As soon as Shen Yixian finished speaking, even Liu Lili, who had always had an expressionless face, showed a slight fluctuation. Zhao Shiyan's eyes widened in surprise. They never expected that Shen Yixian would say such a thing.
Shen Yixian seemed to be very satisfied with the performance of the two of them. She stood up, stroked the hair of the two girls without any surprise, and said boldly:
"I like you two little girls. Why don't you come train with me in the future? I will lead you to win the world championship, hahahaha..."
Listening to Shen Yixian's hearty laughter, not only Lili and Shi Yan, but also Ling Zhi were a little confused. What's going on?
Fortunately, Shen Yixian stopped. She sat down and slowly explained:
"Actually, you may think it's strange that I'm participating this time. Although I haven't won a world championship, you might think it's unfair to participate in the Citizen Cup as me."
The four Lexus people were still immersed in the shock just now and did not react.
Shen Yixian didn't take it seriously and continued:
"Actually, I know everything, so I found a partner who was very close to me in the past. Although his level is not bad, he hasn't practiced much recently, and his touch is not even as good as the two of you. To play with him, for other players , it shouldn’t be too much.”
"Both of us have already qualified for next year's professional tour, so it makes sense to give this wild card to you."
"And the reason why we participated in the competition was largely because we wanted to find the feeling of competing. Now we have achieved our goal."
"After all, love lasts for a long time. Many competitions have been cancelled, so we can only use amateur competitions to feel better, so it is our honor to play a final with you..."
Shen Yixian slowly explained the reason for her participation.
I don’t know why, she didn’t have to go into such detail, but she still told her reasons for participating in the competition and her mental journey, as if she regarded the four people in front of her as close friends.
Zhao Shiyan had the idea of rejecting Shen Yixian at the beginning, but when Shen Yixian finished speaking, Zhao Shiyan fell into hesitation.
This wild card spot was given to her and Lili for free, and she had no objection to the competition itself.
However, as the old saying goes, if you decide to compete, you can't do it half-heartedly, you have to train hard, and you can't be as casual as before.
Moreover, if you participate for the first time, there will be a second and third time. Maybe you will continue to follow this path in the future. You can’t give up just because you want to. Otherwise, it will be against Lili. Irresponsible.
So, have I really made up my mind? Have I really made up my mind to form a team with Lili and compete in the professional tour? Zhao Shiyan looked at the silent Lili next to him, with mixed emotions.
Shen Yixian looked at the two girls and understood what they were probably struggling with, so she said understandingly:
"It doesn't matter. You can discuss it and think about it slowly. Lili, you can also talk to Director Xu and listen to her opinion. Anyway, the competition will not start until next year, so there is no rush now."
"Well, thank you four for listening to me for so long. Little boy over there, if you want to participate in the competition, my sister may be able to help you find a relationship."
??What little boy? Are you talking about me?
Ling Zhi's face was full of black lines. He quickly waved his hand and said no, no, but he also thanked Shen Yixian for his kindness.
"Oh, that's a pity. Oh, come to think of it, I originally promised to treat you to coffee today, but I ended up being treated by you anyway. I'm so embarrassed!"
"But forget it, I believe we will meet again in the future, and then let my sister love you well... I love you!"
After saying that, Shen Yixian happily ran out of his seat and left.
At this moment, Zhao Shiyan stood up and shouted:
"Sister Shen, please wait a moment."
Shen Yixian turned around and looked at Zhao Shiyan with interest, waiting for her next words.
"Although we haven't thought about it yet, thank you for your invitation today."
Zhao Shiyan looked at Lili who was not moving, sighed, and continued:
"Together with Lili, thank you very much. We will definitely... eh?"
Before Zhao Shiyan finished speaking, Shen Yixian rushed forward, hugged Zhao Shiyan, and said lovingly:
"Ah, don't be so outgoing. Since we met today, we are friends. Why should friends be so grateful?"
Shen Yixian let go of Zhao Shiyan, glanced at Liu Lili, smiled and said to Zhao Shiyan:
"It's really hard for you. However, I can probably imagine what kind of devilish training Lili has experienced under Director Xu, so you should understand her better and don't blame her for being too cold."
"On the other hand, if you two can get along well, I think there may be few opponents in the nine-ball table tennis world in the future..."
After saying that, Shen Yixian turned around gracefully and left quickly, leaving Zhao Shiyan, who was left with thousands of thoughts behind, dumbfounded on the spot.
Shen Yixian was said to be the national champion, but he didn't have the airs of a champion at all. Instead, he was very approachable and even a little... naughty. Well, okay, in short, Zhao Shiyan finally felt what it was like to be teased by others.
