Chapter 13: The Ball Game

Chen Xingyi was chuckling, his chest gently shaking with amusement, as he continued to tease Song Yu, “That’s what I call unbiased, going straight for the jugular, and nearly impossible to get close to him, okay? But that girl was plastered all over him, hitting him with both hands and feet. And even then, the Demon King didn’t strangle her and throw her out. And then there was that time at the beginning of the semester…”

“What are you two gossiping about?” Jiang Cheng asked, walking over and coldly glaring at the merrily chatting Chen Xingyi.

Looking as guilty as a thief, Chen Xingyi hurriedly tried to cover it up, “We weren’t talking about anything.”

He even tried to pull Song Yu into his charade, “Right, Lao Song?”

But that treacherous friend Song Yu suddenly grinned mischievously, deliberately stirring up trouble, “We weren’t talking about anything much. Just that Chen Xingyi was telling me you’ve got your eye on some girl, but she’s not interested in you, and that you’ve been really irritable lately…”

“Damn it! Lao Song, you’re selling me out!” Seeing the situation turn sour, Chen Xingyi immediately jumped up and clamped his hand over Song Yu’s mouth, looking at Jiang Cheng with a wronged expression. “Don’t, don’t listen to his nonsense. This guy is the worst.”

Saying that, he very perceptively grabbed a glass of wine and offered it to Jiang Cheng, smiling ingratiatingly, “Come on, Brother Cheng, have a drink.”

Jiang Cheng nonchalantly pulled his hand out of his pocket, took the glass, and raised an eyebrow as he looked at Chen Xingyi. “What’s this? Didn’t get enough of a beating last time?”

“Enough, enough,” Chen Xingyi said, wincing as he recalled the scene in the boxing room last time. Seeing that the Demon King seemed to be in a decent mood, he quickly changed the subject. “Oh, right, I just saw that American bastard, Kyle. Should we kick him out?”

Jiang Cheng lazily took a sip of wine, his tone calm. “No need. We’re open for business, why would we kick out someone who’s bringing us money? I’ve already had someone keep an eye on him.”

“That’s good,” Chen Xingyi said seriously. “As long as he’s not here for revenge.”

“Heh~” Jiang Cheng put down his glass and scoffed disdainfully. “I’m just afraid he won’t dare.”

The look in his eyes made Chen Xingyi sweat for Kyle. That bastard better not cause trouble in this bar, or he’s going to get skinned alive.

Song Yu, who was enjoying the drama from the sidelines, took a sip of his wine and lazily said to the two beside him, “Speaking of which, you two are really boring. Are you ever going to be done with school? You’re both seasoned veterans of society already, still repeating grades. What’s with that? Just leaving me out here to get beaten up by society all alone?”

The three of them had grown up together. Song Yu was the oldest, and Chen Xingyi was the youngest. Originally, Jiang Cheng should have graduated according to his age, but he had actually repeated a year. Song Yu was helpless.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Chen Xingyi replied flippantly. “Who told you guys to get old? Why not enjoy life?”

Chen Xingyi chuckled and changed the subject. “I feel sorry for Brother Cheng because he suddenly ran back home to study after being in England for so long. I can at least understand my management major. But this guy actually studied law. Damn!”

None of them understood why Jiang Cheng had studied law.

Chen Xingyi, with a cheeky grin, sized Jiang Cheng up and down, clicking his tongue. “Look at this guy, he doesn’t look like he belongs in law. More like a bandit chieftain going to the capital for the imperial exams. Hey?…”

Saying that, he suddenly became serious and leaned closer to Jiang Cheng, asking, “What’s this? Are you planning to graduate and go undercover for the Ministry of Public Security?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng didn’t say much, just casually replying, “That way, if you end up in the slammer someday, it’ll be easier for me to bail you out.”

Chen Xingyi’s hair stood on end. “You’re the one who’s going to jail! I’m a law-abiding citizen!”

Jiang Cheng and Song Yu both responded with a simple: “Heh heh.” The school’s original soccer match was postponed because the neighboring medical school suddenly had a rare case that required study, pushing the event all the way to the end of the freshman military training.

Excited to watch the soccer match together, the freshmen cheerfully gathered around the soccer field early.

On the field, the players from both schools had mostly arrived, and their respective team leaders were giving everyone pre-match instructions and going over the details.

Beijing University’s uniform was a unified black jersey, while the medical school’s was white.

On the field, black and white were clearly distinguished.

The crowd of onlookers outside the field was excessively crowded and lively.

“Ahhh, hurry, hurry… tell me which one is Jiang Cheng! I can’t wait to see him!”

“Based on the rumors, which one do you think it is?”

“Can’t tell… heartbreaking.”

“Haven’t you seen the cheerleading captain, Song Ning, also looking around? That means Jiang Cheng hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Whoa, is this some kind of diva act…?”

Before whoever was speaking could finish, they were abruptly interrupted by a wave of screams.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, Jiang Cheng’s here! He’s here, he’s here…”

They saw two boys slowly walking onto the green field, one wearing a black jersey with the number 7, the other wearing a white jersey with the number 6.

