I Really Am Just a Substitute – CH21

Chapter 21

“Should we add Ning Zhou to the first-team candidate list as well?”

Assistant Coach Hou narrowed his eyes, studying Coach Luo’s micro-expressions.

Coach Luo’s face shifted for only a moment before returning to normal: “What do you think, Xiao Hou?”

“I…” Assistant Coach Hou looked away, mumbling, “I’ll hold my opinion until I’ve discussed it with Assistant Coach Garry.”

“Step, step…” Footsteps approached, breaking their exchange.

“Coach?”

Du Jun—who had already secured a first-team spot—walked over, strapping on wrist guards as he greeted them.

Coach Luo nodded, motioning to Assistant Coach Hou, “We’ll save this discussion for the meeting.”

Assistant Coach Hou understood, tucking his notebook back into his bag.

“Then I’ll get going. You and the players should rest too, don’t overwork yourselves.”

Du Jun watched the assistant coach’s back as he left, then turned to ask, “Coach, what brought you to the court?”

“Mm, came to collect the serving machine. Ning Yang borrowed it for the afternoon.” Coach Luo’s smile deepened the wrinkles around his eyes. “Since you’re here, help bring it back, will you? I’ve got something else to take care of in the office.”

“Sure, you go ahead.”

Du Jun walked alone into the court and found Ning Yang, “Done with the serving machine? I’ll put it away.”

He pulled at the machine—but it wouldn’t budge.

“?”

Du Jun looked behind it. Ning Yang was dragging from the other side, like a tug-of-war, “Brother Du! Don’t, we’ve only just started getting the hang of it!”

Worried about breaking the machine, Du Jun helplessly let go, “Didn’t you borrow it for the whole afternoon? How can you say you only just started?”

Ning Yang was suddenly at a loss, stammering…

He definitely couldn’t say that he left the machine sitting idle while he watched variety shows all afternoon.

Du Jun sighed lightly, pried Ning Yang’s hands off the machine, “Anyway, you just need someone to serve for you, right?”

Ning Yang froze, then lit up with excitement, “Brother Du, you mean…?”

“Mm. I need to practice serving too.”

Du Jun took over for the serving machine, sending balls to those practicing their first passes. Once he joined the drill, Ning Zhou and Nie Feiang’s ultra-close quick attack had to be shelved—

Because hardly anyone could pass the ball accurately. Du Jun’s serves, unlike the mechanical machine’s predictable tosses, were sharp and varied. With his rich experience and excellent ball control, every jump serve zeroed in on the hardest spot to receive, tormenting Xu Zichang and Yu Bai until they were miserable.

After yet another pass flew off-court, Ning Zhou couldn’t be bothered to chase it down.
“Nie Feiang, go get it!”

Instinctively, Nie Feiang sprinted, but he was too late. He fetched the ball back, sulky, “Sorry, Zhou Zhou, I couldn’t save it…”

“No worries, try again next time.”

Ning Zhou casually comforted him a bit, then took the ball from his hands and tossed it back to Du Jun, who was waiting to serve…

Nie Feiang frowned, realizing something was off, “Zhou Zhou, you’re not sticking me with all the grunt work on purpose, are you?”

“How could I?” Ning Zhou said with a straight face, spinning the excuse. “Middle blockers need to train defense too… Ah, another shanked pass—go, quick!”

Like a big dog chasing a frisbee, Nie Feiang darted off again. Leaning against the post, Ning Zhou felt thoroughly pleased: finding someone eager to fetch balls was really convenient!

“Is it really that hard to pass!?” Ning Yang, watching the awful receptions, was on the verge of losing it. “Use your eyes, watch properly! And stop flailing your arms at random angles!”

He mimed the shape of a volleyball with his hands, gesturing, “If the ball comes like this, you pass it like this. If it comes like that…”

The self-proclaimed prodigy thought he was pouring out his knowledge, but to the others it sounded like gibberish.

