"Yes."
Many of the students she encountered only used the pretext of learning tennis to fish for her personal information.
This was the first time she had ever met someone who got straight to the point and asked if he could take lessons.
It came as a bit of a surprise to her.
"What is your name, sir?"
"Lin Chu. Lin as in double trees, Chu as in the Chu River."
"Alright, Mr. Lin. Have you had any prior experience with tennis?"
"None. This is my first time trying to learn tennis."
Lin Chu shook his head and answered truthfully.
Given his past circumstances, how could he have ever afforded it?
Just the court fees alone meant he had to work two days just to afford one hour of play.
"Alright."
Looking at Lin Chu's physique, he didn't look like someone who exercised regularly. He was probably just doing it on a whim for the novelty. After all, domestic tennis players had won their first-ever gold medals at the Olympics this year, sparking quite a tennis craze lately. There were no shortage of people jumping on the bandwagon.
Even so, Tang Manrou still patiently explained the basics of tennis to Lin Chu, covering things like the rules of service, ball landing spots, and grip styles.
After a round of warm-up exercises, the two of them chose a red clay tennis court, and Lin Chu began his most basic feeding and hitting practice with her.
Before this, he had already used a Quick Learning Card, so the knowledge that Tang Manrou taught—which would normally take ordinary people several days to memorize and master—was completely assimilated by him through just a few rounds of practical drills.
This strong feedback loop quickly immersed Lin Chu in the sport of tennis.
"Not bad, Mr. Lin. Your learning ability is very strong..."
"Are you really learning tennis for the very first time?"
Tang Manrou raised an eyebrow, looking surprised.
She had taught quite a few students, but she had rarely encountered someone of Lin Chu's age with such a strong capacity to learn.
Generally speaking, adolescence was the optimal age for learning tennis. Even Tang Manrou had started practicing from elementary school until she was exceptionally admitted to university and entered the national team.
Lin Chu obviously fell outside this age bracket, yet his comprehension skills far exceeded her own back when she was hailed as a genius girl.
"It really is my first time. But could it be... that Coach Tang is just an exceptional teacher?"
Lin Chu wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled as he spoke. Having not exercised in a long time, his physical stamina was struggling to keep up.
"How am I that amazing?"
Though she practiced false modesty after being complimented by such a talented student, Tang Manrou felt an inexplicable sense of achievement in her heart.
She was well aware that most students like Lin Chu were driven by lust, coming entirely for her looks and figure. That sort of situation was hardly uncommon. They usually used the excuse of buying lessons or taking classes to get her contact information, and occasionally harassed her at night, which drove her crazy.
Yet when it came to Lin Chu, her current impression of him was quite favorable. Perhaps this was akin to a teacher's appreciation for a "star pupil"?
"Favorability +10!"
Soon, the one-hour trial lesson was over. Lin Chu had rapidly mastered what normally took an ordinary person a full week to learn in an introductory tennis course.
He sat in the rest area, drinking a cup of Calming Sleep Tea to recover the large amount of stamina he had expended.
"Mr. Lin, you are the fastest learner I've ever seen. You have a lot of talent."
"If you had started practicing from a young age, you might have even become an incredible professional player."
With a hint of lingering regret, Tang Manrou bent down and handed him a towel.
As Lin Chu took the towel from her hand, he accidentally caught a glimpse of a tantalizing flash of cleavage beneath her athletic tank top.
Good grief!
This figure was simply invincible. To be honest, his focus had been entirely on the tennis ball earlier, and he hadn't really paid attention to those two magnificent assets...
Was this the sheer concentration brought by the Quick Learning Card? Terrifying!
"Cough, cough. I don't have such lofty goals. At most, I'm just here to stay in shape."
Suppressing the stirring in his heart, he said with a slight trace of embarrassment.
"Is that so... Well, that's not bad either!"
Tang Manrou's gaze dimmed a little. If she hadn't retired from the national team, and if not for some family changes that made it impossible to continue supporting her pursuit of international competitions, she would never have lowered herself to become a coach at this club—only to be subjected to harassment by certain people from time to time.
She had long since grown weary of this lifestyle.
Actually, when she was practicing with Lin Chu just now, she caught a glimpse of her former self, and it had reignited her drive!
Once she earned enough money, she would go back and chase her old goals!
"Well, Coach Tang, after taking your class, I feel the experience was quite good."
"Thank you for your affirmation, Mr. Lin. However, my hourly rate is relatively high, and trial lessons are charged at half the normal rate..."
"You should probably think it over carefully before making a decision."
Tang Manrou offered a polite smile.
"Okay, then I'll just buy 100 lessons to start with?"
After finishing his tea, Lin Chu stood up and walked over to the front desk.
"I'd like to buy 100 private lessons with Coach Tang."
"Alright... Coach Tang's private lessons... Wait, 100 sessions?"
The receptionist thought she had misheard, and only after confirming it with Lin Chu a second time did she gasp sharply.
One hundred lessons amounted to 300,000!
Although this tennis club was not lacking in wealthy patrons, this was the first time she had ever encountered someone buying so many lessons after just a one-hour trial.
"Hold on, Mr. Lin... 100 sessions?"
Even Tang Manrou, the person directly involved, stood frozen for a long time.
Plenty of men pursued her, and many of them were wealthy second-generation heirs. But those rich guys were extremely calculating and would at most buy a few sessions to test the waters. If they couldn't get what they wanted after half a day, they would slink away in disappointment.
Yet he came out of the gate buying a hundred sessions?
She even thought he was joking with her until she saw the POS terminal clatter out the printed receipt.
Only then did she realize it was all real!
Those one hundred lessons cost 300,000. After deducting the club's commission, she would take home nearly 200,000!
Happiness arrived so suddenly that it made her heart skip a beat.
"...Mr. Lin... thank you so much!"
Even looking at Lin Chu's profile, she suddenly felt he looked quite handsome and refined.
That kind of crisp, decisive payment style was simply too cool.
"Favorability +20!"
"Don't mention it. Mostly, Coach Tang's teaching method left me very satisfied."
Watching the favorability points jump above Tang Manrou's head, Lin Chu said calmly.
To be honest, he had indeed gone in primarily for Tang Manrou's figure and face. After all, men will be men. But after experiencing a full lesson, he found that her skill and teaching style were genuinely top-notch. With such a tennis coach, combined with the power of the learning card, his Health Value would probably see a massive boost!
That was the main reason he finally decided to buy her lessons.
"Ding! The host's course purchase fee will be fully reimbursed by the system!"
"The funds have been transferred to your account, please check!"
Besides, since all of this was being fully reimbursed by the almighty system, why wouldn't he?