Chapter 44: LEAVE THE TEAM
Lin Zhu gulped his saliva in difficulty upon hearing Lu Mei's cold statement. Not to mention the icy gaze the woman threw at the two young athletes that made both of them shiver.
Lin Zhu just remembered that Lu Mei was famous with a nickname many years ago. "The Snow Princess." That nickname was very popular back then, and now Lin Zhu knew the reason behind that. Lu Mei was known for her cold personality, and her fair skin which was as white as Snow White added to the reason behind the nickname.
Now, Lin Zhu and Ye Quan were the targets of The Snow Princess's attack.
"I'm not going to argue about your skills," Lu Mei spoke again. "I just think that you two have the worst coordination while playing together on the court. You couldn't communicate well, and it felt like you two were playing alone even though you are in the doubles team."
Both Lin Zhu and Ye Quan remained quiet as they listened to the evaluation.
"I can't help but think that Coach Cheng is being too soft on you two," the lady added as she glanced at Coach Cheng who was sitting in the corner.
Coach Cheng visibly gulped nervously upon hearing the accusation.
"It's not my intention to be too soft on them, Mrs. Lu," Coach Cheng sheepishly defended himself. "I just think that they are still new to the team, so we should be patient with them."
Lu Mei openly rolled her eyes at Coach Cheng's defense. "I'm pretty sure you told them that they played well in the last game, didn't you?" She asked while narrowing her eyes. "Giving them a chance doesn't mean you have to lie to him, Coach Cheng."
It seemed that Lu Mei successfully hit the bull's eye as the coach widened his eyes and didn't say anything again.
Lin Zhu glanced at the coach with his bitter gaze. He thought he and Ye Quan was playing quite well because the coach had said so, but it turned out the coach just wanted to comfort them.
All people in the room could hear the lady sigh loudly while turning her head to Lin Zhu and Ye Quan.
"State your problems now. Why couldn't you coordinate with each other when you were playing together?" Lu Mei asked the two young men.
Lin Zhu glanced at Ye Quan again, and a second later, the older man glanced back at him.
"I apologize, Mrs. Lu," Ye Quan responded as he turned his head toward the lady. "I admit that we don't have a good relationship since the beginning. I admit that I hate Lin Zhu, and Lin Zhu hates me as well. That's why we couldn't coordinate well with each other."
Lin Zhu was a bit startled. 'He decided to stop pretending in front of the team management?' He wondered inwardly.
It seemed that Lin Zhu wasn't the only one who was surprised by Ye Quan's honest answer. The other people in the room looked surprised as well, including Coach Cheng.
"You two hate each other?" The lady questioned them with a frown. "I don't mean to pry on your privacy, but can you tell me why you two hate each other?"
Lin Zhu froze. He didn't blindly hate Ye Quan. He had some reasons for that, and one of the reasons was powerful enough to shut the people's mouths if he dared to say it out loud. Unfortunately, he could never say it out loud in front of other people.
Lin Zhu was confused, and he could only duck his head when he couldn't utter any words.
"We hate each other because we see each other as rivals."
Lin Zhu's head automatically raised again after his ears caught the unexpected answer. He turned his head and saw Ye Quan was the one who just answered Lu Mei's interrogation confidently.
"You two see each other as rivals?" Lu Mei continued her query upon getting an answer from Ye Quan.
"Yes," the black-haired athlete answered while nodding his head. "I was afraid that Lin Zhu would steal my position as this country's number one men's singles athlete, and Lin Zhu had an obsession to snatch that position away from me. We see each other as rivals not in a healthy way, and that's why we couldn't cooperate in this team."
Lu Mei looked speechless upon hearing Ye Quan's explanation. She was not the one who couldn't say anything because Lin Zhu was speechless as well. He just kept staring at the man next to him with his wide eyes.
"That's in the past, right? Why do you still bring that hatred with you when you're in a team now?" Lu Mei finally spoke again after going blank for a moment.
"I also want to stop hating him, Mrs. Lu," Ye Quan replied. "However, it's not easy to change what's in our hearts in a short time."
Lin Zhu couldn't believe what he had just heard. Ye Quan wanted to stop hating him? Was it for real? Or it was just another bluff?
"Your answer is reasonable, but your attitude toward each other is not tolerable," Lu Mei didn't want to give in and argued Ye Quan's reasoning. "You two have to join your minds and hearts in the team, and you stop seeing each other as rivals. You two are a team, and you two should support each other instead of hating each other."
Lu Mei sounded quite harsh, but what she had just said was right. Ye Quan decided to just listen to the lady this time and not argue anymore.
"If you still want to stay in this team, then you should forget all your issue and start cooperating."
It was easier said than done. Lin Zhu wanted to protest the woman's statement, but he knew that it wasn't polite. Therefore, he just swallowed his protest.
"I need your commitment," the lady spoke again when she got no response from the two athletes. "If you still want to stay in this team, then you should improve the relationship between you two. And if you can't do that, then you should leave this team now."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone