Dad, Please Try a Little Harder

Actually, yesterday, Qian Quan and Guo Hongyi also played a game of basketball.

The process doesn't need to be mentioned. Qian Quan intentionally suppressed his performance and led the team to win eight consecutive games. If it weren't for the other members on his side being too tired to run, they could have continued playing.

Then, there was a little incident.

After Qian Quan and Guo Hongyi's team won the sixth game, the three of them celebrated with high-fives, smiling and looking arrogant. Just at that moment, the trio they eliminated walked up to three girls who happened to be their girlfriends.

The three girlfriends looked at their boyfriends with sympathy and handed them bottled water, reassuringly saying, "It's okay. You did great just now. You're always the best in my heart!"

Qian Quan, Guo Hongyi, and the others, who were celebrating their six-game winning streak, felt their smiles freeze on their faces. The taste of victory suddenly felt not so significant.

Guo Hongyi muttered, "Why bring girlfriends to a basketball game?"

Another teammate said, "Exactly!"

Qian Quan just smiled and let it go.

On the way back to the dormitory after playing basketball that day, Guo Hongyi already sensed a change in Qian Quan. "Qian Quan, I didn't mention this on the court earlier, but I felt like you've evolved today. Your shots were so on point."

Of course, Quan couldn't say that he was already restraining himself, so he replied, "I'm slowly finding my rhythm."

Fast forward to today.

In the group chat, Wang Teng learned that someone from their university had dominated the school's team at Fudan University. He was quite surprised, and after some casual remarks, he quickly went to the basketball club's group chat and asked, "Did any of you go to Fudan University last weekend?"

Not long after, Qian Quan replied, "I went. What's up?"

Wang Teng asked, "Did you play against someone?"

Qian Quan said, "Yeah, played a couple of casual games."

Wang Teng inquired, "Did you dominate their school's team?"

Qian Quan replied, "It's not really dominating, just normal friendly games."

After a while, Wang Teng responded, "Qian Quan, be honest. Did you hide your strength during the interview to surprise everyone later?"

Quan replied with a laughing-crying emoji, "It's not that dramatic. We're all basketball players, so we should understand that people's performance can vary. Even McGrady can't score 35 points in 13 seconds in every game, right?"

Wang Teng said, "That's true, but the captain of Fudan University's basketball team personally told me that you made their team's main players feel powerless. I was quite shocked when I heard that."

Qian Quan said, "It's an exaggeration, but when I'm in good form, I won't be intimidated by their team."

Wang Teng replied, "Got it. Let's organize another internal scrimmage in the next couple of days."

...

A new week had begun.

The freshmen's university life was gradually getting into a rhythm.

As the class monitor, Qian Quan had started fulfilling his duties, collecting questions from his classmates regarding their studies and daily lives. Together with other class committee members, he discussed and organized extracurricular activities.

The recent major event was the traditional 3+2 basketball tournament (three males, two females) organized by the college.

The specific details of the event, such as player selection, training, and team uniforms, were naturally overseen by the sports committee member, Guo Hongyi.

On a personal note, Qian Quan had a few noteworthy matters. Regarding his studies, needless to say, history was his favorite subject, and he didn't find the courses boring.

Particularly, the significant historical events of specific years had an unchangeable certainty when described (excluding modern history).

For example, in the year 221 BC, the King of Qin conquered the six states. Similarly, in the year 119 BC, the valiant cavalry general Huo Qubing was enfeoffed at Langjuxu Mountain, practiced asceticism at Guyan, and reached the shores of the vast sea...

As for his personal life, Ding Linlang sent him a short video - it was a video of her practicing some Wing Chun moves of "Little Idea."

Quan suddenly remembered that they had this agreement.

And she had actually mastered the moves!

So, Qian Quan admitted defeat with a smile.

Moreover, his father had passed his second driving test.

The second test was said to be the hardest part of the driving exam.

However, after passing his second test, Quan Wenlin shared in the family group chat, "It's not hard, quite straightforward. Passed easily."

Wednesday arrived.

At Bai Yuanzhi's invitation, Qian Quan filmed his first video after joining their team.

This time, Bai Yuanzhi was making a video to explain the concept of "Four two dial one thousand jins" in Tai Chi, and she needed Qian Quan's cooperation to demonstrate the moves.

By now, the hype around that video had died down, and Qian Quan would participate in the video as a new member of the martial arts club.

The video began with Bai Yuanzhi's introduction. After a brief explanation, she invited Quan to demonstrate while she continued to explain.

With his master-level Wing Chun skills, this kind of cooperation was a piece of cake for Qian Quan.

When they reached the explanation of "Four two dial one thousand jins," Bai Yuanzhi grabbed Quan's wrist and pulled him to rotate.

