My Soulmate is A Libero
Before the match between China and the United States concluded, nobody anticipated this outcome, including the American players and coaches.
Volleyball Frontline
Wu Di exclaimed with excitement, “Hello, everyone. This is H Province Sports Channel’s Volleyball Frontline program, and we are currently live broadcasting the 2018 VNL group stage match between the Chinese and American men’s volleyball teams. Just now, our national men’s team defeated the United States 3:1 and secured a spot in the top four.”
Li Laiheng added, “Absolutely right. This match was truly spectacular. We could see many of our players breaking through their limits and performing at an unprecedented level. The top four in the VNL is also the best result our men’s volleyball team has achieved in this competition.”
The comment sections of various live broadcasts were lively, and the cheerful barrage comments kept flowing.
“I knew today that China might have a chance to win. I can’t believe I was right, hahaha!”
“Lao Tong has found his form again. Go Qing!”
“The moment when Xiaoqin blocked William’s shot gave me goosebumps. He’s less than 1.8 meters tall, but he managed to block the 2.15-meter William. It felt like the most classic scene in the People vs. God showdown this season!”
“This season’s People vs. God matches have all been dominated by Xiaoqin, right? Roman, Dominique, Sebastian, Sidney, and now William, he has already faced all the volleyball gods!”
“It seems like they are fighting really hard. Tong Shulan has been dealing with injuries for a long time. Today, they played so fiercely. During the break in the third set, the assistant coach and team doctor applied a medicine pack to his knee. His injuries must still be affecting him.”
Without a doubt, the Chinese team had created a new history for themselves on the international stage. All the fans watching were delighted. They started making video edits, sharing on social media, and wanted everyone to know that the men’s volleyball team performed exceptionally well today.
Then, they saw several key players leaving the court and asked Lao Niu for his phone. Tong Shulan had tears in his eyes, while Kong Duojin was wiping his face with his collar.
Regardless of how they looked at it, they didn’t seem like winners. The celebration was almost absent. Some keen-eyed fans noticed that among the players who played today, both Kong Duojin and Tong Shulan were from Shandong province, and they seemed the most upset. Guangdong’s Gao Depi was comforting the crying Li Ling.
Qin Chunxiao was the one who handed the towel to Tong Shulan.
No one knew why they were feeling so sad.
Until an elderly fan spoke up, he was a 70s-born individual who started following the Chinese women’s volleyball team in the 2004 Athens Olympics. In recent years, with the rise of the men’s team, he also started watching their games and occasionally shared match reviews and analyses online, becoming well-known among volleyball fans.
Uncle Moto V:
“I’m really glad to see China’s men’s volleyball team reach the top four of the VNL. I have a feeling that they weren’t playing with their usual attitude today; it felt like they were giving it their all! I didn’t realize it at first, but when I saw Tong Shulan shed tears, something clicked.
As you all know, after the 2004 Athens Olympics where the women’s volleyball team won gold, I began to follow volleyball events. Before that, I only watched basketball. At that time, in Shandong, there was a famous pair of young volleyball stars.
They were twin sisters, the elder one was named Meng Yuqing, a middle blocker, and the younger one was named Meng Yuling, a setter. Both of them participated in the 2007 Youth World Championship and won the gold medal that year. They were also hidden soulmates, with a deep bond from birth.
Because they looked exactly the same, to make it easier for their teammates to distinguish them, Meng Yuqing wore a blue wristband when she played, and Meng Yuling wore a red wristband.
Later, Meng Yuling was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumor that is common among teenagers. The only way to survive was to amputate, so she had to retire. Meng Yuqing continued to carry the dreams of both sisters and stayed on the court. Although she faced some setbacks, she still achieved all the honors she could.
At this point in the story, it was already a beautiful ending with a touch of regret.
However, after this year’s women’s VNL, Meng Yuqing announced her retirement without giving any reason. And today, I saw Xiaoqin wearing a red wristband during the match. Then, Tong Shulan and Kong Duojin, who are also from Shandong, looked so heartbroken.
Can you understand my feelings? I always feel that there’s some connection between all these events.”
I hope my speculation is wrong, because theoretically, Meng Yuling should have passed the most critical period of risk. But it’s hard to say, as the recurrence rate of osteosarcoma is relatively high among various tumors.
