On February 8th, the National Youth Team announced the list of 30 players for this year’s National Youth Team training camp. Qin Chunxiao, the captain of Province G, secured the first place, while Li Ling followed closely behind in second place.
The list was published on the official website of the Volleyball Association, allowing players, coaches, and fans alike to view it with a simple click.
To Qin Chunxiao’s surprise, his selection did not elicit much astonishment. Despite his shorter stature, his formidable strength and status as the core player of the Ji Army had endeared him to the public. Being chosen for the national youth training camp was not only a testament to his potential but also aligned with the desires of his fans.
Fans of various competitive events often held the same belief: let this young player with potential and hard work seize more opportunities to rise, and he would not disappoint!
As for those who had the power to provide opportunities, some, like Zhao, were indifferent to public opinion and simply assessed others based on their own standards. Others, like Lao Niu, had expectations of Qin Chunxiao as long as he proved his value in contributing to the team’s victories.
Aside from Qin Chunxiao and Li Ling, Fu Biyang’s name also appeared on the list. The three of them were the result of the joint efforts of G Province and H Island to train young men’s volleyball players after many years.
The training camp would take place in a training hall near the Temple of Heaven Hotel in the capital. The duration of the training was set for five weeks, and the players were required to arrive at the hotel for registration by 2:00 PM on February 18th. The transportation, accommodation, and meals would all be covered by the organization, with the athletes only needing to ensure their punctual arrival.
Coach Zheng from H Island urgently contacted Chen Aiguo, saying, “Xiaoji is the only child from H Island participating in the national youth training camp. Can you accompany him with your family, Er Leng and Xiaozai?”
Coach Zheng was worried about his young player traveling alone, but he mistakenly called Fu Biyang by his nickname, Xiaoji.
Chen Aiguo shared the same concern and hesitated before replying, “Xiaozai is already exhausted from his previous solo journey.”
Coach Zheng suggested, “Chicken has great strength and can help Xiaozai with the luggage!”
Chen Aiguo agreed, thinking that he couldn’t let Qin Chunxiao struggle with carrying heavy bags; the mere thought of it was too daunting.
“Well, let the three kids go together, and we’ll arrange a chaperone for the journey.”
Both coaches agreed that among the three, Qin Chunxiao, despite being the youngest, was the most dependable.
Since the travel expenses would be reimbursed by higher authorities, the provincial team purchased airplane tickets to shorten the travel time for the three players. When Qin Chunxiao went to the train station to pick up Fu Biyang, he spotted Coach Zheng holding Fu Xiaoji nearby, as they had gone to the Clothing Wholesale Market to buy clothes.
Coach Zheng rambled on, saying, “It’s February, and it’s still cold in the north. I’ll buy you a sweater. You can wear it when it’s cold. You’ll also need a down jacket and a down vest. After exercising, at least wear a vest to avoid catching a cold… Take care of your health.”
Qin Chunxiao couldn’t help but remind him, “There is heating in the north, so it won’t be cold.”
Fu Biyang vigorously nodded in agreement, but Coach Zheng retorted, “Heating is
only indoors. When you’re outside, you still need proper clothing to stay warm, right?”
H Island enjoyed a spring-like climate year-round, and down jackets were not commonly sold there. It was even more challenging to find clothes that fit Fu Biyang’s size. Previously, there was only one custom-made down jacket available for the team, which had been used to maintain his body temperature during the U21 matches. However, relying on a single piece of clothing for five weeks was clearly impractical, which led them to purchase clothes in G City.
After spending three hours shopping for clothes, they finally arrived at the airport together.
Li Ling, who was flying for the first time, was brimming with excitement and engaged in endless conversation with Fu Biyang. Meanwhile, Qin Chunxiao leaned back in the restaurant, listening to Coach Zheng’s anecdotes.
The blue-eyed boy displayed no signs of impatience. With his fair and slender fingers, he pulled out a small post-it note from his pocket and wrote on it, “Fu Biyang, under 17 years old. In case he gets lost, please contact his parent, Uncle Qin, at 199xxxxxxxx.”
To their dismay, the note ended up sticking to Fu Biyang’s backpack.
Since they had checked in their luggage, they needed to carry their documents, wallets, lunch boxes, and warm clothing with them. The direct flight from City G to the capital lasted only three hours. They boarded the plane at 10:00 AM and were scheduled to arrive at 1:00 PM. Due to concerns about the quality of the in-flight meals, the coaches had asked the cafeteria staff to prepare packed lunches for the journey.
