Chapter 23: Where is this?

When Lu Yihang woke up from his haze, he didn’t know where he was. The broad river passed through the building, the sunlight through the clouds shone on the sparkling water, and the majestic Tower Bridge connected the two banks. He happened to be on the viewing platform in the middle of the Tower Bridge. Whether he looked left or right, he saw the pointed brick and stone tower. He had heard the name of this bridge from the nursery rhyme he learned in the first grade of elementary school. It is probably the most famous bridge in the world. It has been bathed in the wind and rain of the Victorian era and suffered the air raid of the German army in World War II. It still stands today. This is London. “Hey, why are you so absent-minded?” Someone complained, “Your lovely girlfriend took the time to go shopping with you, at least you should pay more attention.”

It was a girl in a dress and a straw hat, with long black hair like silk flowing behind her head. The sun shone on her exposed skin, revealing a white luster, and her smile was as dazzling as the sun.

Even if he was eighty or ninety years old, or even his brain was eroded by Alzheimer’s disease, Lu Yihang would never forget this smile.

“Youqing ... why are you wearing sunglasses?”

“Because your sweetheart is a big star.” Xia Youqing lowered her head slightly, pushed down the nose pads of her sunglasses, and her two bright eyes peeked out from above the lenses. “Tomorrow we will play the women’s singles final at Wimbledon. The finalist sneaked out to walk with you. Can you recognize your luck?”

Lv Yihang asked stupidly: “Ah, when did you become a professional tennis player?”

Xia Youqing was surprised at first, and then showed a compassionate look of “caring for mentally retarded children”: “Why do you look like you have lost your soul? I dropped out of school after my second year of high school., I have been a professional player for four years ... Wait, you didn’t even forget who your girlfriend is, did you?”

Lv Yihang smiled and took Xia Youqing’s arm: “Of course I remember, I have the most beautiful and lovely girlfriend in the world - that is you, Xia Youqing.”

The black-haired girl giggled, pressed her whole body weight on him, and poked one side of his stomach: “You are sensible. It has been seven years since I started dating you. If you can’t stand the seven-year itch, I won’t forgive you.”

-That is ... Did we become lovers after graduating from junior high school? Did we establish a relationship so early?

Although Lu Yihang felt something was wrong, he couldn’t think further. No matter how much he recalled the past, he could only get a hazy fog. The only thing that can be confirmed is that he and Xia Youqing are in love.

“Yihang, have you thought about your future after graduation?”

“What future?”

“You are so calm. After this summer vacation, you will be a senior, right? Have you thought about whether to take the postgraduate entrance examination or work?”

“Huh...”

“Want to be my agent? Otherwise, I can support you. It is very expensive to support a tennis team, but my current bonuses and endorsement fees are sufficient, so it is easy to support you as an idle person.”

Lv Yihang felt his pockets were stiff. He reached out and took out a student ID card. Then he realized: By the way, I am studying Chinese Language and Literature at East China Normal University, where Shi Zhecun once taught. This is the university I dreamed of in high school, and the major I was thinking about. How could I forget it?

As a pure liberal arts student, it is quite difficult to find a good job with a high salary. Instead of finding a job as a civil servant to make a living, it is better to just eat the soft rice of top female tennis players.

“I’m sorry, I just had a dream. In my dream...” Lv Yihang swallowed “several girlfriends” and changed to a more euphemistic way, “I’m in love with you in another way.” Xia Youqing obviously didn’t understand the true meaning of his words, but regarded it as a different confession. He smiled and said, “I also want to fall in love with you in another way. We should enter the next stage of life. When I just embarked on my professional journey, I made an agreement with you that ‘I will get married after winning a Grand Slam’. Do you still remember it?” But how could Lv Yihang remember this agreement? So he closed his mouth and remained silent. “This is my first time to enter the Grand Slam finals. I will definitely seize the opportunity. You are about to reach the legal age for marriage. If you don’t get married now, when will you get married?” Xia Youqing clenched his fist firmly and raised it to the sky. Lv Yihang whispered, “Even if I didn’t win, I would marry you sooner or later.”

Xia Youqing tilted her ear and asked, “Well, what did you say?”

“Nothing, just relax today. Let’s go around London.” Lv Yihang smiled easily and took Xia Youqing’s hand. His handshake was neither light nor heavy, quite like an English gentleman.

