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”Huh? Me?”

When such a critical question was suddenly sent her way, Chen Guo couldn’t help but panic. True, it wasn’t like she’d never thought about this question before. She was always working hard to learn and improve, both in order to lighten Ye Xiu’s burden, and so that when Ye Xiu was no longer around, she could still look after this team. But to suddenly have to answer this question right here and right now, she was completely unprepared.

But now, she had no more time.

She sensed the significance of this question, that this was Fang Rui asking about Happy’s future. And Happy’s future would be the deciding factor as to whether or not he would throw his lot in with this team.

If she, the boss, didn’t have an unshakable resolve, then how could the players be at ease?

Chen Guo took a deep breath. It was time to muster her resolve.

”Even after Ye Xiu leaves, Happy will continue forward,” she began.

”Oh? How so?” Fang Rui asked.

”If he’s willing, we of course will retain him as a coach, or for any position he’s interested in.” Chen Guo first made plans for Ye Xiu.

”As for the others, I believe that they will have completely matured by then, enough to carry our team,” Chen Guo said.

”Oh? Then how can you guarantee that they won’t all just leave?” Fang Rui’s gaze suddenly sharpened, and became calculating. ”There are many temptations in the professional scene. I know that you’ve already received a few invitations from other teams and declined all of them. But right now, you’re still just newbies in the Alliance. In a year or two, if you became All-Stars, champions, your value will reach a peak. At that time, the temptations you’ll face will be unimaginable. Money, status, and countless other things, are you sure that you won’t be swayed by any of it?”

Fang Rui felt that his speech would pierce straight into the soul, that no one would dare retort. But at that moment, someone at the table said, with utter conviction, ”I’m sure.”

It was Tang Rou.

What a pretty girl, but right now, in Fang Rui’s eyes, she only seemed hypocritical or naive. She didn’t even think before opening her mouth and saying ”I’m sure.” She seemed to have much too high of an opinion of herself.

”The pretty girl sure has confidence, huh?” Fang Rui snickered, and his skepticism was clear in his every word. He was about to teach this arrogant girl something about the real world. ”Don’t you know…”

”That’s nothing!”

But just as Fang Rui was about to give an example, he was interrupted by Chen Guo. Chen Guo of course knew that Fang Rui wanted to give her a slap in the face, but at the same time she knew that he would fail, and that it would be his own face receiving the slap. To prevent Fang Rui from suffering that awkwardness, it was better to explain first.

”She really won’t be swayed, really,” said Chen Guo.

”Oh?”

”Her dad is Tang Shulin. If you don’t know him, then look him up online.” Chen Guo, sitting next to Fang Rui, patted him on the shoulder.

This sort of business tycoon wouldn’t be a household name, so Fang Rui truly did not know. However, he at least could tell that this was likely a remarkable background, so he didn’t argue, immediately searching up on his phone under the table. Not much longer, he sat up straight again and lifted his head. His facial expression didn’t change at all, but he lifted his chopsticks. ”Come on everyone, let’s eat, how come no one’s touched these two dishes that were just brought out?”

Everyone laughed, but they didn’t call him out.

To talk about money and status in front of Tang Rou, that was like talking about Glory skill in front of Ye Xiu. Wasn’t it just throwing yourself against a rock? It was impressive enough that Fang Rui remained this calm in the face of that, so let him restabilize!

Everyone ate quietly and didn’t say much. Fang Rui, who had earlier expressed that he had eaten his fill, was clearly eating the most right now. It was as though he wanted to use this food to erase what had just happened. While he was searching online, he already sensed that this pretty girl had an extraordinary background, but when he finally got his answer, his eyes still almost flew out of his head.

”Eat, eat.”

When Fang Rui said this, he really wanted to eat the plate itself as well.

Thus, after that, Fang Rui couldn’t bring himself to mention anything else about temptation. What if this Miss Tang just waved her hand and bought out the entire Glory Alliance? Then she’d be the one distributing prize money to the various teams! And he had wanted to talk to her about temptation, temptation his ass!

”Ah, Happy is really… too full of potential, ha…” Fang Rui said.

When Chen Guo heard this, she knew that he had misunderstood, treating Tang Rou’s background as Happy’s background. In reality, these were two completely separate things. Tang Rou was like the rest of them ordinary players, signing a contract to earn her salary. She didn’t exercise any power outside of that.

But still, this sort of feeling, the fox pretending to have the power of the tiger, it wasn’t a bad feeling at all!

Chen Guo glanced at Tang Rou and saw that she was making a face at her right now! Chen Guo laughed. This was something she very much liked about Tang Rou. When Happy found out that she came from such a high background, it seemed like there was some new distance between her and the rest of them. Even Chen Guo, who had known her the best, hadn’t adjusted immediately after finding out.

But Tang Rou faced this unusual treatment directly. She wasn’t arrogant about her background, but she didn’t try to avoid it either. She wasn’t like the many hypocritical ladies who would want the people around her to treat her like an ordinary person. She was herself, the same Tang Rou she always was, who would never run from anything. And so, the barrier caused by her background gradually faded, and everyone saw that Tang Rou was still Tang Rou, nothing had changed! The barrier only came from each person’s imagination, and so when everyone saw reality, everything returned to the way it always was.

