The Love Score || Zhuo Zhi

73: You're Not a Burden

I threw the tennis ball and slammed the racket downwards. The ball flew straight into Xing Zi's court just as she dashed up to the front, speedily returning my serve. I stepped to the left and swung the racket again.

Xing Zi isn't a bad tennis player at all, I realised after rallying for a while. I didn't think that Xing Zi was a strong player initially, but the match made me realise that she had a lot more stamina and strength than expected. Never judge one's appearance. The phrase resounded in my head as I gritted my teeth and sprinted up to the ball in hopes to hit it before it bounced a second time. The ball whacked against the racket's strings and I pulled the racket over my shoulder. The ball rebounded and flew over the white border of the net, barely grazing it.

I found our situation amusing in the least. The captains' sisters competing against each other in a tennis match. It was clear how Xing Zi and her brother, Xu Zi Ping, shared the same passion and talent for tennis. But Xing Zi's skills were always overshadowed by her brother. It was a wonder to me how she didn't mind it.

Xing Zi. Zhuo Yu. Even Lu Xia, always under his father's name. The people who have yet to be known for who they are and not from another person's name.

My arm was already beginning to cramp up, and the impact of the ball on my racket caused my grip on the handle to loosen. I returned the ball, with the racket tilted too far back, resulting in a high ball. I spotted a grin forming on Xing Zi's face as she pulled her racket over her shoulder, running backwards and getting ready to take on the ball. I gasped as she leapt into the air and brought her racket down powerfully, letting the ball slam down just in front of the baseline of my court. It happened so quick that I didn't have the chance to comprehend her movements.

"That move looks familiar," I commented. "Qiao Chen's been teaching you his Vertical Smash?"

Xing Zi walked up to the net to pick up a tennis ball that had rolled there from a few rallies before. She clicked her tongue and winked at me, not denying my statement at all. I laughed.

Xing Zi had just straightened up with the ball in her hand when she froze in her tracks, her gaze fixed on something in the distance. I frowned, following her line of sight to see two tall figures, shadowed by the darkness, walking past the courts and towards the forest.

"Can you see them?" I asked Xing Zi, squinting to peer at them.

"No, it's too dark," Xing Zi noted. "We'll go and see who it is."

Racket gripped tightly in my hand, I walked beside Xing Zi towards the two strange silhouettes. Feeling apprehensive, my chest tightened as we approached, our feet barely making any sound as we trod across the courts.

I heard deep masculine voices having a conversation with each other, but they were too far away for me to decipher the words. Xing Zi's shoe brushed against a brown leaf, the crunching sound catching the attention of the two men and making them turn their heads in our direction. Only after their faces were caught under the white light, I could make out their facial features. I let out a nervous breath I hadn't realised I had been holding and loosened my grasp on my racket.

"Tie Nan?" Xing Zi asked, surprised.

"Senior Xing Long?" I questioned, equally as confused.

"Yue En. Xing Zi," Xing Long nodded at the both of us. He smiled awkwardly, looking slightly sheepish to be caught by us. Tie Nan's expression was almost unchanging, with his eyes only flickering from Xing Zi to me.

"It's so late. Where are you two going?" I eyed the rackets that both boys were holding, and their pockets bulging with what looked like tennis balls. "Playing some night tennis?"

"Mhm," Tie Nan answered, nodding.

Xing Zi broke into a small smile. "Ah, would you guys like to practise on the court beside ours? We were just playing tennis, too."

"I didn't know you two were friends," I commented, my finger tracing over the fuzz of a tennis ball in my pocket that I had left in earlier. "Hold on. Why were you two heading--" I held up my racket to point into the direction the two boys had been walking towards. "--into the forest?"

They exchanged an unreadable glance. I frowned, throwing a puzzled look at Xing Zi. 

"No one is supposed to know," Xing Long said after a long pause. "Tie Nan is coaching me privately. And we can't let the teams know that it's happening."

"Why not?" I asked although I had already guessed the answer.

Tie Nan lowered his head to look at the ground for a moment, exhaling. The end of his bandana fell to the left of his neck, just touching his shoulder. He looked up again hesitantly. "The Yu Feng team is not going to be very happy if they know that I'm teaching our potential opponent my special technique."

"The Wave Ball," Xing Zi figured.

"Yes," Tie Nan agreed quietly. "But Xing Long is a good person. I don't mind coaching him."

Xing Long's lips thinned and he nodded determinedly. "I've already lost the previous two matches, so I have to work harder. I can't be any more of a burden to Yu Qing."

His words struck a chord in me and the corners of my mouth upturned. From Si Yang's stories and my own experience, I knew that Xing Long was kindhearted and considerate. He was one of the most sincere people I've met, the gentle giant of Yu Qing. His reassuring smile that never seemed to be wiped away even in the direst of situations. Accounts I had heard from Si Yang were never short of Xing Long diligently working, pushing himself constantly to match up to the team's standards. How can anyone think of him as a burden?

"You're not a burden to the others, Senior Xing Long," I said earnestly. "You're an important part of the Yu Qing team."

Xing Long looked humbly embarrassed to hear my words, his hand rising to scratch the back of his neck. "Ah... thanks, Yue En."

Xing Zi tapped my shoulder. "Let's get back into the building to take a shower; it's getting late," she reminded, then turned to Xing Long and Tie Nan. "Have fun practising, you two."

"Remember not to stay up too late," I added as a friendly reminder, waving at them with my free hand.

"Good night, Yue En, Xing Zi," Xing Long smiled, already advancing away from us.

"Nights," Tie Nan said shortly, then he turned to follow Xing Long down the path. Both their silhouettes grew smaller and dissolved into the shadows of the night, their footsteps echoing.

There's a lot about Xing Long I don't know about. I stretched my neck to look at the stars twinkling in the night sky. My admiration for Xing Long's persistence, his diligence, his never-dying spirit, grew even stronger.

☆ ☆ ☆

Xing Long is one of the most underrated characters in PoT and it's not justified!! He's a filial son, he's kind and considerate, he is willing to work to his limits to not let his team down-- damn, do I need to say more? 😤

And yes, I wrote this short chapter just as a Xing Long appreciation chapter.

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~ Snowy ♡