me by a significant margin.

In that match, I ran almost three times the distance he did. By the time I realized what was happening, it was already over.

In the third student canteen, Feng Biao drowned his sorrows in a can of cola.

"It's alright, Lao Feng. Failure is the mother of success! Try again next time and aim for a perfect score!"

"Moreover, you have achieved your strategic goal. Lin Xiang's energy expenditure is indeed much greater than in the morning's match."

"That's right. If all else fails, try to think from Li Lingfei's perspective. It will definitely make you feel better."

Upon hearing the last sentence, Feng Biao nodded in deep agreement: "If that's what you mean, then indeed..."

Subsequently, along with Feng Biao, the school's reserve team members all cast sympathetic glances at a dark-faced, burly man who remained silent and kept eating his meal in silence.

"Take a look at this market!"

The dark-faced student widened his eyes and said.

As a result, his shouting didn't get anyone else to cry, but it made him cry instead. Seeing him slumped over the table like a pearl, some of his teammates handed him tissues, while others gave him wry smiles.

Although Li Lingfei is not considered outstanding among the men's singles players in the school's reserve team, he is a very distinctive player, known for his wide-ranging offensive and defensive capabilities.

After defeating Feng Biao, Lin Xiang faced him in the next round.

At the time, Li Lingfei thought that since Lin Xiang liked to control the ball, he should avoid his strengths and play more offensively, which he was good at.

To be fair, his offense and defense are much stronger than Wang Yang's in the first round, so at least his loss will look better.

This time, Lin Xiang seemed unwilling to waste any more time, and started with a zero-frame offensive combo right from the start.

Li Lingfei's proud defense was like a sieve, full of holes, in front of Lin Xiang... and his highly anticipated offense failed to penetrate Lin Xiang even once!

This match, which was between 32 and 16, ended in a mere 9 minutes, setting a new record for the shortest time in the history of the Freshman Cup.

The score reached an astonishing 21:1—and Li Lingfei's only point came from Lin Xiang's "accidental" serve into the net.

He thus became the first player in this year's Freshman Cup to be effectively shaving his head (meaning he was completely shut out).

And the other party even used their most proficient method to speedrun it!

He still can't forget the calm yet slightly apologetic look in Lin Xiang's eyes when they shook hands after the race.

It's as if it's saying: Sorry, I was in a hurry, I didn't mean to smash you...

Anyone would be on edge after that!

"Damn it, why me of all people?"

Li Lingfei felt extremely wronged; even Wang Yang lost more gracefully than he had.

He confidently told everyone he'd invited his girlfriend to watch the match, but now how can he face her?

"So what if it's you? Didn't you just complain this morning that the little shabby courtyard was nothing special?"

A soft hum came from behind.

"It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering! Go and try it yourself if you dare!"

Li Lingfei slammed his fist on the table and stood up, about to lash out, but when he turned around and met those phoenix eyes beneath those thick, sword-like eyebrows, he immediately wilted like a quail.

"Captain Deng..."

"Don't call me captain. I feel ashamed to be your captain!"

Deng Ziyang glared at him fiercely, then scanned the crowd.

"Listen carefully, if you want to step onto the badminton league or even a higher stage, you will inevitably have to fight against stronger opponents."

A strong player, regardless of their ability, will prepare and think carefully off the field, and then unleash their full power and attack on the field.

Even in the final moments before losing, they held onto the determination to keep playing and win.

Instead of having a "just lose nicely" mentality, we should take every point we can!

Is there a big difference between 21:1 and 21:19? Actually, there is no difference, because the result of winning or losing remains the same.

But the latter is certainly more respectable than the former, not because his defeat was more aesthetically pleasing, but because he fought to the very last moment.

Don't stay silent, did you all understand?

Deng Ziyang asked loudly.

"I understand!"

The school's reserve team members responded enthusiastically.

"Fight to the very last moment!"

……

Chang Qisu Shi: "Junior! Your opponent tomorrow is Yang Rui, who is also a member of the school's reserve team!"

