Faced with Wang Datou's bitter and aggrieved recounting, the other three instantly had no idea what to say.
Finally, Ma Long massaged his temples and spoke with difficulty, "Datou, actually, the idea of you changing partners came from me and Sun Yingsha. I didn't know the two of you would because of this..."
Wang Chuqin waved a hand, his tone calm, "Brother Long, I know the team has its rules. Whoever proposed it doesn't matter; Shasha would have had the same reaction either way. The fault is mine. I shouldn't have been so stubborn. Shasha said I'm immature, and maybe I am."
"Datou, don't you think you rely a bit too much on Sun Yingsha?" Xu Xin cut straight to the point. "That's not good for either you or her. I think Shasha is doing this for your own good."
"You shouldn't pin your future and your life entirely on someone else. It puts too much pressure on her. You need to shake off her influence on you a little bit."
Wang Chuqin continued drinking without committing to an answer. For all these years, they had depended on and supported each other, always acting as each other's backing.
Could it be that relying on someone too much was also a mistake?
Captain Long's thoughts drifted rather far away. He had always thought these two kids were obedient since childhood, and through all these years, no major trouble had ever happened. Even dating had never affected their matches or results. He never imagined they would still end up crashing like this.
He felt that Chairman Liu and the others' past rule prohibiting dating within the team actually made a certain amount of sense. If teammates had a falling out or broke up, it could potentially affect both of their professional careers.
His other brother from the past served as a living warning.
Yet the love between two young people could never be banned; the more it was forbidden, the more fiercely it surged. Block the bridge connecting them, and they would grow intertwined roots from beneath the ground, twisting firmly together. Once they accumulated enough strength, they would burst through the earth overnight, shoving aside all obstacles, braving thorns and thistles, and forging courageously ahead.
As for how it would end—whether it would blossom into lush flowers or wither and decay—they could only rely on their own grasp of fate.
For a little over a month after the young couple had their falling out, Datou had grown reticent, his temper visibly turning volatile.
Throughout that month, he practiced until midnight every day, pushing himself relentlessly. Only his fellow training partners suffered, taking detours whenever they saw him.
A heavy depression hung over the team. The coaches couldn't bear to watch anymore and filed a report with Coach Long, leaving Ma Long with nothing to do but offer a wry smile.
If training and matches had been delayed because of romantic matters, he could have scolded the kid or handed down a direct punishment. But not only had Datou not delayed his training, he hadn't made a single mistake during an important mid-month tournament and had even won the championship.
He truly couldn't be persuaded with kind words, nor could he be awakened with scolding. Ma Long knew the kid wasn't just throwing a tantrum this time; he was genuinely at a loss and truly heartbroken.
And the only person who could cure him was the very source of it all.
The only thing that gave Coach Long a headache and forced him to intervene was that Datou refused to play mixed doubles anymore, even refusing to cooperate with or participate in mixed doubles training.
When the new mixed doubles coach came to find him, reporting that Datou had refused to attend mixed doubles sessions for the past few weeks and wouldn't even comply with the partner assignments the team had arranged for him, hoping he could tactfully persuade Datou, Ma Long realized this matter was far more serious than he had imagined.
Sun Yingsha would become an unhealable knot in Datou's heart. The longer it dragged on, the more dangerous it might become.
Datou was fundamentally a very impulsive, somewhat extreme person who valued relationships deeply. Emotion gave him strength, but it was equally his fatal weakness.
Once he lost the support of his inner emotions, it was like a house losing its foundation. It might still look normal on the surface, but the slightest tremor would instantly cause it to collapse into ruins.
Right now, the string in Datou's heart was snapping at an imperceptible speed. Once it reached the critical moment and his whole spirit withered away, his career might even be cut short prematurely.
Coach Long was deeply worried. Datou wasn't just his player; he was his brother and a younger sibling he had watched grow up since childhood. He didn't want such a promising, talented prospect to be ruined by emotional troubles.
So that afternoon, he called Sun Yingsha to ask about her recovery, expressed his hope that the two of them could clear up the misunderstanding and get back together, and brought up the matter of mixed doubles.
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time. After a good while, the girl's voice finally came through.
"Okay, Brother Long. I'll talk to Datou. Please help look after him a bit more. As for things between him and me... let's just resolve it ourselves."
After hanging up, Ma Long let out a sigh of relief. He knew that Datou would still listen to what Sun Yingsha said.
Then, just a few days later, Datou came over to ask for leave again, saying he wanted to go see Sun Yingsha.
Ma Long had hoped that meeting in person might make things easier to talk through. Who would have thought that after just one day, he would see Datou run back looking utterly dejected, silently practicing until midnight for days on end?
And then, over the past week, he had visibly degenerated into looking like a middle-aged uncle.
Seeing that nothing else was working, Ma Long had organized today's drinking session, hoping the others would give him some good advice. But it seemed even worse than not persuading him at all—the kid looked even more depressed now.