Chapter 26
#U21 Men’s Volleyball World Championship bronze medal — Ning Zhou named Best Setter#
This hashtag surged past the Asian Championship silver medal news and hit the front page of the trending list like a dark horse…
[Who is this Ning Zhou? He just posts on Weibo and ends up trending?]
[The key is that U21 making the top 3 is huge. In the past decade, China’s U21 team has never made it to the semifinals…]
[I thought our main national team was sent to the Asian Championship. Wasn’t U21 considered unimportant?]
[Not unimportant—just that China currently needs world ranking points. U21 doesn’t affect that, but volleyball powerhouses take it very seriously!”]
[Exactly. In past years, even with our strongest youth players, we couldn’t break into the top eight. The Volleyball Association stopped expecting much from U21.]
[In other words—the first team was sent to the Asian Championship and got second, while the little-noticed U21 team, thrown into a world-class youth tournament, took third… /blackface/]
[Talk about an unintended success! Domestic media didn’t even cover the U21 matches. If Ning Zhou hadn’t posted that podium photo, no one would’ve known they placed in the top three!]
[Ning Zhou was named Best Setter at the World Youth Championship!? /screams squeezing a rubber chicken/]
[Some people always said his volleyball skills weren’t good. My expectations were at rock bottom… the haters must be in pain now!]
[Ning Zhou’s fans, rise up! I want to make a highlight reel of his best plays—where can I watch replays of the U21 matches?]
[Uh, domestic broadcasters didn’t buy the rights. None of the big streaming platforms have it.]
[They really don’t value it that much, huh…]
[Truly secretly working hard, and then stunning everyone. /thumbs up/]
…
“Holy crap! Zhou Zhou is amazing!”
Scrolling through the comments, Nie Feiang slapped his thigh and exclaimed: “Best result in nearly ten years—this is absolutely a comeback-from-the-bottom, turning despair into hope!”
“We had that bet with Zhou Zhou, remember? Whoever’s side performed worse had to treat the others…” Xu Zichang said as he looked at the phone with him. “I thought we were guaranteed to win, but it turned out to be a close call.”
“Close call? What are you talking about?”
Ning Yang raised his chin proudly: “If you adjust for the difficulty of the tournaments, Zhou Zhou completely crushed us!”
Yu Bai didn’t say anything, just nodded in agreement.
Xu Zichang howled, “Whose side are you guys even on!? We’re the ones who have to pay if we lose—who roots for the other side to win!?”
“What’s this about paying?”
Coach Luo happened to pass by, curious.
Nie Feiang quickly locked his phone screen and explained: “It’s just that Zhou Zhou won the bronze medal, and we had made a little bet…”
“What did you say!?”
Coach Luo was so shocked his bangs got messy, but he didn’t even notice.
“Who? Won what?”
Nie Feiang and Xu Zichang exchanged a look. This was already all over the internet—no way the coach hadn’t heard before the netizens, right…
Nie Feiang handed over his phone, “Ning Zhou’s team, U21 third place. Oh, and Ning Zhou also made the All-Star Team.”
Coach Luo’s hand trembled slightly as he held the phone, muttering under his breath, “Good old Zhang Kang… didn’t tell me they made top 8, didn’t tell me they made top 4, and then they went and won the bronze medal match…”
Then he burst out laughing, head tilted back, and strode toward the coaching staff: “Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!”
Nie Feiang scrambled after him, whispering, “Coach, my phone…”
Among the coaching staff, everyone had mixed reactions upon hearing U21’s result. The most openly emotional was Garry—he cheered loudly, grabbed Coach Luo, and started dancing with him.
Compared to him, Ning Xu was far more reserved. He was probably the happiest of them all, but he stood quietly to the side, face filled with warmth and reflection.
Assistant Coach Hou clapped and said, “That’s wonderful,” though his eyes kept sneaking glances at Coach Luo’s expression…
After the Asian Championships, both players and staff were exhausted. At the end of the post-match summary meeting, Coach Luo gave everyone a one-day break to wander around locally—basically like sightseeing.
Nie Feiang and the others were so drained they just stayed in bed all day. Before boarding the plane, they hastily bought a few souvenirs to bring back for family and friends. And so Ning Zhou received several airport souvenirs…
“Uh, they don’t look like much, but actually…” Nie Feiang sounded like a salesman without confidence, unable to hype them up, “actually they were pretty expensive.”
