Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Chapter 131: A Phase End Represents a New Beginning

Li Zhao initially thought he was seeing things and hallucinating.

Are you sure you didn't see that wrong?

He Shuyao, whom Coach Ding said didn't like sports, was wearing a white jersey with pink accents, holding a racket in one hand and supporting her waist with the other. Her hair was stuck to her face, and she was covered in sweat.

He doesn't look like someone who doesn't exercise.

She spotted Li Zhao and Chen Nian, and waved with a smile.

"Coach Ding picked me up, so I might as well practice for a bit," she said.

He doesn't seem very tired.

"I didn't expect Shuyao to have such good physical fitness," Coach Ding said. "Her coordination is excellent, and she learns to play very quickly. I thought she had a foundation."

"No, I didn't want to try playing ball before."

Chen Nian suddenly got excited, "Wait, Shuyao, let's have a match first."

This kid is making it sound like he just decided on the spur of the moment, but who doesn't know what he's thinking?

If Li Zhao can't beat me, how could I not beat a girl who's never played basketball before?

"I won't fight." He Shuyao refused ruthlessly. "I've never fought before, I just learned, I definitely can't beat you."

Chen Nian licked his lips resentfully.

"If I were to beat you, we'd both be embarrassed."

"This, no, no, never mind." Chen Nian turned to Li Zhao, "Ahem, Zhao, let's warm up, Shu Yao can rest first."

During the warm-up, He Shuyao walked over to Li Zhao to observe his warm-up exercises and asked him about their purpose.

The two started chatting along the way.

"Do you seem to exercise regularly?" Li Zhao asked.

"Yes, I can run and jump rope."

I see, then it's not surprising.

Running and skipping rope are both fat-burning and high-energy-consuming activities.

No wonder you can eat whatever you want and not gain weight.

He Shuyao suddenly paused, narrowed her eyes and looked at Li Zhao, and whispered, "I don't eat much."

"Oh right, not many now."

"Um?"

"It's nothing," Li Zhao smiled. "So you just don't like ball sports?"

"No, not really." He Shuyao had already started warming up. "I just don't like these kinds of competitive activities."

Oh~ Running and skipping rope are things I do against myself, I don't like competition, I guess I have a quiet personality.

"I get really upset when I lose."

He Shuyao added a rather direct and concise answer.

Li Zhao felt inexplicably pressured.

"So you're playing mixed doubles again?"

"You're here."

Chen Nian pricked up his little ears.

Li Zhao was a little embarrassed, "Ahem, I'm not very strong either—"

"No, losing isn't just my fault, you can be blamed for it."

He Shuyao once again gave a crisp and decisive answer.

It's truly impossible to refute —

Coach Ding's teaching method thus changed from one-on-two to one-on-three, and it became quite complicated.

Dealing with Li Zhao, who is quick-witted and inquisitive, was already difficult enough. Now, there's another girl who has a good foundation but knows nothing about the subject. Since there are differences between boys and girls, the teaching methods need to be different.

Furthermore, Li Zhao and He Shuyao will also be playing mixed doubles, which means their doubles tactics and awareness will be a completely different matter.

The pressure is immense.

Fortunately, there's Chen Nian. When I get tired of teaching here, I can look after him and help him find his comfort zone as a coach.

Training time passed quickly, and He Shuyao performed exceptionally well. On the one hand, she had excellent stamina and body coordination, and learned to play very quickly. On the other hand, she was very serious, especially in terms of mixed doubles awareness, constantly asking girls what their main responsibilities were on the court, which balls they should take the initiative on, and which balls they should pass to their teammates.

Coach Ding had only mentioned the mixed doubles briefly, but He Shuyao kept asking questions, so he had to go into more detail. And once he started talking about it more, Li Zhao got going—

After a two-hour training session, Coach Ding was more tired than the three trainees.

This money is hard to earn — no, it's not even worth earning money anymore.

When I get back tonight, I absolutely have to get Coach Ding to treat me to a big meal.

After class, the three-person group from Class 1, Grade 6, turned into a three-person group playing ball and resting.

Chen Nian had an upset stomach because he drank too much iced beverage, so the trio became a duo.

The stadium was relatively quiet at this time of day, though the sky hadn't gotten too dark and the temperature was quite pleasant.

He Shuyao took off her hair tie, and her long, black hair fell down, blowing wildly in the wind from the fan opposite her.

Because Li Zhao had the best foundation and had done a lot of physical training, he was still catching his breath.

As expected, youth campus novels are ultimately just novels.

None of the amusing mixed doubles stories Li Zhao wrote about in his novel actually happened.

He Shuyao's seriousness forced Li Zhao to focus all his attention on learning how to play the ball.

The benefit is that the two players' skills and teamwork will improve very quickly. He has reason to believe that after learning for a summer, they will be able to form a mixed doubles pair that knows how to block and kill from the front and can rotate appropriately.

These alone are enough to cause chaos and destruction on a junior high school campus.

I just don't know if New Taipei First Senior High School has badminton competitions.

The downside is that we didn't get much material.

However, it felt great.

