12 Wang Chuqin

“Do you have a girlfriend?”
Duan Nanzhou cut straight to the chase with a direct hit. She preferred straightforwardness and disliked beating around the bush to find out things. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have arranged to meet up just to ask about rumors she had heard.

“Huh?” Wang Chuqin was stunned, his mind blank. What was going on? He couldn’t quite process it.

“There are rumors in the team that you have a girlfriend. So, are you dating someone?” Duan Nanzhou asked seriously, locking eyes with Wang Chuqin.

“No, no,” Wang Chuqin hurriedly denied. “Where did you hear that? It’s ridiculous! I’ve been busy training properly all year…”

Though Wang Chuqin had been quietly dealing with his emotions lately, he didn’t want such rumors spreading—it was like salt in his wound.

As he wondered where this absurd news had come from, which had even reached Duan Nanzhou, she spoke again.

“Oh, I see…” Duan Nanzhou stopped focusing on Wang Chuqin and began walking ahead slowly, then dropped another bombshell:

“Then I should be getting a boyfriend soon.”

Wang Chuqin, who had just been following her, was dumbfounded and stopped dead in his tracks. After a few steps, he turned around to find Duan Nanzhou looking back at him with a face full of disbelief and sadness. Her mouth moved silently, as if she was reorganizing her thoughts.

Duan Nanzhou had no choice but to walk back beside him and then heard him ask in a hoarse voice, half to himself, half to her:

“Getting a boyfriend?”

Inwardly, Wang Chuqin’s world was already turned upside down. He never expected that after only half a year of not training together daily as before, he’d be “stolen” like this. He felt utterly foolish.

“Yeah, maybe. It depends on whether he agrees,” Duan Nanzhou added with a smile.

Wang Chuqin, who rarely saw Duan Nanzhou smile like this, felt overwhelmed—tears threatening to drown him, yet he couldn’t show it. He could only ask as a good friend:

“Really?”

At this moment, Wang Chuqin didn’t want to continue the conversation. Though curious about who her boyfriend might be, every word from Duan Nanzhou felt like a knife stabbing his heart. He just wanted to leave and cool off in his room but couldn’t, because of the standards he had set for himself and the habits he’d formed.

“I’m just asking. Do you think he’ll agree?”

“He probably will…”

Facing Duan Nanzhou’s persistent questioning, Wang Chuqin hesitated before saying this. After all, no one could say no to Duan Nanzhou, right? Maybe he just wasn’t the chosen one. But why did she keep pressing? Did she think his heartbreak wasn’t enough?

Wang Chuqin was heartbroken, and Duan Nanzhou, seeing his sorrowful expression, seemed surprised he hadn’t caught on yet. Usually, he was quite sharp. Why hadn’t he understood her meaning by now?

Before Wang Chuqin could say, “Nanzhou, maybe I should go back and rest,” she cut him off:

“Really? So, do I have a boyfriend now, Captain?”

The sudden “Captain” caught Wang Chuqin off guard—his brain felt like it needed a reboot. So she was asking him?

Surprised and overjoyed, Wang Chuqin’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Duan Nanzhou, nervously asking:

“Am I your boyfriend?”

Seeing his hesitant little hands, Duan Nanzhou teased:

“If you agree, then yes. But it seems someone hasn’t agreed yet...”

“I agree! I agree!” Wang Chuqin hurriedly responded before she finished speaking, afraid he’d miss the chance to become her boyfriend.

“Alright then, I do have a boyfriend now, Captain.” Saying this, Duan Nanzhou stepped forward and gently hugged Wang Chuqin. Just as she was about to pull away, he suddenly hugged her back tightly, holding her so firmly she couldn’t move.

After a while, Duan Nanzhou was starting to feel overwhelmed. She signaled for Wang Chuqin to let go, but he was reluctant. When she tried to push him away, she found he was immovable. How had she not realized how small she seemed to him?

“Big Head! It’s time to go! We have training tomorrow!” Duan Nanzhou sternly “ordered,” and under her strong insistence, he reluctantly and unhappily released her.

Only when Duan Nanzhou took his hand again did his lips curl into a smile once more.

On the way back to the dorm, the newly minted boyfriend began to narrate how agonizing the past few days had been and how hurt he was to just hear she had a boyfriend, hoping for comfort and coaxing from his girlfriend.

Duan Nanzhou merely glanced at him with an expression of disbelief. She realized once again how little her boyfriend fussed—already worrying so much before they were even officially together. No wonder he hadn’t come to see her these days.

