Chapter 52: I Was Only Abnormal Towards You

“Brother Li Mu, Sister Lu Xiaoxi?!”

A slightly immature voice came from behind.

Li Mu turned around to see that the newcomer was an eleven or twelve-year-old boy along with a younger girl.

Li Mu recognized the boy, having taught him how to play table tennis, but he had no impression of the little girl.

“Mi Dan, is this your sister?” Li Mu greeted them with a smile.

“This is my cousin, she just turned eight this year.” The boy, called Mi Dan, didn’t mind at all.

Not only did Li Mu call him that, but the entire neighborhood, even his parents, called him that. He was quite happy about it. He smiled and patted the little girl on the back, pulling out a brand new, unopened table tennis paddle from behind him. “Brother Li Mu, want to play table tennis?”

Before Li Mu could respond, Mi Dan hurriedly spoke up, “There are no kids in the neighborhood better than me; being invincible is so lonely!”

He was a lively and talkative little boy, somewhat similar to Li Mu when he was younger.

“Look at you being so proud. Have you played against the old men in the neighborhood?”

“Uh, I said I’m invincible among kids; those old men don’t count! Brother Li Mu, let’s go play table tennis!”

Li Mu hadn’t played in a long time either, so he nodded in agreement. Just as he took a step forward, he stepped back again, squatting in front of Lu Xiaoxi with a grin and saying, “Let’s go together. Playing table tennis is much less strenuous than badminton; it won’t be tiring to just mess around.”

“I don’t know how to play table tennis.”

“I do; I’ll teach you.”

“I don’t want to learn.”

Lu Xiaoxi pouted but still stood up and brushed the dust off her pants.

Now she felt much better, the nausea almost gone.

She didn’t want to watch Li Mu play; she just wanted to accompany this cute little sister. It was only because the little sister wanted to go to the table tennis court with Mi Dan that she followed along.

After saying goodbye to Lu Xiaoxi’s parents, the two adults and two kids headed towards the table tennis court.

On the way, Li Mu kept playing with the paddle, balancing the table tennis ball, counting one, two, three.

Lu Xiaoxi watched Li Mu until he missed the ball after hitting it forty or fifty times, and it fell at Li Mu’s feet, bouncing far away. Li Mu had to go pick it up, and Lu Xiaoxi couldn’t help but smile.

Compared to other ball games, table tennis was less physically demanding, making it a favorite sport among the old men in the neighborhood.

The four of them found a table at the edge, and the two girls sat on a bench in the shade to watch the two boys play.

“Brother Li Mu, watch me get my revenge!” Mi Dan still remembered the time Li Mu had slammed the ball down on him. He had been practicing hard for this moment, thinking to himself, “Don’t underestimate the kids!”

After three balls.

Mi Dan ran far to retrieve the ball that Li Mu had sent flying.

Although Li Mu hadn’t played in a long time, it was still no problem to bully this little brat. He dominated the game the entire time.

As they played, something felt off. Mi Dan’s face was filled with unwillingness and grievance. Various emotions transformed into strength, and he became more aggressive. Even Li Mu noticed something was wrong; he let his guard down for just a moment, and Mi Dan won a point.

Lu Xiaoxi kept watching Li Mu.

She used to think Li Mu was always mischievous and thick-skinned.

But when he played table tennis, his face was filled with seriousness, his brows furrowed, and his thin lips pressed together. When he moved, she could see the muscle contours in his arms and calves.

He seemed like a different person.

Suddenly, she understood why so many girls went to watch the school basketball team during middle school.

“Who are you trying to impress…” Lu Xiaoxi felt her face getting warm.

“Cousin, go for it!!” The little sister beside her shouted loudly, cupping her hands in front of her mouth.

As if encouraged, Mi Dan immediately executed a powerful smash. It was so fast that Li Mu didn’t react in time, and he felt a sharp pain in his neck.

“Ah, did you have an epiphany?”

“Hehe, I’m really strong.” Mi Dan gave himself a thumbs up. “In two years, I’ll definitely be better than you.”

“Right now, the score is 13 to 3. You should catch up to me first.”

“Let’s go again, serve the ball!”

Li Mu tossed the ball to Mi Dan, who threw it high, ready to start a new round.

A loud roar echoed.

“Mi Dan, bring your cousin back for lunch!”

The sound lingered.

The four of them looked in the direction of the voice and indeed saw a woman waving from the window.

“Oh no, my mom called me back for lunch!” After running a couple of steps, Mi Dan turned back, pulling his cousin along. “Brother Li Mu, I’ll come back down later!”

“I’ll take over!” Lu Xiaoxi said, stepping in with a cheerful bounce to take Mi Dan’s place.

Table tennis was so simple; it was just about hitting the ball over the net and bouncing it on the opponent’s table, similar to badminton.

The girl felt capable again. She could only watch others play, her hands itching. Now that she had the chance, she definitely wanted to give it a try.

After all, she was just starting out; losing didn’t matter because she was a newbie. But if she managed to win a point against Li Mu, she could laugh at him for being defeated by her!

No matter how she thought about it, it was a win-win!

“I’ll teach you.” Li Mu walked to the opposite side, showing a big smile, slowly demonstrating with the paddle, giving Lu Xiaoxi a 360-degree view.

“This is the forehand, this is the backhand. We amateur players just do what feels comfortable; there’s no need for so many rules…”

“Is that so?”

“No, no, no, you’re holding the paddle wrong.” Li Mu adjusted her fingers with his hand, squeezing her small hand, feeling how soft she was, even her fingers.

After receiving a glare from Lu Xiaoxi, Li Mu just laughed and whistled.

He was just being thick-skinned.

“Do you know you’re being abnormal?”

“I know.”

“…I have nothing to say.”

Li Mu’s honesty left Lu Xiaoxi speechless.

“Actually, I’m only abnormal towards you. Do you know why?” Li Mu sat on the table tennis table, locking eyes with the girl.

“I don’t want to know.”

“If I treated others like this, I’d definitely be scolded.”

“I already said I don’t want to know! And I’ve scolded you too!”

“Your scolding doesn’t count.”

“Go away, get over there!”

Lu Xiaoxi was both angry and amused.

Was she not human? Was her scolding not scolding?

She kicked Li Mu’s calf in frustration and pushed him to the other side.

Lu Xiaoxi beckoned Li Mu with her finger.

“Is this a provocation? I’m invincible among my peers in the neighborhood.”

“But you lost three points to Mi Dan. How old is he, and you still lost to him.”

“I said I’m invincible among my peers; Mi Dan isn’t my peer.” Li Mu laughed. “Since you’re a newbie, I’ll play a drop shot with you, which is like a high clear in badminton.”

“Okay.”

Li Mu tossed the ball high and hit it.

The table tennis ball bounced twice on the table, and Lu Xiaoxi tried hard to receive it, but the paddle just brushed past the ball.

They played several rounds.

Lu Xiaoxi was either on her way to retrieve the ball or waiting to pick it up.

Her clumsy movements made Li Mu laugh.

Seeing her looking all droopy, he pretended to miss the ball, letting her score one.

Then Lu Xiaoxi happily jumped up and down in place, her little ponytail bouncing joyfully.

She really thought she had won against Li Mu.

The girl’s smile was radiant, and Li Mu couldn’t help but smile along with her.

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