Chapter 137 – Violent Useless vs. Delicate Cat (17)
Hearing the girl’s words, Mu Jin raised an eyebrow, glancing at Yan Lexin and then at Yan Yang, who usually hid his emotions. He couldn’t help but smirk. These siblings had more in common than they realized, both stubborn in their own way—it was intriguing.
But someone soon recognized Yan Lexin and pointed at her and Yan Yang, saying, “I know you! You’re Yan Lexin, Yan Yang’s sister! Are you defending your brother because he’s in trouble?”
Yan Lexin immediately denied it, but the accuser kept repeating the same accusation, insisting that Yan Lexin was lying to protect her brother. The girl’s eyes welled up with tears, unused to such unfair treatment.
Meanwhile, Yan Yang was on the verge of exploding, his fists clenched, ready to lash out at any moment.
Mu Jin knew his lover had a short fuse and was especially impulsive at his age. He quickly walked over to Yan Yang, holding his hand and gently unclenching his fists to help him calm down.
Then he turned to Qi Xi, the instigator, and asked, “You said you lost something. Can you describe what it looks like?”
Qi Xi knew who Mu Jin was. After all, Mu Jin had made quite a name for himself in the recent exam. Though he knew Mu Jin had been hanging out with Yan Yang, he decided to give him some respect because of his impressive appearance.
He replied to Mu Jin, “I lost a family badge. It’s a metal badge with our family’s insignia. It’s really important to our Qi family.”
“Is the insignia a stylized ‘Qi‘ character?” Mu Jin asked calmly.
Qi Xi nodded and said, “Yes, that’s right. So? Are you going to admit that Yan Yang took it? If he confesses, returns the badge, and bows to apologize, admitting he’s a thief, I might let this slide. Otherwise, this is theft, and I intend to involve the school and the Yan family to resolve it.”
Mu Jin noticed Qi Xi’s confidence and smirked. He replied, “Sure, but where do you think Yan Yang hid it?”
Qi Xi smiled wickedly, glanced at Yan Yang, and said, “Check Yan Yang’s pockets. He doesn’t have many places to hide things. I think he hid our family heirloom in his pocket.”
Yan Yang was sure his pockets were empty but didn’t appreciate being accused and searched so casually. He glared at Qi Xi, about to speak, but Mu Jin squeezed his arm, calming him down.
Taking a deep breath, Yan Yang reluctantly complied. He turned his pockets inside out, revealing nothing but a few bills and a packet of dried fish.
Having cash was normal, but finding dried fish in the pocket of a notorious troublemaker like Yan Yang was a bit surprising, challenging his tough-guy image.
Qi Xi was stunned to find nothing in Yan Yang’s pockets, except for a packet of dried fish. He shot a furious glance at the slim boy behind him, wondering where the badge had gone.
Mu Jin, meanwhile, pointed at Qi Xi’s pocket and said, “Isn’t the badge in your pocket? I saw it peeking out earlier.”
Qi Xi instinctively reached into his pocket and found the Qi family’s badge. His face turned red with embarrassment, realizing that his accusation had been proven false in front of everyone. He tried to storm off, but Mu Jin stopped him.
“Hey, Qi Xi,” Mu Jin said with a smile. “Didn’t you say that if Yan Yang had the badge, you’d demand he bow and apologize? Now that it’s proven you falsely accused him, shouldn’t you offer an apology yourself?”
Qi Xi’s anger flared at Mu Jin’s calm demeanor. He snapped back, “Kid, are you standing up for him?”
Seeing Qi Xi’s aggressive stance, the other students backed away. No one wanted to get caught in a fight between the school’s most notorious troublemakers. Only Qi Xi seemed willing to go head-to-head with Yan Yang, while most other students preferred to stay out of their way.
Mu Jin nodded at Qi Xi’s question, unfazed. “How about this? Let’s settle this with a one-on-one basketball game. If I win, you bow to Yan Yang and apologize, and you avoid him in the future. If I lose, we’ll forget the whole thing. How does that sound?”
