After Zhou Jingze said this, Gao Yang’s expression changed completely. Xu Sui thought he really wanted his clothes back and hurriedly looked around for them. His jacket was draped over the stool, with the compressed tablets and lighter in the jacket pockets.

Xu Sui handed the items to him. Zhou Jingze took the cigarettes and lighter, raising his chin at her: “Keep the clothes with you for now.”

“Oh, okay.” Xu Sui neatly arranged the jacket on the chair again.

“Want some candy?” Zhou Jingze raised an eyebrow. Xu Sui immediately nodded, and he chuckled softly, his voice a bit husky: “Hold out your hand.”

Green mint candies clattered into her palm. Xu Sui smiled with crescent-shaped eyes as she talked with him. Gao Yang stood there feeling like pickled fish, and soon left.

Zhou Jingze continued talking with Xu Sui, catching a glimpse of Gao Yang’s departing figure from the corner of his eye, letting out a very soft cold laugh.

Soon after, the game began. With a whistle, both sides returned to their confrontational state. In the second match, Zhou Jingze continued to lead the offense, but the green team seemed to have been struck at pressure points, defending desperately.

Even so, Zhou Jingze still scored five points at the beginning.

As time went on, while maintaining strict defense, the green team broke through one of their shooters and directly intercepted the ball. After Gao Yang caught the ball, he dribbled while running, then passed it to a teammate. The teammate found the right moment to break through the defense and shoot, scoring.

The team cooperation was quite seamless.

This goal undoubtedly boosted the opposing team’s morale. In the subsequent game, the green team scattered them one by one. Zhou Jingze had always been a lone fighter, and now without his teammates’ coordination, scoring became difficult.

The cheers for the red team grew louder on the court, mostly aimed at Zhou Jingze. Xu Sui watched nervously from nearby, her heart growing anxious without realizing it.

In the latter half, the red team’s morale scattered. Relying solely on Zhou Jingze, it was usually him grabbing the ball, dribbling, and shooting. His teammates followed suit with the same style but lacked his momentum.

In the end, the red team lost to the green team with a score of 23 to 28.

One win, one loss—a tie.

The third game was crucial.

Boos filled the court, all aimed at Zhou Jingze. The opposing teammates raised their necks and gave Zhou Jingze the middle finger. Zhou Jingze leaned lazily against the steps, his black hair slightly damp at the forehead. He lifted his sharp gaze to sweep over them once, his lips curving into an incredibly punchable sneer.

He didn’t seem to care at all. He raised his hand to call over his teammates, speaking briefly: “What are each of your strengths? Speak up, let’s divide the work.”

“I’m better at intercepting and shooting,” Zhou Jingze lifted a corner of his jersey to wipe sweat from his eye corner, raising his mouth corner immodestly, “Of course, I’m good at other things too.”

The teammates reported their specialties one by one. Zhou Jingze lowered his eyelashes to think briefly, then directly laid out a strategy.

The third game officially began. Xu Sui watched Zhou Jingze dribbling and running in the distance, silently cheering him on in her heart.

When the whistle sounded, everyone was surprised, especially the green team. They thought Zhou Jingze would charge forward first to grab the ball, but instead he stood in place defending while other teammates attacked.

The green team panicked immediately, completely unsure what Zhou Jingze was planning. The red team members intercepted and shot. Though their skills weren’t as good as his, they steadily scored points.

The scores gradually caught up. In the latter half, Zhou Jingze gave his teammates a look and began exerting force. He dribbled with one hand between his legs, charged forward in one stride, leaping into the air like a robust leopard, grabbing the backboard and blocking three consecutive shots!

The entire court fell silent for a second, then erupted in thunderous cheers. The girls especially exclaimed sincerely, continuously shouting: “Holy shit, that move just now was so handsome! Best of the entire game!”

“Wuwuwuwuw, watching this got me so excited, I want to find a pilot boyfriend too,” someone said excitedly.

Her companion mercilessly exposed her: “Come on, just say directly you want to find a boyfriend like Zhou Jingze from the flight academy—185cm tall, plays games, first-rate at cello, amazing at basketball, future pilot, and a total heartthrob. How much incense would you need to burn to get such a boyfriend.”

“Wuwuwu, so envious of his future girlfriend.”

…

Xu Sui watched nervously. The sun was stifling hot, so she took a promotional flyer from the table edge to fan herself while shading her eyes with one hand to watch the game seriously.