The couple strolled along the Thames with similar bright smiles on their faces, but Lv Yihang was a little puzzled.

-I seem to have forgotten something important.

Lv Yihang and Xia Youqing walked along the river bank, and they didn’t meet any pedestrians along the way, as if this bustling city fell into a nap, with only the two of them jumping around.

The cruise ship on the river drifted silently, with no one on the deck, and through the glass windows, there was no one in the cockpit, like a ghost ship driven by ghosts.

“Let’s go to a higher place and have a look!” Xia Youqing pointed to the London Eye in the distance and called out.

Lu Yihang readily agreed, and the two walked to the bottom of the London Eye. There was no one queuing, no one checking tickets, and they entered the glass cabin unhindered.

The spacious cabin was enough to accommodate more than ten people, but now there were only two of them.

The Ferris wheel slowly rotated, and their altitude gradually rose. Looking down from mid-air, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Tower Bridge of London ... the picture of the ancient capital unfolded to them.

By the way, it seems that someone has introduced the life of nuns in that church, but I can’t remember clearly.

Xia Youqing stood by the glass, feeling a surge of emotion: “I feel like I’m dreaming. When I was a kid, I would first turn to the tennis news in the sports section of the newspaper to see which Chinese players have achieved good results. Now I have become one of the “Golden Flowers”. Not only did I make it to the Wimbledon finals, but I also have my beloved boyfriend cheering for me. If this is a dream, I would rather never wake up in my life.”

Lv Yihang grabbed her hands and smiled: “This is not a dream, I’m always with you.”

Xia Youqing looked at her lover, smiled instantly, and leaned forward to kiss his lips.

“Thank you. When I participated in the youth group competition in junior high school, you would come to the scene to cheer me on. Now I am on the top of the world, and you are still by my side. I ... I don’t know what to say.”

Lv Yihang smiled and said, “This is a matter of course, because I am your first fan.”

Outside the glass cabin, the vast clouds and haze of the foggy city broke through a gap of skylight. Xia Youqing’s eyelashes moved, and she kissed him deeply again, her lilac tongue exploring his mouth, and she refused to let go.

Late at night, Lu Yihang and Xia Youqing sat at the head of the bed in the hotel, in a daze under the dim yellow light.

Lu Yihang patted his lover’s shoulder and asked softly, “Are you nervous?”

Xia Youqing held her forehead and sighed sadly, “Of course I am nervous. Do you know who my opponent is tomorrow?”

Lu Yihang didn’t know, so he asked obediently, “Who is it?”

“Tita Klink.”

Lu Yihang was stunned. When he heard the name, his body trembled, as if all the cells in his body resonated, and a tingling sensation spread from his chest to the end of his arm.

--Have I heard of this name? Where?

“It seems you have heard of her.” Xia Youqing observed that Lu Yihang’s expression changed, and sighed again, “That’s normal. Tita Clinker - she is the most dazzling new generation player, the defending champion of Wimbledon, and ranked second in the world. Although she is the same age as me, she has already won three Grand Slams. She just won the German Open in her hometown. She is in a very hot state. Her grass court winning rate exceeds 90%. She is a well-deserved “Grass Queen.”

Tennis courts are mainly divided into three types: hard court, clay, and grass. Among the top events collectively known as the “Four Grand Slams”, the Australian Open and the US Open are hard courts, the French Open is clay, and Wimbledon is grass.

The characteristics of the three courts are different, and the performance of the players will also be different. Xia Youqing is good at multi-shot stalemate, so she adapts to hard court operations; Clinker must be an expert in fast flat shots, so she will be like a fish in water on the fastest grass.

Lu Yihang asked, “Are you confident of winning?”

Xia Youqing lowered her head, her eyes becoming blurry: “Good question. If I can get over this mountain, I will be the Wimbledon women’s singles champion, the first person in Chinese tennis to achieve this achievement - but, can I get over it...”

Lv Yihang realized that the question he raised put great pressure on his lover. In order to remedy this mistake, he hugged Xia Youqing’s upper body from the front, grabbed her cold little hand, and gave her the warmest support: “It’s okay, don’t take it to heart.”

Xia Youqing put her forehead on her boyfriend’s shoulder, drawing strength from his body odor, and said sweetly and coquettishly: “You hope I win, right?”

