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Published at 19th of June 2023 07:02:26 AM


Chapter 15

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Qin Chunxiao waited for a few days but didn’t come across any news about “Mei Xuandong finding a soulmate” or Bai Ming’s name trending.

He clicked on it and saw a video of Bai Ming appearing on a variety show. The host asked him about his greatest wish for the year, and Bai Ming smiled softly.

“I hope to find a soulmate this year and see how colorful the world can be.”

After he spoke, he wore a wry smile, looking somewhat fragile, and everyone around him gazed at this handsome man with affectionate eyes.

Ranked at No. 3 on the hot search list was #BaiMingWantsToSeeAColorfulWorld#

Qin Chunxiao closed the video, glanced at the poster featuring God Su, and refreshed his mind, saying, “Gao Desu, you’re still doing great. You speak with conviction, maintain a clean personal life, and never get involved in those messy things.”

On the poster, Gao Desu stood at the starting line, looking ahead with sharp eyes, his mouth curved confidently, as if saying, “Oh, the young ones have sharp vision.”

Qin Chunxiao continued his training and learning at a steady pace, careful not to push himself too hard. As a fifteen-year-old, he had to be mindful of his physical limits. Overexertion could lead to burnout, and the first lesson for a professional athlete is to learn how to take good care of their body to ensure their sports career doesn’t end prematurely.

Currently, his focus was on regaining his ball sense. He carried a volleyball with him and played with it while listening to English words every day after class. He set a new goal for himself: to expand his vocabulary by 3,000 words this year, although he had only accomplished a mere tenth of it so far.

On his right side, Ye Meimei happened to turn her head and caught sight of the mixed-race school heartthrob rolling up his sleeves again. He flattened his slender, white palms and pushed them forward, causing the yellow and blue spheres to swiftly roll along his arms. Qin Chunxiao raised one arm, and the ball jumped onto his other arm, rolling back and forth several times.

The sports committee sat behind Ye Meimei. Seeing her in a daze, Fang Yuan reminded her, “Don’t stare, his ball sense is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Anyone with that kind of talent would have been discovered and become an athlete by now.”

Ye Meimei snapped out of her thoughts, wondering if she had witnessed someone else’s ball sense?

What she had seen was clearly the focused eyes of someone.

In coastal areas, foreigners were not uncommon, let alone those of mixed heritage. The combination of good looks and an athletic physique would always catch people’s attention, regardless of their ethnicity. Not to mention, Qin Chunxiao had good grades, a straightforward personality, and was popular among his peers.

Unfortunately, he trained with the provincial team every morning and only attended classes in the afternoon. He didn’t have any close friends among his classmates. On the other hand, he had a good relationship with his basketball team brothers, who would bring him meals and borrow notes from him occasionally. In October, Qin Chunxiao even played a basketball game on behalf of Class 3, Senior One.

The homeroom teacher seemed to think that spending time with basketball players would improve Qin Chunxiao’s basketball skills.

Later, during a game, when Qin Chunxiao saw the ball being thrown high, he instinctively jumped up, executed a powerful jump serve, and smashed the ball into the basket, instantly becoming famous.

Later, another high school asked, “Did you guys have a blue-eyed heartthrob this year?”

The people from No. 6 Middle School nodded and said, “That’s the volleyball brother.”

It was just like in “The Prince of Tennis.” After being deeply immersed in a particular sport, one could appreciate other sports as well.

Among all the teachers, the principal, Yang Fangfang, was the only one who didn’t refer to Qin Chunxiao as the volleyball brother or volleyball boy. Instead, she would kindly ask him, “Xiaozi, have you been training well with the provincial team? When will you enter the national team and bring glory to No. 6 Middle School?”

Qin Chunxiao, who hadn’t been called that by anyone since he was 5 years old, awkwardly nodded and replied, “Okay, I will work hard.”





The time had entered December, and the temperature had finally dropped below 10 degrees. Combined with the continuous rain, the humidity was uncomfortable. After running a lap on the wet road, water could be wrung out of running shoes. Qin Chunxiao had no choice but to buy a treadmill and place it at home, where he would video chat with his sister while running.

Snow had already started falling in the capital, but with heaters in the north, Qin Chunfeng didn’t feel too cold. At most, she experienced a little nosebleed when she first enjoyed the heater.

Wen Lang rushed his girlfriend to the hospital for treatment. The doctor calmly pushed up his glasses and said, “Drink more water.”