On the other hand, it was funny and entertaining for these guys around her to watch people be terrified after learning about her background. Such as Fang Rui, who was currently burying himself in his food. There was a long period of time where he didn’t say anything, and everyone thought it was just too great.

But Chen Guo was, in the end, a responsible person, so she clarified for Fang Rui.

”Here, Little Tang is just an ordinary player, no different from anyone else,” Chen Guo said.

”Mm.” Fang Rui nodded. This time, he didn’t say anything directly, he hid his true thoughts. Tang Rou was just an ordinary player? That was impossible. It looked like this Boss Chen hadn’t truly understood. Her background meant that she was a wildcard, a player that couldn’t be controlled by any team, including Happy.

Money, status, and so on had no way of tempting her, which also meant they had no way of controlling her. She belonged to herself and herself alone. As long as she wanted to play, she could keep playing with Happy. But if one day she decided she no longer wanted to play, then who would be able to keep her? What would stop her from leaving? The contract? To forcibly break the contract only required money, and would that be a problem for her?

Her powerful background placed her above the spirit of the contracts upon which society was built. This was somewhat unfair, but it couldn’t be helped. For Tang Rou, they could only rely on her personal character, so Fang Rui didn’t say anything more.

Ye Xiu chose this moment to open his mouth.

”Happy’s future will be shaped by its players. You only want to be a spectator, taking a ride and reaping the profits? That’s just too dirty, too shameless! Do you dare come with us to build the future together? Do you dare come with us to face your so-called unimaginable temptations of money and status?”

That’s right. He was worried about whether or not Happy could keep its players, but what about himself? If he also became a member of Happy, then when that day came, would he also be swayed? Before doubting others, shouldn’t he first strengthen his own resolve? If everyone worked together and created a unified team, there was no need to worry this much. If people left, then more would come to replace them.

That’s right. That’s how it should be.

Fang Rui slammed his hand on the table. ”I’ll join Happy!”

”Excellent, welcome!” Chen Guo exclaimed.

”With me here, the championship has nowhere to run!” This dirty player had a face swelled with confidence.

”Good. Then let’s talk about the issue of your contract,” Ye Xiu said.

”Damnit, can’t you let everyone be excited together for three or five minutes?” Fang Rui was depressed. The atmosphere was wonderful, but with talk of money, the feeling was somewhat ruined.

”Excited about what? Are you a rookie or something?” Ye Xiu said.

”So what do you think about my contract,” Fang Rui said.

”You see, we’re very poor right now, only ten dishes for ten people, and no soup…”

Just as he said this, there was a knock at the door again. ”Excuse me, but could you open the door please? The soup is here!”

Qiao Yifan, who was sitting closest to the door, immediately pushed it open, and the server entered with the soup, his forehead coated in sweat. ”The door was locked, I hope I didn’t interrupt?”

”Don’t worry, it’s fine,” Chen Guo said, and the server placed down the soup and quickly left.

”Shameless!” Fang Rui said to Ye Xiu.

”In any case, we don’t have any money!” Ye Xiu slapped the table. ”6.5 million is impossible. How about 650,000!”

”Fuck, don’t be too rude! I’m an All Star player, after all! If that contract got released to the public, how could I show my face?”

”To everyone else, you can say 65 million!” Ye Xiu said.

”Do you think everyone else is an idiot?”

”Then how much do you want?”

”It’s fine if you reduce it a bit, but at least 5 million, don’t you think?” Fang Rui said.

”5 million, do you have no shame? Being an All-Star is impressive, sure, I’ll toss all my All-Star nominations in front of you like a pile of bones! I could bury you in all the honors I’ve won! And yet despite my achievements, I have to kneel in front of the boss’s door every day and beg to get my pay here at Happy! Who do you think you are, asking for 5 million in front of me?”

Fang Rui was speechless, and then started half crying. ”That’s not what I meant!”

”You youngsters, always thinking about money money money. Why don’t you think about how much glory you’ll obtain by joining Happy? That’s something that no amount of money can buy,” Ye Xiu said.

Fang Rui was once again speechless. How was this guy so shameless? He made winning a championship seem as easy as buying a red bean bun. If it were truly a hundred percent guaranteed that they’d win a championship, Fang Rui would be willing to join for no money at all, but of course that could never be the case in competition.

Chen Guo had enough of this nonsense, and finally interjected with her voice of reason. ”Right now, we really are tight on money. Aside from your contract, we also still have the transfer fee with Wind Howl, and we don’t know what price they’ll ask for. This first year, what do you think about 3 million?”

”Compared to that guy, you really are a good person… but this…”

”This is really too low, I know, but after lasting through the first year, we can discuss again next year if we’re in a good position. If you’re worried, you can write it in the contract, that’s fine too.”

”Hm… Alright!” Fang Rui finally nodded. After all, he didn’t come to Happy to get a high-paying contract, so he had been prepared.

Ultimately, he was here because he wanted an entirely new future.