Chapter 64

Wang Datou's defeat in the men's singles at the hands of Fan Zhendong was a bitter pill to swallow, but the mixed doubles campaign had been running smoothly enough. Although it was his first time pairing up with Manyu, their playing styles were quite similar. Both were aggressive, all-out attackers, which made it much easier to understand and execute each other's tactics. They had swept past the Slovakian pair Pistej and Balazova, followed by Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong, finally meeting their teammates in the finals. While this all-Chinese final gave the audience back home peace of mind, the four players on the court were all a mess of frayed nerves. It wasn't the first time Wang Chuqin had seen Shasha standing on the opposite side of the net; they had practiced against each other countless times before. But this was the first time she was standing over there with someone else, playing against *him*. Anger and heartbreak warred within him, gnawing at the fragile walls of his adolescent heart. In that unstable emotional state, he felt completely sapped of strength even before the match had officially begun.