I Really Am Just a Substitute – CH5

Chapter 5

“Zhou Zhou, after all these years, you still haven’t forgiven me? You don’t even want to continue playing volleyball?”

Ning Xu’s words echoed through the corridor, stabbing faintly at Ning Zhou’s heart. When the echo faded, silence was all that remained.

‘Zhou Zhou..

When I saw the news of your retirement, I bought a bouquet of sunflowers. 

I’m sorry, I didn’t have the courage to give them to you in person. I knew the last person you wanted to see then was me. So I placed them in the vase on the windowsill of your recovery ward.

I hope every day from now on is filled with fresh joy. I wish you health, happiness, and peace in the future.

From: Ning Xu’

After retiring, Ning Zhou only received two messages. One of them was from the foster father who, as an adult, had become little more than a stranger to him. He had reread those two messages countless times—every word was etched into his mind.

Pulled out of his memories, Ning Zhou rubbed his nose and gave a relaxed smile, “I won’t give up volleyball!”

Ning Xu froze at his smile, then quickly averted his gaze, “That’s good… Going on a variety show could be fun too. You’ve been training too hard lately, it’s good to balance work and rest.”

So, however long he trained, Ning Xu had been quietly watching that whole time…

Ning Zhou’s eyes lingered on the strands of white hair at Ning Xu’s temples. He swallowed his emotions and said softly, “Alright. I’ll head back first.”

He hurried away, turning the corner to escape the weight of Ning Xu’s gaze. Only then did he finally exhale. Signing the contract had eaten up quite a bit of time. By the time Ning Zhou returned to the dorm, Nie Feiang had already finished extra training and was brushing his teeth in the bathroom, foam filling his mouth.

“Hm? Why are you just getting back now?”

Changing his clothes, Ning Zhou answered casually: “Went to sign a variety show contract.”

“Oh.” Nie Feiang’s toothbrush moved a few times—then his brain caught up. His reflection in the mirror showed his eyes widening wider and wider…

“What!?”

A scream exploded from the bathroom. Already prepared, Ning Zhou covered his ears in time.

“Finish brushing first before talking. Don’t spray foam all over the mirror!”

As expected, Nie Feiang hurriedly wiped the mirror clean before guiltily rinsing his mouth. Then, at the speed he usually reserved for racing to the cafeteria, he bolted out of the bathroom, “Ning Zhou, you’re entering showbiz!?”

Ning Zhou waved his hand. “That’s an exaggeration. The original person dropped out last minute, so they gave me the slot.”

“But aren’t we in a closed training camp? Why’d you agree to film a show?”

“For the money.”

“…Money?” Nie Feiang was stunned by the bluntness.

“Mm. The league bonus all went toward tuition, and training pay is really low. The show’s like a short-term side job—I want to save some money.”

Ning Zhou couldn’t be sure if this life would avoid the same finger injury as before. Surgery and rehab would take a huge sum. In his last life, he had the national team’s salary and medical subsidies. But now, with his choice to slack off, there was a high chance he wouldn’t make it to the national team. Money was survival. The balance in his account was the last bit of security he had.

“Uh… anyway, you’re going to be on TV! I knew from the first time I saw your face this day would come!”

Nie Feiang was more excited than the person himself. “So what show? Is it that super popular reality show right now?”

“It’s a new sports variety show, Sports Forward!”

Nie Feiang repeated the name a few times, his face growing suspicious.

“Wait a second! That sounds like one of those obstacle-course game shows where the prize is a refrigerator. You sure you weren’t scammed?”

“…I told you, it’s new. The coaching team checked it out already.”

Nie Feiang grinned foolishly. “Doesn’t matter. With your looks, even if it’s an obstacle course you’ll get famous! Alright, Ning Zhou, give me your autograph!”

Ning Zhou had wanted to spend the evening in peace, quietly thinking over this whole rebirth matter. But that plan failed. With Nie Feiang as his roommate, there was no way to find peace.

Driven dizzy by the constant “Good Ning Zhou!” cheers, he put on a cold face and threatened, “If you don’t sleep now, I’ll go back to being how I used to be.”

Nie Feiang fell silent, shrinking like a quail into his bed. Within minutes, steady breathing came from the top bunk…

Ning Zhou: … As expected, this big oaf falls asleep in no time!

Ning Zhou switched on the little night lamp by his bed and pulled his phone out from under the pillow. At twenty years old, his WeChat list was pitifully empty aside from a few volleyball groups.

A contact from Go Forward, Sports! had sent him a friend request. As soon as Ning Zhou accepted, the other side messaged instantly, “Ning Zhou, the official program account is about to announce the guest lineup. What’s your Weibo handle?”

Ning Zhou pursed his lips. If he replied “I don’t have Weibo,” wouldn’t that just make things even harder for the poor overworked staffer?

Not wanting to add to their workload, he hurriedly downloaded Weibo. In both his lifetimes combined, he had never once used this app…

He typed “Ning Zhou” into the nickname field, but a prompt popped up: already taken. The variety show contact, seeing no reply, sent a few emoji nudges. Struggling to come up with a username, Ning Zhou thought: Forget it, anything will do…And so, on the very first night of his rebirth, an account named “Ning Zhou Not Taken” was born. The trajectory of fate was already quietly shifting…

*

“Training camp has been going for a week now—I believe all of you athletes have gained something!

Starting from the second week, in addition to fixed training, we’ll also add some matches. Everyone will get the chance to play!”

