After Marrying the Aloof Beauty, I Totally Fell for Her - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: I Won, Teacher Mu

“Ning Ning!”

Almost at the moment An Ning fell, Chen Ying had already rushed over. The other players waiting on the bench hurried forward too. The referee blew the whistle in time, the sharp sound echoing through the stadium, and the audience erupted into a commotion.

By the time everyone reached her, An Ning had already picked herself up off the ground. But seeing her current condition made all of them tense up.

When she fell, An Ning’s racket flew out of her hand and landed right where her head hit the ground.

Her forehead had smashed into the hard frame of the racket, and she slid along the floor for over ten centimeters before stopping.

Both of her knees were scraped raw from the friction with the court floor, and the wound on her forehead was bleeding steadily. Bl00d streamed down from her forehead, cutting through her thick eyebrows and threatening to flow into her eyes.

Yet the injured girl still wore a relaxed expression. Seeing how anxious they looked, she even grinned with bared teeth to reassure them. “I’m fine…”

“Fine, my ass!”

Chen Ying, furious, grabbed her and pushed her back down. A group of people sprang into action—some went for first aid, others stopped the bleeding. No one even glanced at the opposing court.

But the match was still going. The referee came over and asked the coach, “Can your player continue the match?”

“What do you think?” the coach snapped. Seeing the referee turn to announce Ruan Ke’er’s win, he reluctantly stopped him. “Give us ten minutes.”

This was An Ning’s match. Even though he now felt it might be best to forfeit, he still wanted to ask for her opinion.

When the coach turned around, the once gruesome-looking An Ning was now hastily bandaged up by her teammates, a thick layer of gauze on her head.

“This will only hold for a while—you’ll still need to go to the hospital afterward,” Chen Ying gritted her teeth as she pressed the gauze into place. “That bastard’s going to get what he deserves one day.”

“An Ning,” the coach parted the teammates crowding around her, squatted down, and met the girl’s eyes. “The referee just asked if you want to keep playing. It’s up to you.”

“What for?” Chen Ying snapped. “You’re going back out there bleeding just so that bastard can finish you off?”

“Enough out of you,” the coach scolded Chen Ying, who was about to blow up, then turned back to An Ning. “What do you think?”

The girl just pressed on the gauze to make sure it was secure, moved her limbs a bit, and then smiled with satisfaction. “No problem, I can keep playing.”

“You—” Chen Ying was about to protest.

“You’re not going,” another cold female voice suddenly cut her off.

“Huh?” Everyone turned in surprise and saw a thin woman standing behind them. She looked slightly out of breath as if she had run there, but her eyes were locked firmly on An Ning.

Ning Ning’s girlfriend?!

“You can’t be here, ma’am!” A security guard came running from a distance.

“Wait,” Chen Ying blocked the guard. “She’s a family member. Family’s allowed, right?”

“Uh…” The young security guard looked between An Ning and Mu Yan for a few seconds, then didn’t dare to ask what their relationship really was and backed away awkwardly.

The other teammates also knew about their relationship. They pulled the still-confused coach aside, blocking the view of the opposing court and the referee to give the two some privacy.

“Miss Mu…” An Ning looked a little guilty and lowered her head, not daring to meet her eyes.

She was afraid that if she looked again, she would give up everything and obediently follow the woman’s orders.

Mu Yan’s usually clear eyes were now shimmering with tears. Her brows were tightly furrowed, and in her always calm gaze, there was fear. A hint of pink crept into the corners of her eyes.

She had made her angry again.

“You’re going to the hospital with me. Now.” Mu Yan’s voice trembled, but her tone left no room for argument. She even reached out and grabbed An Ning’s wrist.

“Teacher Mu, Teacher Mu…” The girl didn’t dare pull away and timidly reminded her of their agreement, “I want to win…”

“You don’t have to win!” Mu Yan interrupted her roughly. Her eyes were bloodshot, and tears finally spilled down her pale cheeks. “I don’t need you to win.”

I need you standing there, whole and safe. I need you to be happy in this life—not to end up like that time…

God knows how terrified she was when she saw An Ning fall.

She even began to regret her decision back then.

In those days when she deliberately ignored An Ning’s updates because of her own pain, how many times had An Ning gotten hurt like this?

She should never have tried to repay An Ning with a world without herself, by staying completely uninvolved in her life.

If she had intervened, maybe An Ning wouldn’t have had to learn badminton. She could’ve chosen an ordinary major, one that wouldn’t get her hurt so easily.

She—

“Teacher Mu.” The girl’s voice interrupted her spiral of guilt. Perhaps startled by Mu Yan’s expression, An Ning’s eyes turned red too. She silently pulled something from around her neck.

It was a smooth, luminous figurine of Guanyin.

“I’m really okay. Don’t be scared.” Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she smiled as she gently placed her hand on Mu Yan’s clenched one. “It’s just a surface wound. It’ll heal in a few days. See, I’m wearing the thing you gave me. As long as I have it, I’ll be safe.”

