Ye Qingxue almost coughed up blood when she saw the news on the Quancheng Cup's official website.
The first thing she did was contact the principal of No. 3 High School, asking him to reach out to the Quancheng Cup's website to demand they remove those trending topics.
The principal of No. 3 High School obediently complied.
But the key problem was, while the principal of No. 3 High School was cooperative, the organizers of the Quancheng Cup were not so compliant.
In fact, the reason why Lu Wu's team and Ye Qingxue's situation escalated so quickly was because the organizers were fanning the flames behind the scenes.
After all, the Quancheng Cup was not just a warm-up match for high school leagues but also a huge commercial event.
When it comes to commercial interests, the simplest thing can become complicated.
Of course, the situation with Lu Wu wasn't overly complex either.
It was simply that the organizers saw a profitable opportunity in the buzz, thinking it could draw a lot of attention to the game if handled well.
This was a real benefit.
In the face of benefits, there was no way they would remove the trending topics just because you asked.
The organizers did something even more ruthless. Not only did they refuse to remove the topics, they turned around and sold out No. 3 High School and Ye Qingxue together.
Quickly, reports like "Reflection: No. 3 High School Principal Calls Late-Night to Request Removal of Related Information" started to surface, further igniting the topic.
What the organizers did was a massive pitfall for both No. 3 High School and Ye Qingxue.
...
Late at night, in the principal's office of No. 3 High School, the principal, with his head bowed, called Ye Qingxue: "Mr. Ye, what do we do now?"
There was no response from Ye Qingxue on the other end of the line, just the sound of heavy breathing.
The principal knew very well that Ye Qingxue was trying hard to suppress her anger.
It was clear that Ye Qingxue was not in a good mood, which made the principal sweat uncontrollably.
"Um, how about I contact Lu Wu and ask them to come forward to clarify, or simply ask them to withdraw from the competition?
As long as they back out, the heat of this matter will surely die down."
The principal's idea wasn't bad, but Ye Qingxue didn't want to use it. She couldn't swallow her pride.
"No need, don't they want to see this so-called battle of fate?
Don't they want to see how this dark horse beats my students and slaps me in the face?
Then let them see!
I also want to see how these three little fish think they can defeat my students trained by Ye Qingxue."
Ye Qingxue's response gave the principal of No. 3 High School a huge headache.
He really didn't agree with Ye Qingxue's way of handling the situation. In this kind of matter, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Moreover, with so many of Ye Qingxue's students, how could they ensure every team could withstand Lu Wu and his two buddies?
What if one team got defeated? That wouldn't just be a slap in the face for Ye Qingxue, but also for No. 3 High School.
But his opposition was useless; Ye Qingxue didn't give him the opportunity to object either.
By now, she had already hung up the phone.
The principal had no choice but to sit there, tugging at his already thinning hair, lost in thought.
One has to say, the principal did deserve his position. Although he was timid in front of Ye Qingxue, balding, with a big belly, and somewhat oily, he was still an educated man.
Soon, No. 3 High School released a particularly formal and diplomatic statement on their official social media account.
In the matter at hand, No. 3 High School didn't blatantly take Ye Qingxue's side.
It merely stated that Ye Qingxue's decision to kick Hao Zhijian out of the honors class was a pedagogical issue, and stressed that No. 3 High School did not abandon Lu Wu's team because of this.
It also mentioned how much support No. 3 High School had provided Lu Wu's team during their growth.
Then it brought up Li Chun, saying Li Chun was the teacher assigned to Lu Wu's team.
It also hinted at the educational philosophy differences between Li Chun and Ye Qingxue.
Most of the statement was aimed at clearing No. 3 High School and Ye Qingxue's name.
It downplayed Ye Qingxue's decision to dismiss Hao Zhijian, and portrayed Lu Wu's team as a product of No. 3 High School's specialized education.
Then, it concluded by expressing how happy Ye Qingxue was to see Lu Wu's excellent performance in the competition, hoping for a fair, just, and open battle between Lu Wu's team and her ace team.
After reading the statement, Lu Wu couldn't help but marvel.
It was the first time he realized he had underestimated this seemingly submissive principal in front of Ye Qingxue.
He thought the principal was an imbecile, but it turned out he was a cunning old fox.
The statement effortlessly downplayed the conflict between Lu Wu and Ye Qingxue, framing it as a difference in teaching philosophies between two excellent teachers.
With this statement, regardless of the outcome of the battle between Lu Wu's team and Ye Qingxue, it wouldn't harm No. 3 High School's reputation. In fact, the school might even gain some momentum, attracting attention and laying a solid foundation for future enrollments.
However, the average bystander didn't care about these details.
What they cared about was whether there was more drama to watch, whether the fight would go on.
Once they confirmed the battle was still happening and there was more drama to watch, they were quite happy.
The onlookers were happy, and so were the organizers of the Quancheng Cup.
The fight would continue, which was great news for them.
They had feared that No. 3 High School would defuse the hype.
Now that the battle was guaranteed, the organizers were elated. They began to guide the public opinion, steering the battle towards a positive energy narrative.
Of course, they also made sure to fan the flames, maintaining the heat of the topic.
This made No. 3 High School very happy as well. A single statement had pleased all three parties.
If there was anyone unhappy about this matter, it was Lu Wu.
First, he didn't expect things to develop to this extent in just one day.
Now, everyone following the Quancheng Cup was eagerly anticipating the impending battle.
If they lost under such public scrutiny, it would be incredibly embarrassing.
Lu Wu did have fans, though there were only about ten or so. Still, he cared about his public image.
He feared that if he lost, his fans would desert him.
Well, Lu Wu's worry was somewhat unnecessary. He didn't even need to lose; his fans were already beginning to desert him.
After Lu Wu's match in the morning, the fan group the girls had created for him peaked at 12 members. Once they discovered he had a girlfriend, 10 promptly left, leaving only Cheng Qingqing and her teammates to hang on.