Chapter Thirty-Six: An Unexpected Encounter with Song Zhiyan on the Court

Pei Shang had come today to discuss a business partnership, but his prospective collaborator happened to be unavailable. Coincidentally, Yu Yue had just asked him for a favor, so he took the opportunity to ask Yu Tang if she wanted to come along as well.

Only a couple of days ago, after watching “The Little Things About Love,” he’d been toying with the idea of recruiting Yu Tang. He hadn’t expected the opportunity to present itself so soon.

He had been waiting for a while, sitting in his chair, bored out of his mind. Just as he turned to reach for his drink, he caught sight of someone striding toward him with a menacing air. The look on her face made it seem as if she might pull out a gun and shoot him at any moment.

The water glass he had just picked up was quietly set back down, and he didn’t even dare remain seated. Yet as Yu Tang drew closer, Pei Shang’s eyes involuntarily narrowed, the instincts of a businessman prompting him to assess her potential value.

After a moment, when Yu Tang finally marched up to him, Pei Shang put on a friendly smile. He reached out his hand. “Miss Yu, a pleasure to meet you.”

Yu Tang shook his hand, her grip brief and businesslike. “Mr. Pei, nice to meet you as well.”

Pei Shang gestured for her to take a seat and ordered her a drink. “Miss Yu, do you play golf?”

Of course, with everything on the line, there was no way Yu Tang would admit that she didn’t. She put on a confident smile. “I do.”

Pei Shang raised an eyebrow and handed her the golf club next to him, inviting her to give it a try.

Yu Tang accepted with a show of confidence.

Not far off, two men in suits were sitting together.

“Brother Song, isn’t that your sister-in-law?” Lin Shi glanced in that direction. He only knew that she was the wife Song Zhiyan had married under duress, and that they were now in the midst of a divorce.

As for actually meeting her, Lin Shi had only seen her once—at their wedding, and even then only from afar. Back then, she had seemed aloof and domineering toward Song Zhiyan, a manner that had left the brothers all deeply dissatisfied. To this day, none of them had even bothered to remember her name.

Song Zhiyan glanced carelessly into the distance, then looked away as if he hadn’t really seen anything. With a tone as light as the breeze, he said, “Is that so? You must be mistaken.”

Lin Shi looked again at Yu Tang, puzzled. As he watched her swing, his eyelid twitched. Three times she swung, and three times the club missed the ball entirely.

He’d never before seen anyone so hopelessly inept.

Could Song Zhiyan’s wife, that pampered heiress, really be this bad?

After Yu Tang missed for what felt like the ten-thousandth time, she finally began to feel embarrassed. She realized she needed to compose herself.

She turned to Pei Shang. He watched her with an amused smile tugging at his lips.

“Shall I call a coach for you, Miss Yu?”

Yu Tang waved her hand awkwardly. “It’s just that I haven’t played in a long time. Let me go freshen up in the restroom, and I’ll be right back.”

Pei Shang let out a low chuckle, his voice rumbling from his chest. “Very well, I’ll wait for your return.”

Yu Tang nodded and headed off toward the restroom.

Pei Shang watched her retreating figure, recalling her earlier wild swings, unable to suppress a smile. How could Yu Yue have hidden such a gem of a sister? Now he was certain—if he could get this treasure on his side, she’d be a goldmine for him.

And with that, he was one step closer to getting that new car. He took a satisfied sip of his drink.

Just as he was about to sit back down, he caught a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.

Meanwhile, as soon as Yu Tang entered the restroom and settled herself, she immediately pulled out her phone to search.

“Golf tutorial, rapid learning version.”

She clicked on the first video that popped up.

“What beginners need to know for their first round of golf—a single video tells you everything…”

The volume was so loud it echoed throughout the restroom. Startled, Yu Tang fumbled with her phone in a brief moment of acrobatics, nearly tossing it in the air. Her heart pounded, but thankfully the phone landed safely back in her hands.

She lowered the volume and settled in to study.

Just as Yu Tang was absorbed in the video, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

“You’ve never been one for sports. Your love of good food and laziness has led to your figure becoming badly out of shape, creating a stark contrast with the real heiress, Xiang Youran. In such a comparison, Song Zhiyan was all the more easily drawn to the real heiress and found you utterly repulsive, refusing to interact with you in any setting.”

“New task: Approach Song Zhiyan and get him to agree to exercise with you.”

“Task reward: Masterful golf skills.”

Yu Tang hadn’t been interested in the system’s tasks, but when she heard the reward, her eyes lit up at once.

This was just what she needed—her very own timely savior. She desperately needed some golf skills right now.

With her mind made up, Yu Tang abandoned the video, pulled up her pants, and strode out the door.

As she washed her hands, she placed her phone on the sink. The page with “What beginners need to know for their first round of golf” was still open, gleaming for all to see.

Just then, someone emerged from the men’s room opposite.

It was Lin Shi.

Lin Shi froze when he saw Yu Tang. Wasn’t this the woman who’d just missed the ball three times in a row? Looking at her now, wasn’t this Yu Tang from “The Little Things About Love”?

So she really wasn’t Brother Song’s wife after all!

Yu Tang stood at 168 centimeters, dressed in a windbreaker and work pants, a white T-shirt underneath, looking effortlessly cool.

The moment Lin Shi saw her face, a strange shyness crept over him. He edged closer, trying not to attract attention.

“Hello, are you Yu Tang?” Lin Shi asked, awkward yet polite. It was his first time trying to strike up a conversation with a celebrity in public.

Yu Tang immediately turned and took two cautious steps back, her vigilance instinctive, ingrained from her past life. She gave Lin Shi a quick once-over.

Once she was sure he was harmless, Yu Tang smiled. “Hello.”

When Yu Tang smiled, two faint dimples appeared at the corners of her lips, giving her a sweet, approachable air, even if the smile was only polite.

Lin Shi’s palms broke out in a sweat and his heart began to race. He didn’t dare meet her eyes, letting his gaze wander—and caught sight of her phone on the sink.

“Golf tutorial for beginners.”

Lin Shi’s mouth twitched.

Curse his wandering eyes.

No wonder she’d missed the ball three times—she clearly had no idea what she was doing.

Suddenly, Lin Shi felt his chance had come. Even if he wasn’t as good as Brother Song, his skills were nothing to scoff at. If he could get her autograph and then offer to coach her, wouldn’t that be perfect?

“My mom and sister are big fans of yours. Would you mind giving me an autograph?” he asked.

Yu Tang’s smile widened. “Of course, no problem.”

“Then, um, I’ll just go find something to write with, and I’ll come back for it!” Lin Shi stammered, flustered by her attention. With that, he hurried away.