Chapter 50: Chapter 47 Dream Linkage i
Translator: 549690339
The next day.
At the Qin Continent Sports Centre, before the start of a tennis match sponsored by a certain sports brand, Han Qi in professional sports gear yawned with a barely noticeable dark circle under his eyes.
“Terrible.”
He felt a twinge of sleepiness.
Although Han Qi had managed to force himself to turn off the lights and sleep the previous night, to his displeasure, after turning off the lights, his mind was filled with imagined plot lines of “King of the Net”, making it even harder for him to fall asleep, until he finally slipped into a fitful slumber after who knows how long.
“Get ready.”
The coach’s voice echoed.
Han Qi finally took the court after warming up.
This was a medium-scale tennis match within the Qin Continent. Although the importance of winning or losing was not high, Han Qi didn’t want to lose at all today, as he had friends among the spectators. He didn’t want to lose face in front of his friends.
Amidst the cheers of the audience below.
The tennis match began!
Han Qi was faced with a veteran opponent who wasn’t short of skills, thus creating an early lead in the score. This was also due to Han Qi’s lack of good rest and thus impaired concentration.
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“Calm down.”
Han Qi reminded himself internally.
Sports rely on both strength and physical stamina. Although the veteran had ample experience, exactly because his opponent was such a seasoned player, his physical stamina couldn’t keep up with the young Han Qi, and the strength of his tennis strokes gradually decreased.
After regaining concentration.
Han Qi managed to even the score.
Both sides gradually entered a tense situation.
When the overall level isn’t significantly different, the latter part of the match tests the will and mindset of the players. This is different from the various flashy and cool descriptions in “King of the Net” —
I must be insane!
Why am I thinking about the novel again!
I’m playing a match!
Suppressing his weird thoughts forcibly, Han Qi fiercely contested his opponent, making it a suspenseful match that won the intense interest of the audience. The commentators were also guessing enthusiastically about the possible turn of the match.
“This is so unpredictable.”
The commentator exclaimed with excitement: “Han Qi didn’t appear to be in good shape at the beginning, but as the match progressed, he’s gradually got back into his rhythm. Han Qi’s opponent is a veteran, we could all see how the veteran played tennis with his experience and wisdom while exhausted…”
Out of breath.
The match reached its half-hour mark.
The sixth and decisive game, the outcome of the match would likely depend on this game. As the score was a tie previously, both sides played conservatively, not daring to risk attacking recklessly. The risks were too high.
“Pat.”
Han Qi lost a point.
His disadvantage was instantly magnified.
Despite sheer exhaustion, his opponent couldn’t hide a triumphant grin. The outcome of the game became evident as Han Qi lost the point.
“Going to lose?”
At this moment, Han Qi thought of “King of the Net” once again. There were many similar scenarios described in it. “What would Long Ma do in this situation?”
Han Qi felt as if he was going crazy.
There were many ideal scenarios in the novel, and most maneuvers weren’t practical. But crazier still, Han Qi unexpectedly shouted out loud during his upcoming serve:
“Sliced Serve!”
Instead of a regular front serve, Han Qi opted for a side serve as described in “King of the Net”. His racquet cut across the ball swiftly and he served by suddenly exerting force through the inward rotation of his forearm.
The opponent was caught off guard.
As the ball bounced off the ground and into the out-court, Han Qi scored a big point. The whole arena exploded in cheers. The commentator’s voice was filled with excitement and shock: “Beautiful spin ball, ACE!”
In a tennis match.
An “ACE” refers to a serve where the ball lands in the valid area but the opponent does not touch the ball, resulting in an automatic scoring for the server. If the opponent touches the ball but causes it to go out or hit the net, it is referred to as a service score, not an ACE.
“We won!”
Amid countless cheers.
Han Qi’s face turned beet red; he had actually shouted out loud. It was like two kids fighting and one of them suddenly striking a painfully embarrassing pose and shouting “Kamehameha”.
His behavior was off the charts!
Luckily, the crowd around didn’t hear his shout; everyone was busy cheering for the serve. Probably only the referee heard it or else the opponent wouldn’t be looking at him so strangely.
His teammates all came over to celebrate.
Back in the locker room, the coach looked at Han Qi with a stunned and surprised look: “When did you start practicing spin serves? And your serving style is quite peculiar too, the other side had no clue where your ball was going.”
“You probably won’t believe me if I tell you.”
Han Qi spoke sheepishly: “I learned it from a novel.”
Everyone burst into laughter, taking Han Qi’s words as a joke.
But when it came to the interview session, when the reporter asked Han Qi about his thoughts on that final point, Han Qi once again mentioned the book on live television: “I’ve recently been reading a tennis novel called ‘King of the Net’ which is written very professionally, so I guess I was inspired during the match. Of course, there was some luck involved in that point too, my opponent deserves respect.”
Reporter:”…”
Teammates:”…”
The sports journalists looked somewhat flustered on the spot, Han Qi’s teammates even suspected Han Qi of accepting advertising fees from “King of the Net”.
But the sharp-witted arts journalists would not let go of this great scoop.
The next day, one of the hot news in the arts section of the Qin Continent’s newspapers was:
“Renowned professional tennis player Han Qi declares himself to be a fan of ‘King of the Net’ and claims that he has derived a lot of inspiration for playing tennis from this book.”
Upon the news release, readers of “King of the Net” were astounded!
“Is that real?”
“So even professional tennis players say that ‘King of the Net’ is written professionally. 1 used to think that all the tennis moves described in this book were made up by the author Chu Kuang, which is a rarity indeed.”
“I like ‘King of the Net’ even more now.”
“Isn’t it more surprising that Han Qi is actually learning moves from ‘King of the Net’?”
“Ha ha, he’s definitely joking.”
“Not entirely a joke. During yesterday’s tennis match at Qin Continent Sports Centre, Han Qi’s winning ball was definitely a replica of the sliced serve, the only difference being that Long Ma is left-handed, and Han Qi is right-handed!” claimed a reader who watched yesterday’s tennis match.
Then.
Many readers who were familiar with tennis also verified through various channels that the tennis knowledge involved in “King of the Net” is indeed very professional.
In fact, this point has been made before.
Yet it wasn’t highly regarded before. It wasn’t until a professional tennis player personally authenticated it that everyone started paying real attention.
No one in the novel industry could have imagined.
That a professional tennis player from the Qin Continent would have such an almost breaking-the-fourth-wall kind of relationship with “King of the Net”, thereby producing a dream-come-true collaboration!
On this day, the sales of “King of the Net” once again soared!