Unfortunately, this time Uncle Moto’s speculation was correct. That night, Meng Yuqing announced her sister’s obituary, and the reason for her retirement became clear—she lost her color vision. From now on, whether it was the yellow and blue colors of volleyball or the red wristbands, she won’t be able to distinguish them.
Many people know Meng Yuqing, the outstanding player known as the “world’s number one middle blocker” during her peak period. Some regretfully said that it was a pity her equally talented sister was struck by illness.
After the match against the United States, almost all the Chinese team players reached their limits. Their bodies and spirits were completely exhausted.
Qin Chunxiao was swaying and resting his head on the hotel restaurant table, stuffing himself with salmon, but halfway through, he choked and started pounding his chest while Gao Depi slapped his back with a loud thud.
This was a typical expression of concern among athletes, and they were used to it.
Lu Xuandong silently pushed a glass of orange juice over, which Qin Chunxiao finished in one gulp. He then moved his chair closer to Lu Xuandong, with less than 10 centimeters between them.
Meanwhile, Tong Shulan had finished seven steaks and was being lectured by Newton for overeating. Grieving was acceptable, but binge eating was not, especially for Tong Shulan, who had a history of injuries.
They had no idea about the commotion online, nor did they know that some fans of the Chinese women’s volleyball team were mourning for Meng Yuling. Furthermore, they were unaware that international fans had started speculating about which team would win this year’s VNL finals.
Currently, Russia and France were considered the favorites. Although France was ranked fifth in the world, they were ranked second to last in this VNL finals. However, they had defeated strong teams like the United States and Poland in the past with their defensive tactics.
The key point, however, was that China had successfully eliminated the United States and drained Brazil’s energy. In the semi-finals, they would face Russia, while France managed to avoid China.
Brazil had already suffered a blow from China during the group stage. After playing with Christian, they went to the hospital for checkups. Even Ricardo’s ankle had some problems.
Poland was eliminated by Russia and France together. Among the final teams, Russia, with the best spirit, would soon face China, and their energy bar was about to be chopped.
Thus, a theory emerged on the internet: “I think France might win the VNL championship this time.”
The netizens were right.
After the match against the United States, China was already unable to strive for a higher stage. Tong Shulan was re-examined at the hospital due to his injuries, and Du Xiaofeng, the libero player, felt discomfort in his knee. Kong Duojin had some back pain and was diagnosed with lumbar muscle strain, while Ding Rong had shoulder muscle strain.
In competitive sports, such injuries were unavoidable even for tough players like Qin Chunxiao. The Chinese men’s team had played 15 matches in the sub-stations this year and had been busy during the ten days before the finals, undergoing special training with beach volleyball champions. Although it enhanced their strength, it also prevented them from fully recovering, resulting in some minor injuries. In Newton and many fans’ eyes, this was already a blessing.
At least, the problems this time were limited to veterans with a history of injuries, and the young players seemed spirited. It showed that the post-match recovery process conducted by the team doctors was thorough, and Lao Niu arranged the players’ playing time reasonably.
As a result, in the match against Russia, China’s lineup was composed of Qiao Mingming, Liu Yuelou, Aizimaiti, You Ziyu, Qin Chunxiao, Mao Xunfeng, and the libero Xiong Wu. All of them were born in the 1990s, and their skills were generally not as refined, nor was their technique as comprehensive. But one advantage stood out—their stamina was better than the Russian veterans on the opposite side.
When Nikolai saw this lineup, he frowned, then pondered for a moment and slapped his thigh, cursing. Newton’s lineup was not aimed at winning. It was to consume them!
Teams that seriously wanted to win would let their veterans wear more protective gear and continue playing with the help of ointments. Instead, all the injured players were sent to rest, and players with good endurance and tenacity were sent to the front. Wasn’t this setting them up for failure?
Little did Nikolai know that Newton was just executing his strategic thinking: “We can accept defeat, but we also need to prove our strength through our opponents’ failure, so that the leadership can allocate more funds next year, and I can buy more high-tech equipment like serving machines and blocking machines. If possible, I also want to take the boys to the wind tunnel.”
All high-tech training requires money as a cost!
Newton didn’t hide anything from the players regarding this matter. Before the match, he made it clear to them that although the reputation of robbing the rich to help the poor might sound unpleasant, there were benefits to it as well. As long as they made the Russian team consume excessively, he could use this to report to the authorities. Today, they could drag Russia to lose the championship, and next year, with better training conditions, they could aim for the podium, couldn’t they?
