Chapter 50: First High School (9)

Although I don’t know why Pei Yan suddenly wants to go and play, the two of them have no objections.

The tall player placed his hand on his abdomen and nodded towards Pei Yan. “God Pei, you go ahead.”

He couldn’t hold on any longer. He accidentally hit the teenager and became the main target of these crazy dogs’ attacks. If they continued like this, he would be taken down first.

After all, if he got injured, it would be equivalent to stepping one foot into the grave in this perilous instance.

The tall player had originally planned to switch himself out, but he didn’t expect Pei Yan to suggest a substitution first.

The short-haired player was only slightly affected and wasn’t seriously injured. However, he had gained some understanding of Su Qing’s crazy dogs’ strength. He reminded Pei Yan, “Be careful of Mo Ran and Xiao Shiyi, God Pei. Both their skills and strength don’t seem like those of high school students.”

“Okay,” Pei Yan absentmindedly nodded, his attention not focused on the speaking player, but rather on the teenager on the other side of the playground.

There were many supporters around the teenager who immediately surrounded him as soon as he got off the court.

One female classmate was closer to him than anyone else. She handed him a bottle of water and took out a tissue, intimately wiping away his sweat. The teenager didn’t refuse, and he even slightly leaned and turned his head to let the female classmate wipe him. They looked like a loving couple.

And indeed, they were a couple.

Ruan Qing sat on a bench, opened a bottle of mineral water, and took a big gulp.

Since the beginning of his memory, he had never engaged in a physical activity for such a long time. His body was truly struggling, especially considering he had a heart condition since childhood.

Xia Baiyi moistened the towel with water and gently wiped the teenager’s face.

Although the cool and wet towel was just right on his face, Ruan Qing slightly turned his head to avoid it.

Xia Baiyi didn’t insist. She looked at Ruan Qing’s reddened elbow that was hit and spoke with a tender voice, “Brother Su Qing, does it hurt?”

Ruan Qing shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

Being hit by a basketball wasn’t a big deal. What shocked him was that he was actually inferior to Song Yu.

After all, that NPC named Song Yu had a pale face all day, with a weak and thin body, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

He actually stumbled and fell...

Ruan Qing always felt something was off but couldn’t figure out what exactly.

After all, Song Yu’s physical condition should be genuinely poor. Being sick for a long time made Ruan Qing somewhat knowledgeable about basic medical principles, and Song Yu’s condition seemed somewhat like anemia.

Moreover, it was severe anemia, to the point where he seemed weak even while walking. In this situation, he should be weaker than Ruan Qing.

However, it could also be because Song Yu didn’t move much once he appeared, while Ruan Qing ran around the field.

He really wasn’t suited for this high-intensity exercise; both his endurance and physical strength were lacking.

Anyway, the scene of bullying had already passed, and he shouldn’t become to out of character. He wouldn’t participate in the second half.

Mo Ran looked at Xia Baiyi, who was very close to the teenager, with extreme coldness in his eyes, sending shivers down the spines of those beside him.

But no one reminded Xia Baiyi because they knew better than anyone who Mo Ran was.

If the teenager bullied others out of arrogance and caprice, then Mo Ran simply enjoyed seeing others in pain.

His methods were much more sinister and cruel than the teenager’s, almost disregarding human life.

However, when did Xia Baiyi offend Mo Ran?

Weren’t they getting along just fine when they met yesterday morning?

Mo Ran seemed to get angry when Xia Baiyi became close to Brother Su.

The young lackey looked at the sitting teenager. His face was flushed from exercising, making him exceptionally handsome, so beautiful that it aroused thoughts that shouldn’t be aroused deep in one’s heart.

The young lackey subconsciously swallowed, then saw Mo Ran looking at him as if he were looking at a dead person.

It was the same gaze he had when looking at Xia Baiyi.

The young lackey widened his eyes and explained in a panic, his voice trembling, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. Spare me, Brother Mo.”

