Chapter 30

Lin Miao sat in the car, thinking about how she was about to surprise her brother. When he saw her, he'd surely be surprised. He’d probably think she'd run away from home.
Then she’d tell him she was brought by her teacher to compete in a badminton match! He’d be even more shocked! He must be going to school by now; I wonder if his teacher is nice, and if his classmates are good...
At that moment, Lin Miao heard the coach talk about the rules for the next few days: don't wander off, don't run around. The city was big, and if they got lost, it would be hard to find them. When there’s a competition, just focus on the game, and on non-competition days, stay with the teacher and watch other matches.
Lin Miao was stunned. How was she going to find her brother?
She had originally planned to surprise him after the match, but now that idea was gone. It was hard to get out, and now it seemed like all her excitement had been for nothing.
Her mood shifted drastically, and Teacher Feng couldn't help but notice. She walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Miao spoke honestly, "I was planning to find my brother after the match..."
The little girl in her pink down jacket, hugging her schoolbag, looked a bit disappointed, as if someone had snatched away her favorite lollipop.
Only then did Teacher Feng realize that Lin Miao wasn’t excited because of the competition, but because she wanted to see her brother.
After a moment of thought, Teacher Feng asked, "Do you have your brother's phone number?"
Lin Miao did, of course.
Teacher Feng jotted it down and said, "Just focus on the match. Afterward, we'll go see your brother. I'll take you."
Lin Miao's eyes lit up again.
They were staying at a hotel. Lin Miao shared a room with two other girls, but since they'd been on the bus for so long, no one said much, and they all went to bed early.
Lin Miao didn’t really know what to expect from the competition. She knew the teachers seemed eager for them to win, but as someone who had only won a few rounds of tic-tac-toe after hundreds of attempts, and had never won against a teacher in badminton, she didn’t feel like the teachers were putting their hopes on her.
Besides, she figured she was probably chosen simply because there weren’t many girls in her grade who could play badminton, most of the players were in higher grades, so she was just filling in.
So, feeling a bit clueless, Lin Miao entered the competition.
She was thinking she just wanted to finish quickly and find her brother afterward.
The referee’s chair was particularly high, and Lin Miao was curious. She watched as the referee climbed the ladder and sat down.
Then she heard the announcement: "Lin Miao, Yu Jia Jia, prepare for the match."
Lin Miao saw a tall girl on the other side.
She smiled at her, and the girl gave her a puzzled smile in return.
Lin Miao had never competed in an official match before. Then she heard the referee announce, "The match begins, Lin Miao serves, score is zero to zero."
Lin Miao served quickly.
She soon found herself in the game, swiftly returning the shuttlecock and smashing it.
Her stamina was good, her arms strong, and she was agile. She handled the opponent’s shots easily.
Before long, the other girl couldn’t keep up and missed a shot from Lin Miao. Lin Miao was a little surprised, but it didn’t affect the game.
By the end of the two days, Lin Miao had won first place in the elementary school girls' singles category without fully processing what had happened.
When she received the medal, she smiled so brightly, feeling so lucky. She had actually won first place! She’d been worried about being last, and if that had happened, she would have bought two teachers some apples with the 500 yuan her mom gave her...
But here she was, first place, beating several other competitors. She just played when the teacher asked her to. Lin Miao couldn’t believe it. Plus, she could go see her brother!
The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. When she got off the stage, she couldn’t stop herself from skipping and jumping!
Her excitement was so visible that it made several coaches smile. She was such a lively little girl.
When Lin Miao reached Teacher Feng, she saw her brother sitting next to her teacher!
Lin Miao rubbed her eyes and confirmed that it was really her brother, along with Aunt Yu!
"Shui Shui, congratulations! You’re the champion!" Aunt Yu said.
"Brother, Aunt Yu, what are you doing here?" Lin Miao asked. She had planned to surprise her brother, but it turned out that he had surprised her instead.
Yu Jingxuan raised the camera in his hand. "I’m here to take photos. Shui Shui, you’re amazing!"
After some conversation, it was decided that Lin Miao would return with them the next morning. They had originally planned to head back then, but for tonight, they would go to a designated restaurant, have dinner, and then return to the hotel to sleep.
Teacher Feng had already confirmed with Lin Miao’s mom, so they knew each other well. When Yu Jingxuan arrived, he was surprised to find out that Lin Miao knew such a famous celebrity so well. So, it was set: they would meet at the hotel tomorrow at 9 AM.
"Did you go to school today?" Lin Miao couldn't help but ask. It had been so long since she’d seen her brother.
She didn’t have a phone, so she couldn’t call him.
Yu Jingxuan was concerned too. "I went to school. How's your school?"
"It’s great! So much better than my old school. My teacher even praised my handwriting and asked the other students to learn from me. I take back what I said before about school being boring," Lin Miao replied, her face flushed as she talked about school. She was carrying a new pink backpack that her mom had bought for her. It was something all elementary school girls loved, with two big cat ears on top.
Yu Jingxuan casually took the backpack from her and slung it over his shoulder, just like parents who carry their children's backpacks after school.
Lin Miao didn’t protest. "Brother, I can carry it."
Yu Jingxuan didn’t give it back. "You’ve worked hard today. I’ll carry it for you, and later, you can carry mine."
Lin Miao thought it sounded good, so she continued talking about her school.
When Yu Jingxuan heard that she was doing well, he felt relieved. He patted her head, and then his mood sank a little as he thought about her leaving again tomorrow. "That’s good. When you go back, make sure to study hard."
After dinner, Lin Miao and her brother went out to walk the dogs. It was just like old times, but this time, she noticed that Da Huang and his pups had become the little rulers of the neighborhood! All the other dogs seemed to be avoiding them, looking strangely meek, with a kind of adorable awkwardness.
After walking the dogs, Lin Miao went back to her room to wash up. When she finished her shower, her brother came in with a big bag of snacks.
Lin Miao and her brother never bothered with formalities. Kids didn’t think too much about such things, especially not siblings.
She hadn’t had enough to eat at dinner, and after walking the dogs, she was pretty hungry. So, when her brother brought over food, she started eating happily.
The beef jerky was a bit dry, but delicious, and Lin Miao enjoyed it immensely.
Yu Jingxuan noticed her hair was still wet. He figured she wouldn’t blow-dry it until she finished eating, so he got up and resignedly began to dry her hair.
"You're so nice, brother!" Lin Miao said sweetly, handing him a piece of jerky as she ate.
Yu Jingxuan ate while drying her hair, and once they finished the jerky, her hair was dry.
They sat cross-legged on the bed and started playing tic-tac-toe.
Da Huang, who had been looking for a while in the villa, suddenly barged in with the pups. Fearing Yu Jingxuan might push them off the bed, they dramatically flopped onto the bed and looked up at Lin Miao.
Lin Miao rubbed Da Huang’s head. "Da Huang’s getting smarter!"
Yu Jingxuan couldn’t say much and just let it be.
He continued playing tic-tac-toe with Lin Miao, taking turns drawing.