Ning Yang forced a smile and handed over the others’ gifts too, “Here, we made sure to pick different ones… the airport didn’t have much choice, so we really did put thought into it.”
Xu Zichang covered his face, “We just lazed in the hotel the whole time and forgot to buy gifts. Sorry…”
“Thanks, I’ll definitely treasure such low cost-performance gifts.”
Joking, Ning Zhou pulled out his own souvenirs and handed them out one by one, “This one’s for Mie Mie, a super popular game console over there—you can’t get it even if you fly across the ocean. Feiang, here’s some hair dye, you’ve been whining about wanting to color your hair. Xu Zichang…”
One by one, they took their gifts, guilt gnawing at their conscience. Finally, Ning Zhou pulled out a small bottle of men’s cologne. The liquid shimmered faintly inside, reflecting a pale champagne hue.
He placed it in Yu Bai’s palm, “I tried it and liked this scent the most. Don’t overthink laundry detergent versus shampoo anymore…”
The bottle looked tiny against Yu Bai’s large hand. Ning Zhou hurried to add, “Couldn’t bring a full-sized bottle on the plane, so I got a travel size.”
“Let me see—what kind of scent does Zhou Zhou like the most…” Ning Yang reached curiously toward Yu Bai’s hand.
Yu Bai instantly curled his fingers shut, enclosing the cologne in his fist, and stuffed it into his pocket protectively—like guarding food…
Ning Yang instinctively pulled back, baffled, “You won’t even let me look? Stingy! And hey, I don’t see your gift for Zhou Zhou.”
Yu Bai shot him a sidelong glance, then pulled a volleyball out of his bag and tossed it to Ning Zhou.
The ball bore the logo of a local brand from the Asian Championships’ host country. Ning Zhou touched it—the material was neither too soft nor too hard, just right.
“What the—foul play!” Ning Yang’s eyes widened. “Giving Zhou Zhou a volleyball is basically like giving him a love potion!”
Xu Zichang quietly added a voiceover, “K.O.”
As Ning Zhou packed up his things, his phone buzzed a few times—messages from the U21 teammates’ group chat, “Not Gossip but Real Stuff,” tagging him, “@Ning Zhou, Brother Ning, quick look! Coach praised you! [Image]
Ning Zhou tapped open the video. It was a clip of Zhang Kang being interviewed.
Reporter: “Coach Zhang, congratulations on leading the team to a third-place finish at the U21 World Championship! You only had a short time to train this team, yet achieved such results—what’s your secret?”
Zhang Kang looked weary, clearly uninterested in the interview segment: “Thank you. No secret.”
Reporter: “Uh… you’re being too modest. Before the tournament, fans didn’t have high hopes for U21, but it was your ‘never abandon, never give up’ spirit that showed everyone the fighting character of men’s volleyball!”
Zhang Kang was silent for a few seconds. The atmosphere grew awkward.
“Actually, it had little to do with the coach. The team had one player with exceptionally strong cohesion. In an extremely short time, he managed to unite the team with a shared center of gravity.”
Reporter: “Ah, I see. Coach Zhang’s players truly are outstanding!”
Zhang Kang smiled meaningfully: “Right, he’s not crooked melons or cracked dates. Even though his foundation is weak and their technique rough now, in the future he’ll definitely become a force for China’s men’s volleyball…”
The interview video ended there. Ning Zhou was surprised that Zhang Kang would say something so official-sounding. In the team group chat, tagged players replied, [Coach didn’t mention me.]
[‘There’s a player with strong cohesion in the team’—99.99% sure that’s talking about Brother Ning!]
[That’s right, Brother Ning’s sets are magical. Every time the ball comes from him, the blockers can’t follow properly, and my scoring efficiency has gone way up compared to before!]
[+1. If our fundamentals weren’t so poor and we didn’t mess up so many first passes, we wouldn’t have lost the semifinal. We might’ve even gone for the gold medal…]
[You never know how much basics matter until you need them. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have slacked off—I would’ve practiced more bumping drills.]
They sent a string of regretful memes, each one crying harder than the last…
Ning Zhou could almost hear his teammates’ whimpers by his ear. He quickly comforted them, [Losing a match isn’t anyone’s fault alone. We’ll win more together in the future!]
