When Ji Yu heard her say that, he seemed to freeze for a moment. The arm around her unconsciously tightened, as if only now realizing that behind all the moments he hadn’t seen, Shi Xing had been getting through things like this on her own.

Just then, Shi Xing instinctively held her breath, frowned, and sighed softly.
“Huh? He lost.”

Ji Yu followed her gaze to the screen. In the third game, Xu Kailiang—who had originally been at an advantage—lost several points in a row before it even properly began, and was quickly taken down by Li Qingwei.

Shi Xing grew increasingly tense. On the screen, Xu Kailiang’s stamina was clearly exhausted. After losing the third game, he was immediately overtaken again in the fourth.

The entire venue fell silent. Under countless eyes, the fifth game began soon after.

At the start, Xu Kailiang fought with everything he had, managing to win a few points. But as his strength failed and his tactics were read by his opponent, he slowly slipped into a disadvantage.

As time passed, the outcome was decided. Xu Kailiang ultimately lost the match, and the atmosphere on site froze in an instant.

Shi Xing’s eyelashes trembled slightly. It felt as though a stone was pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She couldn’t help but feel regret for Xu Kailiang.

Even outsiders like them could see how much effort he had put in over this period of time. But in the end, he couldn’t outrun the traces of time. Techniques that once came easily in his youth had gradually become difficult as age caught up.

On the screen, one side showed the joy of a young newcomer winning his first major title, while the other showed the lonely figure of a veteran quietly leaving the court.

This was the cruelty behind competitive sports. Anyone who witnessed such a scene would feel a surge of mixed emotions.

Shi Xing suddenly looked at Ji Yu. He, too, was staring intently at the television, as if recalling that past match of his own.

After a moment, she gently patted his shoulder and said softly,
“But Xu-ge really gave it his all this time. I think he has no regrets now.”

Ji Yu nodded. He pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze to the floor, lost in thought.

---

The next day, a long-absent drizzle finally fell. Damp mist clung to the air, slapping against people’s faces and making them shiver from the cold.

When Shi Xing arrived at work, she could clearly sense the atmosphere had split into two camps. One side was celebrating Li Qingwei’s championship from the night before, while the other lingered around Xu Kailiang, saying their goodbyes.

She walked over quickly and softly called his name. Xu Kailiang turned to look at her. He didn’t say anything, but she already understood.

After the others left, she spoke gently,
“Xu-ge, I watched the match last night. You really did great.”

Before she could finish, he sighed and forced a smile.
“I’m fine. Don’t let this affect your mood. Being able to hold on and finish the match yesterday was already my biggest breakthrough.”

Even so, the disappointment was unavoidable. Watching his retreating figure, Shi Xing felt an inexplicable heaviness.

Perhaps after this departure, no one knew when they would meet again.

The colleagues around them became busy again. Shi Xing adjusted her emotions and returned to work.

Recently, many new athletes had joined the table tennis team, and her workload had gradually increased. Around this time, she happened to see a colleague performing moxibustion treatment. A bit of ash accidentally fell, burning the patient’s skin and instantly turning it red.

The next second, the man cursed loudly,
“What kind of work is this supposed to be?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” the girl quickly apologized in a low voice.

The man frowned, muttered a few more profanities, and only then let it go.

Watching this scene, Shi Xing fell into thought, until Xie He quietly walked past and called out to her.

“What are you thinking about? I called you several times.” Xie He smiled as he spoke, glancing behind her curiously. “What were you looking at?”

Shi Xing recounted what had happened in detail. Xie He listened thoughtfully and only spoke after a long pause.

“Now that you mention it, I used to get burned a lot when I did moxibustion too. That thing is really hard to control.”

“What if there were some kind of intelligent moxibustion device that could automatically regulate the temperature?” Shi Xing’s eyes lit up as she suggested.

Xie He clicked his tongue, scratched his head, and said helplessly,
“I wouldn’t know. You know me—whenever I try to think, even the heavens start laughing.”

Shi Xing laughed at his words and didn’t press him further. After saying goodbye, she headed to the badminton training base.

At that moment, only Ji Yu was there.

From her angle, he hadn’t noticed her yet. She watched as he picked up his racket and practiced his swings over and over again. Even though the wounds on his leg had reopened and were bleeding, he continued expressionlessly.

Shi Xing’s breath caught.

