A misconception?

"Huh? No, I don't. We've played so many rounds—you should be able to tell my skill level by now."

Seeing that he still seemed a bit suspicious, Mu Tianchen continued:

"Maybe it was just luck."

"But..." The Blond Senior wanted to say more, but a few other seniors patted him on the arm:

"It's fine. You lost, that's that. We saw your match just now—this kid might really just be lucky. We'll teach him a lesson for you."

"Yeah, yeah. You trust my skills, don't you?" This sturdy, dark-skinned senior thumped his chest confidently.

"You guys..." The Blond Senior was so moved he almost cried, choking out, "Make sure you really teach him a lesson for me."

"No problem."

"Don't worry."

Regardless of how their table tennis skills actually stacked up, they'd already won in terms of momentum, right?

Mu Tianchen just watched them quietly. On the surface, he looked calm, but inside, he was already laughing.

Then the matches resumed.

Mu Tianchen used the same method to knock them off the table one by one.

It was actually pretty funny. That sturdy, dark-skinned senior—Mu Tianchen had thought he might be strong, but—

A few times when he went to return the ball, he actually flung his paddle away, nearly hitting Mu Tianchen...

Where did his "good skills" even come from?

Could it be that the people he practiced with were afraid of getting hurt and deliberately held back, giving him the illusion that he was good?

Very likely!

But this was a match, not practice. When Mu Tianchen faced him, he beat him easily without much effort, not even needing to hold back.

The main problem was that the guy himself wasn't good enough. The onlookers nearby saw it too—once the paddle flew out, that round was basically lost.

Even though the rules didn't technically ban hitting the ball with your hand, the bounce from a hand and a paddle were completely different.

Even if you barely managed to return it, it was hard to control the right amount of force.

Then, one by one, using the same method he'd used on the Blond Senior, he defeated all the seniors who came to challenge him.

The more passionate those seniors had been at the start, the more dejected they were when they left.

The Blond Senior, watching from the side, had eyes that went from hopeful at first, to disappointed after a few losses, and finally to despair when they all lost.

But these guys weren't as dumb as the Blond Senior. After losing one round, they immediately swapped in the next person. They were smart enough to cut their losses in time.

Just as he was about to leave, a tall, lean senior with decent features walked over from a distance.

"Hello, I'm Miyamoto Subaru from Class 2-A, vice-captain of this Table Tennis Club. I noticed your matches just now. Are you interested in joining our club?"

"Didn't you say recruitment was already full?" Mu Tianchen countered.

"For talented players, we can make exceptions. And if you perform well, you can get promoted quickly. Of course, we won't shortchange you on points either."

After saying this, Miyamoto Subaru wore a proud expression. In his eyes, being directly selected by him was probably an honor.

Mu Tianchen just thought, What a big pie he's drawing! And he hadn't come here to join this club anyway.

"Talent? I was just lucky. The vice-captain flatters me. Sorry, but I don't have any plans to join any clubs right now."

Hearing Mu Tianchen's refusal, Miyamoto Subaru's expression immediately changed. He probably wanted to say, "I gave you face!"

"You're making me lose face here. How about this—let's make a bet? Still a table tennis match." Miyamoto Subaru glanced around and spoke.

This vice-captain sure knew his timing. By now, Mu Tianchen was worn out from the seniors' relay matches. Clearly, this was taking advantage of his exhaustion.

"He's not chickening out, is he? What a waste."

"Yeah, we might be bad, but our vice-captain isn't. He's way better than us."

"The vice-captain inviting you is giving you face. Don't be ungrateful!"

Seeing Mu Tianchen stay silent, the surrounding seniors immediately started mocking him.

Most of them were the ones he'd beaten earlier by holding back. They were clearly unhappy and were seizing the chance to vent.

Mu Tianchen's polite refusal was meant to leave and save the club some face. But since they were like this, there was no need.

"Fine, I accept. What's the bet?"

Seeing him agree, Miyamoto Subaru waved his hand to silence the jeers. Once it was quiet, he spoke slowly:

"Simple. Same 1v1 point match as before. If I win, you join our club unconditionally. During that time, you get no points from the club and must obey any orders without question."

"And if I win?"

"You win? Ha, what do you want?" Miyamoto Subaru seemed to think there was no way he could lose to this kid.

"I won't ask for anything too much. If I win, you give me 500,000 points and let me leave peacefully. How about that?" Seeing his arrogant attitude and that he was from Class A, Mu Tianchen figured he could take him for a ride.

"500,000? Kid, you've got some nerve asking for that much!"

"Damn it, we got cocky after winning, didn't we? Vice President, teach him a lesson for us!"

"Vice President, take him up on it. We've all seen your skills—there's no way you'd lose to this brat!"

The crowd immediately stirred up again.

But in Mu Tianchen's view, this speech was actually favorable to him. With their Vice President's arrogant personality, he'd have no choice but to agree even if he didn't want to.

Miyamoto Subaru, spurred on by the crowd, found himself in a tough spot. Sure, as a second-year Class A student, he received a lot of points each month.

But most of those were taken by Nanyun Ya, so not much remained. From his first year up to now, he'd only saved about 500,000 points.

Though he didn't think he'd lose, if he did, he'd have to rely on the school's free supplies to get by. But if he refused here, his image would probably take a hit in the future...

After a brief deliberation, Miyamoto Subaru finally spoke: "Fine, I accept! If I lose, I'll give you 500,000 points and let you leave safely. Is that good enough?"

"That's our Vice President, so generous!"

"You're our god!"

"Crush that punk!"

The group, seeing Miyamoto Subaru agree, started cheering him on again.

At this moment, Miyamoto Subaru suddenly felt a twinge of unease.

Because when he looked at Mu Tianchen, that guy's expression was far too calm.

Was it an illusion? Or...