Unfortunately, Li Ling’s stash of milk did not pass the inspection this time, and the ground inspector earnestly stated, “You cannot bring so much liquid on the plane.”
Li Ling sighed, “I just wanted to have these as snacks during the trip.” After uttering those words, he poured all five bottles of milk in front of the ground inspector and proceeded to the restroom, experiencing an expected bout of diarrhea. Fu Biyang pointed at him and laughed, but soon after, he clutched his stomach in discomfort.
Fu Biyang: “Chun Xiao, I feel like eating seafood has upset my stomach. I need to vomit for a while.”
Coach Zheng shouted from behind: “I told you not to have Pipi shrimp and iced coconut in the morning, but you didn’t listen!”
Qin Chunxiao: “…”
Thanks to the two of them being busy, he didn’t have time to mentally prepare before boarding the plane. However, once he was on the plane, Qin Chunxiao realized that he wasn’t too nervous. Instead, he felt like a middle-aged father driving his two big sons, exhausted by the pressures of life, and just wanting to buy two oranges and smash them on their heads.
He rubbed his forehead, finding it strange that he had mentally prepared himself to rely on Li Ling to help him walk to the plane if his legs were too weak, but now he couldn’t sense any anxiety or fear.
The flight attendant came over to remind the passengers to fasten their seat belts. Qin Chunxiao checked that all three of them had fastened their seat belts and put his phone in flight mode.
Li Ling took out a deck of UNO cards and asked, “Do you want to play?”
Qin Chunxiao: “No, I’ll take a nap. Wake me up when we arrive. Remember, once we reach the training camp, we need to undergo physical examinations first. Don’t eat randomly.”
Being a bit of a neat freak, he refused to use the airplane blanket, so he simply used Fu Biyang’s newly bought down coat as a cover and put on an eye mask with a cartoon bear pattern.
Seeing that he fell asleep, Fu Biyang and Li Ling looked at each other, stopped talking, and quietly played a two-player version of UNO. They didn’t even take a sip of water during the flight and occasionally had a bite of the beef jerky given by the cafeteria aunt.
Qin Chunxiao had a strange dream. In the dream, he was also on a plane surrounded by chaos, similar to the scene before his rebirth, except that Lu Xuandong wasn’t by his side. When a fire broke out, everything turned black and white.
In the dream, he was confused and even took out his mobile phone to send a text message to someone.
【Hi, I’m Qin Chunxiao】
“Xiaozi, Xiaozi, we’re almost there.”
Li Ling shook Qin Chunxiao a few times before he woke up. Slowly taking off the blindfold, his blue eyes gradually regained focus.
Once their feet touched the ground again, the faces of the two young men who were flying for the first time still brimmed with excitement, but Qin Chunxiao remained unaffected.
Whether it was reporting, handling luggage, having dinner, or conversing with Qiao Mingming, Du Xiaofeng, and other athletes he had met in the U21 team, he felt nothing. Time moved forward smoothly and orderly.
The organizing committee assigned them a three-person room, and Fu Biyang shared Room 5012 in the Temple of Heaven Hotel with them. Although it had a four-star rating, the Temple of Heaven Hotel was actually an old hotel that opened in 1989 and was renovated in 2006. It wasn’t a high-rise building, so staying there meant not being able to enjoy the view of the city’s neon lights at night. However, it was adjacent to the General Administration of Sports, so people from the sports system often stayed there when they visited the capital.
Qin Chunxiao encountered at least three athletes with Olympic gold medals in the restaurant, but everyone ate calmly, and he didn’t want to disturb them.
After finishing a set of English papers,
he stood up and stretched. Just as he was about to do a set of burpees, his eyes inadvertently glanced outside, and he suddenly froze.
At the entrance of the hotel, there was a crossroad, and across the street, next to the green belt, stood… Pleasant Goat?
That creature resembled a highly anthropomorphic sheep, complete with horns on its head, standing next to a tree. How should I put it? Seeing this scene at night, it didn’t make him find it cute, but rather somewhat unsettling.
Qin Chunxiao wondered if this was some kind of performance art. Could it be that he had written too many papers, leading to hallucinations? But as he rubbed his eyes and looked again, the Pleasant Goat was still standing on the street. They were separated by a hundred meters, but Qin Chunxiao felt an inexplicable connection as their eyes met.
The other party seemed to realize that they were being observed, quickly turned around, and started running clumsily. During the process, the sheep stumbled, got back up, and continued running.
