Chapter 122: Breasts

"There, there, stop crying. It’s alright; it’s just one match. We’ll just win it back next time, won’t we?"

Over the long-distance call, Ma Dongmei, who was usually incredibly tough, was sobbing uncontrollably. Wang Lei could only offer what comfort he could to his girlfriend.

The reason for Ma Dongmei’s distress was their failure to reach the finals of the World Women’s Volleyball Grand Champions Cup. During the semi-finals, the Republic’s women’s volleyball team faced the host nation, Italy. Throughout the match, the Chinese team held the upper hand, and Ma Dongmei played with immense strength. Unfortunately, they were subjected to blatant home-court bias. Even after Ma Dongmei challenged an opponent's spike via the Hawkeye system, the data was shamelessly tampered with behind the scenes. Enraged, Ma Dongmei rushed over to argue with the head referee. Despite her not committing any overtly aggressive actions, the referee issued her a red-and-yellow card—which, in volleyball, results in an immediate expulsion—and she was sent off.

Deprived of Ma Dongmei, the Republic’s team eventually conceded three consecutive sets, helplessly losing the match two to three.

After the match, the eliminated team was even mocked by local media, and Ma Dongmei was branded by the press as "the rude Chinese."

Of course, these things alone would not have made a girl who was usually so carefree and resilient cry out loud. What Ma Dongmei found most unbearable was that some domestic media outlets and a portion of misinformed fans were actually claiming that she was too arrogant and headstrong, with some even leaving abusive comments on her Xunbo account.

In the end, she was only a girl in her early twenties. While she was fierce and formidable on the court, she had the heart of a gentle woman off it.

Not wanting others to see her vulnerability, Ma Dongmei turned to her beloved to vent her sorrows; she needed someone to soothe the grievances in her heart.

"Okay, okay, stop crying now. You won't look pretty if you keep crying. It’s fine, I’ll stand up for you later. I’ll go find those people who insulted you and give them a piece of my mind, one by one."

"No, don't. Please don't. If you get into an argument with them, it’ll just end up being my fault again."

Having finally cried out the grievances in her heart, the girl calmed down; she didn't want to blow things out of proportion.

After comforting his partner, a flicker of anger stirred in Wang Lei. It was true that some people were like this—while their compatriots were fighting tooth and nail on the court, these keyboard warriors were busy posturing with their "moral superiority" online.

Wang Lei didn't let his anger go easily. He began to scheme about how he could exact some justice for his girlfriend. However, there didn't seem to be an easy way at the moment. He could certainly go to Xunbo and cause trouble for those who had insulted her, but would it be effective? Probably not, and they likely wouldn't even know who Wang Lei was.

Setting these thoughts aside, Wang Lei refocused on his own tournament. With two wins in the group stage, the Xinjiang Youth Team should have been able to handle their third match with ease. However, after the results of the other matches in the group came in, Wang Lei had to sharpen his focus once more.

In the other group match, the Guangdong Youth Team, having already lost one game and with no room for error, narrowly defeated the European Chinese Youth Team—who had won their first-round match—with a score of 78 to 74.

Although the Xinjiang Youth Team currently held two wins and a clear advantage, if they were defeated by a large margin by the European Chinese Youth Team in the third match, the group qualification standings could shift. As for the other match between Guangdong and the Zhongyu Province Youth Team, it was unlikely to see any major upsets.

The European Chinese Youth Team was the runner-up from the overseas qualifying division. Thanks to the motto of these National Games—"A Sporting Gala for Global Chinese"—many Chinese living abroad had competed eagerly for a spot.

The European Chinese Youth Team was sponsored by the European Chinese General Chamber of Commerce. They had begun forming the team in September of the previous year, with a roster consisting of Chinese descendants living in Europe, mixed-heritage players, and Chinese students studying abroad. Aside from one young player who competed in the Spanish basketball league, the rest were amateurs or hobbyists.

The Chamber of Commerce provided the team with excellent resources, even hiring a well-known coach from Europe. While the composition of the team was relatively amateur, their infrastructure and equipment were highly professional. The head coach they hired was a renowned tactician who had previously coached the Serbian national youth team, a Greek named Latamantis, who was quite satisfied with the salary provided by the Chamber.

European basketball has its own unique style; it emphasizes passing and cutting, advocates for collaborative defense, and plays a very clear brand of team basketball. In their matches, the team’s scoring is relatively balanced, and they possess a potent perimeter attack.

Although Latamantis did not achieve monumental success while coaching the Serbian national youth team, he did cultivate the well-known Serbian star Kuzmanovic, who, at only twenty-seven, was already a core player for the Italian team Varese, champions of the European Cup.

Latamantis’s coaching style was purely European, emphasizing discipline, teamwork, and, most importantly, tactical execution. Upon taking the job, he did two things just as Wang Lei had: he focused on basic training and physical conditioning.

Latamantis understood the difficulty of coaching such a team, so he did not rush to implement complex tactics. In his view, tactical execution is built upon the foundation of being able to run and think. If the players lacked the fundamental ability, his tactics would remain unexecutable.

During the qualifying stages, aside from a loss to the North American team—which boasted a prodigy player—Latamantis’s team swept all other opponents.

After watching the game tapes of the European Chinese Youth Team, Wang Lei attached great importance to this opponent. In his view, while other opponents might be vulnerable to tactical adjustments, this one would not be easy, because the two teams’ styles were so similar. To defeat such an opponent, one would have to rely on surpassing oneself.

As the National Games entered their ninth day, Wang Lei and his Xinjiang Youth Team prepared to face this mirror image of themselves.

Although Wang Lei knew the opponent would be tough, he didn't say much to his players. He only stated his expectations for the match result, leaving the rest to the players to adjust on their own.