Bai Tao glanced at the sparring partner ad again.
‘Come to think of it, only F5 could be so lavish with their money.’
‘She didn’t really care who the client was, as long as it wasn’t Si Hansu.’
‘After all, she was currently disguised as a boy.’
‘That guy…
he seemed so rigid and by-the-book.
Not the type she was good at dealing with.’
BUZZ BUZZ.
An official post popped up.
[Notice of the Final Plan for the Heslington Freshmen Ball.]
[Time: 9/19.
Theme: Starry Sea Gyre Masquerade.
Dress Code: Midnight Blue.]
Less than a minute after it was posted, the comment section was already flooded with 99+ messages.
The Heslington freshmen ball was the event of the year.
Social media outlets from around the world would kill for an interview slot.
More importantly, it was one of the few opportunities to see the famous F5 in person.
A highly upvoted comment drifted by.
[Heard from the upperclassmen that there’s a social dance at the end of the freshmen ball.]
[And there’s an unwritten rule that “a gentleman cannot refuse a lady’s invitation”?]
[Does that mean even someone as cold and heartless as Chairman Si might actually agree to dance with the person who asks him?]
Oh?
‘Now that’s interesting information.’
Bai Tao’s brow furrowed slightly.
But the Heslington freshmen ball wasn’t open to scholarship students.
Even among the nobility, only those of a certain rank received an invitation.
Furthermore, the perimeter was guarded by the Si Family’s 200 most elite security personnel.
Not even a fly could get in.
According to rumor, a scholarship student snuck in last year disguised as a member of the catering staff.
They were caught red-handed by Si Hansu the moment they stepped out of the food prep area.
With no room for negotiation, the student received an expulsion notice the very next day and had to pack their bags and be gone within the hour.
‘In other words, the risk was extremely high.’
‘But the comments said you could dance with F5…’
‘This was a great chance to turn up the heat, and she didn’t want to miss it.’
‘So, that raised a few questions:’
‘How would she get in?
What about the custom-tailored suit?
And if Si Hansu caught her, how would she escape?’
‘Si Hansu wasn’t as easy to fool as Jing Wang.’
The car slowed to a stop, briefly interrupting Bai Tao’s train of thought.
Besides her, there were four other people here for the interview.
Every one of them was built like a brick shithouse, with arms that looked thicker than her head.
‘Compared to them, she really did look like a bean sprout.’
‘But she wasn’t intimidated.’
‘In her original world, she trained every day with brutes who weighed more than twice what she did.’
‘If you couldn’t win, you didn’t eat.’
‘These guys, who had probably never even taken a life, weren’t worthy of being her opponents.’
“I’m Wang Chang, the one in charge of this interview.”
A flicker of astonishment was clear in Wang Chang’s eyes when he saw her.
He said uncertainly, “Tao… Bai?”
Bai Tao deepened her voice and gave a slight cough.
“That’s me.”
Wang Chang pulled out his phone.
“I’ll reimburse you for your travel fare.
You can go home.”
Bai Tao chuckled dryly.
‘She’d been judged on her looks before, but this was the first time she was being judged on the size of her biceps.’
‘At a time like this, words were useless.’
‘She needed an opportunity.’
‘An opportunity to show the man in charge what she could do firsthand.’
Bai Tao pushed down Wang Chang’s phone.
“With all due respect, muscles like that are all for show.”
“In judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, technique is what really matters.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the four men.
“I doubt they’re better fighters than me.”
“If you don’t believe me, let them have a go right now.”
The corners of the four men’s mouths twitched behind her.
‘We maintain a low body fat percentage year-round, all of us are pure muscle, and now some sissy is looking down on us?’
One of them, the one with the worst temper, stepped forward and started cursing.
“You damn sissy!
You haven’t even grown hair on your balls yet, what the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m going to teach you the difference between you and me today!”
The second the words left his mouth, he lunged.
Without even turning her head, Bai Tao tracked his shadow on the ground, unerringly grabbed his arm, and flipped him onto the floor with a perfect shoulder throw.
With a sickening CRACK, the man let out a blood-curdling scream.
“Thank you.
I now recognize the difference between us.”
Bai Tao dusted off her hands.
“His arm’s dislocated, so he can’t use it anymore.
You can go ahead and send him that cab fare.”
Wang Chang was dumbfounded.
He quickly had the large man carried away, then made an “after you” gesture.
“Will the four gentlemen please follow me.”
After entering the Yunpo Mansion estate, they still had to take a winding shuttle cart ride before arriving at a building composed of only three colors: black, white, and gray.
The four of them followed Wang Chang to an indoor, temperature-controlled swimming pool.
In the center of the pool, a tall figure dove off the starting block, swimming underwater at incredible speed before switching to a powerful freestyle.
Combined with his healthy, tanned skin, he looked more perfect than a classical Greek statue.
The man swam a full lap and surfaced.
Water obediently traced the contours of his muscles, flowing past his defined V-lines and dripping onto the tiled floor.
Vaguely, Bai Tao could see a tattoo at the juncture where his external obliques disappeared into the depths of his swim trunks.
Half-seen, half-hidden, it looked incredibly sensual.
He took off his swim cap and goggles, shrugged on a bathrobe, tied it loosely, and toweled the water from his face.
The man’s irises were a deeper black than most.
To meet his gaze for even a second was to be pulled into a dark undertow, dragged twenty thousand leagues under the sea.
His phoenix eyes tilted up slightly at the corners.
His double eyelids were thin and narrow, fanning out only at the very ends.
He slicked his wet hair back from his forehead, revealing a flawless brow.
A beauty mark on the tip of his nose was the captivating focal point of his face.
Bai Tao swallowed.
‘Without his glasses, the wildness and aggression in his eyes were on full display.’
‘She almost didn’t recognize him.’
‘She truly never expected the client to be Si Hansu!’
‘Speak of the devil.’
“Young Master Si, these are the four candidates here to apply for the position of your kickboxing sparring partner.”
Wang Chang stepped forward and respectfully handed the list to Si Hansu.
‘Bai Tao’s mind raced.
Only two words echoed in her head: “Salary Negotiable.”‘
‘She thought she now knew how to get into the freshmen ball.’
But—
‘There was a more pressing problem.’
‘Would he see through her disguise?’
A piercing gaze swept over Bai Tao.
It felt as if it could see right through her.
Compared to the Si Hansu from the school cafeteria, this one seemed far more dangerous.
A stray drop of water trickled down the smooth lines of his face, landing on his solid chest.
He approached, step by step, his wet feet squelching on the tile floor.
Finally, he stopped right in front of her.
“Look up.”