Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 19 Brother-in-law (4.7K)

After one round of the carousel ended, Gu Cheng got off, but Xia Zhitong ran to queue up again. Even though there were no children her age, she still had a great time, and her usually cold face was occasionally graced with a smile as bright as a blooming flower.

Logically speaking, Xia Zhitong's family is so wealthy that she shouldn't be interested in a carousel, but the current situation is contrary to reality.

Perhaps she wasn't happy!

But this shouldn't be the case.

Judging from Xia Mingxuan's situation, there shouldn't be any dramatic events in her family. Any father would probably cherish such a beautiful daughter.

On the contrary, Xia Mingxuan should be the unhappy one.

A well-behaved and beautiful daughter, and a mischievous and naughty son—it's easy to see who has the harder time at home.

There must be something I don't know about this...

Gu Cheng wasn't sure if his guess was right, but there was one thing he felt he was pretty much right about.

The aloof academic genius girl in the eyes of Li Yang and his students, while indeed somewhat cold, is probably more... socially awkward!

So she has never had many friends or a social life. This situation didn't develop overnight; over time, she became perceived as aloof by her peers.

Gu Cheng never expected that his soul, which was in its thirties, would be interested in such a young girl. However, Xia Zhitong was indeed more attractive than the average girl. Her lively expression and warm smile seemed to have a magical power, making the surrounding air feel relaxed and pleasant.

But he soon realized that his feelings were not just due to the girl's appearance, but more so to the unique quality she exuded—innocence.

It's so pure that you can't take your eyes off it.

Gu Cheng took out his phone and took a picture of her. At first, the girl turned her face away with a slightly haughty expression, but when the carousel came back to Gu Cheng, she made a clumsy peace sign with both hands.

At that moment, it was as if time itself stood still for her.

Gu Cheng looked down at the photo. Xia Zhitong's eyes shone with a pure light. Even though mobile phone photography in this era was far inferior to that of later generations, the girl's beauty was still stunning.

Just then, my phone suddenly received a message.

Gu Cheng glanced at it; it was sent by Xia Mingxuan.

"Brother-in-law."

He opened it and took a look; the first two words almost made Gu Cheng's face turn black.

"You're really something. It's already late and my sister still hasn't come back. My dad thought she might have been kidnapped and almost called the police. Luckily, I came back early and told him that my sister had made plans to go out with friends, so he didn't call the police."

"But don't worry, my dad didn't ask if his friend was male or female. He was very happy, even happier than me. My father even had two drinks with dinner tonight."

"My sister is such a worry."

Gu Cheng's face was even darker than before. If he wasn't mistaken, Xia Mingxuan should only be around nine years old, like a third or fourth grader, but he spoke more maturely than an adult.

Judging from the chat content alone, someone who didn't know better would think they were talking to the same adult.

Gu Cheng initially didn't want to pay attention to the kid, but he still replied, "Don't shout like that, I'm still young."

"I see."

Gu Cheng was about to put his phone away when Xia Mingxuan sent another message: "Brother-in-law, when are you going to teach me how to play the topspin serve? I've signed up for the U12 competition, and I'm hoping to win the championship with my topspin serve. If not, at least I'll be in the top three!"

"Find a court," Gu Cheng typed in reply.

"Is my place okay?"

Gu Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll take your sister home in a bit and tell you the key points. The most important thing about this is that you have to practice a lot."

"Brother-in-law, I'll wait for you."

"I'll wait no matter how late it is."

Gu Cheng didn't reply to him. When the music stopped, he looked up and saw the girl standing in line behind a mother and daughter.

There are still a lot of people in Romon at night, especially since the annual pass system is in place. Many residents in the neighborhood get one, especially those with children, who come in to visit whenever they have a spare moment. Therefore, there are more people at night than during the day.

However, while there are many things suitable for children to play here, many of them, except for the carousel, have age restrictions.

As a result, there are a lot of people queuing up to ride the carousel at night, and most of them are little girls.

The girl who was queuing to go in was about to choose the nearest orange deer with white spots when she turned her head and saw Gu Cheng.

“Let’s play together.” Xia Zhitong patted another pony next to her.

Just then, the cell phone rang.

It was Li Yang who called.

Gu Cheng pointed to his phone: "My classmate called, I'm going to answer the phone. Don't wander off, just wait for me here when you're done playing."

Seeing Xia Zhitong nod, Gu Cheng found a relatively quiet place and called back.

"what?"

"Acheng, why aren't you answering the phone... Wait, why is it so noisy on your end?"

"I've come to Romon."

"Damn it, you didn't invite me to go to Romon?"

"Do you have money?"

Li Yang: "..."

The tickets for Romon are very expensive, costing two or three hundred yuan each time. If you don't ask your parents for money, it's impossible for an average student to come.

Li Yang's family is not well-off, and he usually spends all his pocket money on internet cafes. If he were really invited to come, Gu Cheng would probably be the one to pay.

