Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Holding One’s Head High
In modern times, there was once when Qu Fulan put on makeup and styled her hair in a way completely different from her usual look, then wandered in front of her parents, and they did not recognize her.
Now she even padded some stuff to change her facial contours, turning her oval face into a slightly square face, along with rouge and powder as cover-up. Is there any flaw?
"The disguise is excellent, but every hundred secrets leave one loophole," Pei Ji’an remarked placidly.
The people sent out said they couldn’t find Qu Fulan, which made him realize he should ask the four protectors, who said she hadn’t gone out at all.
He then thought of her performance in the arena, similar to the day she went out to play polo.
And Wei Xu’s cousin. If such a person really existed, and was so skilled at polo, it wouldn’t be discovered only until now.
All these signs appeared as obvious flaws in Heir Pei’s eyes.
After hearing his analysis, Qu Fulan was convinced.
Indeed, just as he said, a change in person would be deceived.
"This is too much trouble. If discovered, have you considered the consequences?" Pei Ji’an started lecturing.
Prince An and the others hung their heads low, not daring to speak.
"Why aren’t you changing back into women’s clothes? Do you want to wait until someone finds out?" Pei Ji’an asked, looking at Qu Fulan again.
Qu Fulan: "There’s still the second half..."
Pei Ji’an laughed angrily, "Are you addicted to playing?"
Qu Fulan, "No, if I just withdraw like this, it will draw more attention and suspicion. It’s better to continue playing, as you’re here now. I’ll cover up, and if we cooperate well, it’ll be fine."
This makes sense. It’s better not to participate at all from the start than to quit halfway; otherwise, it will draw external attention.
— Why did that player who was doing well suddenly quit?
— Even if Heir Pei returns, he can still play, right?
— Is there a problem?
...
But if Qu Fulan keeps competing until the end of the match, everyone’s focus will be on Heir Pei and Prince Xiao. She can disappear afterwards without anyone noticing.
"Miss Qu’s reasoning stands; actually, Miss Qu firmly disagreed with our request in the beginning. It was only after we lost two matches and were excessively insulted by the opponents that Miss Qu stepped in," Prince An said.
He then recounted the humiliating statements made by the opponents.
Pei Ji’an’s eyes moved, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, in a moment after we get back on the field, follow behind me."
Immediately, Pei Ji’an started explaining the tactics for the next round.
If Xiao Shiqing does not come, then dealing with Zhou Baiying’s group doesn’t require any tactics at all.
Pei Ji’an first reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of Prince An’s team.
Qu Fulan had also done this before, but compared to someone with battlefield experience, what she said was nothing significant. It was still better than Prince An’s group.
After speaking about others, Pei Ji’an shifted his gaze to Qu Fulan, "You remain calm in the field, your scoring and passing are steady. You will be an assistant on the left wing, Chu Jin on the right wing, and together with me forming a defense that is unbreakable for the opponent."
After discussing tactics, Pei Ji’an then privately instructed Qu Fulan a few words, and soon the match started.
Due to the previous matches, Qu Fulan already had some mutual understanding with Prince An’s team. She thought following Heir Pei might be uncomfortable, but surprisingly it was a rare mutual understanding, even better than her cooperation with Prince An’s team. She could comprehend every move he made, the passes were incredibly coordinated.
With Chu Jin joining in, the defense was indeed invincible, attacking appropriately, quickly turning the last match’s losing situation around.
This is just like a game, where individual ability can dominate against a vastly inferior opponent, but if the opponent is decent, it comes down to teamwork.
The better coordinated team has a higher chance of winning.
Qu Fulan and Chu Jin had no intention of stealing the spotlight, they coordinated excellently with Heir Pei.
On the other side, Zhou Baiying was eager to stand out, always attempting to score himself whenever possible, without a hundred percent coordination with Xiao Shiqing, and soon their team fell behind in scoring.
Finally, the opposing team noticed Heir Pei’s side’s unbreakable triangle coordination and started targeting to disrupt this stable relationship.
They began defending against Chu Jin and Qu Fulan.
Chu Jin’s physique was intimidating enough that they dared not go too far, but Qu Fulan appeared frail, and they wondered if a single collision could knock her off her horse?
Zhou Baiying squinted his eyes, quickly made a move, and took the chance while playing to recklessly charge toward Qu Fulan on horseback.
In such a situation, if collided, Zhou Baiying, who was prepared, could just swap for another horse, but Qu Fulan might get injured.
She nimbly tried to evade, yet found herself surrounded, impacting her perfect escape opportunity.
Just as she was about to be hit, she felt a tight grip on her collar, and she was suddenly lifted, landing onto another horse as she reacted.
Meanwhile, a commotion erupted outside the field; all expecting an accident to occur, then after a turbulence, Heir Pei and another switched horses, and the field soon resumed its normalcy.
Indeed, Pei Ji’an mounted Qu Fulan’s horse, while Qu Fulan rode his. The horses neighed twice before calming down, not tossing Qu Fulan off.
Thanks to the previous training outside the city for this.
After the brief chaos, intense competition resumed.
Due to the nature of this match, it was hard to call an infringement, and as no incident ensued, it naturally proceeded.
On the other side, Heir Pei clashed with Xiao Shiqing, both vying for the ball, neither yielding to the other; both were skilled in martial arts, exchanging moves, with no chance for others to intervene.
Finally, neither managed to snatch the ball, it flew far to the other side.
Seeing this, Zhou Baiying was overjoyed, rushed to grab the ball, being close to their goalpost, he hoped to score once he got the ball, to turn defeat into victory!
However, another horse sped in, leaped and landed, meanwhile Pei Ji’an also galloped towards another direction.
In the nick of time, Qu Fulan bent low and sent the ball flying towards Heir Pei.
Pei Ji’an obtained the ball, swung his stick, and scored accurately.
This flawless coordination left spectators in awe.
Simultaneously, drums sounded outside the field, marking the end of the match.
Qu Fulan and the team successfully reached the finals.
Thunderous cheering erupted outside the field.
The excitement persisted until the day of the finals when Prince Xiao led Zhou Baiying’s team to victory in the losers’ bracket, entering the finals, where the two teams faced off again, and Qu Fulan’s team won the finals decisively with similar tactics as today.
Prince An’s team felt utterly triumphant and exclaimed to Zhou Baiying.
"Hey you son, if I call you, would you dare to respond?"