Shasha said nothing, but glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Wang Chuqin immediately caught that look.
"Babe." Reflexively, he reached out to catch her hand, wanting to pull her into his arms just like before and rub her face.
The girl turned away to dodge his movement. "Wang Chuqin, stay away from me." Her words carried a hint of chill.
She couldn't let this continue. She knew they had already broken up, and being this intimate again was wrong. Last night's dizzying passion had been an accident; she had missed him too much, causing her to lose a bit of reason. If they wanted what was best for each other and considered their future prospects, it was better to spend some time apart.
"Babe..." Wang Chuqin straightened up slightly, looking aggrieved, like a scolded Samoyed. He sighed inwardly. When Shasha called him by his full name, it meant things were serious. He had better act proper, be a good boy, and stop provoking her.
Just before coming over this morning, he had spoken with Shasha's attending physician. Shasha's injury was indeed more serious than imagined, but it hadn't reached the worst-case scenario. More important than her physical condition was her psychological state.
She was too anxious, treating her rehabilitation routine almost like standard training, and even asking if she could add a few more sets of rehabilitation exercises every day. Her body needed rest and relaxation, waiting for time to heal it gradually, yet her tense brain kept every inch of her muscles in a state of strain, which was why her recovery progress was so slow.
With her recovery being less than ideal, Shasha grew even more anxious, and everything spiraled into a vicious cycle.
After understanding the situation, Wang Chuqin had also contacted the sports rehabilitation expert introduced by Ma Long. The expert stated that if they needed help, they would be more than happy to oblige and could arrange a meeting first to formulate a suitable plan tailored to her specific situation. What remained now was getting Shasha's consent and untangling some of her emotional knots.
He couldn't push her too hard. Right now, she was like a little snail that had been hurt and only wanted to retreat into its shell. The harder he pushed, the more irritable she might become. Thinking of this, Wang Chuqin shifted and sat down on the chair by the bedside.
"Shasha, I've already told Brother Long that I'll participate normally in the German Open next month. After that, I'll go to Zhuhai for the closed training camp to prepare for the World Table Tennis Championships next March. I'll attend all the mixed doubles training sessions, and as for the partner, I'll leave the coaching staff to arrange it." Wang Chuqin's voice was low and calm. His eyes fixed on the girl as he spoke, and finally, he reached out his right hand to gently tug at her little finger.
The girl's hand was soft, her skin as delicate as silk, with a tender and resilient touch. Seeing that she didn't resist, Wang Chuqin fumbled back and forth until he had her entire little hand clasped in his own.
"I'll listen to you. I won't give up playing, and I won't give up our promise. I know you're doing this for my own good, and I won't be so impulsive in the future."
"Brother Tou, do you like playing table tennis?" The girl finally turned to look him straight in the eye, her tone very serious.
Wang Chuqin thought for a moment and answered earnestly, "It's all right. I've been playing since I was a kid, so I'm used to it."
Compared to table tennis, he actually liked playing billiards and basketball, occasionally went to play football, and was also quite interested in tennis. Table tennis was just something he happened to be better at. Rather than liking the sport itself, he felt he enjoyed the feeling of winning even more.
The girl shook her head. "No, you love it."
When Wang Chuqin played table tennis, he was extremely happy and thoroughly enjoyed it, seemingly pouring his body and soul into every single ball. Even when he played casual matches for fun with Xiao Mo, Xiao Lin, and the others, he was entirely focused; she had seen his bold and uninhibited smiles, and his dashing, carefree figure. From the perspective of an onlooker, she could feel his pure, inner passion for this little white ball.
If he stopped playing, he would lose his happiness. Then there was his dream: ever since he was a youth, he had wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with his idol, Ma Long, become a Grand Slam champion, and turn into a left-handed table tennis player who would forge history. Could such a dream be shattered because of her? Absolutely not!
"Brother Tou, I will always support you, no matter in what capacity." The girl's big eyes shone brightly. "You're too used to playing table tennis with me. Our relationship has become an obstacle to your game."
"No, Shasha, I..." Wang Chuqin hurriedly tried to argue. Shasha was his pillar of support; how could she possibly be an obstacle?
"Brother Tou, listen to me first. Remember back in May this year, at the Budapest Champions? In the second game, we were leading 8:3, and then I accidentally bumped into the table and scraped a bit of skin. You immediately called a medical timeout."
Wang Chuqin certainly remembered. At that time, the opponent had executed a high lob, and Shasha wanted to take a giant step forward and use a whipping stroke to counterattack at the peak of the bounce, but she accidentally bumped into the corner of the table edge, scraping her knee until it bled. He had called a medical timeout right away. Shasha insisted it was nothing, just a bump, and after the team doctor performed a simple treatment, they continued the match.
Yet after winning the second game, he saw blood seeping through Shasha's leg again. He wanted to call a timeout, but Shasha refused, insisting on finishing the match. With no other choice, he tried his best to score off serves or finish points within the first three shots to minimize Shasha's running. But their opponents clearly noticed their strategy and Shasha's leg injury, targeting her backhand even more and slicing deep angles to her side.
By the end of the fifth game, the score was tied 3:2, and they were leading by just a single point. Shasha's leg was already acting a bit abnormal. Before the start of the sixth game, he urged Shasha to forfeit the match, or call another medical timeout, and the coach also said it was fine since their health came first. But Shasha was stubborn; she insisted on continuing.
In the end, despite giving it everything they had, they still lost 3:4. Walking off the court, he practically half-carried Shasha into the medical room. The blood on Shasha's leg stained his own trousers—a shocking sight. The team doctor said it was quite serious and required proper rest and recuperation.
That was the last time he and Shasha played mixed doubles in competition. Afterward, Shasha's injuries grew increasingly severe, until September when she had no choice but to undergo surgery and suspend all training and matches.
He had never understood before why Shasha had to push herself so hard. Was any match important enough to outweigh her health? They were athletes, and the body was the foundation of everything else. It was just a match; if they lost this time, they could simply win it back the next.
"That match might have been the last time we could ever play together... I wanted so badly for us to win. But in those final games, you kept staring at my knee and couldn't focus on the game at all. You cared more about my body and my emotions than about winning." The girl sighed, her large eyes still fixed on the man, and continued, "Yet, I don't want you to lose. And I certainly don't want you to lose because of me."
Shasha thought to herself: *I only want you to keep on winning. Even if I can't play anymore, you have to carry my share and keep on winning!*
Wang Chuqin bit his lip. Now he understood. Shasha had actually been unable to play back then, but she had kept it hidden from him.
Pausing for a moment, Shasha continued, "Later on, because of my leg, shoulder, and wrist issues, I had to miss some tournaments and couldn't even go to the venue. Your emotions would fluctuate wildly whenever you played; you'd be casual and impatient, and you wouldn't listen to anything the coaches said. On top of that, you stopped participating in mixed doubles altogether, causing your mixed doubles ranking to drop to fourth place."
Shasha was furious. Although Wang Chuqin's singles ranking this year still managed to hold onto the world number one spot, the gap between him and the second-place player had become very small. It was nothing like her; before she had to withdraw due to injury and suspend her competition, her world number one ranking had maintained a huge lead.
Yet she couldn't scold him, because she herself was the biggest part of the reason.