Chapter 9: Returning Once More to the Bench

Ningzhou traced the seams of the volleyball in his hand, pondering seriously for a moment—

Should he tell Ningyang about his rebirth?

From childhood, the two of them had been inseparable, no matter what they did. Adopted together by Ningxu, living together, learning volleyball together—even through every stage of sports school and university, they’d always ended up in the same class… Even when Ningzhou’s relationship with Ningxu fell apart, Ningyang remained steadfastly by his side as a brother, helping him through his lowest days.

They’d always shared everything with each other. If it were Ningyang, perhaps learning of his rebirth wouldn’t matter…

Turning this over in his mind, Ningzhou misjudged his strength during a pass; the ball he sent to Xu Zichang flew too high. Xu Zichang lunged forward, barely managing to tip the ball over the net with his fingertips. Breaking out in a cold sweat, he clenched his fists and shouted,

“Did anyone see that exquisite drop shot? No way the other side could defend that!”

Ningzhou’s mouth twitched; he raised a hand in apology. “Sorry, that was my mistake…”

Ningyang leaned in from behind, practically draping himself over the edge of the ball cart.

“Did I guess right? Why are you holding it in and not telling me? Did you fight with Dad again? Or did some idiot’s gossip get you down?” Ningyang suspected almost everyone in the training squad, smacking the balls in the cart with regret.

“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bought that game; I’d have come to training with you the first week. You’re so clueless with people, I should’ve stuck by you!”

Ningzhou rescued a ball from his hands and flicked Ningyang’s forehead with a laugh.

“You treat me like a kid? It’s not what you think!” He spun the ball and balanced it on his fingertip, just as they used to compete to see who could spin it the longest as children.

“I just wanted some ice cream too. If I want to chat, I’ll chat; if I don’t want to do extra practice, I won’t. Can’t I make my own choices?”

The spinning volleyball reflected in Ningyang’s eyes, leaving him a little dazed…

“Alright, it’s a promise then.” With that, he suddenly turned and dashed to the other side of the court, crouching and rubbing his hands together. “Come on! Don’t hold back—send them all my way!”

Ningzhou raised his brows slightly, hugging the volleyball.

If Ningyang learned about his rebirth, he might insist that Ningzhou quit volleyball to avoid the pain of his previous life. It was better to keep it secret…

The afternoon’s training time was limited. After finishing their basic drills, they tried out a few tactical plays. Outside, the sky had already turned a dusky yellow.

As training drew to a close, Coach Luo gathered both groups of players and announced,

“Tomorrow morning, Assistant Coach Garry and Assistant Coach Ning will each field a team for an inter-group match. Substitutions are unlimited. Both coaches can experiment with different player combinations. The match will be best of five sets—I look forward to seeing your performance!”

Searching his memory, Ningzhou vaguely recalled such a match, but the outcome and details were hazy…

“Ahem, and of course, to increase everyone’s enthusiasm, the winning side will receive a little reward!” Coach Luo drew out the suspense, his gaze lingering meaningfully on certain players.

“The prize: the best-performing player on the winning team will receive a direct ticket to join the future national first team, and will also get to choose which coaching squad to follow during training camp!”

A wave of astonishment swept through both squads…

Ningzhou, who felt as if Coach Luo’s gaze had landed on him: What?

He couldn’t remember the details of the match, but he was certain that in his previous life, Coach Luo had never announced a direct spot for the first team in advance!

A simple inter-group match suddenly took on tremendous significance because of this prize.

“A direct pass to the first team? Damn, that’s some serious bait!”

“What’s with this ‘choose your coaching squad’ business? Compared to a first team spot, that’s nothing!”

“Tomorrow, we have to go all out! Unlimited substitutions mean everyone has a chance!”

“Is Coach Kong raising a competition of Gu-worms? Out of so many people, only one will be chosen to devour the rest…”

Not only were the players shocked—even the coaching staff looked incredulously at Coach Luo…

Coach Luo’s smile didn’t waver, his composure unbroken.

“Alright, dismissed!”

For the first time, after dismissal, no one rushed to the cafeteria. Their hearts raced with excitement over the “first team spot,” and they gathered in noisy clusters to strategize.

“A match, just like that, announced for tomorrow!”

Ningyang slouched over to Ningzhou. “You’re not planning to practice tonight?”

“Nope. Didn’t we agree to get ice cream?”

Ningyang jerked upright in shock. “You’re still willing to go with me? Aren’t you always chasing a starting spot on the national team?”

Ningzhou grabbed his arm and headed for the cafeteria. “There’s nothing to be gained from last-minute cramming. Better to eat well, sleep well, and stay in top shape.”

Ningyang’s brain stalled, turning to mush as Ningzhou towed him along. “Zhouzhou, you… when you change, you really change…”

“Slipping out” sounded easy but was anything but. They waited until sunset, changed into misleading track shorts, and walked straight out the front gate of the national training center, eyes fixed ahead…

The security guard hadn’t planned to stop them, but under the lights, he caught a glimpse of their faces and frowned.

“Wait! Which team are you with?”

Ningyang answered smoothly, “Track and field.”

At the moment, only the volleyball team was in closed training; other athletes were free to come and go.

The guard folded his arms behind his back, hesitating. “I don’t recall the track team having such handsome lads…”

Ningyang smacked Ningzhou’s back with feigned annoyance, keeping a straight face. “Haha, Uncle, your memory’s slipping! With our height, we wouldn’t get to play volleyball or even run hurdles!”