Qin Chunfeng complained in the video, “I told him I didn’t need to go to the hospital, but he insisted. In the end, I made him compensate me with a meal of mutton hot pot. Hey, mutton is so cheap and plentiful here in the north. There’s mutton pilaf in the cafeteria’s western area of the National People’s Congress, and it tastes great. We both gained 3 kilograms recently.”

Qin Chunxiao proudly said, “I haven’t gained a kilogram, but I’ve grown taller.”

He now stood at 1.74 meters tall, still weighed 65.5 kilograms, and had a waist circumference of only 65 centimeters, making him the slimmest in the team.

Qin Chunfeng continued, “It’s always raining in city G now. Is it convenient for you to go to the provincial team every morning? My sister has a scholarship here, and the previous bonus from the city was still 90,000. I’ll call home and ask Mom to buy a car to pick you up.”

Qin Chunxiao shook his head repeatedly, saying, “No need. You should save your money to buy a house. Don’t waste it just because you feel sorry for me.”

Qin Chunfeng would become a diplomat in the future, and Wen Lang’s company headquarters were also in the capital. They both settled in the capital, where housing prices were even more exorbitant than in G City.

The number on the treadmill showed 10, and Qin Chunxiao stepped off the machine and stretched. His slender legs were covered in sweat as he continued, “Besides, someone picks me up.”

Qin Chunfeng was confused and asked, “Who is it?”

Qin Chunxiao replied, “My trusty partner.”

Li Ling, a native of S Province, was born in 1999 and is currently 17 years old, without a driver’s license.

Li Ling also has an older brother, Li Yan, who was busy with his own battles in high school. He is now 19 years old and has a driver’s license. Every morning, rain or shine, he drives a second-hand Haval to take his younger brother to the provincial team for training. It’s not far from home, only a five-minute drive, so he takes a detour to pick him up.

This arrangement was suggested by Li Ling. He’s quite good at getting himself into trouble. Last month, he got involved in a fight on the field, but luckily Qin Chunxiao happened to pass by and drove the troublemakers away with a water hose.

Wait, have you seen this plot before? Well, regardless, Li Ling has once again considered Qin Chunxiao his good brother. Every morning when Qin Chunxiao gets in the car, Li Ling grins foolishly and hands him a box of warm Yantang high-calcium milk.

Li Ling says, “Come on, Chunxiao, drink more calcium and try not to look so feeble in the future!”

As a libero, Qin Chunxiao has always been associated with a petite stature in volleyball.

He was always worried that he wouldn’t reach Qin Chunxiao’s height and hurt his feet, so Qin Chunxiao took the milk from Li Yan’s apologetic gaze as usual and drank it all without hesitation.

Li Ling applauded like a drunkard who saw someone pour more alcohol into his glass at a drinking table, saying, “Okay!”

Thanks to the friendship between Li Ling and Qin Chunxiao, the G Province Provincial Youth Team achieved remarkable results in terms of team cohesion. They were able to utilize various tactical formations, and the coordination between the two setters was well-established.

In fact, an experienced player like Qin Chunxiao could get along with anyone, and as long as Li Ling was willing to cooperate, there would be no problem.

On that day, Chen Aiguo arranged a practice match between the adult players of the provincial team and the youth team. Both sides were accustomed to this training method. However, Chen Aiguo introduced some new strategies for them.

Qin Chunxiao was transferred to the adult players as a setter, while Li Ling remained in the youth team. Currently, the adult players had a significant advantage, and Li Ling was the only one still struggling.

Chen Aiguo sighed inwardly. Ah, it seems that when Chunxiao and Li Ling cooperate, they can hold their ground against the adult players. Sometimes the adult players would be played by Qin the Actor would make team let out of the vent after being played by adult player.

This kid Li Ling has good volleyball intelligence but lacks experience. When he gets hot-blooded, he tends to become anxious and make mistakes. That’s why I believe having the reliable Qin Chunxiao as his setter can improve the team’s overall performance.

The assistant coach, surnamed Zhang, whispered in Old Chen’s ear, “What do you think of Xiao Qin’s cooperation with the senior team?”

Chen Aiguo replied, “Well, it’s good.”

Coach Zhang murmured, “Huang Xiaolong’s ankle isn’t in good condition. With a stable substitute, he’ll feel less psychological pressure on the court.”