[Win! With Brother Ning as our setter, we’ll sweep a ten-game winning streak sooner or later!]
[Think bigger—a hundred-game winning streak! /Little dinosaur spitting fire/]
[Brother Ning, how did you train your fundamentals? I want to be as steady as a rock too…]
Just as they were imagining a bright future, Zhang Kang poured cold water on them, [Don’t count on Ning Zhou being your setter. After U21, this team disbands.]
[Coach Zhang, you’re heartless, you’re ruthless, you’re unreasonable! /Handkerchief wiping tears/]
[You can’t shake me off! Even if I go back to my league team, I’ll come find you guys to spar! /Little devil/]
Zhang Kang, [You can find others, but not Ning Zhou. He’s been recalled to the national team.]
“!!!”
“Heavens!”
Ning Zhou, “Huh?”
Zhang Kang pointed at Ning Zhou’s confused message bubble, raised his brow, “You haven’t told him yet? He looks like the most surprised one…”
“No, I haven’t.”
Beside him, Coach Luo gave a stiff smile, “You were the first one I told. I was afraid you’d set your eyes on Ning Zhou and snatch him away without giving him back.”
“How could I?” Zhang Kang folded his arms, turning his head. “At first I thought his biggest advantage was just having good rapport with people. But once I saw his real talent during matches, I knew I couldn’t steal someone like him…”
Coach Luo shrugged. “Exactly. He belongs on the international stage.”
“Then why didn’t you bring him to the Asian Championship this time?”
Coach Luo shook his head slowly, voice layered with meaning, “The world will discover Ning Zhou eventually—but not yet.”
Zhang Kang froze, then understood, “The big tournaments are coming, other countries are laying their cards on the table, and you’re the one preparing a sneak attack, huh?”
They looked at each other, then both burst into laughter. Two old foxes, perfectly in sync, thinking: Let’s see which unlucky team faces Ning Zhou first…
Coach Luo stopped laughing and said seriously, “Where’s the stuff I asked for?”
“Don’t worry, all recorded.” Zhang Kang opened his phone and transferred videos to him. “Only recorded Ning Zhou’s plays in the group stage, but the knockout matches are complete.”
“Thanks, really appreciate the hard work.”
“No problem, it’s not like I lost any bonus money…”
After the transfer, Zhang Kang waved and left the office. Coach Luo stayed behind, watching the U21 recordings—Ning Zhou saw right through the opponents at the World Youth Championship, with holes all over their block.
If the block was like a wall, Ning Zhou’s role was to open cracks in what had seemed impenetrable. But his height disadvantage was obvious—his block height wasn’t enough. Once he rotated to the front row, opponents treated him as a breakthrough point.
Aside from that…Coach Luo paused the video, circling two characters on paper, frowning—Stamina.
As a young professional athlete, Ning Zhou’s stamina was definitely better than the average person’s. But his physicality wasn’t outstanding, and using his vision required extreme concentration, which drained him mentally.
From the video, it was clear: Ning Zhou’s fatigue showed earlier than his teammates. If he started as setter, finishing in three sets was fine. But if it dragged into a fourth set, or even a deciding set, his performance would keep deteriorating…
Coach Luo held his head and muttered, “Has this kid been slacking off on conditioning…”
International tournaments often last a long time, some even co-hosted by multiple countries, with several matches in each city. If Ning Zhou was to be kept as a secret weapon for the key knockout rounds, they had to preserve his stamina as much as possible…
After much thought, Coach Luo flipped through the training roster and stopped at one player’s page.
He called an assistant coach, “Hey, bring this player to my office…”
Ning Zhou accepted his U21 teammates’ congratulations in a daze, unable to believe he could really make the national team.
How could a setter who had been cut from the training squad end up being reused? Setter was different from other positions. If an outside hitter changed teams, they only needed to connect with a new setter. But if a setter changed teams, they had to coordinate with every attacker.
So coaches rarely moved setters they valued. And even less likely someone like Ning Zhou, who—after finishing the domestic league—went to the national camp, then halfway switched to U21, and after U21 immediately went to the senior team…
Even screws aren’t used like this! Maybe the message Zhang Kang got was fake…
But Ning Zhou hadn’t doubted long before the official notice to return to the senior training camp arrived.