Gu Cheng didn't care about treating people to meals, but who would bring a third wheel when taking a girl out?
"Let's get down to business."

Gu Cheng wouldn't indulge him.

"Nothing important, just asking if you're free tomorrow, want to play some games. I practiced the new hero all day, I'm awesome now, you can just sit back and win."

"You really enjoy playing video games."

"What else can we do? We don't have the talent for studying, but we can't be bad at playing too, right?"

"Are you sure you just want to play games with me?" Gu Cheng wasn't sure why Li Yang wanted to see him, but if it was just about playing games, the guy would at most ask on QQ, "Come if you want, don't come," and would definitely not call him.

Sure enough, the next moment Li Yang gave an awkward laugh: "I still can't hide it from you."

"Can you lend me some money, bro? I spent all my money for food next week in one day, and I don't have a penny in my pocket now. Don't lend me any, or I'll be eating dirt next week."

Gu Cheng rolled his eyes and knew that this guy was up to no good. Fortunately, it was just a loan, so he didn't refuse. Instead, he cursed him as an idiot, gave him the money on Monday, and then hung up.

Before hanging up, Li Yang smiled and said, "Thank you, Dad. Acheng, you are my real dad."

……

As Gu Cheng was about to hail a taxi after leaving Luo Meng, Xia Zhitong suddenly pointed to a bus stop not far away, where a double-decker bus, route 666, was slowly driving by.

"Sit there."

Gu Cheng only glanced at it before the memories of his dead came rushing back.

The No. 666 double-decker bus has always been a symbol of Ningbo's public transportation. Many people who come to the city for the first time will come here to sit on the second floor and enjoy the scenery along the way, from the starting station to the last station.

The only regrettable thing is that the 666 double-decker bus route was discontinued in 19.

Gu Cheng had no objection, but Xia Mingxuan would probably have to wait a while longer.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, another No. 666 bus arrived. At this time, there were not many people on the No. 666 bus. When Gu Cheng and Xia Zhitong got on, there were not many people on the first floor.

The two were about to go up to the second floor when the driver stopped them. For safety reasons, drivers generally don't allow passengers to go up to the second floor when there are few people on the first floor.

But this didn't stump Gu Cheng. He first asked Xia Zhitong to find him a seat, then went to the driver's side and poured out his grievances, acting like a monk chanting sutras. Finally, the driver couldn't stand it anymore and agreed to let the two of them sit down, but he still reminded them to be careful and not to wander off.

Gu Cheng readily agreed and, amidst the astonished gazes of the others, led Xia Zhitong up to the second floor.

Compared to the first floor, the second floor offers a much better view. Although the city streets are the same, the scenery is different.

The bus moved slowly, and Gu Cheng, riding the No. 666 bus for the first time, was quite moved.

After a while, when the vehicle stopped at one of the stations, Xia Zhitong suddenly turned her head and pointed at the plastic bag in Gu Cheng's hand.

Gu Cheng paused for a moment, then refused the willful girl: "No, you've already drunk three bottles. If you're thirsty, drink mineral water."

Just talking made Gu Cheng almost cry. He had only bought two bottles of mineral water because Xia Zhitong wanted to drink AD calcium milk, and he had almost finished them all in one day. The only bottle of mineral water in the plastic bag was the one he had drunk from.

Fortunately, Xia Zhitong didn't insist. She nodded after a moment, then stared at the bottle of mineral water and licked her pink lips.

"I've had it before, I'll buy you some more at the next stop."

"fine."

"????"

"You can't drink what others have drunk, it's too dirty!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Cheng wanted to slap himself. Was he dirty? Besides, no one had said anything, so why was he, a grown man, being so coy?

After cursing himself inwardly, Gu Cheng handed the half-empty bottle of water to Xia Zhitong without a second thought.

Without hesitation, Xia Zhitong tilted her head back, revealing her fair neck, and took small sips of the drink.

After finishing the water, she seemed to have no intention of returning it to Gu Cheng. Holding the water bottle in both hands, she glanced out the window with a cold gaze.

Half an hour later, we took another bus and walked about 500 meters before finally arriving at Donghu Villa.

The villas by the lake are much cooler at night than in the city. Taking a deep breath, you can feel not only a richer supply of oxygen, but also the smell of money.

This place is incredibly valuable; a villa here costs at least tens of millions, and larger ones could even reach nine figures.

When the two arrived at the door, Xia Mingxuan had been waiting for a long time. He immediately pulled Gu Cheng towards the court, and before leaving, he threw a sentence to Xia Zhitong: "Sister, brother-in-law..."

Gu Cheng: "???"

Xia Mingxuan quickly changed his mind: "Brother Cheng, can I borrow you for a while?"

Gu Cheng shook his head helplessly, but he didn't refuse, after all, it was something he had promised before.

