Tony Teacher

Shocked or not, noisy or not, Wang Chao had not forgotten what had started today's match.

After the game, drenched in sweat, he felt as though his mentality had grown younger too.

Since he had been lucky enough to transmigrate, shouldn't he live like a real eighteen-year-old boy?

So, ignoring the frenzied questioning of his three friends, he walked over to Tian Zhengguang, who was still standing there in a daze. He cleared his throat, looked at him sideways, and asked softly, "That's it?"

His tone had to be light.

His attitude had to be contemptuous.

Most importantly, the corner of his eyes had to tilt downward!

Tian Zhengguang gritted his teeth without speaking and glared fiercely at him.

"This is the gap between professionals and amateurs?"

"This is what you meant by penhold having no future?"

"Heh!"

With that cold laugh, Wang Chao felt utterly refreshed. Seeing the flush on Tian Zhengguang's face turning purple, he quickly turned around, grabbed his three friends, forced his way through the overly enthusiastic table tennis fans, and made a swift escape.

Well, he was still a little afraid afterward.

After all, Tian looked like a boxer. He probably would not be weak in a real fight, and he had a hot temper. If he went berserk, the coach might not even be able to hold him back...

But when he fled, he seemed to vaguely hear someone calling him from behind?

It had to be an illusion...

By the time he got home, it was completely dark. No one was home, but after checking his memories a little, Wang Chao stopped worrying.

His memories showed that for many years now, his mother, Wang Mei, had always returned home very late.

If he remembered correctly, she had recently found a temporary dishwashing job two streets away. With plates piled up like mountains, she would not finish until ten at night.

Wang Chao lifted the food cover on the dining table and found nothing underneath. He went to the kitchen to look around. There was no rice in the cooker, no prepared vegetables in the sink, and even the refrigerator was empty, without any leftover frozen meat.

Only then did he feel somewhat surprised and call Wang Mei.

The phone rang twice without being answered. Instead, he vaguely heard the ringtone from the doorway, followed by the sound of a key unlocking the door. Wang Mei stepped in from the night and tossed the lunchbox in her hand onto the table. "I brought you fried rice. I had them add an extra egg."

Wang Chao did not ask any questions. He opened the plastic bag, took out the flimsy, greasy lunchbox, and bent over the table to eat.

Though it was cheap five-yuan street-side fried rice, perhaps because this body was young enough, it actually tasted pretty good. Even the strong smell of gutter oil could not affect his appetite.

Wang Mei sat at the table and rested for a while before saying, "Son, I found you a job."

Wang Chao froze and raised his head with his mouth full of rice. "Huh?"

"What do you mean, huh? You brat." Wang Mei's exhaustion was impossible to hide. "If you can't get into college, go work. Do you really expect your mother to support you?"

"No... I... this..." The sudden news left Wang Chao completely dumbfounded.

He tried hard to search through his past memories, wanting to know whether the original Wang Chao had ever discussed working with Wang Mei.

But before he could sort it out, Wang Mei continued, "Don't worry. It's right on the next street over, Huimin Barber Shop. I've already talked to the owner. You'll go there as an apprentice, study for half a year first, then become a regular employee depending on how things go. Meals are included but lodging isn't. For now, you'll get a monthly allowance of fifteen hundred yuan."

A classic image of rural punk hair flashed through Wang Chao's mind, and he blurted out, "Tony teacher?"

"Hm?" Wang Mei looked rather puzzled. "The owner used to be called Er Zhuzi, but he did change his name to Tony. You know him?"

Wang Chao was left speechless. He lowered his head and took another mouthful of rice, considered his wording, then cautiously said, "Mom, look, I... I haven't even taken the college entrance exam yet. How about..."

"Take my ass. You got three hundred points on the mock exam. Do you think you can fly to the heavens in this last half month?"

Without even looking up, Wang Mei pulled out a pile of worn, frayed bills from her pocket. She had collected them from elderly people who did not know how to use phones while selling vegetables early that morning.

As she counted, she said, "I've already decided. Registering for the college entrance exam costs application and document fees. Let's just not register and save the money. You don't need to study for the last half month either. Go learn a trade directly."

Wang Chao opened his mouth, wanting to explain that he was now a table tennis expert, that he might become a national-team player in the future, bring honor to his ancestors and glory to his country, make lots of money, and buy a huge villa...

But looking at Wang Mei's stern, wary face, he could not say a single word.

He knew that even if he talked himself blue in the face, Wang Mei would never believe him.

Even if he dragged all his friends over to testify, Wang Mei still would not believe it. She would only think he was faking things to avoid working.

"What abilities do you have that your mother wouldn't know?"

"I've raised you for eighteen years. The moment you stick your ass out, I know what kind of shit you're about to take!"

The situation at that moment was delicate.

If he dared speak, it would only sound like an excuse. Wang Mei had been running around all afternoon and had only just returned. She looked so exhausted. Clearly, she had worried herself sick over this apprenticeship for him. Maybe she had even smiled and groveled to others, said nice things, and given gifts.

She would never allow the fruits of her labor to be denied.

"Fine. I'll go tomorrow." Wang Chao wolfed down the rest of his food as quickly as possible, returned to his room, and shut the door.

Wang Mei glanced toward the door without thinking much of it. She assumed her son was throwing a tantrum, but what right did children from poor families have to be willful?

Naturally, Wang Chao was not throwing a tantrum. After shutting the door, he turned on his computer, opened a search website called "Baidu," and began looking up information.

If he wanted to play table tennis, he had to understand the table tennis landscape of this world.

The memories in his head contained no information about that.

The old Wang Chao had liked table tennis, but he had always been a bottom-tier rookie. Aside from burying his head in practice, he never paid attention to domestic or international tournaments and knew nothing about China Table Tennis.

Time passed slowly, and Wang Chao gradually formed a general understanding.

This world had dynastic changes remarkably similar to those of his previous life.

Although every dynasty, era, and historical detail had changed, the overall course of history had barely deviated.

It had likewise gone through a certain humiliating period in history several centuries ago. That was why it now also had Port City and Bay Island. The former was a special administrative region, while the latter had yet to return. Both had the right to compete independently in international events.

In table tennis, China remained the unquestionable hegemon.

However, after checking the results of major tournaments over the years, Wang Chao found that China Table Tennis's dominance did not seem as overwhelming as it had been in his previous life.

He remembered clearly that when he transmigrated, the national team had just won its eleventh consecutive World Table Tennis Championships title in both the men's and women's doubles.

Yet the computer screen before him clearly showed that at the World Table Tennis Championships that had ended just last October, Sun Tianlong, a core player of the world number one China team, had squandered a commanding position in the final and been reversed by a European player, handing over the gold medal.

But interestingly, while China Table Tennis's dominance was not quite so exaggerated, table tennis itself had developed far better within China than in his previous life.

He remembered clearly that in his previous life, that "fat man who didn't understand table tennis" from the national team had tried countless ways to organize the domestic league. Yet every year, the Table Tennis Super League struggled to find sponsors, every team lived in misery, and none could turn a profit.

But in the China of this world, there was something astonishing called the "Table Tennis First Division."

That was right. He had not read it wrong.

In his previous life, even the Table Tennis Super League had needed to beg everywhere just to keep running. Here, there was not only the Table Tennis Super League, but also its second-tier league: the Table Tennis First Division.

Apparently, Table Tennis First Division matches even had decent attendance, enough to sustain daily operations solely through ticket sales.

How strange indeed!