Chapter 9

At around three in the afternoon, a sparse crowd had already gathered by the tennis court. As usual, those who came to watch were either friends and family or just there for the excitement. This was probably going to be the day with the most spectators since the amateur "Masters" tournament began. What? There's an even more exciting final tomorrow? Come on, who has the time to hang around school on a Friday afternoon? "Old Four, where's your girlfriend? Why didn't you bring her and her group of friends to cheer you on? Afraid she'll cry if you lose?" The leader of the dormitory scanned the area for the group of conspicuous girls as soon as he arrived at the court, but after a while, he found no one. Fan Ju pursed his lips, wasn't it just to get those girls to introduce you to others? Do you have to put yourself on the line too? Be careful, I might turn into Ma Jiajue! By the way, which year did Ma Jiajue get into trouble? Fan Ju scratched his chin and realized he had another memory gap.

"Yan Jie is assisting Professor Zhou with a research project. As for the other girls, they had their fill of food and drinks yesterday and are probably still hungover!" Compared to Fan Ju, who was just there to earn credits by taking business management courses, Yan Ximu was much more serious. The accounting program at the finance university had been rated a national key discipline twice. After being deliberately intellectually stimulated by a certain reborn person from a young age, Yan Ximu was a top student at school. By the end of her third year's first semester, she had already completed all her credits and was now writing papers with an accounting professor and preparing for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. As for graduate school, it was a sure thing, the only question was whether to continue in China or go to a developed country like the United States for further studies.

"Drunk again... But Old Four, you're so unbrotherly, why didn't you call us yesterday?" "Yeah! Yeah! Unbrotherly, you have to make it up to us today. We have to eat something good, not at a small restaurant, but at KFC!" Well, being drunk was already the norm, even the freshmen in the dorm were getting used to it. But do you guys have any taste at all? KFC? Are you trying to save money for yourself... Fan Ju reluctantly agreed to their demands, not realizing how much money could be saved without alcohol at the table. As for these foodies, each of them could probably eat a KFC bucket and two large burgers, which would cost about 200 yuan, enough even for a late-night snack.

200 yuan, back when he was reborn, that would have been enough for a meal for two or three people at a roadside restaurant. Group buying could save some money, he should note that down. Fan Ju suddenly thought of a word, which wasn't the first time this had happened. Although only part of the data from the large hard drive was copied over, the remaining information hadn't completely disappeared. Like now, while chatting, future terms would occasionally pop up. Of course, the diligent Fan Ju would write them down and try to dig up more future information.

"Junior, you're here? I thought you wouldn't come to watch my match!" Just as the group of young men were discussing how to make Fan Ju pay at KFC, the thing Fan Ju had been worried about all afternoon finally happened. Fan Ju turned around and looked at the well-mannered man awkwardly, but the well-mannered man hadn't realized what was going on yet. He walked up to Fan Ju, patted him on the shoulder, and introduced the two people beside him.

"This is Hao Xiangdong, the vice president of our tennis club. His skills are quite good, though not as good as mine, his fundamentals are solid. You can learn a lot from him. This is Meng Peide, another key member of our tennis club. The other semi-final match today is between them. Xiangdong, Peide, meet this junior I told you about. I practiced with him this morning, and he has a good understanding." The well-mannered man introduced everyone warmly, which left the others who came with Fan Ju stunned. They were about to play a match, why were they being so polite? Fan Ju was also quite awkward. After the introductions, any hope he had was dashed. With the other semi-finalists right in front of him, who else could his opponent be but the well-mannered man...

While one group was chatting enthusiastically, the other was just going through the motions. Only Fan Ju knew what was going on, and the well-mannered man thought his friends were just nervous. He found an excuse to temporarily leave with the two people, finally giving the young men a chance to ask their questions.

"Fan Xiao, you're pretty good, infiltrating the enemy's ranks! Come clean, did you plan this all along to surprise the guy and win the championship?" The second-in-command of the dormitory proposed a conspiracy theory with zero chance of success, but the group of troublemakers didn't care about logic, nodding in agreement and insisting that everyone should have an extra burger tonight, as if they were afraid of not eating enough.

Fan Ju felt more wronged than Dou E, but explaining wouldn't help. The guys were determined to make him pay. With a sense of injustice, Fan Ju could only wait for the match to start. At three in the afternoon, the bespectacled man appeared again at the broken table and chairs by the court, but this time his partner was a different senior, which disappointed Fan Ju. It wasn't that he didn't want the pretty senior to come, but the rules stated that if a student from a particular department advanced, a representative from that department would be responsible for the commentary.

The bespectacled man looked at Fan Ju on the sidelines with satisfaction. He had thought he was just getting a filler to make up the numbers, but who would have thought Fan Ju would be so competitive, reaching the semi-finals, giving him more confidence in the student council.

"Unfortunately, today's opponent is the president of the tennis club, so there's little chance of making it to the final." He proudly showed off his Apple iPod, but after today, he could only show it off in the dorm.

"Next, let's welcome the two semi-finalists to the court. First to enter is Huang Ziren, a third-year student from the Law School and the president of the tennis club. He has participated in numerous provincial and municipal youth tennis tournaments and achieved excellent results." The senior from the Law School spared no effort in introducing Huang Ziren, only praising the good and not the bad, after all, he was the face of their department.

The well-mannered man, the president of the tennis club, didn't realize he had finally made it to the semi-finals. He was already dressed head to toe in Adidas tennis gear, even his socks and wristbands were Adidas. If they weren't knock-offs, this set would cost at least 2000 yuan. Of course, compared to his Wilson professional tennis rackets, which cost at least 300 dollars each, this was nothing. Just the equipment alone would make most people retreat before the match even started. After preparing his gear, Huang Ziren stood by the court, waiting for his opponent to enter.

"Fan Ju! Is the management student Fan Ju here? The match is about to start, please come to the court immediately!" Seeing Huang Ziren in his high-end sports gear, the bespectacled man glanced at his iPad, feeling a bit defeated. But before he could recover, he realized his "little brother" hadn't entered the court yet. Was he scared by the opponent's equipment and planning to withdraw?

Fan Ju? It sounded familiar. Wait, why does that person look so familiar? Isn't that the junior? Why is he entering the court? Entering the court...!

Well, no matter what, he had to face it. The reborn Fan Ju wasn't one to hesitate. Although he admitted he had struggled a bit while changing in the locker room, he wouldn't withdraw for such an unreliable reason, even if the bespectacled man agreed, he wouldn't do something so embarrassing.

Of course, Fan Ju would never admit that if he withdrew, a certain female top student would probably chase him halfway across the school! As for why not the whole school, it was definitely because Fan Ju was in good shape and could run fast. So, to avoid finding himself in trouble, Fan Ju had to disappoint someone.

"Senior, good afternoon. Thank you for your guidance this morning. I'm not very good, so please bear with me if I make mistakes." The same words that Huang Ziren found comforting in the morning now seemed full of mockery. You could eliminate a junior, and you're still pretending to be a beginner? Do you think I'm a fool?

"Fan Ju, is it? We'll see on the court!" Huang Ziren restrained the urge to curse and said through gritted teeth.

Fan Ju looked at his opponent, who was tightly gripping his racket, and thought to himself, why bother? He had originally planned to join the tennis club after the match to practice his basics, but now it seemed that was out of the question. He would have to find another tennis school, which would cost a lot of money...