Love is as simple as badminton.

Chapter 18 Junior, lead the way!

After that, Xu Yue and Jian Yueying left first.

Lin Xiang stayed behind to complete his training – today his training mainly focused on practicing push and flick shots.

The push shot is considered a golden technique on par with the high clear. A certain legendary GOAT surnamed Lin was most satisfied with his push-flick technique.

A well-executed push and flick can quickly create space for the opponent, leaving them with insufficient space to hit the ball and little time to react, thus reducing the quality of their next shot and accumulating a winning advantage over multiple rallies.

However, this requires extremely high speed and arc in the ball's trajectory.

If the arc is too high and the speed is too slow, the opponent will have plenty of time to return the ball.

If the arc is too flat and the speed is too fast, there is a risk that the opponent will intercept and counterattack directly, or the ball will go out of bounds.

Only by finding that perfect point, so that the opponent can't block it, can the push and flick be effective.

The reason why Old Man Lin was able to continue fighting even in his thirties was because of his masterful pushing and shoving technique.

This requires someone to feed the ball so that they can practice.

Lin Xiang hadn't expected to be able to practice right now, but after his senior heard about it, she volunteered to feed him the balls and even brought out boxes of training balls from the warehouse, allowing him to "return to work" ahead of schedule.

"Snap"

Lin Xiang flicked his wrist, and the shaft of his racket bent and deformed in an instant.

The shuttlecock flew smoothly from the racket, graceful as a dragon, and landed precisely on the baseline corner of the backhand side of the opposite court.

Shi Yuqi watched the graceful trajectory pass her by until the ball's head touched the ground, then gave Lin Xiang a thumbs up.

"Within the zone!"

Lin Xiang nodded, put down his racket. This was the last ball of the day, and with that, all training was over.

"Thank you so much, senior, for feeding me the balls for so long."

"It's not hard work~ You're the one who feeds me shuttlecocks all the time! Besides, you're now a member of the Badminton Association, so it's only natural for me, as the vice president, to help you."

The two of them worked together to tidy up the balls on the ground, string them up, and put them back in the box.

Da Xiong meowed as he passed by, and seeing that they were busy, he casually picked up a few balls that were far from the field and had gone out of bounds.

Seeing some broken, rotten balls, Nobita simply picked them up and put them into the winnowing basket.

Kittens really go to great lengths to help humans.

Then, she was carried back to the front desk by the student on duty...

"Meow!"

"There are a lot of students playing ball today. Okay, I'll let you come play another day."

"Meow meow!!"

"Is it okay if I feed you cod-flavored cat treats?"

"Meow...meow."

Lin Xiang and Shi Yuqi watched as the kitten protested as it was taken away, a hint of amusement in their eyes.

After everything was packed up, the two left the stadium side by side in the gentle evening breeze.

With less than a month to go before the Badminton Association Freshmen Cup, everything is proceeding smoothly.

"Want to eat, junior?"

"eat."

"Do I need a guide?"

Shi Yuqi turned her head to the side, her eyes reflecting the colors of the stars.

"...I know the way."

Lin Xiang hesitated, but then stopped himself. He had been at the school for a week, and even someone with a terrible sense of direction would know his way around by now.

"Then please lead the way, junior!"

"Um."

……

Two minutes later, Lin Xiang stared wide-eyed at the sign that read "Construction ahead, no passage" posted on the blue corrugated iron wall blocking the road.

This thing didn't even exist when he came!

Is this the efficiency of a construction powerhouse?

"Junior, how did you end up in a dead end?"

"..."

Lin Xiang felt that his senior was doing it on purpose! She must have known something beforehand, but she just didn't tell him, and got lost while trying to see him.

"It's okay, you can walk this way too."

Lin Xiang turned off the navigation app that was still reminding him to move forward, and turned to walk in the opposite direction.

As we all know, the Earth is round, and you can reach the south by walking north.

The campus is also round; as long as you walk far enough in the opposite direction, you can circle around to the correct destination.

However, he hadn't taken two steps when Shi Yuqi grabbed his golf bag. Turning her head, the girl covered her mouth and laughed brightly.

"Just kidding! You're really, really... haha."

"Then how do we get there?"

"Follow me!"

Shi Yuqi took a single step and leaped into the grove of trees by the roadside.

Lin Xiang was momentarily stunned by her actions and quickly followed.

As a truly excellent student, and more importantly, as someone with a terrible sense of direction, Lin Xiang had never ventured outside of designated roads before. Now, as he jogged alongside the girl through the dense forest, he felt a bit nervous, as if he were entering a forbidden zone.

The trees on both sides rushed towards me and then flew by, and the dynamic darkness flowed around me, as if I were traveling through a time tunnel.

