章節 33: ANTI-CLIMACTIC DEBUT

The Chinese pair showed a better performance after the interval of the first game. Some long rallies made the spectators fall silent as they were nervous, and the Chinese pair in the red jersey managed to snatch some points.

Even so, some misunderstandings gave some points away to the Indonesian pair. There were times when they couldn't communicate well, and both of them didn't move to save the shuttlecock because they were waiting for each other to do the task.

Both of them were grumbling angrily when the small object fell helplessly on their defending area. They looked up at each other and shot a dagger toward each other.

In the end, the Chinese pairing lost the first game with the final score of 12-21.

They walked toward their racket bags and immediately moved the bags to another side of the court. Their coach was following behind them.

"You managed to win 8 points after the interval, and that's quite good," Coach Cheng started his speech while the two athletes hungrily gulped their waters from the bottles.

Sweats soaked their red jerseys, and the thin fabric stuck on their skin as if it became one with the skin.

Ye Quan subconsciously lifted the hem of the jersey and wiped his sweaty face with it. The movement automatically showed off his toned abs, and the spectators' screams echoed in the sports hall.

Both Lin Zhu and Coach Cheng turned their heads to Ye Quan and facepalmed. Before long, Lin Zhu's hand moved by itself to pull Ye Quan's jersey down. The spectators' screams died down right after.

"Stop showing off your ugly stomach and focus on the match," the shorter athlete commented.

"Who's showing off?" Ye Quan asked back while raising an eyebrow. "And if my abs were ugly, then the crowds wouldn't scream so loudly like that. You wouldn't bother to cover my asset either."

Lin Zhu's face warmed after hearing Ye Quan's defense. He did it without realizing it, and now he felt embarrassed because of Ye Quan's confident statement.

The coach could only shake his head in disbelief. "Let's focus on the match again," he decided to butt in. "The main problem between you two is that you two can't understand each other well. Try to understand each other better and use the same strategy as in the first game earlier. I know you can do better with more understanding."

Lin Zhu and Ye Quan glanced at each other. How could they build up the understanding in such a short period?

Even though both athletes couldn't comprehend the coach's instruction really well, they just nodded their heads to make it short.

The umpire once again announced the remaining 20 seconds, and Coach Cheng immediately left the athletes to go back to his seat. Meanwhile, both Lin Zhu and Ye Quan started entering the court again.

The second game officially began. The shuttlecock was in Leo Christian's hand, and he served Ye Quan. The mighty flick service made a comeback, and Ye Quan almost lost the ball if he couldn't react quickly.

The second game, unexpectedly, was fully under the Indonesian pair's control. It seemed that they were just playing around in the first game, and they were only serious in the second game. It seemed they couldn't wait for a win in the second game.

Both Leo Christian and Anton Kusuma played offensively. They looked like two bulls with full energy, and they didn't look exhausted at all. On the contrary, Lin Zhu and Ye Quan looked exhausted by the neverending attacks.

Even Lin Zhu fell on the ground several times, but he could get up immediately. Even so, both he and Ye Quan looked like they had no energy anymore. In addition, the pairing was still troubled by the same issue; they still couldn't understand each other.

The second game, unexpectedly, ended very fast. The Indonesian pair only needed 14 minutes before they could claim the victory.

Ye Quan squatted down in the court while Lin Zhu bowed his head in embarrassment. Their debut was anti-climactic. Even though both of them didn't have high hope, they were still disappointed in the loss.

Lin Zhu and Ye Quan could only straighten their body to congratulate the winner. Both Indonesian players had a good attitude, and they appreciated the Chinese pair with a "Great debut!" encouragement.

That was probably just empty words for pleasantry, but both Lin Zhu and Ye Quan smiled upon hearing the praise.

After they shook hands with the umpire, they went back to their bags and were getting ready to leave the court. After they finished packing up their belongings, they walked toward the coach who had been waiting for them.

"It's okay. I can see your improvement in this match, and it's okay even if you two couldn't win the match."

"That's not only some words to comfort us, right, Coach?" Lin Zhu asked the coach after sighing heavily.

He could hear the coach laughing upon hearing his question. "I don't think you two played badly today, but there will be a team evaluation once we go back to China. You two better get ready for it."

They were walking toward the changing room, and Lin Zhu was glancing around the sports hall. He then noticed that Zhao Jia, with her new partner, was now playing against the Indian pairing.

He then turned his head toward Ye Quan, and he could see the taller man smiling proudly in the beautiful girl's direction. It seemed that Zhao Jia and her partner would win the match, and Ye Quan looked so proud of it.

It made Lin Zhu's mood turn even more bitter.

He wanted to go back to his country as soon as possible. Maybe he could practice more afterward.

"Can I go back to China first, Coach? I will use my money to buy the plane ticket for myself. There's no need to wait for the tournament until the end, right?" He finally questioned the coach.