This was the first time she’d seen a side of Ji Yu no one else knew. Perhaps the shadow of that past defeat had never really left him—he had simply been digesting all those emotions alone.

Thinking this, she quietly left the training base without disturbing him.

---

When Ji Yu later returned to the rehabilitation room and saw Shi Xing sitting there waiting for him, he froze.

Then he asked,
“What are you doing here?”

Shi Xing deliberately ignored what she’d seen earlier and changed the subject.
“Obviously, I’m here to give you acupuncture. I even sacrificed my break to sneak over.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ji Yu quickly walked over. Fresh from training, a fine sheen of sweat covered his neck, his face flushed.

Shi Xing glanced at the wound on his leg and pretended not to know.
“How did you get hurt?”

Ji Yu paused for a few seconds, turned his head awkwardly, and said,
“Probably scraped it by accident.”

She didn’t expose him. Instead, she took disinfectant from the medical kit and treated the wound, trying to lighten the mood.
“I’ll try acupuncture on you later and see how it works.”

Ji Yu raised an eyebrow, his tone as casual as ever.
“Then thank you, Doctor Shi.”

He set the racket on the table and was about to lift his shirt when Shi Xing quickly stopped him, flustered.
“What are you doing?”

“Aren’t you treating me? How can you do that without lifting my clothes?” He looked at her with an unreadable gaze, the corner of his mouth curving upward.

Shi Xing immediately realized he couldn’t stay serious for more than a few seconds. She shot him an annoyed look, pressed his shirt down, and said with a red face,
“Not now.”

“Then do it at home?” he asked with a smile, testing her.

Hearing the implication, she finally couldn’t hold back and lightly slapped his back. Instead of deterring him, it only made his smile harder to hide.

Shi Xing suddenly felt like she’d slapped him and somehow rewarded him instead.

Fortunately, after seeing her expression, Ji Yu returned to a more serious demeanor. He cleared his throat and said in a low, pleasant voice,
“So when exactly are you planning to treat me?”

Shi Xing pressed her lips together, thought for a moment, then said,
“Now, then. Perfect timing for you to test my results.”

“So I’m your test subject?” Ji Yu said as he headed into the locker room to change.

Shi Xing crossed her arms and snorted.
“You don’t have to be.”

“That won’t do. I’m willing,” he cut in.

He lay down on the treatment bed and reminded her,
“You can start now.”

Looking at him lying there, shirt lifted and waiting, Shi Xing suddenly felt a hint of guilt.

She took out the acupuncture needles from her cloth pouch, carefully recalling what Chen Hanming had taught her, and slowly began.

As the needle tips entered Ji Yu’s body, he felt a long-absent sense of relief and let out a soft hum.

Hearing his voice, Shi Xing’s mind drifted unconsciously. Her ears turned red. She quickly shook her head and adjusted her expression before he noticed.

After everything was finished, she gently shook his shoulder, signaling him to describe how it felt.

“Mm… pretty good,” Ji Yu said ambiguously, clearly still wanting more.

Shi Xing rolled her eyes, feeling he really wasn’t reliable. The two joked and tussled as they walked out—only to run straight into Xie He.

“You two?” Xie He looked them up and down, then patted Ji Yu’s shoulder earnestly. “Be careful with your waist.”

“Idiot,” Ji Yu laughed and shot back, “You should take better care of yourself too.”

Watching them bicker like elementary school kids, Shi Xing hurriedly stopped them.
“Can you two stop arguing every time you meet?”

“No,” they answered in unison.

Shi Xing shook her head. Their synchronization in this regard was truly impressive.

---

At six in the evening, dark clouds covered the sky as if it were about to collapse. A fine rain continued to fall, rippling across the ground and weighing heavily on the heart.

When Ji Yu came to pick her up, he suddenly received a phone call. By the time he returned, his expression had grown serious.

Shi Xing looked at him curiously.
“What’s wrong?”

“My mom wants us to go back,” he said, his breathing heavy, brows furrowed.

Those few words made Shi Xing’s heart jolt.

But after a moment’s thought, she realized that when she chose to stay with Ji Yu, she should’ve known this day would eventually come.

Seeing her expression, Ji Yu worried she might feel pressured and quickly said,
“If you don’t want to go, then we won’t.”

Shi Xing gently held his hand and looked at him firmly.
“Let’s go. It’s time to talk things through.”

Some problems, if not resolved early, would continue to drift through the current of time—until one day, they inevitably erupted.