The surrounding cheers were intense. Xu Sui watched with surging emotions, couldn’t help but shout along: “Zhou Jingze, go for it!”

“Zhou Jingze, go for it!”

While shouting, Xu Sui felt a sharp cramping pain in her lower abdomen, twisting her internal organs. She stopped, sat in the chair, placed both feet on the crossbar, and covered her abdomen with her hands, hoping to reduce the pain.

But Xu Sui felt the abdominal pain growing stronger, as if countless thin needles were rolling inside her belly. Bean-sized sweat drops fell from her forehead as she couldn’t help but curl up.

Around her were crowds of people with screams and shouts. Before her eyes was a fiery red figure running on the basketball court, white sneakers gleaming. His posture was upright, his arm muscles flowed smoothly, faster than anyone else.

He was absolutely the most beautiful player Xu Sui had ever seen on a court, so beautiful you couldn’t help but look several times.

Xu Sui clutched her stomach. Due to the pain, her eyelashes were wet, blurring her vision. The pain was too intense—Xu Sui’s whole body trembled. She could no longer support herself and stumbled to the ground.

At the same time, Zhou Jingze ran toward the red zone with the ball. The sunlight was somewhat blinding, so he habitually squinted. Just as he grabbed the ball and was about to jump, his eyes swept over and he discovered Xu Sui had somehow collapsed on the ground, with several people already gathered around her.

Zhou Jingze’s fingers holding the ball tightened. His gaze froze. Beside him were excited shouts and nearby boys watching the show mockingly said:

“Can you do it or not?”

In less than a second, Zhou Jingze threw the ball away and left the court directly. Behind him were sounds of confusion and doubt. He walked forward without looking back, jogging all the way to Xu Sui.

Zhou Jingze took her from the girls’ hands, scooped her up in his arms, and ran away from the scene. Behind them were sounds of cursing and regret directed at him.

After Zhou Jingze withdrew from the game, a substitute came in. The red team lost their leader and fell into chaos. Gao Yang led the green team to pursue victory, taking the score and ultimately winning.

The teammates cheered, running around the field with clenched fists, finally throwing Gao Yang into the air, praising: “Thanks to our captain!”

“Gao Yang, you’re really amazing. Only you can compete with Zhou Jingze.”

A peaceful smile spread across Gao Yang’s face as he enjoyed the joy of victory. But the audience gradually left, with girls throwing their support banners on the ground, complaining: “What the hell, Zhou Jingze was supposed to win.”

A few boys discussed: “Though we don’t want to admit it, Zhou Jingze is still stronger. This game was such a pity.”

“I bet 100 yuan on Zhou Jingze winning from the start, but he actually withdrew mid-game. Damn, do all awesome people have such personality?”

Hearing these discussions, Gao Yang’s smile froze on his face. Why was it that even though he clearly won, everyone thought Zhou Jingze was the real winner?

Teammate Li Sen put his hand on Gao Yang’s shoulder, squinting at the two figures in the distance: “Why do I feel that girl looks familiar?”

“You know her?” Gao Yang asked.

Li Sen slapped his forehead in surprise: “I remember now! That girl was my high school classmate, but only for half a year. She transferred away in the second half of first year.”

“Tsk tsk, she’s much prettier now, unexpectedly.” Li Sen looked thoughtful.

Gao Yang looked at Zhou Jingze’s running figure in the distance and asked: “What do you mean?”

“Ha, you don’t know. That girl in first year…” Li Sen showed a mocking smile, his tone meaningful.

…

Zhou Jingze ran carrying Xu Sui. Though Xu Sui’s consciousness was fuzzy, she could barely recognize that the person before her was Zhou Jingze. He ran very fast. Xu Sui grabbed a corner of his shirt, and due to the bumping, she occasionally knocked against his chest—very hard, yet burning hot.

All around her was his scent, sharp and intense. Xu Sui felt like her skin and blood vessels were about to explode, especially with such a prominent figure carrying her around the field—all the attention she received along the way made her even more embarrassed.

Xu Sui shifted in his broad chest, saying softly: “Put me down.”

Zhou Jingze lowered his eyelashes to glance at her—pale lips, not a trace of color on her face. Answering irrelevantly, he said in a deep voice:

“We’ll be there soon.”

“Put me down first, I can walk by myself.” Xu Sui’s tone was somewhat awkward.

Xu Sui struggled several times to no avail. Looking up, she met his deep, long eyes—emotionless and very cold. Zhou Jingze bounced her up in his arms. His jawline was sharp and cold as he remained silent for a while, then called her full name:

“Xu Sui, don’t talk right now.”

