Chapter 152: Chapter 152: The Weakling Scores
Qu Fulan used a branch to draw a simple field on the ground.
"Our starting point is here. From here, reaching this place is crucial. Everyone needs to spread out properly. One person is responsible for defending against the opponent’s steal, another for intercepting their rear. The rest of you, on the surface, continue supporting Chu Jin as the main force, but the moment you get a chance, pass the ball to me. We’ll use the tactic of feinting east and striking west."
Qu Fulan analyzed the situation for everyone. Originally, she intended to be a substitute, but from watching the first two matches, she realized that Prince An and his team also had a low scoring accuracy. So, she had to become the main force; otherwise, it would be frustrating to steal the ball but get stuck at scoring.
In modern times, she initially played as a substitute and then as a vanguard, so she was quite experienced.
"I’m participating not because I’m certain we’ll ultimately win, but because no one can endure their humiliating attitude and words. So I hope everyone can cooperate well. Even if we win just one or two matches, it would be good."
The opposing team attacked Heir Pei, Prince An, and others. Plus, since they knew she could play polo, they asked her to step in and help. If she truly didn’t lend a hand, there wouldn’t be any talk of friendship anymore, and no one would even come to support her shop openings.
However, participating makes a difference; at least we’ve worked hard together.
After all, there’s risk, but isn’t there risk in everything in this world?
Prince An and others nodded emphatically after listening to Qu Fulan.
They didn’t expect Qu Fulan to step forward, considering how resolute she was before.
Now, having lost two matches in a row, their momentum and prestige vanished, yet she was still willing to step up and help. Everyone felt quite grateful.
"Anyway, the worst outcome is already there. Thinking too much doesn’t help. Let’s just relax and play a match. Even if we lose today, there’s still the loser’s bracket tomorrow, and as long as we hold out until Heir Pei comes back, we can definitely make it to the finals," Qu Fulan said.
Turning defeat into victory wasn’t something Qu Fulan could guarantee, but she was confident in winning one or two matches. After all, she had observed the opponents for two matches and had a clear idea of their strengths and weaknesses.
When she took the field, her stature wouldn’t be much in the realm of women, but among men, she would appear small and weak, which would surely lead to underestimating her.
And what she wanted was precisely the opponent’s underestimation.
"Having won two rounds in a row, they’re surely overconfident and arrogant, hence careless. We’re targeting their vulnerabilities. In the next round, aggressive offense is inadvisable. Observe quietly for any openings; let’s focus on conservative defense and scoring. Let’s win one match first."
Otherwise, if we keep losing, there won’t be any fighting spirit left, and there’d be no point in continuing the competition.
While talking, Qu Fulan had already started retouching her makeup.
Previously, when she went to Ganhe Town disguised as a man, she hadn’t expected to run into her former self’s best friend and be recognized. Learning from that experience, this time, she planned to disguise herself so well that even her parents wouldn’t recognize her.
Then Prince An and others watched as she used cosmetics to thicken her eyebrows, applied a layer of powder to darken her face, and added some shadows to her facial contours, making her features less soft and more sharp and masculine.
Prince An and others were amazed, thinking that her previous disguise as a man was already successful; they hadn’t expected something even more brilliant.
Now her own parents wouldn’t recognize her!
Indeed, when Qu Fulan took the field, not a single person recognized her.
Prince An and others explained externally that she was Wei Xu’s cousin—Wei An, their substitute player.
Zhou Baiying disdainfully regarded Wei An as nothing special, a weakling who looked like he couldn’t accomplish anything, and snickered.
"At least replace him with someone strong; this skinny guy looks like he’d get blown over by a gust of wind. Are you really going to let him play? Is this forfeit by default?"
"What if I accidentally knock him off his horse later? I’m really worried."
"You don’t need to knock him; a gust of wind will blow him over himself, maybe even to 108,000 miles away, hahaha."
Indeed, "Journey to the West" had become popular in Capital City, and everyone had started playing with puns.
Prince An initially wanted to get angry, but seeing Qu Fulan’s calm and unmoved demeanor, he calmed down too.
Right, getting agitated would mean falling into their trap.
After a round of exchanges, the third match began.
The start of the match was intense, with Zhou Baiying and his team still taking an aggressive approach. After winning the first two rounds, they were full of momentum, seemingly on a path to shut out their opponents.
However, An Ruchang and his team seemed to have changed their strategy, opting for conservatism instead of engaging directly.
It looked like they were being turtle-like, playing polo without daring to attack, which seemed too cowardly.
Zhou Baiying and his team grew increasingly arrogant,
The spectators, fired up by the aggressive play, thought it would be as easy as the previous game to score the first goal and achieve another sweeping victory.
People are naturally attracted to winners, and last year Zhou Baiying’s team garnered a group of fans who all came to support them this year.
The fans included both male and female supporters.
The male fans were so excited you’d think they were on the field themselves.
The female fans watched with blushing cheeks and pounding hearts, ready to throw their handkerchiefs as Zhou Baiying’s team passed by after winning.
However, after watching for a long time, Zhou Baiying’s team still hadn’t scored a single goal, with their impressive moves resulting in nothing more than embarrassment.
To everyone’s surprise, the first goal of this match was scored by An Ruchang’s team.
"Wow, Prince An’s team actually scored the first goal? Is that a good omen?"
"But it’s just one goal; what does it represent? Winning in the end is true skill."
"Yes, I still back Mr. Zhou’s team."
The discussion outside was heated, and the match on the field was even more so.
Since the opponent scored the first goal, Zhou Baiying was furious. Earlier, he clearly had the ball and was ready to score, but somehow it was snatched away. Amidst the crowd’s chaos, he had his focus on Chu Jin.
In terms of skill, only Chu Jin could compete with him, so he didn’t have time to watch others.
But it clearly wasn’t Chu Jin just now; who was it?
It didn’t matter who it was; ultimately, it was due to his negligence.
In the following game, Zhou Baiying started getting serious.
Yet as soon as he got the ball and was ready to show off his skills, the ball in his hand was knocked away. Prince An, Wei Xu, and Ge Yang were collaborating in passing the ball, seemingly trying to pass it to Chu Jin.
"Guard Chu Jin!" he ordered while advancing to snatch the ball. As a result, three teammates guarded Chu Jin while the other two were tangled with Prince An’s team.
In just a momentary lapse, the opponent scored another goal.
"Did that weakling score?" Zhou Baiying squinted, full of disbelief in his voice.