Learning a sport should be taken seriously. With his skills improving significantly, Li Zhao felt a small sense of satisfaction every time he completed a correct rotation training session.

These accumulated feelings of satisfaction have now translated into a happiness level of 1 [Studying the game diligently and achieving results. Happiness +2, Total 3]

"Shuyao," Li Zhao asked, "you're studying so hard today, is it because you don't want to lose?"

He Shuyao closed her eyes and let the wind blow on her, "Half and half."

"Then what else is it because of?"

"Because I'm here."

"Hmm?" Li Zhao looked at her.

She seems to have grown up a bit more; the childishness on her face isn't as strong as it was when she was first reborn, and her delicate nose is starting to show the features of a beautiful woman.

"I've come all this way to learn, so I definitely have to learn seriously, otherwise wouldn't it be a waste of time?"

"Hmm, that makes sense."

"This is something I've been thinking about lately," He Shuyao said.

"Oh?"

"I went to my hometown a few days ago. There's no computer there, so I thought, there's not much to do there, so I might as well bring some books to read."

Li Zhao became interested, sat up straight, and listened attentively to what she had to say.

"But while packing, I suddenly felt that something was wrong." He Shuyao kept her eyes closed and frowned slightly.

Her appearance is that of a pure and aloof beauty. Usually, her lively personality and high ponytail would conceal this quality. But now, with her hair down and her eyes closed and brows furrowed, the aloofness is immediately apparent.

However, her voice was still crisp and sweet at that time, but by the time she was in high school, the sweetness had faded.

However, at that time, her foodie nature was no longer hidden, so in Li Zhao's impression, He Shuyao was never associated with "aloofness".

This left Li Zhao unable to recall why he felt a sense of blasphemy when he stared at her in high school.

It turned out to be the case.

No wonder the other boys all thought of her as an unattainable beauty.

"I'm going back to my hometown, mainly to spend time with my elderly relatives. I want to spend quality time with them and relive the days of my childhood back home."

Listening to a soon-to-be junior high school student talk about his childhood, I felt it was quite fun.

"Bringing books that you never normally read is no fun," He Shuyao said. "I think when you do something, just experience it and don't think about anything else. That way, all the gains will be especially sweet."

After a few seconds of silence, He Shuyao opened her eyes and found Li Zhao staring straight at her.

She immediately felt embarrassed, smoothed her hair, and said, "Um, that last sentence was actually something I used when writing an essay, it wasn't something I just thought of."

"That's not what I meant," Li Zhao said. "Then, what if it's something you don't want to do?"

"If you don't want to do it, then don't do it."

There are some things that need to be done.

"It has to be done—" He Shuyao answered without much hesitation, "Then let's do it as something we want to do."

Li Zhao thought for a moment, then chuckled and nodded.

"What's wrong?"

"No, the simplest way is the best," Li Zhao said. "When learning to play, we all have to work hard."

"?"

"Form a super mixed doubles team and crush New Taipei City."

He Shuyao burst out laughing, "Beat Linjiang to a pulp!"

Li Zhao laughed too, "Crush China!"

Chen Nian, who had just returned, was stunned.

In the time it takes to take a dump, these two are about to destroy China?!

As a result, Li Zhao's summer vacation was both stable and interesting.

On days when he wasn't practicing, he would read youth novels like crazy, then write his own. When he got tired of writing, he would play a couple of games with Chen Nian and lament that he really didn't have much talent for games.

If you don't feel like writing a novel, then study some papers on urban planning, write the remaining articles on the seven major topics, revise them, and submit them to the South China Weekly.

On practice days, I don't think about anything else—not novels, not studying, not anything else—I just want to learn how to play well.

After you've finished learning, you can think whatever you want when you're free to relax; that's a different matter altogether.

The Olympics opened on August 8th. Although he had already seen it once, Li Zhao still chose to watch it again with his parents.

Unlike in his previous life, he didn't watch every match. However, he did catch up on the live broadcast of Lin Dan's crushing defeat of Lee Chong Wei in the final.

Interestingly, after investing so much time and effort, I felt more relaxed and could better appreciate the positive effects of the increased energy limit provided by the system.

Moreover, Li Zhao can repeatedly gain happiness through reading youth novels and practicing basketball.

One minute it's inspiration for a novel, the next it's finishing the second volume, then it's improved practice, or even "experiencing the joy of mixed doubles" —

It was another month of high engagement, but while happiness stagnated in June, I managed to gain 15 points during the summer vacation by focusing on two things, bringing the total to 18 points.

This shows that free time is really good.

No, the core issue is still the concept.

Do everything you want to do well, don't be overly ambitious, don't hesitate, and don't be greedy.

Just as He Shuyao said, "all the harvest will become exceptionally sweet."

As the summer heat gradually dissipated and the Olympics came to a close, Li Zhao's last badminton lesson also ended. The youth novel was completed, and all seven major issues were published in the South China Weekly. The completion of each stage, whether big or small, signifies that the beginning of a new life is about to begin.

August 31st is the registration date for non-boarding students at New Taipei First Senior High School.