WG - 27

There were many girls watching.

Though not standing beside the last basketball court, their hearts were elsewhere, with their eyes constantly glancing over at Xie Ye.

The thoughts of these young girls were quite obvious—they basically wanted to see the handsome guy, watch what he was doing, and then blush a little.

Originally, it wasn’t a problem, but when Chi Zhiyu and Wu Xuan appeared, issues arose.

All the girls on the sidelines unanimously agreed not to approach the court, yet two of them went, and they seemed quite familiar with the boys inside.

Especially that girl who covered her head with her school uniform—she was actually talking to Xie Ye and even patted his shoulder?!

They thought Xie Ye would be annoyed and refuse, but quite the opposite.

Not only did he not refuse, but he also reached out to adjust her school uniform???

Later, when they saw Xie Ye handing the water bottle to the girl in front of him to open.

The girls on the sidelines were dumbfounded.

Xie Ye’s attitude was completely smooth and natural.

As if he had done it many times before.

???

What happened to the cool guy?

The cold, arrogant big shot?

In an instant, the girls completely refreshed their impression of Xie Ye. When they snapped back to reality and looked at the girl again, though they couldn’t see her face, she seemed equally speechless but still reached out to open it for him.

And Xie Ye didn’t drink it, just held it casually in his hand. Looking at his relaxed expression, he seemed to be in a good mood?

?

...

Over here.

Chi Zhiyu scolded him.

What unbearable pain?

It was just a bruise. Earlier, he disdainfully rejected the infirmary.

Now he claims unbearable pain?

Why didn’t he say his hand was broken?

After silently criticizing him in her heart, Xie Ye seemed to guess her thoughts, looked at her, and calmly said, “Oh, it feels like my hand is broken.”

“...” Chi Zhiyu glanced at him, “Is that so? Do you know what it feels like to have a broken hand?”

Xie Ye: “...”

Chi Zhiyu snorted, not wanting to bother with him, and walked toward the basketball hoop. She glanced at the scattered clothes on the left and turned to ask Xie Ye about the piece placed alone under the shade on the right, “Is this yours?”

Xie Ye stood at the back, lazily humming an “Mm.”

Hearing this, Chi Zhiyu immediately picked it up and placed it on her lap, pulling Wu Xuan to sit under the shade of the tree. She looked up at the game situation inside the court.

Wu Xuan exclaimed, “Wow, Su Le is pretty strong.”

As she spoke, Su Le on the court had just dribbled to the three-point line, picked up the ball, leaned back, and shot it. A perfect arc traced through the air, hitting the basket squarely.

The male partners around him all clapped and congratulated him.

Chi Zhiyu raised an eyebrow, before she could express any admiration, the girls watching nearby let out a collective “Wow.”

Upon hearing this, Chi Zhiyu turned her head and saw a group of girls standing by the neighboring court, their gazes all directed towards them.

Just then, Li Taoran, who had tired from playing, came down and saw the two of them sitting under the hoop. He waved enthusiastically with a smile, greeting them, “How’s it going? Did you see my superb basketball skills?”

“Nope.” Wu Xuan countered, “I only saw Su Le’s.”

Li Taoran widened his eyes, “He’s no different from me, alright?”

“No difference?” Wu Xuan pointed out, “Li Taoran, are you too self-absorbed?”

“What nonsense?” Li Taoran was annoyed and asked the nearby Xie Ye, “You tell me, isn’t my basketball skill top-notch?”

Xie Ye leaned against the pole next to the hoop, glanced at him lightly, “Do I have to tell you what you’re like?”

Li Taoran: “??? “

Chi Zhiyu, seeing his expression, laughed unkindly, and diplomatically said, “Little Brother Li, don’t be upset. Rest assured, I saw your first-class basketball skills.”

Hearing this, Li Taoran was immediately satisfied, clicked his tongue, “Sure enough, Little Sister Chi knows how to appreciate people.”

Chi Zhiyu struggled to suppress her laughter and nodded, “Of course, I’m number one at judging people.”

“Oh, then you won’t have trouble finding a good boyfriend or husband in the future,” Li Taoran joked along.

Chi Zhiyu nodded, “You can rest assured about that; whoever I choose will definitely be decent.”

