Chapter 10
“I need to… ugh… use the restroom…”
Assistant Coach Ning Xu looked speechlessly at Ning Yang’s sorry state and sighed. That mischievous brat must have eaten something he shouldn’t again…
Lifting his head, he swept his gaze once over Ning Zhou—
Ning Zhou: OvO
Ning Xu retracted his gaze, his expression softening a little. At least Zhou Zhou was dependable—not like that troublemaker.
“Alright then, continuing with the first set’s starting lineup: Du Jun, your group goes up. The libero from the other group, fill in for Ning Yang for now.”
“Yes!”
Fortunately, the sudden lineup change was for the libero, so Ning Zhou didn’t need to confirm signals with him. On Coach Garry’s side, among the starting players for the first set, Ning Zhou only recognized Nie Feiang.
The moment Nie Feiang stepped on court, he showed his “scatterbrained” nature, bouncing up to wave at Ning Zhou. His messy bedhead got even worse as he shouted, “Ning Zhou! We actually ended up as opponents. I won’t hold back on you!”
“Oh. Play well.” Ning Zhou brushed him off casually, replying once before falling silent again.
“Beeeep—”
Nie Feiang still wanted to chat, but the referee, checking jersey numbers, blew the whistle to remind him to focus. He could only collect himself and stand properly.
Ning Zhou’s opening rotation put him in the front row. Across the net, his opponent was nearly two meters tall, playing the same position as Nie Feiang—middle blocker.
The man looked down at him curiously, “I’ve heard there’s a 1.7-meter setter in training camp. Seeing you up close, you really are tiny!”
Ning Zhou pursed his lips and straightened up, “You heard wrong. I’m a 178 setter. Those 8 centimeters mean a lot to me.”
“Oh, oh, 178…” The man leaned close, almost pressing his face to the net, clicking his tongue in wonder, “With your height, even a women’s team would cut you!”
Ning Zhou stepped back from the net, saying nothing.
The middle blocker grew more excited, “Guess the rumors were right. If it weren’t for your connection with Assistant Coach Ning, you’d never have gotten into camp!”
Rule of slack-off survival No. 3: Don’t waste unnecessary energy before a match.
Ning Zhou steadied his breathing, treating the middle blocker like a fly buzzing outside a mesh screen…
The guy talked himself hoarse in his one-man show, then felt awkward, “Why aren’t you responding? This is the pre-match trash-talk session. At least say something tough back!”
Ning Zhou finally reacted, his expression serious, “What’s the use of trash talk? It won’t make me grow a centimeter taller.”
The blocker was deflated, like punching cotton—he only made himself look stupid…
By then, the referee had finished recording numbers and rotations, signaling everyone to move into formation.
Just before leaving his spot, the blocker suddenly heard Ning Zhou speak quietly, “By the way, you’re a middle blocker, right?”
He turned back to see Ning Zhou smiling faintly—like a fox baring its fangs at prey’s throat, eyes glinting with hunger for blood, “I might not care for the trash talk, but during the match, I really enjoy playing with the opposing block. Do your best!”
The blocker froze. His teammates dragged him back into position, and only then did he realize his scalp was prickling…
“Damn it, I’m gonna shut down that setter today!”
“Get a grip!” his teammate patted his back. “If you’re gonna block, block the attackers. What’s it got to do with a setter?”
“You don’t get it. This is a battle for a blocker’s pride!”
“??”
…
On the sidelines, the coaches stood holding rosters. Garry flipped through a few pages, pointing to one player as he spoke.
Assistant Coach Hou translated, “Coach Garry says there aren’t many players with real potential on the court right now. He’s mostly watching the outside hitter, Du Jun. He didn’t pick him before because of injuries, and wants to see how he performs in this match.
Whether he plays well determines if Assistant Coach Ning’s team can win.”
Ning Xu’s expression showed disagreement. He replied tactfully, “My team’s average height is at least five centimeters shorter than Coach Garry’s team. The key still lies in the setter.”
Coach Luo closed his roster, smoothing things over, “You both have a point…”
“Beeep—”
The first whistle blew, signaling the start. Garry’s team served first.
European volleyball values aggressive serving. Yesterday Garry had tested every player’s serve and chose Nie Feiang to open. Nie Feiang’s jump looked clumsy, but the ball he struck curved smartly across the net.
His power was limited, so the ball lacked heavy downward force. But at 205 cm tall, he could angle it downward, and unlike other power jump serves, his serve landed shallower…
Ning Zhou immediately clapped and shouted, “Forward! Up front!”
But the libero wasn’t quick enough. He dove forward, stretched his arms, barely touched the ball—sending it straight into the net.
Botched reception!
Ning Zhou lunged two steps, slid on his knees, and scooped the ball just as it dropped off the net, “Bump it up!”
To avoid a net violation, he directed his forearms outward, so the ball ended far from the net—not suitable for an attack…
Xu Zichang ignored Ning Zhou’s call. He took two steps back, positioned himself, jumped, and swung—his dyed yellow hair flying…
Great in theory, but reality was harsh. He couldn’t clear the net. Down it went. Xu Zichang’s error gifted the opponent the first point.
The other side shouted “Lucky!” and huddled to celebrate. The spectators muttered, “Don’t take on porcelain work without diamond skills.”
Xu Zichang froze up entirely, “Sorry! My bad!”
Teammates rushed to comfort him, worried about crushing the fragile mentality of an inexperienced player. Ning Zhou strode straight up to him, raised his hand, and placed a palm on his face.
Teammates: ?
Even Du Jun’s usual calm cracked, “C-calm down, Ning Zhou!”
“Calm down, Xu Zichang.”
Ning Zhou held that posture, meeting his eyes, “I know how excited you get when all you see is the volleyball in a match. But you need to calm down and listen to your teammates’ voices, pay attention to the flow of the game.”
The coolness from Ning Zhou’s palm seeped into Xu Zichang’s flushed skin, clearing the fog in his head.
“Alright…”
Ning Zhou lowered his arm and gestured with his fingers, “Just now, before you were about to receive the first pass, you didn’t even look at my signal, did you?”
Regret showed plainly on Xu Zichang’s face as he slapped his own forehead, “My bad, I’ll adjust my state right away!”
Du Jun, who had been bracing himself to break up a fight, “…As long as you realize it, it’s fine. Let’s nail the next attack!”
“Got it!”
“Come on!”
On the sidelines, Ning Xu let out a sigh of relief when he saw them rally again.
Assistant Coach Hou adjusted his glasses, “Did they just… get into a fight on the court?”
“Impossible!” Ning Xu’s brow tightened in seriousness. “That’s just their unique way of firing each other up.”
Coach Luo glanced at the cold sweat on Ning Xu’s forehead and said nothing, just smiled…
A stubborn man, never willing to admit weakness!
“Beeeeep—”
The whistle for service blew. Nie Feiang’s second serve followed the same trajectory as before: a power jump serve that landed shallow.
This time the libero reacted in time and received the ball high. But it wasn’t passed right above Ning Zhou—its landing spot was closer to the three-meter line. It was only a half-perfect pass. Ning Zhou moved under the ball, jumping up as he focused and widened his vision. On the other side, the opponents became “performers under the spotlight”—
The defensive players were certain that with a half-perfect pass, Ning Zhou wouldn’t organize a quick attack from position 3, and were already shifting toward defending the wing.
Meanwhile, the middle blocker opposite Ning Zhou—the one who had been trash-talking earlier—seemed locked into a duel with him, glaring fixedly at the quick-attack spot, ready to leap…
A faint laugh slipped from Ning Zhou’s lips. His fingers pushed the ball away—Jump if you want!
The trash-talker saw the direction Ning Zhou’s hands released the ball and his heart leapt with joy—As expected, the middle!
He jumped at the same time as Ning Zhou’s middle blocker, anticipating a clean block of the quick attack. But when the spiker swung his arms, the ball never came…
As his body descended, his brain froze—Damn, it’s a back-row attack!
Xu Zichang leapt from behind the three-meter line. Just as the block was falling, he smashed the ball down with a thunderous spike! The ball flew over the blockers’ hands. The defenders, focused on the wing attack, couldn’t dig it out…
Point scored with a back-row attack!
Using the middle blocker’s quick attack as cover, Ning Zhou had orchestrated a staggered offense from the back row.
“OHHH—” The one who spiked, Xu Zichang, was actually the most surprised. He pumped his fist and shouted, “The point I lost, I’ll win it back myself!”
Overexcited, he nearly took off to run a victory lap, but Du Jun grabbed him back, “Was that point yours alone? The setter gave you that great chance!”
