Chapter Text
Tang Jiale has always been protective of his little sister (she is in fact older than him by 28 minutes, but Jiale isn't the type to adhere by technicalities), that was just the type of person he was.
Even though Zhihao annoyed Jiale to pieces sometimes, he loved her dearly, and would do anything to keep the smile on her face. He of course would never admit it to Zhihao's face.
If he could shield her from harm, he would probably jump to her defense, no conditions required.. for the most part.
That was why he never felt the need to introduce Zhihao, his twin sister, to the tennis team; he didn't want, or need, any unnecessary drama in his life. At least when it came to Zhihao.
While Jiale pretty much thrived on drama and gossip, he didn't want Zhihao to be the center of it due to his high school athlete fame, which would no doubt bring negative attention to her.
What if people befriended Zhihao, only using her status as a familial link to Jiale, to get close to the team, breaking his sister's heart in the process?
What if an opponent from another school - hopefully not one of Xing Yao's doubles partners - got close to Zhihao and started a relationship with her?
And what if, god forbid, Zhihao fell in love with one of his own teammates and then he broke her heart? Then Jiale would have to choose sides between his dear sister and treasured teammate.
While he knew that he couldn't 'protect' his baby sister forever, he didn't want her to experience, or for himself to experience for that matter, any preventable "what if"s... even though they were both now seniors at Yu Qing High School and were capable of making their own decisions.
It was inevitable, admittedly, that the team would eventually find out about Zhihao, but Jiale wanted to wait until after he graduated from his high school days to introduce her to them. That way she would be safe from people with ulterior motives, since high school problems would be below them.
Maybe his teammates would find out about her before that time, but if they didn't, then that was that. No harm done.
While Zhihao wanted to meet the close friends that her brother always spun tales about, she ultimately agreed with Jiale's decision, after a lengthy discussion. While Zhihao wasn't exactly socially inept, she wasn't exactly a social butterfly either, and didn't thrive like Jiale did in huge crowds.
So, Jiale has always been careful not to mention his sister around any of his teammates - except Dachi of course, because Dachi is Jiale's most trustworthy, best friend.
That turned out to be his greatest mistake.
~~~
After a much longer and arduous practice than usual that Siyang probably found joy in inflicting on the team, Tang Jiale was exhausted.
In fact, exhausted was an understatement.
He rested his eyes while he laid his head on the floor, desperately sending Dachi a telepathic message to bring him a drink, preferably a Gatorade (pink) if he could.
Unfortunately for him, Dachi was just as burnt out as Jiale was, so the two were pathetically sprawled across the tennis court together, immobile, along with everyone else (minus a few members who Jiale suspected to be nonhuman).
It's probably a wonderful sight for Siyang, to see us suffer, Jiale cursed his captain. He didn't dare voice his thought out loud though, with Siyang standing nearby, talking to Zhuo Zhi in a low voice.
At least the sky is a wonderful sight though, Jiale dazedly noted. The October air was crisp and cool, something he never failed to appreciate during practice. The sky truly was also breathtaking, a lovely gradient of a brilliant pink to orange, due to the sunset. Wait. Sunset? Jiale sat up with a jolt.
Noticing how dehydrated Jiale seemed, Yan Zhiming opened his mouth to offer a Yan Juice. Before he could even get a word out however, Jiale managed to scramble his way off the ground, using the little energy he had left.
"Oh crap I forgot that I have to pick up groceries before I go home again, I'm gotta go now, see you guys later! Good practice guys!"
Before leaving, Jiale turned to Dachi and begged, "Wait Dachi text Zhihao and tell her I'll be late will you? Make up a believable excuse so she doesn't get too mad, please." Jiale knew that Zhihao had a soft side for Dachi and didn't hesitate to exploit it on occasions such as these.
Meanwhile, the mention of a girl's name from Jiale's mouth had grabbed the attention of the rest of the team.
Ignoring the questioning looks from his teammates, Dachi confirmed a yes with a nod and smile. Jiale patted Dachi's shoulder as a thanks and then, with some effort and struggle, stumbled out the tennis court as fast as he could.
After a brief moment, Qiao Chen thought out loud, "Zhihao? A girl? Since when did Jiale talk to girls?"
Zhuo Zhi, who had paused his conversation with Siyang, chimed in, "Jiale doesn't talk to girls, he physically cannot."
Yan Zhiming shared the sentiment. "I don't think I have ever seen, or at least noted Jiale talk to a girl. It might not be in his ability to."
The team stewed in these thoughts while Dachi began nervously sweating, hoping the team wouldn't turn to him for answers. Dachi has never been that fortunate, however.
Qiao Chen sat up and turned to Dachi, who tensed. "Wait Dachi... Jiale told you to text this girl. You know who she is? Wait wait wait.. you knew that Jiale had a girlfriend this whole time and never told us?"
Baiyang just scoffed at Qiao Chen's words. "You don't need to know everything about everyone, it's not that personal."
Forced into the spotlight where everyone was looking at him, Dachi frowned.
This wasn't exactly a subject that he could freely talk about, seeing how Jiale was so protective over his sister. It took being close with the guy for two and a half years, and eventually becoming his double partner and bestest friend to get this information out of him.
Not to mention that one night that was so important that it pretty much established their close friendship in one go.
Dachi weighed his options very carefully, unsure if he should tell the truth about Zhihao, who is clearly very important to Jiale, but also sure that the team would find it suspicious if he doesn't say anything.
If only Jiale was here to make this important decision for him, it's his business anyway.
He hesitated and then opened his mouth to speak, hoping that this was the right thing to say.
"She's not a girlfriend, just a friend guys. Nothing to worry about. Jiale doesn't have a girlfriend." At least, I don't think he does. At this, Dachi furrowed his brows. Surely if Jiale was in a relationship he'd tell me right? We tell each other everything.
Qiao Chen seemed to buy it, breaking Dachi's train of thought with an understanding "ah" and a nod. Dachi's shoulders visibly relaxed, thank goodness for Qiao Chen's seemingly permanent neuron deficiency.
However, he didn't miss Zhuo Zhi's attempt at eye contact, and instead avoided the man's questioning gaze.
Sensing that Dayong was mildly uncomfortable and probably would not reveal any further than that about the mystery girl, Siyang took it upon himself to show Dayong mercy.
"Alright everyone practice is over, pick yourselves up off the ground and go home." Dachi gratefully took this as an opportunity to excuse himself and walked off the tennis court, as fast as he could without it looking like he was fleeing.
With that, the conversation ended for the night.