After coming back to his senses, Zhao Shiyan glanced at Liu Lili, sat down, and said to her:
"Lili, I want to have a good talk with you."
"Well, how about we avoid it?"
Ling Zhi said tentatively from the side.
"No, I also want Lingzhi, you and Mengyao to be witnesses about the matter between me and Lili. After all, you two are not outsiders. What do you mean? Lili."
I saw that Liu Lili no longer simply nodded or shook her head this time, but unexpectedly said directly:
"Actually, it's not that I don't like Coach Xu's teaching methods."
"When I first learned to play, I didn't know what method I was used to using to generate force, so I followed Coach Xu's suggestion and used the length of the pull rod to control force."
"This method of power control is not completely harmful to me. On the contrary, in the beginning, with the help of this method of power control, my shot became much more stable."
"However, controlling the length of the drawbar will test one's control over the rhythm of the stroke. If the pause time is too long, it will easily affect the accuracy during competition."
"It was like this in the finals. At that time, I was a little nervous. After pulling the lever, I didn't dare to take out the lever. It was that moment of hesitation that made me miss a lot of simple shots. This is my fault. It’s just mature.”
"So, I will continue to find the answer through continuous training as to which power control method is suitable."
Having said this, Lili turned her head and said to Zhao Shiyan:
"Are you willing to accompany me? Shi Yan."
Zhao Shiyan listened quietly to Liu Lili's confession. Although Zhao Shiyan was a little flattered that Lili suddenly revealed her past, it was not important. What was important was... "Wow! Lili, it's so rare that you actually called me
I got my name, I’m so happy!”
Lili blushed obviously, her eyes dodged and she said:
"Yes...I'm sorry, I'm not very good at..."
"Hey Lili, you don't have to be so reserved. I was just kidding. Having said that, thank you for saying so much to me. But before I answer your question, can I ask you a question first?"
"Just ask."
"Lili, why did you want to participate in this nine-ball doubles match in the first place?"
Lili thought for a moment and replied:
"Actually, the reason is not too complicated. I have admired the nine-ball queen Pan Xiaoting since I was a child and want to play like her."
"I have participated in some amateur competitions in the past, but I have never achieved any good results. So, Coach Xu suggested that I partner with you and come to Pengcheng to try the doubles competition. Unexpectedly, I won the runner-up."
"That's why I want to continue asking you to train with me in the future."
Zhao Shiyan nodded:
"I understand, Lili. However, we can train together. I have to think again about whether to try to embark on a career path in the future. Can you give me some time?"
"That's natural, Shi Yan, please think about it slowly."
"Haha, it's settled then! But speaking of it, Lili, you just mentioned the issue of power control. I remembered that when we played for the first time, you played very aggressively at the beginning.
The game has become very conservative again, is it caused by changing the way of exerting force?"
"...I'm sorry...I...I saw Coach Xu looking at me at that time..."
"Oh, why are you apologizing again? I was just joking, haha, don't be so serious..."
Seeing the two people talking and joking, Ling Zhi and Li Mengyao looked at each other and smiled. In their impression, this seemed to be the first time the two of them had talked in such a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
Although it is still unclear where the two of them will go in the future, no matter what, it seems that they have made a good start now, and this is enough.
…
The next day, Zhao Shiyan took Li Mengyao and Ling Zhi to the Pengcheng Ice Sports Stadium. According to Zhao Zhiyu, he is here today.
Originally, Zhao Shiyan invited Lili to come with him, but Lili really had no interest in skating or curling, so she apologized to Zhao Shiyan and returned to Huacheng early.
The three of them arrived at a small room in the venue. Zhao Shiyan knocked on the door, and the voice of "Please come in" came from inside, and the three of them filed in.
"Be natural, be natural, don't be nervous, don't be nervous..."
Ling Zhi kept reminding himself, "My name is not nervous," but he didn't know if it was his imagination. Zhao Zhiyu seemed to have been staring at him since he entered the door, making him even more nervous.
Fortunately, the two parties only exchanged some polite words, and Zhao Zhiyu asked Ling Zhi and Li Mengyao to go outside to skate first on the pretext that he wanted to whisper something to Zhao Shiyan. This made Ling Zhi feel like he had been granted an amnesty.
After the two people left, only the father and daughter were left in the room. Zhao Zhiyu approached Zhao Shiyan with a mysterious look on his face and asked softly:
"Are you obedient?"
Zhao Shiyan was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood what her father was asking. She smiled proudly and said:
"Of course, Lexus is very good."
"Haha, then I'll be relieved."
Ling Zhi never thought that Zhao Shiyan had already sold him before coming to Pengcheng.