The voice of the lackey was not low. The people nearby looked at him with confusion, including Ruan Qing.

Ruan Qing raised his head and looked over. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Mo Ran withdrew his gaze and smiled at Ruan Qing as usual. “It’s just a little joke between classmates.”

Mo Ran glanced briefly at the lackey, who immediately broke into a cold sweat and nodded frantically, “Yes, yes, just a joke.”

Ruan Qing averted his gaze and didn’t say anything further, seeming completely uninterested.

However, due to sweating, Ruan Qing felt somewhat uncomfortable, sticky, and unpleasant.

He was the school bully and didn’t need to care about others’ feelings, so Ruan Qing stood up directly. “Pause the basketball game for a moment. I’ll go back to the dormitory.”

“Go back to the dormitory?” Mo Ran appeared somewhat nervous and looked at the person in front of him cautiously. “Did you get hurt while playing earlier?”

Ruan Qing replied lightly, “No, it’s just that I feel sticky and uncomfortable.”

Mo Ran was slightly stunned. So he was going back to... take a shower?

He smiled at the teenager in front of him. “Then let me accompany Brother Su. It just so happens that I also need to go back to the dormitory.”

Ruan Qing nodded. “Sure.”

A basketball game generally consisted of four quarters, with a two-minute break in between.

However, after two minutes had passed and the five players of one team were already on the court, the referee blew the whistle.

It wasn’t for the game to continue; instead, they called for a timeout.

The only person who could call for a timeout was none other than Su Qing. He looked towards the teenager and Mo Ran, who seemed to be getting up to leave, and furrowed his brows.

What’s going on?

Xiao Shiyi walked directly to the area of Class 26, took a glance at the departing figures of the two, and looked at the person next to him. “What’s wrong with Brother Su? Is he injured?”

The classmate who was questioned by Xiao Shiyi shook their head and said, “No, Brother Su felt sticky from sweating, so he went back to the dormitory to take a shower. He’ll come back after he finishes showering.”

This answer surprised Xiao Shiyi, but he didn’t say anything and returned to his own class.

In reality, calling for a timeout in a basketball game cannot exceed one hundred seconds. But who made Su Qing the one calling for the timeout? Even if it lasted until tomorrow, no one would say anything.

Moreover, even Xiao Shiyi, the class monitor, didn’t say anything, so the others wouldn’t say anything either.

Everyone saw the teenager leaving the court, and the reason could be easily found out by asking around.

The few players looked at each other. Taking a shower?

That’s too delicate. They only played for ten minutes, right? And now they want to leave to take a shower?

The problem was, after showering and coming back, won’t they sweat again?

They really didn’t understand, but since no one else said anything, they couldn’t say anything either. They could only quietly wait for the teenager to return.

Pei Yan glanced at the figure walking away, casually found a corner, and took out his notebook again.

The teenager left, and no player followed him. The audience in the live streaming room couldn’t see the teenager either, so they returned to the previous live streaming room.

When the viewers returned to Pei Yan’s live streaming room, the audience who had just arrived were initially discussing Su Qing, the school bully. However, after a while, some observant person noticed that Pei Yan seemed to have not turned the page for five minutes and immediately sent a barrage to tease him.

【God Pei, you’ve been looking at the same page for five minutes. Isn’t it time to turn the page?】

【It’s only been five minutes. Maybe God Pei is searching for clues. What do you know?】

【Really? I feel like some people’s minds are not on the notebook at all (dog head emoji).】

【How could that be? God Pei is not someone who would go back on his words. He already broke up, how could he regret it (dog head emoji).】

Although the audience was teasing, no one really believed that Pei Yan would lose focus and stop searching for clues just because the teenager left.

After all, Pei Yan was known for his indifference. There were even good-looking boys and girls who wanted to cling to him, but he simply ignored them. In his heart, a beautiful person was probably not as important as a piece of information about an instance.

