Chapter 62: The Invitation from the Captain of the School Basketball Team

Qiao Yingzi stamped her foot and vented on the ground for a moment, gathered her emotions, stood up, picked up the microphone, and looked at her mother. "Mom, play by yourself!"

With that, she turned straight back to her room, locked the door from the inside, and ignored her mother altogether.

Unable to open the door with her knocks, Song Qian could only mutter something about "such a wonderful idea," temporarily giving up on forcing her daughter to turn their home into a planetarium, stay indoors, and cut ties with He Chen.

Hm!

She would think of another way!

Meanwhile.

Fang Yifan walked home dejectedly, accompanied by his cousin Lin Lei'er.

"Cousin, are you alright?" Lin Lei'er asked with concern.

"I'm fine." Fang Yifan lacked all energy. Then, remembering something, he urged, "Lei'er, make sure you don't slip up when we get back. You can't tell my mom about what happened today!"

"Got it." Lin Lei'er obediently nodded, adjusted his glasses, parted his lips, but still couldn't hold it in: "Cousin, you shouldn't have bet with your aunt's reputation!"

"I didn't want to either, it just slipped out, and besides, it's not like it's the first time..." Fang Yifan was filled with regret.

Had he known it would turn out this way, even if it killed him, he would... most likely not have agreed to such a bet on his own initiative.

That's right!

In the past, he used to casually make bets with people, saying things like whoever loses has to call the winner dad, and he never thought much of it. It was just like swearing, most of the time it was just talk without any real intent.

Purely running his mouth.

Nobody actually thought that kind of thing would happen!

Yet who could have guessed that this time He Chen not only won, but won so disgustingly!

He kept playing on that rule about the loser calling the winner dad, pushing it even further by throwing around absurd remarks like "three-surname family servant" and "female Fengxian," which even he felt were utterly disgraceful.

Imagine if his mother found out—wouldn't it practically drive her to fury!

What was even more disgusting was that bastard He Chen, who claimed that such a bet was wishful thinking and implied that his mother wasn't good enough for him.

If that's really what you think, then stop making suggestive remarks afterwards!

Jerk!

It made him unable to look at the casual phrase "calling someone dad in a bet" the same way ever again, and even stirred up a twinge of guilt toward his own dad who was locked up inside...

The two of them returned home.

Tong Wenjie immediately stopped Fang Yifan, who was trying to sneak into his room. "How is Yingzi? Is her mood alright?"

"Pretty good." Seeing that his mother was asking about Qiao Yingzi, Fang Yifan instantly breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to complain that Qiao Yingzi had changed, but bringing that up would inevitably drag He Chen into the conversation, which he didn't dare do.

Otherwise, if he accidentally slipped up, this "filial son of the millennium" might really be chased all over the residential compound by his mother with a broomstick in the middle of the night.

"Yingzi is Aunt Song Qian's daughter, and she's your childhood sweetheart. You need to pay attention and care more about her!" Although Tong Wenjie was anxious, she wouldn't bluntly reveal her inner calculations, lest her son develop unnecessary ideas prematurely. Not only would his own studies be completely ruined, but if it affected Qiao Yingzi's college entrance examination, the future mother-in-law would certainly never agree to it.

So she only dropped hints.

"Don't worry, I know what to do!" Fang Yifan felt somewhat irritated, lacking his former confidence and casual attitude.

Instead, his mother's words had reawakened his unease and distress over the drastic shift in his childhood sweetheart's attitude.

"Did you guys cause any trouble today?" Tong Wenjie asked casually. "Nothing happened with that He Chen, right?"

Much like her son, who was reluctant to mention He Chen, she actually didn't want to bring him up either, lest her son find out that He Chen had cuckolded him, the consequences of which would be unimaginable.

Yet she still needed to probe into He Chen's movements.

Hearing his mother bring up He Chen, Fang Yifan felt his heart skip a beat, and he hurriedly brushed her off before retreating to his room.

