Chapter 7

Katie's POV

"It's not like that. If it weren't for your help today, things would definitely be much worse than they are now."

I wasn't wrong. Without that tennis ball Percy hit, I would not only have been forced out of the tennis team, but the data analysis reports I had worked on might have been dismissed as worthless by Lily, or perhaps claimed as her own achievement.

As for my past relationship with Terry...

I sighed. Percy's tennis ball couldn't change the fact that Lily would smear my reputation.

Garcia left with a parting remark to "take care of yourself."

Only Percy and I remained in the banquet hall. Shattered champagne tower fragments covered the floor, and spilled drinks had left the surface dirty and messy.

It had always been this way before—the tidying and cleaning had always fallen to me.

"Percy, can we exchange phone numbers? After I finish cleaning up here, I'll arrange to meet you properly to thank you." I looked around at the decorations I had put up, at Terry's giant poster. In half an hour, I would be throwing them all into the trash.

Along with my love for Terry, all discarded together.

Percy added my contact information, but he didn't leave.

"I'll handle the trouble I brought you. I'll clean this place up."

Percy bent down to pick up the glass shards on the floor. He was tall, not as bulky as a football or hockey player, even somewhat thin.

Crouching to clean the floor, he looked lonely.

Especially lonely! As if he had enclosed himself in a dark world, without a trace of light, only him walking alone, never knowing when he might fall into endless darkness and never climb out again.

"Let's clean up together. Percy, you didn't bring me any trouble."

I pulled Percy up and carefully threw away the broken glass in his hand. "Be careful, don't cut your hand. Now let's start with that poster."

I walked to the poster, lifted one corner, and with a tearing sound ripped it from bottom to top. Terry's face split in two.

"From now on, I'm saying goodbye to that foolish love." I gestured for Percy to follow my lead and tear the poster to pieces. "It's exactly this kind of immoral person who attacks your character with a mouth full of righteousness."

How shameless.

Percy didn't pick up on my hint. He laughed self-deprecatingly and made no comment about Terry. "I've long gotten used to all this."

Soon, the conference room returned to its original state. There was no trace of the celebration party left, as if nothing had happened. But I knew everything had changed.

As dusk fell, Percy said goodbye to me.

"Wait, Percy..."

I wanted to invite Percy out for dinner, right now. Not just to thank him for helping me out of my predicament today, but I also wanted to talk to him about other things—about tennis, about telling him I had always believed in his integrity, about whether he had been doing well these years without playing tennis.

But without advance notice, without prior planning, it really was too impolite.

Percy was still waiting for me to finish what I hadn't said.

"I'd like to invite you to dinner tomorrow evening, if that's okay? I know this is a bit sudden..."

"Okay."

I looked at Percy with wide eyes. He had agreed so quickly, and I had prepared so many explanations.

Relief flooded through me, and all of today's unpleasantness seemed to disappear.

Bang—the conference room door was thrown open. Why was Lily back again! And she wasn't alone; two of her followers were behind her.

The joy I had just felt quickly vanished. I rubbed my temples, my mood turning irritable.

Lily crossed her arms and spoke to her follower Blair, still with that superior attitude. "I told you she hadn't left yet. She'll definitely clean the conference center. Lowlifes are suited for this kind of rough work."

Arabella pointed her finger at Percy. "Is he the one who made you cry? He's quite handsome, just looks too cold."

I shifted my position, trying to stand in front of Percy and block Arabella's view. Once targeted by this social butterfly, no guy could resist her offensive. At most three months, at least one day, she would use them up and then discard them. Then she would comment on every aspect of the guy on her social media accounts.

The guys who dated her might fall from cloud nine to hell, or be lifted from hell to the clouds, all at her whim. She also had a particularly large following, and being attacked by her fans would be a disaster among disasters.

Lily clicked her tongue. "Arabella, you have your eye on this kind of person? I suggest you go see an eye doctor soon."

Arabella laughed lightly. "Lily, your suggestion is very good. I think I saw wrong just now."

I immediately felt relieved. It was good that he wasn't targeted by this social butterfly.

But I was targeted by Lily. Her eyes glowed with a cold blue light like a venomous snake.

In front of Terry, she had at least disguised herself with a trace of kindness. Now, she and her little group released their malice, cold and cruel.

I couldn't help but take two steps back. Percy was behind me, my back pressed against his chest.

"Don't be afraid!"

That phrase again. When it came from his mouth, it was like it carried a spell, instantly granting me courage.

I faced Lily again.

"Katie, what do you think staying on the tennis team will accomplish? What can you change? Steal Terry away from me? Naive!" Lily laughed loudly.

Blair curled her lips. "Lower-class people always like this kind of fantasy, thinking their hard work can get them everything. Bookworm!"

"Terry stays with me because I can provide him with the best resources. And you? Stupid and worthless love?"

I felt ashamed. I had had a foolish love affair, wrong in believing his words and becoming his underground girlfriend, wrong in not recognizing his character in time.

But love has always been an expensive and scarce spirit.

My love wasn't wrong, and my love wasn't worthless.

"As long as the Wilson family exists, whether it's recommendation letters after the season ends or any position in the sports industry, as long as I want it, you'll never get it!"

There it was again, that suffocating and powerless feeling was back.

I clenched my fists, suppressing my anger.

The future I wanted, my dreams, were just a matter of one sentence from Lily.

All I had to do was lower my proud head, like many classmates at school, not provoke Lily, stay away from Lily, whatever Lily said was right, whatever Lily wanted to do, just cooperate.

But I was so unwilling.

Suddenly my phone buzzed. Percy behind me said in a low voice near my ear, "I sent you an email. Take a look."

Lily laughed disdainfully. "Can this kind of poor boy bypass Wilson's blockade and give you an offer? Is it another useless data analysis?"

Percy wouldn't send me an email at this moment for no reason. It must be very important.

Lily was right—it really was an offer. An assistant position to the agent of Elias Smith, a professional player currently ranked TOP 26 in ATP, backed by L-ACE Tennis Club. All my dreams could be realized here. There were top tennis players here, cutting-edge data analysis equipment, and mature commercial operations.

As long as I agreed now, all of Lily's threats would cease to exist.

How could Percy have this offer? I looked into his eyes, trying to see something in them. He was too calm, so calm that I wondered if he had sent the wrong email.

I asked him incredulously, "Are you sure? This internship position is for me? I'm only a sophomore."

"You're excellent. Your abilities are completely qualified for this."

Percy's eyes were very sincere. My God, he was serious.

None of this was a dream.

Lily grew impatient. "What kind of pipe dreams are you two talking about?"