“Exactly!” Xu Zichang clapped Ning Zhou hard on the shoulder. “When I saw the back-row signal, I thought I was dreaming. I didn’t expect the ball to actually come to me!”
He didn’t hold back his strength, and the slap made Ning Zhou’s whole body jolt. Ning Zhou sidestepped his hand, “How was the height of the set?”
“Perfect!”
On their side there was laughter and cheer, while on the other side, Trash-Talker’s face nearly sagged to the floor, “Impossible…”
His teammates shook their heads with a sigh, “That middle blocker didn’t even jump at full force—it was such an obvious, half-hearted decoy, and you still fell for it…”
Trash-Talker snapped back, annoyed, “So it’s all on me? What about you guys? Before the setter even released the ball, you all had already retreated to guard the wings!”
“Who could’ve guessed that setter would be bold enough to set to the rookie who just made a mistake?”
…
On the sideline, Coach Luo saw the argument brewing. He asked Assistant Hou, “The players are bickering. Shouldn’t we call a timeout?”
Hou asked for Garry’s opinion, then shook his head, “There are plenty of substitutes waiting to get on. If someone’s not performing, we’ll just replace them directly.”
Ning Xu’s lips tightened, “Many players are young. When their state wavers, we should give them chances to adjust…”
“If he can’t perform in a practice match, how can we expect him to on the international stage?”
Behind his glasses, Hou’s eyes gleamed darkly. Then, almost whispering to himself, “Anyone who can get wrecked by such a low-level setter… has no development value.”
Ning Xu only caught faintly the words “setter” and “development.” He turned his ear, “Hm?”
“Nothing.”
Hou flipped open the roster in his hand and marked it, “Looks like it’s time for substitutions…”
The game continued.
After getting faked out several more times by Ning Zhou, Trash-Talker’s mindset shifted…
That short setter he had said wouldn’t even make a women’s team—standing across the net, his gaze was that of a field commander who controlled the net, calculating and precise…
When Trash-Talker rotated to the back row, his only feeling was relief—Finally, he wouldn’t have to be toyed with by that freakish setter…
He took the serving position, looked down, and saw that his own hands holding the ball were trembling.
“Beeep beeep—”
The referee blew the whistle several times before snapping him out of it, “Server, hurry up—substitution!”
Trash-Talker’s fragile mindset instantly collapsed. Head hung low, he walked off the court, sat on the bench, and didn’t say a word.
“Brother, I get you.”
Suddenly, someone patted his shoulder heavily from behind. He turned and saw that it was Chen Wenyao—former national team middle blocker before the squad’s disbandment. Chen, about the same age as Du Jun, had come up through the same youth system. He was the tallest player on the team—210 cm tall…
Trash-Talker, still dazed, “Brother Chen, what do you mean?”
Chen Wenyao gritted his teeth as he explained, “I understand your unwillingness right now! Remember when Yu Bai first arrived, and Coach Kong organized a scrimmage? I played one set and didn’t score a single blocking point—not even one effective touch except for two weak deflections!”
“Trash Talk” immediately felt a sorrow of shared suffering, “Don’t tell me… you also had to face that setter?”
“Yeah! Ning Zhou!”
Chen Wenyao clenched his fist.
“People keep saying my stats are bad because my blocking is weak—what do they know! Let them play a set against Ning Zhou and they’ll understand our pain!”
“Trash Talk” nodded frantically, “I’ve already been completely fooled by him—he moves like he knows what I’ll do a second in advance!”
The surrounding players looked at them with total confusion.
“You two didn’t block well, and now you’re teaming up to make excuses for yourselves?”
Chen Wenyao and “Trash Talk” snapped back together, “Just keep watching the game, you’ll get it soon enough!”
At that moment, the scoreboard read 6:3. Ning Zhou’s team had scored consecutively, taking an early three-point lead. But on the other side, the gloom from Garry’s squad falling behind vanished the instant a substitute stepped onto the court…
That player stood at the service line, tucking the ball under one arm. His other hand extended naturally, hovering before his lips, as he gently blew across the bandages wrapped around his fingers.
His gaze was sharp, radiating a chilling hunger for victory—like a predator at the top of the food chain locking onto prey across the net…
“!”
Ning Zhou’s heart tightened, his expression suddenly heavy—Yu Bai’s serve…
Position 3 quick attack = middle blocker running quick offense at the net center.
Back-row attack (pipe) = spiker jumps from behind the 3-meter line to attack.
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