Chapter 79: Chapter 79

The girl’s name was Sarah Jung. Within the table tennis club, she and David were basically cut from the same cloth. The two of them despised Casper.

The rest who were standing around David and Sarah were members of the table tennis club, just like Casper.

Casper kept a low profile on purpose. The school did not deliberately publicize the donation the other day, so naturally, not many people knew about it. Even if someone did, at best it would only be talked about for several days.

A week had passed since then. Only a handful of people still remembered what happened.

“Forget it. We’ll begin practice now. As usual, your job is to pick up the balls for us.”

Sarah chose to ignore Casper. Instead, she turned around to speak to the other club members.

“Everyone, we’ll be practicing the basics today. And we have a ball boy now. So, let’s not waste any more time and start your training.”

“Good!”

“Ready!”

Most of them were on Sarah’s side, so by default they were largely disinterested in Casper. He was only a ball boy to them.

“This place is cluttered. You better not lose any of the balls. They are all of Double Happiness brand, just so you know. You lose one, you pay back with your lunch money. Got it?” David glared at Casper as he spoke, brimming with irritation. He hated the sight of the poor bum.

He did, however, have a crush on Sarah, and he kept pursuing her every chance he got, but she totally ignored his advances.

In David’s view, someone as poor as Casper should not have joined the table tennis club in the first place. That guy practically dragged down their financial capacity and ruined the image of their little club.

If it had not been for the fact that they really needed someone to look for the scattered balls, David actually considered finding ways to kick Casper out of his club.

When everyone paired up and began their practice, Casper sat down on a stool nearby.

“How did you become their ball boy anyway? Why don’t you get up there and play? As far as I know, table tennis requires lots of practice.”

Just when Casper was taking a rest, enjoying the cool air that the indoor court had to offer, a girl approached him and sat down on his left. She spoke to him first.

Casper had never seen her before. He could discern that she was not a member of the table tennis club. All he knew was that she came with Sarah, so she was probably Sarah’s friend.

The new girl was rather good-looking. She wore a light yellow sports top and a pair of black sweats to go with it, matched with a pair of Converse shoes. The top complemented her fair skin very well. And when she smiled, grinning from ear to ear, it was an amicable one.

“Oh, him? He doesn’t know how to play. It’ll be a waste of time if we let him, so he’s better off being our ball boy. Besides, each of us has to pay the venue fee to use the stadium for practice. He’s so poor that he can’t afford it, so we assign him to pick up the balls for us. It’s actually a good offer, because he gets to use the air-conditioner too.” The president inserted himself into their conversation while using his paddle as a fan.

He spoke with the tone of an oppressor, one filled with contempt toward Casper, as though that was the only way for him to feel good about himself.

In his opinion, being poor was a sin.

Allowing someone like Casper to enjoy the air-conditioner was considered a form of mercy.

“He can learn, can’t he? Isn’t that how everyone starts off?” The girl frowned as she jumped to Casper’s defense.

“You want to let him practice? That’s kind of you, really, but the venue fee’s not cheap. One session would cost him his lunch money. He’ll have to skip a meal every time he gets to play.”

David raised his head high and boasted with an air of superiority. “I don’t know what he’s thinking when he chose to join our noble table tennis club. A paddle costs at least two hundred. Do you think he can afford one? What a joke! I’m not being mean, just stating the facts.”

As though to prove a point, and to show off, David stopped fanning himself and showed them his paddle. “See, mine costs one thousand five. Table tennis is an expensive sport. It’s not at all like what people say, that you can just play with two simple paddles.”

David somehow seemed to have given himself a confidence boost with that show he put on.

Table tennis was supposed to be a sport where everyone could play, but the way he described it made it sound like a game for the elites.

But Casper knew that David’s table tennis skills were nothing to talk about. He only became president because his family had the financial means to get the position for him.

David greedily drank in the new girl’s beauty as he admired her through his small, narrow eyes. “Hi, I’m the president of the table tennis club here. My name’s David. You came here with Sarah, right? Nice to meet you. Care to play?”

“No, thank you,” Sarah politely rejected him. “I don’t play table tennis. My name’s Rosaline Sanders.

Yes, I’m Sarah’s friend, but I’m from BU.”

David hyped up upon hearing that. His eyes lit up like a lamp. “That’s alright. You can learn to play the game. Look, there’s a free table over there. I can even teach you personally. You’ll get the hang of it in no time.”

Eager to please, he got his other paddle and showed it to Rosaline too. “Here, you can use my other one. I guarantee you can learn very quickly.”

“No, really. There’s no need. I’ll just watch.” Rosaline waved her hand dismissively, making it clear that she was not interested.

Then she turned to Casper again. “Oh, excuse me. I haven’t asked for your name.”

“He’s Casper. The pitiful, poor kid on the block.” David cut in again before Casper could answer for himself.

Since he could not have Sarah, he could try to woo Rosaline. Either way, he had nothing to lose.

But when he saw Rosaline striking a conversation with Casper, his fury caught up with him, and he wanted so badly to beat up the younger man.

“I’m Rosaline Sanders, from Horington Polytechnic University. Pleased to meet you.”

Rosaline deliberately ignored David. Smiling at Casper, she suggested, “Hey, you don’t know how to play table tennis, right? Well, me too. Why don’t we learn it together when we have time?”

She looked so lovely when she smiled, especially her eyes. They were like the stars that lit up the night sky.

“You don’t have to worry about the venue fee. I can pay for your share.”

Rosaline figured Casper might feel burdened by the rent, so she added, “Or you can come to my school. Our court’s free to use.”

Casper turned to look at her.

He had to admit that Rosaline was a stunning beauty. The sunlight spilling through the glass just so happened to shine on her, highlighting her good features.

Her doe-like eyes gleamed at him, wearing a faint grin.

At such a close distance, Casper could feel the purity in those orbs. She did not have a single shred of ill will toward him at all.