Their appearance caused an uproar on the spot, the scene rivaling an idol fan meeting.

“Whoa, number 7 is Jiang Cheng, right? It must be him. This is even more impressive than the rumors!”

“The rumors don’t lie!”

“Oh my god, this is the first time I’ve seen someone look so hot with a buzz cut. The dark and brooding god from the novels I read suddenly has a face!”

“Is that a butterfly tattoo on his neck? A thorn butterfly? Thorns piercing the butterfly’s wings? That black and red color scheme, what a dark and bloody tattoo!”

“What should I do, what should I do? I like the white-clad god next to him even more. Is he from the medical school next door?”

“The one in white is called Tang Yu, from the medical university next door, the young master of the wealthy Tang family.”

“…”

For a moment, the outside of the field was even livelier than the inside. People of all ages gathered together, curious and gossiping. Almost every player was verbally scrutinized by the girls.

The cheerleading dance ended, and with the referee’s whistle, the match officially began.

“Weren’t you not going to watch the soccer game?” Lu Zhixia reminded, feeling gloomy as Ji Shuyi dragged her toward the soccer field. “That Jiang Cheng you hate is there.”

“I’m not going to see him,” Ji Shuyi said, pulling Lu Zhixia along. “A friend of mine is participating for the medical school. He just sent me a message. We’re going to cheer him on.”

Saying that, Ji Shuyi suddenly turned her head and smiled meaningfully. “He’s a big hottie, you know. Hurry up!”

Lu Zhixia’s eyes lit up, instantly excited. “You said hottie? Then I have energy! And a new hottie I haven’t seen before.”

Lu Zhixia instantly overtook Ji Shuyi and ran to the front. When they arrived at the soccer field, the scene was already packed. It took them a Herculean effort to squeeze to the front.

“Which hottie is your friend?”

As soon as Lu Zhixia stood firm, before she could even catch her breath, she asked. However, she immediately saw Jiang Cheng dribbling the ball and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow, Jiang Cheng is really handsome.”

“Don’t think so,” Ji Shuyi retorted immediately and then pointed to the number six on the white team, saying, “Isn’t number six on the white team more handsome than him? That’s a real hottie, okay? Plus, he’s super sunny and polite.”

Seeing the white team’s number six, Lu Zhixia’s eyes instantly flashed. She was indeed stunned by his beauty and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, he’s really handsome. Then Jiang Cheng is yours, and the white hottie is mine.”

Ji Shuyi: “┌(。Д。)┐”

Depressed, she raised her hand and punched her. “Can’t you give me a good one?”

Lu Zhixia giggled. “Isn’t Jiang Cheng good? He even hugged you and lifted you up high.”

“Lu Zhixia!” Ji Shuyi exasperatedly elbowed her again, saying, “I’m going to tell your white hottie that your friends list is full of guys! Humph!”

“No, no, no,” Lu Zhixia laughed broadly, grabbing Ji Shuyi’s arm and pleading. “Don’t hurt me where it hurts! Okay, okay, I’m not joking anymore. Let’s watch the game seriously. The white hottie’s team is currently at a disadvantage.”

Ji Shuyi also saw the score on the scoreboard. It was currently 1-0; Jiang Cheng’s team had already scored a goal. She frowned slightly in annoyance and focused on the situation on the field.

As she was fretting, she saw Tang Yu on the green field skillfully steal the ball from a Beijing University player, then quickly turn around and run with the ball, his movements clean and neat. It looked like he was about to score.

In an instant, Ji Shuyi and Lu Zhixia shouted out in excitement.

“Ahhh… Tang Yu, go!”

“Ahhhhhhhhh… White number six, go! Score, score!”

The two shouted a string of excited cheers.

Despite the crowded and noisy environment, Jiang Cheng, running, actually heard Ji Shuyi’s shout amidst the clamor.

Unconsciously, he looked in the direction of the voice and saw the girl dancing excitedly in front of the crowd, cheering for someone else.

After not seeing her for many days, her complexion had recovered, and she seemed even more delicate and charming than before.

At that moment, Tang Yu scored a goal, and the entire medical university cheered in celebration. On the Beijing University side, only Ji Shuyi and Lu Zhixia were excitedly cheering along, making them seem out of place.

“Aren’t those two from Beijing University?”

Someone said discontentedly, “Why are they cheering for the other team? Isn’t that biting the hand that feeds you? What kind of people are they?”

Ji Shuyi, who was in the middle of cheering, immediately darkened her expression and glared at the person who spoke. “Say that again!”

Seeing this, Lu Zhixia immediately retorted without hesitation.

“Alright, alright, peace brings wealth. Don’t argue.”

Someone spoke up to placate them, quietly reminding the dissatisfied girl, “They’re wealthy heiresses. They’re used to being willful. It’s not worth offending them over a soccer game.”

The tense atmosphere was broken by a whistle, signaling halftime on the field.