It seemed that God Pei noticed some issues with those NPCs, which was why he proposed replacing them.

***

Although the original owner didn’t live on campus, he had his own independent set of rooms at the school. The room was not in the student dormitory building, but in the classroom apartment building.

Ruan Qing went directly to the original owner’s room.

The original owner’s room looked very luxurious, but it lacked any signs of life. Apparently, the owner of the room rarely stayed there.

However, the room was very clean, obviously being regularly cleaned.

Mo Ran lived in the dormitory building on campus, which was not far from here. So after Ruan Qing entered his own room, Mo Ran also returned to his dormitory.

After entering the room, Ruan Qing locked the door and, as usual, left a thread on the door. After all, he was still alone, so it was better to be cautious.

Ruan Qing carefully looked around and, after confirming that there were no issues, took out clothes from the wardrobe and entered the bathroom.

Even though the room was luxurious, it could not compare to the Su family’s villa. So the bathroom only had a simple shower, not to mention a washbasin—there wasn’t even a mirror.

Ruan Qing quickly took a shower and came out. The whole process didn’t take more than ten minutes.

When he finished drying his hair and came out, Mo Ran was already waiting at the door.

Seeing Ruan Qing come out, Mo Ran immediately revealed a bright smile. “Brother Su, it’s getting late now. Should we grab a meal first before going?”

Ruan Qing shook his head. “I already ate in the morning. I’m not hungry. Let’s go straight there.”

“But you ate very little in the morning,” Mo Ran opened his mouth, looking like he wanted to say something but ultimately swallowed his words and didn’t say anything.

The two of them went directly back to the competition venue.

Xia Baiyi saw Ruan Qing sitting down and immediately ran over, sitting next to Ruan Qing.

The two of them sat quite close.

Ruan Qing sat on the left side, while Xia Baiyi sat on the right side.

After Xia Baiyi sat down, she leaned closer to Ruan Qing and intimately held his hand.

Ruan Qing initially wanted to avoid it, but suddenly froze in his movements.

He lowered his gaze to the girl in front of him, and his gaze finally settled on her right chest.

Upon noticing Ruan Qing’s gaze, Xia Baiyi trembled shyly, her face turning slightly red.

She had a shy and youthful appearance.

Although she was extremely shy, she did not turn away; she just let the boy look at her like that.

If it were an ordinary person staring at a girl’s chest like that, it would probably be lewd and sleazy, lacking respect and causing disgust.

But the boy looked at her like that, with clean and pure eyes, without any disrespectful intentions or desires. It didn’t give off any sleazy vibes. Instead, it made people feel jealous.

Jealous that she could make the boy treat her differently.

Jealous that she could captivate the boy’s focused gaze.

Jealous that she could naturally assume an intimate posture with the boy.

Mo Ran lowered his gaze, concealing the sinister look in his eyes. Then he lightly chuckled and teased, “Brother Su, if you keep staring like this, Xia Baiyi can’t help but feel embarrassed.”

Only then did Ruan Qing slowly raise his gaze, landing on Xia Baiyi’s blushing face, and he chuckled, “Is that so? Are you shy now?”

As Ruan Qing spoke, he directly reached out and embraced the girl’s waist, forcefully pulling her into his embrace. “Then, what about like this?”

Their posture was closer than ever before, so close that Xia Baiyi could clearly smell the faint fragrance of orchids emanating from the person in front of her.

This time, Xia Baiyi not only blushed, but even her ears turned red. She lowered her head in embarrassment, afraid to look at Ruan Qing, and stuttered, “S-Su, Brother Su Qing, please don’t tease me.”

Ruan Qing looked at Xia Baiyi’s shy appearance, but his heart sank suddenly.

Xia Baiyi’s heartbeat was loud, but it came from... the right side of her chest.

Most people’s hearts were on the left side.

It’s not that people with their hearts on the right side didn’t exist, but they were rare. It’s possible to find one in tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people.

