In the blink of an eye, time flew by, and there was only one week left until the competition.
Yi Ming had settled all the school affairs and was about to go to the neighboring city for training.
On the day of his departure, Jiang Wei was unable to see him off due to classes. Yi Ming dozed off on the bumpy long-distance bus, and the messages he sent to Jiang Wei remained unanswered.
Leaving in such a solitary manner, Yi Ming couldn't help but feel a sense of loss in his heart.
Three hours later, the bus arrived at the neighboring city. Just as Yi Ming got off, he noticed that Coach Wu's private car had also arrived by chance.
"Coach Wu."
Seeing Coach Wu step out of the car and about to head to the hotel, Yi Ming smiled and hurriedly called out to him.
"Yi Ming, you're here!"
Coach Wu turned around, stunned for a moment, then smiled with delight. Yi Ming was his most promising team member, the one he had invested the most effort in.
Before this competition, Coach Wu had contacted him multiple times, but he didn't expect this little rascal Yi Ming to evade the question whenever he called, never giving him a definitive answer on whether he would participate in this competition or not.
If Coach Wu hadn't been out on business trips recently and in a different city from Yi Ming, he would have gone straight to him and given this kid a smack on the back of his head.
"What exactly were you hesitating about?" Coach Wu had said to him over the phone a month ago, frustrated. "You have no wolf-like spirit, don't let me find out you're being a coward and backing out."
"Coach, that's not the reason," Yi Ming had sighed lightly on the other end of the phone. "One week's time... it's too long..."
"Too long for what?"
Coach Wu didn't understand.
Yi Ming remained silent, his gaze fixed absentmindedly out the window, his heart stirring slightly.
"It's nothing, Coach. Let me think it over again, and I'll give you an answer soon."
Yi Ming quickly hung up the phone, because he knew that if he waited any longer, Coach Wu might actually climb through the phone line and knock on his head...
In fact, Yi Ming hadn't finished that sentence.
One week's time was too long, long enough that he didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone in this city.
Since meeting Jiang Wei, the two of them had rarely spent a day apart in over a decade, let alone over a week. For Yi Ming, with his mother not around and his father often away on business trips, only Jiang Wei had been a constant presence in his world, and they had grown up together, accompanying each other.
He couldn't bear to leave her alone because she had already taken up residence in the deepest part of his heart, like a lighthouse at sea, his hope and his light.
Jiang Wei was perceptive and quickly saw through Yi Ming's innermost thoughts.
She comforted Yi Ming, urging him to focus on the competition, and even employed a little "motivational tactic," demanding that he bring back the first prize.
Seeing Yi Ming truly standing before him, the weight in Coach Wu's heart finally fell away.
"I was really worried you'd pull a last-minute disappearing act on me. No matter how much I asked you to come before, you kept refusing me. Now you've made me so anxious that my heart's been hanging until I saw you with my own eyes, you little rascal."
Yi Ming smiled apologetically, his eyes softening. "It was my mistake to make Coach Wu worry."
"It's alright, now that you're here."
Coach Wu patted his shoulder and smiled faintly. "Since you're here, give it your all. None of my team members are cowards, especially you. This time, you're the hot favorite to win the championship. You're not just doing it for yourself but for all of us, so don't let us down!"
"Yes, sir!"
Yi Ming grinned and then stood at attention, snapping a salute.
"That's more like it!"
Coach Wu clapped his hands, his eyes crinkling with laughter.