Chapter 44

After finishing in the arena, Qiufeng, bored, went to the clan’s voice channel on YY to chat. Because it was a weekday, few people were online, so he had to intrude on the private little world of their leader and deputy leader.

Fortunately, Xiangsi was afk and Chunxiao didn’t immediately kick him out of the channel.

“How can she be so… cold-hearted?” Qiufeng couldn’t help telling her about Xiao Tianjing and complained helplessly. “Look how lively she is around Xin Xiangwang, but with me she hardly says a word.”

Chun Xiao snorted coldly: “So that’s what you men are like—cheap. The more you can’t have, the more you want it. To be honest, are you just trying to steal someone from Xin Xiangwangzhi?”

Qiu Feng choked on his words; he couldn’t deny it—he was indeed paying more and more attention to Xiao Tianjing because of Xin Xiangwangzhi.

“Keep it civil, no personal attacks.” He paused, “Well, not exactly an attack. Xiao Tianjing is naturally interesting, and she has a lot of strengths.”

Saying that, Qiu Feng couldn’t help smiling, his tone softening considerably: “She’s adorable, every sentence sounds like flirting, she handles things well… and most importantly, she’s very down-to-earth.”

Chun Xiao’s tone was complicated: “Plain?”

“Yeah, I wanted to give her a Fate Stone this afternoon, but she thought it was too expensive and refused to accept it no matter what,” Qiu Feng laughed. “She’s completely different from other girls…”

Qiu Feng’s words hadn’t even finished when his voice vanished into the air.

Because at that moment, the chat window on the right side of his game interface was being flooded by someone.

[System Announcement: Xiao Tianjing pried open the mysterious Fate Stone and obtained Seven-Colored Stone x1! Congratulations, young hero!]

[System Announcement: Xiao Tianjing pried open the mysterious Fate Stone and obtained Dragon Tongue x1! Congratulations, young hero!]

[System Announcement: Xiao Tianjing pried open the mysterious Fate Stone and obtained Wool x3! Congratulations, young hero!]

………

The most irritating thing about the Fate Stone system is this: when you pry open a Fate Stone you might get money, experience, or an item, and if you get an item—no matter whether it’s good or bad—a system announcement will be made.

Someone like Xiao Tianjing getting a bunch of trash items and being broadcast on TV is no different from a public execution.

After a moment, Chun Xiao’s tone carried mockery as she said coolly, “It is rather plain.”

Qiufeng: “…Maybe it was a whim? She’d rather spend her own money than take mine — isn’t that even more precious?”

“I saw her when I passed through an unfamiliar foreign region; she’s now in the Heartlonging team,” Chun Xiao smiled. “Heartlonging is the captain.”

Only the captain can click NPCs; talking to an NPC is what triggers the purchase button for Fate Stones.

Qiufeng: “…”

“So it’s not that she doesn’t want you, it’s that she only wants the person her heart longs for,” Chun Xiao said, his tone carrying an inexplicable note of admiration. “In a way, that’s actually pretty straightforward.”

Jing Huan had originally not planned to take the chance stone—his intention was to destroy the account of the one the girl longed for. Who would be interested in that lousy chance stone?

But from what happened with Lu Wenhao, Jing Huan had learned a lesson: the more money someone loses to a scammer wife, the deeper the wound when the truth comes out.

A hundred chance stones still amounted to at least two thousand yuan; anybody would feel a sting over that.

So Jing Huan sent a flurry of “ahhhh,” “Brother, how can you be so good QAQ,” “Brother, I can only offer my body to you!,” and accepted the hundred Fate Stones.

He just didn’t expect to be so unlucky: not a single Fate Stone paid off, instead he got a truckload of trash materials, and two thousand yuan was flushed down the drain.

Black-money games will collapse sooner or later.

[Team] Xiao Tianjing: Wuwuwu QAQ

[Party] Xiao Tianjing: I’m going to delete my account to atone!

[Party] Xiao Tianjing: My filthy hands, really should just cut them off. [Stunned]

[Party] Xin Xiang Wang Zhi: …Not that bad.

[Party] Xiao Tianjing: I’m so unlucky, brother… T.T Should I go pray to the Bodhisattva?

[Team] Xin Xiang Wang Zhi: It’s a matter of probability—open a hundred more and you’ll get a good one.

Jing Huan was startled and hurriedly unmuted.

“Brother, don’t buy it, I won’t play anymore!”

He did want Xin Xiang Wang Zhi to lose both money and items, that’s true, but he didn’t want this lousy game to make four thousand yuan for nothing.

