Chapter 15
The liaison assigned to Ning Zhou for the variety show was a lively young woman, a bit of a chatterbox. From the moment Ning Zhou got into the car, she hadn’t stopped talking, “Ning Zhou, hello! Where did you get your haircut? It looks so stylish—it really suits you!”
Ning Zhou fastened his seatbelt, rubbing his hair. “Got it in the dorm.”
“Wow, your roommate must be as good as a stylist!”
“No, uh… I got it from taking a nap in the dorm…”
“?” She glanced at him, clicking her tongue in surprise. “Even messy bed hair looks good on you. No wonder you went viral from just one selfie!”
Ning Zhou gripped the door handle nervously, heart skipping a beat. “Thanks… but please don’t look at me, watch the road!”
“Oh, oh!”
The liaison pulled her eyes back to the road, sighing in amazement as she drove, “Who would’ve thought Director Zhang, scrambling at the last minute for one more guest, would end up with someone like you—someone who just registers a Weibo account and instantly attracts thousands of fans!”
Only then did Ning Zhou remember his Weibo account. He pulled out his phone, took a glance, and his pupils shrank—
“Over ten thousand followers!?”
“Yep! Between the trending topic and the official program tag, your magical traffic-drawing aura totally shocked me!”
The liaison beamed. “Now I finally understand why Director Zhang insisted on inviting an active athlete…”
Among the officially announced permanent guests, aside from Ning Zhou, all the others were retired athletes. They had flexible schedules, had once brought glory to the country, had medals from international competitions, and naturally accumulated a fan base. Their presence guaranteed heat for the show. Even Shao Qiu, as a longtime member of the national team, was at least recognizable to audiences…
Ning Zhou tried to come up with a reason why Director Zhang had chosen him, but his mind came up blank, “Why did Director Zhang want a guest from men’s volleyball?”
“She said she’s optimistic about the reforms in the men’s volleyball program, and believes the national team will make big progress in the coming years. Plus, there have been a lot of international volleyball events lately, so she wanted to sign an active player to ride that wave of hype.”
“I see… But choosing me might disappoint her.”
Even if he were lucky enough to make the national team, he’d still be a substitute, with almost no chance to play in major tournaments…
“How could she be disappointed?” the liaison shot back. “The second I saw you in person, I knew Director Zhang hadn’t chosen wrong!”
Ning Zhou didn’t take the words to heart. He smiled gratefully: “That gives me some motivation. I’ll record seriously later.”
*
At the training center volleyball court, Xu Zichang and Yu Bai took turns trying to receive balls from the serving machine, their passes flying all over the place.
“Hopeless!” Ning Yang fumed on the sidelines, gesturing wildly. “You two blockheads! How many times have I told you—you’ve got to watch carefully, like when the final boss in a video game winds up before a big move!”
Xu Zichang and Yu Bai exchanged a look, each seeing confusion mirrored in the other’s face…
“Riiing—”
Ning Yang bolted to the net post, pulled his phone out of his bag, silenced the alarm, and waved the two “blockhead disciples” off, “You two practice on your own for a bit, Zhou Zhou’s show is about to start…”
He plopped down in the rest area, waiting for the livestream to load. But on court, the serving machine hadn’t gone off in a while.
Ning Yang turned his head—only to find two heads leaning in from either side, both staring laser-focused at his phone screen.
“…Shouldn’t you two be practicing!?”
“Welcome everyone to the livestream! This is Sport Forward!—a brand new variety show with a star-studded lineup…”
The show had begun. Ning Yang ignored them and focused on the screen. The show had been heavily promoted beforehand, attracting quite a few curious viewers who quickly poured into the livestream chat:
[A sports variety show—first time seeing this kind of fresh format, looking forward to it!]
[I heard the guests are all ‘stars’ from the sports world?]
[Yeah, Basketball Goddess! Figure Skating Goddess! I’m here for my two queens!]
[And there are Olympic champions from shooting and table tennis too!]
[Uh… am I the only one here for that little nobody who trended on Weibo?]
[Raise hand! That selfie photo hit me right in the heart! @NingZhouNotTaken]
[I searched his name… aside from playing in the domestic volleyball league, he hasn’t achieved anything. Guess he’s just here as eye candy.]
“Hello everyone, and welcome! The first episode of Sport Forward! officially begins!”
After the promo clip finished, the PD’s voice came in over a black screen.
“Our program has invited five sports elites, who will form a sports troupe to share the charm of athletics with everyone! Let’s meet the troupe members first—please watch the VCR!”
The black screen transitioned into an intro reel, cutting together highlights from each guest’s peak moments before retirement:
Veteran pistol shooter Fu Binhong, a double Olympic gold medalist.
Yu Tong, the women’s basketball starting guard.
Zeng Yunsheng, a Grand Slam champion in table tennis.
Tong Rong, the figure skating prodigy who stunned the country at the Winter Olympics…
The editing team had gone all out, overlaying glowing text effects onto each athlete’s highlight footage. With the stirring background music, the reel had viewers fired up and emotional at the same time.
When it came time for the last one to appear—Ning Zhou—the BGM suddenly stopped…
It was like editing a video halfway and running out of budget. The smooth montage from earlier abruptly turned into a frozen frame of Ning Zhou’s one and only selfie. Even the text looked shabby:
Ning Zhou, current volleyball player.
International competitions participated in: ??
Achievements: ??
Titles: ??
[Huh? Is this Ning Zhou guest not very familiar with the production team? /stunned/]
[Don’t blame the editors, it seems like the only image of Ning Zhou online is that one selfie. Even the best chef can’t cook without ingredients…]
[That string of question marks left me dumbfounded. It’s like opening a blind box and pulling out a hidden character—you’ll have to explore the rest yourself.]