Although Tong Wenjie felt that Fang Yifan seemed a bit off, she had her own worries weighing heavily on her mind—both sides were terrified of each other—so she didn't press him further.

After Ruan Liuzheng, Lin Miaomiao, and Qian Sanyi walked home together, their minds were still somewhat dazed, echoing with Lin Miaomiao's endless praises of He Chen and her desire to become his disciple, alongside Qian Sanyi—that rebellious disciple wishing to leapfrog his master—refusing to be demoted to a grand-disciple, bickering all the while with his teacher Lin Miaomiao.

She had, of course, gone to watch the basketball showdown at the school playground that afternoon.

And she had been struck hard by how handsome he was!

Which only heightened her sense of urgency.

Why did he have to be so handsome all day long, and even getting more and more handsome?

It left her increasingly worried that someone would poach her boyfriend and leave her backyard ruined.

Apricot blossoms hanging high over the garden wall!

Thinking about how she might become a miserable victim at any moment, the bitterness in her heart was profound.

After finally managing to brush off the endlessly energetic Lin Miaomiao, she greeted her mother, who was practicing yoga, tidied up a bit, and prepared to join her.

No matter how intense or exhausting her studies were, she was determined to stick with yoga until the end, making it part of her daily routine so she could truly master it!

She had figured it out!

Compared to the Crane Qigong or Turtle Breathing Technique, as a girl, practicing yoga was by far the most useful choice!

However, when she went to the balcony to change into her yoga outfit, she spotted a bulky new item sitting there—one that clearly didn't look cheap. Astonished, she questioned her mother and learned that it belonged to He Chen, having been sent to him by classmate Qiao Yingzi's father. Her heart sank, and the bitterness within her grew even heavier.

What was going on here?

Was this the father stepping in to help with the pursuit?

She truly hadn't realized Qiao Yingzi played so dirty!

She had known from the start that Qiao Yingzi suddenly asking her and He Chen for help wasn't as simple as it seemed. Now it was abundantly clear that the girl was trying to move right in and take over!

"Mom, you need to talk to He Chen! First it's packages arriving from Shanghai, and now my classmate is sending such an expensive telescope—what is this supposed to mean?!" Ruan Liuzheng couldn't help complaining to Ruan Lu.

"I already talked to him!" Ruan Lu didn't scold her this time. While holding a yoga pose, she replied, "He said he knows and it won't happen again."

"Not happen again, my foot." Ruan Liuzheng pouted.

Although she didn't know the internet meme about "next time for sure," she knew that there was a high probability of a next time. Still, seeing that her mother had finally agreed and supported her for once, she couldn't say anything more.

Early the next morning, after waking up, she walked over to the balcony, glanced at the astronomical telescope, and peeked toward the pine tree direction. Seeing Lin Miaomiao standing beside He Chen, clumsily imitating his movements—unlike the onlookers watching the spectacle—she couldn't force a smile at all.

Just like the Monkey King, she only felt utterly annoyed!

All the way to school, she kept dropping hints for He Chen to explain himself, but He Chen wore an expression that basically said "as long as you don't spell it out directly, I won't bring it up," leaving her teeth itching with frustration.

Class 3, Grade 3.

The moment He Chen sat down, a circle of people swarmed around him, all excitedly discussing his heaven-defying performance at the playground yesterday afternoon.

Suddenly, the surrounding crowd consciously parted to leave a gap, allowing a tall boy to walk straight up to He Chen. Meeting his gaze, the boy reached out a hand: "He Chen, join the school basketball team?"

An uproar rose among the crowd.

Although everyone knew He Chen was insanely good at basketball, seeing Lin Xiaoran—the class's athletic scholarship student and captain of the school basketball team—publicly issue an invitation on behalf of the team still felt sensational.

This was practically an official endorsement.

Everyone eagerly awaited He Chen's agreement.

That way, they would get to watch He Chen play basketball again, and even represent Chunfeng High School in matches against other schools. By extension, it would feel as though they themselves were dominating the court, which was a thrilling thought indeed.