Who would still play tennis after being reborn?

Chapter 87 The Jackpot? (33)

After adding Qi Yuanchun as a friend and chatting for a bit, the other party suddenly stopped replying. Gu Cheng thought Qi Yuanchun was busy and was about to put his phone aside when he suddenly received another message from Qi Yuanchun on WeChat.

Qi Yuanchun: "Brother Gu Cheng, how about this Saturday afternoon?"

Gu Cheng thought about it and, since he had nothing to do on Saturday, immediately agreed.

"Sure, either way is fine with me, it's up to you."

"Okay, I'll pick you up then."

"No need, just send me the address, I'll go there myself."

The two chatted about this for a while, but in the end, Qi Yuanchun couldn't persuade Gu Cheng otherwise and had to let Gu Cheng come by car.

……

By mid-November, Ningbo was starting to feel cool, but it was still within a tolerable range. Wearing a short-sleeved shirt underneath and a jacket on top was generally sufficient.

This is one of the advantages of living in a coastal city.

Because of its coastal location, winters in Ningbo are generally not too cold, with very few days below freezing. As for snowfall, it mainly happens in the mountainous areas; in the city proper, you might not see a single snowflake for several years or even decades.

However, Ningbo is a very strange city.

It seems that once you get here, there are no spring or autumn, only summer and winter.

It's either unbearably hot or turns into winter in an instant, giving you no time to react.

It looks quite warm now, but in a few days people might have to wear thermal underwear or even down jackets to keep warm.

Fortunately, the weather was pretty good over the weekend, with no rain. Otherwise, going out in the rain would have been a terrible experience.

The midday sun was relatively mild, but still dazzling.

After finishing lunch, Gu Cheng went out and arrived at the place where Qi Yuanchun had left at around 1 p.m.

As Gu Cheng got out of the car, he straightened his slightly disheveled clothes and was about to head towards his destination when a slightly surprised voice suddenly came from behind him: "Hey, Gu Cheng?"

Gu Cheng turned around in surprise and saw a girl walking towards him from the bus stop not far away. She looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was for a moment.

Seeing that Gu Cheng looked at her like she was a stranger, the girl looked sad: "I am Zhai Qing, a classmate from junior high school. I used to sit in the second row in front of you, and I was Lin Huaiman's deskmate. Do you remember me now?"

The person who came was Zhai Qing, Gu Cheng's junior high school classmate: "Gu Cheng, you're being too hurtful. It's only been a short time since we graduated from junior high! You've already forgotten your classmate."

Gu Cheng then remembered and gave an awkward laugh: "Sorry, sorry."

But then again, why did Zhai Qing end up here?
The place Qi Yuanchun posted was quite remote, in the suburbs, and not many people would come here. To be honest, Gu Cheng couldn't quite understand why Zhai Qing would come here alone.

Play?
The scenery here is not bad, but it doesn't seem to be good enough to attract a girl to come here.

Is it...

Gu Cheng had some guesses in his mind, but he asked them aloud. Zhai Qing, however, smiled and said, "It seems like there's some kind of birthday party going on here today. You're not here to attend too, are you?"

birthday party?

Gu Cheng frowned; Qi Yuanchun hadn't mentioned any birthday.

Seeing that Gu Cheng didn't speak, Zhai Qing said, "It seems to be the birthday of an old man who specializes in tennis training. My dad used to be his student, and I'm practically his grand-student. My dad insisted on bringing me here for the old man's birthday. Apparently, they're having a doubles tournament here today, and I might even get a chance to play. I figured I had nothing to do at home this weekend, so I came over."

"And you? You're probably here for the party too, right?"

Gu Cheng was initially unsure, but when tennis was mentioned, he immediately understood: "It should be, but I'm not entirely sure. The main reason is that Dean Qi, who told me about this, didn't mention it. He just sent me an address and told me to come here."

"Dean Qi? Dean Qi Yuanchun?" Zhai Qing asked with a surprised look.

"Ah."

Zhai Qing smiled and said, "That's right. My dad mentioned Dean Qi to me. He said he originally planned to team up with Dean Qi today, but it seems that Dean Qi already had a partner, so he teamed up with another friend. Now it seems that Dean Qi's partner is you, Gu Cheng, right?"

Gu Cheng nodded slightly: "So many people came today?"

"I just arrived too, so I don't know yet, but there should be quite a few people. Dean Qi and his friends have a lot of tennis friends, and with someone having a birthday party or something, there should be at least a dozen people," Zhai Qing replied casually.

Gu Cheng frowned: "Are they all here to celebrate someone's birthday?"

"Not entirely. They really enjoy playing tennis. Birthdays are probably secondary; playing tennis as a team is the main thing!"

Zhai Qing smiled and said, "Let's go in first, you'll find out in a bit."

Gu Cheng didn't ask any more questions and could only nod as the two walked into the restaurant.

……

Behind the restaurant is a large lawn garden, with a tennis court in the middle of the lawn.

At this moment, in the recreational area next to the tennis court.

Qi Yuanchun and the others had already changed their clothes and were warming up by swinging their rackets on the side.