He seemed a bit angry, so Xu Sui didn’t dare speak anymore.

Not long after the basketball game started, Hu Qianxi’s eyes turned toward Lu Wenbai, or perhaps from the beginning, her attention hadn’t been on the game at all.

Seeing Lu Wenbai finish moving water, Hu Qianxi immediately turned and followed. His figure was thin and tall, his spine like a drawn bow, very taut.

After Lu Wenbai walked forward for a distance, he turned left and entered the row of water taps behind the equipment room. Seeing Hu Qianxi follow, Lu Wenbai’s eyes showed unstoppable hostility, his voice very cold:

“Why are you following me?”

“I came to wash my hands,” Hu Qianxi’s voice was sweet.

The building blocked the front, providing some shade behind. Lu Wenbai had just finished moving things, his hair slightly damp. Seeing a bit of sweat at his temples, Hu Qianxi immediately handed over a wet tissue.

Lu Wenbai glanced at her expressionlessly, directly turned on the faucet—rushing cool water flowed out. Without hesitation, he stuck his head under it, directly washing his hair under the tap.

Two minutes later, a cold white hand covered with gray-blue veins gripped the rusty faucet. The water sound stopped as Lu Wenbai slowly straightened up.

He turned his face sideways, raising his hand to shake water from his hair. Fine water droplets inadvertently splashed onto Hu Qianxi’s hand, making her entire arm feel numb.

Lu Wenbai walked forward expressionlessly. When he went left, Hu Qianxi followed left. When he went right, Hu Qianxi went right, like sticky taffy that couldn’t be shaken off.

“Hey, what kind of girls do you like?”

“Hey.”

“Lu Wenbai!”

Seeing Lu Wenbai ignore her completely, being thoroughly dismissed, Hu Qianxi’s young lady temper flared up. She immediately ran after him, wanting to get things straight.

Unexpectedly, Lu Wenbai suddenly stopped, staring blankly ahead. For the first time, Hu Qianxi saw different emotions on Lu Wenbai’s eternally unchanged icy face.

Following Lu Wenbai’s gaze, she saw a girl in the distance linking arms with a boy. She wore a black camisole, with two straight long legs under shorts. A dragon-like tattoo adorned her lustrous calves. With dark hair and red lips, she was both beautiful and alluring.

Hu Qianxi had never seen such a girl—breathtakingly beautiful, yet seductive.

Lu Wenbai’s stern face gradually became gloomy. He lowered his eyelashes, like a statue without expression or vitality. His hands hanging by his pants clenched into fists, veins bulging.

“Are you okay?” Hu Qianxi asked him.

Lu Wenbai suddenly turned around. The two were very close. He lowered his neck to look down at Hu Qianxi, his thin lips curving into a mocking angle: “Didn’t you ask what type I like? I like thin girls, so don’t waste your effort. You’re not within my selection range.”

“Following someone again and again is really annoying.” Lu Wenbai withdrew his gaze from her and left without looking back.

Hu Qianxi stood frozen in place, unable to recover for a long time. Since childhood, she had received only flowers and praise, educated to boldly pursue what she liked.

Had she done something wrong?

So Lu Wenbai really found her annoying.

Was she fat?

Thinking this, Hu Qianxi couldn’t hold back anymore. Large tears fell from her cheeks, her dark eyes red as she cursed: “Bastard, scum, cruel ghost.”

Hu Qianxi hid behind the sports equipment room corridor and cried. After crying, she used cold water to compress her swollen eyes.

Then Hu Qianxi returned to the basketball court with swollen eyes and a dejected face, only to find everyone had already dispersed. The surroundings were empty except for one or two boys cleaning up basketballs and doing sanitation.

“Where is everyone?” Hu Qianxi walked over and asked.

A boy squatted down, putting basketballs one by one into the net bag, responding: “The game ended long ago.”

“What about a girl who was helping with outreach here—shoulder-length hair, small face, very fair skin. Where did she go?” Hu Qianxi’s voice was still hoarse from crying.

The boy stopped stuffing basketballs, trying hard to remember: “Oh, you mean that girl? She suddenly fainted during the game and was carried to the infirmary by Zhou Jingze…”

The boy was still trying to remember, but when he looked up, the person was already gone.

Hu Qianxi jogged all the way to the infirmary entrance and stopped, patting her chest, trying to calm her chaotic heartbeat.