“Alright, we’re here. Let’s go back,” Duan Nanzhou stopped Wang Chuqin from continuing to chatter and added preemptively, “We’ll see each other tomorrow, so no more of that!”

Wang Chuqin was unhappy at being anticipated. He tried to find a reluctant expression on Nanzhou’s face but saw none. So he slowly and begrudgingly prepared to leave.

After Wang Chuqin returned to the dorm, he replayed the night’s emotional rollercoaster. In the end, only immense excitement remained, and he “tormented” his best friend like crazy again.

Those already deep in slumber muttered: “Crazy! Can someone throw him out? What’s wrong with him?”

Wang Chuqin: “I’m just too excited and happy! I actually have a girlfriend! Nanzhou is actually my girlfriend! And she made the first move!”

Meanwhile, Duan Nanzhou was happy too, but in stark contrast to Wang Chuqin’s wild excitement, she simply went straight to bed, utterly exhausted.

She had sacrificed her usual punctual bedtime just to meet Wang Chuqin and talk. It had been a great strain on her biological clock; tomorrow would be tough to get up.

The next day, Sun Yingsha, also “tormented” in a different way, was about to lose it: “What’s up with Zhouzhou? No matter how much I call, she won’t get up! Keeps whining to sleep in a bit more! Training will start soon—if we’re late, we’ll get scolded!”

With that thought, Sun Yingsha kept trying to wake her good sister, not leaving her alone.

When Duan Nanzhou finally woke up, she thanked her kind-hearted and beautiful friend Yingsha warmly.

...

What was different about their days together? Not much on the surface. The biggest change was the shift in mindset—from secret admiration to being in love.

Because they were both key players from the men’s and women’s national teams, they kept their relationship low-key and avoided making a fuss.

Of course, this was mostly from Duan Nanzhou’s side; compared to before, they were simply more intimate and natural.

But Wang Chuqin was different. He wanted to shout to the world that he was Duan Nanzhou’s boyfriend, though she kept him firmly in check.

Still, Wang Chuqin couldn’t resist holding hands, cuddling, hugging—anything a couple might do. Yet, oddly, he hesitated to take it further to kisses.

Duan Nanzhou found this strange, since Wang Chuqin wasn’t usually “shy.” Was there some unspoken rule forbidding kisses? Or did he expect her to make the first move?

Wang Chuqin shyly admitted: “I’m just a bit scared! But if you take the lead, I’m totally fine with that!”

He couldn’t quite explain his feelings. After all, he’d admired her secretly for so long that being together still felt surreal, like a dream. He was bold enough for the usual touches and hugs, but anything beyond that left him flustered.

As for the rest of the national ping pong team, the first to notice their relationship were Wang Chuqin’s close brothers and Duan Nanzhou’s girlfriends—the “first victims.”

Especially Wang Chuqin’s friends like Lin Gaoyuan, who witnessed his emotional changes and two bouts of craziness, were almost certain he was dating. They just hoped the relationship would be stable, because if anything went wrong and someone got hurt, it would affect them too.

Meanwhile, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu noticed Wang Chuqin’s unusually close behavior with Duan Nanzhou and confirmed their suspicions during late-night chats with the girls’ team. They were so sweet about it that they constantly squealed in delight, becoming front-line witnesses and enthusiastic fans of the couple.

The senior players also sensed the different atmosphere and discreetly asked friends around them. Once confirmed, they too became fans of the couple, always looking at Duan Nanzhou and Wang Chuqin with affectionate smiles.

Duan Nanzhou said: “It’s really strange, especially Xin Ge’s look—so nostalgic, gratified, and gossipy all at once. Then Yan Ge and Bo Ge’s teasing eyes—it’s hard to resist…”

Wang Chuqin: “Awesome! I hope everyone knows we’re together!”

Gossip spread quickly. Before long, the entire national team, coaching staff, and even surrounding staff like team doctors and cafeteria workers knew. The most surprising was that many retired former players had heard too.

For instance, the legendary retired champions Zhang Yining and Wang Nan, who had admired Duan Nanzhou since long ago, occasionally checked in on her through the coaching staff and contact information. They had even come to the national team or other training venues to practice ping pong with her.

After hearing about her relationship, they called to inquire and show concern (and a bit of gossip), promising to practice with the two of them together next time.

So indeed, gossip is an inherent human trait.