Chapter 33: The Four-Leaf Clover Pendant

Page 1 of 3

After taking care of his leave request, Jiang Hong returned to the dormitory.

For some time, he had already been preparing to officially enter the professional circuit.

Although training could earn him a prize of one or two hundred yuan, that was nowhere near enough to support him traveling all over the world to compete.

For the time being, therefore, his target was the tournaments held within the country.

He had recently applied for a passport and registered as a professional player with the International Tennis Federation.

There were no particular requirements for registration. Anyone who wanted to register could do so, since an annual fee had to be paid anyway.

The greatest advantage was the freedom it offered. There was no need to go through various reviews and examinations.

In addition, each tournament required a seven-dollar event service fee.

Jiang Hong was not exactly wealthy, but he could still afford that much.

According to the information he had gathered during this period, there were not many Futures tournaments being held domestically. Counting them all, there were only seven stops.

The first was in Tianjin, while the second and third were both in Beijing. Those three tournaments had already taken place.

That left Jiang Hong with the two tournaments in Shanghai, as well as the events in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Unfortunately, the Guangzhou and Shenzhen tournaments overlapped, so he would have to choose between them.

At most, Jiang Hong could therefore participate in three tournaments.

The Shanghai Futures event he was about to enter was an ITF 10K tournament, and the entry fee was 270 yuan.

As a newcomer with no previous results, Jiang Hong naturally had to start in the qualifying rounds.

There were thirty-two places in the main draw. Twenty-eight players, including direct entrants and wild cards, would advance straight into it.

The remaining four spots would be decided through two rounds of qualifying.

Once a player made it past the first round of the main draw, he would earn one ranking point and officially receive a world ranking.

Jiang Hong’s goal was to reach at least the semifinals and claim six points.

Of course, his ultimate goal went without saying.

Once he stepped onto the court, there could be only one objective.

Victory.

As long as he earned ranking points, Jiang Hong would no longer have to worry about being unable to enter tournaments.

The reason he had managed to get into qualifying this time was largely a matter of luck.

The Beijing tournament, which had been held shortly beforehand, had just ended. Many domestic players had yet to recover and had not entered this event, allowing Jiang Hong to slip through the gap.

Back in the dormitory, Jiang Hong began packing his luggage.

Li Hua looked puzzled by the sight.

“Old Jiang, why are you suddenly pulling out your suitcase?”

“I’m heading out for a while!”

Jiang Hong shrugged and answered casually.

In an instant, Li Hua stared at him in astonishment.

He turned to look at Jiang Hong.

“Old Jiang, you’ve already been skipping class and having the time of your life. Now you’re actually planning to take your suitcase on a trip?”

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

Then he immediately put on a serious expression.

“Old Jiang, I know you like tennis, but you can’t let it interfere with your studies. If the teachers find out, you could get penalized!”

Touched by Li Hua’s concern, Jiang Hong let out a laugh.

“Relax. I already asked our counselor for leave. I’m going to Shanghai to play in an ITF 10K tournament!”

Li Hua blinked.

Smack!

He suddenly slapped himself across the face.

Jiang Hong was startled by the unexpected act of self-harm and hurriedly seized his hand to stop him.

“Hua, don’t do that!”

Li Hua was not quite passionate enough about tennis to call himself a fanatic, but he was still a member of the tennis club.

He knew a fair bit about the sport.

He understood that an ITF 10K tournament was the lowest level of professional tennis competition.

Before this, he had assumed Jiang Hong was merely talking big.

He had never expected Jiang Hong actually to enter a tournament.

“Hiss!”

Li Hua had not held back when he struck himself, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

Rubbing his cheek, he muttered under his breath, “No, this hurts too much. I’m not dreaming.”

Then he turned toward Jiang Hong.

“Old Jiang, you’re really going to compete?”

“That’s right!”

Jiang Hong nodded firmly.

Li Hua admired him a little.

Jiang Hong had gone from wild fantasy to actually taking the first step. Whether he succeeded or failed, that alone was worthy of respect.

“Old Jiang, when are you leaving? I’ll give you a send-off later!” Li Hua suddenly thumped his chest and declared grandly.

Jiang Hong had never imagined that this stingy miser would actually be willing to spend money.

“Forget it. I’m leaving soon. When I come back, we’ll celebrate together!”

Li Hua wanted to mock Jiang Hong for his confidence, but then he remembered that Jiang Hong was about to compete and that saying anything inauspicious would be bad luck.

He immediately nodded and said with a smile, “Fine. But if your results are poor, don’t expect me to treat you!”

Jiang Hong joked, “For the sake of that meal alone, I’ll have to get a good result!”

Afterward, Jiang Hong finished packing.

Li Hua insisted on accompanying him all the way to the school gate.

“All right, Hua. You can head back now!”

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

Li Hua gave a sly little laugh.

“Heh heh. I never planned to walk you all the way to the train station anyway!”

The corner of Jiang Hong’s mouth twitched, and he rolled his eyes.

What an irritating bastard.

Just then, Jiang Hong’s phone suddenly rang.

He took it out and glanced at the screen. The caller ID read “Su Cheng.”

“Heh heh, a pretty girl is calling you. You’d better answer, or she’ll get impatient!” Li Hua leaned over for a look and then spoke in a deliberately lecherous tone.

Jiang Hong rolled his eyes and ignored him before answering the call.

“Hello, Orange?”

“Jiang Hong, when are you leaving?”

Su Cheng skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point.

“I’m about to leave now. I’m waiting for the bus at the school gate,” Jiang Hong replied.

“Wait for me!”

Jiang Hong had just been about to tell her there was no need to come when the call was already disconnected.

“Old Jiang, a beautiful girl is coming to see you off. Am I getting in the way?” Li Hua said sourly.

They had agreed that they would all remain single, yet Jiang Hong had betrayed the organization.

Jiang Hong shot him a glance and said irritably, “At least you know your place.”

Li Hua was nearly choked speechless, but he quickly declared righteously, “Then I can’t leave. Who knows what beastly thing you might do?”

Before long, Su Cheng came running out from the school.

She reached up and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Then she suddenly took a small four-leaf clover pendant, knitted from yarn, out of her pocket.

“This yarn was left over from a sweater I knitted before, so I made this little thing with it. I read online that four-leaf clovers symbolize good luck. If you want it, take it. If you don’t, forget it!”

Seeing the coy expression on Su Cheng’s face, Jiang Hong laughed.

“Of course I want it. I’ll hang it on my racket bag later. Hopefully it’ll bring me some luck and keep me from drawing the top seed in the first round!”

He took the four-leaf clover pendant from her with a grin.

He had to admit, Su Cheng was quite skillful with her hands. The pendant looked very finely made.

At his words, the corners of Su Cheng’s lips curved upward.

Hiss!

A bus suddenly pulled up to the stop.

Jiang Hong glanced at it and saw that it was the one he needed to take.

He picked up his suitcase and waved to the two of them.

“All right, I’m off!”

“Good luck in the tournament!”

“Call if anything happens!”

Under the gazes of Su Cheng and Li Hua, Jiang Hong embarked on his journey into professional tennis.

Page 3 of 3