The words were on the tip of his tongue but just wouldn’t come out. “…”
Were they friends? Creditor and debtor? Or just a chance encounter?
Before he could figure it out, Wang Jiehao, after seeing Cheng Buxi clearly, stood thunderstruck, muttering dazedly, “Fairy, fairy sister…”
“It’s the fairy sister from earlier…”
Ning Ci: “…”
The corners of his mouth twitched.
-
Back on the court, Wang Jiehao still couldn’t calm the shock inside him. As he adjusted his knee pads, he kept muttering, “Man, that girl is really pretty…”
“In all my life, I’ve never seen a prettier one…”
After learning that Brother Ning and she weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, just acquaintances, he suddenly felt he could be brave too.
The center beside him commented, “Hopelessly lovesick.”
Haozi’s inner world was incredibly strong. He enjoyed himself, not caring what others thought. He asked Zheng Liao, “Liao’er, if I go after her, what are my chances?”
The other replied, “Don’t even think about it. Definitely negative.”
“How can it be negative!!! I’m telling you, actually, this kind of top-tier beauty is the easiest to pursue!”
“?”
“Don’t you believe me?” Haozi said confidently, humming. “What’s an ordinary person’s first reaction when they see her? Definitely inferiority complex! Inferiority, get it? They don’t even dare to pursue her, I’m telling you. So if I boldly go for it, she’ll definitely be impressed by me. Just wait for me to win her over, and you guys will be green with envy, hahaha!”
“Haozi, have you gone crazy? Brother Ning hasn’t said anything yet. What makes you think you can shoot?”
“Exactly. What’s with the stubborn attitude?”
“Don’t fail before you even set out. That would really make everyone laugh.”
…
Brother Xiao Hao didn’t pay them any mind. A bunch of idiots, all they did was crush his pure white flower without reason. Did they think he was that easy to break? He shamelessly went up to Ning Ci. “Brother Ning, Brother Ning, tell me, can I succeed with her?”
Ning Ci had been staring blankly at the floor, thinking about his relationship with Cheng Buxi. Hearing this, he lazily lifted his eyes, revealing a crease under his double eyelids—a very sharp and handsome face.
He tapped his fingers alternately on the back of the chair, parted his lips, and spat out two icy words: “No way.”
“TvT okay then.”
-
The second half ended without suspense under Ning Ci’s domination. The final score was 110:63. S University won the championship.
Apart from losing to Z University in the spring season, this year was a small grand slam.
The coach asked him if he’d taken something today, being so ruthless and aggressive, like a tiger roaring through the mountains. Ning Ci smiled and asked back, “Don’t you know me well enough, Coach?”
The coach replied with a scolding laugh, “You little brat, itching for trouble, huh? You’re punished!”
At the moment of receiving the award, Cheng Buxi met Ning Ci’s eyes again on the podium.
Youthful, arrogant, unrestrained—that was probably the description.
She just wondered how he appeared to others: a favored son of heaven, walking through life, whose entire youth he had stunned, whose whole life he had ruined.
In a daze, Cheng Buxi thought of her brother again.
He was that kind of person.
Ning Ci wore a golden medal on a red ribbon around his neck. The camera was taking commemorative photos, but he blatantly locked eyes only with her. His lips moved, and Cheng Buxi understood in an instant: Be there or be square.
“…” The nervousness that had just been suppressed surged up again. Her heart raced, and she fled the scene like she was escaping.
-
The moon rose above the willows.
Ning Ci had taken off his shining purple-gold jersey and changed into a very spirited, bright black hoodie sweatshirt, a pullover style. He leaned against a telephone pole, one hand in his pocket, standing lazily, the other hand fiddling with his phone screen, looking bored, as if he had arrived very early.
His good looks were charming, his legs almost two meters long. Just standing there casually, it looked like a magazine cover.
His handsomeness was flamboyant, his good looks unrestrained.
The moment Cheng Buxi exited the subway, she stopped in her tracks, because she saw him standing blatantly in front of her, with a towering telephone pole behind him, looking like a character walking out of a manga.
Suddenly, her mouth went dry, and she didn’t know where to look. Today, she had dressed up elaborately before going out.
Except for family dinners, she hadn’t worn perfume this year, but she sprayed it three times before leaving. That was pretty ceremonial, right? She even put on lipstick. He should get that hint, shouldn’t he?
She stopped overthinking and walked quickly to his side.
Before she reached him, her heartbeat arrived first.
“You’re early.” He seemed to just notice her, put away his phone with a smile, lowered his head, and met her eyes.
Cheng Buxi said, “Exactly half past six.”
Ning Ci straightened up with a smile, and after a moment, “Mm, if you say so.”
Sensing that there was something behind his words, Cheng Buxi checked the time. Good heavens, it was already 6:45.