novelraw Chapter 223: As Long as Lin Feng Comes
Chapter 223: As Long as Lin Feng Comes
"You...you’re impressive, to have managed to recruit such an incredible temp," Ding Wan’er spat out as she got even angrier at Miao Qingjun’s words, yet she couldn’t refute his claim. A temp was still a staff member; she just hadn’t anticipated this loophole, so she could only blame herself. If she had been more thoughtful and arranged a professional team to compete with him, today’s situation wouldn’t have arisen. But who would’ve thought that the dean of Post and Telecommunications University would stoop to such despicable and shameless tactics? It was utterly infuriating!
"Just a bit of good luck, that’s all. By the way, Dean Ding, if your school continues in this manner, today’s loss will be quite tragic. I wonder if it will affect subsequent matches?" Seeing Ding Wan’er’s sullen face, Miao Qingjun grew even more smug. The outcome of this match was already secured, and such a large score gap would severely impact the opposing team’s morale. Furthermore, with Yingbo University already having coordination issues, the student competition was sure to be a win!
Thrilling! Everything was going exactly as planned, without a single hitch. This would surely cause a major upset for Yingbo University. And with so many sponsors present, not only would it boost the profile of Post and Telecommunications University, it was also bound to attract a good deal of sponsorship—a true windfall!
"Dean Miao needn’t worry. We’ll definitely improve in the second half, and who knows, a comeback might be possible," Ding Wan’er said, feeling utterly exasperated with Miao Qingjun, although she was well aware of his motives. In the current situation, she had no choice but to put on a brave front, unable to think of any solution to their predicament.
"What? Dean Ding, are you overly confident? A 50-point deficit after half-time and you still talk of a comeback? However, I look forward to seeing how Yingbo University will manage that. Haha!" Miao Qingjun burst out laughing upon hearing Ding Wan’er’s stubborn claim of a possible comeback. Even if they switched to a professional team now, a turnaround was out of the question. Talking about a comeback was a joke!
If you could possibly make a comeback, why would I have set up this play? Didn’t you see I only mentioned it after a 50-point lead? In such a situation, you won’t even get a chance to turn the tables. With only half the game left, if you start looking for people now, it will just waste time. By the time they arrive, the score gap will be even wider, and if you could turn the tide then, that would be a real miracle!
"How to make a comeback is none of your concern. I have my ways. And this here is Yingbo University’s rest area. So, Dean Miao, you should go back to your own side and see to your players," Ding Wan’er finally lost her patience with Miao Qingjun. Struggling to contain her fury, she bluntly sent him away. If it weren’t for the fact that the place was crowded, and if she weren’t the dean of Yingbo University, she might have charged up and given Miao Qingjun a beating.
How could Miao Qingjun be so treacherous, to resort to such tactics? She had let her guard down, and he had outplayed her, putting her Yingbo University at a disadvantage. She now deeply regretted not considering his intentions more carefully. And to think she hadn’t spotted such a glaring loophole in a faculty friendship match; had she noticed even one, today’s debacle might have been avoided, and her painstakingly developed Yingbo University wouldn’t be in such a predicament.
But, such thoughts were useless now. With only half the game remaining, how could they possibly catch up? There was no way to make up such a big score difference...
"Very good, I eagerly await your school’s performance in the second half, hahaha!" Watching Ding Wan’er fuming and her face lined with anger, Miao Qingjun joyfully returned to his school’s rest area, feeling extremely content. To be able to best Yingbo University was an objective for all universities in Tianhai, and he had achieved it, how could he not be happy!
This victory over Yingbo University would not only make his university famous worldwide, letting everyone know that there’s a Post and Telecommunications University in Tianhai, but it would also boost enrollment success this year as soon as the news spread about defeating Yingbo University. Tianhai’s universities had long been overshadowed by the privately managed Yingbo University; this was finally a chance to stand tall, leaving him in an extremely joyful mood!
Wondering how to arrange the celebration after the match, he decided to pick a nice restaurant to reward his players properly. Such happy events were rare; he had to consider where to dine right away, otherwise, it would be too late once the match ended...
The players from Yingbo University were also infuriated by Miao Qingjun’s words, but they felt helpless in the face of reality, as everything he said was true. However, it wasn’t their fault; it wasn’t that their skills were lacking, but rather that their opponents were practically a professional team. How could their purely amateur team compare? With half the match already over, even bringing in a professional team would be too late. It seemed like today’s match was a certain loss, and with that thought, their heads drooped in defeat...