Qin Chunxiao stared blankly at the sheep’s back, and once again, Li Ling called out from behind, “Xiaozi, I don’t know how to solve this problem. Can you teach me?”
Qin Chunxiao turned around slowly and asked, “Is night running popular among the Pleasant Goat here in the capital?”
Li Ling and Fu Biyang looked at each other. “What is Pleasant Goat?”
Forget it, Qin Chunxiao sat down and started tutoring these two troublemakers on their assignments. Despite being athletes who had made it to the provincial team, their parents insisted they continue their studies and packed their suitcases with loads of learning materials.
Recalling how Li Ling and Fu Biyang later achieved the second highest score line on their own and, with the bonus of being national volleyball team members, smoothly entered North Sports University.
If nothing unexpected happened, they would have had a smooth life, but unfortunately, they encountered an accident together later on.
Qin Chunxiao pointed at the test paper. “For this type of problem, it’s enough to draw auxiliary lines.”
Fu Biyang clumsily handled the angle ruler with his thick, dark fingers, wearing a frowning expression. “I hate math.”
Qin Chunxiao sighed. “Stop complaining and hurry up with your homework. I’ll take a picture and send it to your parents. Also, you need to memorize 10 new words for tomorrow morning.”
The two children groaned in unison.
After finally getting them organized, Qin Chunxiao lay down on the bed before 10:00 PM. He remembered something and turned on his phone, finding no missed calls or messages.
Then he opened the Bib app, originally planning to catch up on the latest episode of “Revisiting the Golden Age,” but discovered that a certain celebrity had sent him dozens of messages in his private messages, all of which were later retracted.
Qin Chunxiao furrowed his brow in confusion. What did this person send him?
…
【Where are you?】
[Have you encountered any danger?]
[I learned from the Volleyball Association announcement that you have been selected for the National Youth Training Camp. Congratulations.]
[The Volleyball Association announced that this year’s national youth team will be training in the capital. I wish you a smooth journey.]
[I’m outside the Temple of Heaven Hotel… I don’t want to trouble you, but I had a dream where the world suddenly turned black and white.]
[A countdown appeared on my body. I met my soulmate, but he didn’t recognize me.]
[Whether he recognizes me or not, I hope he is safe.]
[How are you?]
On February 8th, the National Youth Team announced the list of 30 players for this year’s National Youth Team training camp. Qin Chunxiao, the captain of Province G, secured the first place, while Li Ling followed closely behind in second place.
The list was published on the official website of the Volleyball Association, allowing players, coaches, and fans alike to view it with a simple click.
To Qin Chunxiao’s surprise, his selection did not elicit much astonishment. Despite his shorter stature, his formidable strength and status as the core player of the Ji Army had endeared him to the public. Being chosen for the national youth training camp was not only a testament to his potential but also aligned with the desires of his fans.
Fans of various competitive events often held the same belief: let this young player with potential and hard work seize more opportunities to rise, and he would not disappoint!
As for those who had the power to provide opportunities, some, like Zhao, were indifferent to public opinion and simply assessed others based on their own standards. Others, like Lao Niu, had expectations of Qin Chunxiao as long as he proved his value in contributing to the team’s victories.
Aside from Qin Chunxiao and Li Ling, Fu Biyang’s name also appeared on the list. The three of them were the result of the joint efforts of G Province and H Island to train young men’s volleyball players after many years.
The training camp would take place in a training hall near the Temple of Heaven Hotel in the capital. The duration of the training was set for five weeks, and the players were required to arrive at the hotel for registration by 2:00 PM on February 18th. The transportation, accommodation, and meals would all be covered by the organization, with the athletes only needing to ensure their punctual arrival.
Coach Zheng from H Island urgently contacted Chen Aiguo, saying, “Xiaoji is the only child from H Island participating in the national youth training camp. Can you accompany him with your family, Er Leng and Xiaozai?”
Coach Zheng was worried about his young player traveling alone, but he mistakenly called Fu Biyang by his nickname, Xiaoji.
Chen Aiguo shared the same concern and hesitated before replying, “Xiaozai is already exhausted from his previous solo journey.”
Coach Zheng suggested, “Chicken has great strength and can help Xiaozai with the luggage!”
Chen Aiguo agreed, thinking that he couldn’t let Qin Chunxiao struggle with carrying heavy bags; the mere thought of it was too daunting.
“Well, let the three kids go together, and we’ll arrange a chaperone for the journey.”
Both coaches agreed that among the three, Qin Chunxiao, despite being the youngest, was the most dependable.