One look at Yu Bai’s blank face and Ning Zhou knew he hadn’t understood a word, “Mie Mie, saying it like that, they won’t get it…”

“Oh, so that’s it!”

Xu Zichang slapped his thigh, like he’d had an epiphany.

Yu Bai: ?
Ning Zhou: ?

“Great! Finally someone gets it!” Ning Yang’s face shone with relief. He shouted across the net, “Brother Du, serve one to Xu Zichang!”

Du Jun obliged, sending a sharp, precise ball to Xu Zichang’s side. This one was faster, tougher, and more accurate than any from warm-up earlier. Seeing the curve of the ball, Ning Zhou couldn’t help worrying for Xu Zichang. Xu Zichang adjusted his form slightly, following Ning Yang’s instructions—

Bang!

The sound of contact with his forearms was subtly different. The pass arced high and true, landing above the three-meter line.

Ning Zhou’s setter instincts kicked in; without thinking, he ran, hands ready, and set the ball, “Nice pass!”

Xu Zichang jumped up, his yellow-dyed tips bouncing, and grabbed Nie Feiang, who had just retrieved the ball, “Did you see my pass!? Amazing! I’m a natural genius!”

Nie Feiang shoved him off, disgusted, “No way you improved that fast. Must’ve been a fluke.”

“Not bad!” Ning Yang clapped, looking finally satisfied. “It wasn’t perfect, but close enough that the setter didn’t have to move much. Keep at it—next time aim for a perfect pass!”

Yu Bai stood quietly off to the side, feeling left out. It was like he and his deskmate had always been the worst students, but suddenly, after the exam, his deskmate scored full marks…

“Don’t doubt yourself.” Ning Zhou walked over to comfort him. “This is the first time I’ve seen someone actually understand Mie Mie’s explanations…”

Yu Bai’s eyes shifted. Tilting his head, he leaned closer, pressing one ear toward Ning Zhou, “What did you just call him?”

“Mie Mie.” Ning Zhou pursed his lips, a little embarrassed, his tone lilting upward. “When he was a kid, people called him ‘little Yang’—like ‘little lamb,’ so it became Mie Mie…”

Yu Bai felt a pleasant tingle down one side of his body. He leaned in closer, face shamelessly nearer, “Didn’t catch that, what was it?”

“Mie Mie!”

“Bie Bie?”

“…It’s Mie Mie. Haven’t you ever heard a sheep bleat?”

Ning Zhou repeated it several times, even doubting his own Mandarin, until he noticed the faint smile tugging Yu Bai’s lips and the lazy droop of his eyelids…

“You’re teasing me?”

Ning Zhou’s tone hardened, and Yu Bai instantly lowered his gaze, docile, “No… it’s cute.”

“Right? I think calling him ‘Mie Mie’ is really cute too. Even Vice Coach Ning has started calling him Little Mie now!”

“Yu Bai!”

Ning Yang stormed over, pulling Ning Zhou behind him like a shield, glaring warily, “Yu Bai, are you practicing or not? Why do you keep chatting up Zhou Zhou?”

Ning Zhou couldn’t understand where this sudden tension was coming from.

After thinking it over, he patted Ning Yang’s shoulder, “You focus on teaching Xu Zichang. I’ll coach Yu Bai…”

Yu Bai lifted his eyelids. The words he wanted to say swirled in his throat, but what came out instead was, “Learning reception from a setter?”

Ning Zhou tilted his chin up. “Don’t underestimate me. After I switched to setter, I secretly played libero in practice matches…”

As he spoke, a mix of melancholy and emotion surged up, but he quickly adjusted his mood. “Did you forget? I received your serve during the group matches. Try practicing with me!”

Ning Yang looked worried and turned to check Ning Zhou’s state. “Zhou Zhou…”

“I’m fine.” Ning Zhou pushed him away. “Xu Zichang must be getting impatient—go on.”

