Chapter 116: You Don’t Want to Foot the Bill, So You’re Pulling This Trick on Me, Huh?

"This isn't an official match, so losing is no big deal. Remember, there is always someone better, and there is always a heaven above the sky. Besides, you’ve been winning all this time; losing once is good for you, as it helps you fully recognize your own shortcomings."

On the other end of the phone, Liu Guoliang said this.

Across the phone, Zhang Ke nodded.

He had learned his lesson.

Never again would he play the "pig eating the tiger" or pretend to be weak. Never again would he act.

"By the way, who was that person earlier? Do you have his contact information?"

Liu Guoliang's voice sounded again.

He had been staring at the livestream for a long time and could confirm that he had never seen the person who played against Zhang Ke before.

One must know that besides professional athletes, a large number of young players who stand out from various provinces are sent to him every year for selection.

Yet, that person just now had no file at all within the General Administration of Sport of China.

Clearly, this was someone who had learned through unconventional, grassroots methods.

Such an outstanding talent, not going to participate in the Olympics to win glory for the country, but hiding in a small park for his own amusement?

Isn't that a waste?

As the head coach of the national table tennis team under the General Administration of Sport, Liu Guoliang would naturally not let such a good seed slip away.

Hearing the coach ask him, Zhang Ke immediately understood his thoughts.

"He said his name is Bai Qingming."

"Bai Qingming?"

Liu Guoliang repeated the name.

He felt it sounded somewhat familiar, but he didn't know where he had heard it.

"He also said everyone calls him the Spiritual Leader," Zhang Ke added.

Upon hearing this title, Liu Guoliang remembered who Bai Qingming was.

He had watched Bai Qingming's livestream once for certain reasons.

Come to think of it, it was because of a young man on the team.

This young man had been selected from the provincial team and was very talented at table tennis.

Initially, Liu Guoliang had high hopes for him; if he put all his heart into daily training, he could very well be the next "Grand Devil."

However, this young man had a flaw that caused him to be distracted and unable to focus on training.

This flaw was emotional, stemming from his "goddess."

Since he used the term "goddess," it wasn't hard to guess that this young man was a total "simp."

Even during training, he was constantly checking his goddess's social media, showering her with concern, sending gifts and food, all without seeking anything in return.

With things like this going on, how could he have any energy for training?

Having been young himself, Liu Guoliang knew that feeling and had tried to persuade the young man many times with earnest words, but unfortunately, it had no effect.

However, just as he was about to give up and focus on cultivating others, this young man suddenly changed his ways, stopped being a simp, began training seriously every day, and his skill level improved by leaps and bounds.

When asked, he learned that it was only after watching that "Spiritual Leader's" livestream that he understood the truth: "Simping until the end leaves you with nothing."

Driven by curiosity, Liu Guoliang had watched Bai Qingming's livestream, so he had some impression of him.

Knowing who it was, finding him would be easy.

Hanging up the phone, Liu Guoliang got busy.

On the other side, Zhang Ke had nothing more to say.

In fact, he and his good brother, Lin Dan, had agreed to come to this park to livestream together and pretend to be amateurs.

He played table tennis, Lin Dan played badminton, and they had agreed to meet after the livestream ended.

Zhang Ke had originally wanted to see how his good brother was doing.

At this moment, he had completely lost the heart to do so.

If his brother found out that he had been crushed by a passerby, wouldn't he be laughed to death?

He couldn't afford that humiliation.

Time to slip away.

Meanwhile, when Bai Qingming returned to where Dai Xiaomei was sitting, he found that the "old woman" was gone.

"I'm over here."

A voice came from the right.

Only then did Bai Qingming notice that Dai Xiaomei had run off to watch someone play badminton.

"Where did you go? You made me wait so long," Dai Xiaomei complained.

"Nowhere, just bumped into a novice who insisted on playing table tennis with me, so I casually taught him a few techniques."

Bai Qingming said it lightly.

At this moment, he noticed someone strangely dressed on the badminton court.

This person was tall, wearing a baseball cap and a mask.

Honestly, this outfit reminded him of the novice who had just played table tennis with him.

"Do people nowadays like to dress like this?" Bai Qingming muttered.

Dai Xiaomei, standing to the side, spoke up.

"Let me tell you, this person is exceptionally good at badminton. Everyone around here is no match for him."

Dai Xiaomei had been watching for a long time and now began to explain to Bai Qingming.

Finally, she added, "By the way, that person just said he was Lin Dan. Who is Lin Dan?"

Frankly, Bai Qingming had no interest in badminton and intended to drag Dai Xiaomei away.

However, as soon as he heard this, he became interested.

Someone actually dared to call himself Lin Dan?

This was too arrogant; it was almost catching up to him.

Bai Qingming didn't believe that someone like Lin Dan would run to a small park to play badminton with others.

So this person was just showing off!

Coincidentally, Bai Qingming had once sworn that he would never allow anyone to show off in front of him.

Even if it wasn't intentional, hearing someone brag was unacceptable.

If someone did that, he couldn't tolerate it; he had to go up and slap them in the face.

Just like that, Bai Qingming walked over.

It happened to be halftime.

The man who claimed to be Lin Dan walked to a chair on the side, sat down, and picked up the phone that was livestreaming to take a look.

