“Yameng, drink some water.”

“Xiaomeng, let me wipe your sweat.”

“Xiao Lie, Xiao Lie, this exchange wasn’t a loss.”

During the break, Zou Yameng let her teammates crowd around her. But her mind wasn’t on the match at all. It drifted like a fallen leaf down a river, back to the summer eight years ago.

Little Lu Li huffily plopped down on the pillow. His little face was filthy, and who knew which kid he’d fought with this time. Though Zou Yameng was only a year older than him, she already had an older sister’s steadiness. Before she could even ask, little Lu Li started shouting.

“I’m not convinced! I’m not!”

Zou Yameng helped him pull off his dirty T-shirt, then went to the bathroom and filled a basin with water. As she did, she asked, “Not convinced about what? Who picked on you now?”

“He’s only two years older than me. He’s just bigger than me, and his serve is stronger. Otherwise, I definitely would’ve returned it!”

“What?”

“The ball.”

“What ball?”

“Ping-pong.”

Zou Yameng scrubbed little Lu Li’s face with a towel and said with a smile, “Wipe yourself down too. You’re filthy. Since when did you start playing ping-pong?”

“I started learning last week.” Little Lu Li was still obedient in front of his sister, though his lips were so pouty they could hang a kettle. “I’m so mad!”

That day, the sun outside was bright, and the cicadas were deafening. She still remembered filling the bathroom bucket too full and wasting thirty cents on the water bill. That was the first time Zou Yameng came into contact with ping-pong. She only picked up a paddle to vent her little brother’s anger. She practiced seriously for a month, then easily taught that snot-nosed older boy a lesson under her brother’s admiring gaze.

It was hard to say whether she had fallen in love with the sport back then. Even for many years after, she still didn’t know whether she wanted to keep walking this path.

But at this very moment, she could feel it clearly. She loved ping-pong, just as she loved Lu Li. Not the love of an older sister for a younger brother, but the love of a wife for her husband. Only in moments like this, when her mind was nearly blank, could she face her heart directly. She loved this sport. She wanted to keep winning. She wanted to achieve something. She wanted to stand proudly in front of her little brother with a paddle in hand, just like eight years ago, and tell him, “Big sis has got this!”

Zou Yameng wiped off her sweat with a few simple motions, then left the rest area without a word.

“Xiaomeng... she’s okay, right? Her eyes are kind of scary.”

“She... should be okay, I guess.”

He Ping met Zou Yameng’s gaze and, for once, showed a trace of surprise. If Zou Yameng had been a tiger charging forward before, then now she was a ravenous wolf that would risk everything. Her hunger for victory showed without the slightest restraint, adding a few shades of wild charm to her beauty.

Maybe only He Ping could understand that look at once, because she had gone through that stage too. From the stage of wanting to win at all costs, to the stage she was in now—having a reason to keep winning. The former was a lone wolf wandering aimlessly across the wasteland. The latter was a lion ruling over the pride. There was a clear difference in realm between the two.

“This alone won’t be enough to beat me,” He Ping said softly.

The third game began.

Zou Yameng’s style turned even more aggressive. She gave up defense and attacked again and again. Even if she couldn’t score, she would still drain He Ping’s stamina. It was an extremely shameless tactic. A faint wave of disapproving murmurs rose from the stands. Clearly, the audience didn’t think much of what Zou Yameng was doing.

Faced with this version of Zou Yameng, He Ping remained as calm as an old monk. Her movements grew even faster than before as she tried to crush her again through sheer physical superiority. But this time, He Ping had met a real opponent. The one thing Zou Yameng did not lose to He Ping in was stamina. Seven minutes and twelve seconds into the third game, Zou Yameng finally won her first point. The score became 5:1.

This was the first point. Zou Yameng’s first point of the entire match today. At last, she escaped the fate of being shut out.

It was also the first point He Ping had lost in the Six Provinces League.

The first step was always the hardest. Once she scored for the first time, Zou Yameng gradually found her rhythm. She took the next two points in a row and closed the gap even further. Just when everyone thought Zou Yameng might turn things around, He Ping erupted with even greater strength. She was like a bottomless abyss, constantly raising her level. Just like in every match before this one, He Ping continued to suppress her opponent.

11:3. The third game ended. He Ping won.

He Ping now had three wins. She only needed one more, and the match would be over. Zou Yameng’s counterattack looked more like a final flash before death. In front of He Ping, it had only barely earned her a sliver of breathing room.

When the fourth game began, Zou Yameng’s eyes were visibly red. He Ping said nothing and simply watched her. She had made many opponents cry before. One more Zou Yameng made no difference, and one less made no difference either. Comparatively speaking, Zou Yameng was one of the tougher ones. The referee was kindhearted and asked, “Contestant Zou Yameng, do you want to take a break?”

Zou Yameng actually wanted to rest very badly. But she was afraid that if she relaxed even a little, she would never again be able to gather the courage to face He Ping. So she stubbornly shook her head. Her eyes were red, but not a single tear fell.

Compared to strength, maybe what Zou Yameng lacked more was luck. If she hadn’t met He Ping in the second round, would the result have been different? In this Six Provinces League, aside from He Ping, Zou Yameng was confident she didn’t fear any other player. During the warm-up matches, the other contestants had already called her “Chuanhai’s Tiger.” She was the seeded player second only to He Ping.

She held the ball and stared blankly at the table, as if thinking over tactics and countermeasures. The referee didn’t rush her either, only silently watching the stopwatch.

Loud noise was forbidden in the venue. The arena sank into a strange silence. Everyone wanted to know how Zou Yameng would walk through the final stretch with some shred of dignity.

Then, at that moment, a rash and abrupt voice came from the stands. It was loud, bright, and utterly out of place in the dead, oppressive gymnasium.

“Go, Zou Yameng!”

Zou Yameng turned toward the sound as if shocked by electricity. She saw security moving toward the person, telling him not to make noise. But the boy only smiled with reckless abandon. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted with all his strength—

“Go, Zou Yameng!”

He completely ignored the guards’ warnings. Like Prometheus stealing fire, he cheered for her in the most fearless voice he could muster. Even when the guards twisted his arms and dragged him out of the stands, that voice never stopped.

Zou Yameng could no longer hold back her tears. Two clear streams ran down her face. She was crying, and she was laughing too. “Idiot... now look at you. You got hauled off by security for a lecture, didn’t you...”

Her first thought was, How did little brother get here?

Then, Idiot, shouting in a place like this... aren’t you embarrassed?

Then all her thoughts faded away, until only one remained—

I want to win.

Like a knight who had lost her allegiance and found her crest again, Zou Yameng’s expression steadied. Her heart filled with satisfaction and happiness. She didn’t need to ask why Lu Li had come. She knew he had come for her. Even when she looked utterly defeated, even when loss was certain, Lu Li still chose to help her without hesitation. Knowing that was enough.

The feelings in her heart could no longer be restrained. Love, victory, courage, future—words with no connection to each other flowed through her heart. She cried, then laughed. Laughed, then cried.

“Was that your brother?” He Ping asked.

“He’s the most important person in my life.”

The fourth game began.

At this moment, Zou Yameng was reborn, her smile radiant as the morning sun.