BAD, MEAN, TOAD

Right after the four people stepped out of the room, Coach Su immediately left them with wide steps. The three people didn't dare to question the older man and just let him go as he wished.

"You should've told me beforehand about Coach Su's plan, gege!" Lin Zhu immediately snapped at the innocent manager.

"If I told you beforehand, it probably would stress you, and you wouldn't be able to think fast afterward. Coach Su wanted an instant answer, so I decided to do this for your sake."

The manager dared to argue with him, and Lin Zhu gritted his teeth angrily.

However, he did not rebuke. The manager was completely right, so he couldn't retaliate.

He admitted that he was the type of person who was easily shaken and couldn't think straight afterward. If he had known about this matter beforehand, he would have locked himself in his room and would have avoided other people instead.

"Let's go grab lunch. It's my treat," the manager spoke again before he turned his head to another man, who was standing not so far from them. "You should join us, Ah Quan. Think of this as a celebration of the new arrangement."

Lin Zhu turned to the side and found Ye Quan smiling at them with his signature annoying smile. He just realized that the senior athlete was still with them and seemed to be listening to their conversation.

Ye Quan, still with a smile on his handsome-slash-annoying face, finally walked over to them and stopped in front of them.

"It's so nice of you, gege. I appreciate your invitation, but..." The raven-haired athlete paused as he turned to Lin Zhu. "I have something to discuss with our Ah Zhu, so can you give me some alone time with him?"

Lin Zhu widened his hazel eyes at the older man. Since when did the cocky athlete call him so intimately like that? They weren't close, and they only occasionally greeted each other in an equally hateful tone all the time. How dared that bastard call him that!

And why would that moron want to talk to him alone? Did he want to mock him for being a flop athlete who needed to transfer to another team?

Lin Zhu was grumbling inwardly, but he still managed to flash a fake smile at the senior athlete. Even if he put on a friendly facade, he planned on rejecting Ye Quan's request.

But, to his dismay, the manager was faster than him to respond to the senior athlete's proposal.

"Sure!" Manager Zhang exclaimed enthusiastically. "I'll be leaving you two so you can have an intimate talk. It's important to build a strong bond between the two of you, so I'll see you guys again later, okay?"

'Intimate talk my ass! Strong bond my ass! What nonsense is that?' Lin Zhu screamed internally, but the manager still left both of them after waving his hand innocently.

Lin Zhu wanted to kick Zhang Wei's balls now! He needed to make sure that the manager wouldn't be able to produce kids in the future!

Lin Zhu was still fuming, and he winced when he felt a light tap on his right shoulder. He looked up to see Ye Quan's concerned face.

"Are you alright, Ah Zhu?"

The surprised look was immediately replaced by an annoyed look.

"Why did you call me like that?"

The taller man blinked innocently. Lin Zhu hated it so much, but Ye Quan was a head taller than him. The older athlete was probably 185 cm or something, and he looked like a dwarf when he was standing in front of the annoying athlete.

Moreover, Ye Quan was better looking than him. With his sharp eyes and tall nose, Ye Quan looked like some top celebrities in China. Not to mention his nice body that would make his fans drool when they saw his delicious abs.

His physical appearance truly was not comparable to Ye Quan's. He hated it, but he had to admit it even if it was just in his heart.

"Aren't we supposed to strengthen our bond?"

Lin Zhu groaned in irritation when he saw Ye Quan's innocent expression. He hated it! He hated that expression so much!

"Listen, Senior Ye―"

"You can call me gege if you want to."

Lin Zhu couldn't hide his disgruntled expression anymore, so he took off his friendly facade right away.

"Who wants to call you gege?" He put his hands on his hips and looked at the taller man. "Stop pretending to be a saint! We both know that we hate each other to the core!"

Lin Zhu was furious at the man, and he would not be fooled by the guise the man was wearing right now. Ye Quan was his rival ever since he joined the senior team, and he wouldn't be able to get along with his nemesis!

And he knew that Ye Quan also hated him with the same degree of hatred. Ye Quan saw him as his shadow ever since he joined the senior team. Ye Quan hated it when some people praised Lin Zhu, and he was afraid that Lin Zhu would surpass him in the future.

Unfortunately, these two were in the same boat as the two failing athletes right now.

"Alright," Ye Quan's expression changed completely. The previously bright face now turned darker. "Let's stop pretending that we are in a good term, then. I just want to say that you better work hard, Lin Zhu. I've watched all of your matches on the video, and I dare to say that you're a few levels below me."

Lin Zhu gritted his teeth while clenching his fists tightly.

"You have the confidence to slander me when you can't even return to your top performance after your injury? You're no better than me, Ye Quan!"

It was normal for Lin Zhu to call Ye Quan only by his name. Even though the taller man was older than him, he refused to be polite to the senior athlete if no one else was with them.

On the other hand, Ye Quan seemed to be offended by Lin Zhu's counterattack, and he frowned as he threw a dagger at the shorter boy's eyes.

"Let's see who will be the real loser between us, Shortie."

Ye Quan glanced up and down at him with a smirk on his face before finally living the sports athlete.

Lin Zhu stomped his feet angrily before he shouted, "YOU ARE BAD, YOU ARE MEAN, AND YOU ARE UGLY LIKE A TOAD, YE QUAN!"