Rise

Chu Fang felt all the colour drain from his face. Potential candidates… Shit. He’s going to yell at me. Sweat prickled on his forehead and he felt a sudden chill in the air. He looked sheepishly at Fang Hao, who sat behind his desk calm as ever. Maybe he doesn’t know. Just a coincidence. A shiver ran up and down his spine as he desperately tried not to show fear in his eyes. I’ve done nothing wrong. I could’ve told him about Lin Feng, but I didn’t have to. I didn’t do anything wrong!

Fang Hao ignored the sweat on Chu Fang’s forehead and the worry in his subordinate’s eyes. “So,” he started. “What do you think about inviting high schoolers to participate in the Winter Collegiate Cup?”

Chu Fang forced himself to take deep, long, calming breaths. He finally looked up at Fang Hao and smiled. “I think it’s a good idea. It’ll be a good chance for them to experience some higher level competition.” He paused for a moment, hesitating, then added, “Besides, the Shanghai 16 School Tournament just finished, and I’ve watched the final rounds myself. I know how strong all the high school teams are and which players can participate at the university level.”

“Right, the Shanghai 16 School Tournament…” Fang Hao dragged the words, smiling slightly. “Who won again this year? High School 13, was it?”

Chu Fang felt his heart knocking against his ribs in an increasingly violent rhythm. He knows. He knows! Does he? It took all his self control to give Fang Hao a calm answer. “Yes. They were the underdogs for a long time, but they suddenly looked very strong in the semifinals when they beat Shanghai International. Then they won 3-1 in the Finals against Shanghai High School. They have a few especially outstanding players.” He recalled a certain promise he made. I’m trying my best to keep it a secret, Lin Feng. But he’s going to find out. One more question from him and he knows, if he doesn’t already. He probably already knows. I sent him the information. I sent him the...

Fang Hao nodded repeatedly and said, “Yes, yes, so I’ve heard. Very outstanding. Oh, what was the name of their team captain again?”

Chu Fang gulped. “Ahem. Well, uh… You know, it’s… Did you read my repo—”

Fang Hao slammed his fist down on his desk with such force that Chu Fang jumped up in fright. Then he shouted, “YOU LITTLE SHIT! How long did you plan on keeping this from me!? Huh! I thought I could trust you!”

Chu Fang pushed himself back in his chair, as far away from Fang Hao as he could without offending his boss. He knows. Yep. He knows. I’m done for. He’s going to eat me alive. I’m going to be demoted and he’ll have me sweeping the floors. He knew this was coming the moment that Fang Hao had called him and asked for the information on High School 13. But somewhere deep down he’d hoped his boss would glance over the information and miss it. He said, “I can explain. Really! There’s a good reaso—”