Looking around inside, Hu Qianxi saw the pink bed curtain drawn open. Xu Sui lay on the hospital bed receiving an IV drip. Her eyes were tightly closed, her face pale, with undisguised fatigue beneath her dark long eyelashes.

Just as she was about to step inside, she accidentally met Zhou Jingze’s gaze.

Zhou Jingze leaned lazily against the wall, one long leg bent, one hand casually playing with a lighter. He lifted his thin eyelids to glance at Hu Qianxi.

An emotionless glance.

Yet it made Hu Qianxi freeze. Being looked at by Zhou Jingze made her heart tremble with fear. She licked her lips and asked dryly: “Uncle, how is Suisui?”

“What do you think?” Zhou Jingze slowly asked back, his mouth corner still carrying a hint of smile.

Just as Hu Qianxi was about to respond, Zhou Jingze suddenly turned cold, the casual expression on his face completely gone as he looked at her:

“How do you watch people?”

Zhou Jingze rarely got angry. Even when angry, he wouldn’t give you an extra expression, too lazy even to speak before turning and leaving.

Moreover, since childhood, he had quite doted on this niece, covering for her in everything, basically never losing his temper with her.

This time, Hu Qianxi realized he was angry, and even her apology became weaker: “I’m sorry.”

Xu Sui lay on the hospital bed, awakened from her dream by noisy voices. Opening her eyes, she saw Zhou Jingze scolding Hu Qianxi.

“Qianxi, come in,” Xu Sui smiled at her, “I’m fine.”

Hu Qianxi wanted to come in but unconsciously looked at her uncle.

Zhou Jingze relented, his thin lips finally loosening: “Come in.”

“You two chat, I’ll go outside to buy cigarettes.” Zhou Jingze straightened up, putting the lighter in his pocket.

After Zhou Jingze left, Hu Qianxi’s tense nerves finally relaxed as she complained: “He’s really scary when angry.”

“Suisui, are you okay?” Hu Qianxi said with a bitter face, “I’m sorry, I asked you to help but then ran off chasing someone myself.”

Xu Sui shook her head: “Just acute gastroenteritis. I’ll be fine after finishing this IV.”

“Do you know the game result?” Xu Sui suddenly remembered something and asked.

“Oh, that? When I went to the basketball court just now, I asked briefly. It seems like uncle’s team lost…”

…

When Zhou Jingze returned, Hu Qianxi had already left. He said he went out to buy cigarettes, but carried a portion of white porridge in his hand.

“Drink this later.” Zhou Jingze pointed to the porridge on the table.

“Okay, thank you.” Xu Sui said gently.

Zhou Jingze hooked a chair with his long leg and sat by Xu Sui’s bed, pouring her a glass of water.

Xu Sui held the water glass, hesitating for a long time: “I’m sorry.”

Zhou Jingze was looking down at his phone, his thumb still on the game interface. He paused and smiled:

“Why suddenly apologize?”

“It’s just because I suddenly fainted, you couldn’t continue the game. You… shouldn’t have had to worry about me then…”

Initially, Xu Sui’s voice sounded quite normal, but Zhou Jingze increasingly heard a crying tone.

This time Zhou Jingze didn’t even care about the game he was playing, directly turning off the screen and looking up, his thin lips curving:

“Won too many times, wanted to experience losing.”

“It wasn’t because of you.” Zhou Jingze comforted.

The more Zhou Jingze comforted her, the more Xu Sui wanted to cry. She looked at the person before her with red eyes:

“Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Zhou Jingze raised an eyebrow. He sighed lightly—comforting didn’t work either. Having no solution for this girl, he could only divert her attention.

Zhou Jingze stood up and adjusted the IV drip speed, his eyes scanning her hand:

“Hold out your hand.”

“Ah?” Xu Sui was crying, her tone somewhat panicked.

This reaction successfully made Zhou Jingze look at her with an ambiguous smile, that casual and unrestrained attitude returning to his eyes.

Xu Sui’s face heated up as she lowered her head, hurriedly wiping her tears. A snort of laughter fell from above, making her throat itch:

“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore.”

At the same time, Xu Sui felt a shadow fall before her eyes. Zhou Jingze bent down, his sharp mint and basil scent reaching her nose, his burning breath brushing her neck. She stiffened, feeling her neck both itchy and numb, her heartbeat uncontrollably fast.

Zhou Jingze naturally took her hand. His palm was broad and cool, pressing against Xu Sui’s delicate back of hand—just the lightest touch as he said softly:

“Hold on.”