About How My Life Became More Eventful After Lying Flat
When Nie Feiang heard the news, he forgot he was lying on the top bunk. He jackknifed up like a carp, smacking his head on the ceiling.
“Hiss—”
Ning Zhou winced in sympathy. “Take it easy…”
“Zhou Zhou! This is great news!” Nie Feiang grimaced in pain, baring his teeth. “The national team’s roster is definitely going to be adjusted again. As long as you’re back in camp, you’ve got hope of making it in!”
Ning Zhou pondered for a moment, “Are you guys still training with the main camp?”
“No, Coach Kong said we should stick with the Asian Championship lineup and train separately.”
“?”
Ning Zhou scratched his face, his thoughts in a tangle, The notice he got was to “return to training camp”, but what Coach Zhang said in the group chat was “Ning Zhou has been recalled to the national team”…
Unlike Nie Feiang, the players who had remained in the main training camp were not welcoming toward Ning Zhou’s return.
There was now one more competitor for a national team spot—complaints were inevitable.
On his very first day back, Ning Zhou overheard plenty of whispers:
“Wasn’t he kicked to U21? How is he back?”
“He brought back a bronze medal, plated in gold, now he’s not the same as before.”
“His PR skills are amazing—he trended on hot search multiple times, and now he’s a popular guest on variety shows.”
“He’s got hundreds of thousands of followers on Weibo. His commercial value alone is worth more than being just an athlete. Even if it’s just for publicity, Coach Kong has to bring him back…”
Eavesdropping with pricked-up ears, Ning Zhou thought: Ah, so it’s for publicity!
Like a bell ringing in his head, his nagging question finally had a logical explanation…
He drifted off into thought while practicing overhead passes. His fingers moved elastically, the ball obediently bouncing straight up and down, always returning to his hands.
After a while, the vague chatter faded away.
Catching the ball, Ning Zhou glanced toward the entrance of the court. Sure enough, Coach Luo had arrived.
And behind him was a player—
The man was about two meters tall, his gait timid and lacking confidence, freckles scattered across his cheeks.
Ning Zhou rubbed his eyes: He looks familiar…
Coach Luo brought him straight over, patting him on the shoulder, “Introduce yourself!”
The player’s voice was even softer than those gossiping earlier, “Hello, my name is Song Hanrun. I play opposite hitter…”
Ning Zhou had to crane his neck and hold his breath just to hear him, “Hello, I’m the setter, Ning Zhou.”
Song Hanrun nodded slightly, eyes sparkling, as if to say “long time no see.”
Two meters tall… soft-spoken… the suitcase…
Ning Zhou: !
He suddenly remembered—the first time he went to film a variety show, he had met Song Hanrun.
At that time, Song Hanrun was standing outside the training center with a suitcase, staring blankly. Ning Zhou had mistaken him for going home on vacation…
“I left my resignation letter on the coach’s desk. I was planning to quit the team.”
The memory burst open.
Ning Zhou asked in surprise, “Weren’t you going to quit volleyball?”
“Mm.” Song Hanrun brightened when he realized Ning Zhou still remembered him.
“After talking with you, I took my resignation back. Luckily the coach hadn’t seen it yet.”
Ning Zhou: Did I actually persuade him back then!?
“So you two already know each other!” Coach Luo said, full of satisfaction. “That makes things easier…”
Ning Zhou grew more confused, “Uh? What are we supposed to do together?”
Coach Luo smiled deliberately, like a matchmaker in a hurry to tie a red string, “I hear young people nowadays like finding training partners. You two are perfect for each other. This partnership must happen!”
Before Ning Zhou could respond, Coach Luo waved his hand decisively, “Good. It’s settled! You’ll always train together, run more plays. I’ll be watching closely.”
Song Hanrun: OvO
Ning Zhou: O.o
It was as if the background music of “The two guests have successfully paired up” started playing.
Ning Zhou clearly felt that once he and Song Hanrun stood together, the other players drifted even farther away…
Catching glimpses of the odd looks around them, Ning Zhou, though having only met Song Hanrun twice, suddenly felt a kind of camaraderie born of shared misfortune.
He didn’t really mind who he practiced with, so he accepted Coach Luo’s arrangement.