“Of course.”

“You won’t support me on the other side ‘s man, right?”

“As long as the universe doesn’t explode, I’ll always stand by your side.”

Xia Youqing stretched her neck and kissed his cheek: “That’s good-let’s do it for a little while?”

Lv Yihang smiled bitterly and dissuaded: “Hey, there’s a game tomorrow, is it okay?”

Xia Youqing closed one eye and raised her lips nonchalantly: “Then please take the initiative, just in time for me to relax.”

“You are probably the first person in history to play the Wimbledon final with your boyfriend’s sperm in your belly.”

“What’s the matter? Can’t I use it as a talisman? Even on the court, I can feel you by my side, fighting with me.”

It was the eve of the final battle when they should have been resting up, but they slept a little later.

The Central Court, located in the Wimbledon area in the southwest of London, is a holy place in the hearts of tennis fans all over the world-just because the Wimbledon final was held in this court.

As the “relative” of the finalist Xia Youqing, Lv Yihang came to the box early and found a seat to sit down.

Logically, the other chairs in the box were reserved for the coaches, physical trainers, agents and other teams. Lu Yihang had seen them countless times when watching tennis matches on TV. But for some reason, none of them came.

Looking at the audience seats in the distance, those seats were obviously empty, but there were thunderous cheers. On the court in the center, a world-class tennis match kicked off.

First, it was Tita Klink’s serve.

On the green grass, the blonde girl wrapped in a white dress jumped and moved like a pure and beautiful elf.

Although she is a short type for tennis players, she overcomes her height deficiency with excellent coordination - her swing posture is extremely graceful, her flexible joints accumulate powerful explosive power, and the speed of her serve is astonishingly fast.

Because of the characteristics of the grass, the height of this ball was extremely low, Xia Youqing could only barely reach it, and the quality of receiving the serve was very poor, and the tennis ball drew a parabola softly.

Clink made a quick decision, swung his racket with his forehand, and attacked with a chase ball.

“Bang!” The ball hit the outside of Xia Youqing’s ankle.

--One-Two Punch!

Clink took the initiative and won a point.

As expected of the queen who ruled the grass court, her forehand was as sharp as a sharp knife, textbook-level, without any unnecessary movements.

This style of play was so familiar, as if ... I had seen it not long ago.

“Where have I seen Tita Clink ... Why does this name sound so familiar?”

While Lu Yihang was thinking, a phantom-like girl flashed beside him. He turned his head to identify the true face of the person who came, and hurriedly bowed his head to greet her. That was Xia Youqing’s mother, children’s literature writer Wu Yuanjun, no, it should be called “mother-in-law” now.

“Lu Yihang, are you here to watch Xiaoqing’s game too?” The mother-in-law said with a smile, crossing her legs.

She was wearing a bright red satin dress, her hair was pressed under a wide-brimmed hat, and a few strands of black hair were exposed at her ears. Her slender legs swayed slightly, her bare calves were white and translucent, and her gestures were generous and decent, hiding a kind of seductive charm.

Wu Yuanjun looked similar to her daughter, whether it was the shape of her eyebrows or the shape of her nose, they were simply carved from the same mold, but compared with the two, Xia Youqing could only be regarded as a yellow-haired girl, and there was no way she could control such a gorgeous dress. Even the protective Lu Yihang had to admit that his mother-in-law deserved the title of “beauty” more than his girlfriend.

In Lu Yihang’s memory, Wu Yuanjun had always been a sloppy, homely aunt, always staying at home, wearing whatever she liked, and the probability of her clothes fitting her was pitifully low. It was like a dream to see her wearing such a proper and fashionable dress. Yes, it was like a dream.

“Aunt Wu, you are a writer who makes a living by writing stories. I also grew up reading your works. But, can I ask you to tell me a story today?” Lu Yihang said calmly.

Wu Yuanjun raised her chin and smiled with bright eyes: “Yihang, are you telling me a story? I’m all ears.”

Looking at her mother-in-law’s face, her features are neat and delicate, with both the charm of a woman and the youthfulness of a girl. The two styles are mixed in the right proportion to create the unique Wu Yuanjun. If she hadn’t stayed in the house writing all day and rarely went out, she would have attracted the attention of the people on the street.