Chapter Two: Victory Has Been Paid For

Qiao Ran collected everyone’s phones in a cardboard box. “Ten runs. Argue afterward.” Jianxia told no one about the prediction. She broke training into small objectives unrelated to the score: recover five second balls in succession; every Wei Lan throw must find Chen Sui; after conceding, no blaming. “Are we practicing good manners?” Xiaoman gasped. “We’re practicing how not to lose the next play just because you lost the last one.” On match night, the Red Foxes scored twice in four minutes. After the second goal, Wanxing threw out her hands at Chen Sui. The rookie went pale and took an instinctive step backward. Everyone began sliding down the familiar path toward collapse. Qiao Ran clapped twice. “Next play.” Only two words.