Chapter 8 : Interlude: The “Net” of Tennis

[Mu Ziqing, which club are you visiting?]

The message was sent, and a reply came almost instantly.

As if he’d been glued to his phone.

[Model UN. You?]

[Got assigned to the Art Club.]

[Art Club’s pretty good, no? What about that guy? Did he pick a club to visit yesterday?]

Ye Qingshu sighed, deleted the text she’d started typing, and changed it to: [I don’t know.]

…If even Mu Ziqing didn’t know, she’d probably have to check for herself.

Amid the chatter of her new female classmates, she softly said, “I’m gonna throw out some trash,” clutching a crumpled tissue and slipping out the front door.

“Zhu Hanqi, Zhu Hanqi… Ah, there he is.”

Her eyes landed on his name. Ye Qingshu glanced around, pretending to scan for her own club assignment, and slid her finger across the list, moving right.

Her finger and gaze lingered a few rows away, much like her relationship with that boy right now.

“Gymnasium B3, Tennis Club… Huh?”

Ye Qingshu found it a bit amusing.

That guy hated sports that involved running around. Back when she and Mu Ziqing used to drag him to play badminton, it always ended up just the two of them playing the whole time.

Guess he really didn’t make it in time to pick a club. No way he’d choose a sports club otherwise.

If she’d known, she wouldn’t have hesitated so much about texting him yesterday afternoon.

“…Tennis Club, though.”

She’d been distracted by her classmates’ club talk, half-listening while curious about outside news. From what she caught, didn’t the Tennis Club have a bad rep?

Something about “white-sock jocks”?

With that thought, Ye Qingshu returned to her seat, lightly pinching the hem of her skirt.

A bit farther away, the girl claiming to be Zhu Hanqi’s ex was chatting with one of the class’s social butterflies.

“Huh? Shen Yingxu, you got the Drama Club? So cool…”

“Haha, I actually applied for the Art Club, but this was random assignment—don’t you like the club you got?”

“Of course not! My luck sucks. I failed to get a popular club like you, and got stuck with the Tennis Club… It’s got a bad rep…”

The girl leaned in to whisper to Shen Yingxu, “I heard…”

“Oh, I see. Wanna trade with me?”

Shen Yingxu frowned slightly after listening, then said with a light smile.

“What?! Really?!”

“Yeah, I didn’t get my top choice either, so it doesn’t matter which club I go to,” Shen Yingxu said, smiling as she took the ticket the other girl offered.

“Wow! Thanks, Xiao Xu~ No wonder you’re the cutest, prettiest, kindest girl in our class~”

“You keep hyping me up like that, and I won’t trade with you.”

“Eek! Anyway, thank you so much!!”

Watching the girl scamper off, Shen Yingxu gave a helpless smile.
She started packing to head to the swapped Tennis Club but was suddenly stopped by Ye Qingshu.

“Um, Shen Yingxu.”

The called girl turned, visibly surprised to see Ye Qingshu.

“What’s up, Ye Qingshu?”

“You want to go to the Art Club, right?”

Ye Qingshu said, pulling a ticket from her pocket.

“I got the Art Club and was selected for it. Wanna trade?”

“Huh?”

Shen Yingxu’s eyes widened.
“But that’s the club you wanted too, right? Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I’m not that set on the Art Club, and I kinda feel like doing some exercise now.”

Ye Qingshu smiled, placing the ticket in Shen Yingxu’s hand.

“Um, I do really want to go to the Art Club, but…” Shen Yingxu hesitated, then nodded after seeing Ye Qingshu’s firm gaze.

“Got it. Thank you, Ye Qingshu.”

“Oh, I heard from that girl that the Tennis Club’s seniors like hitting on visiting or new female members. There’ve been some bad rumors,” Shen Yingxu warned seriously.
“If you feel uncomfortable, you can just leave. I’ll help explain to Teacher Xia.”

“Thanks, but it should be fine. My childhood friend’s probably visiting that club too.”

“…Wouldn’t that be even riskier,” Shen Yingxu muttered. Ye Qingshu tilted her head.

“Huh? What’d you just say?”

“Oh, nothing, I said that’s cool… But if it’s okay, can we exchange contact info? You can reach out if anything comes up.”

The girl before her had a breathtaking beauty, matched by a sincere and kind heart.
It made Ye Qingshu, who had her own little motives, feel a strange itch of emptiness.

Shaking off the unease, Ye Qingshu nodded and swapped contact info with Shen Yingxu.

“I think it’ll be fine, but thanks!”

“You’re the one doing me a favor by giving me the Art Club ticket. I should be thanking you,” Shen Yingxu said with a gentle smile.
“Here’s to a fun club experience for both of us.”

…

However.

When Ye Qingshu scanned the area and didn’t see Zhu Hanqi, she couldn’t help but lower her head slightly.

Did he not show up at all? It’s a bit bold, but it doesn’t seem out of character for the current Zhu Hanqi.

Unlike its bad reputation, the Tennis Club’s trial was pretty normal.

The club president, a guy, gave a humorous and friendly rundown of tennis basics, listed the club’s achievements and key members, then let the visiting freshmen try out on the court.

“I know us tennis folks get misunderstood a lot. Our outfits are cuter and cooler than those sweaty, grimy sports clubs, and we’re a bit more outgoing.
But whether we’re as messy as the rumors say—that’s up to you newbies to judge~”

The president even self-deprecatingly addressed the rumors, coming off as candid and straightforward.

This eased the nerves of many wary freshmen, who started genuinely engaging in the trial.

Changing into a tennis outfit, Ye Qingshu lightly tested her racket’s swing.

It’d been a while since she played, and the calluses on her palm were nearly gone—but for a warm-up trial, it should be fine.

Looking at the serving machine and the liquid bandages ready nearby, Ye Qingshu exhaled softly.

Linjiang High’s Tennis Club had better equipment than she’d expected.
With that much funding, their achievements must not disappoint the school.

As for the bad rep, maybe it was just other clubs’ dirty tricks?

With that thought, Ye Qingshu suddenly noticed the serving machine being moved away.

“Hey, you don’t look like a tennis newbie with that stance. Why not skip the machine and try a real opponent?”

The watching freshmen, clueless, looked at Ye Qingshu with growing curiosity.

But when she saw who said it, her expression darkened slightly.

“No thanks. The machine’s fine.”

She said, gripping her racket tighter.

“Don’t be so cold. I’m thrilled to see you again, Qingshu~”

In front of everyone, Ye Qingshu’s face paled as the second-year guy teased her.

“You’re at Linjiang High now—why didn’t you come say hi? We used to be so close, right?”

“Dear ex-girlfriend.”

Thwack.

The racket dropped, hitting the ground hard.