Since the travel expenses would be reimbursed by higher authorities, the provincial team purchased airplane tickets to shorten the travel time for the three players. When Qin Chunxiao went to the train station to pick up Fu Biyang, he spotted Coach Zheng holding Fu Xiaoji nearby, as they had gone to the Clothing Wholesale Market to buy clothes.
Coach Zheng rambled on, saying, “It’s February, and it’s still cold in the north. I’ll buy you a sweater. You can wear it when it’s cold. You’ll also need a down jacket and a down vest. After exercising, at least wear a vest to avoid catching a cold… Take care of your health.”
Qin Chunxiao couldn’t help but remind him, “There is heating in the north, so it won’t be cold.”
Fu Biyang vigorously nodded in agreement, but Coach Zheng retorted, “Heating is
only indoors. When you’re outside, you still need proper clothing to stay warm, right?”
H Island enjoyed a spring-like climate year-round, and down jackets were not commonly sold there. It was even more challenging to find clothes that fit Fu Biyang’s size. Previously, there was only one custom-made down jacket available for the team, which had been used to maintain his body temperature during the U21 matches. However, relying on a single piece of clothing for five weeks was clearly impractical, which led them to purchase clothes in G City.
After spending three hours shopping for clothes, they finally arrived at the airport together.
Li Ling, who was flying for the first time, was brimming with excitement and engaged in endless conversation with Fu Biyang. Meanwhile, Qin Chunxiao leaned back in the restaurant, listening to Coach Zheng’s anecdotes.
The blue-eyed boy displayed no signs of impatience. With his fair and slender fingers, he pulled out a small post-it note from his pocket and wrote on it, “Fu Biyang, under 17 years old. In case he gets lost, please contact his parent, Uncle Qin, at 199xxxxxxxx.”
To their dismay, the note ended up sticking to Fu Biyang’s backpack.
Since they had checked in their luggage, they needed to carry their documents, wallets, lunch boxes, and warm clothing with them. The direct flight from City G to the capital lasted only three hours. They boarded the plane at 10:00 AM and were scheduled to arrive at 1:00 PM. Due to concerns about the quality of the in-flight meals, the coaches had asked the cafeteria staff to prepare packed lunches for the journey.
Unfortunately, Li Ling’s stash of milk did not pass the inspection this time, and the ground inspector earnestly stated, “You cannot bring so much liquid on the plane.”
Li Ling sighed, “I just wanted to have these as snacks during the trip.” After uttering those words, he poured all five bottles of milk in front of the ground inspector and proceeded to the restroom, experiencing an expected bout of diarrhea. Fu Biyang pointed at him and laughed, but soon after, he clutched his stomach in discomfort.
Fu Biyang: “Chun Xiao, I feel like eating seafood has upset my stomach. I need to vomit for a while.”
Coach Zheng shouted from behind: “I told you not to have Pipi shrimp and iced coconut in the morning, but you didn’t listen!”
Qin Chunxiao: “…”
Thanks to the two of them being busy, he didn’t have time to mentally prepare before boarding the plane. However, once he was on the plane, Qin Chunxiao realized that he wasn’t too nervous. Instead, he felt like a middle-aged father driving his two big sons, exhausted by the pressures of life, and just wanting to buy two oranges and smash them on their heads.
He rubbed his forehead, finding it strange that he had mentally prepared himself to rely on Li Ling to help him walk to the plane if his legs were too weak, but now he couldn’t sense any anxiety or fear.
The flight attendant came over to remind the passengers to fasten their seat belts. Qin Chunxiao checked that all three of them had fastened their seat belts and put his phone in flight mode.
Li Ling took out a deck of UNO cards and asked, “Do you want to play?”
Qin Chunxiao: “No, I’ll take a nap. Wake me up when we arrive. Remember, once we reach the training camp, we need to undergo physical examinations first. Don’t eat randomly.”
Being a bit of a neat freak, he refused to use the airplane blanket, so he simply used Fu Biyang’s newly bought down coat as a cover and put on an eye mask with a cartoon bear pattern.
Seeing that he fell asleep, Fu Biyang and Li Ling looked at each other, stopped talking, and quietly played a two-player version of UNO. They didn’t even take a sip of water during the flight and occasionally had a bite of the beef jerky given by the cafeteria aunt.
Qin Chunxiao had a strange dream. In the dream, he was also on a plane surrounded by chaos, similar to the scene before his rebirth, except that Lu Xuandong wasn’t by his side. When a fire broke out, everything turned black and white.