So, when facing the Russian team, each player on the Chinese team had a row of big characters in their hearts.
“For the sake of securing funding from the authorities! For more training equipment! Brothers, let’s go!”
Of course, if they could drag Russia to lose this match and seize the podium themselves, that would be even more delightful.
The last time Roman played such a frustrating match was during the Russian Super League against Hamsters. Now, facing the even more tenacious Chinese team, especially with the increasingly harmonious cooperation with Qin Chunxiao, those unpleasant memories resurfaced.
After three hours and fifteen minutes of fierce battle, when the Russian team finally won the match 3-2, both teams’ players were drenched in sweat, and their clothes were thoroughly soaked. Everyone was panting heavily.
The coach of the French team looked at this scene with a happy smile. Hosting the games at home had its advantages, although the international volleyball federation still determined the groups. But they could do some maneuvering to avoid the most undesirable opponents.
However, the French coach also knew that this was a one-time opportunity. Starting from today, all the top teams would see the Chinese team as the opponents they least wanted to face.
On the second day of the VNL finals, the French team won the championship by showcasing their tenacious defense and Sidney’s explosive performance, defeating the Russian team.
Meanwhile, the Chinese team faced Brazil for the third time this year and sadly lost 3-1. In the 2018 VNL, they finally ended up as the top four teams.
The long journey finally came to an end, and the Chinese men’s national team could return home. They were going back home.
Although there were the Asian Games at the end of August and the Asian Cup in early September, they would only have half a month of rest after going back. Then they had to regroup for training and matches, making the time quite tight.
In this brief period, Qin Chunxiao made a request to Lu Xuandong for the first time:
Qin Chunxiao: “I know this may be presumptuous, but Xuandong, could you spare some time for me in the future?”
Lu Xuandong: “What do you want to do?”
Qin Chunxiao: “I hope we can end the countdown as soon as possible.”
Qin Chunxiao’s thought was that no matter how his relationship with Lu Xuandong developed, in the face of unpredictable fate, he wanted to have a conversation with him, at least before any unexpected events occurred.
Lu Xuandong: “Alright, whatever you want to do, I’ll accompany you.”
At this moment, their countdown had only 90:51:33 left.
My Soulmate is A Libero
Before the match between China and the United States concluded, nobody anticipated this outcome, including the American players and coaches.
Volleyball Frontline
Wu Di exclaimed with excitement, “Hello, everyone. This is H Province Sports Channel’s Volleyball Frontline program, and we are currently live broadcasting the 2018 VNL group stage match between the Chinese and American men’s volleyball teams. Just now, our national men’s team defeated the United States 3:1 and secured a spot in the top four.”
Li Laiheng added, “Absolutely right. This match was truly spectacular. We could see many of our players breaking through their limits and performing at an unprecedented level. The top four in the VNL is also the best result our men’s volleyball team has achieved in this competition.”
The comment sections of various live broadcasts were lively, and the cheerful barrage comments kept flowing.
“I knew today that China might have a chance to win. I can’t believe I was right, hahaha!”
“Lao Tong has found his form again. Go Qing!”
“The moment when Xiaoqin blocked William’s shot gave me goosebumps. He’s less than 1.8 meters tall, but he managed to block the 2.15-meter William. It felt like the most classic scene in the People vs. God showdown this season!”
“This season’s People vs. God matches have all been dominated by Xiaoqin, right? Roman, Dominique, Sebastian, Sidney, and now William, he has already faced all the volleyball gods!”
“It seems like they are fighting really hard. Tong Shulan has been dealing with injuries for a long time. Today, they played so fiercely. During the break in the third set, the assistant coach and team doctor applied a medicine pack to his knee. His injuries must still be affecting him.”
Without a doubt, the Chinese team had created a new history for themselves on the international stage. All the fans watching were delighted. They started making video edits, sharing on social media, and wanted everyone to know that the men’s volleyball team performed exceptionally well today.
Then, they saw several key players leaving the court and asked Lao Niu for his phone. Tong Shulan had tears in his eyes, while Kong Duojin was wiping his face with his collar.
Regardless of how they looked at it, they didn’t seem like winners. The celebration was almost absent. Some keen-eyed fans noticed that among the players who played today, both Kong Duojin and Tong Shulan were from Shandong province, and they seemed the most upset. Guangdong’s Gao Depi was comforting the crying Li Ling.