[Wait, his name is Ning Zhou? That selfie… is it actually barefaced with no filter? That’s way too good to go viral with!]
The PD explained awkwardly, “Ning Zhou joined our program at the last minute. Please make do, you’ll be seeing the real person on camera soon…”
After speaking, he switched his headset back to work mode, “Director, cut the feed!”
How could they already be having a live broadcast mishap just a few minutes in!?
“Actually, it looks good!” Director Zhang didn’t see it as a mishap and decisively changed plans, “Add an impromptu self-introduction segment for Ning Zhou’s follow-shot!”
“Huh?”
The cameraman hadn’t reacted yet, but the indicator light on his camera suddenly switched on…While the audience was still ridiculing the intro clip, the screen cut to Ning Zhou’s side profile. He was staring blankly into space, thick lashes casting shadows, his straight nose and side profile outline strikingly perfect.
“Um, Ning Zhou?”
The cameraman whispered carefully, not wanting to disturb his quiet moment.
“Mm?” Ning Zhou turned his head closer to listen. “Were you calling me?”
His face was too close to the lens, making the picture blur.
The cameraman quickly stepped back and refocused. “Don’t move, wait, almost there…”
Ning Zhou obediently stayed still, his voice gentle, “No rush, take your time!”
“Eh?” He caught sight of the camera light and raised his brows in surprise. “The light’s on—does that mean we’re about to start filming?”
[My heart is following his features now. I once naïvely thought that viral selfie was retouched, but he actually holds up under an HD close-up lens! /nosebleed/]
[Who understands—his side profile killed me once, his glance killed me once, his eye contact killed me once. And on top of being handsome, he’s gentle and well-behaved!]
[Yesterday me: Why did this show invite some no-name rookie with no achievements? Now me: I’ll forever trust the director’s vision. Thank you, sir, you are my god!]
[I just entered the livestream and thought the chat was full of paid commenters hyping him up… What the—how can human skin be this flawless? I admit I was way too harsh calling him a “vase”…]
The cameraman adjusted the lens and shot Ning Zhou a quick signal, “It’s not about to start—it’s already live!”
Ning Zhou jerked backward in surprise, tugged at his collar nervously, and said stiffly, “Good morning, no, wait… good afternoon, everyone…”
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the other guests were still fixing their makeup, while only his cameraman had the camera raised.
“The show’s really live already? Am I supposed to start exercising here? Or should I just dash forward?”
Cameraman, “…I think you might have misunderstood our show’s premise.”
[Hell-level comedy: “Sports Forward!”—guests must either exercise or dash forward. /doge/]
[Finally something to add to his VCR: International competitions Ning Zhou has participated in—Stand-Up Comedy Olympics!]
[I’ve wanted to roast this program name forever. Thank you, ‘Vase,’ for doing it officially. I feel much better now…]
[Can’t tell if this ‘Vase’ is an extrovert or introvert anymore.]
“Viewers don’t know much about you—why don’t you introduce yourself?”
Ning Zhou nodded, following the exact self-intro style he used on volleyball teams since childhood, “My name is Ning Zhou, and I play as a setter.”
A precious solo camera moment on the show—dismissed in under ten words…
It wasn’t that Ning Zhou was being stingy with words. His whole social life revolved around volleyball. To him, name + court position was the standard introduction.
The cameraman stared at him for several seconds, stunned. “That’s it?”
Ning Zhou hesitated, then added, “Zhou—as in the ‘zhou’ with three dots of water.”
The cameraman’s eye twitched. “Everyone knows that. Say something else… like, what are your hobbies?”
“Volleyball.”
“What do you do in your spare time?”
“Volleyball.”
“…What’s your best subject in school?”
Ning Zhou pursed his lips. “…Volleyball.”
[Wonderful. After that intro, this man seems even more mysterious. /deadpan/]
[He really loves volleyball. I don’t know much about the sport—how strong is China’s volleyball scene?]
[The women’s team is very strong. The men’s team peaked 20 years ago, but has since declined, and in recent years they’ve produced no real results…]
After Ning Zhou’s solo intro ended, the livestream switched over to the main content of Episode 1. All the guests walked out of the lounge, waiting for their entrance.
Ning Zhou followed quietly at the back until someone suddenly turned around, “You’re Ning Zhou, right?”
He instinctively replied, then saw a woman in a sports vest standing in front of him. One ear was decorated with multiple lobe and cartilage piercings. Her smile was bold and confident, “I’m Yu Tong. That brat Yu Bai actually took the initiative to call me for once—asked me to look after you.”
*
Two hours earlier—
“Hello, Yu Bai? So you do remember you have an older sister. How long has it been since you last contacted me?”
“You posted in the family group chat—you’re joining a sports variety show?”
“You never talk in our family group, I thought you never even read the messages there…”
“Someone from the volleyball team is also going to be on that show. Do me a favor and look after him.”
“Hm? That’s rare. You actually have a teammate you’re close with?”
“Yeah. He… helps me tape my fingers every day.”
“Every day? You should learn to do it yourself. He can’t keep helping you forever.”
“Why not?”
“For example, what if he retires?”
“Then I’ll retire too.”
—
Vase (hua ping) Literally, flower vase. Refer to a beautiful person who is not intelligent, capable, or talented; just eye candy.
![[Sports] I Really Am Just a Substitute](https://i2.wp.com/panda-translations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20231215185420_300_420.jpg?resize=151,215 "[Sports] I Really Am Just a Substitute")