The outcome of the match was already determined, and there wasn’t much time left before the evening self-study session, so the match ended there.
After exchanging fist bumps with a few younger students from the team, Duan Ye walked through the crowd and strode towards Jiang Yumo’s location. He originally intended to get closer, but something made him realize, and he stopped one meter away from her.
Jiang Yumo didn’t think much about it, so when he stopped, she instinctively moved forward.
Duan Ye took two steps back, expressing helplessness with a slight hint of embarrassment, and whispered, “Don’t come closer. I’m sweating, and it smells.”
Of course, a boy would hope to be invincible in front of the girl he likes.
He didn’t want her to see him as unkempt.
That’s also why, even though the school’s headmaster couldn’t be bothered to deal with him, and he didn’t dye or perm his hair like those unruly students from other schools.
On the one hand, he didn’t appreciate it, and on the other hand, Jiang Yumo once casually mentioned that boys with brightly colored hair seemed like traffic lights, silly and foolish.
He didn’t dress in loose-fitting trendy clothes like others, because that would make him look unenergetic and careless.
He didn’t smoke or drink like others either because… he knew that people who smoked regularly carried an odor that they might not even notice themselves, but girls actually didn’t like it.
He just wanted to make himself appear more like someone from her world.
Zhao Zheng and Guo Shichao hooked their arms together and burst into laughter upon hearing Duan Ye’s words. They said to Jiang Yumo and Yan Qing, “My Brother Duan is being modest. What do you mean by it smells? It’s clearly the purest essence of manliness!”
Jiang Yumo : “…”
Ah, please don’t mention the words “man” and “woman” anymore!
She was speechless and ignored Zhao Zheng’s nonsensical words. She lowered her head and found a tissue with a faint fragrance in her pocket. She pulled out two and handed them to him, saying, “Then wipe off the sweat.”
“Sure.” Duan Ye took them and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Basketball was a physically demanding sport.
And Zhou Ji had good skills, so it wasn’t easy for Duan Ye to win against him. At this moment, Duan Ye felt like he was drenched in sweat all over.
He breathed slightly heavily, having just unbuttoned his collar. “Have you eaten?”
Only then did Jiang Yumo finally remember.
She had only eaten one-third of the bowl of fried rice she bought.
Maybe it’s because she went to watch the match in the middle, but surprisingly, she’s not hungry at all right now.
“I bought fried rice,” Jiang Yumo replied. “I came over as soon as I heard you were playing the match when I was halfway through eating.”
Duan Ye nodded. “Do you want something else to eat?”
Jiang Yumo shook her head. “I’m full. I can’t even finish this fried rice. I don’t want to eat anymore.”
The audience at the stadium gradually dispersed.
Guo Shichao glanced at the disposable food container in Jiang Yumo’s hand and suddenly got an idea. He pretended to check the time on his phone and said, “At this hour, I guess the cafeteria must have sold out of food. Perfect timing, Sister Mo, if you don’t want it, give it to Brother Duan. He hasn’t eaten yet.”
Jiang Yumo was shocked. “Ah?!”
She instinctively looked at Duan Ye and said, “But this is the leftovers of what I ate.”
The food stalls at the cafeteria that had delicious food must have run out, but there were other options. At the very least, the school mini-supermarket would have instant noodles!
She had already touched this fried rice—it was leftover food.
Zhao Zheng happily approached and snatched the disposable food container from Jiang Yumo’s hand. “What’s the big deal? Our Brother Duan isn’t a stranger.”
Eating the leftover fried rice from his beloved wife, can that be called leftovers? How is that possible?
Clearly, it was a delicious dish from the mortal realm. Look, even Brother Duan didn’t stop them, which obviously meant he was okay with it.
With the fried rice being snatched away by Zhao Zheng, Jiang Yumo couldn’t retrieve it. Her face turned red, and she held onto Yan Qing even tighter.
Yan Qing exchanged a glance with Sun Mengting and both of them giggled quietly.
Let her hold on tight~
Duan Ye’s lips curled up slightly, and there was a faint smile in his eyes. From start to finish, he didn’t stop Guo Shichao and Zhao Zheng, indicating that their actions struck a chord with him.
Jiang Yumo was embarrassed and had to change the subject. She lifted her gaze and asked Duan Ye, “By the way, why did you come to play basketball today?”
She was still curious about this matter.
Duan Ye paused for a moment, the faint smile on his face fading. He lowered his head to wipe the sweat off the back of his neck and replied, “I just felt like playing.”
Jiang Yumo breathed a sigh of relief.
So it really was just that he felt like playing, and it happened that Zhou Ji was on the court.
“Hmm,” Jiang Yumo looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. “But you played so well.”
Duan Ye replied, “It’s been a while since I last played, so my skills were a bit rusty.”
Zhao Zheng and Guo Shichao exchanged a glance, clicking their tongues to express their disbelief.
What does this mean? He won the game despite not playing for a long time and having rusty skills. If he played every day without any rust, wouldn’t he completely annihilate Zhou Ji and make Zhou Ji kneel on the ground screaming for mercy?
—Brother Duan, you did it, you’re so proud!
—You’re showing off!
Jiang Yumo didn’t catch the implied meaning in Duan Ye’s words, but she still said, “You were already amazing! Especially that last shot, it was superb!”
She didn’t know much about basketball.
It was Duan Ye who liked basketball. She had been dragged by Yan Qing and Sun Mengting to watch a few matches, and she could vaguely understand some bits and pieces.
However, there was still a long way to go before she could be considered knowledgeable about basketball.
Duan Ye wiped his sweat with a tissue, suppressing his laughter. He felt like the scent of the tissue lingered in his nose and couldn’t be dispersed.
