……
The badminton court was on the west side of the field, much quieter than the javelin area. A simple net had been strung up at either end, turning the space into a battlefield for the children.
Shen Yi stood on one side of the court, racket in hand.
Her opponent was a girl from her class named Zhou Xiaomi. With her two braided pigtails and nimble movements, she was as lively as a little rabbit.
The two of them had already played several rallies, sending the shuttlecock back and forth over the net.
“Shen Yi, your mom is amazing,” Zhou Xiaomi said as she came over during a change of sides. “Did you see that javelin she threw just now? It went so far!!! She’s practically a superhero.”
Shen Yi couldn’t help covering her face and laughing. “I think so too.”
“And your mom and dad are both so young. They look more like an older brother and sister.”
“By the way, was your mom an athlete before?” Zhou Xiaomi asked.
Shen Yi denied it immediately. “No. My mom works at a state-owned company. She’s just an ordinary employee.”
“Then how did she throw a javelin so far?”
Shen Yi remembered the version Wen Ya had told her. “She practiced some martial arts back home when she was younger.”
“What kind?”
Shen Yi paused. “…Slingshots, and martial arts, I guess?”
Zhou Xiaomi’s eyes lit up. “Wow! Then is your mom really good at badminton too?”
Shen Yi thought seriously for two seconds.
Mom playing badminton…
Considering how strong she was, wouldn’t she end up killing someone with the shuttlecock?
Shen Yi shook her head. “Not necessarily. My mom doesn’t know how to play badminton.”
Zhou Xiaomi looked disappointed. “That’s too bad. I wanted to see your mom show off.”
……
After Shen Yi and Zhou Xiaomi finished their match, Shen Sixing, who had been standing nearby watching, suddenly tugged on Wen Ya’s arm.
Wen Ya was in the middle of twisting open a water bottle. The sudden pull made her stumble half a step forward. “Huh? What are you doing?”
Shen Sixing had already picked up an orange racket and walked to the middle of the court. He glanced back at her.
“Why don’t we play a game, Miss?”
Wen Ya had no idea why he suddenly wanted to play against her.
Still, “giving up” had never been an option for her.
She took the racket Shen Sixing handed her and readily agreed. “Sure.”
“Xiao Yi, go stand off to the side and watch for a while.” Wen Ya tied up her hair and redid it into a higher ponytail. “Let your dad play a couple of games with me.”
That was what she said.
In truth, Wen Ya didn’t really understand badminton either.
Shen Yi gave an “oh” and obediently retreated to the edge of the court, crouching down with her own racket in her arms.
She called toward the court, “Go for it!!”
Wen Ya walked behind the service line, switched the racket to her right hand, and tested her grip. She looked quite inexperienced.
Shen Sixing stood on the other side of the net, watching Wen Ya’s every movement through the net, which bulged slightly in the wind.
“You serve first,” Wen Ya said.
Shen Sixing said nothing. He simply took out a shuttlecock.
He tossed it into the air and swung.
When the shuttlecock came flying over, it spun with an unexpected amount of speed.
Shen Sixing looked lazy and listless, as though he might keel over at any moment, but the placement of that shot was devilishly precise. It sliced diagonally along the edge of the net, just brushing the top of the tape before dropping toward Wen Ya’s left side.
Wen Ya took half a step to the left. Her racket traced a tiny arc as she forcefully lifted the shuttlecock back.
Shen Sixing returned it.
The young man moved a little faster this time. He took a step back, pressed down with his wrist, and drove the shuttlecock back with a flat stroke. It was considerably faster than before.
The shuttlecock shot straight over the top of the net, heading directly toward Wen Ya’s body.
Shots like this were generally difficult to return. They targeted the opponent’s torso, leaving no time to swing the racket.
As the two of them engaged in a subtle battle of wills, Wen Ya’s reaction speed proved even more astonishing.
Her body made almost no unnecessary movement.
She twisted slightly at the waist, allowing the shuttlecock to pass her, while her arm curved around from the outside. With a backhand motion, she sliced the shuttlecock back.
It landed near the net, bounced lightly, and dropped limply inside the boundary.
Shen Sixing let out a soft, ambiguous “Wow.”
“She’s really good,” he said.
Crouching at the edge of the court, Shen Yi rested her chin in her hands.
The way her mother played reminded her of things from the past.
When Wen Ya had taught her how to use a short blade to defend against close-range attacks, she had moved exactly like this.
First, let the body evade. Then, slip the wrist in from the side. After that, strike.
The two of them played several more rallies.
Their reaction speeds were both astonishing, and the shuttlecock flew back and forth between them.
The students nearby stopped playing badminton. They stopped watching the sports meet too.
Instead, they all ran over to watch Shen Yi’s superhuman parents play.
The final rally belonged to Shen Sixing.
With a sudden burst of strength from his wrist, Shen Sixing sent the shuttlecock soaring high into the air.
At the moment it reached its highest point, the sun happened to slip behind a thin cloud, and the light dimmed for half a second.
The scene looked exactly like a slow-motion shot from an animated film.
Even Shen Yi, watching from the sidelines, couldn’t help holding her breath.
……
Wen Ya hated losing.
When she was younger, her relatives and neighbors had loved making fun of people.
Whenever she lost, Wen Ya always felt as though someone was going to laugh at her.
In truth, that was a form of persecutory delusion. No one had the time or energy to mock her for something so trivial.
But she could still imagine the smug, self-satisfied look that would appear on Shen Sixing’s face after he won.
She quickly took two steps backward, then lunged forward. Both feet pushed off the ground with tremendous force.
She leaped high into the air. Once airborne, her body rotated slightly.
The racket swung down from above her head, striking the shuttlecock with an extraordinarily fast smash.
The force was so great that when the shuttlecock shot over the net, it dropped almost vertically!
A sharp whoosh split the air.
“Holy crap.”
A boy nearby blurted it out before hurriedly covering his mouth, afraid his parents would hear him swear.
“Whoa—” Zhou Xiaomi’s voice rose several pitches.
All across the sports field, the children erupted in a chorus of amazed exclamations.
The shuttlecock descended at lightning speed and slammed into the ground half a meter in front of Shen Sixing’s toes.
Several children who had been playing on the adjacent court stopped as well. They all stared at the scene through the net, dumbfounded.
“Shen Yi! Your mom can do flips!” A little girl with a ponytail ran over from the neighboring court, her eyes wide as bells.
“Shen Yi… can your mom fly?!” Chen Qiang came over too, still clutching his racket.