"Old Feng, isn't it a bit too much of a rip-off that you teamed up with Old Wang again today? Shouldn't we reassign ourselves? Otherwise, we guys have no chance against you and Old Wang."

"Hey! I know, but I'm just used to teaming up with Lao Wang. I just can't get along with anyone else!"

"If you team up with Lao Wang again, that's no fun at all!"

Feng Song sighed and said, "It's Lao Wang's birthday today. He can choose his own teammate, is that alright?"

“That would work…” Before the other person could finish speaking, Feng Song said, “However, if Lao Wang still chooses me, then we can’t say these things anymore.”

"Especially Lao Qi!"

Qi Yuanchun knew exactly what Feng Song was thinking. He said it was nice to let Lao Wang choose for himself, but what difference was there between that and him teaming up with Lao Wang? He immediately gave a cold smile and said, "Don't worry, as long as Lao Wang chooses for himself, I will have absolutely no objection."

Feng Song smiled slightly: "That's fine then."

"By the way, Lao Qi, has the person you invited arrived yet?"

Qi Yuanchun raised his hand to check the time: "It'll be soon, right? They just said they've already gotten off the bus."

At this moment, Zhai Qing walked over with a smile and spotted Zhai Xuesong, who looked to be around forty years old, in the crowd: "Dad."

Zhai Xuesong looked quite young among Qi Yuanchun's group of people in their fifties: "Why are you so late? Didn't you leave after I left?"

Zhai Qing smiled and said, "I just ran into a junior high classmate and we chatted for a bit outside."

Gu Cheng, wearing a baseball cap, walked in from behind. He didn't recognize anyone there except Qi Yuanchun. He had only heard of Qi Yuanchun's name but had never met him in person. However, Qi Yuanchun's WeChat profile picture was of him, so Gu Cheng saw Qi Yuanchun from a distance. After the two nodded to each other, Gu Cheng went to the rest area to sit down.

As more and more people arrived, especially after Wang Honglang joined Feng Song for doubles, the atmosphere became increasingly tense.

Qi Yuanchun didn't care. While everyone was still arguing, he slowly walked up to Gu Cheng and said, "Have you had lunch? If not, you can eat something to fill your stomach first. Anyway, they'll be arguing for a while longer."

"Dean Qi." Gu Cheng stood up and greeted Qi Yuanchun.

"Don't call me Dean Qi, just call me Old Qi."

"This……"

"listen to me."

Gu Cheng had no choice but to agree: "I didn't hear you mention anyone having a birthday before I came, so I didn't bring anything."

Qi Yuanchun laughed and said, "We don't need any gifts. It's enough that you show up. We can team up and play a couple of games with Lao Wang. That's better than any gift."

"Have a seat first, I'll go check on how their argument is going."

Gu Cheng nodded and sat down again.

A group of people in their forties and fifties were chatting about all sorts of things, and he couldn't get a word in edgewise, so he might as well just sit here and rest for a while.

After a while, almost everyone had arrived.

"It's been made very clear before, today is Lao Wang's birthday, he can team up with whomever he wants, you can't do this!" Feng Song looked at everyone helplessly: "How about this, let's leave it at that this time, and next time you can team up with Lao Wang, is that alright?"

But this statement quickly drew opposition from others.

Just as everyone was arguing, Qi Yuanchun walked over and said, "What's there to argue about? We've already agreed to it, so it's settled. I have no objections, so what are you all arguing about?"

As soon as Lao Qi said this, everyone immediately agreed.

Feng Song smiled broadly: "Then it's decided. We'll stick to the old rules: play the game first to win prizes, then rest for a while before having dinner."

"Row."

"Ok, deal."

"Old Feng, what's the prize this time?"

"It's not anything special either. It's a racket that I got a few years ago with autographs from several world-class top professional tennis players."

A signed racket?

Old Feng really went all out this year!

Top professional players generally refer to those in the top ten in the world, and the signatures of multiple people are also included, which has a different meaning in itself. They could be auctioned off for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Old Feng, you're really generous! You wouldn't even let me take it out to look at it a few years ago, but this time you're actually using it as a prize?" Someone looked at Feng Song in surprise.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"You're making me a little envious."

"Then we won't hold back."

Everyone was eager to try it, and very envious.

Feng Song chuckled and said, "It's mainly because it's Old Wang's birthday, otherwise I wouldn't have been willing to take it out. But if anyone has the ability, just take it. Do you think I can go back on my word?"

"You said it yourself!"

"I said."

"Old Zheng, what are you envious of? Old Feng teamed up with Old Wang, it's obvious he's just trying to tempt us with something. Do you really think you can pluck a feather from that tightwad? Let alone the prettiest one."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man, who was called Old Zheng, immediately lost his spirit.

With Wang Honglang's strength and his teaming up with Feng Song, even all of them combined might not be a match for him, let alone the fact that they would have to fight in groups, which would make it even more hopeless.

Qi Yuanchun watched coldly from the sidelines.

Feng Song smiled broadly, then gave Wang Honglang a wink and burst into laughter.

Seeing these guys who were so full of confidence just moments ago get their comeuppance, I have to say, I felt quite satisfied.

(End of this chapter)