“It was nothing,” he modestly and calmly replied.
Guo Shichao shook his head, unable to bear it any longer.
Shouldn’t he remind Brother Duan that being too showy might attract trouble?
Duan Ye took the phone from Zhao Zheng’s hand. “We have less than twenty minutes before class.”
He looked at her. “Are you hungry with only eating a little fried rice?”
Jiang Yumo smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m not hungry!”
Besides, her fried rice was snatched away by Zhao Zheng, who acted as if he was defending something. There was no way she could snatch it back from him.
Duan Ye nodded slightly. “Okay, if you get hungry later, text me.”
Yan Qing covered her chest, feeling worried. How would she ever find a boyfriend in the future? It was one thing to be obsessed with romance novels and get carried away by the male leads, knowing they were fictional characters. But now, witnessing Duan Ye’s unconditional and limitless devotion to Yumo, her standards for potential partners had to be raised significantly. Oh no! How could she be attracted to an average-looking, not tall, and inconsiderate ordinary guy anymore?!
Jiang Yumo : “Oh, okay~”
It was time for them to return to the classroom. After waving goodbye to Duan Ye, Jiang Yumo linked arms with Yan Qing and Sun Mengting, and walked towards the school building.
Yan Qing exclaimed, “I declare that Brother Duan reached new heights of handsomeness today!”
Sun Mengting replied, “Whether he’s handsome or not, I don’t really care, but… don’t you find it exciting? Duan bro eating the fried rice left by Yumo! And he used the spoon and chopsticks that Yumo used! Oh! Just thinking about it makes me burst into laughter!”
Yan Qing gave Sun Mengting a flirtatious look. “I get it, I get it! That’s like… that indirect something! Brother Duan has got the moves!”
Jiang Yumo blushed and said, “Shut up, shut up! Don’t say anymore!! Stop it!!”
“Hehehe, don’t be shy!”
“Yeah, why are you shy with us? You should be shy with Brother Duan!”
Jiang Yumo : “…”
These two really speak all they want!
Duan Ye felt uncomfortable with the sticky sweat on his body. Although he didn’t live in the school dormitory and didn’t have spare clothes to change into, he couldn’t bear the uncomfortable feeling of being all sweaty. Right now, it was fine, but he was worried that if Yumo said she was hungry later and he went to bring her food, his body odor might be unpleasant. There was a communal bathroom in Fifth High School, so he went to the small supermarket to buy a new towel and shower gel before heading towards the communal bathroom.
The school dormitories also had bathrooms, but they were shared between two dorm rooms, and some people found it inconvenient to wait, so they would come to the communal bathroom.
Especially in their final year of high school, everyone wanted to make the most of their study time. Some students would take a shower before the evening self-study session so that they could go straight to bed after it was over.
Although Zhou Ji didn’t have a cleanliness obsession, he had been pampered since childhood and also disliked the feeling of being covered in sweat. After asking his underlings, he took a towel and shower gel and headed to the communal bathroom.
The communal bathroom had separate sections for males and females, with a divider on the female side but not even a curtain on the male side.
After finally rinsing off all the sweat, Duan Ye felt much more comfortable. He didn’t even bother to blow-dry his hair—it was short and there was no difference whether he blow-dried it or not.
Before he could leave the bathroom, he ran into Zhou Ji.
Zhou Ji was in a good mood today. After all, playing basketball was enjoyable, especially when he faced an equal opponent. He looked at Duan Ye and didn’t ignore him like before. Although they had been opponents on the court just now, they had formed a bond through playing together. He didn’t know who he learned it from, but he said to Duan Ye, “You played well.”
Duan Ye didn’t even lift his eyelids.
The bathroom was dimly lit, and he didn’t see Duan Ye’s expression. Of course, he wouldn’t stare at another man. He casually replied, “Let’s continue next time. I wasn’t in great shape today.”
It means that there was a reason for losing to Duan Ye, and it had nothing to do with his skill level.
Duan Ye didn’t pay any attention to Zhou Ji. He didn’t say yes or no, he simply couldn’t be bothered to respond.
As for Zhou Ji, although his parents’ conflicts had affected him to some extent, he was still the only child of the Zhou family. Whether it was from his paternal grandfather’s side or his maternal grandfather’s side, he was spoiled. Therefore, he developed an arrogant and domineering personality. People like him are most confident, and just like now, he automatically interpreted Duan Ye’s lack of response as agreement and approval.
Duan Ye didn’t bother saying another word to Zhou Ji and simply left the bathroom.
When Zhou Ji took Duan Ye’s silence as agreement, he whistled happily.
After showering, his phone rang. It was a call from his childhood friend in Yanjing.
Zhou Ji knew that everything he experienced in this small and remote Ningcheng was being treated as a joke by those idiots.
He answered the phone.
His friend intentionally spoke in a sarcastic tone, “What are you having for dinner tonight?”
Zhou Ji’s previous school was an aristocratic school with exorbitant tuition fees. There were several cafeterias and restaurants just to cater to the students’ tastes. The hired chefs were all skilled, and the level of luxury was extravagant. In contrast, Ningcheng was just a prefecture-level city, and Fifth High School was not the best high school. The cafeteria only had three floors, which was quite shabby compared to Zhou Ji’s previous school.
“Get lost,” Zhou Ji said. He took a shower after playing basketball, which made him feel comfortable and content. Walking on the paths of this rundown school, his mood was not bad. “It’s none of your business what I eat. By the way, I found that this place isn’t completely worthless.”
“What do you mean? Are the girls prettier?” his friend asked.
“Can’t you think of something more substantial?” Zhou Ji scolded him. “I met a worthy opponent, a basketball player. His skills are genuinely impressive. It was really enjoyable playing against him today.”