Chapter 477: The Underworld’s Fake Heiress Rises to Archery Champion (30)

Chapter 477 The Fake Mafia Princess's Rise to Archery Champion (30)

When Zhuang Yangqiu woke up again, the hangover hadn't fully worn off; his head was pounding.

Amidst such sharp pain, last night's image of Tang Qing grew sharper...

His drunk memories were fuzzy, but one thing was clear.

Last night, it wasn’t Tang Qing who helped him back to his room.

As expected, she no longer looked at him...

Just as he was thinking this, there was a sudden knock at the door. A woman's voice called from outside, "Zhuang Yangqiu, may I come in?"

It was her!

Zhuang Yangqiu’s previously dejected expression instantly brightened!

The usually refined and dignified man now eagerly rushed to the door and yanked it open!

The door swung open too forcefully, causing Tang Qing to instinctively take a step back.

"You’re awake after all."

In contrast to Zhuang Yangqiu’s current excitement, Tang Qing’s tone and expression were cold and detached.

"Hangover soup."

"For you."

Without considering whether Zhuang Yangqiu would accept it or not, Tang Qing simply pushed the tray into his arms.

Seeing that Tang Qing was about to leave, Zhuang Yangqiu spoke up anxiously, "Wait!"

"Tang Qing, you brought me hangover soup. You still care after all—"

Before he could finish, as if anticipating what he was about to say, Tang Qing cut him off impatiently, "Consider it my daily good deed."

"Zhuang Yangqiu, while I was standing outside your door just now, I thought to myself..."

"If, when you opened the door, you still believed I had lingering feelings for you, I would pour this entire bowl of soup right in your face."

The excitement that had just surged in Zhuang Yangqiu’s heart instantly faded at Tang Qing’s words.

"You..."

His voice was hoarse, tinged with unwavering resentment.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhuang Yangqiu finally spoke, "Tang Qing, I truly regret everything."

"Can’t we... go back to how things were before..."

Tang Qing let out a cold laugh and replied, "No."

"Go back to how things were? What kind of past?"

"Zhuang Yangqiu, I’ve been chasing after you for over ten years. Did you think it was just expected?"

All those years, if only Zhuang Yangqiu had been willing to stop for even a single day and look back at Tang Qing following him.

Any day... just a little encouragement would've been enough.

Unfortunately,

he gave nothing.

Knowing exactly what Tang Qing was referring to, Zhuang Yangqiu’s voice became completely defeated.

He pleaded once more, "Tang Qing, I don’t want to let go."

Tang Qing remained cold, she replied with the same answer Zhuang Yangqiu had once given her—

icy and cruel.

She said, "That's not my problem."

System notification: "Detection shows Zhuang Yangqiu's affection value has increased. Current level: 71 points."

...

Three months later.

At the 36th National Archery Championships venue.

Tang Qing stood with the City C team. Her striking appearance, even casually sitting off to the side, attracted the attention of many athletes.

"Wait, I thought they said City C’s team recruited a strong newcomer this year? Isn’t it Fang Limin?"

"Who is she? She's a new face—I don’t think I’ve seen her before..."

To most people, Tang Qing’s face was indeed unfamiliar.

Her brief appearance in the amateur All-Star Tournament was short-lived, and since then, there had been no further official news about Tang Qing.

Word was that City C had produced a super underdog this year, and many assumed it referred to Fang Limin from the Minghuang Club.

Beside Coach Wang, an old acquaintance showed up to gather information.

It was Coach Zhang Song from the provincial team.

A chubby, elderly man who had once stood on the podium representing China in the championships thirty years ago, now spent most of his time training newcomers in the provincial team.

"Old Wang, is that the up-and-comer you mentioned on the phone?"

"That young lady’s face... tsk, she looks like a handful, isn’t she?"

Right on the money.

Typical Zhang Song.

He'd coached so many talented athletes, he could size up their temperament in seconds.

The athlete named Tang Qing sitting in the corner had eyebrows that angled upward and an intense stare—this kind of person...

You could tell she was going to be the most difficult type to deal with.

Coach Wang made a pained face and sighed, "You called it."

A-grade troublemaker.

On WeChat, he acted like Tang Qing's long-lost parent not on the family register, sending daily check-ins and pleading with the young lady to report to the city team.

When did Tang Qing finally show up?

Just one week before the competition!

Arrogant!

So arrogant!

If it weren’t for Tang Qing’s ability to hit nothing but bullseyes, Coach Wang would have thrown her out right then and there!

"Old Wang, judging by your expression…"

As old friends, Zhang Song knew how his friend's temper worked—only a real talent of a troublemaker would be brought to compete.

"This young lady must be something special?"

In response to Zhang Song’s guess, Coach Wang decided to string him along.

He said meaningfully, "Way more than that."

"You’ll never guess."

Could there really be someone whose depth he couldn’t gauge?

With a whole lineup of talented athletes under his belt, Zhang Song wasn't buying it!

No matter how skilled, could she really shake up the whole world?

"Hello, audience friends! I’m Chen Feng, the guest commentator for this National Archery Individual Championship!" The familiar face of Chen Feng appeared once again on the official website stream of City C’s television station.

"Hello everyone, I’m Wan Xue, the special commentator for this match."

With the step up in competition, the live broadcast also featured an additional commentator.

"Chen Feng, I heard you specifically asked to commentate on this National Individual Championship?"

"Even taking overtime just to call this event—Chen Feng, it seems there’s an athlete here you’re really high on?"

Wan Xue couldn’t help but feel curious at this point.

Originally, the station hadn’t scheduled him to work with her, but he pushed his way in.

After plenty of nagging, he managed to grab this overtime shift for himself.

"You got me. There is indeed one athlete I have my eye on."

Who is it?

Someone who’d make a working stiff willingly take on overtime?

Wan Xue absentmindedly flipped through the athlete roster in her hand; noteworthy athletes had already been marked in advance.

Most were familiar faces, and at a quick glance, there really weren’t any that left a particularly deep impression…

Chen Feng continued, "She’s really impressive."

"Three months ago, at the All-Star Game, she took everyone by storm."

The scene of Tang Qing shooting her arrows automatically surfaced in his mind. Even Chen Feng, who was accustomed to big occasions, felt his heartbeat quicken.

He said, "The competition is about to begin, Wan Xue. I bet you can guess who I'm betting on."