Chapter 484 - 299: Hair Growth Group, Assemble
Chapter 484: Chapter 299: Hair Growth Group, Assemble
Ultimately, the meeting, which was originally projected to last one to two hours, ended in under ten minutes.
The two sides reached a consensus on several matters, such as exchanging intelligence on opponents they had each faced and offering discounted access to their school’s services. From that perspective, the talks were beneficial.
However, on more critical issues like arranging the competition roster, deciding team composition, and whether to even cooperate, both sides remained noncommittal.
This was because each side’s attitude had caught the other completely by surprise.
Huai City First Middle School had underestimated Shanda University Affiliated School’s arrogance.
Meanwhile, Shanda University Affiliated School hadn’t expected Huai City First Middle School to be so unyielding...
The instant the holographic images of the Shanda University Affiliated School members vanished, Cao Mingyu’s warm, polite smile disappeared, replaced by a stone-faced expression.
While the others’ expressions weren’t quite as dramatic, their faces had all turned cold.
Even Fang Yuan, who usually paid little mind to such matters, now had a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Teacher Zhou, I’m sorry."
Su Zhi took a deep breath and suddenly stood up. "I was rash."
Zhou Shengfa looked at him without responding, asking instead, "If you could do it over, would you react differently?"
Without a second thought, Su Zhi replied, "If I could do it over, I’d be even more aggressive."
Zhou Shengfa froze for a second, then burst out laughing and clapped Su Zhi on the shoulder.
"That’s good. I knew I wasn’t wrong about you, kid."
"Teacher Zhou, if you ask me, you can’t blame Brother Shu. Shanda University Affiliated School has taken things too far!"
Liu Yuhang said indignantly, "According to their terms, they would have complete control over Shanyou Province’s team, wouldn’t they? They’re the ones who were being condescending from the start!"
"Exactly!" Shao Ya chimed in defensively. "The whole point of having two teams from each province in the team competition is to showcase the caliber of the students from that province. Shanda University Affiliated School wants to turn it into their own personal showcase. That’s really going too far!"
"Because the Shanda Affiliated School has always been like this. It’s just that we haven’t qualified in the selection tournament since Peng Kai’s year, so we haven’t really experienced it."
Zhou Shengfa shook his head with a wry smile. "They’re the top school in all of Shanyou Province, so it’s natural for them to be more assertive with other schools. And most other schools, hoping to ride their coattails, tend to be more submissive.
"Schools like us are the exception. We couldn’t get on their good side even if we tried, so there’s no point in sucking up. They probably don’t have much experience dealing with that."
"So what if they’re the top school?"
Shao Ya curled her lip dismissively. "They’ve been draining the lifeblood of the entire Shanyou Province, cherry-picking the best students from every city each year. That’s the only reason they’ve grown so fast. The students of Shanyou made the Shanda Affiliated School, not the other way around. Instead of acting like a leader, they suppress other schools in their own province. They should be ashamed of themselves."
"That’s a bit one-sided," Zhou Shengfa said earnestly. "Many schools in Shanyou Province did in fact develop with aid from the Shanda Affiliated School. And as for the top students being concentrated in one place, that’s inevitable given that Shanyou’s overall education level is lagging."
Shao Ya pressed her lips together and looked down, saying nothing.
"However, there’s no defending what they did today. You were right not to be pleasant with them. They’ll actually respect us more if we’re assertive. If we just bow and scrape, they’ll only get worse."
Zhou Shengfa cleared his throat. "The truth is, Shanda Affiliated is only dominant within Shanyou. At the nationals, they get stomped by the teams from the stronger provinces. Lei Ji is getting desperate, which is why he’s so eager to seize control."
Su Zhi crossed his arms. "To put it bluntly, they’re just weak."
Zhou Shengfa: "Correct. You hit the nail on the head."
Everyone laughed, and the tense atmosphere lightened a little.
"Alright then, let’s just focus on our training and not let them distract us. The competition will show who’s really stronger."
Su Zhi clenched his fist, rallying the team. "We beat Shanda University Affiliated School in the qualifiers, and we won’t be any worse than them at the nationals! Does everyone have confidence?"
"Yes!"
The six of them shouted, clenching their fists in unison.
"Well done. Now you’re starting to look like a captain!" Zhou Shengfa said with a smile, patting Su Zhi’s shoulder.
"Huh? You mean I didn’t before?"
Zhou Shengfa: "Nope."
Su Zhi: "Damn."
"Hahahaha!"
"Alright, back to business." Zhou Shengfa pulled out his phone and displayed a QR code for a group chat. "Katie, Cao Mingyu, and Fang Yuan, scan this."
The three of them did so.
[Hair Growth Group]
["Fang Yuan" has joined the chat]
["Katie" has joined the chat]
["DashingDebonairHeroicAndTooHandsomeToDiscuss" has joined the chat]
[Yang Jingyue]: Oh, new students?
[Du Gang]: The plot thickens.jpg
[Katie]: Whoa! A-are you *the* Du Gang? The one who got into Jinghua University?
[Du Gang]: Confused Nick Young meme.jpg
[Katie]: I’m the girl who took a picture with you at the summer camp! You even signed your paper for me!
[Du Gang]: Ahaha, so it’s you!
[Du Gang]: Welcome to the Hair Growth Group! /smirk
[Du Gang]: Our Hair Growth Group is the largest designated crime syndicate at First Middle. We’re one of the oldest and biggest gang organizations in the school, and in fact, all of Huai City. Teacher Zhou Shengfa serves as our first-generation boss. /smirk /smirk /smirk
[Katie]: Waku waku!
[Katie]: I’m Katie! Nice to meet you, seniors!
[Katie]: This is my first time joining such an awesome group! I’m so excited!
[Zhou Shengfa]: Du Gang, stop spouting nonsense with such a straight face. She’s a new student, she’ll actually believe you...
[Du Gang]: Tehee.