Even in this heart-wrenching moment, Mu Yan couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief at her strange way of offering comfort. Then, as if venting her frustration, she reached out to take the pendant off the girl’s neck. “It’s useless. Throw it away.”

“No no no!” An Ning covered the small figurine like it was a treasure. “It really works! If not for this, I might have twisted my ankle like last time—then I definitely wouldn’t have been able to finish the match!”

“You…” Catching the hidden meaning in her words, Mu Yan’s hand paused mid-air, and her gaze turned cold. “You did it on purpose?”

“Yes,” An Ning shrank back a little. “When I was falling, I was afraid that trying to stay upright would twist my ankle like last time, so I just let it happen…” Seeing Mu Yan’s increasingly dark expression, she quickly added, “But I got really lucky! It looks scary, but it’s nothing serious—I promise!”

“You want to win that badly?” Mu Yan’s tone had cooled, but she still didn’t understand. In her mind, An Ning wasn’t the kind of person who cared so much about winning.

“Yes. At least this time, I need to win.” Sensing a sliver of hope, An Ning’s voice grew more determined. “This match is really important to me. And,” her bright, round eyes stared straight into Mu Yan’s, full of sincerity, “this is the first time you’ve come to see me play in an official match. I don’t want to lose.”

There was one more thing she didn’t say aloud.

At first, she just wanted Mu Yan to see her win. But now, after seeing her cry, she simply hoped that when Miss Mu remembered this match in the future, what came to mind wouldn’t be her covered in bl00d—but her moment of triumph.

She didn’t want Teacher Mu to look back on this and feel sadness over her failures.

An Ning had never wanted victory so badly.

“Do whatever you want,” Mu Yan finally backed down after their long standoff, but still added with concern, “Just don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Okay!” An Ning wiped the tears from her eyes, not caring if crying and laughing at the same time made her look childish. She sprang up from the ground and gave her a radiant smile. “Watch me. I’ll win in no time!”

The match resumed. Ruan Ke’er looked in surprise at her now-disheveled opponent but could no longer find the dominance she once had.

The girl still stood there just as before—but now her eyes burned with bright determination.

Though An Ning said nothing, Ruan Ke’er could sense her meaning loud and clear:

Your tricks don’t work on me anymore. You’re not stronger than me.

This match is mine to win.

Fancy tricks may yield results at first, but those who rely on them while neglecting their own growth will inevitably run out of options once they’re countered.

Ruan Ke’er bit her lip hard, trying to calm herself and repeat her usual tactics.

But the prolonged tug-of-war had drained her stamina, and now that her momentum was broken and her opponent’s aura overpowering, she could no longer force An Ning to run ragged like she had at the beginning.

The match started veering in an unexpected direction. Despite her injuries, An Ning showed no signs of weakness. Instead, her attacks became even more ferocious. Meanwhile, her opponent, though still trying her old tricks, was visibly tiring, and the already lopsided score began to widen.

Back on the bench, Chen Ying wanted to ask Mu Yan what on earth she said to make An Ning play even more fiercely despite her bloody state. But seeing the woman staring unblinkingly at the court, her arms crossed so tightly her nails dug into her skin, she decided to keep her questions to herself.

Another sharp whistle blew—this time, it was the final whistle.

2–0. With a powerful final smash, An Ning ended the match with an overwhelming lead.

Everyone loves an underdog comeback. The audience erupted in thunderous applause. Even those who had cheered for Ruan Ke’er now clapped wildly for the girl who never gave up until the very end.

Amid the cheers, An Ning turned around. She didn’t spare her defeated opponent a single glance, and instead slowly walked toward the bench where Mu Yan stood.

Just like last time, she stopped half a meter in front of her.

Scratching her head, she nervously looked at the woman who had been watching her the whole time. “I won, Miss Mu.”

She looked at the slender Mu Yan, at the woman’s red-rimmed eyes from crying because of her, and felt that just this wasn’t enough.

She wanted to leave her with an even deeper memory.

As if driven by instinct, she opened her arms slightly and extended an invitation.

“Would you… like a hug?”

Her heart pounded wildly—half from the match, half from the fear of being rejected.

The woman across from her just stared silently. As An Ning’s anxiety mounted, Mu Yan took a step forward. The light, sweet scent on her body suddenly grew stronger.

In the girl’s widening pupils, the woman reached out and gently pulled her into a hug.

An Ning’s sweat-drenched body radiated heat, tinged with the scent of sweat and bl00d.

But there was no pain, no stillness—the strong, steady heartbeat pounding in her chest proclaimed her vitality.

Mu Yan held her tightly, as if trying to make up for a long-overdue embrace.

The painful memories were finally painted over with new colors, the raw wounds soothed after years of waiting.

“T-Teacher Mu…” An Ning trembled and raised her hand, softly placing it on her back—hugging her back.

They embraced each other amid a sea of cheers.