Chang Chi Su-shih: "Although his main sport is doubles, he has excellent physical fitness and incorporates a lot of doubles flat drive and block tactics into his singles. I feel he will be a tough opponent."

Chang Chi Su-shi: "This is a video of his previous matches; you can take a look."

Shoko Toyokawa: "Okay, thank you, senior."

Lin Xiang carefully reviewed the two videos sent by Shi Yuqi.

His habit is to prepare meticulously for every match, regardless of the opponent's strength. In badminton, until the very last shot hits the ground, nothing is ever truly decided.

He had originally planned to gather some intelligence as well.

Unexpectedly, the senior student helped him find the video, and it was even a low-angle, high-definition version, which saved him a lot of trouble.

Shoko Toyokawa: "Yeah, Yang Rui's style is to use flat shots to turn around, which does counter me to some extent. I'll pay more attention to creating space tomorrow."

Chang Qisu Shi: "Sigh, this draw is too abstract. It's full of tough opponents, even Wang Yang, who's supposed to be the best, is at the level of last year's top 16. I'm starting to suspect someone rigged the draw!"

Chang Chi-Su-Shi: "But I still believe that my junior will have the last laugh!"

Shoko Toyokawa: "Thank you for your support, senior. I also believe I can do it."

A few seconds later, she sent a three-second voice message.

Lin Xiang clicked on it out of curiosity, and the girl's clear and melodious voice immediately rang in his ears:

"Go, Xiao Xiang!"

Lin Xiang raised the corners of his mouth.

After a moment's thought, I silently saved the voice message and then continued preparing for the competition.

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"Little kitty! Suckling suckling."

"Meow meow?"

Da Xiong looked at the man in front of him, who was wearing a casual T-shirt and holding a tennis racket, and blinked curiously.

Does this human play ball too? How come she's never seen it before?

So Nobita sniffed the calluses on his hands—hmm, he's a master.

I took another sniff of the Thunder 90 racket in his hand—hmm, it smells just right.

"Meow!"

Da Xiong nodded, rubbed his forehead against the hand, and said, "Little brother +1."

"So you like cats too!"

Watching Chen Zaiyou having a great time playing with Da Xiong, Wang Tianmao squinted and smiled, "I remember when you were a kid, you went out to feed the cat after school and got scratched. I thought you'd be afraid of ropes for ten years."

"What happened when I was a child is just a fun memory now."

Chen Zaiyou touched Da Xiong's forehead.

"After you left, everyone speculated about where you would coach next, but we never heard from you again."

Later, some people said that you were no longer a coach or attending commercial events.

I never expected to see you again at Xiangtan University! Life is truly full of surprises. I'm so glad I accepted that young lady's invitation.

"Haha, I'm tired of the cutthroat world of badminton. Living a quiet life away from the competition isn't so bad, is it? Don't you think my life is pretty good right now?"

"Indeed! It's like a paradise. So I've also grasped your essence, never caring about results, and focusing on enjoying badminton."

Looking at the faint shoe prints and white marks on the court, and the training balls piled up nearby, Chen Zaiyou asked curiously, "But there seem to be signs of training here. Are you planning to coach again?"

"Hehe, I wouldn't call it coaching. You can think of me as the old man in a novel, who occasionally provides opportunities for the genius protagonist and watches him grow and thrive step by step."

Wang Tianmao waved his palm-leaf fan, "I've already been the protagonist, so playing an old man in my later years will make my life complete!"

"That must be an exceptionally talented player, otherwise he wouldn't have caught your eye."

Chen Zaiyou grew increasingly curious, "Are they those new young players from the Chinese national team?"

"I haven't reached that level yet, but in my eyes I'm stronger than them."

Wang Tianmao laughed, "Actually, he is a contestant in this year's Freshman Cup."

"So that's how it is..."

"If you're interested, how about I arrange a match between him and you after the Freshman Cup?"

"Haha, okay!"

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