When Principal Kong thought of Yao Tang, he couldn’t help but berate her inwardly.
It seemed that his worry for her only grew with each passing day.
Thinking that people might come looking for him later, he picked up his phone and called his assistant, Xiao Liu.
“Listen carefully. I will be giving you a task, and you must promise to see that it gets done without a hitch.”
On the other side, Xiao Liuput his teacup down, his face turning serious. “Of course. What do you need?”
“Keep an eye on the online trends. If you see the name Yao Tangappear on any news article or the like, you must put it down immediately. Rein in the public’s opinion. She can’t afford to be distracted at such a crucial time, do you understand?”
Xiao Liu was taken aback.
Given the principal’s somber tone, he had initially thought that the task would involve school matters. He didn’t expect it to have something to do with one particular student.
Xiao Liu couldn’t even begin to imagine whyPrincipal Kongwould ask this of him.
If he remembered correctly, Yao Tangwas in that controversial video about a tennis match. And she had also gained popularity after becoming the only student to ever get the perfect score in the Math Olympiad Competition.
Now that he thought about it, the president of the Sports Association himself had personally come over earlier today. Xiao Liubegan to understand whyPrincipal Konggave him such an unusual assignment. The man had probably been stewing in anxiety the whole day.
Meanwhile, the girl in question was out on the streets, minding her own business and completely oblivious to what had transpired.
Qin Jing sidled up next to her and took her hand excitedly. She usheredYao Tangin a certain direction.
Just now, Yao Ranhad sent a message saying that she wanted to meet up in a small restaurant nearby. She was about to return part of the money she owed them.
Qin Jing happily tagged along, thinking that she andYao Tangcould use the cash to have some fun. Soon enough, the two girls arrived at the agreed place.
To their surprise, however, Xu Xuanwas sitting at a table all by herself.
“Where’s Yao Ran?”Qin Jingasked with a frown. “Don’t tell me she didn’t come?”
Xu Xuan looked like she was in a daze when she replied, “She had something to do, so I had to come alone.”
The truth was that Yao Ranhad told her that they had to pay up 100,000 today, yet she had only givenXu Xuan90,000 yuan. The latter had to scrape up every last bit of her savings in order to make up for the deficit.
Without further ado, Xu Xuanoffered a bank card toQin Jing. “Here. The password is 111111.”
After saying that, she turned on her heel and left the restaurant.
Xu Xuan was already striding away from the establishment before Qin Jing came back to her senses.
“Sister Tang, give me a moment. I’ll go talk to her.”
Yao Tang gave her friend a lazy nod asQin Jingrushed out to chase afterXu Xuan. She had wanted to say a few words to the girl; how could she leave just like that?
Once Qin Jingwas out of sight,Yao Tangangled her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Come out.”
Sure enough, a man in a tailored suit emerged from a quiet corner of the wall. He approached with a big smile on his face. “You have fantastic hearing, Miss Yao. It’s no wonder that you play extremely well!”
Yao Tang spared him a single glance before turning her attention back to her tea.
The man was astonished by her reaction.
He had expected her to demand who he was or why he was hiding, but she didn’t seem the least bit interested at all.
Indeed, she was acting like this was a perfectly usual occurrence.
Yao Tang took a long sip of her tea before raising her eyes to study the man in silence.
He took the cue from her and didn’t speak, either. The two of them stared at each other, waiting for the other one to speak first, as if they were competing to see who was more composed.
A minute ticked by, and the man still did not speak.
Likewise, Yao Tangjust sat quietly and stared at him with a blank look on her face.
The man thought he could hold on longer, but his smile finally faltered just a little over the two-minute mark.
In the end, he dropped his smile altogether and heaved a weary sigh. “Hello, Yao Tang. I am the captain of a local tennis club. My name isWang Peng. You should know why I’m here, right?”
But Yao Tangonly averted her gaze and looked at the time on her phone.
Qin Jing should be back any minute now.
Her continued silence flustered Captain Wang, but he managed to collect himself and cover up his embarrassment.
“I won’t beat around the bush. I am officially inviting you to join our tennis club. If it suits you, I can take you to the headquarters right now to go over the formalities and carry out the necessary procedures.”