Jiang Yunlu's looks far surpassed Wang Senling's.
In the university badminton team, she was practically the center of attention.
Nearly every male member of the team harbored some degree of affection for her.
Since badminton allowed individual registration—even for mixed doubles—Xu Congjun had initially planned to partner with Jiang Yunlu, framing it as a "powerhouse alliance."
But before he could even ask, Jiang Yunlu had already signed up for mixed doubles—with someone who wasn’t even on the team.
When Xu Congjun saw the name "Lin Mo" on the list, he immediately knew who it was.
In his mind, Lin Mo was just some nobody trying to ride Jiang Yunlu’s coattails.
And reality seemed to confirm it. During the mixed doubles matches, Jiang Yunlu was the one aggressively dominating the court, while that freeloader, that lucky leech, just strolled around in the back.
So Xu Congjun held a deep resentment toward Lin Mo—especially when Jiang Yunlu was forced to play despite her injured foot.
And when he heard Lin Mo’s arrogant remarks, he finally couldn’t hold back and stood up.
"You’re the main force?
What gives you the right to call yourself that? Jiang Yunlu is part of the university badminton team, and you? You’re not even on the team.
She’s already hurt, and you’re still making her play—are you even human?"
The barrage of accusations drew side-eyes from others in the room.
Though his words were a bit too harsh.
Lin Mo’s lips twitched, but before he could retort, Jiang Yunlu stepped forward.
"Xu Congjun, you don’t know anything, so stop talking nonsense! So what if Lin Mo isn’t on the team?
In my eyes, he’s better at badminton than you. If he actually cared about competing, do you really think you’d have won the men’s singles championship?
I was the one who begged Lin Mo to join mixed doubles, and I was the one who insisted on playing despite my injury."
From a corner, someone muttered, "Is this the legendary ‘protecting your man’ moment? Classic. I love it."
"Not enough. If they win, it’s a brutal slap in the face. If they lose, it’s two people licking their wounds in the shadows. Either way, I’m here for it."
Su Mingzhao suddenly appeared out of nowhere and scoffed.
"The university team? Big deal. Lin Mo has beaten your ‘elite’ players before."
The entire Class 8 turned to stare at Su Mingzhao.
You, of all people—Mr. Thick Eyebrows—are actually siding with Lin Mo?
Su Mingzhao awkwardly averted his gaze, pretending not to see their expressions.
Xu Congjun, meanwhile, was stunned by Jiang Yunlu’s outburst. He stammered,
"Jiang Yunlu, I was speaking up for you. Do you… have some kind of leverage he’s holding over you?"
The absurdity of the line was almost too much to bear.
Lin Mo nudged Jiang Yunlu lightly.
"Do I have some kind of leverage over you? Why else would I agree to play mixed doubles with you?"
His words carried no real resistance, though.
It was just the kind of thing a lovestruck teenager would say.
Later, when he came to his senses, this moment would be etched into his soul as the cringiest memory of his life.
Even if everyone else forgot, he’d still wake up at midnight, haunted by his own corny lines.
But right now, Lin Mo had one goal: to teach this badminton-obsessed kid a lesson about the harsh realities of life.
Ignoring Xu Congjun, Lin Mo turned to Coach Wang Yiping.
"Teacher, can we go get ready now?"
Wang Yiping didn’t show favoritism toward anyone and simply nodded in acknowledgment.
Lin Mo immediately took Jiang Yunlu aside to prepare.
Jiang Yunlu’s badminton bag held several rackets, each with different string tensions.
Different rackets provided varying levels of power and control.
After all, higher tension wasn’t always better—it made the strings more prone to snapping.
So Jiang Yunlu had prepared multiple rackets for Lin Mo to choose from.
Lin Mo casually picked one up, watching as Jiang Yunlu sat on the ground to stretch.
"You’re just support, so stay in the back."
"I know. You’re so good, you don’t even need my help."
"Of course. You did pay the 'friendship fee,' after all."
Lin Mo reached out and ruffled Jiang Yunlu’s hair.
Jiang Yunlu didn’t resist, just looked up at him with wide, glistening eyes.
"Am I being unreasonable for insisting on continuing the match?"
"Not really. I think you just want me to show off in front of everyone."
Jiang Yunlu punched his arm lightly.
"Yeah, I just want you to… do that in front of everyone."
The two continued their preparations.
Fang Jun handed them red jerseys.
"Mo! You’ve gotta crush that bitch on the other side! Leave her with nothing!"
Many from Class 8 had seen Jiang Yunlu get knocked down earlier, so they all agreed that Wang Senling was no good.
Meanwhile, Wang Senling frowned, irritated by the sight of the simp who fawned over Jiang Yunlu only to get shut down.
"How does it feel to get rejected by the person you like?"
Xu Congjun kept a cold expression and didn’t respond, just gripping his racket as he slowly walked onto the court.
Seeing Lin Mo casually swinging his racket only fueled his anger.
From a distance, he raised his racket and pointed it at Lin Mo.
"Lin Mo! Do you dare make a bet with me?"
Damn, here we go again.
Lin Mo rubbed his temples. "Is this, like, a badminton team tradition? You guys love making bets and then backing out when you lose, right?"
He mimicked the expression of an exasperated senior.
"God, you’re insufferable!"
The insult caught Xu Congjun off guard, but he stubbornly pressed on. "What?! Are you scared?"
Fang Jun didn’t hold back either. "You guys in the badminton squad—especially the guys—are all the same. Make bets, break them. Who’d even bother gambling with you?"
Xu Congjun didn’t understand why Fang Jun said that, so he pointed his racket at him.
"What gives you the right to say that?!"
Fang Jun didn’t mince words, outright mentioning how Huang X-Lin had reneged on a bet before.
Since Huang X-Lin was indeed part of the badminton team, Xu Congjun could only stiffen his neck and retort, "What does that have to do with me?! I’m not him! I’ll honor my bets!"
Lin Mo gave him an indifferent look.
"Fine. Tell me what you’re betting, then I’ll decide."
"If you and Jiang Yunlu win this mixed doubles match, I’ll stop bothering her. If you lose, you stay away from her!"
Lin Mo shrugged. "You’re as dumb as Huang X-Lin. Why do you think ‘me leaving Jiang Yunlu’ and ‘you stopping your nonsense’ are equivalent stakes? Did you flunk logic class?"
Xu Congjun scoffed at the taunt. "I’m in the top 100 of the whole school! You think I’m bad at studying?!"
"Sorry, but I'm the second top student in the entire school. If I say you're no good at studying, then you're no good at studying!"
Supremacy above all! None shall rival Lin Mo!