After the match, the event staff presented He Qing with her award. There wasn’t a gold dal, but the prize money was a hefty ten thousand yuan.
When He Qing received the thick stack of cash, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wasn’t it supposed to be two thousand? Why is there so much?”
The staff mber explained, “The prize amount was adjusted a few days ago. President Jiang increased the championship prize to ten thousand. You an you, the champion, didn’t even notice?”
“Huh?” He Qing was genuinely clueless. She had been so focused on winning that she never checked for updates on the prizes.
The staff mber chuckled. “Well, either way, congratulations on your victory.”
“T-Thank you…”
Holding the prize money, He Qing waved at the cheering crowd from the stage.
anwhile, Lin Zhengran’s phone dinged with a notification. It showed that the previous week, he had won second prize in a cola raffle—twenty thousand yuan.
[System Comntary: The system’s double rebate feature always finds a convenient excuse to work its magic.]
On stage, He Qing waved at Lin Zhengran, and he smiled back at the little girl.
[These past few days, you and He Xianzi returned to her sect for the annual grand tournant. Thanks to the cultivation techniques and immortal spells you’ve taught her over the years, He Xianzi’s strength has soared. Though she encountered a formidable opponent, she defeated them with ease, securing victory in the sect’s martial tournant.]
[After winning, He Xianzi told the sect elders that she wished to travel down the mountain to train with you for a while.]
[After much discussion, the elders agreed, believing that He Xianzi’s strength had already surpassed that of her peers. Thus, they allowed her to leave for further training, hoping she would grow even stronger.]
[As a token of gratitude, He Xianzi wishes to repay you for your guidance. For you, this is yet another fateful opportunity.]
—
After the tournant, the coach and the other trainees celebrated. They all realized that He Qing wasn’t just a small-town underdog—there was no way she would remain here, continuing with basic sparring. She was bound for a bigger stage.
The coach, doing his best to help, pulled out a business card.
“He Qing, Lin Zhengran, this is from a friend of mine. He runs a taekwondo center in the city—better than mine. If you’re interested, you can check it out. It’s not as big as the top academies, but he’s a good person.”
Regardless of whether it would be useful, Lin Zhengran naturally accepted the card. They hadn’t known each other for long, but they were at least acquaintances over the past few years.
“Thank you, Coach.”
Not far away, Lin Xue, the defeated finalist, silently watched the scene. She suddenly realized that, in the past, when she won and everyone celebrated her victory, she never really acknowledged them.
—
After the match, He Qing stared at her prize money and declared that she would set aside two thousand yuan to treat everyone to a al. The once naïve little girl had learned the importance of social connections. After all, who knew if she would see these people again in the future?
Before leaving, He Qing went to the locker room to change and unexpectedly found Lin Xue alone in the corner, also changing.
Her usual stern expression had softened into disappointnt. She quietly folded her taekwondo uniform and placed it into her bag.
He Qing hesitated for a mont before walking over. “Sister Lin Xue?”
Lin Xue turned at the sound of her na, her face carrying a mix of awkwardness and embarrassnt—not just from losing the match, but also because He Qing was two years younger than her. With her soft, gentle deanor, she looked just like a little sister.
Now that the heat of competition had passed, Lin Xue reflected on how aggressive she had been during the fight. Suddenly, she felt that her behavior on stage had been disgraceful.
Winning or losing aside, she wasn’t even sure anymore if winning would have actually made her happy.
He Qing stared at Lin Xue for a mont before grinning. “Jie, your taekwondo is really amazing! Honestly, before the match started, I was scared I wouldn’t be able to beat you.”
Lin Xue slowed her movents, then smiled at He Qing.
He Qing scratched her head sheepishly. “Even though I won, I feel like luck played a part. You didn’t seem to be in the best condition today.”
Lin Xue was surprised by the little girl’s innocence. Her words only made Lin Xue feel more guilty. “It wasn’t luck. That was just my level, even my best effort. I lost because my skills weren’t enough.”
He Qing shook her head. “That’s not true! I could tell—you wanted to win so badly that you got anxious! If you had stayed calm, you would’ve been even stronger!”
Lin Xue was montarily stunned. Then, she smiled. “You’re really kind… I looked at you with such a fierce expression on stage. I’m sorry, little sister. I shouldn’t have done that.”
He Qing blinked, then grinned brightly.
“Ah, well, I kind of… did sothing back too… emmm, I don’t know how to put it, but Jie, you have so much talent! I’m sure you’ll beco even stronger in the future.”
She continued seriously, “Winning is important, but we practice taekwondo because it’s fun, right? If we fight recklessly, then what’s the point? It’s supposed to be cool!”
Her eyes sparkled. “Anyway, I really look forward to fighting you again! Next ti, let’s both give it our all and see who’s stronger—not end things so quickly like today!”
A glimr of determination flickered in Lin Xue’s eyes.
Just then, Lin Zhengran called out from outside.
He Qing responded and waved at Lin Xue. “Jie, my boyfriend’s calling . I gotta go! Bye-bye!”
Lin Xue also waved back. “Bye-bye.” Then, as if on impulse, she suddenly called out, “Little sister! Let’s et again soday!”
He Qing paused, then turned back with a bright smile, waving once more. “Mm! We’ll definitely et again!”
—
After He Qing left, Lin Xue finally let out a deep breath, as if a weight had been lifted from her chest.
She stood there in a daze for a mont before pulling out her phone and looking at the resignation ssage she had drafted for her coach. Slowly, she deleted it.
She rembered how she had started taekwondo because she loved it. Sowhere along the way, she had lost that passion, focusing only on winning.
“I really lost to that little girl in every way…”
Lin Xue put her phone away, stretched lazily, then slung her bag over her shoulder and left the locker room.
As she walked back to her team, her fellow trainees and the coach turned their eyes toward her.
They all knew Lin Xue’s proud and aloof personality, so after her loss, no one knew what to expect. So even feared she might react badly.
Soone cautiously stepped forward to comfort her—
But before they could say anything, Lin Xue grinned, pulled out her second-place prize money, and waved it playfully.
“Well, I may have lost, but I still won three thousand yuan. Let’s go eat, my treat.”
She paused, glancing at their puzzled expressions, then thought back to that little girl’s words.
“What? It’s just one loss. Next ti, I won’t lose.”
Her teammates exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.
“That’s right! Next ti, Sister Lin Xue will definitely win!”
“Yeah, she’s been leading us to victories all this ti!”
The coach sighed in relief and patted her shoulder. “That girl was just too strong. Losing to her isn’t a failure—it just ans she’s on a different level. Keep training, and you’ll get there.”
Lin Xue sighed with a smile, thinking of He Qing. “Yeah. Let’s all work hard to surpass her together.”
—
That afternoon, He Qing and Lin Zhengran had a simple dinner with everyone before catching a ride back to school.
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