After several hours of training, Ning Zhou’s impression of Song Hanrun changed drastically…
Though a little hunched, reserved in every movement, and with a voice that was always drowned out in the noisy gym, once practice began, it was as if he became someone else—
Solid. Steady.
Carrying a quiet confidence.
Ning Zhou, surprised, bumped the ball back to him and felt how comfortable the return was:
“Wow! Your fundamentals are rock solid!”
At that distance, he had to rely on reading Song Hanrun’s lips to catch his reply:
“So are yours.”
Ning Zhou smiled at him: Anyone who can pass a ball so gently can’t be a bad person.
In the following drills—serves, defense, transitions—Song Hanrun handled them all with ease.
Silent as rain nourishing everything.
His volleyball matched his name: gentle, meticulous, with no glaring weaknesses, quietly executing everything.
When it came to spiking practice, Ning Zhou was still marveling at his hidden strength.
In a moment of distraction, Ning Zhou under-hit a set—
Damn!
As an opposite, Song Hanrun usually spiked from position 2 (on the right, facing the net).
The setter, standing with his back to position 2, had to deliver a back set.
That kind of blind pass, without seeing behind, relied entirely on touch and muscle memory—very easy to miss, and it tested the connection between setter and opposite hitter.
This time, Ning Zhou’s set was too short—especially tough for a newly paired opposite.
He immediately turned around, apology ready on his lips.
But Song Hanrun stayed calm. Reading the ball’s trajectory, he made a tiny adjustment in his steps, rotated his wrist, and with a body angle suggesting a cross-court swing—he blasted a sharp straight-line spike.
A cross-body setup into a line shot!
Ning Zhou’s eyes widened in shock, “Beautiful! That’s the sharpest line shot I’ve ever seen!”
Song Hanrun shook his hand modestly, but the corners of his lips lifted, unable to hide his excitement.
Seeing this, Ning Zhou praised him lavishly, and whether it was psychological or not, Song Hanrun’s slouch even seemed cured…
“Sorry, that set was too short.”
“It’s fine, I thought it was good.” Song Hanrun’s voice was a little louder this time.
He walked up to the net. With his two-meter frame, a tiptoe stretch had his hand already over the net, where he gestured a range, “As long as you set it somewhere around here, I can hit it.”
Ning Zhou silently took note, thrilled:
Not only was Song Hanrun’s foundation solid, his attacking adjustment ability was strong too!
With such a well-rounded opposite, how had he not become a national team starter in his past life?
Thinking it over, Ning Zhou realized—his memories of the last life didn’t contain the name “Song Hanrun” among any of the famous domestic players…
That meant that in the original timeline, Song Hanrun really had quit volleyball during training camp.
Ning Zhou stared at him in a daze, “You won’t leave volleyball again in the future, will you?”
Song Hanrun suddenly wilted, “Hard to say… My resignation letter is still in my drawer. If one day I can’t hold on anymore, I’ll just hand it in—saves me from writing a new one…”
“Don’t act on impulse!”
Ning Zhou cupped his hands together and earnestly said, “Jobs aren’t easy to find. With your level, you can definitely make a living with this! You play so well—training with you, I’ve finally understood what it means to ‘treasure talent’!”
His praise came with no restraint, loud enough that players across the court could hear him, as if he had joined some “praise group.”
News spread quickly across training halls. At that moment, in another gym, Nie Feiang—slacking off on his phone—clicked into the “Big Training Gossip Group” and shouted, “Zhou Zhou found a training partner on his very first day back at camp! That was fast!”
Bang—
A volleyball was spiked viciously into the floor, the sound deafening…
Practicing defense, Ning Yang barely dodged, feeling his life flash before his eyes, “Bro, you trying to kill me!?”
Yu Bai, who had delivered the spike, wore a dark expression, lowered his head slightly in apology, then walked off in silence.
Behind him, Ning Yang grumbled, “That didn’t look like an apology—looked like you wanted to fight me…”
Feeling stifled, Yu Bai opened his chat with Ning Zhou, fingers hesitating.
Wouldn’t it sound too childish to just ask, ‘I’m your training partner, so why did you find someone else?’
After a moment’s thought, he closed the private chat, opened his family group instead, and sent in a carefully prepared file.
File name: “Proposal Regarding the Selection of Yu’s Sports Shoe Endorser”
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