Soon, a warm light appeared in front of my eyes, magnified, and magnified again—

Until one moment, the trees and darkness disappeared, the light suddenly shone through, and the bustling campus streets appeared before us.

They rushed out of the woods.

"We're here!"

Just as Lin Xiang was in a daze, Shi Yuqi's voice pulled him back to reality.

"Senior, this is a bit dangerous."

Coming to his senses, Lin Xiang gave a serious reminder.

"The terrain in the woods is complex, and it's easy to fall or sprain your ankle if you run too fast."

"It's alright, isn't it? I've walked this road many times."

"It's better to be careful."

"I'll be slower next time! Thanks for your concern, junior~"

"..."

Lin Xiang actually wanted to say that it would be better not to go through this kind of place; it wasn't a matter of whether it was slow or not.

However, this time she took a shortcut because of construction, so it seems understandable... Oh well, let her be this time.

Where does Xiaoxiang usually eat?

"The second floor, the pounded pepper rice is pretty good."

"That restaurant is really good, but there aren't enough windows on the second floor. Let me show you around the first floor today!"

"OK."

Apart from a few stalls set up by the school's logistics department, most of the cafeteria on the first floor is run by privately contracted shops. There are both pleasant surprises and potential pitfalls here; freshmen can easily make a mistake if they're not careful.

So since the start of the semester, Lin Xiang has basically been eating on the second floor. Although there are fewer dishes, he can't go wrong with them.

Blindly trying something new could lead to food poisoning or diarrhea, which could negatively impact training the next day – a net loss.

This is where the importance of "new user guidance" becomes apparent.

"This fried rice place is the last to close. Everyone else gets off work at 7:30, but they stay open until 9:30. We often come here to eat after our evening classes. You can tell how good it is."

"This clam rice noodle soup is pretty good. The portion is a bit small, but the taste is excellent. It's worth trying once in a while."

"Beware of this restaurant in Northeast China! They're charging the price of a meat dish for stir-fried green peppers and eggs! It's outrageous!"

The senior student extended the Great Wilderness Imprisoning Heaven Finger, beginning the King of Hell's roll call.

"..."

Lin Xiang was amazed to find that he had actually memorized them all. He had always thought his memory talent was only limited to badminton.

"That's about it. What would you like to eat?"

Shi Yuqi tilted her head back and blinked her bright peach blossom eyes gently.

"Choose whatever you like~ To thank Coach Lin for guiding me to victory, it's my treat tonight!"

"Then let's have fried rice with eggs."

Lin Xiang felt embarrassed to order anything too expensive, since it was his senior's treat.

Moreover, fried rice is a relatively safe food because it's hard to make it taste terribly, while other foods have a wider range of acceptable levels of quality.

"Sister Hui~ Two servings of fried rice!"

The girl walked to the window and handed the card to the young woman holding the baby with practiced ease.

"Qiqi is here."

The auntie smiled and raised her eyebrows at Lin Xiang from afar.

"That guy is really handsome! Kiki, are you finally thinking of dating?"

"I just brought my junior teammate out for a meal. He's also my coach, and he's incredibly skilled at both playing and coaching!"

Shi Yuqi smoothly switched between dialects to communicate with her aunt.

Lin Xiang, standing behind, remained expressionless.

Although he didn't understand Cantonese, he could roughly understand what they were talking about from the few words they used.

Indeed, this world is a vast Xu Yue.

Let outsiders say what they want; he is innocent and has a clear conscience, and I believe his senior feels the same way.

These ordinary people wouldn't understand the bonds between badminton players.

Soon, dry rice replaced thinking—

Five minutes later, two plates of freshly fried rice, brimming with the aroma of a wok, were served.

It has to be said that the ingredients were really generous! Lin Xiang didn't expect that he could eat until he was 70% full, no wonder his senior recommended it.

"By the way, Xiao Xiang, didn't you ask me about social practice last time? I looked into it for you, and it seems there are quite a few suitable clubs. However, they vary in style and difficulty."

Shi Yuqi put down her cutlery. "How about I tell you about them all, and you choose the one you want to participate in, then I'll help you make the arrangements?"

"I……"

Just as Lin Xiang was about to agree, he saw a new message in the dormitory group chat.

Zhao Hao said he found a sophomore who is in charge of a club and is willing to consider taking them in, but they need to meet and talk about it after the start of the semester.

After thinking it over, Lin Xiang decided that since Zhao Hao already had connections, it would be better not to bother his senior sister any further.

"Thank you, senior. My roommate said they already have a solution, so I won't bother you."

"Oh, that's great! Feel free to contact me anytime if you have any further questions!"

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