I woke up as the Villainous Empress

39 Friend or Foe?

Fang Li’s eyes widened when she realized that before the game she had drunk water from a water bottle that wasn’t hers.

Generally, she does not drink water from a bottle that isn’t hers before any competition. However, since it was given to her by one of her trusted team members and her roommate, she did not question the authenticity of the water.

How can she not trust her teammates? They’re on the same team after all.

Now if she thinks about it, the water tasted a bit strange. It was slightly bitter and different from usual.

The difference in the taste of the water was almost negligible, which she ignored earlier. However, if she thinks about it now, it was strange indeed.

” Why? Did you remember something?” The coach asked to see her lost while thinking about something.

Fang Li ran her hand through her hair in restlessness and shook her head in denial, ” It can’t be. It must be someone else.”

” I must have lost my mind.” She mumbled in disbelief as she ran out of the stadium in her disheveled state.

She needed to confirm it. She cannot let this matter go like this.

.....

” Fang Li! Fang Li!” Her coach called her out to stop her but she could not hear any of his words.

To her, the whole world was on mute because things were already noisy and chaotic inside her head. As if the whole world were booing her for cheating at a national level competition and was stepping all over her hard work.

__

She finally comes to a halt when she finds her roommate cum best friend who was standing near the instant coffee machine outside the stadium and was getting a coffee can for herself.

She is the person who offered her the bottle of water before the match. That’s why she took the bottle without much thought and drank water from it.

Because how can she not trust the person who is closest to her and has the best relationship with her?

She wanted to ask her from whom she received the water bottle and know who spiked her drink. Because there is no way that she would have given her the water bottle if she was aware of the substances mixed in the water.

She panted heavily as she tried to catch her breath. She was breathless and was drenched in sweat after running for a while.

Her face has turned crimson and could feel her body temperature rising, making her feel even more miserable.

” Ye Lei...” She called out her name from quite a distance and was about to walk up to her when another person approached Ye Lei.

She stopped in her steps and hid behind the large pillar to see the coach of the opposing team, whose athlete lost to her in the game today approaching Ye Lei for a chat.

She pursed her lips when she realized that he is the same coach who tried to poach her to switch to his team a while ago and got very agitated when she rejected his offer and decided to continue playing for her team.

” What is this person doing here?” Fang Li wondered as she was not sure why he was hovering around Ye Lei.

Is he trying to poach her as well? She wondered.

She hid behind the pillar and tried to eavesdrop on their conversation. Did he mix something in her drink? With this thought in mind, she hid behind the pillar and tried to listen to their conversation.

**

” Well done! As we have expected, things are quite chaotic for Fang Li at the moment. Seeing the situation, it looks like the authorities are planning to investigate the authenticity of her other winning matches as well.” The coach said as he also took out another can of coffee from the machine for himself.

” If things are on our side, there are high chances that she might be banned from sports for life. And If there is no Fang Li, then the only winner will be you.” The coach said and pointed at Ye Lei with a smile who was lost in a deep thought.

” Are you sure no one will find out about it? What if she will get away with this as well? Isn’t she quite popular among the public? Do you think Fang Li will be kicked out of the team? ” She asked curiously while looking at the coach.

” Most likely. ”

After what happened today, she does not want to see the brazen and shameless expressions of Fang Li.

How can she be so arrogant in front of the reporters and authorities rather than being humble.

” After you move to our team, I will make you the captain of our team. The talent like you deserves to lead the team rather than becoming the shadow of Fang Li. I will also make sure that you will be given top-notch treatment and will win all the matches from now on.” He assured her.

” No one will call you Fang Li’s shadow anymore. Because if Fang Li won’t be here, then you will be the number one. The best athlete – Ye Lei.” The coach said, which made Ye Lei smile.

She and Fang Li joined the team almost at the same time and have been roommates since then. At first, she also enjoyed her company and learned a lot from her.

However, at one point, she realized that no matter how hard she works, she will always be second and will be treated as Fang Li’s shadow.

She does not have an identity of herself other than the best friend or roommate of Fang Li.

She was devastated to see that Fang Li was getting all the attention, meanwhile, she was pushed to the side as if she doesn’t belong here.

However, not anymore. After this, Fang Li will also realize that there are many things that she cannot achieve despite working hard.

There are many things that you cannot change with working hard.

“Thank you coach. I’ll see you later.” Ye Lei said to the coach who nodded at her and left after finishing his can of coffee.

After the coach left, Ye Lei’s smiling expressions changed and turned into cold and indifferent expressions. She looked towards the pillar where Fang Li was hiding and said in a loud and clear voice, ” Are you going to keep hiding there? You can come out now.”

Fang Li gritted her teeth and clenched her fists when she heard the casual and nonchalant tone of Ye Lei.

Does this girl feel even an ounce of shame? How can she be so bold after stabbing her in the back?

Fang Li walks out from behind the pillar and shows herself to Ye Lei.

She glowered at her with her slightly red, teary eyes and walked to her in large strides.

” Ye Lei, How dare yo-” Fang Li yelled at her and raised her hand to slap her across the face but the latter stopped her, by grabbing her wrist.

“Fang Li, be careful. Otherwise you will be charged with using physical violence along with cheating in the competition as well. Then you will be suspended right away from the sports.” Ye Lei said in a calm voice as she watched the desperate and miserable condition of Fang Li.

She was feeling pleased to see her being tormented. She was tired of seeing her happy and smiling in front of the cameras.

It’s high time that she will also feel the pain that she was going through all this long.

Fang Li gritted her teeth and wanted to kick her in the abdomen. However, she was right.

She was already at the point of getting banned by the authorities. She cannot afford to be charged with another violation of rules.

“You....How can you be so confident even after doing this to me? Weren’t you my friend? How can you betray me like this? How?” Fang Li screamed while the tears covered her face.

Ye Lei is her roommate. She must be aware how hard she worked all this while to reach this point of success in her career.

Even after knowing all of this, how can she betray her? HOW?

Ye Lei snickered when she heard her words, ” Friends? Who said that we were friends? Fang Li, you’re forgetting that even if we’re in the same team, we’re still competitors!”

” You can never be my friend. You were always at number one and I was at second. That’s the truth. We make friends with equals, and we were never equals.” She spotted out the feelings that she was ignoring for so long.

“You...how can you say that?” Fang Li was devastated when she heard such cruel words. She has treated her like a friend all along yet she was thinking of her as her competitor.

Even if she treated her as a competitor, does she really have to ruin her life like this?

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