Not bad, the livestream effect was very good.

It was just that most fans expressed they hadn't seen enough and weren't satisfied.

He looked around, feeling a bit puzzled.

They had clearly agreed to come to the park to livestream together, play their own games, and then have a meal together when finished, so why hadn't he seen Zhang Ke?

Yes, that's right, he was indeed Lin Dan.

Filled with doubt, Lin Dan dialed Zhang Ke's number.

"The number you have dialed is currently busy, please redial later, sorry..."

It was a busy signal. He tried two more times, and it was the same; clearly, the other party was not picking up and had hung up.

Lin Dan was slightly stunned.

"Not picking up?"

He didn't understand what was going on.

But soon, Lin Dan thought of something.

Every time they ate together, they took turns paying.

Last time it was his treat, so this time it should be Zhang Ke's turn.

Now that this guy was deliberately not answering the phone, anyone who understood would know what was going on; there was no need to say more.

Lin Dan was furious.

Good for you, Zhang Ke.

Not wanting to pay for the meal, so you're playing this trick on me, huh?

Fine, fine.

I never thought you, Zhang Ke, were this kind of person.

I, Lin, treated you as a true friend, but I never expected this result.

You can know a person's face, but not their heart!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Lin Dan picked up his phone, edited a text message, and sent it to Zhang Ke.

"If you don't want to pay, just say so. Is not answering the phone really necessary?"

After sending the message, just as he put down the phone, a young man walked up to him.

"So you're the one impersonating Lin Dan?"

"I heard you're very good at badminton?"

"Let's play a game. Whoever loses leaves their shoes behind and leaves barefoot."

"Do you dare?"

Bai Qingming walked up and issued this challenge.

In an instant, Lin Dan was surprised.

Was there really someone who didn't fear death and was actively seeking abuse?

And daring to play for such high stakes.

Fine.

He admired this person's courage.

Lin Dan looked up at Bai Qingming.

The fans had just said they weren't satisfied, and now someone had delivered himself to his doorstep.

It was truly like sending a pillow when sleepy or a quilt when cold.

Then he wouldn't be polite.

"Let's go."

The simple-minded Lin Dan stood up.

Clearly, his coach had never told him the saying, "There is always someone better, and there is always a heaven above the sky."

...

The next day.

Weibo's trending list exploded.

It exploded every day, but this time it was the most explosive it had ever been.

"Table tennis world champion Zhang Ke pretends to be a novice to livestream in a park, 'Grand Devil' gets bewildered by a passerby!"

"Badminton world champion Lin Dan challenged, ends up being brutally crushed, loses his shoes, and walks out of the park barefoot!"

"Shocking, the person who made both the table tennis world champion and the badminton world champion autistic is the same person!"

Three trending topics occupied the top three spots on Weibo.

Even news like the national football team's four-game winning streak could only rank fourth, and as for gossip like Wang Sicong acting like a simp, that had to wait.

For a time, the entire internet was in an uproar.

Everyone knew that the two men who represented the best in their respective fields had been defeated.

Even the word "defeated" wasn't enough to describe it; accurately speaking, they had been crushed.

On Douyin, someone uploaded the recording of the livestream, and in less than an hour, it had over a million likes.

After watching, everyone was stunned.

"Is this too ridiculous? The 'Grand Devil' can't even beat someone holding a piece of cardboard?"

"What's even more, this guy was playing with his left hand when he played badminton against Lin Dan."

"A friend of mine is a security guard at the General Administration of Sport, and he said he saw Lin Dan return crying, telling his coach he didn't want to play badminton anymore and wanted to retire."

"Is that real? Doesn't that mean I have a chance to win a championship?"

"???" The person above is dreaming, right?"

"Everyone stop arguing for a second. Why do I feel like this person who beat Lin Dan and Zhang Ke looks a bit familiar?"

"Damn, now that you mention it, I just noticed. Isn't this guy the Spiritual Leader?"

"The Godfather of Singles, Bai Qingming?"

"That's him!"

Soon, people recognized Bai Qingming's identity.

Following this, netizens suddenly realized a problem.

Bai Qingming had defeated two world champions by himself; did that mean his table tennis and badminton skills were both world-class?

This, this, this...

Is he even human?

In the athlete dorms of the General Administration of Sport.

Zhang Ke lay on his bed, flipping through the comments online.

While reading, he even hummed a little tune.

Initially, after being crushed, Zhang Ke had fallen into a state of self-doubt, feeling terrible, and had even made an appointment with a psychologist.

However, just a moment ago, after he learned the news that Lin Dan had also been crushed by that same person.

For some reason, Zhang Ke's heart immediately felt balanced.

He no longer doubted himself, and he could even eat again.

I have to say, Lin Dan is worthy of being my good brother.

Worried that I wouldn't be able to handle the pressure after being crushed, he even specifically shared the burden for me.

Back in ancient times, one would have to kowtow and swear brotherhood on the spot with someone like that.

But on second thought, doesn't that mean the psychologist I hired is no longer needed?

Oh well, I reckon Lin Dan probably needs a psychologist quite badly right now.

I'll just consider it hired for him.

That's what good brothers are for—thinking of each other.