Qin Chunxiao was the one who handed the towel to Tong Shulan.
No one knew why they were feeling so sad.
Until an elderly fan spoke up, he was a 70s-born individual who started following the Chinese women’s volleyball team in the 2004 Athens Olympics. In recent years, with the rise of the men’s team, he also started watching their games and occasionally shared match reviews and analyses online, becoming well-known among volleyball fans.
Uncle Moto V:
“I’m really glad to see China’s men’s volleyball team reach the top four of the VNL. I have a feeling that they weren’t playing with their usual attitude today; it felt like they were giving it their all! I didn’t realize it at first, but when I saw Tong Shulan shed tears, something clicked.
As you all know, after the 2004 Athens Olympics where the women’s volleyball team won gold, I began to follow volleyball events. Before that, I only watched basketball. At that time, in Shandong, there was a famous pair of young volleyball stars.
They were twin sisters, the elder one was named Meng Yuqing, a middle blocker, and the younger one was named Meng Yuling, a setter. Both of them participated in the 2007 Youth World Championship and won the gold medal that year. They were also hidden soulmates, with a deep bond from birth.
Because they looked exactly the same, to make it easier for their teammates to distinguish them, Meng Yuqing wore a blue wristband when she played, and Meng Yuling wore a red wristband.
Later, Meng Yuling was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumor that is common among teenagers. The only way to survive was to amputate, so she had to retire. Meng Yuqing continued to carry the dreams of both sisters and stayed on the court. Although she faced some setbacks, she still achieved all the honors she could.
At this point in the story, it was already a beautiful ending with a touch of regret.
However, after this year’s women’s VNL, Meng Yuqing announced her retirement without giving any reason. And today, I saw Xiaoqin wearing a red wristband during the match. Then, Tong Shulan and Kong Duojin, who are also from Shandong, looked so heartbroken.
Can you understand my feelings? I always feel that there’s some connection between all these events.”
I hope my speculation is wrong, because theoretically, Meng Yuling should have passed the most critical period of risk. But it’s hard to say, as the recurrence rate of osteosarcoma is relatively high among various tumors.
Unfortunately, this time Uncle Moto’s speculation was correct. That night, Meng Yuqing announced her sister’s obituary, and the reason for her retirement became clear—she lost her color vision. From now on, whether it was the yellow and blue colors of volleyball or the red wristbands, she won’t be able to distinguish them.
Many people know Meng Yuqing, the outstanding player known as the “world’s number one middle blocker” during her peak period. Some regretfully said that it was a pity her equally talented sister was struck by illness.
After the match against the United States, almost all the Chinese team players reached their limits. Their bodies and spirits were completely exhausted.
Qin Chunxiao was swaying and resting his head on the hotel restaurant table, stuffing himself with salmon, but halfway through, he choked and started pounding his chest while Gao Depi slapped his back with a loud thud.
This was a typical expression of concern among athletes, and they were used to it.
Lu Xuandong silently pushed a glass of orange juice over, which Qin Chunxiao finished in one gulp. He then moved his chair closer to Lu Xuandong, with less than 10 centimeters between them.
Meanwhile, Tong Shulan had finished seven steaks and was being lectured by Newton for overeating. Grieving was acceptable, but binge eating was not, especially for Tong Shulan, who had a history of injuries.
They had no idea about the commotion online, nor did they know that some fans of the Chinese women’s volleyball team were mourning for Meng Yuling. Furthermore, they were unaware that international fans had started speculating about which team would win this year’s VNL finals.
Currently, Russia and France were considered the favorites. Although France was ranked fifth in the world, they were ranked second to last in this VNL finals. However, they had defeated strong teams like the United States and Poland in the past with their defensive tactics.
The key point, however, was that China had successfully eliminated the United States and drained Brazil’s energy. In the semi-finals, they would face Russia, while France managed to avoid China.
Brazil had already suffered a blow from China during the group stage. After playing with Christian, they went to the hospital for checkups. Even Ricardo’s ankle had some problems.
Poland was eliminated by Russia and France together. Among the final teams, Russia, with the best spirit, would soon face China, and their energy bar was about to be chopped.
Thus, a theory emerged on the internet: “I think France might win the VNL championship this time.”
The netizens were right.
After the match against the United States, China was already unable to strive for a higher stage. Tong Shulan was re-examined at the hospital due to his injuries, and Du Xiaofeng, the libero player, felt discomfort in his knee. Kong Duojin had some back pain and was diagnosed with lumbar muscle strain, while Ding Rong had shoulder muscle strain.
