Jiang Lao said, "Your behavior is too risky. If you lose the next competition, neither you nor Fu Bing will have an easy time, especially Fu Bing. She is a celebrity, and all the damage will directly target her."
"We won’t lose the competition, and..."
"When did we start pursuing an unbeaten record? Losing is not a bad thing. There are over a dozen matches in the whole tournament; losing one or two is actually good."
Old Master Jiang, being of advanced age, wouldn’t mind the outcome of a single match. What he cared about was the situation Qin Jinhai and Fu Bing, both promising talents, would face if they lost.
"Since you already have a way to handle it, I will not ask any further."
Old Master Jiang actually wanted to tell him not to hide the fact that he was the captain of the China Team from Fu Bing, but he held back his words.
Qin Jinhai’s situation was hardly easier than Fu Bing’s.
Hu Yao had hated the boy behind the mask for ten years. Once he knew who was behind the mask, Hu Yao and his backers would definitely retaliate furiously.
After leaving Old Master Jiang’s room, Qin Jinhai walked in the hotel garden.
Media was not allowed here, and athletes from various countries could move freely.
In the garden, where flowers bloomed in intricate and brilliant profusion, his tall, graceful figure strolling about was undoubtedly a sublime sight.
More and more people gathered at the windows of their rooms to watch him.
Even though his face was covered by a mask, people were inexplicably attracted to him.
A handsome face was certainly a great attraction, but his physique and demeanor added even more to his appeal.
There are many people who are good-looking and have a fine physique, yet lack charm. That’s because their demeanor and aura aren’t compelling enough.
Suddenly, Qin Jinhai looked up at a certain spot in the hotel.
The next second, a figure dressed in white leapt from the 8th floor.
The body plummeted rapidly. With a loud THUD, the figure hit the ground.
The landing spot was just ten steps away from Qin Jinhai.
Bai Zhirui convulsively looked at Qin Jinhai.
It was as if she was waiting for Qin Jinhai to appear before she jumped. The timing and location were perfectly staged.
Qin Jinhai didn’t look at Bai Zhirui. Instead, he gazed at the room she had jumped from. Fu Bing stood there...
For the first time, Qin Jinhai felt a chill crawl up his scalp. Someone was plotting against both him and Fu Bing!
Fu Bing and Qin Jinhai looked at each other across eight floors.
Fu Bing could not believe that Bai Zhirui, in her scheme to frame her, had disregarded her own safety.
Qin Jinhai looked at Bai Zhirui as if she were trash. He walked over and bent down to look at her.
"Is dying your next step? Your miserable life is not worthy of framing Fu Bing!"
After speaking, Qin Jinhai stood up and called the medical team over.
Just as Bai Zhirui tried to say something, she realized she could not speak. Her eyes were nearly popping out of her sockets.
Had the captain used poison to silence her?!
To protect Fu Bing, was he openly making an enemy of the Bai Family?!
Qin Jinhai quickly turned and hurried upstairs.
Fu Bing was still in the room from before.
Unable to hold back, Qin Jinhai asked urgently, "How did you end up with Bai Zhirui?"
"She wanted to apologize for her faux pas in her post-match interview today. I felt she wasn’t in her normal state during today’s match and wanted to get a closer understanding. I had hardly entered the room when she jumped."
"She asked you to come, and you just came?" Qin Jinhai felt like swearing.
Fu Bing didn’t take offense at the captain’s harsh tone. From his perspective, her presence indeed caused him and the team quite a bit of trouble.
"My past experience tells me that sometimes it’s best to find answers on your own. I don’t mistrust you or Jiang Lao; you both have myriad issues to consider and focus more on overall success or failure. I have to seek the answers to my personal grievances myself."
"Bai Zhirui started provoking me the moment she saw me yesterday. Her series of actions has been very confusing. It’s as if her emotions were preset by someone, designed to trigger upon contact with me. I felt I had an obligation to understand the situation behind it all."
Qin Jinhai said, "The truth is, Hu Yao is no longer the person he used to be; he will no longer follow his old tactics. His only desire is to defeat China, and he might not be willing to let you confront him fairly in the competition. He wants to deal with you off the field."
Fu Bing was not surprised at all. "But I intend to settle it with him on the field."
"How do you plan to do that?"
"He relies on Country A’s financial backing to survive. Without the support of Country A’s financial chain, he’s just a capable doctor who cannot stir up any significant trouble. I’ve asked my friends to investigate the composition of his funds and find a way to dismantle it. The match between him and me is in a week; that’s enough time."
"Anytime you need my help, just say the word," Qin Jinhai offered without hesitation.
Fu Bing was suddenly startled. She felt like she had heard that phrase somewhere before.
Qin Jinhai did not linger. He still had to clean up the aftermath of Bai Zhirui’s jump.
When Fu Bing returned to her room, her phone rang.
She checked it and found an unknown number.
Just one look, and she felt a chill run through her.
It was a photo with a prison background. In the photo were torn clothes, beside which lay a man’s black clothing.
Just a single still image was enough to conjure a salacious story.
It represented her nightmares and shame.
During that desperate and painful period, she had given herself to a stranger. Only when utterly exhausted could she briefly fall asleep. That man mocked and ridiculed her every time. She was in pain but couldn’t let go of her only support back then.
It was a past she least wanted to mention, and she didn’t want it to destroy her current life.
She hated those bewildering nights, hated how easily she had fallen into a stranger’s warmth and embrace.
Those days didn’t just disappear because she was released from prison; someone kept threatening her with this secret.
It took a while for Fu Bing to calm down, suppressing the fear rising deep within her. Her hands and feet cold, she sent a message.
"Who are you exactly?"
The person on the other end didn’t respond.
Then, a message came: "Do you really want to know?"
"Who are you exactly?" Fu Bing typed again.
Her mind buzzed, unable to think straight. The suffocation, the fear, the despair from that time surged towards her like a tide.
She couldn’t move, nor did she want to save herself. All she wanted was answers!To know that shameful past, to find out who that man was. She wanted to resolve the deepest fears in her heart instead of repeatedly letting that unspeakable past affect her future.
The other end of the phone stayed silent for a long time. Each passing second of the wait was agonizing.
Fu Bing, as if bewitched, stared at the phone, her whole being wound tight as a spring. As time passed, she wound tighter and tighter, ready to snap at any moment.
Finally, the unknown number replied once again.
It was another photo.
In a dim prison cell, only a tiny high window allowed some light. It barely illuminated the darkness inside, and you could vaguely see a mask on the iron bed.
As Fu Bing zoomed in on the photo to see the mask clearly, her phone slipped from her hand, landing on the floor with a THUD.