Ye Chen said with a smile to Xia Yingluo, "All right, stop grinding through problems—let's go outside and move a bit."
Xia Yingluo hesitated; their P.E. class was basically free time.
Students could head out for sports or stay in the Classroom and study.
Meeting Ye Chen's clear gaze, Xia Yingluo nodded.
"Mm!"
Xia Yingluo closed her textbook and stood up.
Normally she preferred quiet; if anyone else had asked, she would have refused.
But Ye Chen—she simply couldn't turn him down.
Watching the two of them chat so happily, Li Sitong unconsciously clenched her fists.
"Hmph, I won't let you steal my Ye Chen."
On the field some students played Basketball, others kicked a soccer ball, and a few jogged around the track.
Basically the boys did their thing and the girls did theirs.
Li Sitong, Yu Weiwei and Xia Yingluo were on the Basketball court shooting hoops.
Nearly everyone's eyes were glued to the two school flowers: Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo.
Li Sitong was the lively, bright-and-bubbly type.
Xia Yingluo, however, was the shy, icy-beauty sort.
Together the two school flowers became an enchanting sight on the field.
Just then a boy walked over holding a Basketball.
"Si Tong, Yingluo, let's play together."
The speaker was Su Zhe, the class Sports Commissar.
He was fairly good-looking and athletically gifted.
Su Zhe was the school Basketball-team captain and played brilliantly.
Li Sitong frowned. "Sorry, I don't play Basketball."
Xia Yingluo also said, "Sorry, I don't either."
"No worries, I'll teach you," Su Zhe replied with a grin.
Su Zhe counted as one of the school's headline figures.
Plenty of girls had written him love letters.
The only one he'd had eyes for before was Li Sitong; now Xia Yingluo had been added to the list.
He'd tried every trick to chase Li Sitong with zero success. Today, seeing the usually absent Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo on the court, his eyes lit up.
Su Zhe resolved to show off his Basketball talent to the two girls.
Li Sitong refused coldly, "No need—I'm not interested in learning Basketball."
Xia Yingluo shook her head as well. "Sorry, I don't want to learn either."
Seeing both beauties turn him down, Su Zhe wasn't annoyed.
He shot a look at the class Monitor Zhao Meimei.
He'd often given Zhao Meimei little favors.
Understanding the cue, Zhao Meimei said, "Si Tong, Yingluo, why refuse? Su Zhe is the captain of the school team—how could we pass up such a great chance?"
Li Sitong frowned. "I really don't want to learn Basketball."
Xia Yingluo also said, "Neither do I."
"Come on, we're setting up a match and happen to be short a few players. Do me a favor—let's play one game."
After all, Zhao Meimei was the Monitor; refusing her to her face would be impolite.
"All right, stop dawdling—let's go."
Su Zhe beamed, "Great, we'll form teams of three: Yingluo and Si Tong with me, and you with Weiwei and Zhang Ran."
Zhang Ran was Su Zhe's sidekick.
"Sure, three-on-three it is," Yu Weiwei said cheerfully.
Already disliking Su Zhe, Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo frowned at being placed on his team.
Su Zhe stepped onto the court in front of them, flashing a confident smile. "With me on our side we're bound to win."
Yu Weiwei retorted, "Hah, we'll see about that."
Su Zhe was thrilled—this was a perfect chance to shine.
He would use his Basketball skills to unlock the hearts of the two school flowers.
"Hold on."
A calm voice rang out.
Everyone on the court froze.
Ye Chen walked onto the Basketball court, a brilliant smile tugging at his lips.
He came up to Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo and placed himself in front of them.
"Mind if I join?"
There was a steady calm in Ye Chen's eyes that gave an inexplicable sense of safety.
Standing behind him, the two school flowers stared in a daze.
Why was Ye Chen here?
Su Zhe's plan had been within reach; Ye Chen's sudden appearance made him scowl.
Ye Chen was the only guy in class better-looking than he was.
For that reason Su Zhe found him extremely irritating.
Worse, both school flowers seemed quite friendly toward Ye Chen, which intensified Su Zhe's hatred.
He'd finally created a chance to play Basketball with the two girls, and now Ye Chen had barged in to spoil everything—Su Zhe was furious.
"Sorry, we already have six people for three-on-three."
Su Zhe rejected Ye Chen outright.
Ye Chen gave a faint smile. "Classmate Su Zhe, you've misunderstood—I wasn't asking you."
He turned to Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo. "Si Tong, Yingluo, how about adding me?"
Su Zhe's face turned livid at the scene.
The slap to his pride was deafening.
"Sure."
"Of course."
Without a second thought the two beauties agreed.
Neither Li Sitong nor Xia Yingluo wanted to team up with Su Zhe.
Compared with him, they'd much rather play alongside Ye Chen.
Seeing them accept Ye Chen so readily, Su Zhe's expression grew even uglier.
This punk was clearly here to make trouble.
The hell—showing off on his turf? Was Ye Chen asking to be humiliated?
Yu Weiwei's eyes brightened when she saw Ye Chen join. "Ye Chen, you play Basketball too?"
Ye Chen nodded. "A little."
Su Zhe snorted. "A little? Aren't you embarrassed to show your face? I can teach the girls, but I've got zero interest in coaching a guy."
He added, "If you don't want to make a fool of yourself, go practice somewhere private first."
"Kid, know what matters most in life? A little self-knowledge."
Hearing that, Li Sitong stepped in front of Ye Chen. "Su Zhe, that's too much. We're classmates—do you have to mock him like that?"
Xia Yingluo also moved to shield Ye Chen. "So what if you're good at Basketball? Big deal. I'd never play with someone like you."
"I…"
Su Zhe never imagined both beauties would speak up for Ye Chen; his face looked awful.
With the two girls shielding him, Ye Chen felt a warm flutter in his heart.
In his previous life these two women had guarded him until his last breath.
But in this life it was his turn to protect them.
Ye Chen's gaze toward Su Zhe was perfectly calm.
"Classmate Su Zhe, you've misunderstood."
Su Zhe's face was steely. "What do you mean?"
Ye Chen replied, "When I said I can play 'a little,' that 'little' might differ from what you think."
"Hmph, rookies are all the same—what difference could there be?"
Su Zhe glared, flames practically spurting from his eyes.