"You two, it's already ten o'clock. Your time is up."
"Oh, okay."
"That was quick."
"You're welcome to come again next time."
"Thank you."
Zhou Li bent over with his racket and scooped up the shuttlecock from the ground. Bringing it close for inspection, he saw it was frayed. He casually tossed it up, and the shuttlecock traced a beautiful arc through the air before landing in the corner trash bin.
Two hours had passed, and they had just finished one tube of shuttlecocks—quite economically, at that.
This spoke to the intensity of their match.
The tube of shuttlecocks cost 90 yuan, nearly as much as the court fee. Badminton was turning out to be quite an expensive sport.
"I'm so thirsty."
"Yeah."
Zhou Li glanced at Zhu Shuang. The intense two-hour match had clearly drained his energy; he was practically drifting as he walked. Zhou Li quickly feigned exhaustion as well.
"Let's buy another bottle and drink as we walk. What do you want, Bro?"
"Sprite or Coke."