Coach Luo, nearing sixty, still had a booming voice, audible to every player in the lineup. Just then, an assistant coach ran past him, stirring the air. A few strands of hair at Luo’s forehead blew askew…

His speech abruptly cut off. Standing beside him, Assistant Coach Ning Xu glanced over and saw that Luo had produced a tiny wooden comb from who-knew-where, solemnly tidying his hair.

The little comb’s surface gleamed from years of use—clearly a treasured possession.

Ning Zhou was used to this. In his five years on the national team, he’d never heard of Coach Luo having any hobbies—other than fixing his hairstyle.

Around them, players struggled desperately not to laugh, whispering, “Unbelievable. The only time Coach Luo loses that sly old-fox smile is when he’s fussing with his hair.”

“What’s there to fix? He’s nearly bald!”

“You don’t get it. His wispy bangs are his last shred of dignity…”

Wispy bangs? Ning Zhou craned his head through the gap between two tall players to sneak a peek—Calling it a “hairstyle” was generous.

Coach Luo was severely balding. To cover his “Mediterranean,” he’d grown the back hair long, combed it forward to hide the shiny crown, and draped it down to his forehead…

The sparse strands fluttering in front really did look like “airy bangs.” Uh oh. Once you accept that mental image—Ning Zhou ducked his head back, shoulders trembling, barely holding it together…

Assistant Coach Ning Xu coughed twice, a subtle reminder, and the players instantly went quiet. After adjusting his “airy bangs” to satisfaction, Coach Luo got back to business, “In this training camp roster, two players have just returned. Step out and introduce yourselves!”

The moment he said that, murmurs rippled through the ranks again…

From the back row, Yu Bai strode forward. His sharp gaze swept the lineup, and the chatter died instantly. No one wanted to provoke this fierce rookie who looked ready to swing fists at any time.

He’d even dared to go against Shao Qiu, the former starting setter. Whoever he set his eyes on was in for trouble…

With broad shoulders, long legs, and wrists reaching past his hips, Yu Bai stood by Coach Luo, radiating edge, “My name is Yu Bai, outside hitter. I was late a few days because of a basketball game.”

The subtext was clear: I had my reasons for joining late. Any baseless rumors—shut them down.

In the lineup, Shao Qiu clicked his tongue. Du Jun warned him, “Don’t start any infighting. Coach Luo personally recruited him. No issues there.”

“I know!” Shao Qiu grit his teeth, unhappy. “I just can’t stand his arrogance. In front of so many national team seniors, what kind of attitude is that?”

“You saw his spikes in yesterday’s practice match. He’s likely to be a starter. Best to settle your differences and work with him more.”

“…I’ll try.”

“And that setter from the scrimmage—”

“No need to care about him!” Shao Qiu cut Du Jun off firmly. “If we hadn’t underestimated him yesterday, he never would’ve found an opening.”

Du Jun considered it, then nodded: “True. With Coach Luo’s selection standards, he won’t make the national team anyway.”

…

Coach Luo had been eyeing Yu Bai with satisfaction. It had been years since he’d seen such a physically gifted player.

“All right, back to the lineup!”

Yu Bai gave a respectful nod and turned back. But before rejoining, his gaze slipped precisely between two players in the front row—landing right on Ning Zhou. The players collectively thought: Uh oh. Someone just got targeted by the violent rookie…

Ning Zhou thought: Uh oh. Don’t tell me he’s going to grab my fingers again…

Fortunately, Yu Bai only glanced briefly and did nothing else.

“The other returning player—step out!”

“Yes, sir!”

Out came a player about 1.8 meters tall, open and carefree, with a pair of endearing protruding ears, “Hello everyone! I’m Ning Yang, libero. I caught a cold a few days ago and took sick leave. Don’t worry—I made sure I was 100% recovered before coming. Absolutely no chance of infecting anyone!”

The moment “Ning Yang” was said, Ning Zhou could feel faint glances sneaking his way—

“Ning Yang, huh! Today’s best libero in the domestic league!”

“He’s only twenty, tons of potential, amazing!”

“He and that short setter are both adopted sons of Assistant Coach Ning Xu. The media reported before that he took in two prodigies.”

“Ning Yang really is a prodigy. But Ning Zhou? Why him?”

“Yesterday in the practice match, the only special thing about Ning Zhou was his serve. I didn’t see any other talent in him…”

“Maybe his ‘gift’ is just being lucky. Yesterday he happened to find several open spots—made me jealous enough to grind my teeth!”

“Compared with Ning Yang, Ning Zhou is really too ordinary. No wonder the rumor only says Ning Zhou got into the training camp through connections. Nobody gossips about Ning Yang, hahaha!”

They spoke without lowering their voices at all, as if on purpose for Ning Zhou to hear…

Everyone present was eager for a chance to prove themselves in front of the coaching staff, yet yesterday during the practice game, Coach Luo had specifically called Ning Zhou to go up. To many, this short setter who always kept silent and only buried himself in practice was hard to stomach…

The one with the biggest complaint just so happened to be standing right behind Ning Zhou, spitting out sarcasm one line after another. He controlled his volume so that Ning Zhou could hear clearly but it wouldn’t reach the coaches in front…

The same few lines over and over, without a shred of originality—Ning Zhou was almost falling asleep listening. Rule number one of being a slacker: never go out of your way to cause trouble, but if you let trouble fester, it’ll definitely climb right onto your head! Thinking this, Ning Zhou turned back, “Can you shut up? I can’t even hear the coach anymore.”

The guy behind him was half a head taller, deliberately tilting his chin down to look at Ning Zhou from above, “Struck a nerve, did I?”

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