Xiang Huaizhi’s fingers came to an abrupt halt.

[Team] Xin Xiangwangzhi: Not going to open it?

[Team] Xiao Tianjing: [shaking head furiously]

Only then did Xiang Huaizhi leisurely close the purchase interface.

These one hundred Fate Stones should be counted as repaying Jing Huan for taking him in. The hot-spring resort they stayed at that night cost at least four digits for a single night’s room; someone who only gets a few hundred pocket money a week has no idea how long they’d have to save to afford a trip like that.

Besides, he knew well that Xiao Tianjing would refuse Qiu Feng’s Fate Stone partly because of him.

After indulging the little fox spirit with Fate Stones, Xiang Huaizhi twiddled his fingers, used a flying talisman, and led her away through the air.

As if the “ex” by his side and her sister squad didn’t even exist.

And privately, their group chat messages had already reached 99+.

Ji Xiaonian: This little Sweet Jing is way too arrogant?! Does she know Xianxian was AFK here and deliberately come over with Heartlonging on purpose??

Diandian Ya: Most likely, so evil, this woman.

Xian Mengmeng: Sigh, forget it, don’t bring this up anymore. I’m already not involved with Heartlonging.

Xiaomai: No way, right? I think the captain is secretly attracted—if it was on purpose, it would be on-purpose because he’s secretly attracted…

Ji Xiaonian: Xiaomai, you just got back and don’t know—this woman is really disgusting, she even buys likes!

Xiaomai: Buys likes?

Ji Xiaonian: Yeah, the likes on her song “Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty” are definitely bought! Several of my friends said their accounts liked that song, but they never clicked it.

Xiaomai: Then you can report it to the platform—definitely get her account banned.

Ji Xiaonian: That’s why I said she’s disgusting. Afraid we’d report her, so she found an excuse to drop out early!

Diandianya: I’m sickened.

Xiaomai: So brazen—didn’t anyone give her a hard time?

Ji Xiaonian: She clings to and admires that powerhouse—who would dare make trouble for her? Didn’t you see even Xiangsi Bugao lowered his head? Now she struts through the district; no one dares offend her.

Diandian ya: Xiaomai, your husband is the second main damage dealer, not much worse than Xiangsi Bugao. In the group, only you can help everyone get some revenge.

Ji Xiaonian: Exactly [crying], if you don’t step in, this server’s going to have to change its name to “Little” after her!

Xiaomai: …?

Xiaomai: I’ll think of something.

—

The next day, Jing Huan went to class alone. Without Lu Wenhao and the others around, it was quiet but also boring; he yawned more than ten times in a single lesson.

When class ended, he got up and left. On his way back he received a message in the discussion group.

Lu Wenhao: @Xiao Jing, baby Huanhuan, are you out of class yet?

Xiao Jing: ?

Gao Zixiang: Bring us two breakfasts. In my next life I’ll work like an ox and horse for you, Haor will be your wife.

Xiao Jingya: Screw off.

Jinghuan woke up late; he hadn’t eaten breakfast himself, let alone bring any for them. All he wanted now was to go back and catch up on sleep.

After finishing his colorful language, he sent two not-very-friendly emojis, then closed WeChat.

He walked toward the back door, and when he passed the basketball court he couldn’t help but take a glance inside.

One look drew him to the broad shoulders turned toward the iron railings.

The boy unusually wore a black jersey; his hair was cut clean and neat, a strip of neck exposed—clean and long. He was standing with his legs apart, elbows resting on his knees, bent over his phone.

Xiang Huaizhi felt a bit irritated at that moment.

His foot had finally recovered after a long rest, but his hands were itching to get moving, so when he saw someone tag him in the group this morning asking him to come out for a ball game, he agreed without a second thought.

They arrived to find that two people couldn’t make it due to urgent matters, leaving two spots empty.

Fewer people wouldn’t have mattered — there were plenty on the court; they could just grab a couple of guys. He just hadn’t expected that the sophomore who lived in the dorm next to his, the one with terrible sportsmanship, would be there too, which cut his enthusiasm in half.

Xiang Huaizhi clicked his tongue, mentally calculating an excuse to leave.

“Senior!”

Xiang Huaizhi paused, then turned his head back.

Jing Huan stood outside the iron railing, both hands gripping the bars, eyes curved as she looked at him, her smile fresher than an autumn breeze.

“Good morning, senior.” Jing Huan blinked. “Out so early to play ball?”

His call made not only Xiang Huaizhi, but even the other boys around him, involuntarily turn to look.

