Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism
Chapter 62 Always A Gentleman, Always Proud

In her previous life, Violeta barely scraped by as a stunt double on set.

One scorching day during her lunch break, she bought a popsicle and sat under a tree to enjoy it.

As she savored the treat, she suddenly heard a loud noise from behind the wall. Intrigued, she looked over and saw a man collapsing from heatstroke.

Violeta immediately carried him to a shaded area, cooled him down, and gave him water. Then she hurried to the crew to seek help.

To her surprise, when she returned with the medical staff from the crew, he had already vanished.

They crossed paths again at Zelena's press conference for her new drama.

Archer, the main investor in the drama, personally appeared to support and promote Zelena. He also presented her with lavish gifts, causing envy among others.

At that time, the entire internet was speculating that Archer had a secret crush on Zelena and willingly served as her backup!

Zelena clarified that they were just good friends who had known each other since their student days and had an instant connection.

Violeta never saw Archer again after that and naturally had no further interaction with him.

However, she often learned from the internet that Zelena could always secure investments from the Barnett Group for almost every drama she participated in. Netizens jokingly referred to her as the Barnett Group's favorite.

Although she didn't know the specifics, she remembered Archer's face.

She didn't expect to encounter him so soon in this life. It seemed that Zelena must have met Archer at this league event!

"Vio! Vio, what are you thinking about? Did you hear what I just said?"

Kaylee snapped Violeta out of her daydream.

Violeta blinked her eyelashes as she unscrewed the cap of her mineral water bottle and took a sip.

"Kay, what did you just say?"

Kaylee looked at her helplessly. "How can you still be distracted at this crucial moment? Look at the few girls behind Archer, they are our biggest rivals in this competition! They are famous twin athletes from the sports institute, and they are very strong!"

Violeta glanced indifferently at the two short-haired, tall girls standing behind Archer.

"Oh."

Kaylee was shocked!

"That's it? But they are really strong!!!"

Violeta patted Kaylee's shoulder and reassured her, "Don't worry, we will definitely win! I promise!" Kaylee was taken aback.

As she looked at Violeta's smiling face, she also felt a surge of fighting spirit in her heart!

...

Archer led the team to face Nolan.

Several members behind Nolan also held tennis rackets and stared at them with hostility.

"Oh, you have a strong fighting spirit." Archer patted Nolan's shoulder and chuckled. "Don't disappoint me." Nolan remained expressionless.

"Don't be too proud, Archer. Last year, you were defeated."

Archer shifted his gaze from Nolan's face to the person behind him and smirked with a hint of arrogance.

"We were defeated? Haha, we simply bent the rules. You may have won the game, but you were humiliated. How about it? Last year, you should have spent a month in the hospital, right? Hahahahaha... These individuals from the sports institute weren't just playing a fair game; they were playing dirty.

"1

Every time they attacked, they disregarded the rules and targeted their opponents. So after a game, the injuries weren't immediately apparent, but when they returned home at night, their faces were bruised and swollen.

However, they still wanted to proudly accept the trophy in front of the cameras, so they couldn't show any weakness. They could only endure the pain and complain about it on their way back. Kaylee said, "They are so thuggish. Their style of play is similar to when you played against Zelena!"

Ah, isn't she also implying that I play aggressively?

Violeta blinked, "Huh? Are you saying I'm aggressive?"

Kaylee nervously smiled.

"Vio, let's just forget what I said."

Violeta narrowed her eyes and smiled mischievously, like a playful cat.

"They're not the only ones who can play dirty."

The qualifications of this group of players from the sports institute should have been revoked, but Archer's family had a lot of influence. As long as Archer remained at the school, they were able to continue participating in the competition.

If these individuals from the sports institute are aggressive, then Archer is the leader of the aggressors.

Upon hearing Archer's words, everyone became furious!

They tightly gripped their rackets, suppressing their anger.

In that moment, Archer caught a glimpse of the two individuals sitting on the bench next to him. His gaze lightly swept over and he noticed Violeta.

Violeta met his gaze fearlessly.

On the other hand, Kaylee was sweating in her palms. "Oh no, why is he looking at us like that? Is he annoyed that we're going to fight?"

Not only was Violeta unafraid of Archer's gaze, but she also waved the tennis racket in her hand at him.

Why are you staring? In a previous life, I even saved your life!

Archer slowly averted his gaze and left with his group.

"What's wrong, Archer?"

"It's nothing, that woman sitting in the corner is peculiar."

Archer had never seen Violeta before and didn't know her.

But why did he feel like Violeta was looking at him with a familiar gaze when their eyes met? It was as if they had known each other before.

The match started promptly.

The second match was the women's doubles.

Violeta and Kaylee stood up to warm up.

Zelena, who was on the side distributing water and towels, noticed that Violeta and Kaylee were getting ready to move around. She looked at their shoes and secretly thought to herself, Go ahead, move around, you'll know what excruciating pain feels like when you step on the court later!

Zelena felt a secret delight!

Because she had placed thumbtacks in Violeta's heels beforehand. The tacks were not long enough to pierce the insoles during normal walking, but when jumping on the court, the pressure on the landing would be different from normal walking.

As soon as she jumped, she would step hard on the thumbtacks!

By then...

Just the thought of Violeta's face turning pale from the pain made Zelena very happy!

She couldn't help but start humming a song while handing out water.

...

Warm-up was complete.

Waiting for the announcement, Violeta and Kaylee took their rackets and stepped onto the court.

Violeta's pink violet-colored racket was truly eye-catching, attracting all the attention as soon as she stepped onto the court.

"If I'm not mistaken, that seems to be AH's limited edition!"

"Archer, don't you also have a pair? It seems that these women from Toland University have quite a background and they look good too."

Archer, sitting with his legs crossed, narrowed his eyes and continued to watch Violeta on the big screen.

Beside him, Hazel, one of the twins, sneered. "Hmph, what's the use of being good-looking? It's only useful if you have the skills! I hope she can win the match this afternoon. Watch me and sis crush them!" "Ah? Hahaha, Hazel, you always have such possessive desires for Archer, hahaha..."

Everyone in the sports school knew that Hazel, one of the twins, had always had a crush on Archer.

Although Archer had a carefree demeanor, he never got involved with women.

No matter how many times Hazel confessed, he rejected her every time.

He had never been violent towards women, and naturally, he had never taken anyone seriously.