With this statement, Li Taoran heard it and raised an eyebrow, immediately asking, “What do you mean? Does Little Sister Chi already have someone in mind?”

Xie Ye was tossing the water bottle, catching it every now and then, raising his eyes to look at Chi Zhiyu.

Unexpectedly, the topic suddenly shifted here. Chi Zhiyu paused for a moment, subtly glanced at the person beside her, blinked, and said, “Do I? How would I know?”

“Never mind, I was just joking,” Li Taoran waved his hand, “Right now, you should focus on studying hard and making progress every day.”

“Are you the academic director?” Chi Zhiyu found it amusing.

As her words fell, another basket was made on the court, and the neighboring girls cheered again.

Li Taoran turned his head to look, clicking his tongue and saying to Xie Ye, “Good thing you didn’t play; otherwise, they’d be screaming even more, hurting my ears.”

Xie Ye wasn’t particularly interested in basketball, just passing the time.

As he spoke, Li Taoran suddenly noticed the water bottle Xie Ye had been shaking around, still full, clearly new.

“You have water, it just so happens that I’m dying of thirst, give me a sip.”

As he spoke, Li Taoran reached out to grab it, but Xie Ye withdrew his hand.

“Huh?” Li Taoran was startled, “What do you mean?”

Xie Ye’s expression was calm, “There’s none around, can’t you get it yourself?”

Li Taoran: “Not at all, it’s so hard for me to move, and you haven’t even drunk from it. Why not give it to me?”

Xie Ye refused, “No.”

Li Taoran: “?”

Xie Ye said unhurriedly, “It’s mine.”

“...”

So arrogant.

Beside them, Chi Zhiyu didn’t pay attention to these two but was pulled by Wu Xuan to check if there were any handsome freshmen or sophomores nearby.

To explore some fresh blood.

Chi Zhiyu quietly discussed with her, not paying much attention to the game situation on the court.

After a few seconds, her peripheral vision noticed something rushing straight toward her from the left.

Then, she heard someone shout from the side, “Be careful!”

Upon hearing this, she instinctively turned her head, and the light beside her dimmed accordingly.

Before she could see what it was, Chi Zhiyu saw Xie Ye’s figure suddenly appear in her field of view.

The next second, accompanied by the sound of a basketball colliding,

The slender youth instantly leaned forward, one hand pulling her into his embrace, shielding her in front of him.

Chi Zhiyu’s head abruptly crashed into his chest.

Unexpectedly.

The scent of sandalwood, mixed with a faint fragrance, overwhelmed her.

Chi Zhiyu’s cheek rested against his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat in her ear, her mind blank for several seconds.

Coming back to her senses, she felt his hand tightly gripping her waist. She slightly raised her head and happened to see his beautiful Adam’s apple, above which was his smooth jawline, his thin lips slightly tense, seemingly somewhat cold.

Xie Ye noticed her movement, lowering his eyes to look at her.

The interplay of light and shadow reflected in his eyes, his long lashes slightly drooping, gazing at her.

Under the shade of the tree, against the light, with dim lighting, Chi Zhiyu tilted her head and suddenly met his slightly darkened gaze.

“Did you get hit anywhere?”

Chi Zhiyu paused for a moment, then responded to his question, turning her head to glance at the basketball still bouncing on the ground by his feet.

Chi Zhiyu came back to her senses and shook her head, “No.”

Xie Ye’s expression softened slightly, and a second later, as if realizing the current posture was somewhat inappropriate, his body stiffened. After a pause, he naturally released her waist and took a step back.

The distance between them widened as his presence withdrew.

Chi Zhiyu lowered her eyes.

This scene came suddenly; neither Wu Xuan and Li Taoran nor the others had reacted.

Coming back to her senses, Wu Xuan hurriedly grabbed her hand and asked, “Are you alright? Were you hit anywhere?”

Li Taoran also rushed over, looking at the neighboring court, frowning and shouting, “How are you playing?”

“Sorry, sorry!” The boy who had mistakenly thrown the ball immediately ran over, apologizing to Chi Zhiyu, “I accidentally used too much force. Did you get hit anywhere?”

Chi Zhiyu, emerging from Xie Ye’s embrace, smiled at him, “I’m fine.”