When Xia Baiyi wanted to kiss him earlier, they were very close, but he didn’t notice that Xia Baiyi’s heart was on the right side.

If Xia Baiyi’s heart was on the right side, he should have noticed it immediately.

But now, he just discovered it.

It’s as if in the time he was away, Xia Baiyi’s heart suddenly moved from the left side to the right side.

Ruan Qing looked at Xia Baiyi’s face, delicate and cute, but not entirely symmetrical.

It seemed that the lines on the left side of their face were smoother before, and now it’s... the right side?

It’s as if the whole person’s body had switched sides.

But... how was this possible?

Ruan Qing let go of Xia Baiyi’s hand that he was holding, and worriedly rubbed the back of his head.

The bump on the back of his head from yesterday’s fall still hurt, and it seemed like a big lump had formed.

Combined with the intense exercise just now, the back of his head hurt even more.

Could he really have a concussion from the fall?

After all, he even came up with such a bizarre idea.

If the bump on the back of his head caused a blood clot and compressed his nerves, it could indeed cause hallucinations and affect perception.

Ruan Qing frowned. It seemed like he needed to go to the hospital for an examination.

After all, he only had his brain to rely on. If his judgment was compromised, he might really die in this game world.

At the moment when Ruan Qing embraced Xia Baiyi while being watched by Mo Ran, the fake smile on his face was almost unsustainable. His gaze towards Xia Baiyi couldn’t hide the concealed, murderous intent.

Xia Baiyi glanced at Mo Ran from the corner of her eye, but she showed no signs of fear. Instead, Xia Baiyi hooked the corner of her mouth at Mo Ran and then feigned a frightened expression. In the next second, she hid in Ruan Qing’s embrace and said, “Brother Su, Brother Su Qing, Mo Ran’s gaze at me is so terrifying. Does he... not like me?”

Mo Ran: “!!!!” This despicable person!

When Ruan Qing looked over, Mo Ran suppressed his anger and forced a smile, saying, “How could that be? Classmate Xia must have misunderstood. I like and respect every boyfriend or girlfriend of Brother Su, so naturally, I wouldn’t dislike classmate Xia.”

Just as Xia Baiyi was about to say something, Mo Ran directly looked at Ruan Qing and asked, “Brother Su, are you still going to play?”

Ruan Qing shifted his gaze and seemed disinterested as he replied, “No, I’m tired of playing.”

Mo Ran smiled again at the boy who cared about his reputation, but this smile was completely different from his usual fake one. This time, it appeared much more genuine. He said, “Then, Brother Su, rest well. I will definitely win the game and not let Brother Su lose face.”

“Okay.” Ruan Qing nodded indifferently, full of perfunctoriness.

The rest of the group had already been standing on the basketball court when they saw the boy return, waiting for him to continue the game.

However, they didn’t expect to see the boy displaying affection with his girlfriend instead.

Xiao Shiyi glanced at Xia Baiyi, then at Mo Ran, and didn’t go over.

Several minutes passed before the opposing team made a move.

However, the five people who came forward didn’t include the boy.

Pei Yan glanced at the boy, who showed no intention of going on the court and furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

They had sent those players onto the court for the sake of the boy, but he unexpectedly didn’t go in.

The audience in the live stream room also noticed Pei Yan’s furrowed brows. After all, Pei Yan was usually indifferent, so it was rare to see him with such an expression.

[Hahaha, look at God Pei’s expression. It reveals surprise amidst confusion. Hilarious! Didn’t expect that, did you? He’s not going to play now.]

[He was asked to play earlier, but he didn’t. Now it’s too late!]

[You broke up decisively before, and now you’re in such a sorry state. Let’s see how you cry and try to win him back!]

[You were the one who wanted to break up initially. If you want to break up, then break up. Now you want to lure him back with true love? Love isn’t something you can sell or buy (dog’s head emoji).]

 

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