It was only when Tan Jing woke Lin Miao up that she realized she had accidentally fallen asleep with the telephone.
“Shuishui should quickly go rest. We can talk later.” The Young Master said on the other side.
There were fewer opportunities for them to talk. The Young Master thought that it might even continue to decline.
It also seemed likely. When Lin Miao just arrived at the sports school, she would call him daily and meet him weekly.
Now, they only shared the occasional phone call, and the Young Master hadn’t come over in two months.
Badminton practice occupied most of Lin Miao’s time. After spectating the energetic athletes and intense matches, the Young Master would also return to reading.
Lin Miao had also noticed that practice was less exhausting in the immediate days before her tournaments. However, Tan Jing and her were already used to the tighter schedule that focused more on badminton and fitness.
The date of the grand competition was approaching fast.
Tan Jing still had a psychological shadow from her first tournament. She always felt pressured whenever her parents came to watch her competitions even though her parents had been understanding of her ever since. So she didn’t tell her parents about the tournament.
Lin Miao’s reasoning was much simpler. She was more comfortable being in front of an audience of strangers since she didn’t have to worry about being scored on and embarrassing herself.
Her family always assumed that she was exceptional at badminton, so she never wanted them to spectate as she thought they would naturally have high expectations for her.
On the Young Master’s side, their group of three had soon shrunk to a duo. It was hard to gather everyone up now.
They had been a duo whenever they went to play video games, basketball, and even flirting.
The Young Master was thirteen, but all his classmates were fifteen or sixteen, the ripe age for romance and dates. They had agreed to meet at a park during the next holiday with some pretty girls in the class. Of course, they told the girls that the Young Master was also going.
Even though he was younger than all his peers, he was at their height, smart, and calm. The age gap wasn’t a problem.
This time, Lin Ye had even promised to bring the Young Master along. However, little did he expect that the Young Master would reject their invite.
“My sister has another tournament.” The Young Master said.
Lin Ye stared at his friend, whom the girls called the school hunk, his mind flooding with words, “Don’t you have other desires apart from your sister?”
“No, you should ask if he has any other pursuits apart from his sister and math.” Gao Xing said, “If I were you, I’d have a different girlfriend everyday with what you’ve got.”
Afterwards, the two of them still ended up following the Young Master to the tournament.
It was the National Youth Badminton Competition, so there was quite an audience.
Lin Ye had learned for the better. Instead of asking which one was the Young Master’s sister, he looked for the best player.
However, he wasn’t able to find that person.
“Is your sister even on the court?” Gao Xing noticed that the Young Master wasn’t taking any pictures.
“No.” The Young Master said. He was still focused on the court, unaware that some young girls were pointing their cameras towards him.
“Then why are you watching so closely?” Lin Ye had never seen the Young Master play badminton. He felt it incredible that the Young Master was able to dedicate so much of his energy towards it.
“I’m checking which one of these will become my sister’s opponent.” The Young Master said calmly.
Great, it’s still about his younger sister.
“Bro, if your sister ever gets a boyfriend, I swear you’d go on to find all his ancestors and relatives. Let’s have a moment of silence to offer pity for the future boyfriend.”
The Young Master, who was focused on the badminton court, suddenly turned his head towards Lin Ye.
Lin Ye was frightened by this sudden stare. He subconsciously slid behind Gao Xing, and then said faintly, “Bro, your sister will definitely get a boyfriend in the future.”
The Young Master took back his stare. He looked like he had something stuck in his mind.
Fortunately, they soon heard Lin Miao’s name.
And then they saw the girl they hadn’t seen for over two months walk onto a court.
She looked much more solemn. She looked all jumpy and excited during her first tournament. Now, she was like a professional adult athlete.
The Young Master couldn’t resist reminiscing over those days.
He was also on the bleachers during her first tournament. She was so excited, like when they played games on a piece of paper together.
An indescribable sentiment of sadness spread into his heart.
The match soon began, and an air of nervousness prevailed in the stadium.
Lin Miao’s opponent was very refined in her smashes. Lin Miao had also mastered her craft, so the two took turns smashing the shuttlecock over the net, grabbing everyone’s attention.
However, the game soon took a turn. Lin Miao scored a shot by directing her hit towards the opposite corner. Her opponent wasn’t able to catch it even with her monstrous leaps.
She continued to miss shots, possibly because her confidence was shaken.
Lin Ye looked at the girl leaping backwards to catch a shot, exclaiming, “Your sister’s future boyfriend needs to be quite buff himself, or else…”
Apart from carefully observing the badminton game below them, the Young Master was also thinking about something in his head.
Shuishui will have a boyfriend in the future.
Shuishui will have a boyfriend in the future.
He envisioned a young boy in the same uniform as Lin Miao carrying her stuff for her.
And immediately after, their figures disappeared.
Lin Ye asked just like last time, “Bro, are you not going to see your younger sister again?”
The Young Master didn’t.
The tournament spanned over several days, so the three of them all had to return home for the night.
Lin Ye continued on the way back, “Your younger sister will probably find another athlete in the future. If she continues down her path, the couple might both be champions.”
Lin Ye just wanted to remind the man that he should go out with them more and that his younger sister will be someone else’s.
The Young Master listened in silence, still a bit gloomy.
Dahuang and her two puppies ran up to him and greeted him at the door.
The Young Master patted them one by one. He’s right, she’s grown up so much.
She has her own things to do, unlike how they only had each other when they were little.
They used to just play tic tac toe and read everyday.
Lin Miao would quietly accompany him, not looking at others.
Every other word she said would be Gege.
The Young Master’s mother had noticed that he wasn’t so happy, “What happened? Did Shuishui lose the tournament? I can go with you tomorrow to watch the tournament.”
The Young Master shook his head, “No, she didn’t lose. I’m going upstairs.”