Practice resumed. Compared to Ning Yang, Ning Zhou’s way of teaching reception was very traditional—starting with correcting the basic stance. Since Yu Bai also played basketball, his volleyball habits always carried traces of that sport: his center of gravity wasn’t low enough, his arms not tight enough.

Ning Zhou carefully corrected his movements. “If it’s a serve you’re unsure about, don’t force it. Even if the ball doesn’t reach the setter, it’s fine—just use your body to keep it high…”

“No.” Yu Bai was as stubborn as a mule. “I’m here to practice perfect receptions.”

Ning Zhou pouted. “With poor fundamentals, you’ll just make mistakes. Why are you so hung up on perfection?”

Yu Bai fell silent, his gaze landing on Ning Zhou’s face—Cheeks flushed, the tip of his nose slightly damp. After just a short while, his breathing had already turned heavy. Just like every group warm-up, Ning Zhou was always the first to fall behind, blatantly so—and it was impossible for Yu Bai not to notice. Such a delicate setter… the only way to spare him a few extra steps and keep him on the court with him longer was to deliver more perfect receptions.

“?” Ning Zhou touched his own face, but didn’t find anything stuck there.

Yu Bai held it in for a long time before finally speaking, “My reception is weak. Last time I didn’t get a chance to switch groups…”

Yu Bai smashed the ball so hard during matches—it was obvious he was desperate for the chance!

Ning Zhou recalled the discussions after the group matches and asked in surprise, “Switch groups? You were working so hard not for a spot on the main team, but just to change groups?”

Yu Bai gave him a sideways glance, which was as good as an admission.

Ning Zhou’s thoughts tangled into a mess. “Why would you want to switch? Coach Garry’s training style suits your type of player much better!”

Yu Bai kept his receiving posture, thinking for a moment. His lashes trembled, ears drooping like a wet puppy—pathetic to the extreme, “I was isolated…”

“!?”

Ning Zhou struggled to keep his expression steady. He remembered that Yu Bai’s reputation among the players wasn’t good. On his very first day at training camp, he had almost fought with Shao Qiu. With his fierce looks, a cold face made him appear downright menacing. That no one in Garry’s group wanted to partner with him was… understandable. Ning Zhou rubbed his fingers together, as if recalling the feel of two shopping cards—one of them gifted by Yu Tong…After much hesitation, he raised his arm and gently patted Yu Bai’s head. The buzzcut prickled his palm.

“…From now on, during basic drills where we’re not divided into groups, come train with me. I’ll be your partner.”

*

Ning Zhou never expected that those words would stick him with a piece of clingy toffee. Before every practice, Yu Bai came over to help him tape his fingers. During group drills, they’d be apart for only a moment, but for basic training he was right back at Ning Zhou’s side. Even during extra practice after training ended, Yu Bai would stare at him eagerly, hinting that he wanted more reception drills…

Rule n+1 of slacking off: you should resist extra practice invites. …But if you can’t, just give in.

Thanks to Yu Bai, Ning Zhou’s personal practice hours were forcibly extended, making him once again the “grinding king” in everyone else’s eyes…

Fortunately, those days wouldn’t last much longer—The Asian Championship was approaching. The coaching staff had to select players to leave the training camp and train separately. Although the Asian Championship was only a continental tournament, the top three teams would earn tickets to the World Championship, and the results would also affect world rankings. The Chinese Volleyball Association placed great importance on this competition, giving the coaching staff two tasks: finish in the top three, and earn ranking points.

Which meant every player knew: The ones chosen for the Asian Championship would become the national first team!

The big training camp had finally reached the moment of truth…

“Ahem!” Coach Luo cleared his throat, smoothed the list in his hand, and under the nervous stares of everyone, announced, “The following players will form the team to fight in the Asian Championship—”

Thump, thump…

Ning Zhou listened to his own heartbeat, rapid and forceful, like the sea winds before a storm, carrying with them heavy portent. The national team’s first squad… would there still be a substitute setter spot for him?

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