The boy sighed in relief, “That’s good, no harm done.”

Chi Zhiyu: “But be more careful next time.”

“Rest assured, there won’t be a next time.”

The boy, upon finishing his reply, looked up and locked eyes with Xie Ye beside him.

The youth stood in the shadows, his expression somewhat calm and indifferent, but his dark eyes looked over, inexplicably somewhat cold.

The boy froze, then heard the girl beside him suddenly call out, “Xie Ye.”

In an instant, the youth reined in his emotions, his eyelids drooping, looking at the girl’s fair and slender nape, coldly responding with an “Mm,” “What?”

“Return the ball to him.” Chi Zhiyu picked up the basketball that had rolled to her feet at some point and handed it to him.

Xie Ye furrowed his brow, didn’t take it, and lifted his eyes to look at the boy opposite him.

When his cold gaze met Xie Ye’s indifferent eyes, the boy shivered and immediately reached out to take the basketball, quickly saying, “No need, no need, I’ll take it myself. Thanks, thanks. I’ll leave first.”

Chi Zhiyu watched him leave, blinking, “Why did he do that?”

“Why do you care what he did?” Wu Xuan turned her head, still worriedly asking, “Are you sure you weren’t hit anywhere?”

Chi Zhiyu smiled, “Really, I wasn’t. If I had been, why would I still be tolerating it?”

“That makes sense. Xie Ye acted so quickly, so nothing serious should have happened,” Li Taoran remarked, “Otherwise, it might really have hit your head.”

Hearing this, Wu Xuan still felt apprehensive, carefully examining her head.

“?”

Chi Zhiyu blinked, “What are you doing?”

Wu Xuan: “Checking if your head has any issues.”

“...”

Chi Zhiyu was speechless, “Are you insulting me or caring for me?”

“Of course, I’m concerned.” After Wu Xuan finished speaking, she swiftly glanced at Xie Ye behind her, then ambiguously looked at her and whispered, “But since Xie Ye hugged you so quickly just now, there shouldn’t be any problem, right?”

Chi Zhiyu paused, recalling the earlier scene, then coughed, “Can we talk seriously?”

“How is this not serious?” Wu Xuan glanced at her, “Or are you thinking about something else?”

Chi Zhiyu: “... You caught me.”

Wu Xuan: “...”

Wu Xuan: ?

Chi Zhiyu, seeing her expression, burst out laughing.

Knowing she was teasing, Wu Xuan didn’t dwell on it and looked around, pulling her up, “Let’s not sit here; it’s too dangerous.”

“What difference does it make? We’ll get hit wherever we sit,” Chi Zhiyu analyzed for her.

Wu Xuan was still thinking of a solution, “So where should we sit?”

“So,” Chi Zhiyu blinked, “let’s not sit anymore.”

“Hmm?” Wu Xuan was momentarily stunned.

But Chi Zhiyu didn’t answer, rose, picked up Xie Ye’s jacket, turned, and handed it to him.

Xie Ye glanced at the jacket, “What are you doing?”

Chi Zhiyu naturally opened her mouth, “What do you mean, what am I doing? Let’s go home.”

Hearing this, Xie Ye raised his eyes and looked at her for a few seconds, reached out to take the jacket, and casually draped it over her.

Chi Zhiyu was unexpectedly covered, and after pulling the jacket off, she saw that he had already walked away. Turning her head, she waved to Li Taoran and Wu Xuan, then quickly caught up with him.

The basketball court had two entrances. The boys usually used the back door, though it was difficult to walk through compared to the front steps—it was a steep slope—but there were fewer people, so it wasn’t as crowded.

Chi Zhiyu stepped over the threshold of the back door, holding his jacket and complained, “Are you trying to kill me with heat?”

Xie Ye glanced at her, “Are you dead?”

“...” Chi Zhiyu gave him a look and directly threw the jacket over his head.

Giving him a taste of his own medicine.

This movement wasn’t loud.

But the gazes thrown from the basketball court behind were quite numerous.

When they saw Chi Zhiyu’s bold action, they were shocked.

But the next second, they saw Xie Ye’s head being pressed down by the jacket, yet he didn’t resist, just pulled her hand to his side with one hand, moving away from the nearby court.

They walked away side by side.