After spending about half an hour explaining some key points of the topspin serve to Xia Mingxuan, Gu Cheng left him on the court to practice on his own.

"You have a good foundation. With some practice, you should be able to hit an outside spin serve. However, it might be a bit difficult to hit an outside spin serve similar to mine."

Xia Mingxuan raised his head: "That's right. I started playing tennis when I was three years old. When I was five, my dad hired a professional coach for me. I've been learning tennis for five or six years. If I didn't have any foundation, wouldn't all my learning have been in vain?"

He picked up a racket at three and started professional training at five. All I can say is that the money is really involved.

Leaving aside the cost of building a dedicated sports field in a villa area, which is a one-time investment and doesn't cost much, hiring professional coaches year-round is a considerable expense, much more than many families' total expenses for a month or even several months.

Tennis is a sport that is not something that ordinary families can afford to play.

Of course, if you're just playing around, it's fine and won't cost too much money.

But if you want to develop into a professional player, you'll need to prepare at least an eight-figure sum.

In later generations, some parents may have already set aside tens of millions of dollars to cultivate their children into professional tennis players, even before their children are born.

What is an aristocratic sport?

This is called an aristocratic sport.

The whole thing boils down to one word: expensive.

Leaving tennis aside, even in football, especially domestic football, without money, no matter how talented or strong you are, you can't get into the national team.

cruel.

But that's the reality.

Some things are not accessible to ordinary people.

Take this villa for example. An ordinary family might not be able to afford it even after several generations of hard work, even for hundreds of years.

Therefore, society now places increasing emphasis on children's education, hoping that children can change their lives through reading. However, only a very small number of people can actually cross social classes through reading.

Just like those rich people on the current rich list, how many of them really made their fortune on their own?
Ability is a stepping stone, but luck is the most crucial factor in truly transcending social classes and achieving financial freedom.

After teaching Xia Mingxuan how to hit the topspin serve, it was already 9:30 p.m.

Gu Cheng originally planned to go out and take a taxi back, but Xia Mingxuan had already had Lu Youwei waiting at the door in that Bentley for a long time.

Gu Cheng wanted to refuse, but Xia Mingxuan pushed him into the back seat with a smile. Before leaving, he reminded the driver, Lu Youwei, to drive slowly and to let him know after Gu Cheng was safely delivered.

This is what happens when children from wealthy families are young; they are already better at interpersonal skills than adults.

On the road.

As expected of a professional driver, Lu Youwei drove very smoothly.

Gu Cheng looked down at his phone. Lu Youwei glanced at Gu Cheng in the back seat through the rearview mirror and suddenly said, "Young Master Gu Cheng, thank you."

Gu Cheng raised his head: "Uncle Lu, just call me Gu Cheng."

Lu Youwei said, "I've been used to this for so many years, it's really hard for me to change."

After saying that, he smiled and added, "To be honest, this is the first time I've seen Miss come back so late. She used to hardly ever go out, even if President Xia or Young Master called her, she wouldn't."

"Mr. Xia is very happy today. Although he was a little worried when he learned that the young lady was accompanied by a young man, he was still very happy."

"Young Master should have told you that President Xia drank quite a bit tonight; it's the first time he's been this happy."

"And all of this is because of you."

Gu Cheng was taken aback. He looked up at Lu Youwei's back and took a deep breath. Just as he was about to ask about Xia Zhitong, Lu Youwei seemed to know what he wanted to ask. His deep voice rang in Gu Cheng's ear: "President Xia's wife, who is also Miss's mother, died in a car accident when she was very young. She was right in front of Miss."

"From that time on, the young lady never smiled again."

"But when she came back today, I saw her smile."

Gu Cheng suddenly realized, and an indescribable complex feeling welled up in his heart.

The two remained silent throughout the journey. Lu Youwei focused on driving, while Gu Cheng kept his head down, seemingly lost in thought.

After more than forty minutes, Gu Cheng got out of the Bentley, greeted Lu Youwei, and then turned and walked into the residential area.

On the way, he sent a message to Xia Zhitong and her brother, meaning that he had arrived home.

Before he could put his phone back, Zhang Ming called, saying he wanted to invite him out for lunch while he was still in Ningbo for the next couple of days.

Gu Cheng readily agreed.

Zhang Ming, who had just hung up the phone, saw Liu Xing, who had also returned from a call, ask: "Brother Ming, Wei Wentao, the PE teacher at No. 1 Middle School, is an old classmate of mine. He knows about your trip to Ningbo. The principal of No. 1 Middle School wants to invite you to give a lecture at their school, to talk about your views on tennis, and also arrange one or two matches with the students so that they can learn about tennis. Should you accept?"

After a moment of thought, Zhang Ming nodded: "Okay, there aren't any important matches recently anyway. Just set the time and let me know."

"Okay, I'll go back to Wei Wentao now."

Liu Xing hurriedly walked towards the balcony.

(End of this chapter)