Wang Peng immediately paled. He was careful with his reply, afraid to dig his grave any deeper.

“Miss Yan, please know that I did all that I could. I wanted to bag the deal, I really did, but the other party was unexpectedly greedy. No matter how much I increase the benefits, she is never satisfied with my offer. In fact, it only made her more arrogant to ask for more!”

He hadn’t exactly answered the question, but the person on the other end understood. “So you mean to say that you failed…”

When Wang Peng heard this, his heart immediately jumped to his throat.

“No, no, that’s not it at all, Miss Yan. Please give me one more chance! I will definitely get it done this time. I always meant to see your instructions through to the end. Please allow me to make things right.”

In a bid to turn the tide in his favor and show how helpless he had been, Wang Peng decided to relay some details.

“I had no choice but to let the matter go for today. But it’s only for today, Miss Yan, I swear! It’s just that Manager Sun from a rival club also appeared at the same time to counter my offer. He named a price that was several times higher than what we could afford. Our tennis club doesn’t have that much money…”

To his dismay, this only enraged the woman more. “Didn’t I tell you that using money would be the best option?” she roared. “I can’t believe you bungled this up over some cash! How can you be so short-sighted?”

Wang Peng shuddered with dread.

“But our tennis club,” he tried explaining again. “Our tennis club cannot afford it. I had to let it go.”

“And I told you that you don’t have to worry about anything else as long as you poach that girl! The Yan family will take care of the funds you may need, it won’t be a problem. You should have known this already!”

Wang Peng’s lips turned downward at her rebuke.

His hands were tied. All he could do was promise Miss Yan to do better next time and pray to God that she would give him another chance. “Please allow me to fix this, Miss Yan. I will definitely get her to join our tennis club. Please trust me just this once!”

“Fine, but this is your last chance.”

After a brief pause, she added, “That girl is attending No. 1 High School, isn’t she? What’s her name?”

“It’s Yao Tang.”

Hearing this, Yan Wei shot up from bed, knocking over her snacks to the floor.

“What did you just say?” she demanded, her expression ugly. “Did you say that her name is Yao Tang?”

Wang Peng could sense that there was something wrong, and he hesitated before answering, still with the utmost respect, “Yes, that is indeed her name.”

A long, tense silence followed.

After a while, Wang Peng spoke again. “Then, do I have permission to try and persuade her again?”

“No,” Yan Wei replied, surprising him.

“Just stay put for now. You don’t have to do anything else.”

Wang Peng was puzzled. Just when he was about to ask what she meant, she spoke again. “So she’s only after the money. Let’s see if she can still act so arrogant once she learns that she won’t be able to play tennis again for the rest of her life.”

Yan Wei looked out her bedroom window with a cold glint in her eyes and a cruel smile on her lips.

The tennis club might not be in the same league as the Sports Association, but it still held a certain status.

At first, she only wanted to recruit this esteemed player after hearing that the Sports Association wanted her as a member.

But now that Yan Wei knew that it was none other than Yao Tang, there was no use hanging on to the idea, no matter how good a player she was.

Wang Peng was taken aback at Yan Wei’s dismissal, but his surprise was soon replaced with joy and relief.

He wouldn’t have to grovel in front of that haughty Yao Tang again, and what’s more, she was finally getting the comeuppance she deserved.

“Yes, yes, I understand, Miss Yan. Don’t worry, I will take care of this.”

…

“Xu Xuan, why are you being so foolish? Why do you keep rubbing shoulders with such a horrible person? Can’t you see that she’s only using you? Or is it that you like being used by other people?”

Yao Tang heard Qin Jing’s angry voice as she walked over to the two girls.

She glanced at Qin Jing and sighed inwardly. Her friend was really determined to save the stubborn Xu Xuan, despite the latter’s obvious aversion to her efforts.

Qin Jing opened her mouth to speak again when she spotted Yao Tang.

“Oh, did I make you wait too long?”