Xiang Huaizhi lowered his brows and glanced toward where he had come from. “Mm. Just finished class?”

Jing Huan nodded. “Yeah, getting ready to go back and catch up on sleep.”

“Xiang ge, who’s this? Your friend?” The boy beside him smiled and stepped forward, familiarly greeting Jing Huan. “Which department are you in?”

Jing Huan said, “I’m a sophomore.”

The man walked up to Jing Huan, hands on his hips, and asked, “Underclassman? Well then, can you play ball?”

Jing Huan: “A little.”

“That’s enough. Our team is short a player for the game—want to fill in?”

Jing Huan glanced at Xiang Huaizhi: “Senior, are you playing too?”

Xiang Huaizhi hadn’t yet found an excuse to leave when the boy beside him cut in ahead of him.

“Brother Xiang will definitely play—he’s been sitting here waiting forever. We’re just missing one more person; if you come, we’ll start right away.”

“Oh…” Jing Huan responded readily, “Okay, but I want to be on a team with Senior. If that’s alright, I’ll join.”

Xiang Huaizhi raised an eyebrow slightly, swallowing the spiel he’d prepared to make his exit.

The boy nodded: “Haha, sure, come on in.”

After entering, Jing Huan stood beside Xiang Huaizhi and began to warm up.

He wore ordinary clothes—fortunately shorts—and with sneakers on his feet, running wasn’t difficult.

Xiang Huaizhi glanced at his white sneakers; above them was a slim, straight calf, in stark contrast to the thick, muscular legs of the other boys nearby.

He withdrew his gaze and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, said, “If you don’t want to play, you can just refuse.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to?” Jing Huan looked at him puzzled, a smirk at the corner of her mouth. “I was actually planning to ask you out to play ball these days—I didn’t expect to run into you by chance.”

Xiang Huaizhi suddenly felt uncertain about what Jing Huan was thinking.

“…Ask me out? Why?”

“Because I thought you were great at playing basketball.”

“You’ve seen me?”

“I haven’t seen you play, but I’ve seen you receive the ball.” Jing Huan raised her hand, imitating his motion from that night, making a loose scooping gesture. “Cool!”

Xiang Huaizhi lifted the corner of his mouth and smiled.

Xiang Huaizhi had that kind of cold, proud visage; his single eyelids added a few degrees of chilliness, and only when he smiled did he become rarely softer.

The ten people were split into two teams. Jing Huan stood with her teammates, discussing the positions each would take.

Xiang Huaizhi was a defender, while Jing Huan was assigned to the forward.

Jing Huan hadn’t been wrong—Xiang Huaizhi was indeed great at basketball. Right off the bat he sank two three-pointers in a row, an immediate 6–0 dream start.

The crowd watching the game gradually grew, especially the number of girls; they whispered among themselves, their eyes lingering on the two most dazzling boys on the court.

Jing Huan was 178 cm tall— not exactly towering, but his jumping ability was excellent, so playing forward was no problem. He dribbled the ball, beginning to size up the other team’s forward.

The others were fine, but there was one boy who was tall and solid, with a serious expression, looking hard to deal with. Jing Huan only considered him for two seconds before breaking to the right; the opponent immediately stepped up to defend.

Just as that guy jumped, ready to block Jing Huan’s shot, Jing Huan suddenly spun around and dribbled the ball to the back.

Not only did the opponents fail to react—his teammates hadn’t either. Only Xiang Huaizhi, whether because he’d been on guard or simply had faster reflexes, caught Jing Huan’s pass and decisively launched a three-pointer.

The ball swished through the net: 13–2, a crushing lead.

Xiang Huaizhi raised an eyebrow; he clearly hadn’t expected the shot to go in either. His touch seemed unusually good today.

While he was thinking that, the opposing team called a timeout, and the freshman forward puffed and panted as he ran over to him.

“Senior, quick, high five!” Jing Huan held out her palm toward him.

Xiang Huai Zhi paused, then raised his hand to meet hers.

After forcing the high five, Jing Huan even deliberately rubbed the center of his palm, smiling as she said, “Just feeling the texture.”

The boy’s hand wasn’t rough; it felt warm and soft—very pleasant to rub.

Xiang Huaizhi hadn’t come to his senses yet when Jing Huan already put his hand away and ran back to his position.

The break was over quickly, and the person guarding Xiang Huaizhi changed—he was the burly guy who had played forward earlier.

