I Give Half of My Life to You

Lin Miao was ecstatic from the minute she stepped on the podium to the moment she descended. She was really in a “what a great day for us commoners today” mood. Everyone who glanced at her would immediately understand what happiness looked like.

The coach could no longer ignore the silly smile of the girl in front of him, “Calm down, Shuishui.”

Lin Miao turned her head around, all giddy, “I won, Coach!”

The coach was originally happy and proud of her, but now it turned into a bit of concern. She was talented, had a good mindset, and her endurance and strength were simply unparalleled in her age group, so he was scared of her becoming afraid of losing.

It was normal for everyone to lose, and mistakes were inevitable, so when it happens...

To prevent her from developing that mindset, the coach hinted her to not value outcomes as much since she could learn from her losses.

Lin Miao agreed, “Yes, I can learn more from my losses.” Even though I’d still lose after I learn from my losses.

The coach recalled that Lin Miao had won her previous tournament. It was quite a high starting point. He grew concerned as there had been many cases of geniuses never recovering from their losses. For example, the girl that Lin Miao faced was no worse than her, but her confidence soon fell after failing to score and being scored on herself, causing a series of mistakes. And so the coach decided to ask, trying to learn more, “Has Shuishui ever lost?”

Lin Miao lifted her head up to look at the coach, “I used to lose everyday.”

“What?” The coach remembered that she was spilling talent the moment he saw her. Even though she had lost games with Tan Jing at the school, she still won more than she lost, which was what started his concern for her.

“I taught my older brother tic tac toe, but I had never won ever since he understood the game. I’m still losing at present. My brother even kept count. I’ve lost three thousand and fifty-two games and only won once, and that was when he was about to fall asleep.”

Then she continued celebrating, “But I’ve finally won this time! There’s also prize money!”

The coach: “...” He had thought that she was afraid of losing and only cared about results. However, now he finally knew that she was only this happy because she lost so much in other fields. There’s also a factor of money in this, too.

The coach then thought of another problem, “Shuishui, how would you respond if someone asked you why you were so happy?” Don’t tell me it’s because you won money.

“Because I won the tournament!” Lin Miao said without thinking, wasn’t winning something to be celebrated?

“And?”

“And there’s also prize money!” Lin Miao responded honestly.

The coach: “...” I knew it.

“When you win again and someone asks you this question, don’t say the latter part.” He didn’t demand any more as it seemed to be a part of her personality. He could already picture what she would be like if she were to win again.

The reporter would ask her why she was so happy.

The honest kid would of course reply with that she won the competition.

Wait, that doesn’t seem totally unreasonable, wouldn’t everybody be this happy if they won a tournament?

The coach looked at Lin Miao again, but she was just too happy.

He then recalled the moment when he met her once again. She was even younger then and was the only one who smiled like a flower on the stage. Even the champions from the other brackets kept their faces straight. She was also the only one who skipped off the stage like it was the greatest moment of her life…

He should be glad that she at least didn’t skip off this stage. Although she still appeared oddly ecstatic and walked a bit fast, it was still a lot more mature of her.

Lin Miao nodded again and continued to celebrate inside her mind. She heard that all the participants were very good, and the coach used to say all the time that they wouldn’t make it past the first round. Winning was among the things she expected the least. Even in the final brackets, she was just focused on hitting and receiving the shuttlecock. Her overwhelming joy was largely due to the surprise of winning the tournament.

On the audience seats, Lin Ye was about to find Lin Miao to have another look at her before noticing that the Young Master was already leaving.

“Hey, are you not going to see your sister? I want a picture with her!” Lin Ye ran to catch up with the Young Master.

“Going back to school.” Lin Miao would never notify him of her competitions again if she knew that they were skipping school. Lin Miao had told him last weekend that she would tell him if she won, but wouldn’t if she lost.

When the three returned back to their school via taxi, they ran straight into the teacher, who saw them walking to the gate.

Oh no, we’ve gotten caught skipping classes! Oh nononono… They’d definitely call our parents, we missed so many classes! Lin Ye and Gao Xing thought.

Initially, they didn’t even know where they were going, but just like that, they had spent half a day watching a sport they didn’t understand at all!

Their parents would beat them to a pulp! They had been wanting to disown them for a long time now…

The teacher turned to them. Lin Ye and Gao Xing quietly shuffled behind the Young Master.

The teacher began, “Come on in. Is Lin Ye feeling a bit better?”

Lin Ye was speechless, he turned and looked at Gao Xing, who lined up behind him.

“The doctor checked on him, they gave him two bottles of saline, and they said he was fine now that he had rested for a while at the hospital.” The Young Master said.

Gao Xing quickly reacted and pretended to be in distress for Lin Ye. The three headed for their seats

“What did you say to the teacher?” Lin Ye quietly asked after school.

“I asked my mom to excuse us.” The Young Master smiled, “I originally couldn’t think of a good reason for our absence, but then I saw you guys.”

Lin Ye: “...” The teacher believed it! It has to be that they’re a stan for Yu Jingxuan’s mother!