Chen Aiguo hesitated, “But Xiao Qin is only 15 years old. Isn’t it too early to include him in the Chinese Super League?”

At that moment, “Pika Pikachu” rang out from his pocket.

Chen Aiguo answered the phone, facing the curious gazes of the bench players.

“Huh? It’s done. Well, thank you…”

After this game, with a 2-0 victory for the senior team against the youth team, there was no point in continuing. Chen Aiguo clapped his hands and said, “The game is over, everyone assemble! Line up!”

Qin Chunxiao wiped off his sweat and trotted to stand at the front of the line, surrounded by taller players.

Chen Aiguo scribbled on the roster, “Youth team, get ready. We’re going to arrange a match for you.”

Li Ling was still wiping away tears, and Mo Lin stood up and asked, “Coach, does the provincial youth team participate in the Chinese Super League?”

Important international competitions are concentrated in August and September. December is the time for domestic competitions in various countries. The most well-known competition is the Chinese Super League, with a total of 14 teams from different provinces participating.

Qin Chunxiao had previously led a team to secure second place in the Chinese Super League and reach the semifinals of the National Championships. However, that was after he officially joined the provincial team, and before the age of 17, he was training with the provincial youth team.

Chen Aiguo replied, “It’s a practice match. Next year is 2017, an odd-numbered year. Do you know what that means?”



The eyes of the youth players lit up.

The U21 Men’s Volleyball World Championship, also known as the World Youth Championship, and the U19 World Junior Championship, are held every two years in odd-numbered years. The tournaments are aimed at volleyball players under the age of 21 and under the age of 19, respectively.

These two events will take place next year, and if you want to compete in international competitions, you need to make it to the national youth team. The national youth selection has always been based on performance in the domestic U21 league. Every year in early January, 14 provincial youth teams are sent to participate in the domestic U21 league.

Li Ling finally raised his head and said, “That’s great. Chun Xiao and I will make it to the top four this year.”

Chen Aiguo responded, “In that case, you should prepare well. The provincial youth team from Island H will arrive the day after tomorrow. They will participate at their own expense this year.”

According to the rules, aside from the 14 fixed teams, there are four additional teams that can participate at their own expense. Island H has a strong volleyball culture and has been performing well in recent years.

Unconsciously, Qin Chunxiao started daydreaming. Finally, he would have another match.

Chen Aiguo continued, “The venue for this training match will be Shixuan High School.”

What? Aren’t they supposed to play at the provincial team’s arena?

The players showed surprise, and Chen Aiguo coughed awkwardly, “The central air conditioner in our arena is still under maintenance, and the venue requirements for the game must be between 16 and 25 degrees Celsius. We finally found someone who is willing to lend us their gymnasium. You should cherish this opportunity.”

Someone asked curiously, “Is it a prestigious school?”

Qin Chunxiao blinked and replied, “Yes, the quality of their gymnasium is quite good, on par with those in world-class competitions. They even have a big screen for replays.”

In his previous life, when he was studying at No. 2 Middle School, he had played a school-level match there with the school team. During the game, he heard the screams of girls, and then Lu Yunchen, dressed in exquisite and fashionable clothes, entered the stadium. The No. 2 Middle School team won the game, but the attention shifted to Lu Yunchen, and everyone except Qin Chunxiao was overshadowed.

Lu Yunchen approached them and left with a few wealthy young masters and half of the audience, saying that they were going to watch his performance with a certain master. This scene was also written in the original book, aiming to showcase Lu Yunchen’s musical talent.

It was at that moment that Qin Chunxiao realized he was just a background character who appeared in the original book, but didn’t even have the qualification to have a name. When the protagonist arrived, nobody even watched their football game.

The scene where a large number of audience members left the field had a detrimental effect on the players. They didn’t know what they had done wrong. It was evident that everyone was giving their all to win, but the audience simply didn’t care to watch.

This perception of being a “background character” persisted for many years until Qin Chunxiao changed his perspective when he went to the Brazilian League for further studies.

During his time there, he successfully received a spike from Dominic, one of the world’s top three super aces. He became known as Dominic’s nemesis. The audience would cheer for him, recognizing him as the protagonist of the game, someone with the ability to control the situation and be the king on the court.

Qin Chunxiao was eager and asked aloud, “Coach, is there a highly talented player named Fu Biyang in the provincial H youth team?”

Chen Aiguo was surprised and replied, “The little monkey is already so well-known that you’re aware of him?”





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