Ningzhou, stung, ducked his handsome face in embarrassment…

The guard grew more suspicious, glancing toward someone not far away. “Hey! You over there!”

Ningzhou turned. A figure lurking in the darkness heard the shout, hung up his call, and a brief orange glow flickered at his lips…

The man stubbed out his cigarette, stepped from the shadows, ignored the vibrating phone, and approached, his expression displeased.

“What is it?” he asked.

Ningzhou drew a sharp breath: Yu Bai!?

Yu Bai’s gaze shifted from the guard to Ningzhou and Ningyang, lips parting as if to speak.

Ningzhou, back to the guard, stared at Yu Bai and shook his head ever so slightly.

Yu Bai swallowed the name he’d almost spoken, exchanging a glance with the guard.

“With that height, you must be from the volleyball team!” the guard said, pointing at Ningzhou and Ningyang. “Are these two with you?”

A glimmer of understanding passed through Yu Bai’s eyes. He smirked, clearly enjoying Ningzhou’s discomfort.

Ningzhou’s expression shifted uncertainly—he never understood Yu Bai’s motives, especially in these days since his rebirth. Whether Yu Bai would help him or not, he had no idea…

Ningzhou coughed, twining his index fingers anxiously in front of him in a silent plea—

I’ll help you tape your fingers again, please!

Yu Bai’s eyes lowered, and he lied more smoothly than Ningyang, without a hint of change in his expression. “I’ve never seen them before.”

…

Walking down the street, Ningyang let out a long sigh. “That guy’s alright—he really helped us! Zhouzhou, do you know him?”

“Yeah. We played a practice match together.”

Outside, the world bustled with traffic and music blaring from shops. Ningyang spread his arms wide, exulting, “Ah! The taste of freedom!”

Ningzhou sniffed the air. “All I can smell is fried chicken…”

“You don’t understand. It’s a metaphor—it’s just a feeling!”

After teasing him, Ningyang burst out laughing. “I can’t decide if you’ve changed or not. The volleyball-obsessed, simple-minded Zhouzhou—one word and you give yourself away!”

“At least I don’t talk in all that stream-of-consciousness nonsense—you’re the odd one!”

Bickering the whole way, they bought fried chicken, snacks, milk tea—sampling everything they passed.

All these high-sugar, high-fat foods, forbidden to athletes, exploded with delight on their taste buds…

Stuffed to bursting, they each bought an ice pop and leaned against a flowerbed, letting the evening breeze brush their cheeks.

Sweet, chill flavors melted on Ningzhou’s tongue. Suddenly, a line surfaced in his mind, though he couldn’t recall where he’d heard it:

One cannot possess both youth and the feeling of youth at the same time.

With the soul of a twenty-five-year-old in his twenty-year-old body, Ningzhou finally understood how precious that breeze was, and why the sweetness on his tongue turned bittersweet…

A little girl passing by pointed at the two of them, tugging at her mother’s hand.

“Those two big brothers are so tall!”

“Yes, I’d say they’re at least one eighty…”

As mother and daughter walked on, Ningyang chomped a huge bite of his ice pop, chewing it up.

“After so long on the court, I always think we’re short, but really it’s just that those other monsters are too tall!”

“I wonder if all the milk we drink actually does anything…” Ningzhou mused. “After I found out we were adopted, I even made a wish that I’d inherited some two-meter-tall genes!”

“Haha, isn’t it fate? Taken in from different orphanages by the same person, ended up the same height, and even want to play the same volleyball position…”

Ningyang’s words cut off abruptly. He gnawed on his ice pop, sneaking a sideways glance at Ningzhou’s face…

Ningzhou smiled easily. “It’s fine, it’s been a long time.”

With the stick still in his mouth, Ningyang mumbled, “You and Dad… are things still the same?”

“Yeah.”

Ningyang looked troubled. “You don’t have to cut him off so completely. He still puts money in your account every month; at least use some of it for tuition…”

“You don’t need to worry about my money anymore!” Ningzhou grinned mysteriously. “I found a quick, high-paying part-time job!”

Ningyang’s heart skipped a beat. “Is it… legal?”

“…No need to worry about that.”

“Forget it. You really don’t need me fussing over you anymore!” Ningyang tossed his ice cream stick in the trash, strolling along at ease.

“Zhouzhou, those two new coaches—don’t get too close to them.”

Ningzhou, with the last bite of ice in his mouth, looked at him in confusion. “Why?”

“Let’s go—it’ll be trouble if we’re caught getting back too late.” Ningyang didn’t explain, striding off toward home, waving a hand at his side. “Thanks for coming out with me!”

‘Zhouzhou:

I don’t care if you’ve retired or not. If your hand doesn’t hurt, get out here and play!

From: Mie Mie’

Aside from their adoptive father Ningxu, Ningyang was the only one who messaged Ningzhou during his darkest days…

Watching his retreating figure, Ningzhou smiled with relief.

“Mie Mie, wait for me!”

He was the one who should be saying thank you…

*

The next day, before the teams were announced, Assistant Coach Ning cleared his throat, ready to declare his starting lineup.

“Wait!” Ningyang, sweating cold and pale-lipped, stepped forward. “Coach Ning, I can’t go on just now—I… need to use the restroom…”

He bent over clutching his stomach, his running posture turning pigeon-toed from pain.

Ningzhou’s preferred libero for the match had to withdraw in glory…

Staring in disbelief, Ningzhou watched Ningyang’s retreating back once more.

So much for being in perfect health!

What about the match now!?