Chapter Forty-Nine: The Pressure Is Overwhelming

Dong Yanyan glanced over at the ping-pong table in the main hall. Two boys from the delivery class were playing, with several others lining up to wait their turn. She sighed languidly, “There are so many people. I don’t want to go. Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Come on! We don’t have to wait in line!” Ren Jiaxuan said carelessly, tugging her by the arm with a cheerful smile. The two of them walked up to the ping-pong table. Ren Jiaxuan grinned at the boys playing and said, “Let me play for a bit first!”

The two boys looked at him, handed over their paddles, and stepped aside. Dong Yanyan couldn’t help but despise this blatant display of seniority.

Ren Jiaxuan didn’t care in the least, waving his paddle excitedly. “Come on, I’ll give you a two-point lead!”

“You’ll have to spot me five,” Dong Yanyan replied with a smile. Back then, a game of ping-pong was played to twenty-one points, so her request wasn’t unreasonable.

Ren Jiaxuan agreed readily, smiling broadly. “No problem!”

Dong Yanyan was used to gripping the paddle horizontally. She wasn’t afraid of long or short balls, but if her opponent spun the ball, she could only handle left spins; any other spin would send the ball flying. She’d learned to play ping-pong from Xu Cheng. Though Xu Cheng wasn’t great at basketball, when it came to ping-pong and chess, he was a match for anyone. After they started spending time together, they’d play whenever they had a free moment. Eventually, she could win two out of five games and was so pleased with herself that she signed up for the school’s ping-pong tournament—only to be eliminated before the semifinals. That’s when she realized Xu Cheng had been letting her win all along.

Ren Jiaxuan, on the other hand, was aggressive from the start, leaving her flustered at first. But she was the type who grew stronger when faced with a challenge. After a few rallies, she gradually adapted. Whenever the ball came her way, she would smash it ruthlessly. When serving, she stuck to a pattern of three long and two short serves, varying her strategy. For a while, it seemed they were evenly matched.

“You’re pretty good, kid!” Ren Jiaxuan was getting into the game. When it was his turn to serve, he sent a beautiful right spin straight to her weak spot. She missed and stomped her foot in frustration.

Just as Ren Jiaxuan was feeling pleased with himself, Teacher Liu Qing burst in from outside, bundled up in a thick down jacket and holding a paddle. He spotted the two of them playing and his eyes lit up. “Not many girls can keep up with Ren Jiaxuan—let me play a couple of rounds with her,” he said eagerly.

“Of course, Teacher! I’d be honored to learn from you!” Dong Yanyan replied, raising her paddle with a smile. Everyone at school knew Teacher Liu was a sports fanatic. Whether it was big balls or small, just seeing any game would get him excited. His professional skills were outstanding, and he could have landed a great job anywhere, but after graduation, he cheerfully applied to stay at the school as a PE teacher, just so he could play sports anytime. Teacher Guo had often expressed regret over this wasted talent.

Since she was up against a master, Dong Yanyan didn’t mind losing—she could use the opportunity to practice her forehand and backhand.

Teacher Liu tossed her the ball, letting her serve first. She’d played with him a few times before, so she started with an ultra-short serve that just cleared the net and bounced weakly on the table. Caught off guard, Teacher Liu missed the ball, shook his head, focused, and grinned. “Trying to outsmart me, huh? Come on!” He then served a beautiful long ball, which Dong Yanyan leapt forward to return with a fierce smash. Teacher Liu countered with a chop, and Dong Yanyan managed to block it back by the skin of her teeth.

After several rounds, Teacher Liu saw right through her limited repertoire. Dong Yanyan started getting flustered, missing more and more returns. She had to rely on tricky edge shots or the occasional sharply angled spin serve just to claw back a couple of points.

Ren Jiaxuan watched from the side, thoroughly entertained. He could see she only had a couple of tricks up her sleeve, and when she did win a point or two, it was almost by sheer luck.

Teacher Liu was enjoying himself too. He played two games with her, winning both by a wide margin, leaving Dong Yanyan feeling rather dejected.

“Come on! Let your senior avenge you!” Ren Jiaxuan grabbed her paddle with a determined look.

“You two can play together!” Teacher Liu challenged them arrogantly, pointing at them.

Dong Yanyan was never one to back down from a challenge. She exchanged a glance with Ren Jiaxuan, accepting the invitation.

Teacher Liu was in high spirits, thoroughly enjoying himself. With two opponents, he had to dash left and right, covering the whole court. The three of them played with abandon for a long time. Suddenly Dong Yanyan noticed how quiet it had become around them. Glancing around, she realized everyone else had left. Looking up at the clock above the mirror, her heart sank—it was already more than ten minutes into class, and she hadn’t even heard the bell.

She wiped the sweat from her brow, looking pitifully at Teacher Liu. “Teacher, what do we do? Class has already started!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take you up,” Teacher Liu replied nonchalantly.

*

Teacher Guo was teaching in the classroom when a knock sounded at the door. She called, “Come in,” and the front door opened. Teacher Liu stood in the doorway, flashing a wide grin. “Teacher Guo, I had Dong Yanyan help me with something earlier. I’m bringing her back to you now.”

“All right, hurry and take your seat,” Teacher Guo said casually to Dong Yanyan.

Dong Yanyan dashed back to her seat, found her book, and flipped to the page they were studying that day.

Teacher Liu closed the door and left. Teacher Guo turned to Dong Yanyan and asked, “You went to play ping-pong with Teacher Liu, didn’t you? Lost, I suppose?”

Dong Yanyan nodded with a smile. “Teacher, you’re brilliant.”

Teacher Guo laughed. “I know him well! Back when he was in my class, he’d skip lectures to go play ball. Later, I told him, ‘If you get a perfect score on my final, I won’t care what you do in my class—you can do whatever you want.’ He was so happy, he left hugging a basketball. And sure enough, when the results came out, he’d gotten a perfect score. If any of you can manage that, you can do whatever you want in my class, too.”

Dong Yanyan frowned self-consciously. “Teacher, I feel a lot of pressure. Maybe you should let Song Mingcheng try?”

Song Mingcheng rolled his eyes at her. “You think I don’t feel pressured? Of course I do!”

Teacher Guo smiled kindly. “I can see you’re all a bit sleepy, so I thought I’d share a little story to lighten the mood. Let’s get back to the lesson now.”

*

After class, Teacher Chen came in to announce that the school would be holding a singing competition, and anyone interested should sign up with the arts and entertainment committee member, Yang Lili.

When class ended, several students known for singing well hurried over to register with Yang Lili. Dong Yanyan stayed at her desk, finishing a perspective drawing she hadn’t completed during class.

Teacher Chen came over and tapped her desk. She looked up and smiled at him.

“Dong Yanyan, you sing quite well. Aren’t you going to sign up?” Teacher Chen asked kindly.