Jing Huan didn’t pay it much mind. Xiang Huaizhi liked to shoot three-pointers; though the boy was sturdy, he wasn’t as tall as Xiang Huaizhi, and with his weight he looked clumsy when he jumped, unable to stop him.

But things were clearly not that simple.

The game continued. Two minutes later, Xiang Huaizhi received the ball again. He raised his hand as if to shoot a three, intending to fake and then drive for a dunk, when suddenly his chest was slammed hard—where the opponent’s elbow struck sent a piercing pain through him.

He knew it.

The one guarding him was that idiot from the neighboring dorm last semester, the basketball team player—everyone agreed he played dirty. If it weren’t for his physical advantage, he’d have been kicked off the team long ago.

Xiang Huaizhi frowned, a muffled groan escaping his throat, but his hands didn’t stop moving. He changed tactics, didn’t pass, and treated it as a three-point shot, but it didn’t go in.

The ball clanged to the ground and was snatched up by someone on the other side. Xiang Huaizhi didn’t utter a word; he turned to defend, casting a cold glare at the burly man.

The burly man shrugged and smiled at him, feigning innocence.

By halftime the score was 21–10; Xiang Huaizhi’s side still held an overwhelming lead.

During the few minutes of halftime, Xiang Huaizhi wore a stern expression and was about to go confront that boy when someone grabbed his wrist.

“Senior,” Jing Huan said, “shall we switch positions? I kind of want to play defense.”

Remembering the other person’s defensive tactics, Xiang Huaizhi said, “Next time—it’s already halftime—I have experience defending him.”

“I’m pretty good at defending too,” Jing Huan insisted. “Let me try. I’ll just practice a bit; if it doesn’t work, we’ll switch back after one quarter.”

Xiang Huaizhi hesitated for a moment, then let out, “…just one period.”

The two returned to the bench to rest. Jing Huan took out her phone, wiped her sweat, and checked her WeChat messages.

Lu Wenhao: Holy shit @Xiaojing, you went to play basketball? You didn’t even tell your bro when you’re in a game?!

Xiaojing: How did you know I was playing basketball?

Lu Wenhao: [picture]

Lu Wenhao: The school group has been posting photos of you and Senior Xiang nonstop — as if I wouldn’t notice.

Jing Huan opened it and saw more than ten pictures; the camera focused either on him or Xiang Huaizhi, everyone else in the shots was nearly blurred into a shadowy double.

He wasn’t surprised and replied, “Just messing around.”

Lu Wenhao: But how did you end up with this guy? [image]

Lu Wenhao circled the opposing shooting guard in the photo.

Lu Wenhao: This guy plays dirty. Last time he made a guy from the department next to us bleed from his brow.

Xiang Huaizhi heard the person beside him snort, and instinctively glanced to the side, just in time to see the pink avatar on his phone screen.

The familiar avatar, but the words were from a stranger.

Xiaojing: Afraid of him? Just lurk in the school group chat and watch how your father handles this in a bit.

“…” Xiang Huaizhi withdrew his gaze.

The third match began; Jing Huan stepped in front of the burly man and cracked her neck.

“Why is it you again?” The man saw him and chuckled, “Xiang Huaizhi ran off on me?”

Jing Huan smiled, “I heard you’re great at basketball. I’m here to see for myself.”

The guy laughed heartily, “No problem, watch and learn.”

A few minutes later, the big guy grabbed the ball, determined to slam it home so this junior could see.

He confidently tried to break through, but only half his body got past when his chest was violently struck by an elbow; he cried out in pain, legs going weak, and he slid down to sit on the ground.

Everyone was momentarily stunned and hurried forward to check on him. Only the instigator remained where he was, picking up the basketball from the ground and patting it a few times.

“You motherfucker—” The boy snapped back to his senses, his face flushed red, glaring angrily at Jing Huan. “You hit me like that?! On purpose, right?”

In fact, Jing Huan’s jab wasn’t very hard; it was he who had tried to push past her with too much force, and the momentum rebounded onto himself.

Xiang Huaizhi frowned and stepped forward, just in time to hear Jing Huan say with an innocent look, “I was acting in self-defense.”

“Self-defense my ass!” the man finally came around a bit. “You did that on purpose! Foul! Shit…”

Xiang Huaizhi cut him off, his gaze sharp. “Watch your language.”

Jing Huan didn’t care; he lifted one corner of his mouth and drawled, “So you know that counts as hitting someone, that it’s a foul?”

Xiang Huaizhi paused at the words, his dark eyes turning toward the person beside him.

So he had seen it.

Is that why he earlier suggested switching seats and volunteered to guard this idiot?