The guys glanced at each other for a second as Pei Song turned around and walked to the center of the court.
The guy who got hit by the ball looked at Ren Qian while asking softly, “Qianzi, is it me or does Brother Pei look pretty sour?”
Ren Qian’s eyes sparkled. He said with a smile, “Really? I thought Brother Pei has always been like that.”
He then reached out to the ball and snatched it from the guy.
“Hey! You ambushed me! Go after him!”
The guys got up and joined the game.
The little interval was tossed out of their minds like a basketball.
Ye Ci and Cheng Xiangxiang were sitting at the spectators’ seats beside the field.
“I’m sorry, Lil Ci. I should have investigated more before I told you about it.” Cheng Xiangxiang felt bad for her friend.
Ye Ci shook her head. “It’s fine. I’ve apologized to Sister Ning Li and Mom. Anyway, I really did do something wrong this time.”
Her words filled Cheng Xiangxiang’s heart with guilt.
Ye Ci had always been the perfect daughter since she was young. This might be the first time that she had to apologize to her family.
Cheng Xiangxiang stomped her foot angrily. “Who would have thought that Ning Li actually got first place by herself?! I thought her results were below average when she was still in Lincheng. What made her a genius after she came to Second High? Lil Ci, do you think she had the answers to the questions?”
Ye Ci squinted slightly. “The papers were distributed by different teachers, and the answers were kept in a separate place. No matter how good she is, she could not have gotten the answers for all four papers, right?”
Ye Ci had seen Ning Li’s paper before. It was easy to tell whether she had copied the answers or if she had written them herself.
Cheng Xiangxiang grunted, refusing to accept the fact. “She must’ve been pretending before this! She pretended to have an average score in Lincheng, and when she finally transferred to Second High, she went all out just to overshadow you so that she can then win your mother’s heart! What a scheming b*tch!”
Ye Ci frowned slightly. “I don’t think that’s necessary, is it?”
“Not necessary? Lil Ci, you must not forget that she didn’t have parents by her side throughout her childhood, and now with your family taking her in, she ought to seize the chance and get a slice of your mother’s love! You and Lil Cheng have to be careful!”
Ye Ci paused for a moment. “I don’t think—”
“Ye Ci?”
A surprised voice came from beside Ye Ci.
The two girls looked up and saw a tall man in a jersey and shorts.
“Are you here to watch us train?”
Ding Xi was also a third-year student, but he was in a different class. He was the school’s football team captain and a seed candidate receiving priority training from the Teenage Football Team.
He had just finished his warm-up when he noticed Ye Ci was sitting in the spectators’ seat, so he came over to say hi.
Before Ye Ci could say a word, Cheng Xiangxiang said, “What’s so interesting about your training? Can’t you see that Lil Ci is in a bad mood? Shoo, leave us alone!”
Ding Xi shot a glance at Ye Ci. He had been worried about her since the monthly test results were out, and it seemed like his concern was valid.
“Ye Ci, are you alright?” he asked carefully.
“She’s being bullied on her own turf, so how could she be alright? That Ning Li—”
“Xiangxiang.” Ye Ci stopped Cheng Xiangxiang with a glare and shook her head in disapproval. Then, she got up and looked at Ding Xi. “I’m fine. Go back to your training.”
Ding Xi wanted to find out more, but Ye Ci dragged Cheng Xiangxiang away. He rubbed his neck awkwardly before returning to the field.
“Cap!”
One of his members passed the ball to him.
Ding Xi caught the ball with his foot. It was then that he noticed Ning Li running on the track beside the field.
He tightened his lips and kicked the ball away.
Ning Li continued jogging even though Duan Xu was nagging her beside her like a fly. She simply gave him the cold shoulder.
Seconds turned into minutes. Even Duan Xu had a feeling he was talking too much.
“O-okay, genius! That’s it for me today. I’ll leave you alone now!”
Duan Xu wanted to leave, but as soon as he turned his head around, he saw a football flying towards Ning Li! Shocked, he grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
“Watch out!”
At the same time, another basketball flew over from another direction and precisely collided with the football.
Bang!
The clashing balls caused a heavy thud upon impact and grazed Ning Li’s face by an inch!
Ning Li had actually sensed danger when the football was flying toward her. She tried to dodge it, but Duan Xu had reacted even faster than her and pulled her away from the ball.
Duan Xu sighed a breath of relief as he looked at Ning Li nervously and asked, “Genius, are you hurt?”
Ning Li shook her head. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
He let go of her arm and patted his chest with a sigh. “Phew! Thank goodness.”
He had just said that he wanted to make it up to Ning Li, and if she had gotten hurt by the flying ball right after that, he would have lost his reputation among his peers.
“Luckily, you dodged it because the football was hit by another basketball. Wait, whose basketball is this?” Duan Xu went to pick up the basketball.
Ning Li turned towards the basketball court and coincidentally locked eyes with Pei Song who was standing under the hoop. He must have been attempting a shot.
Ren Qian waved at Duan Xu.
“Duan Xu, throw the ball back to Brother Pei.”
Duan Xu threw the ball to Pei Song who caught it.
“Thanks!”
Ren Qian grinned and suddenly stopped playing. “Ning Li is from our class. Why are you thanking us?”
Duan Xu realized that Ren Qian was right. He then turned to the football field. “Which one of you kicked the ball over? Try to keep your eyes open next time.”
The field quietened down the moment Duan Xu questioned the players.
Ding Xi went up to him with a hostile look. “Duan Xu, what are you talking about?”
“Is this your lousy shot?” Duan Xu smirked.
Both Duan Xu and Ding Xi were the best players of their own teams. They might not have talked to each other a lot, but they disliked each other.
“I have to say, is this the best you can do? As captain of the Second High football team, Ding Xi, your aim at the goal sure is pathetic, but you are good at hitting people.”
Ding Xi’s kick was strong. If the ball had really hit Ning Li, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Ding Xi told his teammate to retrieve the ball before he simply said, “It was a little mistake, and she happened to be there at the wrong place at the wrong time. Who can she blame? Besides, she’s fine.”
Duan Xu scoffed. “Are you trying to start a fight here? There are so many pairs of eyes watching you! You yourself know whether you did that on purpose or not.”
Ding Xi scoffed. He turned around and wanted to leave. “Let’s get back to training!”
“Hold on.”
A plain and cold voice rang out and held Ding Xi back.
Pei Song had also come over quietly, and he was glaring at Ding Xi coldly. “Apologize.”
Ren Qian and the other guys came over as well, and they subtly surrounded Ding Xi.
Ren Qian got one thing right: Ning Li was from their class. If someone from their class was bullied, the guys could not just sit back and turn a blind eye to it.
Ding Xi furrowed his brows. “What is the meaning of this?”
The football team gathered behind him quickly.
“Nothing. We are just curious how your ball flew so far over here.
Ren Qian sidled up to Ding Xi and said with a cold grin, “Why don’t you show us how you did it again?”
Ding Xi grinned. “Why? Are you trying to start a fight?”