Originally, Bai Yuanzhi just intended to do a few simple rotations to explain the concept, but Qian Quan suddenly exerted force, running faster and signaling her with a look.

Understanding his signal, Bai Yuanzhi increased her effort as well.

They spun faster and faster, and suddenly, Quan's feet left the ground, his body floating in the air.

Bai Yuanzhi held onto Qian Quan's hands, and his entire body hovered in midair as if she had used the principles of Tai Chi's circular motion and "Four two dial one thousand jins" to make him float.

However, at this moment, the two of them locked eyes in a peculiar manner, with curious expressions on their faces. The scene had a somewhat bizarre quality to it.

"Release me, Miss Bai." Quan whispered.

After a moment of hesitation, Bai Yuanzhi whispered, "Be careful," and slowly released her grip, allowing him to descend gently.

Qian Quan was flung out, his body flipping in the air before landing steadily. The movement carried an indescribable sense of casualness and charm.

"Your Tai Chi circular motion and 'Four two dial one thousand jins,' indeed impressive!" Quan expressed with a respectful fist gesture.

Bai Yuanzhi smiled and replied, "It's because you cooperated well."

After finishing the video shoot, the two chatted for a while before Qian Quan took his leave.

Bai Yuanzhi went to review the footage. As she watched Qian Quan seriously matching her moves, pretending to nod in realization as she explained, she found his expressions particularly amusing.

One could only say that he truly deserved to be a man who had joined the Luminous Drama Society!

Then she saw the scene of Qian Quan being "thrown" by her.

She intentionally played it in slow motion.

That scene...

It unconsciously reminded her of the scene when she sparred with her mentor in martial arts years ago.

Back then, she was the one soaring through the air.

However, it wasn't a choreographed move nor intentional cooperation-she had genuinely been flipped into the air by her mentor.

In that moment, the past and the present converged perfectly.

Different times and spaces, yet these two scenes coincided in subtle ways.

A slight smile formed on Bai Yuanzhi's lips.

...

In Seacoast Normal University, the Luminous Drama Society.

"Regarding the role of your ex-boyfriend, after discussing it, we've decided to cast a newcomer named Qian Quan. Despite his young age and tender appearance, he's quite tall at 1.8 meters. If we focus on his appearance, there shouldn't be any image issues. Additionally, this character has limited screen time, making it suitable for training newcomers."

Recently, the Luminous Drama Society was preparing a new play titled The Love Story of the Snail and the Oriole. It was the farewell work of senior Tang Bingbing, who was about to leave the school.

Tang Bingbing was originally a senior member of the club. Due to her outstanding looks and excellent acting skills, she had appeared in numerous representative plays of the drama club, earning her the title of star member over the past four years.

Now, she was about to enter the People's Art Theatre, stepping onto a higher stage with limitless prospects in the performing arts.

This farewell performance was planned by the club, with a script tailored for her.

Currently, Wang Tongyu, one of the scriptwriters, is discussing actor matters with her.

"No problem, if you think he's suitable, then it's fine. I trust your judgment," Tang Bingbing was genuinely grateful to the drama club for giving her this opportunity. Saying goodbye to her alma mater in this way was truly perfect.

"Here's a photo of the newcomer, Qian Quan. Take a look."

Tang Bingbing had just returned to her alma mater a couple of days ago and hadn't met the newly recruited members of the club.

She took Wang Tongyu's phone and saw the photo inside, her eyes lighting up.

This young man!

"He has a good image."

After all, Tang Bingbing was a professional actress. She quickly adjusted her mood and then said, "By the way, let me take a look at the script."

Wang Tongyu handed over the script to Tang Bingbing.

Tang Bingbing quickly flipped to the part where the female lead and her ex-boyfriend broke up. She pulled out a pen and made several quick marks, then put away the pen and said calmly, "I made a few minor changes to the script unrelated to the main plot. Take a look."

"Sure, I'll take a look." Wang Tongyu took back the script and earnestly went through it. After finishing, she weakly asked, "Just to confirm, did you add a half-minute-long hugging scene between the female lead and her ex-boyfriend during their breakup?"

"Yes," Tang Bingbing nodded, "From a human perspective, first love is often the most unforgettable and the hardest to let go of. Since, in the play, the female lead and her ex peacefully break up, I think a farewell hug is necessary. From an artistic standpoint, it greatly enhances the dramatic tension of the scene. And from character development..."

Wang Tongyu couldn't interrupt and weakly said, "Please be honest."

Tang Bingbing looked at her, and suddenly, her expression turned pitiful. Her tone had a hint of coquettishness as she said, "This boy is just too handsome. I want to give him a hug. I've been in this club for four years and never hugged someone so handsome..."

Wang Tongyu was speechless and thought, "We haven't hugged someone so handsome either.