Chapter 155: Chapter 155: A Surprising Performance
Indeed, the man walking gracefully from the entrance, tall and outstanding, in a long robe, was none other than Pei Ji’an.
He had no other attendants by his side, leading his horse leisurely, noble yet approachable.
Soon, a servant approached to take the reins and welcomed him inside.
However, it was already too late.
At least for the first half, because the competition had already begun. They had to wait for the intermission before they could switch people for the second half.
Qu Fulan had to muster up the courage to participate.
Prince An and the others were initially excited, only to realize with joy that it was too early to celebrate since they couldn’t switch players now.
What else could they do? They had to grit their teeth and persevere.
Third Miss and the others were equally exhilarated when they saw their second brother appear, their faces flushing red with excitement.
Fang Yuan waved at him, "Second Brother, over here!"
They wanted him to come to the Pei Family’s tent to watch the match.
Sure enough, Pei Ji’an walked over to Third Miss’s tent. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw a cup of milk tea in front of each of them.
"Second Brother, would you like some? I can order a servant to buy it," Third Miss said.
As Pei Ji’an sat down, someone delivered hot tea. He poured himself a cup and then said, "No need."
He wasn’t particularly fond of milk tea.
"Second Brother, why did you arrive so late? You don’t know how intense the previous matches were," Fang Yuan eagerly shared his feelings with his brother.
"Oh, how intense?" Pei Ji’an asked while sipping his tea.
"At first, Prince An’s team lost two matches in a row. It was terrible. We all thought they were doomed. But in the third match, they started switching players, and then it was like their luck shifted, and they managed to win back."
Pei Ji’an’s gaze fell on the field. Naturally, he noticed a new face in Prince An’s team and casually asked, "Who did they switch in?"
Fang Yuan shook his head, "We don’t know him, but they said he’s Mr. Wei’s cousin, named Wei An, the thinnest one on the field."
Pei Ji’an wasn’t particularly concerned with this and picked up his teacup with his slender fingers, instead inquiring, "Where did Fulan go?"
"Fulan said she had some matters to attend to and left," Third Miss replied.
Cheng Ru also spoke, "Perhaps there are many people today, and Miss Qu has many tasks to handle."
She was looking at Pei Ji’an as she spoke.
Pei Ji’an heard this but didn’t respond. Instead, he called over a servant to find Qu Fulan, simply asking to confirm where she was, then his eyes returned to the ball field.
Cheng Ru, sitting at an angle, had never looked away from him since he appeared, with a deep and unwavering gaze and a slight, uncontrolled curl at the corners of her mouth.
Pei Ji’an was surprised to see Xiao Shiqing on the field but did not look at him much. Instead, his gaze fell on Wei Xu’s cousin, Wei An. He couldn’t say why, but he found the figure somewhat familiar.
This match had Qu Fulan as the main force. Despite appearing frail, she was agile in stature and decent in riding skills, but dealing with Xiao Shiqing was still tough.
As the saying goes, laymen watch the show, experts watch the technique. Those who understood could see that this "Wei An" performed well in this match; his riding skills were not only good, but his reactions were also quick and agile. The key was his accurate goal-scoring. If he were facing another opponent, he could have won, but unfortunately, his opponent was Xiao Shiqing.
Besides, Wei An’s team’s overall strength wasn’t as good as the opponent’s, let alone with Xiao Shiqing on the other side.
Eventually, this first half ended with Prince An’s team falling far behind.
Meanwhile, the person dispatched by Heir Pei to find Qu Fulan returned.
"Heir, we couldn’t find Miss Qu. We checked the Pei Mansion and several shops, but they all said she wasn’t there."
Upon hearing this, Pei Ji’an paused in his tea-drinking motion, then slowly put down the teacup. His gaze fell on the few people stepping off the field, and the odd feeling he had earlier became increasingly apparent.
The man slightly squinted his eyes, stood up, and walked towards the players’ resting area.
"Is Miss Qu missing?" Cheng Ru asked.
The question was severe. Even Fang Yuan, known for being carefree, thought it inappropriate and quickly said, "Miss Cheng’s words, although unintentional, would be unfortunate if heard by someone with ill intent."
To say a maid is missing could be a trivial or significant issue.
On a minor scale, it could mean she was distracted and wandered off somewhere.
On a major scale, it could imply the maid ran away, which is a crime.
Deeper still, Qu Fulan is, after all, a lady. A lady’s disappearance could affect her reputation.
Thus, how could one lightly say a lady is missing? It’s unthinkable.
Cheng Ru was startled by Fang Yuan’s words, then hurriedly said, "I neglected that, thank you for the reminder, sister."
Third Miss said, "We’re out in public, so let’s pay more attention next time. Thankfully, there are no outsiders here, so it’s okay."
From Third Miss and Fang Yuan’s reactions, one could see they were ladies raised in a noble family, very mindful of reputation.
Cheng Ru appeared slightly embarrassed, but she quickly composed herself and humbly said, "Sister and Fang Yuan, you handle things comprehensively. I should learn more from you both."
By saying this, the atmosphere instantly relaxed, and Third Miss and Fang Yuan thought even more highly of Cheng Ru.
Everyone makes mistakes, but how many admit them? Cheng Ru’s humility was indeed rare.
As for Qu Fulan and the others returning backstage, they saw Heir Pei already standing there waiting for them. His gaze passed over Prince An and the others, directly landing on "Wei An," and he smiled, "Is your name Wei An? Your performance was truly surprising. If the opposing team hadn’t invited Xiao Shiqing, you could have led your team to win. Wei Xu, with a cousin like this, why didn’t you introduce him earlier?"
His words made everyone feel guilty and awkward. During the match, there was no time to think much, but now facing Pei Ji’an, they all felt like a flame was burning them.
Tormented.
They took advantage of his absence to exploit his maid’s sympathy, dressing her up as a man to participate in a men’s game, and this maid was the one he valued the most. If he found out, wouldn’t he beat them to a pulp?
The group exchanged furtive glances and finally decided to continue concealing the truth. Once the match was over, they would deal with whatever consequences came their way.
"Ahem, he just hadn’t come earlier, so there wasn’t a chance to introduce him," Wei Xu improvised.
"Right, right, ’he’ only appeared while you were away. We happened to discover his skills, but didn’t dare to easily let him play. But then we were losing so terribly, we thought of trying anything," Prince An chimed in.
"Really?" Pei Ji’an’s tone revealed no emotions.
"Yes, that’s how it is," Ge Yang added.
Pei Ji’an tugged at the corners of his mouth, coldly saying, "You’ve made progress. Now you know how to collectively lie, and even coordinate. If it were someone else, you might have fooled them."
Prince An, Mr. Wei, Mr. Chu, Mr. Ge: "..." Where was the flaw?
They all looked at Qu Fulan, no flaws here; the makeup was intact.
Qu Fulan sighed; she was curious what went wrong.
She had great confidence in her makeup skills.