In competitive sports, such injuries were unavoidable even for tough players like Qin Chunxiao. The Chinese men’s team had played 15 matches in the sub-stations this year and had been busy during the ten days before the finals, undergoing special training with beach volleyball champions. Although it enhanced their strength, it also prevented them from fully recovering, resulting in some minor injuries. In Newton and many fans’ eyes, this was already a blessing.
At least, the problems this time were limited to veterans with a history of injuries, and the young players seemed spirited. It showed that the post-match recovery process conducted by the team doctors was thorough, and Lao Niu arranged the players’ playing time reasonably.
As a result, in the match against Russia, China’s lineup was composed of Qiao Mingming, Liu Yuelou, Aizimaiti, You Ziyu, Qin Chunxiao, Mao Xunfeng, and the libero Xiong Wu. All of them were born in the 1990s, and their skills were generally not as refined, nor was their technique as comprehensive. But one advantage stood out—their stamina was better than the Russian veterans on the opposite side.
When Nikolai saw this lineup, he frowned, then pondered for a moment and slapped his thigh, cursing. Newton’s lineup was not aimed at winning. It was to consume them!
Teams that seriously wanted to win would let their veterans wear more protective gear and continue playing with the help of ointments. Instead, all the injured players were sent to rest, and players with good endurance and tenacity were sent to the front. Wasn’t this setting them up for failure?
Little did Nikolai know that Newton was just executing his strategic thinking: “We can accept defeat, but we also need to prove our strength through our opponents’ failure, so that the leadership can allocate more funds next year, and I can buy more high-tech equipment like serving machines and blocking machines. If possible, I also want to take the boys to the wind tunnel.”
All high-tech training requires money as a cost!
Newton didn’t hide anything from the players regarding this matter. Before the match, he made it clear to them that although the reputation of robbing the rich to help the poor might sound unpleasant, there were benefits to it as well. As long as they made the Russian team consume excessively, he could use this to report to the authorities. Today, they could drag Russia to lose the championship, and next year, with better training conditions, they could aim for the podium, couldn’t they?
So, when facing the Russian team, each player on the Chinese team had a row of big characters in their hearts.
“For the sake of securing funding from the authorities! For more training equipment! Brothers, let’s go!”
Of course, if they could drag Russia to lose this match and seize the podium themselves, that would be even more delightful.
The last time Roman played such a frustrating match was during the Russian Super League against Hamsters. Now, facing the even more tenacious Chinese team, especially with the increasingly harmonious cooperation with Qin Chunxiao, those unpleasant memories resurfaced.
After three hours and fifteen minutes of fierce battle, when the Russian team finally won the match 3-2, both teams’ players were drenched in sweat, and their clothes were thoroughly soaked. Everyone was panting heavily.
The coach of the French team looked at this scene with a happy smile. Hosting the games at home had its advantages, although the international volleyball federation still determined the groups. But they could do some maneuvering to avoid the most undesirable opponents.
However, the French coach also knew that this was a one-time opportunity. Starting from today, all the top teams would see the Chinese team as the opponents they least wanted to face.
On the second day of the VNL finals, the French team won the championship by showcasing their tenacious defense and Sidney’s explosive performance, defeating the Russian team.
Meanwhile, the Chinese team faced Brazil for the third time this year and sadly lost 3-1. In the 2018 VNL, they finally ended up as the top four teams.
The long journey finally came to an end, and the Chinese men’s national team could return home. They were going back home.
Although there were the Asian Games at the end of August and the Asian Cup in early September, they would only have half a month of rest after going back. Then they had to regroup for training and matches, making the time quite tight.
In this brief period, Qin Chunxiao made a request to Lu Xuandong for the first time:
Qin Chunxiao: “I know this may be presumptuous, but Xuandong, could you spare some time for me in the future?”
Lu Xuandong: “What do you want to do?”
Qin Chunxiao: “I hope we can end the countdown as soon as possible.”
Qin Chunxiao’s thought was that no matter how his relationship with Lu Xuandong developed, in the face of unpredictable fate, he wanted to have a conversation with him, at least before any unexpected events occurred.
Lu Xuandong: “Alright, whatever you want to do, I’ll accompany you.”
At this moment, their countdown had only 90:51:33 left.