In the dream, he was confused and even took out his mobile phone to send a text message to someone.
【Hi, I’m Qin Chunxiao】
“Xiaozi, Xiaozi, we’re almost there.”
Li Ling shook Qin Chunxiao a few times before he woke up. Slowly taking off the blindfold, his blue eyes gradually regained focus.
Once their feet touched the ground again, the faces of the two young men who were flying for the first time still brimmed with excitement, but Qin Chunxiao remained unaffected.
Whether it was reporting, handling luggage, having dinner, or conversing with Qiao Mingming, Du Xiaofeng, and other athletes he had met in the U21 team, he felt nothing. Time moved forward smoothly and orderly.
The organizing committee assigned them a three-person room, and Fu Biyang shared Room 5012 in the Temple of Heaven Hotel with them. Although it had a four-star rating, the Temple of Heaven Hotel was actually an old hotel that opened in 1989 and was renovated in 2006. It wasn’t a high-rise building, so staying there meant not being able to enjoy the view of the city’s neon lights at night. However, it was adjacent to the General Administration of Sports, so people from the sports system often stayed there when they visited the capital.
Qin Chunxiao encountered at least three athletes with Olympic gold medals in the restaurant, but everyone ate calmly, and he didn’t want to disturb them.
After finishing a set of English papers,
he stood up and stretched. Just as he was about to do a set of burpees, his eyes inadvertently glanced outside, and he suddenly froze.
At the entrance of the hotel, there was a crossroad, and across the street, next to the green belt, stood… Pleasant Goat?
That creature resembled a highly anthropomorphic sheep, complete with horns on its head, standing next to a tree. How should I put it? Seeing this scene at night, it didn’t make him find it cute, but rather somewhat unsettling.
Qin Chunxiao wondered if this was some kind of performance art. Could it be that he had written too many papers, leading to hallucinations? But as he rubbed his eyes and looked again, the Pleasant Goat was still standing on the street. They were separated by a hundred meters, but Qin Chunxiao felt an inexplicable connection as their eyes met.
The other party seemed to realize that they were being observed, quickly turned around, and started running clumsily. During the process, the sheep stumbled, got back up, and continued running.
Qin Chunxiao stared blankly at the sheep’s back, and once again, Li Ling called out from behind, “Xiaozi, I don’t know how to solve this problem. Can you teach me?”
Qin Chunxiao turned around slowly and asked, “Is night running popular among the Pleasant Goat here in the capital?”
Li Ling and Fu Biyang looked at each other. “What is Pleasant Goat?”
Forget it, Qin Chunxiao sat down and started tutoring these two troublemakers on their assignments. Despite being athletes who had made it to the provincial team, their parents insisted they continue their studies and packed their suitcases with loads of learning materials.
Recalling how Li Ling and Fu Biyang later achieved the second highest score line on their own and, with the bonus of being national volleyball team members, smoothly entered North Sports University.
If nothing unexpected happened, they would have had a smooth life, but unfortunately, they encountered an accident together later on.
Qin Chunxiao pointed at the test paper. “For this type of problem, it’s enough to draw auxiliary lines.”
Fu Biyang clumsily handled the angle ruler with his thick, dark fingers, wearing a frowning expression. “I hate math.”
Qin Chunxiao sighed. “Stop complaining and hurry up with your homework. I’ll take a picture and send it to your parents. Also, you need to memorize 10 new words for tomorrow morning.”
The two children groaned in unison.
After finally getting them organized, Qin Chunxiao lay down on the bed before 10:00 PM. He remembered something and turned on his phone, finding no missed calls or messages.
Then he opened the Bib app, originally planning to catch up on the latest episode of “Revisiting the Golden Age,” but discovered that a certain celebrity had sent him dozens of messages in his private messages, all of which were later retracted.
Qin Chunxiao furrowed his brow in confusion. What did this person send him?
…
【Where are you?】
[Have you encountered any danger?]
[I learned from the Volleyball Association announcement that you have been selected for the National Youth Training Camp. Congratulations.]
[The Volleyball Association announced that this year’s national youth team will be training in the capital. I wish you a smooth journey.]
[I’m outside the Temple of Heaven Hotel… I don’t want to trouble you, but I had a dream where the world suddenly turned black and white.]
[A countdown appeared on my body. I met my soulmate, but he didn’t recognize me.]
[Whether he recognizes me or not, I hope he is safe.]
[How are you?]