"Don’t lose heart, everyone. Please be careful when the game starts, and try not to let the score gap widen any further. Otherwise, it’ll truly be hopeless. I need to figure out something right now!" Seeing that the game was about to start, Ding Wan’er tried to calm her team members, insisting that they couldn’t allow the score to widen any more, or the loss would be too embarrassing.
The team members knew that Dean Ding was trying to comfort them, but still, they were extremely frustrated by their loss. No one had expected to play against a group of professional players, and losing the game was entirely within reason. Moreover, with half the game already over, not even a professional team could likely win back the game. With these thoughts, their frustration only deepened.
As she watched her team re-enter the court, Ding Wan’er felt as if her heart was on fire. If she hadn’t agreed to Miao Qingjun’s terms, none of these complications would have arisen. This was all her own doing! But now, she truly didn’t know what to do. The more she thought about it, the more desperate she felt, as if she was about to explode. Yingbo University had been very prestigious under her grandfather’s leadership, and she had put her heart and soul into doing well with every task she took on, but she never expected that a game, due to her own negligence, could turn out like this, leaving Yingbo University facing an incredibly bitter loss, with herself powerless to do anything...
If Yingbo University really ended up losing the game by a huge margin, it would not only be a severe blow to the university’s internal morale, but also have even a greater negative impact externally, and might even destroy the prestige that Yingbo University had built over many years. She really couldn’t accept such an outcome.
"If only Lin Feng were here," thought Leng Mei, hearing Ding Wan’er and Miao Qingjun’s conversation. She, too, was anxious for Ding Wan’er. If Yingbo University couldn’t handle this passive situation properly, it would cause severe negative publicity for the school. Yet, for some reason, the thought of Lin Feng suddenly popped into Leng Mei’s head. Back in Yuegang, he had accomplished things no one had expected, so maybe, just maybe, he could do something here too. Without thinking, she blurted out the thought.
"Lin Feng, yes, call him over. He knows how to do everything, doesn’t he!" Leng Mei’s words struck a chord with Ding Wan’er. That’s right, how could she have forgotten about Lin Feng!
Ever since Lin Feng arrived at Yingbo University, he had given her more surprises than she could count, especially with the recent trip to Yuegang, where he had amazed everyone. At times, she even had the illusion that Lin Feng was like a superman capable of anything!
Reflecting on the past events, starting from the first time she met him, Ding Wan’er had felt an inexplicable aversion to Lin Feng, her supposed fiancé. He seemed like a liar no matter what he said. But as six months passed by, he proved with his actions just how capable he was—a French teacher, a chess master, a medical expert, a linguist, a taekwondo expert... All these identities combined to form the Lin Feng she knew now, which made her struggle to think of anything he couldn’t do. So certainly, he must also be good at basketball!
"Can he really do it, though? I’ve never seen him play basketball before," Leng Mei said, startled by Ding Wan’er’s sudden excitement. She knew Ding Wan’er was anxious about the game. Seeing a glimmer of hope, how could she not be happy? She, too, hoped that Lin Feng was a basketball expert who could lead Yingbo University to victory. But she really had not seen Lin Feng play basketball before; what if he couldn’t play or was not good at it? This question couldn’t be ignored.
However, it wasn’t strange for Ding Wan’er to think like that; even Leng Mei couldn’t conceive of something Lin Feng couldn’t do. She too felt as if Lin Feng was omnipotent, which was why she inadvertently spoke that thought out loud.
"Do we even have any other choices now? Sister Leng, do you have any other ideas?" Ding Wan’er pointed to the scoreboard. In just a short while, the score had become 15 to 70, leaving her feeling extremely helpless. Under these circumstances, she was being forced into a corner with no other options. Time waited for no one; if they didn’t make a decision now, all hope would be lost. And even if Lin Feng did come, as long as he could narrow the scoring gap and prevent Yingbo University from losing too badly, she would be content. In such a situation, she also knew it was almost impossible to turn the game around.
"I..." Looking at the scoreboard Ding Wan’er was pointing at, Leng Mei wanted to think of some other solution, but then she suddenly realized she truly couldn’t think of anything else. The situation was as bad as it could possibly be. It seemed they really could only place their hopes on Lin Feng now. If even he couldn’t turn the tide, then there was no recourse left.
"No, it doesn’t matter, as long as Lin Feng comes!" Seeing that Leng Mei had no other solutions either, Ding Wan’er knew she couldn’t wait any longer. If she waited any more, even time would be lost, and there would be no hope left. All that mattered now was for Lin Feng to come immediately—he just needed to be there!