At 8:00 PM, at Captain Long's home.
Well over half of the food on the dining table remained untouched, surrounded by quite a few empty beer cans.
A pair of slender, fair hands "pop"ped open a fresh can once again, tilting it back for a long, heavy gulp.
Ma Long simply couldn't bear to watch any longer. He glanced sideways at Xu Xin sitting across from him, the look clearly saying: Aren't you going to say something? Did I invite you over just to freeload?
Xu Xin smiled, cracked open a can of his own, and patted Datou on the shoulder. "Come on, don't drink all by yourself. Let's clink cans."
Hearing just the "Come on," Datou tilted his head back and poured the rest of his can straight down his throat. Seeing this, Lin Gaoyuan couldn't help shaking his head.
Originally, Captain Long had called Xu Xin over to get him to talk some sense into Datou, seeing as Xu Xin had also gone through a childhood-sweetheart romance himself. But after thinking it over, Xu Xin figured the younger generation might have different views on relationships, so he had also called Lin Gaoyuan along.
Besides, Gaoyuan's girlfriend was Manyu, who wasn't only Shasha's best friend but had also grown up alongside the two of them, meaning he bound to know more than anyone else.
Yet after the two arrived, Datou hadn't given either of them a single opening, just sitting there drinking in silence without picking up on a single topic.
The four of them hadn't finished even a few dishes, but an entire crate of beer was nearly gone. Fortunately, knowing Datou's poor tolerance for alcohol, Captain Long had made sure the beer he prepared was low in alcohol content. By the end, everyone was still reasonably sober—just reaching the point where a real conversation could finally begin.
"Datou, what on earth is going on between you and Shasha to make things end up like this? Didn't you accompany her abroad for surgery just two months ago? How did you manage to fall out the moment you got back?" Xu Xin rattled the beer in his hand and asked slowly.
"I don't know either. During that week in Country A, Shasha's mood was actually pretty good. The surgery was successful too; the doctor said that although her right shoulder and wrist injuries were severe, with proper care she could gradually recover as long as she didn't rush it."
"We were still doing great back then. Every day I accompanied her to sunbathe and go for walks, with no one to disturb us. I even felt like it was the best week we'd ever spent..." As Wang Chuqin spoke, his voice gradually trailed off.
"When you were sent to accompany Sun Yingsha abroad for treatment, it was so she could focus on her recovery. How on earth did things turn into a mess like this?" Captain Long frowned in bewilderment.
"Later on, wasn't there the WTT Hangzhou Challenger? Figuring it wasn't a major tournament, I wanted to withdraw so I could stay behind and take care of her. Shasha wouldn't allow it; she insisted I come back and play. But when I won the championship at that stop and went back to find her, her attitude suddenly changed," Wang Chuqin continued, looking deeply aggrieved.
Listening from the side, Ma Long felt a mix of exasperation and speechlessness. This kid was talking about withdrawing from the German Open next month as well—winning an Olympic gold really had him floating on air. He wasn't even a Grand Slam champion yet, and he was already taking things this casually. It was truly giving him a headache.
"Did you say something to provoke her? Or did you end up in some fresh gossip scandal that upset her? I seem to remember your name was showing up on the trending searches quite a lot during that period..." Lin Gaoyuan chimed in from the side.
Wang Chuqin widened his eyes and glared at his mop-headed brother. "What could I possibly have said to provoke her? You have no idea how I talk to her—it's always her provoking me."
"Can I control trending searches? Those people online are all out of their minds, absolute haters of every stripe. I made a pact with Shasha a long time ago to ignore whatever nonsense people spin online, as long as the two of us know the truth." After delivering this long speech, Wang Chuqin took another aggrieved, hefty swig of beer.
"Actually... something did happen. When I finished my matches and went to see Shasha, she didn't look very happy. I asked her about it, but she wouldn't say anything, only that she was a bit homesick. I originally wanted to stay there indefinitely to accompany her through her recovery. But one day, out of the blue, she asked me: 'If I never get better like this, or if it takes one or two years to recover, what will you do?'" Pausing to catch his breath, he thought for a moment and went on.
"I told her I would always stay with her, that she would definitely get better, and that the doctor said her recovery was going very well. She got a bit emotional and kept pressing me: 'What if my wrist is truly ruined and I can never play table tennis again—what will you do then?' I told her that if she could never play again, then I wouldn't play either. I would stay by her side forever because I couldn't bear to watch her suffer all alone. Even if we don't play table tennis, we could do something else, and we'd definitely make a success of it. In short, no matter what, the two of us would face it together."
Wang Chuqin spoke in fits and starts. Ma Long and Xu Xin exchanged a glance, both faces filled with utter helplessness.
They knew this kid was a hopeless romantic, but they never imagined his brain was fried to this extent. For Sun Yingsha's sake, he was ready to give up table tennis altogether.
He was still in his ascending phase; the banner of the Chinese National Table Tennis Team Men's Team currently rested squarely on his shoulders. He hadn't won a Grand Slam yet, nor had he reached his peak, yet at a few words from his girlfriend, he was prepared to toss every responsibility and career aside.