Qi Xi looked at Mu Jin’s petite frame, underestimating him. He didn’t know how the badge had ended up in his pocket, but he was sure this kid had no real strength.
Qi Xi readily agreed, but Yan Yang, seeing this, felt a bit worried. After all, Mu Jin had always seemed delicate and easily pushed around. Even though he might possess some supernatural abilities as a cat demon, Yan Yang couldn’t guarantee that Mu Jin would be a match for Qi Xi if he used his soul power.
He didn’t blame Mu Jin for choosing such an odd way to settle the dispute with basketball. Knowing his little cat was standing up for him, Yan Yang suggested switching with him.
Seeing the concern in her lover’s eyes, Mu Jin quietly squeezed the young man’s hand and whispered, “Don’t worry. Have I ever made you worry before?”
Yan Yang’s mouth twitched at Mu Jin’s words. He couldn’t help but think, “Haven’t you made me worry plenty of times?” But seeing his determined little cat, he decided to support Mu Jin. If anything happened, he’d take the blame.
The students from both classes formed a circle. Qi Xi didn’t mind the audience. He was determined to teach this newcomer a lesson and publicly humiliate him. He casually taunted Mu Jin, “Newcomer, you may look good, but you’ve made the wrong friends. Today, I’ll teach you a lesson in manners.”
Mu Jin smiled gently at Qi Xi’s arrogance, not making any gestures. He simply took off his jacket and walked confidently towards Qi Xi.
At first, Qi Xi thought Mu Jin was a rookie, hoping to win easily and prove his dominance. So he tossed the basketball to Mu Jin to start. Mu Jin wasted no time in catching the ball and getting into the game.
After Mu Jin made a few moves, Yan Yang, who had been watching closely, felt that Mu Jin was more than meets the eye.
Sure enough, Yan Yang’s intuition was correct. Although Mu Jin was petite, his movements were swift and fluid, like a small cheetah. The basketball seemed to come to life in his hands.
As the game progressed, Yan Yang couldn’t take his eyes off Mu Jin. He felt his heart racing uncontrollably.
The small figure on the court seemed to glow, captivating everyone’s attention. Yan Yang realized that a cat’s movements should be agile, but he never expected this level of agility.
Especially when Mu Jin leaped into the air, his white shirt lifting to reveal a tantalizing glimpse of his waistline, Yan Yang felt a dizzying sensation.
But then a sense of familiarity washed over him. Yan Yang felt as though he had seen a similar scene before, a lithe figure dribbling and shooting in front of him. Yet, upon careful recollection, he realized he had no such memory. He pushed aside his doubts for now.
Once Qi Xi took over, he realized that the seemingly frail boy next to him was a formidable opponent. Not only was Mu Jin skilled at basketball, but his movements were also agile and fluid.
Every time Qi Xi tried to steal the ball, Mu Jin effortlessly blocked him. It seemed impossible for Qi Xi to get close or snatch the ball from Mu Jin’s hands.
Soon, the first half of the game ended, with Mu Jin continuously scoring while Qi Xi couldn’t even touch the ball.
Seeing Qi Xi’s frustration, Mu Jin’s eyes sparkled. During the halftime break, Mu Jin tossed the basketball to Qi Xi, curious to see how he would respond. If it was just a fair competition, winning or losing was one thing, but if Qi Xi tried anything shady…
As expected, as soon as the ball was in Qi Xi’s hands, he started to play dirty.
At first, Qi Xi thought he had the upper hand just because he had the ball first. But to his surprise, Mu Jin effortlessly stole the ball from him and dunked it, leaving Qi Xi furious.
Qi Xi, forgetting his manners, tried to sneakily attack Mu Jin. His tall figure charged at the smaller boy, but Mu Jin easily dodged his advance.