Chapter 13: Let’s Play Tennis Together in Future  

Shangguan Ning was slightly surprised. This man seemed to have a habit of carrying a handkerchief with him at all times. It wasn’t a commonly seen habit nowadays.

She accepted it gratefully and smiled. “Thank you!”

“No worries.” Jing Yichen said as he sat down on the bench. He opened a bottle of water and started to drink from it.

Having wiped her face and hands, Shangguan Ning noticed that the handkerchief had gotten stained. She thought it was not a good idea to give it back to him in this form nor was it a proper thing to throw it away.

She thought for a moment and put the handkerchief in her bag. She will return it to him after she had washed it up.

Shangguan Ning looked around and realized that Zhao Anan was nowhere to be seen.

She sat down on the bench, drank some water and took out her cell phone to call Anan.

“Anan, where are you? It’s time to go.”

“Oh, well... I... have a stomach ache and I already left. You two take your time.” Anan lied without even blinking her eyes.

Shangguan Ning thought that she was doing something secretive, so she had no choice but to hang up. Actually, Shangguan Ning had gotten her friend wrong. Anan was just trying to create opportunity for the two of them to be alone.

“Hmm... Mr. Zhao, Anan had something to do, so she left early.”

“Yes, I know.” Jing Yichen still had the calm look about him. He was not at all surprised by Anan’s absence.

The two of them kept a proper distance between them, though Jing Yichen could smell the light scent that came out of her body. Her pretty face had turned a delicate pink because of the exercise. It looked delicious enough that people would want to lunge forward and take a bite of it.

He directed his eyes towards her.

“You played well.”

Jing Yichen was still wearing a calm look, but if Anan had heard this, she would have been really surprised. Jing Yichen almost never praised anyone and if he thought that something was good, then it was indeed really outstanding.

“Yes, I think so too.” Shangguan Ning showed him a happy smile. It was something she took pride in.

Jing Yichen was a bit taken aback. He had thought that Shangguan Ning would show some humility. But she had unexpectedly praised herself without being courteous.

He raised the corner of his mouth slightly. “You are not being humble.”

“In other matters I am, but I don’t need to be on this one.” Shangguan Ning said as she looked at Jing Yichen.

“You played well too, but maybe you hadn’t played it in a long time, so you were a bit stiff to begin with. Otherwise I don’t think I could have beaten you.”

His postures were all up to standard, but he moved stiffly and had gotten strained easily. Apparently, he hadn’t played tennis in a long time.

The side angle of Jing Yichen’s face was perfect. Shangguan Ning could see his long eyelashes from this angle. He looked way too handsome.

There was a moment of silence and Shangguan Ning thought that she had said something wrong. However, Jing Yichen unexpectedly spoke in a teasing tone, “You didn’t blink even for a second. Am I that good-looking?”

Shangguan Ning nearly spilled out the water before swallowing it down. She choked and started to cough.

Her face was getting red. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the choking or embarrassment.

God! How could anyone be so straightforward?

She wiped her mouth, thought for a moment and then spoke the truth. “You are indeed good looking.”

Although Jing Yichen kept his face calm, a grin had already burst inside his heart. She was the first one who had spoken to him in such a straightforward way.

But it felt good – at least they had skipped the roundabout conversation.

His life was already very exhausting. The straightforward personality made him relax. They talked without hiding anything or without a hidden agenda. It was great.

Seeing Jing Yichen in a pleasant mood, Shangguan Ning invited him. “Mr. Zhao, you played really well. I assume that you must have been an excellent player earlier. But your skills have probably degenerated now. What about playing together in future?”

It had taken her ages to run into someone equally skilled as her and she didn’t want to let the opportunity go. So she gave it a try, no matter whether he was willing or not.

The strange thing was that Shangguan Ning didn’t reject him for being cold and distant. Instead, she thought it was a comfortable thing to hang out with him.

Previously, she didn’t like people with cold personality because she thought that these kind of people might be cruel. But after her experience with Xie Zhuojue, she gradually came to the realization that people who looked as warm as the morning sun might not necessarily have a warm and soft heart, whilst those who looked cold on surface might not necessarily have a cold heart.

Appearance was one thing, while heart was something different.

Jing Yichen didn’t find it weird being addressed as “Mr. Zhao”, so he didn’t correct her. His mother’s family name was Zhao, and he had called himself “Zhao” earlier for practical reasons.

Jing was a showy and ruthless family name. He didn’t like it so much.

The word” degenerated” was used for him for the first time in a matter of factly way.

Truthful words grated upon his ears. He had degenerated in tennis.

He would always be reminded of that incident and that person every time he saw a tennis court. That was why he had lost interest in tennis. However, he didn’t think much about that today and felt quite relaxed in his heart for some reason.

Jing Yichen didn’t think much before answering quickly. “Okay!”

Shangguan Ning was quite happy to see him approve the invitation. She stretched out her hand towards him, smiling. “Happy Collaboration!”

Jing Yichen stretched out his own after taking a look at the white and slim hand. “Happy Collaboration!”

Their hands separated the moment they touched each other, but both of them had felt the heat there – scorching and beautiful.

Shangguan Ning ignoring the strangeness, started to pack and got ready to leave.

Jing Yichen watched her quietly, saying nothing.

Shangguan Ning finished packing her things swiftly. Both of them walked towards the exit slowly.

“You play tennis quite professionally. Did you receive some special training?”

Shangguan Ning’s heart hopped, hearing Jing Yichen’s low, sexy voice so close.

“Yes, I did. I trained with a coach, day and night. I even got blisters on my hands.” The tip of her eyebrows and the corner of her eyes were twinkling with joy as she was recalling her time with the coach. It was a bitter yet fulfilling and steady period.

Jing Yichen understood that she must have gone through a lot to reach a level like hers. She looked like a fragile girl but inside, she was someone strong and undefeated.

Strong girls hurt people’s heart.

“Why did you fight so hard? You didn’t look like someone who wanted to be an athlete.” Jing Yichen was slightly confused. A girl with Shangguan Ning’s background could have surely lived a relaxing and leisurely life. She didn’t have to go through bitterness or fight so hard.

It could be seen clearly from her charisma and etiquette that she was bred by a big family. She behaved elegantly, in a way that couldn’t be imitated by anyone else postnatally.

If he had it right, Shangguai Ning might belong to Family Shangguan.

“Shangguan” was a rare family name and there was only one famous Family Shangguan in the entire A City or even in the entire province.

Shangguan Ning got a bit distracted after hearing what Jing Yichen had said.

Yeah, why did she fight so hard? She had never thought about becoming an athlete when she decided to learn to play tennis.

It was just a fight for willpower and spirit.

In her twenty-six-year life of darkness, she had exceeded Shangguan Rouxue in only two things – ability to learn languages and play tennis.