After spending the morning at the library, the two of them had lunch at a nearby cafeteria before returning to their dorms to rest.
After waking from a nap, they headed to the court.
A few days prior, with the introduction of senior Ning Ruo, they had filled out and submitted their membership applications, successfully joining the school's tennis club.
This afternoon was the tennis club's first official activity. Members with nothing else to do were expected to attend, with senior members guiding the new students who joined this year in practice.
When they arrived at the tennis court, only a few club members were present.
Focused gazes quickly fell upon the two of them.
Qin Tian walked into the court hand in hand with Xia Nuannuan, waiting with the others for more people to arrive.
People arrived one after another, greeting them, and Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan responded politely.
Soon, more and more tennis club members arrived. Following them, the club president, along with two boys carrying a large basket of equipment, walked over.
The president was a third-year student from the School of Arts, named Ke Hong.
Ke Hong was quite handsome, sunny, and generous. He was also very good at tennis, a typical cheerful and cool guy, popular among the girls.
Many girls who joined the tennis club this year were successfully persuaded by this senior.
"Hi, Qin Tian, Xia Nuannuan!"
Ke Hong greeted them with a smile.
Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan had met the president a few days earlier when they filled out their application forms.
"Hello, senior!"
Qin Tian replied with a smile, and Xia Nuannuan beside him quickly chimed in with a greeting.
"Ning Ruo hasn't arrived yet?"
"No!"
"If she doesn't come, I'll teach you later."
"Okay, thank you, senior."
Qin Tian smiled and nodded in thanks.
Ke Hong smiled, then went to greet others.
His face was always adorned with a sunny and handsome smile, which made many of the girls present's eyes sparkle.
Although Qin Tian was also handsome, he was already taken!
What's more, the girl beside him had such a strong presence.
Her looks and her figure even made them doubt if God was truly being a bit unfair.
Wasn't it said that when one door closes, another opens? Which door had it closed?
Ning Ruo might have had something to attend to, as she hadn't arrived by the time the club group chat notification was sent.
Under Ke Hong's organization, the senior members of the tennis club began one-on-one coaching for the new members.
The male seniors naturally vied to teach the junior girls, and the female seniors were no less enthusiastic; the more handsome the junior boys, the more popular they were.
Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan, as a pair, were a bit special, being taught by the club president, Ke Hong.
"There are seven types of tennis racket grips. I'll demonstrate each one for you. You should all try them out and then choose the grip that suits you best for playing. First, this is the Western grip..."
After handing each of them a racket, Ke Hong began teaching some basic tennis knowledge.
Although Qin Tian could pick things up quickly and even accurately feed balls to Xia Nuannuan, that was due to his strong physique and control.
He truly didn't know the basic knowledge of tennis.
Both of them listened attentively and tried various gripping methods as he instructed.
After gripping, came serving, judging the ball's landing point and trajectory, as well as footwork and swinging to hit the ball.
These were the entry-level basics of tennis, and for those who were good at ball sports, they were not too difficult.
However, many of the new students who joined the club had also studied diligently without any prior experience, making it a bit difficult for them to learn.
It was only during the half month of military training that everyone's physical fitness had improved significantly, otherwise many would be gasping for breath after just a few steps.
"President, I think that's enough. Why don't we let them start playing directly? They'll learn faster that way."
From not far away, a girl suggested loudly.
Ke Hong glanced around and saw the eager expressions of the new students. He nodded in agreement, saying, "That's fine too. Theory is rigid; practice is indeed faster. Let's organize them to play on the court. Since there are many people, we'll have mixed doubles! "
"Oh, oh..."
Many new students cheered excitedly.
Listening to theoretical basics was nowhere near as fun as playing directly on the court. They had already been impatient.
This tennis court had six courts in total. After consulting with others, Ke Hong decided on the playing format.
All the new students, including the older members of the tennis club, were evenly distributed among the six courts for mixed doubles. They were to form teams freely, with an effort to pair an older member with a new student.
Additionally, a best-of-three system would be used. The winning pair would defend their court, and the losing pair would switch.
Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan exchanged a smile, instantly understanding each other.
Needless to say, they would definitely be on the same team.
"I'll stand at the back later, and you go to the front. Anything you can't reach, I'll handle."
Qin Tian said with a smile.
"Mmm-hmm!"
Xia Nuannuan nodded vigorously, her smile as bright as a flower, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
After deciding, everyone was quickly assigned to different courts.
Each court was also assigned a referee. Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan's court was fortunately managed by Ke Hong.
"Alright, let's start right away. Which two teams will go first?"
Ke Hong shouted loudly.
The people on the sidelines looked at each other, and many of their gazes instinctively turned towards Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan.
"Qin Tian, Xia Nuannuan, it seems everyone wants you to play first. What do you say?"
Ke Hong asked with a bright smile.
Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan exchanged a glance, both wearing confident smiles.
"Then, we'll be honored to accept. We'll go first!"
Qin Tian responded and entered the court with Xia Nuannuan.
"Okay, which team wants to challenge them?"
Ke Hong swept his gaze across the others by the court.
"President, we will!"
A boy called out loudly.
Beside him was a girl with a ponytail, also a freshman who had just joined.
"Deng Da, why are you so eager? What's up? Are you envious and jealous of them?"
Ke Hong teased with a smile.
Deng Da was among the top players in their tennis club.
And although the girl was a new member, she also had some tennis experience. This pair was definitely very strong.
"Who isn't envious and jealous of them now? Is that not allowed?"
Deng Da admitted frankly.
"Fine, then I'll give you a chance to defeat him. Go ahead!"
Ke Hong nodded with a smile.
"Got it, watch this!"
Deng Da grinned, and with the girl, confidently walked over and stood opposite Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan.
"Junior brother, junior sister, I apologize in advance. I've been single for too long, and I can't control my frustration. I won't go easy on you on the court."
"No need, senior. It's not yet decided who will win or lose!"
Qin Tian said with a smile.
"Xia Nuannuan, you two have fed me so much dog food. Now is my chance for revenge. Let me see your skills!"
The ponytail girl pointed her racket at Xia Nuannuan and said loudly.
"We won't lose!"
Xia Nuannuan held her racket with both hands, responding to the challenge with a sweet smile.
The onlookers on the sidelines watched this scene and began to discuss excitedly.
No one expected that things would become so interesting right from the start.