THE NIGHTMARE BEGAN

"I'm not stealing glances at you!" Lin Zhu hurriedly denied the accusation. "I'm just disturbed by your camera sound! Can you set your phone to silent? It's so annoying!"

Ye Quan raised an eyebrow upon hearing the younger athlete's statement. Instead of immediately setting his phone silent, the raven-haired athlete slowly got up from his seat and walked over to Lin Zhu. The latter looked puzzled when he saw the reaction.

"How about we take a selfie together?"

Lin Zhu blinked innocently at the taller man, who was now standing in front of him.

"What?" He asked in disbelief. "You want to take a selfie with me? Do you forget that we're enemies? Why should I take a selfie with you?"

Lin Zhu got goosebumps at the thought of what it would be like if he took a selfie with the older athlete. Perhaps the phone camera would break from too much tension?

"Don't you know that our management team has announced about us becoming partners? My fans are really excited about it, and they asked me to take a selfie with them. You should be grateful that my fans can accept you soon."

Lin Zhu was speechless. This bastard only cared about his fans and reputation! He was sure that this fool would act like a gentleman and pretend that the two of them were on good terms. Maybe he even told his fans they were good friends or something.

"You guessed it right. I told my fans that we are best friends, and they became more excited afterward!"

See? Ye Quan was indeed crazy!

Lin Zhu just shook his head and resumed his stretching. He didn't even want to use his precious voice to retort. Why did he have to waste his voice on a retard like Ye Quan?

The shortie ignored him, and Ye Quan looked confused. He then tried to disturb the younger boy's warming-up session by talking rubbish.

Lin Zhu's anger meter increased drastically, and he couldn't hold back anymore.

"Stop teasing me, you crazy fucker!"

The whole sports hall fell silent after Lin Zhu suddenly shouted very loudly. The shout echoed in the hall and startled all living creatures in the big hall.

Some of the shuttlecocks even fell to the floor helplessly as the athletes suddenly froze upon hearing that unexpected scream.

Lin Zhu gulped nervously as he glanced at his surroundings. All people were giving him a puzzled look, and he bowed his body several times while muttering an apology.

He could hear Ye Quan laughing beside him, and he threw a blade with his eyes toward the older athlete.

"How come you know I'm a crazy fucker when I have never fucked you before?"

Lin Zhu's face turned red. Not because he was blushing, but because he was beyond furious.

He was about to snap again, but he swallowed his curse when he saw Coach Cheng walk over to them.

"You two are so lively," the coach commented as he beamed at the two youngsters. "I don't mean to interrupt your fun, but have you finished your warm-up yet?"

Why did the coach keep talking nonsense? What fun he was talking about? Couldn't he see that they were fighting?

"Please give me two more minutes to warm up, Coach," Lin Zhu replied politely before glancing at the older athlete. "It's Senior Ye who hasn't started warming up yet."

Ye Quan's eyes bulged at Lin Zhu's statement that was cornering him. It seemed like he wasn't the only one who had two faces here. He wasn't the only one who could act as an angel to disguise their devil form.

"Alright," the coach responded. "I will give you guys two more minutes, but please warm up more seriously. You can have fun later after we finished training."

Lin Zhu wasn't surprised anymore when he heard the coach's statement. He just realized that Coach Cheng's personality was similar to Manager Zhang's. Both of them were too clueless and innocent.

Lin Zhu chose to continue his warm-up, ignoring the taller athlete, who was warming up next to him. He would treat Ye Quan like a plague from now on. If not, he would just treat him like an invisible ghost.

Two minutes were up, and the coach walked over to the two athletes. This time, he was not alone as two other athletes trailed behind him.

"I know it will be your first time playing doubles, but we can't waste time on basic training. There will be a tournament next month, and the management has registered you for the competition."

Both Lin Zhu and Ye Quan looked surprised upon hearing the coach's elaboration.

They were just newbie men's double athletes, but they only had one month to train before the next tournament. Wasn't that a ridiculous idea?

"That's not a ridiculous idea," the coach spoke again as if he could read the minds of the two athletes. "We won't ask you to win the tournament. Think of it as your trial match. We won't force you to win."

Lin Zhu and Ye Quan subconsciously peeked at each other. Even if they hated each other the most, they had to act professionally for the pride of their country.

"However," the coach's voice sounded again, and the two athletes focused on the older man again. "I don't want to pressure you, but the management asked me to inform you of one important thing."

Both Lin Zhu and Ye Quan presented a tense expressions when they heard Coach Cheng's words. The coach's expression turned to grief as well, and they were anticipating the worst possibility.

"Ah Shui and Ah Zhen will retire from the team in two months, so in two months, you will be the backbone of the country in the men's doubles sector."

It felt like a déjà vu for Lin Zhu, and his head became dizzy right away. He still remembered his former coach's words a year ago.

["Ah Quan won't be able to participate in any tournaments in a year, so you'll be the country's main player in the men's singles sector, Ah Zhu."]

And that was when his nightmare began.